Tekkie G's Tips and Tweaks

Write - Caching How to Enable and Disable Properties

2012-01-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

If you have an external hard drive with a USB plug you should set it to be disabled as far as write-caching...that way it will be able to be unplugged without loss of data without stopping the hard drive.

Here's how to do it:

Turn Disk Write Caching On or Off

Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the Hardware tab, and then click Device Manager.
Expand Disk Drives.
Right-click the drive on which you want to turn disk write caching on or off, and then click Properties.
Click the Policies tab.
Click to select or clear the Enable write caching on the disk check box as appropriate.
Click OK.

If you "disable" it you can unplug the external drive without loss of data
If you "enable" it you MUST use "safely remove hardware" or else will chance loss of data.

Create Fun Photos for Facebook Etc. check this out....

2012-01-20T16:19:00.004-07:00

LINK

As always it's free, fun and fabulous.....!

Protect IP-Breaks the Internet

2012-01-19T08:08:00.003-07:00

The video above discusses the Senate version of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In the Senate the bill is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA has gotten more attention than PIPA because it was moving faster in the legislative process. But PIPA is just as dangerous, and now it is moving faster.

PIPA would give the government new powers to block Americans' access websites that corporations don't like. The bill lets corporations and the US government censor entire websites and cut sites off from advertising, payments and donations.

This legislation will stifle free speech and innovation, and even threaten popular web services like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

The bill is scheduled for a test vote in the Senate on Jan. 24th: We need to act now to let our lawmakers know just how terrible it is. Will you fill out the form above to ask your lawmakers to oppose the legislation and support a filibuster?

Remove FB Timeline Scam...Beware of this one

2012-01-16T20:37:00.004-07:00

Summary: According to InsideFacebook, scammers are exploiting the negative sentiments surrounding Facebook’s Timeline, and are currently spamvertising bogus pages.

According to InsideFacebook, scammers are exploiting the negative sentiments surrounding Facebook’s Timeline, and are currently spamvertising bogus pages attempting to trick end users into removing their Timeline profile.

More from InsideFacebook.com

We have found 16 Timeline-related scam pages, which have collectively gained more than 71,000 likes. The largest, with nearly 19,000 likes, has been around for at least two weeks. These pages are among the top search results when searching Facebook for “timeline.”

Once the user clicks on on “Continue” or “Like” button, they will automatically become victims of clickjacking/likejacking attempt, and will spread the bogus link on their personal Walls. What the scammers are forgetting is that once the user starts using the Facebook Timeline, there’s no turning back no the old profile view.

Users are advised to take advantage of Firefox’s NoScript extension in order to prevent clickjacking and likejacking attempts.

Get it HERE

Heads Up- Spoof on Smartphones

2012-01-16T06:25:00.002-07:00

Want To Know More About Facebook Privacy....check this out....

2012-01-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

If its Facebook...it's out there.....
Put in any name /post / etc that is on FB and it will pull up what is "out there" for all to see...

Through the Facebook Graph API

Click HERE

Put in any info on anyone and you will be amazed how full of loopholes it is and then make SURE you have everything disabled that you don't want to be seen.....just an FYI

Guard Your Privacy....another warning.....

2012-01-15T17:09:00.000-07:00

Of course there are so many "cute" applications out there anymore and we are all tempted to try them out. Just make sure you be careful what you are allowing to access your Gmail/Facebook or other accounts...if you go in to the Privacy options you will see all the things there that you have allowed to get into your accounts....more than likely you didn't even know it....
my suggestion: revoke most or all of them for your safety....

be safe in the Web World

Test Your Net Speed

2012-01-15T16:06:00.001-07:00

Want to see how fast your are downloading and uploading against your ISP providers stats?
Maybe you are paying for more and getting less....check it out here. This does both download and upload speeds so takes a bit for it to run the tests. You may be surprised at the results.
TEST MY SPEED

New Year Resolution-BACK IT UP! With SurDoc

2012-01-12T20:13:00.003-07:00

If you are forgetful or just plain lazy about backing up your documents, SurDoc can keep them safely backed up in the cloud with little effort on your part.

Enter your email address and a password, then agree to the terms of service for SurDoc. Click Submit.

The document manager online console will open. At the top of the screen is a link for the SurDoc Desktop Download. Click the link, then download and install the software.

Once installed, SurDoc will ask you to choose the folders you want to automatically back up. Put a checkmark next to all folders on your computer that you wish to synch with SurDoc. You have 10 GB of space. Click Save when finished.

Your first backup will happen immediately. If you are backing up a large amount of data, expect this first backup to take an hour or so, depending on your Internet connection. After this, backups will occur automatically, without any effort on your part.
You can access your documents from any device at any time by going to SurDoc.com. You can also share documents with friends by clicking the Action button next to any document or folder stored with SurDoc.

SurDoc gives a generous amount of storage space—10 GB, unlike some of our other favorite storage services. While the automated backups work very well, they did seem to put a strain on our computer’s RAM. We did not experience severe speed decreases, but programs did open a bit slower and the heat-sync fan continued to run for several minutes after the first sync with SurDoc completed. Overall, this appears to be a good backup solution for those in need of full automation.

Hard Drive Failures- Find Out-Use Portable CrystalDisc

2012-01-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

PORTABLE CRYSTAL DISK	Higher raw value is better
	Lower raw value is better
Critical: red colored row	Potential indicators of imminent electromechanical failure

ID	Hex	Attribute name	Better	Description
01	0x01	Read Error Rate	^[13]	(Vendor specific raw value.) Stores data related to the rate of hardware read errors that occurred when reading data from a disk surface. The raw value has different structure for different vendors and is often not meaningful as a decimal number.
02	0x02	Throughput Performance		Overall (general) throughput performance of a hard disk drive. If the value of this attribute is decreasing there is a high probability that there is a problem with the disk.
03	0x03	Spin-Up Time		Average time of spindle spin up (from zero RPM to fully operational [millisecs]).
04	0x04	Start/Stop Count		A tally of spindle start/stop cycles. The spindle turns on, and hence the count is increased, both when the hard disk is turned on after having before been turned entirely off (disconnected from power source) and when the hard disk returns from having previously been put to sleep mode.^[14]
05	0x05	Reallocated Sectors Count		Count of reallocated sectors. When the hard drive finds a read/write/verification error, it marks that sector as "reallocated" and transfers data to a special reserved area (spare area). This process is also known as remapping, and reallocated sectors are called "remaps". The raw value normally represents a count of the bad sectors that have been found and remapped. Thus, the higher the attribute value, the more sectors the drive has had to reallocate. This allows a drive with bad sectors to continue operation; however, a drive which has had any reallocations at all is significantly more likely to fail in the near future.^[2] While primarily used as a metric of the life expectancy of the drive, this number also affects performance. As the count of reallocated sectors increases, the read/write speed tends to become worse because the drive head is forced to seek to the reserved area whenever a remap is accessed. A workaround which will preserve drive speed at the expense of capacity is to create a disk partition over the region which contains remaps and instruct the operating system to not use that partition.
06	0x06	Read Channel Margin		Margin of a channel while reading data. The function of this attribute is not specified.
07	0x07	Seek Error Rate	N/A	(Vendor specific raw value.) Rate of seek errors of the magnetic heads. If there is a partial failure in the mechanical positioning system, then seek errors will arise. Such a failure may be due to numerous factors, such as damage to a servo, or thermal widening of the hard disk. The raw value has different structure for different vendors and is often not meaningful as a decimal number.
08	0x08	Seek Time Performance		Average performance of seek operations of the magnetic heads. If this attribute is decreasing, it is a sign of problems in the mechanical subsystem.
09	0x09	Power-On Hours (POH)		Count of hours in power-on state. The raw value of this attribute shows total count of hours (or minutes, or seconds, depending on manufacturer) in power-on state.^[15]
10	0x0A	Spin Retry Count		Count of retry of spin start attempts. This attribute stores a total count of the spin start attempts to reach the fully operational speed (under the condition that the first attempt was unsuccessful). An increase of this attribute value is a sign of problems in the hard disk mechanical subsystem.
11	0x0B	Recalibration Retries or Calibration Retry Count		This attribute indicates the count that recalibration was requested (under the condition that the first attempt was unsuccessful). An increase of this attribute value is a sign of problems in the hard disk mechanical subsystem.
12	0x0C	Power Cycle Count		This attribute indicates the count of full hard disk power on/off cycles.
13	0x0D	Soft Read Error Rate		Uncorrected read errors reported to the operating system.
180	0xB4	Unused Reserved Block Count Total		"Pre-Fail" Attribute used at least in HP devices.
183	0xB7	SATA Downshift Error Count		Western Digital and Samsung attribute.
184	0xB8	End-to-End error / IOEDC		This attribute is a part of Hewlett-Packard's SMART IV technology, as well as part of other vendors' IO Error Detection and Correction schemas, and it contains a count of parity errors which occur in the data path to the media via the drive's cache RAM.^[16]
185	0xB9	Head Stability		Western Digital attribute.
186	0xBA	Induced Op-Vibration Detection		Western Digital attribute.
187	0xBB	Reported Uncorrectable Errors		The count of errors that could not be recovered using hardware ECC (see attribute 195).
188	0xBC	Command Timeout		The count of aborted operations due to HDD timeout. Normally this attribute value should be equal to zero and if the value is far above zero, then most likely there will be some serious problems with power supply or an oxidized data cable.^[17]
189	0xBD	High Fly Writes		HDD producers implement a Fly Height Monitor that attempts to provide additional protections for write operations by detecting when a recording head is flying outside its normal operating range. If an unsafe fly height condition is encountered, the write process is stopped, and the information is rewritten or reallocated to a safe region of the hard drive. This attribute indicates the count of these errors detected over the lifetime of the drive. This feature is implemented in most modern Seagate drives^[1] and some of Western Digital’s drives, beginning with the WD Enterprise WDE18300 and WDE9180 Ultra2 SCSI hard drives, and will be included on all future WD Enterprise products.^[18]
190	0xBE	Airflow Temperature (WDC) resp. Airflow Temperature Celsius (HP)		Airflow temperature on Western Digital HDs (Same as temp. [C2], but current value is 50 less for some models. Marked as obsolete.)
190	0xBE	Temperature Difference from 100		Value is equal to (100−temp. °C), allowing manufacturer to set a minimum threshold which corresponds to a maximum temperature.
191	0xBF	G-sense Error Rate		The count of errors resulting from externally-induced shock & vibration.
192	0xC0	Power-off Retract Count or Emergency Retract Cycle Count (Fujitsu)^[19]		Count of times the heads are loaded off the media. Heads can be unloaded without actually powering off.^{[citation needed]}
193	0xC1	Load Cycle Count or Load/Unload Cycle Count (Fujitsu)		Count of load/unload cycles into head landing zone position.^[19] The typical lifetime rating for laptop (2.5-in) hard drives is 300,000 to 600,000 load cycles.^[20] Some laptop drives are programmed to unload the heads whenever there has not been any activity for about five seconds.^[21] Many Linux installations write to the file system a few times a minute in the background.^[22] As a result, there may be 100 or more load cycles per hour, and the load cycle rating may be exceeded in less than a year.^[23]
194	0xC2	Temperature resp. Temperature Celsius		Current internal temperature.
195	0xC3	Hardware ECC Recovered	N/A	(Vendor specific raw value.) The raw value has different structure for different vendors and is often not meaningful as a decimal number.
196	0xC4	Reallocation Event Count		Count of remap operations. The raw value of this attribute shows the total count of attempts to transfer data from reallocated sectors to a spare area. Both successful & unsuccessful attempts are counted.^[24]
197	0xC5	Current Pending Sector Count		Count of "unstable" sectors (waiting to be remapped, because of read errors). If an unstable sector is subsequently read successfully, this value is decreased and the sector is not remapped. Read errors on a sector will not remap the sector (since it might be readable later); instead, the drive firmware remembers that the sector needs to be remapped, and remaps it the next time it's written.^[25]
198	0xC6	Uncorrectable Sector Count or Offline Uncorrectable or Off-Line Scan Uncorrectable Sector Count^[19]		The total count of uncorrectable errors when reading/writing a sector. A rise in the value of this attribute indicates defects of the disk surface and/or problems in the mechanical subsystem.
199	0xC7	UltraDMA CRC Error Count		The count of errors in data transfer via the interface cable as determined by ICRC (Interface Cyclic Redundancy Check).
200	0xC8	Multi-Zone Error Rate ^[26]		The count of errors found when writing a sector. The higher the value, the worse the disk's mechanical condition is.
200	0xC8	Write Error Rate (Fujitsu)		The total count of errors when writing a sector.^[27]
201	0xC9	Soft Read Error Rate or TA Counter Detected		Count of off-track errors.
202	0xCA	Data Address Mark errors or TA Counter Increased		Count of Data Address Mark errors (or vendor-specific).^{[citation needed]}
203	0xCB	Run Out Cancel		Count of ECC errors
204	0xCC	Soft ECC Correction		Count of errors corrected by software ECC^{[citation needed]}
205	0xCD	Thermal Asperity Rate (TAR)		Count of errors due to high temperature.^[17]
206	0xCE	Flying Height		Height of heads above the disk surface. A flying height that's too low increases the chances of a head crash while a flying height that's too high increases the chances of a read/write error.^{[citation needed]}
207	0xCF	Spin High Current		Amount of surge current used to spin up the drive.^[17]
208	0xD0	Spin Buzz		Count of buzz routines needed to spin up the drive due to insufficient power.^[17]
209	0xD1	Offline Seek Performance		Drive’s seek performance during its internal tests.^[17]
210	0xD2	?		(found in a Maxtor 6B200M0 200GB and Maxtor 2R015H1 15GB disks)
211	0xD3	Vibration During Write		Vibration During Write^{[citation needed]}
212	0xD4	Shock During Write		Shock During Write^{[citation needed]}
220	0xDC	Disk Shift		Distance the disk has shifted relative to the spindle (usually due to shock or temperature). Unit of measure is unknown.
221	0xDD	G-Sense Error Rate		The count of errors resulting from externally-induced shock & vibration.
222	0xDE	Loaded Hours		Time spent operating under data load (movement of magnetic head armature)^{[citation needed]}
223	0xDF	Load/Unload Retry Count		Count of times head changes position.^{[citation needed]}
224	0xE0	Load Friction		Resistance caused by friction in mechanical parts while operating.^{[citation needed]}
225	0xE1	Load/Unload Cycle Count		Total count of load cycles^{[citation needed]}
226	0xE2	Load 'In'-time		Total time of loading on the magnetic heads actuator (time not spent in parking area).^{[citation needed]}
227	0xE3	Torque Amplification Count		Count of attempts to compensate for platter speed variations^{[citation needed]}
228	0xE4	Power-Off Retract Cycle		The count of times the magnetic armature was retracted automatically as a result of cutting power.^{[citation needed]}
230	0xE6	GMR Head Amplitude		Amplitude of "thrashing" (distance of repetitive forward/reverse head motion)^{[citation needed]}
231	0xE7	Temperature		Drive Temperature
232	0xE8	Endurance Remaining		Number of physical erase cycles completed on the drive as a percentage of the maximum physical erase cycles the drive is designed to endure
232	0xE8	Available Reserved Space		Intel SSD reports the number of available reserved space as a percentage of reserved space in a brand new SSD.
233	0xE9	Power-On Hours		Number of hours elapsed in the power-on state.
233	0xE9	Media Wearout Indicator		Intel SSD reports a normalized value of 100 (when the SSD is new) and declines to a minimum value of 1. It decreases while the NAND erase cycles increase from 0 to the maximum-rated cycles.
240	0xF0	Head Flying Hours		Time while head is positioning^{[citation needed]}
240	0xF0	Transfer Error Rate (Fujitsu)		Count of times the link is reset during a data transfer.^[28]
241	0xF1	Total LBAs Written		Total count of LBAs written
242	0xF2	Total LBAs Read		Total count of LBAs read. Some S.M.A.R.T. utilities will report a negative number for the raw value since in reality it has 48 bits rather than 32.
250	0xFA	Read Error Retry Rate		Count of errors while reading from a disk
254	0xFE	Free Fall Protection		Count of "Free Fall Events" detected ^[29]

[edit] Threshold Exceeds Condition

Threshold Exceeds Condition (TEC) is an estimated date when a critical drive statistic attribute will reach its threshold value. When Drive Health software reports a "Nearest T.E.C.", it should be regarded as a "Failure date". Sometimes, no date is given and the drive can be expected to work without errors.^[30]
To predict the date, the drive tracks the rate at which the attribute changes. Note that TEC dates are only estimates; hard drives can and do fail much sooner or much later than the TEC date.^[31]

[edit] Self-tests

SMART drives may offer a number of self-tests:^[32]^[33]^[34]

Short: Checks the electrical and mechanical performance as well as the read performance of the disk. Electrical tests might include a test of buffer RAM, a read/write circuitry test, or a test of the read/write head elements. Mechanical test includes seeking and servo on data tracks. Scans small parts of the drive's surface (area is vendor-specific and there is a time limit on the test). Checks the list of Pending sectors that may have read errors. (Usually under two minutes.)
Long / Extended: A longer and more thorough version of the short self-test, scans the entire disk surface, with no time limit. (Tens of minutes, >1 GB per minute for modern drives.)
Conveyance: Intended as a quick test to identify damage incurred during transporting of the device from the drive manufacturer to the computer manufacturer.^[35] Only available on ATA drives. (Several minutes.)
Selective: Some drives allow selective self-tests of just a part of the surface.^[36]

The self-test logs for SCSI and ATA drives are slightly different. It is possible for the long test to pass even if the short test fails.^[37]

Videos for Later...via DropBox

2012-01-08T06:23:00.002-07:00

See a video on You Tube but don't have time to watch it now? Just use this handy bookmarklet into your toolbar and via DropBox it will upload there and stay there for you to view wherever in the Web World you are....check this out

On the VideoDropper homepage, click the Login with your Dropbox link.

Provide your Dropbox credentials, then click Allow.

EPub it from your browser to your Kindle, etc.

2012-01-06T06:48:00.002-07:00

English | Español | Català

A push-button cloud-based e-book maker

From the FAQ page

Will it work on a mobile device like the iPad?: Yes!
Will it create e-books for Amazon Kindle?: Yes!

Answers in: Frequently Asked Questions

Bookmarklet

Installation

Check or uncheck the following settings:
In the immersive mode, links will be removed, you will not be offered the possibility of keeping images and there will be no indication where removed images and videos were.
And then drag the dotEPUB logo to your browser’s bookmarks toolbar. And that’s it!
(If your browser doesn’t support drag & drop, try manual installation.)

Use

Visit an article webpage you want to save or transfer to your e-reader as an e-book. Just press the dotEPUB bookmark in your browser’s toolbar.
To get better results, use the print version of the webpage (visit the FAQ page for more answers).
Watch the video!

iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

Visit this page with your device to see the installation and use instructions.

Extension

Install the Google Chrome extension.
Watch the video!
Your current browser is not Google Chrome

Widget

Get the for your website. Help your followers reading your content whenever and wherever they want.

dotEPUB is software in the cloud that allows you to convert any webpage into an e-book.
For content consumers (readers), we have developed a bookmarklet (or favlet) for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or Opera. And, if you are a Google Chrome user, you can install the dotEPUB extension in your browser.
For content producers (editors, authors), we offer a widget. See the tips for webmasters. For more customizable results, developers can use our API.

Features

Download webpages to any epub-compatible device: e-readers, tablets, smartphones, netbooks, desktop computers...
Save now and immersively read later (even offline) those long and deep articles you didn't have time to read while browsing.
Build a personal library of your favorite blog posts, news articles, etc.
Compatible with the iPhone, the iPod Touch, the iPad, the Sony Reader, the Nook, the iLiad, the BeBook, the Cool-er, the CyBook, the Alex eReader, the Kobo eReader, the Elonex eBook, the eSlick, the eClicto, the Hanlin eReader, the QUE ProReader, the Papyre, the Leqtor...
Finally, infinite content for your e-reader... with a single click!
And, because it is software in the cloud, you benefit from the improvements of future releases without having to re-install anything.

Open Outlook in INBOX...here is how to do it...

2012-01-05T15:21:00.003-07:00

If you want to make Outlook start with the focus on the INBOX when you launch the program then follow the steps here:
go to Tools > Options > Other tab > Advanced Options, click the Browse button and Select "Inbox", click OK, OK, Apply and OK to exit
see screenshot:

No Internet? Could need a Flush!

2012-01-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Possibily your DNS Cache is corrupted....Windows 7 users......
here is how to fix it:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. Rt-click on it and ‘Run As Administrator’. Type the following and hit enter: ipconfig /flushdns

You should be able to see a confirmation dialog window:

Windows IP Configuration. Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

LCD monitor Blackout.....here's a quick fix for you!

2011-12-29T09:54:00.002-07:00

If your LCD display is turning itself off due to aging capacitors, an easy work around is to turn the brightness down! Brightness goes down, display draws less juice, and you can at least use it. As it warms up you should be able to gradually turn the brightness back up, although probably not all the way.

Sometimes this problem manifests itself as a display that turns itself off after a few seconds or will turn itself off and back on over and over again.

Raspberry PI running Quake 3....it's coming in January 2012

2011-12-29T08:31:00.004-07:00

his little guy runs a stripped down version of Linux, an open-source operating system. Here are the specs:

700-megahertz processor (the iPhone has a 1-gigahertz processor)

128 megabytes of RAM (the iPhone has 512MB)

SD Card slot for storage

USB port

HDMI Port

It still packs a punch, though — the processor is beefy enough to run Quake 3, a first-person shooter game that has some moderately intense graphics. It runs that game at about 20 frames per second at a 1920 by 1080 pixel resolution....about as high as most modern laptops!

Raspberries in January....they're coming....check it out....

2011-12-29T08:27:00.000-07:00

The $25 computer project known as Raspberry Pi is set to go on sale next month.
The tiny computer, which runs Linux on an ARM processor and sports USB, audio and video out, as well as an SD card slot, was designed to be an ultra-low-cost computer aimed at children.
In a blog post picked up by Business Insider this week, its creators noted that the machine will be available in January following some additional testing on the hardware and software.
At launch the diminutive machine will be offered in two configurations, one at $25 and the other at $35. The extra $10 gets you double the RAM at 256MB, as well as the addition of an Ethernet port for getting online. Its creators have also announced the "Gertboard," a small expansion board that can be added to the Rasberry Pi. Its purpose is to "flash LEDs on and off, drive motors, run sensors and all that other fun stuff."
The computing project is the brainchild of game developer David Braben, and follows in the footsteps of previous low-cost computing initiatives like One Laptop per Child, which aimed a $100 price tag for Internet-ready laptops. There was also last year's $35 tablet in India, which ran Google's Android OS

Using Swype on your Android Phone....here's the tips

2011-12-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Swype Basics

Introduction Swype is a fast way to enter text. To Swype, put your finger on the first letter of the word and draw a path from letter to letter, lifting up after the last letter.

Automatic Spacing Swype automatically inserts a space between words when you Swype the next word in your sentence.

Double Letters Swype usually knows if you want a double letter in a word without your doing anything special, but you can help Swype recognize you want a double letter by scribbling slightly or making a loop on the letter. For example, to get the "ll" in "hello", scribble (or make a loop) on the "l" key.

Word Choice List When there are multiple suggestions for the word you want to enter, Swype displays a Word Choice List. To accept the default word in the Word Choice List, just keep Swyping. Otherwise, scroll through the list by dragging your finger, and tap the word you want. You can also customize the way the Word Choice List behaves while tapping - just go to Options and select Word suggestion to see more options.

Changing a Word There are many ways to edit a word. If Swype does not output the word you wanted, tap on the word and select an alternate from the Word Choice List. To quickly replace a word, simply double-tap on the word and Swype (or tap) a replacement word.

Adding Words to Personal Dictionary If a word is not in the Swype Dictionary you can add it to your Personal Dictionary. a) Tap in the letters of the word, b) select the word from the Word Choice List, and c) tap the "add to dictionary" prompt.

The Swype Key Press and hold the Swype key to access Swype Settings, Swype help, and change input methods.

Advanced Tips

One-Letter Words Swype one-letter words like "a" and "I" by gliding from the letter to the Space key. Swype automatically capitalizes the word "I" for you.

Contractions Many words with punctuation and punctuation combinations are in the Swype dictionary, making them easier to enter when Swyping (I'm, I'll, it's, how's, etc).

Alternate Characters Tapping and holding your finger on any key brings up a list of all the characters available on that key, including letters with accents like "é" and "ñ", symbols like @ and %, and numbers.
To enter an alternate character explicitly, tap the '=@#' (symbol) key to be taken to the Symbols layer. You can see that there are two pages of alternate characters. If you don't see the character you are looking for, press the Shift key and this will show you another set of characters.
All of the characters are Swype-able from the main keyboard (whether you can see them or not). You can Swype while on Symbol layer of the keyboard, but you will only get words that have at least one number or symbol.

"Bouncing" between letters Sometimes avoiding letters when Swyping ensures you get the word you want the first time.
For example, "pot", "pit", and "put" could be drawn with the same path. Fortunately, you don't have to move from letter to letter in a straight line. Avoiding the "i" and the "o" when gliding your finger to the "t" ensures that the word "put" is first in the Word Choice List.

Swype Gestures Swype Gestures are shortcuts on the keyboard to quickly accomplish common tasks. Not all gestures below are available on all versions of Swype. Some gestures are described below:

Capitalization: Capitalize a letter while Swyping by gliding your finger from the letter up past the top of the keyboard and, without lifting, gliding your finger back down to the next letter of the word.
Punctuation: Swype from the comma, period, or other punctuation to the Space key instead of tapping punctuation and then the Space key.
The Edit Keyboard: The Edit keyboard allows the user to move the cursor within text, as well as perform other editing tasks. To get to the Edit keyboard, Swype from the Swype key to the Symbols key (=@#) on the keyboard.
Select All: To select all of the text you entered, just Swype from the Swype key to the 'a'.
Copy: To copy a word or block of text, just select the text by double-tapping on the word or do the Select-all gesture, then Swype from the Swype key to the 'c'.
Cut: To remove a word or block of text and store it to paste elsewhere, just select the text by double-tapping on the word or do the select-all gesture, then Swype from the Swype key to the 'x'.
Paste: After doing a copy or cut of your text, Swype from the Swype key to the 'v' to paste it.
The Number Keyboard: To quickly get to the Number keyboard, Swype from the Swype key to the number 5.
Hiding the Keyboard: To easily hide the keyboard, just Swype from the Swype key to the backspace key.
Turn off Automatic Spacing: Suppress automatic spacing before the next word by gliding from the Space key to the backspace key. This is useful when creating compound words.
Editing the Case of a Word: Change the case of a word after you enter it or when editing your message by tapping the word in the message and then gliding from the Swype key to the Shift key before lifting. A Word choice list with capitalization options will display, allowing you to choose lower case, Capitalized, or ALL CAPS.
Switching languages: To switch between the two most recent languages, Swype from the Swype-key to the key with the language initials on it.

Personal Dictionary Management You can add, remove or edit custom words, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. from your Swype personal dictionary via the following ways:

a) While entering text
Adding a word:
- Tap in the letters of your custom word
- Select it from the Word Choice List
- Tap the prompt that appears to add the word
To add many words at once, or phone numbers, or words that contain numbers and symbols:
- Highlight the word(s) in the editor
- Tap the Swype key
- Tap the prompt that appears to add the word
Removing a word you added:
- Highlight the word in the editor you want to delete
- Tap the Swype key
- Tap the prompt that appears to delete the word
b) Personal Dictionary Editor
In the Swype Settings menu you can navigate to your Personal Dictionary to add, remove or edit custom words, email addresses, phone numbers etc.
Note: Your Contacts are automatically imported in your Swype Personal dictionary.

LINKS TO THE VIDEO HOW TO'S
Basic Swyping
Advanced Swyping

Opt-Out of Google advertising cookies....here's how

2011-12-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Google does allow you to opt out of advertising if you’d like.
To get started, jump to this Google Plugin page. Google provides several different versions of the Advertising Cookie Opt Out Plugin, which is initiated via web browser. Currently, the plugin is available for Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer. Using one of the mentioned web browsers, click the Download the advertising opt-out plugin button.

Upon doing so, the plugin should auto install for your specific web browser. For this tutorial, we will be using Firefox, so we will follow the required steps for installing any basic Firefox plugin. Click the Install Now button to install the plugin.
Once the plugin has been installed, that’s pretty much all there is to it, as very little configuration is needed. For detailed information about how the plugin operates with your web browser, check out Google’s FAQ page.
Installing the above plugin allows you to opt-out of DoubleClick cookies all together. However, you may not want to completely opt-out, but rather, setup custom preferences for Google advertising and marketing. This can be done using Google’s Ad Preferences manager.

Another option that you have, that is recommended by Google, is to configure more advanced opt out settings using the Network Advertising Initiative website also a similar website that allows you to opt out and set preferences for many popular ad networks.

How to Play the Music in Google Docs

2011-12-24T06:44:00.002-07:00

- 1
  
  Press the “All Applications” button on the bottom of your Android device.
- 2
  
  Tap the “Google Docs” app icon to launch Google Docs on your Android.
- 3
  
  Tap the “All items” icon.
- 4
  
  Scroll down and tap the song you want to play from Google Docs.
- 5
  
  Tap “Music Player” when asked what you want to play the song with. The song loads and begins playing on your Android device.

Your Music Anywhere using Google SyncDocs

2011-12-23T09:50:00.002-07:00

The recent announcement of Google Music is great news, but it’s only available if you live in the US. There is another way to stream your music from Google. It is not as visually impressive as Google Music but sounds just as good. You can stream your music from Google Docs to your PC or phone.
To do this, you need a sync app like Syncdocs, and a media player like iTunes, Windows Media Player or VLC. Here’s how you can stream your music from the web:

1. Install the latest free beta version of Syncdocs.
2. Right click on the folder containing your music. Select “Create Google Playlist”.
If it not already on Google Docs, Syncdocs will pop-up and ask you to upload it first.
3. Syncdocs will make two “Google Playlist” files.

Syncdocs syncs these files to Google Docs, so you can just download the playlist files from another browser and open them to play your music. Open these files on your mobile, or other computer you want to listen to this music from. You can also email these files or get the short link in Syncdocs sharing.
What’s great is that you don’t need the big audio files on the device you are using to play the music. All you need are the tiny playlist files. The audio is streamed live from the Google.
Open the playlist in Windows Media Player, VLC, Winamp or iTunes on any other PC or Mac. You can also play it on your mobile, the m3u playlist file can be played with a playlist media player, like Just Playlists on Android or fstream on iPhone.

Convert PDF to HTML for easy reading in your browser...check it out....

2011-12-20T09:17:00.003-07:00

PDFtoHTML converts standard PDFs to HTML, which can then be inserted into any website and read by any browser.

Miniature Wonderland- Enjoy in 1080p

2011-12-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

IE6 - deathblow coming in January

2011-12-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

If you are still using Internet Explorer 6 via Windows XP ....well, it is time to give it a rest. Starting in January 2012 it will be phasing out thru automatic updates....You will be upgraded like it or not to IE 8
if using Windows XP....

And sometime in 2012 all support for XP will cease....

So make sure you get all the XP updates on a hard drive so if you ever want to run it again you can update it via the drive.....

I recommend WUD--windows update downloader

GET IT HERE

Homegroup or Headache? How to get it working finally.....

2011-12-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

If you are trying to get your homegroup in order with windows 7 computers on your network here are some vital tips....make SURE all of your computers are set to HOME network.....not WORK or PUBLIC....that is the intial step....then follow below:

There could be several reasons why you might not be able to join a homegroup. First, try running a Fix It wizard to diagnose and fix common problems with joining a homegroup.

To run a HomeGroup Fix It wizard

Click this button:

Fix this problem
Click Run, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

If running the Fix It wizard doesn't solve the problem, refer to the following list:.

There might not be a homegroup available on your network. To create one, see Create a homegroup.
You might not be connected to the network that the homegroup is on. To connect to a network, follow these steps:
1. Click the network icon ( or ) in the notification area of your taskbar.
2. Click the network you want to connect to, and then click Connect. You might be required to enter a network security key.
After you've connected to the network, you can join a homegroup if one exists on your network.
Computers must be running Windows 7 to join a homegroup. HomeGroup is available in all editions of Windows 7. In Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic, you can join a homegroup, but you can’t create one.
The network location might not be set to Home. HomeGroup only works on home (private) networks. To change your network location, follow these steps:
1. Open Network and Sharing Center by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, and then click Network and Sharing Center.
2. Click Work network or Public network, and then click Home network.
  Network and Sharing Center
The other computers in your homegroup might not be in the home, might have left the homegroup, or might be turned off, sleeping, or hibernating. For information on changing power saving options, see Change, create, or delete a power plan (scheme).
The computer on which the homegroup was created might have been restarted and no one has logged on to it. Some services that HomeGroup needs don't start until after logon. Make sure someone logs on to the computer that initially created the homegroup.
Network discovery is turned off. To turn on network discovery, follow these steps:
1. Open Advanced sharing settings by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type network, click Network and Sharing Center, and then, in the left pane, click Change advanced sharing settings.
2. Click the chevron to expand the Home or Work network profile.
3. Click Turn on network discovery, and then click Save changes. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
For more information about network discovery, see What is network discovery?
One or more required services aren't running. The Peer Networking Grouping and HomeGroup Provider services must both be running. Here's how to check this:
1. Open Administrative Tools by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type administrative tools, and then click Administrative Tools. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. Double-click Services. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
3. In the Status column next to the Peer Networking Grouping and HomeGroup Provider services, you should see the word "Started." If you don't see this, double-click the name of the service, and then click Start.
The peer networking idstore.sst file is corrupted. If you see the message "Windows cannot set up a homegroup on this computer. Error code 0x80630801." and you're unable to start the Peer Networking Grouping service using the above procedure, follow these steps to remove the corrupted file:
1. Click the Start button .
2. In the search box, type command prompt.
3. In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. Delete the idstore.sset file found in the \Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Roaming\PeerNetworking folder of your system drive (for example, drive C).
5. Restart your computer, and then try joining the homegroup.
Your computer already belongs to a homegroup. You can only belong to one homegroup at a time.
Your system administrator has turned off HomeGroup on domain-joined computers.