Rune Bune

How to pin Google Chrome App Launcher without installing Desktop apps

2014-04-01T11:16:00.001+02:00

Google Chrome App Launcher does only appear in the taskbar or dock if you install a desktop app from the Chrome WebShop. Here is how to add it without installing a desktop app. Even when you sync a desktop app from another installment (with the same chrome login) it doesn't appear.

Windows: To repin the App Launcher to the taskbar click the Start menu > All programs > Google Chrome> hover over "Chrome App Launcher" > right click and click Pin to Taskbar.
Mac: Drag the Chrome App Launcher app from Finder, or the Spotlight results list, to your Dock.

Simple task (thread) implementation in C# .NET 4.0 and 4.5

2013-07-11T10:56:00.000+02:00

This code implements a simple way to start a method in a thread and wait for it to end to get the return value of the method.

System.Threading.Tasks.Task<string> task =
 System.Threading.Tasks.Task.Factory.StartNew(() => myMethod(myString));

if (task.Status == System.Threading.Tasks.TaskStatus.RanToCompletion)
{
 //is done, do something!
 //use result task.Result
}

I Forgot My Administrator Password in Windows XP!

2013-07-11T10:35:00.000+02:00

This guide could help you to reset the Administrator password in Windows XP without knowing it. Require a Windows XP boot CD.

I Forgot My Administrator Password!

How to get image from url i C# .NET

2013-07-11T10:33:00.002+02:00

A very simple one liner to fetch an image from an url in C#

System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(new WebClient().OpenRead(imageUrl));

How to compress and decompress files in C# .NET 4.0 (GZip)

2013-07-11T10:25:00.002+02:00

.NET 4.0 has a built-in gzip compress and decompress method.
.NET 4.5 has zip support.

This code shows how to use the .NET 4.0 gzip functionality. This also includes .NET 4.0 Client Profile
.NET 4.0 is supported by Windows XP and .NET 4.5 is NOT.

public static void Decompress(FileInfo file)
{
 using (FileStream inFile = file.OpenRead())
 {
  //original file extension, ex. filename.exe.gz
  string orgName =
   file.FullName.Remove(file.FullName.Length - file.Extension.Length);

  //decompress file
  using (FileStream outFile = File.Create(orgName))
  {
   using (GZipStream Decompress = new GZipStream(inFile,
     CompressionMode.Decompress))
   {
    //write decompressed file
    byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
    int index;
    while ((index = Decompress.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) != 0)
     outFile.Write(buffer, 0, index);
   }
  }
 }
}

public static void Compress(FileInfo file)
{
 using (FileStream inFile = file.OpenRead())
 {
  //create target file
  using (FileStream outFile =File.Create(file.FullName + ".gz"))
  {
   using (GZipStream Compress = new GZipStream(outFile,
     CompressionMode.Compress))
   {
    //write compressed file
    byte[] buffer = new byte[4096];
    int index;
    while ((index = inFile.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) != 0)
     Compress.Write(buffer, 0, index);
   }
  }
 }
}

Good free screen capture software

2011-01-06T21:45:00.000+01:00

This screen capture software is free and easy to use. It has many nice features like:

dual-monitor support
auto scroll
portable setup (no installation)
sound effects
various sharing tools

PicPick can also do a lot of other stuff regarding the screen capture production like:

image editing
magnifying
screen cross-hair and ruler
whiteboard feature

I really like this tool because it has most of the stuff I use when I make screen capturing. I can just save it to my USB stick and have it with me, include all my settings.

http://picpick.wiziple.net

Unlock files in Windows that is used by other processes

2011-01-05T09:43:00.001+01:00

If you can't delete a file if some program is locking it, but you don't know which or do you get a message like this:

Cannot delete folder: It is being used by another person or program
Cannot delete file: Access is denied
There has been a sharing violation.
The source or destination file may be in use.
The file is in use by another program or user.
Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

, then these applications can help you.

I use both and they they do the job well.
Both runs on both 32 and 64 bits Windows.

LockHunter:
http://lockhunter.com/

Unlocker:
http://www.filehippo.com/download_unlocker/

Proxy setting for each application even if it doesn't support it

2010-12-22T14:28:00.003+01:00

ProxyCap is an excellent lightweight application to manage various application on windows, windows mobile or mac computers to a proxy server with SOCKS4/5 or HTTPS access.
It's not that expensive and does the job good. It has options for exe-file, ports, ip-destination, host-name, transport protocol (TCP/UDP), windows authentication and more.

If you have specific application that should use a proxy connection or if all applications should use a proxy connection with some application exceptions this could be a nice tool to solve it.

Of cause you need a proxy server service, or you could use it to route some application away from your mandatory proxy.

http://www.proxycap.com/

Export Messages from Windows Live Mail (WLM) to Outlook

2010-12-07T22:08:00.000+01:00

Open Windows Live Mail.
Select File.
Go to Export and select Accounts.
Under format select "Microsoft Exchange". Despite the name not saying so, it also works for transfering to Outlook.
Click Next.
Select the folders you want copy to Outlook and click Ok.
Finish the wizard and the mail should be in Outlook.

How to get 25 GB on a free network drive in the cloud

2010-12-07T22:07:00.003+01:00

http://www.nirmaltv.com/2010/02/02/how-to-map-skydrive-as-network-drive-in-windows/

It's a bit slow and file limit is 50 MB :( but hey it's free and 25GB.

I use the free version of Gladinet to mount several cloud services as disk drives in windows.
http://gladinet.com/
I only use it for pictures and documents because of the file size limit, but its fine when it is set up.
If you like to break the 50MB limit Gladinet has a paid version which can split files larger than 50MB and merge them again automatically.

Listen to Pandora outside US in Chrome Browser

2010-12-07T22:04:00.002+01:00

I will take no response ability for breaking any terms of use or any other licensing!

First you need a US Proxy address, this you can buy a subscription for or pick a free web proxy from this list:
http://www.hidemyass.com/proxy-list/search-62

Of cause you can use any proxy you want, it just have to change the IP-address to a US address.
After you have found a proxy server/port you should install a proxy manager. This could be a Chrome Extension like Proxy Switchy!
Other browsers like Firefox does have similar Plug-ins.

Proxy Switchy! can be set up to automatic switch to a specific proxy server on specific URL's like this:

This should be saved along with the proxy profile where the IP-address and port should be.
Now just navigate to www.pandora.com and you should be good to go, but check the terms of use before initiating.

Prevent automatic window focus change in Windows 7

2010-08-24T10:47:00.000+02:00

Open the regestry editor (regedit.exe)
Set the registry value to this:

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ControlPanel\Desktop]
ForegroundLockTimeout = 0

and reboot the system.
This also works in XP and Vista.

Use a .NET Windows Form as a Console application also

2010-05-10T15:48:00.000+02:00

Some times I want to command line my windows form applications and get the output from it direct to the command line. This is nice to have when I want to batch or run the program with-in another program.

I use it if I have some methods I want to use in both a Windows Form and command line application and I don't want to write separate applications or wrappers.

I don't want to make a Console application and start a Windows Form, because the console windows will always be visible. I want a Windows Form application to also work as a Console application with arguments and output.

To do this I had to use the kernel32.dll as shown below:

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool AttachConsole(int processId);

[ DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool ReleaseConsole();

DllImport namespace is System.Runtime.InteropServices

AttachConsole(int processID) takes the console process ID to which it will output to, -1 is current.
ReleaseConsole() releases the attached console.
Example:
[STAThread]
static void Main(string[] args)

{
  try
  {
    if (args.Length == 0)
    {
      Application.EnableVisualStyles();
      Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
      Application.Run(new WindowsTestForm(args));
    }
    else
    {
      AttachConsole(-1);
      WindowsTestForm testForm= new WindowsTestForm (args);
    }
  }
  catch (Exception)
  {

  }
  finally
  {
    ReleaseConsole();
  }
}

#region Use Console in Windows Forms

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool AttachConsole(int dwProcessId);

[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
private static extern bool ReleaseConsole();

#endregion

drPodder Media Importer 0.3.1.0 released

2010-05-05T16:04:00.000+02:00

Change log :0.3.1.0 (Beta)

-Fix database with Not existing album art on device
-Detect album art files on restore and clear in db if not existing (eg. restore on full erased USB partition)
-Clear downloaded flag if media files (episodes) are missing on device
-Clear downloaded and new flag if media files (episodes) are missing on device. Can be used if the restore (from eg. wobOS Internals Save/Restore
-Downloading files flaged as downloaded but does not exist on device if drPodder is capable of deleting (does not work if the download tickets in downloadhistory.db in webOS are erased eg. data erease, firmware flash I think).

download

show upcoming Google calender appointments on webOS

2010-03-30T22:15:00.000+02:00

How to show upcoming Google calender appointments on the wallpaper on a webOS device:

Download the Ultimate Wallpaper app http://www.precentral.net/app-gallery/beta/ultimate-wallpaper

Get the URL of your Google calender as described in this link:

http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=37648

It's a long URL, so you could send it to you email on the webOS device and copy it from there.

Open the Ultimate Wallpaper on the webOS device and set it up with News and paste the copied URL into the RSS feed in the app.

Now you got your calender in the wallpaper

drPodder media importer alpha released

2010-03-16T00:08:00.000+01:00

Now I just released an alpha version of the drPodder media importer software

http://helioxware.wordpress.com/2010/03/15/drpodder-media-importer-alpha-release-0-1-3/

Should Computer Games Adapt To the Way You Play?

2009-10-14T16:10:00.000+02:00

Source: http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/10/13/078247

jtogel writes"Many games use 'rubberbanding' to adapt to your skill level, making the game harder if you're a better player and easier if you're not. Just think of Mario Kart and the obvious ways it punishes you for driving too well by giving the people who are hopelessly behind you super-weapons to smack you with. It's also very common to just increase the skill of the NPCs as you get better — see Oblivion. In my research group, we are working on slightly more sophisticated ways to adapt the game to you, including generating new level elements (PDF) based on your playing style (PDF). Now, the question becomes: is this a good thing at all? Some people would claim that adapting the game to you just rewards mediocrity (i.e. you don't get rewarded for playing well). Others would say that it restricts the freedom of expression for the game designer. But still, game players have very different skill levels and skill sets when they come to a game, and we would like to cater to them all. And if you don't see playing skill as one-dimensional, maybe it's possible to do meaningful adaptation. What sort of game adaptation would you like to see?"

I think adaption should only be applied in a portion of the game, eg. the start/intro, then the game adapts, and further on when you get better you actually get rewarded for getting relative better than you were before.

Review: Palm Pre 1400mAh Extended battery, Test Results - all things Pre - PreThinking

2009-10-05T22:58:00.000+02:00

Review: Palm Pre 1400mAh Extended battery, Test Results - all things Pre - PreThinking.

Looks like there is hope for battery life on the pré

Unlock landscape email on Palm Pre via secret code

2009-10-05T22:57:00.000+02:00

Gadgetsteria » Unlock landscape email on Palm Pre via secret code.

This is the secret way to landscape email viewing, but its not permanent. You have to write the code every time :(

SmarterMail - mail server to small biz

2009-09-21T21:42:00.001+02:00

SmarterMail - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine.

This email server could actually be handy for many small companies. 10 email accounts in the free version, and active-sync to mobile devices.

Opera Mini 5 Beta, free to download now

2009-09-16T21:25:00.000+02:00

http://www.opera.com/mini/next/

This is a nice install on my Nokia 5800 XM, but the keyboard lack the ability to copy/paste with the native clipboard in the S60. Some Java scripts does not format well like the iPhone google reader site, but this is not different from the official 4.2 version. Other than that, the browser looks a lot better and still runs smooth. The password save feature is a really nice add-on and feels a lot like a desktop experience. Also the tab browsing makes the flow easier to swallow. Bottom line: it's a good step toward a better experience.

Palm Pre: How to Take Screencaptures

2009-06-25T22:25:00.000+02:00

Here is the link to the source Take Screencaptures

This article point out how to initiate a screencapture (screen shot) on the Palm Pre mobile phone. This is a very nice feature to have buildin the OS on a mobile phone. I don't recall any other mobile OS to do this out of the box.

Palm webOS 1.0.3 update for the Pre

2009-06-19T23:56:00.000+02:00

Taken from the Engadget comments by Jack:

Version information

Version: 1.0.3
Release date: 19 June 2009
Configuration: Sprint 1.5
New applications

No new applications in update 1.0.3

Feature changes to existing applications

Calendar
• Events created in your Google calendar—either in Calendar on your phone or in Google online—that contain a symbol or accented character in the event name can now synchronize. Previously, including a symbol or accented character in an event name prevented the event from synchronizing.
• Changes made to Google events on the phone now sync with Google online within a few minutes.
• The sync interval for Google events has been decreased from every few hours to every 15 minutes.

Clock
• If you create a weekday alarm on a weekend, the alarm sounds only on weekdays. Previously the alarm would sound on the weekend also.

Contacts
• Changes made to Google contacts on the phone now sync with Google online within a few minutes.
• The sync interval for Google contacts has been decreased from every few hours to every 15 minutes.

Email
• Power performance in areas where wireless coverage is sporadic or unavailable has been enhanced.
• Non-SSL Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) mail servers are now supported.

Other
• Miscellaneous updates for Email, Phone, and other applications.

Twitter client: Gravity on N97 as widget

2009-06-18T13:27:00.000+02:00

The well known and pretty advanced twitter client for Symbian Phones is just getting transformed to a widget...

This widget version is just a early dev. stage, but I will look forward to use the final version ;)

Here is a concept widget from the dev.

Here is the Gravity homepage: http://mobileways.de/products/gravity/gravity/

Here is a picture of the N97 widget home screen with gravity icon and widget:

http://twitpic.com/7mktz

E-Ink Keyboard

2009-06-18T12:29:00.000+02:00

http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2009/06/e-ink-keyboards-rock-my-face-off.html

This mobile keyboard on the SGH-u750 Alias 2 has some new and nice features. Several different keyboard layouts supported in both landscape and portrait mode.