Nibbles and Bytes

Zoom Search Engine

2007-06-25T16:10:00.000+10:00

I recently purchased a copy of the Zoom Search Engine to replace the existing site search engine that I was using on Hoax-Slayer.com. I have previously tried several site search engines, but I was not particularly happy with any of them.

However, Zoom is simply outstanding and is streets ahead of other search solutions I have tried. It is highly configurable, and allows webmasters to set up a very professional internal search engine that blends seamlessly with the design of your website. Most importantly, it produces reliable and relevant search results for users.

Zoom comes as a software package that installs on your computer rather than a fully web-based script and control panel like others I have tried. This means that you can configure your search, index your site and upload the necessary files from software installed right on your computer.

Moreover, the support offered by the company is excellent. After I bought the program, I encountered some quite server-specific problems with Zoom's logging function. Even though the problems were caused by the way my hosting company's servers are set up and were not explicitly caused by the Zoom software itself, Zoom's support staff went out of their way to help and even rolled out an updated version of the software that addressed the issues.

Zoom is free for small sites with other fee-based versions available depending on the specific needs of your website. I opted for the professional version and I consider it worth every cent and more.

Find out more about Zoom Search Engine

See Zoom in action on Hoax-Slayer

SyncToy - Folder Synchronization Tool

2007-06-05T19:02:00.000+10:00

Recently, I was looking around for a program that would allow me to easily synchronize two folders across two computers on my home network. While there are a number of applications that will perform this fairly simple task and a lot more, Microsoft's SyncToy v 1.4 turned out to be just the ticket for what I required.

This free little PowerToy makes it simple to keep the contents of two folders in sync with each other. Once you create your desired folder pair or pairs, you can then just click the "Run" button and the program will update the folders so that they both hold the very same contents. If you add, rename, delete or modify a file in one of the folders in the pair and then run SyncToy, the changes will be reflected in the second folder.

SyncToy v 1.4 works on Windows XP and Vista.

SyncToy interface

Grab a copy of SyncToy

Google Buys Feedburner

2007-06-03T16:29:00.000+10:00

For the past few weeks, I've been using Feedburner to manage my new Hoax-Slayer New Articles feed. Feedburner offers an excellent service, especially for those of us like Yours Truly who are still fairly new to the heady world of RSS.

Soon after I signed up for a Feedburner Account, rumours began spreading that Google was in the process of buying Feedburner. Turns out the stories are true.

Overall, I'd say that the change in ownership will be positive. Google's reach and resources will probably improve an already excellent product.

Still, it is a little concerning how many companies Google has managed to acquire.

Where will it end? Maybe, one day Google Earth, will REALLY be Google Earth...lol.

APOD Desktop Version

2006-04-07T14:21:00.000+10:00

One of my favourite websites is NASA's excellent Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Every day, APOD features an outstanding photograph or image of some aspect of "our fascinating universe". A succinct but informative explanation compliments each picture.

There is also a downloadable version of APOD available that automatically downloads a new astronomy picture every day and displays it on your computer desktop. The desktop version includes the image explanation, which is heavily hyperlinked for those seeking more information. It is therefore educational as well as aesthetically pleasing.

The APOD software is free and "as is". However, I've been running it for several weeks on my Windows XP system with nary a hitch.

Grab your own copy here

PCI Modem Connection Problem

2006-04-01T13:45:00.000+10:00

Last weekend, my neighbour asked if I could help solve an Internet connection problem she was having. She could successfully connect using her dial-up account, but could not browse web sites or receive email.

After first ensuring that the computer was virus, spyware and trojan free, I tried pinging websites via a command prompt, but this was unsuccessful, even though the connection was still active. I tried disabling any programs that might be interfering with the connection, including the firewall and various scanners. This did not resolve the issue.

To check that it was not a problem with the ISP, I tried the account on another computer and found that it worked perfectly. I also tried another working dial-up account on the problem computer and encountered the same connection issue. Thus the problem was clearly on the client computer.

After some resolute googling, I tried altering the modem settings as described on several sites, but this did not help either. I installed a network card in the problem computer so that I could use my broadband connection to do a Windows update and install a more up-to-date modem driver. No joy!

Next, I replaced the modem with another that I knew was working correctly but the problem still remained. This really had me scratching my head! In fact, if I had hair, I probably would have pulled it all out!

Then I realized that I had not yet tried swapping the modem to a different PCI slot. Lo and behold, this simple procedure fixed the problem completely! I suspect some sort of conflict must have been causing the problem with that particular PCI slot. Updating the BIOS or doing some prolonged conflict hunting may have solved the PCI slot issue, but I decided to leave well enough alone (grin).

So, if you are having problems solving a modem connection issue, don’t forget to try moving the modem to another PCI slot. It may not solve your problem, but it’s certainly worth a try.

Google Calculator

2005-10-20T16:28:00.000+10:00

Google has quite a few extra web search features that can make your browsing experience just a little more efficient. One of these is the Calculator feature. You can perform conversions and calculations on the fly right in your browser. Just input your calculation into the Google search field, press the “Enter” key, and a page with your result will be displayed.

For example, lets say you come across a page that states a distance between two destinations as being 357 miles, but you are more comfortable with kilometres. Just enter “357 miles in kilometres” (without quotes) into Google and you’ll instantly get the result “357 miles = 574.535808 kilometres”

You can also perform other conversions, such as pounds to kilograms, Celsius to Fahrenheit, modern numbers to Roman Numerals and many more. The calculator supports a raft of mathematical functions including addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, square root, logarithm and others.

Combine the Google Calculator with a tabbed browser that has built in Google Search such as Mozilla Firefox and you can quickly perform calculations without surfing away from the web page your are examining.

Find out more about using the Google calculator

Xandros Linux

2005-10-20T15:41:00.000+10:00

A few months back I installed a copy of Xandros Desktop OS 3 Open Circulation Edition on one of my computers. The computer is an older, fairly low-end machine that was originally running Windows 98. Now that I have installed Xandros on this machine, I can choose at start-up to load either the Linux OS or Windows 98.

I was quite surprised at the simplicity of this installation. The install went very smoothly and I had Xandros up and running on the system in around an hour. The Express install feature can automatically set up a partition on your hard drive and install Xandros on it with a minimum of fuss. You are given the option of keeping an existing operating system or overwriting it completely. If you choose to keep the existing OS, Xandros will be installed alongside it and you can subsequently choose at boot-up which OS to use. During installation, you are required to set-up an administrator account and a single user account by supplying passwords and user names.

This version of Xandros is free for non-commercial use. Information on the Xandros site states that:

The Open Circulation Edition is a limited version of Xandros Desktop OS that can be download at no charge and freely distributed to others. It is strictly for non-commercial use, and no e-mail installation support is included.

Xandros is a great choice for those of us who are new to Linux. Windows users will probably find that they can find their way around Xandros quite easily. Xandros runs very nicely on my old machine and comes preinstalled with a raft of useful software.

Visit the Xandros website for more information.

Email Etiquette Tip: - DON'T SHOUT!

2005-10-18T11:22:00.000+10:00

If you USE ALL CAPS in your email, you will immediately make yourself look like a newbie. For those of us who spend a lot of time hanging out in cyberspace, using all capital letters in a message is akin to shouting. For those new to the Internet, this restriction might seem silly. However, using all caps WILL adversely alter how people perceive you online.

Capital letters are best left for their intended usage and, sparingly, to emphasize a particular word or phrase.

If you wish to communicate effectively via email, the importance of Email Etiquette should not be underestimated.

How do you pronunce "Linux"?

2005-10-16T12:24:00.000+10:00

A vexing question, indeed! Since I'm beginning to seriously deepen my relationship with the Linux Operating System, I decided I'd better find out how to pronounce the damn thing correctly. The fear is that I will immediately identify myself as a clueless Linux newbie just by opening my mouth (grin). Mind you, at present, I am a clueless Linux newbie, but I'm hoping to remedy that sad state of affairs over the next few months.

Anyway, I've been doing some research and it seems that there are actually several ways of saying the word.

To me, "lynuks" seems the most natural at first. However, I’ve now taken to using the "linnuks" variation, which seems to be more popular in my neck of the woods at least.

Nibble or Nybble?

2005-10-16T12:16:00.000+10:00

A reader has suggested that the correct spelling for "Nibble" (in a computer science context) should be "Nybble". The truth is that both spellings are correct, although "nibble" is probably the most common. According to a Wikipedia entry on the subject,

The term nibble originates from the fact that the term byte is a pun on the English word bite. A nibble is a small bite, or half a bite. The nybble spelling parallels the spelling of byte.

Many references suggest that both "nibble" and "nybble" represent 4 bits or half a bite. Others maintain that 1 nybble represents 8 nibbles in the same way that 1 byte represents 8 bits.

Name change: Nibbles and Bytes

2005-10-16T12:09:00.000+10:00

A few months back I launched a new webzine called Nibbles and Bytes that was hosted as part of my Hoax-Slayer website. Nibbles and Bytes started out as a fortnightly webzine that featured material on a large variety of subjects. Nibbles and Bytes was intended as an expression of my desire to share some of the interesting and unusual things I've come across online.

Issues featured such items as:

Brief reviews of interesting and helpful websites

Personal comments about software that I'm trying out

Internet and computer tips

Unusual stories, factoids and trivia

A dash of humour

Basically, anything else that took my fancy (grin)

However, due to the desire to fulfil other projects (I tend to over-commit myself..lol), the webzine stalled somewhat and new issues languished on my rather lengthy "to-do" list. Also, the subject matter and scope of this blog and the webzine tended to cover a lot of the same territory.

Therefore, I've decided to roll this blog and the Nibbles and Bytes Webzine into one package. The blog format makes it a lot easier and less time consuming for me to add new material.

Since I rather like the name "Nibbles and Bytes" I’ve decided to use it for this blog rather than the somewhat unwieldy "Software Reviews & PC Tips"

Just for the record…a byte is the common IT term for 8 bits. A nibble is half a byte.

Don't Click It - Innovative Website

2005-09-29T12:54:00.000+10:00

Don't Click It is a very interesting website that offers a novel way of navigating. As the name implies, you can make your way around the site without clicking your mouse. There is a lot of innovative and thought provoking content on this site and it is well worth a visit.

By the way, if you accidentally click something on the site, you get told off, so to speak :).

Opera Browser is now Free

2005-09-25T14:48:00.000+10:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Opera was giving away free registrations for a limited period. At the time, paying a registration fee removed the banners that helped to support Opera, so the free registration offer was good value. However, it seems that there was no need to rush, as the Opera Browser is now completely free.

According to information on the Opera Website:

Opera has removed the banners, found within our browser, and the licensing fee. Opera's growth, due to tremendous worldwide customer support, has made today's milestone an achievable goal. Premium support is available.

Thanks to ClifNotes for the heads-up about Opera going free.

Read ClifNotes review of Opera

Check out and download the free Opera Browser

Free Opera Browser Rego

2005-08-31T15:44:00.000+10:00

As part of their 10th birthday celebrations, Opera is currently giving away free registrations for the Opera browser! Opera is an excellent browser that I’ve used extensively in the past. (At the moment, I'm using Mozilla Firefox, which IMHO, is simply the best web browser available today).

Opera always offers a free version of their browser that is ad supported. These ads are quite unobtrusive and are displayed across the top of the browser window. However, a registration fee is required if you want to remove these advertisements. The good news is that, right now, you can get a free registration code for your copy of Opera.

I'm not sure how long this deal will last, so if you want the free rego, it would be best to head over to the MyOpera website ASAP.

Opera 10-year online anniversary party

New Site: XP-Tips.com

2005-08-29T11:37:00.000+10:00

I've recently launched a new website that features computer tips for the Microsoft Windows XP operating system.

Windows XP is highly configurable. There are a great many ways to enhance and personalize your computing experience. The computer tips and tweaks included on XP-Tips.com are designed to help you get the most out of Windows XP.

Each tip is clearly presented in plain English. Where appropriate, step-by-step instructions and screen shots are included for clarity. Windows XP tips are grouped into categories for easy access.

The site is still very new, and there are only a few tips available as yet. However, I'll be adding many more XP tips over the coming weeks. You can take a look at the new site via the link below:

XP Tips - Computer Tips for Windows XP

Google Talk

2005-08-26T16:52:00.000+10:00

Google Talk, Google's new instant messaging and live talk application is now available.

I've just downloaded a copy to give it a test run. Google Talk has an uncluttered, no-nonsense interface that is quite simple to use. The application integrates with Gmail, and can notify you when new messages arrive. A summary of new messages is displayed in a small pop-up and you can click to go directly to your Gmail inbox.

I haven't tested out the IM or Talk features as yet, but I’ll run it through its paces directly

Here's what Google has to say about Google Talk:

Google Talk is a downloadable Windows application that enables users to quickly and easily talk or send instant messages to their friends for free. Calls are made through your computer using the latest voice technology; all you need is an Internet connection, a microphone and a speaker. If you don't have a speaker or built-in microphone, you may want to consider buying a headset, which will also provide the best voice quality when using Google Talk.

Check out Google Talk

Tux Paint

2005-08-25T08:28:00.000+10:00

If you have young children or grand children who use your
computer, you might like to let them loose in Tux Paint. Tux
Paint is a very easy-to-use drawing program that allows young
children to explore their artistic side without getting poster
paint all over the carpet (and themselves).

From the developers site:

Tux Paint is a free drawing program designed for young children
(kids ages 3 and up). It has a simple, easy-to-use interface,
fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who helps
guide children as they use the program.

My children and their neighbourhood friends have thoroughly tested
Tux Paint over the last few weeks. They just love it! I have it
installed on my Windows XP system as well as an older (and
considerably slower) Windows 98 machine. The program is quite
stable and has not caused any problems on either system.

An outstanding feature of Tux Paint is that it runs on several
operating systems, including Windows, Mac and Linux.

To find out more about Tux Paint, visit the developer's site.

Adding an External Hard Drive - External Enclosure Method

2005-08-20T16:36:00.000+10:00

If you are looking for an easy way to add another hard drive to your system, an external enclosure system might be the way to go. I needed extra space to externally store backups of important files and a growing archive of disk-consuming digital photos.

There are several methods to solve such a problem. After discussing such options at my favourite local computer shop, I decided on a Zynet External Enclosure fitted with an 80GB Seagate Hard Drive. This is a fairly simple solution that allows you to slip a standard hard drive into an elegant, desk-friendly case and plug it into your computer via USB or FireWire. Once the new hard drive is formatted, it should register as an extra drive on your machine and you can add, change, create and delete files in the normal way. An advantage of an external enclosure system is that you can change the hard drive with a minimum of fuss if you need even more space or if the original goes belly-up. And you don't have to delve into the innards of your system to do it!

During assembly

Up and running

Using Thunderbird For RSS Subscriptions

2005-08-06T16:23:00.000+10:00

For quite some time, I’ve been using the excellent Mozilla Thunderbird as my default email client. Lately I’ve been using Thunderbird to manage my RSS subscriptions as well. It is quite convenient to have just the one application to handle both your email and RSS feeds.

Adding and managing your feeds is super easy and you can drag and drop RSS messages to different folders, create filters and search messages in the same way that you can with email.

For more information, you can visit the Mozilla Thunderbird homepage. You might also like to check out my earlier review of Thunderbird.

On-Screen Keyboard in Windows XP

2005-08-02T19:45:00.000+10:00

You may not realize that Windows XP comes with a rather cool virtual keyboard that you can operate with your mouse. When you start the On-Screen Keyboard a graphical representation of a keyboard is loaded as a separate window.

To type with the virtual keyboard, you simply click the corresponding key with your mouse. This feature is mainly intended as an accessibility option. The On-Screen Keyboard allows people with mobility impairments to type using a mouse or joystick in place of a standard keyboard. It might also come in handy as a temporary workaround if your normal keyboard goes haywire.

To access the On-Screen Keyboard:
1. Open the document that you want to type into.
2. Hit Windows Key + R to open Run (Or click “Start /Run”)
3. Input "OSK" (without the quotes) in the Run box and hit enter.
4. The virtual keyboard should load.

Even if you never have a legitimate need to use the On-Screen Keyboard, its good to know its there. Besides, my children like playing with it (grin).

More information:
Microsoft Article - Using On–Screen Keyboard

Google Earth – Outstanding!

2005-07-30T15:33:00.000+10:00

Earlier today I downloaded Google Earth and Matthew (my 11 year old) and myself have been running it through its paces over the last hour or so. Google Earth is a program that allows you to easily view images of different areas of the planet, zoom in on towns or cities, search for specific location such as schools and restaurants, get driving directions and a host of other data and even bookmark certain places so you can easily return.

Google Earth uses satellite and aerial images combined with maps and Google’s exceptional search capabilities to “put the world's geographic information at your fingertips.”

This really is an awesome piece of software! It is educational as well as a lot of fun.

Please note that Google Earth may not run properly on older computers. Make sure you read the system requirements to find out if your machine is up to the job before you download the program.

Find out more about Google Earth

My little corner of the planet:

Personalized Google Homepage Update

2005-07-28T11:11:00.000+10:00

Google's Personal Home Page feature has recently been updated. There are now new ways to customize the content of your page. A side bar feature lets you easily choose content to include and you can rearrange the content display simply by dragging and dropping.

You can preview your Gmail messages right on the home page, save bookmarks and add feeds to a variety of news and information sources. One of the best new features is the ability to create your own sections by adding feeds in the field provided.

To personalize your Google Homepage, you need to have a Google Account. If you already use Gmail or another Google service you can use the same login details.

In the past, I’ve generally used a blank page as my default browser home page, but I've now switched over to the new personal Google. The page is intuitive to use, uncluttered, loads fast, and provides useful content.

Personalize your Google Homepage Here

Simple Notepad Snippet Store

2005-07-26T10:03:00.000+10:00

When I'm working on my computer, I often need to temporarily store a snippet of information such as a web link, a reference to another document or just a reminder to myself to check into something later. There are a number of ways such a "snippet store" can be implemented, including the use of "Sticky Note" programs, some of which are quite sophisticated.

However, if you like to keep things simple, you can use Windows Notepad to create a quite functional snippet store.

Here’s how:

1. Open a new Windows Notepad document, name it “snippit.txt” (or whatever you like) and save it to your hard drive.

2. Locate the file and create a shortcut to it on your desktop.

3. Right-click the shortcut on your desktop and select "Properties". Use the "Properties" dialog to select a new icon for the shortcut and give it a suitable name.

4.Drag the shortcut to your Quick Launch bar.

Now, any time you want to rapidly store some information, you can simply click the snippet icon on the Quick Launch bar and add your snippet. Naturally, you can use the same procedure with other applications such as a word processor if you want more advanced formatting options. However, the advantage of using a Notepad file is that it will load very quickly and will only consume a small amount of your computer's available resources.

You can even "network enable" your Notepad snippet store. I've saved my snippet file in a folder that is accessible from either of my networked computers. Both machines have Quick Launch shortcuts to this file with identical icons. Thus, regardless of which machine I'm working on, I can save my snippets in the same file for future reference.

W3C Validation Service

2005-07-19T19:09:00.000+10:00

To validate your HTML, XHTML or CSS documents you can use the online validation service provided by the The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

This is a free service that checks HTML, XHTML and CSS documents for conformance to W3C Recommendations and other standards. The validator will check the file and flag any errors it discovers.

Validate HTML and XHTML documents
Validate CSS documents

You can check files that are already online as well as files on your
computer.

Once you have created files that validate correctly, you can display the
"Valid HTML", Valid XHTML" or "Valid CSS" icons on you website.

WinAlarm – Simple Reminder Program

2005-07-18T10:49:00.000+10:00

WinAlarm is an elegant little program that can be configured to remind you of upcoming events such as meetings, birthdays and bill due dates. The program reminds you about a specified event by sounding an alarm and popping up a window with the reminder details. Although WinAlarm is very simple to use, it is quite versatile and provides a number of configuration options, including repeat reminders, snooze feature, the ability to change the alarm sound and pop-up graphics and multiple language choices.

If you are after a simple reminder program without the overhead of a fully-fledged personal information manager, then this little app is well worth checking out.

Find out more about WinAlarm