webspeakerwebspeakerThis is a blog with the focus on computer stuff, yet anything tech will go. Also from time to time you will find me go off-topic to make a good blend of stuff. Articles
This is not in a can with wings, this is like a bird does it
2007-01-15 14:19:01 This is not in a can with wings, this is like a bird does it! Yves Rossy, the man who developed these wings, was a former Mirage III pilot for the Swiss. His lifetime passion for flying has gotten him to the point where he can fly like a bird. His website says that he taught himself slight movements of his body just like birds use their bodies to move around up there. With help from sponsors the wings are now Jet powered. That is needed for horizontal flight, which he has managed to do for over 6 minutes! His site has a bunch of videos of him testing this human dream, and also other stunts and Jet flights. It may be the coolest thing I've seen on the Internet! After some more fine tuning he wants to make it capable of stunts and participate in air shows. If you've ever dreamed of flying, or if you like Batman for that reason, or even if neither apply to you, this is cool to watch!Like this? Subscribe real quick! More About: This , Wing , Bird , Wings
Human Flight Project - Like A Bird
2007-01-14 22:09:00 This is not in a can with wings, this is like a bird does it! Yves Rossy, the man who developed these wings, was a former Mirage III pilot for the Swiss. His lifetime passion for flying has gotten him to the point where he can fly like a bird. His website says that he taught himself slight movements of his body just like birds use their bodies to move around up there. With help from sponsors the wings are now Jet powered. That is needed for horizontal flight, which he has managed to do for over 6 minutes! His site has a bunch of videos of him testing this human dream, and also other stunts and Jet flights. It may be the coolest thing I've seen on the Internet! After some more fine tuning he wants to make it capable of stunts and participate in air shows. If you've ever dreamed of flying, or if you like Batman for that reason, or even if neither apply to you, this is cool to watch! More About: Human , Project , Bird
Not long ago I posted about the Google Cheat Sheet. There is
2007-01-13 20:17:01 Not long ago I posted about the Google Cheat Sheet . There is more than that basic sheet though. More advanced operators are supported that allow you to search for specific things. For instance you can search for a string of characters that appear in a URL of any site. A popular way of using the "inurl:" operator is by searching Google for "inurl:/view/index.shtml". It will bring up a long list of web cams that all use the same software and have that same URL. Improve your searching and have some fun!Like this? Subscribe real quick! More About: Post , About
Google's Advanced Cheat Sheet
2007-01-13 08:10:00 Not long ago I posted about the Google Cheat Sheet . There is more than that basic sheet though. More advanced operators are supported that allow you to search for specific things. For instance you can search for a string of characters that appear in a URL of any site. A popular way of using the "inurl:" operator is by searching Google for "inurl:/view/index.shtml". It will bring up a long list of web cams that all use the same software and have that same URL. Improve your searching and have some fun! More About: Cheat Sheet
Ready For Vista?
2007-01-13 02:15:02 My computer is ready for Vista . Is yours? There's a difference between Vista Capable, as you see a lot on computer boxes in stores, and Vista Read y.Capable means that it can run Vista, but you may not be able to take advantage of all features. Ready means that you can run everything, including the Aero interface. Visual goodies. The minimum requirements are 512MB RAM and 800MHz. Recommended is at least 1GB and 1GHz.PC Pitstop has a readiness checker that quickly gives you an overview of what you have, versus what you need, and whether you have that. The Vista Readiness Center will only run in Internet Explorer 5+, so most of you will have to pull IE out of the dust for just a minute. It will install a little checker utility on your computer, and at least in IE7 it kept asking to run an ActiveX control on the page. I had to allow it for each test. Pretty annoying, but hey, I'm not running this test more than once. I know I'm ready.Also, the page will show the breakdown of the diff...
Ready For Vista?
2007-01-13 00:30:00 My computer is ready for Vista . Is yours? There's a difference between Vista Capable, as you see a lot on computer boxes in stores, and Vista Ready.Capable means that it can run Vista, but you may not be able to take advantage of all features. Ready means that you can run everything, including the Aero interface. Visual goodies. The minimum requirements are 512MB RAM and 800MHz. Recommended is at least 1GB and 1GHz.PC Pitstop has a readiness checker that quickly gives you an overview of what you have, versus what you need, and whether you have that. The Vista Readiness Center will only run in Internet Explorer 5+, so most of you will have to pull IE out of the dust for just a minute. It will install a little checker utility on your computer, and at least in IE7 it kept asking to run an ActiveX control on the page. I had to allow it for each test. Pretty annoying, but hey, I'm not running this test more than once. I know I'm ready.Also, the page will show the breakdown of the diff...
The Best File Manager
2007-01-12 08:14:01 Windows Explorer works, but is limited. If you want to do more with your files, and do it easier, then get Total Commander! An old friend sort of forced me to use it when I first started with computers. He showed me how it worked, made me use it, and fall in love with it.Some of the features of Total Commander are:- compressing and decompressing of files,- encrypting and decrypting files,- splitting and merging files,- easy copying and moving,- comparing of files,- a built in FTP client,- and it's customizable and add-ons are available.There are many options, which may be overwhelming if you're new to it, but you don't have to change a thing to use it. I absolutely consider this the best file manager out there.This shareware program used to be called Windows Commander, and you can guess why it changed (in 2002). Version 6.56 is now the latest, and 7 is in Beta 2. They also have a CE/Pocket release and a version for your USB memory stick, including the U3 type sticks. It's a grea... More About: File , Manager , Best , Mana , Manage
The Best File Manager
2007-01-12 05:33:00 Windows Explorer works, but is limited. If you want to do more with your files, and do it easier, then get Total Commander! An old friend sort of forced me to use it when I first started with computers. He showed me how it worked, made me use it, and fall in love with it.Some of the features of Total Commander are:- compressing and decompressing of files,- encrypting and decrypting files,- splitting and merging files,- easy copying and moving,- comparing of files,- a built in FTP client,- and it's customizable and add-ons are available.There are many options, which may be overwhelming if you're new to it, but you don't have to change a thing to use it. I absolutely consider this the best file manager out there.This shareware program used to be called Windows Commander, and you can guess why it changed (in 2002). Version 6.56 is now the latest, and 7 is in Beta 2. They also have a CE/Pocket release and a version for your USB memory stick, including the U3 type sticks. It's a grea... More About: File , Manager
Google Earth - 3D And Still Free
2007-01-11 20:13:02 Data made available by Google software isn't cheap, in terms of money and labor, but also trust. Google is allowed to use the data under certain conditions. The only way you're allowed to access the data is through Google software. Gaia was trying to reverse engineer Google Earth and thus violating the terms. One advantage of Gaia was that it was available on operating systems that Google Earth does not (yet?) support. Without a battle Gaia stopped. Why?A letter by email. The majority of the letter sent by Michael Jones (Google Chief Tech) is posted on the Gaia web site with his permission. It is nice to see that he did not take a hard and tactless approach like "we'll sue you if you don't shut it down". A rather pleasant yet firm approach resulted in cooperation and respect towards Google. I imagine you don't always see that in the business world. You can read the letter here.To continue about data available to Google, let's talk about how Google SketchUp allows you to help b... More About: Free , Stil
Google Earth - 3D And Still Free
2007-01-11 00:19:00 Data made available by Google software isn't cheap, in terms of money and labor, but also trust. Google is allowed to use the data under certain conditions. The only way you're allowed to access the data is through Google software. Gaia was trying to reverse engineer Google Earth and thus violating the terms. One advantage of Gaia was that it was available on operating systems that Google Earth does not (yet?) support. Without a battle Gaia stopped. Why?A letter by email. The majority of the letter sent by Michael Jones (Google Chief Tech) is posted on the Gaia web site with his permission. It is nice to see that he did not take a hard and tactless approach like "we'll sue you if you don't shut it down". A rather pleasant yet firm approach resulted in cooperation and respect towards Google. I imagine you don't always see that in the business world. You can read the letter here.To continue about data available to Google, let's talk about how Google SketchUp allows you to help b... More About: Free
US Military Uses Open Source CAD
2007-01-10 00:51:00 Has anyone used the Open Source CAD program called BRL-CAD? Apparently the US Military uses it. The homepage is http://www.brlcad.org/. There is documentation available, more screen shots, and a project site. If you've been reading my Blog, you know that Open Source means free.I don't know anyone that has used it. It would be nice to know if it's worthy being called a replacement for the expensive Auto-CAD. It's been available for the Windows platform since 2006. Maybe my buddy at Crystal Coast Tech has tried it? Comments please? More About: Open-Source
Daylight Savings 2 Wks Early And 1 Wk Late
2007-01-10 00:19:00 This year the time change for Daylight Savings in March and October will be two weeks early and a week later, respectively. Who cares, right? Well, it's the first time this happens.Government Computer News calls it Y2K7. The article brings out that on older systems, or systems that haven't been updated, or older software that isn't supported anymore, it may wrongly display the time. This could cause computers to be out of sync. If a computer clock on a domain type network is too far out of sync with the domain controller, there will be problems.So especially for network administrators it's important to make sure necessary patches are applied before the clock goes forward (Fall Back, Spring Forward). Avoid 3 weeks of head aches. More About: Early
Picture: Secured Or Confused?
2007-01-02 14:10:01 My funny and bright cousin back in the Netherlands did this. In a chat he made a couple of typo's and then explained that he had to blind-type. Well, here was I thinking that he was sitting in the dark, on his laptop. The picture clearly shows that I was wrong.I had to laugh when he told me he alphabetized his keyboard! For a moment I thought that it would be harder for someone to tell what password you're typing. But then I realized that after a short confusion upon discovering the layout of the keyboard, a person would just get a different string of characters, then compare it with a QWERTY keyboard and have the actual typed string. It still helps to confuse on first sight though.On the other hand, if you're trying to make a secure password, you could sure do it with this keyboard. Just type a word, following the letters on the keys, and the actual typed password will be something totally different. It would likely not be a word from the dictionary.If you can type without look... More About: Picture , Secure , Cure
myLot - Posting For Money
2007-01-02 14:10:01 I've been seeing these web sites where you can write articles, review articles, post replies on topics, and then get paid for that. One of them is myLot. It's a place that is much like a forum or web board that accepts really any topic you want. The thing is just that you get credit for each post you make. Tonight I decided to try it, and I started posting replies to existing threads. A total of 25 I posted, and then I created a new thread myself. Their system updates every 24 hours, so when it does, I will report back here and let you know how much that made me. Referrals are rewarded, so if you decide to check into this, you can sign up through me here. Tomorrow I'll post the result of my 25 replies and 1 new thread. Stay tuned!Like this? Subscribe real quick! More About: Money , Post , Sting , Posti , Mylo
400 Visitors Since The Start 2 Weeks Ago
2007-01-02 08:09:01 webspeaker was created on the 16th of December, 2006, that is last year :P. The next day I added Sitemeter to keep track of how many people come around here. Before midnight December 31st, local time, the counter hit 400! That's not pageviews, and that doesn't include my visits. It's actual visitors! Some returning, many new ones! The hottest post is a couple below this one, about the XP Themes!I hope to keep this success going and will continue to post new techy stuff! Thanks to all visitors! Thanks to all services on the web that help us Bloggers promote our pages!I want to list the ones that helped me out, so that if you haven't used these yet, you can start now:DiggHypeDissMyBlogLogBlogTopSitesBlog TopListTopBlogListsBloggernityBlogHubTech noratiAnd also the bloggers found in my sidebar! Check them out too!If I'm missing any, I will add them later. I just wanted to thank those who helped and visited! Let's see how we'll do in 07!Like this? Subscribe real quick! More About: Start , Star , Week , Visitor , Visitors
Open Source (Free) Applications For Windows
2007-01-01 14:07:02 Open Source. It's what we like. What is it? Big bunches of code that make up a program. But not just that. Usually companies that create software will protect their code. They don't want anyone to get a hold of it, because then their work can be stolen, modified, and abused. Open Source basically means that the code is available to anyone that wants to modify it, or create additional functions. Now, the reason we like this is because it makes it free. We love free stuff. We love sharing.There is a lot more Open Source software out there than you might know of. There are complete operating systems, office packages, video-, sound-, and image-editing programs, anti virus software, disk utilities, screen savers, compression software, P2P clients, and much more. All Open Source. All free to use.The website I want to highlight here is www.listible.com! There is a long list of Open Source applications.Look into Open Source software, before you spend money on your yearly anti virus subscr... More About: Windows , Applications , Open Source , Cat , Wind
Four XP Themes: Free, Simple, Beautiful
2006-12-31 20:06:01 Best XP Theme! All Included In One Pack! Just Watch It! - video powered by MetacafeUntil now, every theme for Windows XP on the Internet required some kind of program to manage and run it. Nobody likes that. When I found this video, that was all over!This video shows you how to get 4 really nicely made themes for Windows XP! They are free! They look great! They don't require extra software! You can download, install, reboot, enjoy!The website to get them at is www.crystalxp.net, as shown in the video. Or go directly to the choices. Watch to learn how to choose, and go about installing the package. I chose the Vista look. It's working great so far, and looking sweet.Oh, if, for some reason, you have a problem after the first restart of your computer, then make sure you have the Windows XP install CD. This is important because your system files will be modified. Take these precautions! Note that the Windows CD needs to be a system CD, not a restore/recovery CD. Nothing should happen... More About: Free , Simp , Themes , Beautiful , Simple
Many Of You Use Old Browsers
2006-12-31 02:04:02 A web browser is our tool to access web content. To read this, you use a web browser. Since there are many risks to using such a tool, updates are released frequently to patch security holes and improve stability, speed, and user experience. Every so often a complete new package is released, which we call an upgrade. For example, you may have heard of Internet Explorer 7. version 7 is an upgrade to version 6. Updates will usually change a version to 6.1, or 6.1.3 and so on.While I was looking at my statistics for this blog, I noticed that there are quite some surfers that don't have the latest surfboard. To see which version you have, open up your browser, and click on Help at the top, then on About [your browser name]. If it says something like 6.1.3.8, just look at the first digit. In the example you would have version 6.Need a reason for sharpening your tool? Upgrading and updating your browser will make surfing more secure, faster, more convenient, and webpages will actually sh... More About: Browsers , Browser , Browse
New Blog: Football Vids
2006-12-30 14:03:01 Please be informed that a new Blog is live! Devoted to football only! Many videos to see, and it will be interesting for everyone, whether you like football or not! Go to http://footballvids.blogspot.com/!Subscri be to my RSS Feed instantly! More About: Football , Vids , Ball , Foot
Off Topic Video: Real Football
2006-12-30 08:02:02 Here's an off topic post. Even if you don't like football, you will be impressed by this footage. It will show you some spectacular football skills, moves, tactics. There are many of these movies out there, but this one stands out just a little bit.I LOVE FOOTBALL. :]Subscribe to my RSS Feed instantly! More About: Video , Football , Topic , Real , Ball
Google Groups BETA = Usenet +
2006-12-29 20:02:01 Remember the time that Usenet wasn't free? Started by some folks at Duke University in 1979, Usenet became one of the biggest and most famous web boards. Today, it is Google powered, and of course free. The new Google Group s that is currently in BETA searches Usenet archives starting in 1981. On top of that it of course allows you to start your own groups, which we know from the old Google Groups . Some new features are introduced and Google is collecting feedback from users. Take a tour of the features offered. Virtually every subject is at least touched on in this vast base of information. If you think something is missing, start your own group, invite members, customize it how you want, and contribute to the web's free infobase.Subscribe to my RSS Feed instantly! More About: Beta
Underground Tech Show: thebroken
2006-12-28 08:00:02 Found on Digg. Called thebroken, these guys have IMHO a really cool show going of currently 4 episodes. In a somewhat educational way they show how to hack and crack. Things such as hacking wireless networks, also called wardriving, modding your PS2 or XBOX, cracking Windows passwords, and more. They mix is up with some humor, and if you're into techy stuff, you'll like to watch this.Episode 3 was most interesting to me, with the interview of Kevin Mitnick, who after his interesting career of identity changes, hacking, and prison time started his own consulting company. I too like to learn things I'm not supposed to know. To read up on Kevin, go here, here, here, here, and the Wikipedia page. More About: Tech , Show , Ground , Underground , Round
New: My Tech Roller Blog
2006-12-28 08:00:02 Owners of tech related blogs can get their site listed and featured on my new Blog . I want it to be a central location to find pretty much all tech blogs. Check it out and join. Leave me a comment with your thoughts here, if you like. Thanks. More About: Tech , Roll , Roller
Weekend On Wireless In New York City
2006-12-27 08:00:01 Wow, I lost two readers over the weekend! Just to let everyone know, I'm not abandoning this blog! :) My wife and I spent the weekend in New York City. For me it was the first time there and I have to say it was great. We had a blast, did lots of walking, saw many sites, made many pictures, also went to the Blue Man Group show, and I was basically way too tired to read anything in the evening, let alone post anything. I did try to check in though and then saw that there were 9 wireless networks available in my hotel room on the 9th floor. NONE of them were secured. Hence my post about wireless network security. This top 10 is taken from the linked article.1) Change Default Administrator Passwords (and Usernames)2) Turn on (Compatible) WPA / WEP Encryption3) Change the Default SSID4) Enable MAC Address Filtering5) Disable SSID Broadcast6) Do Not Auto-Connect to Open Wi-Fi Networks7) Assign Static IP Addresses to Devices8) Enable Firewalls On Each Computer and the Router9) Position t... More About: Wireless , New York City , Weekend
Google WiFi Coverage Map
2006-12-27 08:00:01 The map shows the coverage of the Mountain View area, and where Google deployed network equipment. They seem to mount it on public light poles and it almost sounds like coverage depends on the presence of these. To learn more about the Google WiFi project check out http://wifi.google.com/support/. Eventually we'll have a form of global free internet access. Aaah, think about that! You can Blog from anywhere! More About: Wifi , Rage , Cover , Over
Keystroke Loggers
2006-12-27 08:00:01 If you have seen the movie Troy, then you know what a Trojan Horse is. In the computer world a Trojan Horse is a small program. It is created to do things you don't want to happen. To stay with the movie Troy, a Trojan can open doors that make your computer accessible from the Internet. Such doors are called ports. Opened ports are used to let someone in, or to send information out.A keystroke logger is often part of a Trojan. That means that a Trojan can detect and log all keys pressed, and send the collected information to someone else. Often keys pressed while on a certain web page are logged. Think about what kind of information you enter on web pages? Indeed, this is often a username/password combination. If you do online banking it may log your account number. The goal is always to capture sensitive and private information that can be used to break things, or to steal things.Most such web sites have adequate security in place to protect the data you transmit between the site ... More About: Keys , Stroke , Logger
Math Trick Video: Multiplying Made Easy
2006-12-23 13:57:02 The Best Multi plication Method! - video powered by MetacafeSome kids, and probably adults too, have problems with math. This video will show you how to multiply two numbers by drawing it out on paper. You can't get the answer wrong again if you remember this trick. Even if you're good at math, you will probably appreciate the way it's done. More About: Video , Rick , Trick , Math
NVIDIA Graphics Relieve Burn Victims From Pain
2006-12-22 19:55:01 VR pain distraction through SnowWorld, a game in which patients get a floating feeling and can throw snowballs at penguins, snowmen, etc. Their studies show 40-50% lower pain ratings as a result. Patients wear a helmet to hook up to the virtual world. Read more in the article. Good to see them involved in this stuff. Gaming sure is good for something :-PSevere burns are some of the most painful injuries imaginable. Patients require daily care to clean the wound and daily physical therapy to stretch the newly healed skin. Despite aggressive use of medication, the majority of burn patients report severe to excruciating pain during wound care. More About: Graphics , Pain , Graphic , Graph , Victims
Google CSE suffer from SrS
2006-12-22 07:54:04 SrS is Supplemental Results Syndrome. It is a Custom Search Engine disease that Googl e is going to fix eventually. We don't know when though.Say you have a blog like mine, and you're not up there with the big boys yet, then you probably suffer from SrS. No page rank, no backlinks, not enough search results.This is really putting a domper on the excitement of having a CSE. Many thousands of people have created Custom Search Engines already and find out that certain sites don't show up in the results. We are anxiously waiting for Google to fix it, and release Co-op out of Beta.When that day comes, my CSE will work too. You can still add yourself to the sites-list, so you will be searched when we have the cure for SrS.Click here for my CSE, which searches all Tech Blogs!
Destruction! So much fun... (blush)
More articles from this author:2006-12-22 07:54:04 My job as a tech gives me the opportunity to declare hardware as obsolete or uneconomical to repair. In the last week or two we've had a good cleaning around the work place and that turned out to be loads of fun. How often do you get to throw monitors, about 200 old hard disk drives, printers, scanners, and other stuff as hard as you can into a big container? I should have made some pictures to post, man! Anyway, today my coworker and I had a load of cables, an old phone, mice, keyboards, external modems, and other stuff to throw and tear apart. Even a couple of old servers! I guess the lesson is: How much fun it is to be destructive when you can!! By the way, if you haven't seen the movie Office Space, you have got to get/rent/borrow it!! A classic must see. More About: Fun , Destruction , Lush , Much , Blush 1, 2, 3 |
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