Theory And Applications

Disable and Enable Tool-Tips in Windows

2010-05-02T16:12:00.004+03:00

To disable tooltips in Windows and on the Task bar, paste the following into a text file called, e.g. disableToolTips.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]

"ShowInfoTip"=dword:00000000

"EnableBalloonTips"=dword:00000000

Save the file, and run it. Accept the dialog message and reboot.

To Enable the tooltips, paste the following into a text file called, e.g. enableToolTips.reg:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]

"ShowInfoTip"=dword:00000001

"EnableBalloonTips"=dword:00000001

Save the file, and run it. Accept the dialog message and reboot.

Device Manager on Windows

2010-05-02T15:54:00.005+03:00

I wanted an icon with a direct link to the system's Device Manager.

Using Process Explorer I found the correct command line:

"C:\WINDOWS\system32\mmc.exe" C:\WINDOWS\system32\devmgmt.msc /s

Now just add a "New Shortcut..." to the desktop and paste this line as the command, and voila!

Envelope Security Patterns

2008-07-09T20:07:00.007+03:00

Here's a cool collection of security patterns.

Evolutionary Quotes

2008-06-19T22:24:00.007+03:00

Charles Darwin said in On the Origin of Species:

competition will generally be most severe between those forms which are most nearly related to each other in habits, constitution and structure.

Richard Dawkins said in The Selfish Gene:

As far as a gene is concerned, its alleles are its deadly rivals, but other genes are just a part of its environment, comparable to temperature, food, predators, or companions.

This shows the main difference between classical Darwinism and the modern gene-centric view of evolution.

On the Origin of Species Wordle Word Cloud

2008-06-12T13:12:00.012+03:00

I took the full text of Darwin's On the Origin of Species and stuck it in Wordle.
Here's what I got:

Give it whirl here.

1337yp60r4phy or LEET Typography

2008-06-10T20:47:00.012+03:00

Here's what happens when you cross some high quality fonts with LEET:

Just goes to show how important proper kerning is. You never know what letter combinations might come up! Can you identify them all?

Font Rendering by FontShop. LEET by 1337 Translator.

Smart Diapers

2004-12-14T18:03:00.000+02:00

Being a new father, here's another killer application for disposable baby diapers. The first diaper company to integrate this will have a huge advantage over the rest.

Theory: Parents often have to speculate if the baby's diaper is wet/full of not. To check, especially in winter, they have to unwrap the baby, sometimes from 2 or 3 layers and check the diaper.
Wouldn't it be great if the diaper actually to you, if its full or not?

Application: The idea is to have a small very low-cost microchip embedded within the disposable diaper. This would use the same technology as the microchips used to tag pets.

It appears that this isn't so hard to do. RFID tags are all the rage these days and devising a moisture/humidity detection tag for the cost of about 1 cent should not be difficult. Here's why.

Unlike pet tags, these tags are disposable. They should only work once. Even a destructive detection process is acceptible. This is a major advantage in terms of cost.
The tags can be mass produced as identical units. There is no need for a unique identification number per chip. In fact, the chip does not need any memory at all.
The detection is a binary operation. There is no need to provide any measure of partial humidity. In fact, if properly placed in the diaper, it would be just sensing complete soaking. This means that sensitivity thresholds and calibration would be quite tolerant and robust. Such a rather simple sensor would be cheaper to produce than a more complex one such as those that might be used for food packaging.
Sensing moisture or humidity is very simple. The resistance between 2 wires changes when the surounding medium changes humidity. Such an electronic detection circuit is extremely simple and can easily be integrated into a passive RFID chip.
As most passive RFID tags, our pee-chip does not need a power source. It will use an external power source for power when needed.
The response distance is very small making production cheaper.

Of course, the parents would also need a scanner unit, but this is just a one time purchase. Assuming the baby uses diapers for at least 1 year, and with more siblings joining the family, it might very well be worth the extra expense.

If diaper makers can decide on a standard RF protocol, you could use one scanner with all diaper brands. Alternatively, once you buy a scanner for one brand you might be more likely to keep buying that brand again. It makes good business sense.

Diaper Space

2004-12-14T14:04:00.000+02:00

Theory: The diapers of newborn babies, say 0-6 months have many little cute drawings on them. The babies themselves cannot really appreciate these drawings, as:

They can't see these details
They are always under their own clothes
They cannot appreciate these characters at this age.

Conclusion: These cutesy drawings are for the parents not for the babies!

Applications: Use this space for any of the following:

Tip of the Day for the young parents. Write useful information regarding newborn babies to help the budding parents cope.
Ads. Advertise other products.
Coupons! Well, ok, maybe not.

A small drawback of this idea would be that any textual information is obviously location-dependent, and diapers would have to be printed in multiple languages for international distribution.