Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from October, 2009

Hide User Account In Windows 7

I have a home network consisting of all Microsoft Windows PCs. To make file sharing and networking easier, I create user accounts for all the users on my home network on every single computer. This works well with one small problem, each computer starts up with a welcome screen with every user listed, even though only one person really uses a particular computer. It's a small annoyance, but it bugged me a bit so I went out and searched out how to hide a user account in Windows 7 (this same tip will also work in Vista). If you have Windows XP just download TweakUI and their is an option in that free utility for hiding user accounts . So here is a quick guide on how to hide a user account in Windows 7. *IMPORTANT: before preceding,  know that if you hide your only administrator account you may have a very hard time getting back into your system as an administrator or logging on at all. So proceed with caution and make sure and then double check and make sure again that you are

Telus to Eliminate System Access Fees

Starting November 5th Canadian wireless provider  Telus will offer simple monthly plans that include everything in a single fee. Meaning their will not be any additional system access fees or 911 fees added to your monthly bill. The new plans called "Clear Choice" will replace the existing "Your Choice " plans. Although these new plans eliminate the system access fee of $6.95 and the 911 fee of $0.75 they also raise the monthly fee by $5.00, but basic voicemail is also included on the new plans whereas on the old plans it was an extra charge. All in all its a move in the right direction for consumers, even if it only means a savings of a few dollars a month. The main benefit to consumers is a simple "the price you see" is the "price you pay". No more seeing a great deal on a monthly plan and then seeing it go up by 30% after all the extras and system fees are added to the price. Here is a link to Telus's description of it's new &qu

Convert FLAC to MP3

Converting FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) to MP3 is a very simple process and one that can be performed using free software. In this post I will show you the method that I use to convert FLAC files to MP3, but their are many other ways to convert a FLAC file to an MP3 using different software and most of them work equally well. This method is just what has worked reliably for me and given me excellent sound quality. Convert FLAC to MP3 Using Foobar2000: *Note: that most of these steps only need to be performed once, and once all the settings are in place and saved it becomes almost a two step process to convert FLAC files to MP3s. 1) You will need two pieces of free software to convert a FLAC file to a MP3 file. First click on this link and download the LAME encoder for Windows . Next, click on this link to download Foobar2000 . 2) Unzip the LAME zip file and place the extracted Zip  folder in a location on your computer that you will remember. 3) Click on the downloade

Windows 7 vs. Vista

Since I have two laptops of similar specs, I decided to run a very unscientific experiment and make a Windows 7 and Vista compare video of the boot up of both laptops booting up at the same time. I installed one laptop with Windows 7 and the other with Windows Vista . Both laptops have similar, but not the same specs...Both laptops are HP dv2000 14.1" laptops with 3gigs of RAM. The main difference being the Vista laptop has a 1.83ghz Core 2 Duo and the Windows 7 laptop has a 1.83ghz Pentium Dual Core. Though in the video the boot-up times appear to be a tie, having used both operating systems I still feel that Windows 7 still feels faster and runs smoother than Vista. Just my 2 cents!

Canada Mobile Wireless Internet Plans for Rogers, Bell, Telus and Fido

I thought I would put together some data comparing Bell , Telus , Rogers  and  Fido , the four largest cell carriers in Canada and the rates they charge for their mobile wireless internet using the new USB Internet sticks that are available through all these carriers. After putting together all the data there isn't much difference between all four carriers when it comes to mobile wireless internet. So I am very much looking forward to seeing some new competition come in and hopefully drive some of these expensive data costs down. Here are all four Canadian mobile wireless internet plans: Telus Mobility Fixed Data Rate Plans: Monthly Fee Included Data Usage Cost per MB $25.00 500 MB $0.05 $30.00 1 GB $0.03 $60.00 3 GB $0.02 *Additional Data Rate: $0.05/MB Flexible Data Rate Plans: N/A - Telus does not offer flexible data rate plans Bell Mobility Fixed Data Rate Plans N/A - Bell only offers flexible data rate plans

Remove "On behalf of Gmail" from outgoing Gmail Email

I use Google's Gmail as my central email account where I have all my email from various accounts sent to. This has worked great with just one minor problem. When you sent email from Gmail using another email account then Gmail added "sent on behalf of Gmail" to your outgoing email address. So the sender always knew you sent the email through a Gmail account. Well there is now a solution, thanks to a recently added "send mail as" features to Gmail by Google. Follow the steps below to eliminate the "on behalf of Gmail" from outgoing emails sent from your Gmail account... 1) On your gmail email page, click on the "Settings" link in the upper right hand corner of the Gmail inbox page. 2) Once in settings, click on the "Accounts and Import" tab. 3) Go to the "Send mail as" section and click on the "Send mail from another address" button. 4) A new window will pop up. Enter the name you wish to see on

Why is the Google doodle logo a bar code today?

So why is the Google doodle logo a bar code today? Well according to the Bar Code 1 web page, the first patent filed for a bar code reading technology was filed 57 years ago today (October 7th) by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. Apparently neither Woodland or Silver profited much from this brilliant invention as they sold the rights to Philco who than sold the rights to RCA many years before it's first commercial use. Here is a link to a PDF of the bar code patent filed by Woodland and Silver from the Bar Code 1 website. Sources: The Christian Science Monitor - Horizons Blog Post: Google bar code logo - Latest in "doodle" line Bar Code 1 Web Site - www.adams1.com Wikipedia Entry - Norman Woodland

Request an Invitation to Google Wave

Google is slowly opening up their new Google Wave to select Gmail users, but you don't have to wait for an invite from Google. With past Google beta programs I have found that if you request an invite, then Googlewill invite you to their beta programs very soon after you make the request. So to request a Google Wave account, go to the Google Wave request an invitation page , enter your Gmail address and answer a few questions. Then just wait for Google to send you an invite, which should hopefully happen shortly.