Drop Box

I've started using Dropbox to sync my files and make them available online at other locations. I find that having access to the most up-to-date version of a file across a number of devices is invaluable for saving time and effort.

Automation is king.

Update (2 Jan 2011): just successfully transferred a very large (44mb) PDF from my computer to the ipad via DropBox. Was the only program that succeeded. iTunes failed to do the same thing. Kept timing out.

PS: If you use the link on this blog to get to Dropbox then we both get an additional 250mb storage. They are offering 2gb for free which is enough for casual use.

Torchwood wallpaper

I created a simple black wallpaper with the Torchwood logo from the BBC television series for personal use.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners etc...

USB device not recognised error

I recently moved job locations and plugged my flash drive into a Windows XP computer with no problems at all.
After a few days, however, the dreaded "USB device not recognised" error appeared.
I tried all the solutions online:

• Turn computer power off at the wall
• Uninstall USB drivers
• Set USB sleep timer to never

None of them worked. I then realised that I had mapped a network drive to a new letter just before the problem appeared.
I went to http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html and downloaded the USB Drive Letter Manager and edited the ini file to manually force the USB drives to the letter I specified.
It worked! I haven't had any issues since.

Getting Things Done

Here's a site I visited when I got started in GTD:
http://www.43folders.com/2004/09/03/introducing-the-hipster-pda
I carried one of these with a small number of cards for capturing data when it would take too long to get the right program running on my PDA.

I also made a couple PocketMods http://www.pocketmod.com/ to carry around.

And you moght find this useful:
http://patrickrhone.com/2006/05/12/org-fu-uberpost-productivity-whitepaper/

Add a good 4 colour pen to code entries and you're ready to rock.

Catastrophic failure of hard drive

I recently suffered from a hard drive failure that erased 2 weeks of data.
In order to prevent this from happening again, I've decided to move as many files and activities as possible online. This means using a number of web sites to complete work I would normally do on my computer.
Why do this, you ask?

Nokia factory reset code

*#7370#

 

Nokia N95 MAC address

To get the N95's Mac address.. type this in..

*#62209526#

 

Converting movies for PDAs

If the movie is a 16:9 ratio film then convert to 320px x 136px for the best option of viewing.

Making your own ringtones from mp3, wav or midi files

Use Hamienet's free midi converter to convert mid files to mp3 or wav.

Use Efficient converter to convert audio files to wav.

Use Audacity to clip the file to the sample you want. Save as wav or mp3. (You'll need lame encoder for the mp3 part or use Efficient converter again.)

If you have a Windows Mobile device that can't use mp3 as a ringtone then convert your file to wma using Efficient converter.

101 Freebies

This list of free software was compiled with the help of over 1800 computer users. It's a great place to look before you buy that expensive package. There is probably a free alternative that will still do the job.

PDF viewer

Need more that the free Adobe Acrobat Reader offers?

Get the free PDF-XCHANGE Viewer instead.

PDF-Xchange allows you to add comments, sticky notes and highlights. Then save the file and send it for review.

A handy utility for anyone who needs to share and comment on pdf files.

And did I mention it's free!

Pocket PC software

Here's a list fo sites I visit for software for my Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) device:

http://www.freewareppc.com/
http://freecabs.org/
http://marcusvorwaller.com/blog/archives/2004/06/02/the-best-pocket-pc-freeware/
http://ppc-resource.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html

Really fast buttons

This technique can be used to make good looking buttons in a very short time.

1. Open a new document in your favourite graphics program.
2. Create a rounded rectangle to the size you require.
3. Add a drop shadow: Distance 0, Softness 3.
4. Add another rounded rectangle. This one should be half as high as the first with 1 pixel on the top, left and right sides.
5. Create a gradient on the new rectangle. It should be fully white with full opacity on the top and 35% on the bottom. Drop the total opacity of this box to 35%.
6. Add your text in white.
   
7. Drop the opacity of your text to 65%.

That's it. You can now change the fill colour of the first rectangle to whatever you want to make new buttons. If your new colour is very light, then change the text colour to black and raise the highlight rectangle opacity to 65%. If you wish, give the first rectangle an outline of a slightly lighter or darker colour than the fill.

Here are some examples:

Open Source Flash for Artists: FlashDevelop Resources

Just a quick one. Was looking for an Open Source version of Flash where I could make quick, small animations.

Found this during the search:
Create Digital Motion » Open Source Flash for Artists: FlashDevelop Resources
It leads to this site: www.flashdevelop.org which has more power than I need at the moment but worth a look when I have more time.

Portable applications list

So what programs do I have on my thumb drive?

Here's a list of my regulars:

• 7-Zip - unRar, unzip, etc
  
• Clam - Anti-virus
  
• Cryptainer - file encrypter
  
• FileZilla - FTP
  
• Firefox with a few addons - browser
  
• FontMagic - graphics from fonts
  
• FontViewer - the name says it all
  
• FSCapture - Full Screen Capture
  
• Gaim - Multi-purpose chat program
  
• GIMP - Image manipulator
  
• Glass2k - make your windows transparent
  
• Inkscape - A vector drawing program
  
• Locknote - encrypt text files
  
• Notetab Lite - text file editor with a huge number of features
  
• NVU - web design
  
• OpenOffice - document editing to the extreme
  
• Scribus - desktop publishing
  
• WackGet - download assistant
  
• Restoration - file recovery - works on memory cards too
  
• Skype - if you don't know this one, you should download Skype
  today
  
• TrueCrypt - another encrypter
  
• UltraShredder - file erasing to NSA standards
  
• uTorrent - P2P file downloader
  
• VirtualDub - video capture
  
• web_downldr - Web Downloader
• XAMPP - web server
  
• XMPlay - Multimedia player
  
• X-MulePlus - another P2P program
  
• XnView - image viewer
  
• xplorer2_lite - file manager
  

apache friends - xampp for windows

I do a lot of web site development and testing. Rather than contantly uploading to a server, I test on my own computer.

This project has all the basics I need to test the site before making it live:
apache friends - xampp for windows

You'll find other systems like LINUX are supported from this site.

PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives | Your Digital Life, Anywhere™

Whenever I visit someone and they know that I am a fairly advanced computer user, I am asked to repair something or teach them how to use something or, in extreme cases, design something.

They don't always have the software I prefer and some don't even have Internet access so I can't download it.

Here is the solution.

I use Open Source and freeware software where possible. I donate to the projects that I use more than 5 times. And I load all the necessary software on a thumb drive and carry it with me.

Here's where to start:
PortableApps.com - Portable software for USB drives | Your Digital Life, Anywhere™

PocketMod: The Free Disposable Personal Organizer

Wow. A PDA that costs less than 10 cents. Well that's including the pencil. This is a fantastic way to keep those important bits of information handy and not have to worry about being thrown in the pool.

I especially like the PDF converter that allows you to add your own information.

I've always been a fan of Kirigami and this is a unique way of folding the paper into a book.

PocketMod: The Free Disposable Personal Organizer

RipIt4Me Official Site - A freeware utility that helps you backup your copy protected DVDs

I was wanting to watch an older DVD a couple of nights ago and found that the DVD had been scratched. I didn't have a scratch repair kit handy so I thought I'd try copying it to a new disk. Although the DVD player couldn't read it, I found that the computer could but had problems with some scenes pausing badly.

I downloaded RipIt4Me and ran it and found that the copy was successful. Hooray.

RipIt4Me Official Site - A freeware utility that helps you backup your copy protected DVDs

DOSBox, a x86 emulator with DOS

I was trying to run a DOS based program but couldn't see what it was doing because the frame rate was too high. DOSbox was the program I needed to slow things down. Now I can play those old games that has been lying around on floppy disk.

DOSBox, a x86 emulator with DOS