Dear friends, my humble apologies for not keeping up with the blog! I am very busy with other business ventures as of late and haven’t had a chance to do any product reviews or any articles… I just wanted to let you all know that I’m not letting this blog project get away and I’m going to be picking it back up and keep better track of everything. Stay tuned!!!
The #1 Tip of all Tips: Don’t underestimate the power of the Help button!
Windows Vista Help: Help that really helps
Quote – (Byron Ricks)
Click Start and then click Help and Support. The Help and Support window will open. You’re in. You’ve already gone further than many, many others.
I bet that you’ll find your answer after reading just one or two topics, without hunting around the entire Help system. Here’s why:
• A new voice for Windows. No, it’s not Clippy II. Help is easier to understand than in previous versions of Windows. It uses the language you use. You’ll notice the difference.
• Help topics originate from your questions. We created topics based on common questions and problems. This is why Help topic titles often reflect the question you are likely asking or the problem you’re trying to solve. You’ll know it when you see it.
• Certain topics deliver certain types of content. Quick answers, procedures, troubleshooters, and FAQs give you answers quickly, while articles use a longer format to provide more information, best practices, and tips.
• Help has more than 750 illustrations and screen shots to show you the way.
Extra credit: Read all 2,000+ Help topics. Reward: You’ll know a lot about Windows.
Flaunt your skills as you help your family and friends with their computer problems.
Remove the arrow (Shortcut Overlay) without side effects (32 & 64-bit)
Most Tweak programs remove the arrows by renaming or removing the IsShortCut String Values from the registry. Windows uses this value to track links, if you remove or rename the IsShortCut value lots of programs and features that use links won’t work correctly -> in Vista the shortcuts in Favorite Links, Media Center and in the Games Explorer disappear or won’t work anymore.
The files in the zip file below remove the arrows the same way as TweakUI does in previous Windows versions; it refers the icon to another icon. If you refer it to a completely blank icon, the overlays turn black when you restart Explorer or Log Off and Log On again. Solution: I’ve created a blank icon with some transparent pixels and with the same sizes as the default arrow -> no more arrows & no black overlays. 
Install: If you used a program or a reg file that removed the IsShortCut values; merge RestoreArrow.reg to restore them. Copy Blank.ico to the Windows directory fromVista, so if you installed Vista on the D drive, copy it to D:\Windows\. Merge RemoveArrow.reg and Log Off or Restart your Computer.
Windows Vista 64-bit users: Merge RemoveArrow_[C].reg if you installed Vista on your C drive, Merge RemoveArrow_[D].reg if you installed Vista on your D drive. If you installed Vista on another drive, just edit one of the RemoveArrow_[X].reg files so that it points to the Windows directory of Vista.
Uninstall: Merge RestoreArrow.reg and remove Blank.ico from your Windows directory.
Log Off or Restart your computer.
> RemoveArrow.zip ( 2,87 KB )
Keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+Shift+Esc -> Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del -> Tasks Screen)
Ctrl+Shift+Enter -> Run an executable with elevated privileges
Windows logo key+1-0 -> Launch the shortcuts on the Quick Launch toolbar
Windows logo key+T -> Cycle through programs on the taskbar
Windows logo key+Tab -> Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Flip 3-D
Ctrl+Windows logo key+Tab -> Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Flip 3-D
Windows logo key+Spacebar -> Bring all gadgets to the front and select Windows Sidebar
Windows logo key+G -> Cycle through Sidebar gadgets
Windows logo key+X -> Open Windows Mobility Center
Open a folder and press & release Alt -> Show Menu Bar (also works in Internet Explorer)
• Full list of keyboard shortcuts in Vista
• Internet Explorer 7 Quick Reference Sheet
• Windows Mail keyboard shortcuts
Create an Elevated Command Prompt shortcut
Right click on your Command Prompt shortcut and select Properties.
Click on the Advanced button (at the Shortcut tab), check “Run As Administrator” and click on OK (twice).
UltiMouse Task Controller
This program turns the Mouse into a Task Controller without losing the default functionality of the Mouse Buttons.
Double Click Middle Mouse Button -> Window Switcher (Flip3D)
Back Button + Scroll Up/Down -> Cycle through programs on the Taskbar*
Middle Mouse Button + Scroll Up/Down -> Cycle through Sidebar Gadgets * NEW *
Back Button + Middle Mouse Button -> Up One Level (emulates the Up Button)
Forward Button + Scroll Up/Down -> Maximize/Restore selected program/window
Forward Button + Middle Mouse Button -> Close selected program/window
Middle Mouse Button + Back Button -> Minimize selected program/window
Middle Mouse Button + Forward Button -> Restore last Minimized program/window
Double Click Back Button -> Minimize All
Double Click Forward Button -> UnMinimize All
* When you release the Back Button, the selected program/window is activated.
Install: Copy UltiMouse.exe to anywhere you want and create a shortcut in the Startup folder.
It runs hidden in the background, you can close it with Task Manager.
> UltiMouse.zip ( 171 KB )
Vista Orb Clock for Windows Sidebar
This gadget contains 12 skins based on the icons and logo from Windows Vista: 5 Vista Orbs, Windows Media Center, Windows Live, Windows Media Player, a CD, 2 Globes & the blue compass from Guided Help.
Tip: You can drag the gadgets to you desktop and use them as Desktop Gadgets (like AveDesk & Samurize).
When you right click on the Sidebar and select close, the Sidebar minimizes to the system tray & the Desktop Gadgets are still on the desktop.
> VistaOrbClock.zip ( 698 KB )
Customize the appearance of Windows Sidebar
Windows Sidebar Styler is an application designed to allow users to tweak the Sidebar’s User Interface.
Custom styles allow users to customize the appearance of Windows Sidebar so that it fits the style of other UI elements, such as the Aero Glass colorization or third party themes.
You can save your visual styles and share them with other users.
Windows Sidebar Styler also adds support for WPF Gadgets; Gadgets now take full advantage of Windows Presentation Foundation – a powerful managed code-oriented framework for presenting rich visual compositions such as vector graphics, 3D drawing, animations and more.
Original: 
Minimalistic Style: 
The visual styles below remove the grey Panel background, the “Add Gadgets” button + the Close, Config & the Gripper buttons that appear when you hover over the Gadgets (see image above). You can still access these functions in the right click menu from the Sidebar & Gadgets. The MinimalistiClear Style also removes the backgrounds.
| Homepage | Forum | Binaries: 32-bit, 64-bit | Minimalistic.wsstyles | MinimalistiClear.wsstyles |
Convert web widgets into gadgets for Windows Sidebar
With Amnesty™ Generator you can convert millions of web widgets, games and videos – designed to live on home pages, blogs or MySpace – into gadgets for your Sidebar.
Key Features:
• Create gadgets without coding experience
• Autofill feature does the work for you
• Inline step-by-step instructions included
• Supports Flash widgets, games and video
| Homepage | Direct Download | F.A.Q. |
Deleting the Undeletable (source)
Quote – (Tim Sneath)
As many of us move forward from Windows XP or prior beta versions of Windows Vista to the final RTM version, I thought this little tip might be in order. You may be aware that Windows Vista includes a number of different ways to upgrade a computer, from a straight in-place upgrade (insert CD, run setup and choose upgrade) to Windows Easy Transfer, which allows you to copy settings, programs and data from an old setup a fresh shiny new OS environment. In doing this, it’s not unusual to find some folders that can’t be accessed, even by an administrator, because their ACLs were set for accounts with SIDs that applied to an old partition.
How do you take it back? -> The secret lies in two command-line utilities, one ancient, the other completely revised for this release. Respectively, these are takeown (which takes ownership of a file or directory) and icacls (which sets new ACLs on that directory). I created a small batch command on my system called itsmine.cmd, as follows:
takeown /f %1 /r /d y
icacls %1 /grant administrators:F /t
From an elevated command prompt, you can run a command such as itsmine D:\hard_to_delete and this will reset ownership and ACLs on the hard_to_delete directory such that a command like rd /s D:\hard_to_delete should work.
Take Ownership Context Menu Item
TakeOwn.reg adds a Take Ownership Context Menu Item to all files and folders. It opens an Elevated Command Prompt which recovers full access to the selected file / directory, sub directories and their content.
You can access the Context Menu Item by holding down Shift + right-click on a file or folder.
If you want to access the Take Ownership Context Menu Item on an exe file, you must merge “RunAsAdmin_Exe-.reg”; this reg file removes the “Run as Administrator” Context Menu Item from all exe files (they both use the runas key). Merge “RunAsAdmin_Exe+.reg” if you want to restore the “Run as Administrator” Context Menu Item.
Install: Merge TakeOwn+.reg
Uninstall: Merge TakeOwn-.reg
> TakeOwn.zip ( 1,99 KB )
Enable Advanced Disk Performance
When enabled, the hard disk drive operates in write-back cache mode, in which all the data that gets written to the drive is first stored in the cache, and then later written to the disk. Both writes and reads are cached in this case. When disabled, the HDD operates in write-through cache mode, in which all data that gets written to the drive is immediately written to the disks and also stored in the cache. Writes are not cached, but reads are.
Note: This setting is recommended only for disks with a backup power supply, it further improves disk performance, but it also increases the risk of data loss if the disk loses power.
Open Device Manager, expand Disk drives, right-click on a Disk drive, click Properties, click the Policies tab, select the Enable advanced performance check box, and then click OK.
Resize the Details Pane
Right-click on an empty part of the Details Pane and select one of the sizes:
Customize / hide the Favorite Links list
The Navigation Pane is devided into two sections: Favorite Links & Folders.
The Favorite Links contains links to commonly used folders and saved searches.
You can add new links by dragging folders and/or saved searches into the list.
You can also drag folders from the Folders list to the Favorite Links section.
This is a convenient way to quickly access folders and searches you use often.
You can reposition a link by dragging it to the position where you want it to be.
To remove a link from the list, right-click on the link and select Remove Link.
Restore default links: right-click a blank area and select Restore Default Favorite Links.
Hide Favorite Links: drag the Folders list to the top of the Navigation Pane (see picture).
Shell Commands for Windows Vista (source)
The shell: command can be used to open a special folder directly from the Start, Search menu. For example, the command shell:SendTo opens the SendTo folder (%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo). To launch the Documents folder of your User Profile, you’d type shell:Personal. Below is a complete shell: commands listing for Windows Vista. The entire listing is stored in the following registry key in Windows Vista:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\FolderDescriptions]
shell: commands for Windows Vista:
shell:AddNewProgramsFolder – shell:Administrative Tools – shell:AppData – shell:AppUpdatesFolder – shell:Cache – shell:CD Burning – shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder – shell:Common Administrative Tools – shell:Common AppData – shell:Common Desktop – shell:Common Documents – shell:Common Programs – shell:Common Start Menu – shell:Common Startup – shell:Common Templates – shell:CommonDownloads – shell:CommonMusic – shell:CommonPictures – shell:CommonVideo – shell:ConflictFolder – shell:ConnectionsFolder – shell:Contacts – shell:ControlPanelFolder – shell:Cookies – shell:CredentialManager – shell:CryptoKeys – shell:CSCFolder – shell:Default Gadgets – shell:Desktop – shell:Downloads – shell:DpapiKeys – shell:Favorites – shell:Fonts – shell:Gadgets – shell:Games – shell:GameTasks – shell:History – shell:InternetFolder – shell:Links – shell:Local AppData – shell:LocalAppDataLow – shell:LocalizedResourcesDir – shell:MAPIFolder – shell:My Music – shell:My Pictures – shell:My Video – shell:MyComputerFolder – shell:NetHood – shell:NetworkPlacesFolder – shell:OEM Links – shell:Original Images – shell:Personal – shell:PhotoAlbums – shell:Playlists – shell:PrintersFolder – shell:PrintHood – shell:Profile – shell:ProgramFiles – shell:ProgramFilesCommon – shell:ProgramFilesCommonX86 – shell:ProgramFilesX86 – shell:Programs – shell:Public – shell:PublicGameTasks – shell:Quick Launch – shell:Recent – shell:RecycleBinFolder – shell:ResourceDir – shell:SampleMusic – shell:SamplePictures – shell:SamplePlaylists – shell:SampleVideos – shell:SavedGames – shell:Searches – shell:SearchHomeFolder – shell:SendTo – shell:Start Menu – shell:Startup – shell:SyncCenterFolder – shell:SyncResultsFolder – shell:SyncSetupFolder – shell:System – shell:SystemCertificates – shell:SystemX86 – shell:Templates – shell:TreePropertiesFolder – shell:UserProfiles – shell:UsersFilesFolder – shell:Windows
Repartition a hard disk by using the Shrink feature
Note: Backup Operator or Administrator is the minimum membership required to complete the actions below.
Caution: If the partition is a raw partition (that is, one without a file system) that contains data (such as a database file), shrinking the partition may destroy the data! For detailed information, open Disk Management, click Help on the menu bar, click Manage Basic Volumes, and then click Shrink a Basic Volume.
Shrink an existing partition to create new unallocated space, from which you can create a new partition:
Open the Start Menu, right-click on Computer, click Manage, expand Storage & select Disk Management.
Right-click a partition, select Shrink Volume, Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB & click Shrink.
Right-click the new unallocated space, click New simple volume, click Next, Enter the Simple volume size in MB, click Next, assign a drive letter, click Next, Enter the Volume label, click Next, and then click Finish.
Enable support for 4GB of RAM (or more) in Vista 32-bit
On a computer that has 4 GB of RAM, the System Properties dialog box and the System Information dialog box may report less memory than you expect. This problem occurs because the address space is limited to 4 GB in a 32-bit hardware environment. Memory may be relocated to make room for addresses that the basic input/output system (BIOS) reserves for hardware. However, because of this limitation, Windows Vista cannot access memory that is relocated above the 4 GB boundary.
Solution: Open an elevated Command Prompt, type BCDEdit /set pae ForceEnable and press Enter.
The pae parameter enables Physical Address Extension (PAE). On 32-bit versions of Windows, PAE is disabled by default. PAE is an addressing strategy that uses a page-translation hierarchy to enable systems with 32-bit addressing to address more than 4 GB of physical memory. PAE also supports several advanced system and processor features, such as Data Execution Prevention (DEP; “No execute”), Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA), and hot-add memory, so it is also used on computers with less than 4 GB of memory. PAE must be supported by the processor.
On a computer that supports hardware-enabled Data Execution Prevention (DEP), PAE is automatically enabled when DEP is enabled and automatically disabled when you disable DEP. To enable PAE when DEP is disabled, you must enable PAE explicitly: Open an elevated Command Prompt.
Type BCDEdit /set nx AlwaysOff & BCDEdit /set pae ForceEnable and press Enter.
Info & Sources:
• Memory Limits for Windows Releases
• Windows Vista may report less memory than you expect
• Boot Parameters to Configure DEP and PAE
• BCDEdit /set Parameters
Advanced Searches & Natural Language Search
Windows will usually search for whatever you enter in the Search box by looking in the file name, file contents, and file properties of all the files in the current view. Type “Summer,” for example, and it will find files named “sunset in summer.jpg,” files tagged with “summer,” and files written by anyone named Summer.
Vista’s Search engine uses the Windows Desktop Search query syntax. If you want to search more selectively, you can filter your search by specifying which file property to search. To filter by file property, separate the name of the property and the search term with a colon, as in these examples:
kind: music artist: Sting -> Find music files from the artist Sting.
Name: Sunset -> Find only files that have the word sunset in the file name.
Modified: 05/25/2006 -> Find only files that have been modified on that date.
You can filter by any property that appears in the file list headings. To see the complete list of properties that you can filter by, right-click the heading you want to see properties for, and then click More. Using Boolean filters is another way to perform a more precise search, you can combine them with other search filters:
tropical AND island -> Find files that contain both words “tropical” and “island”.
tropical NOT island -> Find files that contain the word “tropical”, but not “island”.
tropical OR island -> Find files that contain either of the words “tropical” or “island”.
“tropical island“ -> Find files that contain the exact phrase “tropical island”.
(tropical island) -> Find files that contain both words “tropical” and “island”, in any order.
date: > 01/05/06 -> Find files that are more than or later than a certain value, such as after 01/05/06.
size: < 4 MB -> Find files that are less than or earlier than a certain value, such as less than 4 MB.
Note: When you type Boolean filters like AND or OR, you need to use all capital letters!
If you turn on Natural Language Search, you can perform searches in a simpler way, without using colons and without the need to enter AND and OR in capital letters. For example, compare these searches:
Without natural language: kind: music artist: (Beethoven OR Mozart)
With natural language: music Beethoven or Mozart
To turn on Natural Language Search: Open the Control Panel, click Appearance and Personalization, click Folder Options, click the Search tab, select the Use natural language search check box, click Apply and then click OK.
Extend the Start Menu Search functionality with Start++
Brandon Paddock (Brandon Live), who works on Search technology for Windows at Microsoft, developed a very useful add-on to Vista’s Start Menu Search box: Start++, it extends the Start Menu Search box, the Run box and the command-line with customizable commands, you can set these commands to run with administrator privileges (sudo command). You can create an alias for anything you want and export it so you can share it with other users.
Type playartist Nightwish and it performs a search for music with the artist Nightwish, writes the results to a .M3U file and play it in Windows Media Player. Type g hullabaloo to search for hullabaloo on Google.
Picture Gadget ^^: Type pic into the Start Menu Search box followed by your query terms.
| Homepage | Download | Start++ thread @ Neowin | Start++ Commands | Shared Startlets |
Change services according to your computer config
• Windows Vista Service Configurations by Black Viper
• Disabling Services guide by Slimy
• SpeedyVista – Service Guide
Generate a System Diagnostics report (view details about system health and performance)
Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor uses performance counters, event trace data, and configuration information, which can be combined into Data Collector Sets. You can generate a report detailing the status of local hardware resources, system response times, and processes on the local computer along with system information and configuration data. This report includes suggestions for ways to maximize performance and streamline system operation.
Open the Control Panel, click Performance Information and Tools, click Advanced Tools (Tasks pane on the left), click Generate a System Health report. Or,.. press the Windows button, type perfmon /report and press Enter.
Enable or disable Secure Logon (Ctrl+Alt+Delete)
It’s important to keep your computer as secure as possible. One way to do so is to enable Secure Logon so that you are required to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to log on. Using secure logon provides an additional layer of security for your computer by ensuring that the authentic Windows logon screen appears. When secure logon is enabled, no other program (such as a virus or spyware) can intercept your user name and password as you enter it.
Open Advanced User Accounts -> Press the Windows button, type netplwiz and press Enter.
Click the Advanced tab, select the Require users to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete check box, and then click OK.
Turn Windows Features on or off
Some programs and features that are included with Windows, such as Internet Information Services, must be turned on before you can use them. Certain other features are turned on by default, but you can turn them off if you don’t use them.
In earlier versions of Windows, to turn a feature off you had to uninstall it completely from your computer. In this version of Windows, the features remain stored on your hard disk, so you can turn them back on if you want to. Turning off a feature does not uninstall the feature, and it does not reduce the amount of hard disk space used by Windows features.
Open the Control Panel, click Programs, click Turn Windows features on or off in the Programs and Features section (see picture above). Or,.. press the Windows button, type OptionalFeatures and press Enter.
To turn a Windows feature on, select the check box next to the feature.
To turn a Windows feature off, clear the check box.
Switch, Change or Set 64-Bit WMP11 in Vista x64 as Default (source)
Quote – (My Digital Life)
In Windows Vista x64, the 32-bit edition of Windows Media Player 11 (WMP 11) is set as the default Windows Media Player. This is done to avoid and reduce any compatibility issues or problems that may arise with codecs or other DirectShow related plug-ins or add-ons that majority of them still built for 32-bit operating system. However, if you decide to use the 64-bit version of WMP11 with your 64bit version of Windows Vista, especially now that more and more codecs support 64-bit computing platform, and a x64 FFDShow codec which can decode virtually any audio or video media files has been released, you can use a few easy methods to launch 64 bit WMP11 or simply switch, change or swap the system default media player to x64 Windows Media Player, and revert back to x86 version when you need to.
By default, the 32-bit WMP 11 x86 is located at path of %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player, and 64-bit WMP11 x64 is located at folder of %ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player. So the first method to use 64-bit Windows Media Player is by launching WMP from its x64 location.
Press the Start button, type %Programfiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe and press Enter. Alternatively, you can create a shortcut with target and location set to the above, and place the shortcut on the Desktop or in Quick Launch for easy access.
Second method: You need to perform 2 steps each to swap to 64-bit version or to undo the change back to 32-bit version WMP. The unregmp2.exe command (first step) changes the operating system shortcuts to point to WMP 64bit, while the second registry step changes the file associations default program to WMP64-bit, which determines which program will be used when you double click on a media file.
Open an Elevated Command Prompt, type unregmp2 /SwapTo:64 and press Enter.
Then, open the Registry Editor (regedit), then navigate to the the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\wmplayer.exe. Set the registry subkey Path to be %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Media Player, and the (Default) subkey to “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe” (include quotes).
To undo the x64 change, open an Elevated Command Prompt, type unregmp2 /SwapTo:32 and press Enter.
Then, open the Registry Editor, and reset the value for registry subkey of Path and (Default).
With either one of two methods, you will have complete full x64 Windows Media Player experience.
Make your Admin account act like in XP
Make your Vista’s admin account act like in XP guide by Tantawi
Replace Vista’s startup sound
How to replace Vista’s startup sound guide by rm20010
Change the Start Menu Power button to Shut Down instead of Sleep
Open the Control Panel and click on Power Options. Select the Power Plan that you want to use and click on “Change plan settings”. Click on Change advanced power settings, double click on “Power buttons and lid”. Double click on “Start menu power button”, change the Setting to Shut down.
Or,.. merge PowerButtonShutdown.reg and Log off or Restart to apply changes.
> PowerButton.zip ( 1,31 KB )
Windows 2000 Style Shut Down Dialog Box
Select the Taskbar or the Desktop and press Alt+F4.
I’ve created a little app that opens the same Dialog Box, just extract it to anywhere you want and create a shortcut in Quick Launch. 
> ShutDDB.zip ( 208 KB )
Extended Disc Cleanup
The command line parameters sageset & sagerun still work in Vista. You can set it to delete files from a previous Windows installation, error dump files, Temporary Windows installation files, Thumbnails, Files discarded by Windows upgrade, Error Reporting Files, ect. Note: It performs a Disc Cleanup on all disks.
You can use the shortcut in the attached zip file or create a new shortcut with this command line:
%SystemRoot%\System32\Cmd.exe /c Cleanmgr /sageset:65535 & Cleanmgr /sagerun:65535
Edit the shortcut (Right click and select Properties), set it to run Minimized and change the Icon to %SystemRoot%\System32\Cleanmgr.exe.
> ExtendedDiscCleanup.zip ( 660 bytes )
Add Search Providers to Internet Explorer 7
To add a provider to the Internet Explorer 7 Instant Search box, click on the down arrow (next to the search glass) at the Search box & click on “Find More Providers”. Select one of the Web Search or Topic Search provider’s to add them to the list, you can add custom Search provider’s in the Create Your Own section on the right.
You can switch the search provider by clicking on the down arrow at the Search box -> select the provider that you want to use. The search provider’s are saved in the registry, I’ve exported some of my favorites, just merge them + restart Internet Explorer and they are added to the list.
The zip file below contains the following SearchScopes:
• deviantART – All, Digital Art, Icons, Photography, Skins & Themes + Wallpapers (find that lost wallpaper 
)
• Event ID (Enter an Event ID number to get the description)
• Google & Google Image Search
• IMDb Search (Movie Database)
• Ixquick Metasearch & Ixquick Picturesearch
• MetaCrawler
• MSDN Enhanced Search
• Neowin Forums 
• SourceForge.net
• Wikipedia
• YouTube
> SearchScopes.zip ( 10,8 KB )
Add Internet Explorer to the Desktop (with Context Menu like in Windows XP)
Add: merge IE2Desktop.reg
Remove: merge IE2Desktop-.reg
> IE2Desktop.zip ( 624 bytes )
Enable Data Execution Prevention (DEP) in Internet Explorer 7 (source)
Because browsers can host plug-in extensibility, security settings within the browser can make plug-ins fail. This is why in Internet Explorer 7 Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is off by default. Two of the most well-known and commonly used browser plug-ins, the Adobe Acrobat/Reader browser helper object and the Adobe Flash Player, now run when DEP is enabled. You can enable DEP by navigating to the following dialog and checking the highlighted option shown below (note, you must elevated to admin first, otherwise the option is grayed out).
Windows Media Center: Command Line Parameters
These Command Line Switches launches Windows Media Center and cause it to navigate directly to one of the built-in experiences:
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /directmedia:discplayback - Begins playback of the disc in the drive
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:VideoFullscreen.xml /PushStartPage:True – Live TV
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:VideoGuide.xml /PushStartPage:True – TV Guide
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:RecordedTV.BrowsePage.xml /PushStartPage:True – Recorded TV
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:VideoToBeRecorded.xml /PushStartPage:True – Scheduled Recordings
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:Radio.BrowsePage.xml /PushStartPage:True – Radio
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:Radio.xml – FM Radio
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:MusicBrowsePage.xml /PushStartPage:True – Music Library
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:VideosBrowsePage.xml /PushStartPage:True – Video Library
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:PhotosBrowsePage.xml /PushStartPage:True – Picture Library
%SystemRoot%\ehome\ehshell.exe /homepage:Options.Home.xml /PushStartPage:True – Settings Menu
Edit the Boot Configuration Data (BCD)
EasyBCD is NeoSmart Technologies’ multiple award-winning answer to tweaking the new Windows Vista bootloader. With EasyBCD, almost anything is possible. Setting up and configuring Windows boot entries is simple, and there is no easier way to quickly boot right into Linux, Mac OS X, or BSD straight from the Windows Vista bootloader – on the fly, no expert knowledge needed!
Automated MBR and BCD backups, boot sector restore kits, support for a dozen+ operating systems, detailed configuration of all boot entries, and award-winning guaranteed technical support is what makes EasyBCD stand out – all for free!
Configuring User Account Control (UAC)
• What is User Account Control
• User Account Control Step by Step Guide
• Configuring User Account Control settings
If you want to reduce your mouse clicks by at least 25%, here’s how to turn it off: Open the Start Menu and click on your User Picture, click Turn User Account Control on or Off, clear the “Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer” check box, click OK and restart your computer.
Make User Account Control (UAC) Stop Blacking Out the Screen (source)
Windows Vista Business/Ultimate Users:
To get to the configuration screen for this, type in security to the start menu search box.
You should see the Local Security Policy as the top search item.
In the Local Security Policy window, browse down to Local Policies \ Security Options.
Over in the right hand part of the window, scroll down near the bottom and find the item titled “User Account Control: Switch to the secure desktop when prompting for elevation”
Double-click on the item, and change it to disabled and then click OK.
Note: This does make your system slightly less secure, so be warned.
Windows Vista Home Users:
Press the Windows key, type regedit and press Enter. Browse down to this registry key:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
You should see a key called PromptOnSecureDesktop. Double-click this and change the value to 0
Use BitLocker Drive Encryption without TPM chip (source)
Quote – (TweakVista)
Windows Vista includes a new hard drive encryption feature called BitLocker Drive Encryption. BitLocker can be a very useful security feature for businesses and home users that have sensitive and confidential information stored on their computer. Unfortunately, BitLocker Drive Encryption by default requires a Trusted Platform Module (TPM Chip) version 1.2 or later installed in your computer. A lot of the computers and laptops on the market do not come with TPM chips installed since they are typically only found in premium model business computers. If you have Windows Vista Business, Ultimate or Enterprise but do not have a TPM chip, you can still use BitLocker Drive Encryption.
Hidden away in local group policy is a setting that will allow you to turn on the ability to use a USB storage device instead of a TPM key to store the encryption key. This is a great feature for users that don’t have the latest high-end hardware because you can still use hard drive encryption. However, every time you turn on your computer, the USB storage device that has the encryption key located on it must be plugged in. Without it, your computer will not boot up. One BitLocker Drive Encryption is setup with a USB storage device, that USB storage device basically becomes the key to your computer.
Press the Windows button, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
Navigate through: Computer Policy, Administrative Templates, Windows Components and BitLocker Drive Encryption. Right click on Control Panel Setup: Enable advanced startup options and select Properties.
Check Enabled and click OK.
Toggle Check Boxes Context Menu Item
You can set up Windows to add check boxes to file views (see picture) to make it easier to select several files at once.
This gives you the option to select files without having to press keys on your keyboard, and helps ensure that you won’t accidentally lose your file selection if you click the wrong location.
You can enable this feature in “Folder and Search Options”:
Open a Folder, click the Organize button, click “Folder and Search Options”, click the View tab, select the Use check boxes to select items check box, and click OK.
The files in the zip file below add a “Toggle Check Boxes” Context Menu Item to all folders.
You can access the Context Menu Item by holding down Shift + right-click on/in a folder.
Install: Copy TCB.exe to your Windows directory and merge “Add ToggleCheckBoxes.reg”.
Uninstall: Remove TCB.exe from your Windows directory and merge “Remove ToggleCheckBoxes.reg”.
> ToggleCheckBoxes.zip ( 170 KB )
Enable the Aurora boot screen (source)
If you are tired of the default boot screen in Windows Vista, there is a better looking one hidden away:
1) Press the Windows button, type msconfig and press Enter.
2) If User Account Control prompts you to allow the action, click on Continue.
3) In the “System Configuration” window, click on the Boot tab.
4) Select your Windows Vista installation and under “Boot options”, check “No GUI boot”.
Press OK.
5) In the dialog that appears, check “Don’t show this message again”, and then click on Restart.
6) Your computer will now reboot, and you will see the Aurora boot screen with text that says “Starting Windows Vista”.
Disable Hibernation & delete the Hibernation file (source)
Windows places a file on your hard drive that it uses when your computer goes into hibernation mode. If you do not use hibernation mode, or your computer does not properly support it, you may want to disable hibernation and clear the file off your hard drive to free up some space (the file will use as much space as you have in physical memory, so if you have 1GB of RAM, it’s going to use 1GB of your hard drive space).
Disable Hibernation:
1. Click Start, All Programs, and then right click on “Command Prompt”.
2. From the context menu click on “Run as administrator”.
3. If User Account Control prompts you to allow the action, click on Continue.
4. In the command prompt window, type “powercfg –h off” (without the quotes).
4. Close the Command Prompt window.
Delete the Hibernation File:
1. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then click “Disk Cleanup”.
2. If prompted to choose a drive, select the drive in which Windows Vista is installed on to and press OK.
3. Disk Cleanup will scan the hard drive and present you with a list of options.
4. Check “Hibernation File Cleaner”, and then click OK.
5. When asked “Are you sure you want to permanently delete these files?” click on the Delete Files button.
Hidden Open Command Window Here Context Menu item
Open a folder, press Shift + Right Click -> Open Command Window Here
Nameless Recycle Bin
Everybody can see, by looking at the icon, that it’s the Recycle Bin right?.., so why name it?!
Merge RecycleBin_NoName.reg and refresh your Desktop and the name is gone.
Merge RecycleBin_Default.reg and refresh your Desktop to restore the name.
> NamelessRecycleBin.zip ( 881 bytes )
Enhanced Recycle Bin Menu
ERBM+.reg replaces the Delete command from the Recycle Bin with a Clear Temp command.
This prevents users from accidentally deleting the Recycle Bin Icon from the Desktop. 
It also adds a Disk Cleanup command which performs an Extended Disc Cleanup on all disks.
The Clear Temp command clears both Temp dirs: %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Temp and %SystemRoot%\Temp.
Install: merge ERBM+.reg
Uninstall: merge ERBM-.reg
> ERBM.zip ( 1,41 KB )
Add Window Switcher to the context menu from all folders
The reg file in the zip file below adds the Window Switcher (Flip 3D) command to the Right click menu from all folders (including the Desktop).
> Flip3D.zip ( 893 bytes )
Huuuuuuuge Icons on your Desktop
Click on your Desktop, press Ctrl + Scroll Up (this works in any folder).
You can make them larger then when you select Large Icons from the menu (Right Click -> View -> Large Icons).
Windows Defender: Command Line Parameters
Example: “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCui.exe” -Hide -CheckForUpdates
-Hide -> hide Windows Defender window
-UpdateAndQuickScan -> Check for Updates + launch Quick Scan
-CheckForUpdates -> Check for Updates
-FullScan -> Full System Scan
-QuickScan -> Quick Scan
-ScanResults -> Scan Results window
-Settings -> Options panel
-ShowSWE -> Software Explorer
-ShowSWE:Startup -> Software Explorer @ Startup programs
-ShowSWE:Running -> Software Explorer @ Currently running programs
-ShowSWE:Network -> Software Explorer @ Network-connected programs
Delete Browsing History commands (IE7)
• Delete Temporary Internet Files: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 8
• Delete Cookies: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 2
• Delete History: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 1
• Delete Form Data: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 16
• Delete Passwords: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 32
• Delete All: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 255
• Delete All + files and settings stored by Add-ons: RunDll32.exe InetCpl.cpl,ClearMyTracksByProcess 4351
Copy To Folder & Move To Folder Context Menu Items
The files in the zip file below add “Copy To Folder” & “Move To Folder” to the Context Menu from all files & folders.
Note: It won’t break the function of the “Play all” buttons. 
Install: Merge Copy_Move_To+.reg.
Uninstall: Merge Copy_Move_To-.reg.
> CopyMoveTo.zip ( 978 bytes )
Show/Hide System Files Context Menu Item
The files in the zip file below add a “Show/Hide System Files” Context Menu Item to all folders.
You can access the Context Menu Item by holding down Shift + right-click on/in a folder.
When you select it, it will Unhide or Hide the System Files and refresh the directory.
Install: Copy SuperHidden*.exe to your Windows directory and merge “Add SuperHidden*.reg”.
Uninstall: Remove SuperHidden*.exe from your Windows directory and merge “Remove SuperHidden.reg”.
* Differences between SuperHidden² & SuperHidden:
SuperHidden² -> Show/Hide System & Hidden files.
SuperHidden -> Show/Hide System files only.
> SuperHidden_Vista.zip ( 344 KB )
Show/Hide File Extensions Context Menu Item
The files in the zip file below add a “Show/Hide File Extensions” Context Menu Item to all folders.
You can access the Context Menu Item by holding down Shift + right-click on/in a folder.
It Hides or Unhides the File Extensions + refreshes the directory.
Install: Copy SHFileExt.exe to your System32 directory and merge “Add SHFileExt.reg”.
Uninstall: Remove SHFileExt.exe from your System32 directory and merge “Remove SHFileExt.reg”.
> SHFileExt_Vista.zip ( 206 KB )
MinUnMinAll – Toggle MinimizeAll/UndoMinimizeAll (alternative for Show Desktop)
The Show Desktop command minimizes all applications + it sets the Z-Order of the Desktop to topmost.
It also hides applications that you don’t want to hide: the Sidebar, docks, calendars, widgets, etc.
MinUnMinAll simply minimizes all applications that support the minimize operation (also works in XP).
Install: Copy MinUnMinAll.exe to anywhere you want and create a shortcut in Quick Launch.
> MinUnMinAll.zip ( 213 KB )
Replace the Win+D hotkey with Win+M – Win+Shift+M
Win+D.exe replaces the Win+D hotkey (Show Desktop) with Win+M – Win+Shift+M (Toggle MinimizeAll / UndoMinimizeAll). It runs hidden in the background, you can close it with Task Manager.
Install: Copy Win+D.exe to anywhere you want and create a shortcut in the Startup folder.
> Win+D.zip ( 203 KB )
Add the Run command to the Start Menu
Right-click on the Start Button and select Properties, click Customize, scroll down and check the Run command check box, click OK, click Apply and OK.
Start Menu Search box -> Run dialog box
You can use the Start Menu Search box to launch programs like the Run dialog box.
Quoted from http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/08/28/top_10_tech_toy.html:
Related Entries: Features
Just as cell phones are becoming ever more powerful übergadgets, and flat TV screens get larger even as their prices drop, so, too, do the gadgets of the upper crust further distance themselves from the trinkets of the masses. For better or worse, most of the guts of even the priciest pieces of tech are pretty much the same as those of the glitterati — even if the oil sheiks and Level III Scientologists of the world can afford to house those guts in 24-karat gold inlaid with Babe Ruth’s bone fragments.
Still, sometimes the superrich get what they pay for, or at least far more bang for their Black AmEx swipe than the Wal-Mart shoppers can get on layaway. Here are the 10 most extravagant electronics for the techy bajillionaires on your gift list, and be sure to come back tomorrow for our companion piece, the 10 Gadgets You Can Actually Afford.
10. Ultimate Ears UE-11 EarphonesBespoke suits, custom-made shirts, fitted ball caps — nothing bought off the rack can match the like-a-glove fit and comfort of customized men’s wear. The same perfection holds for customized in-ear monitors: earphones that require a visit to (or from) an audiologist to make a wax impression of the canals to shape precise molds, resulting in intrusive, yet perfectly comfortable ‘buds.
UE’s $1,150 phones are the company’s most sophisticated pro models yet, housing not a double but a quad armature speaker configuration with a three-way crossover. The results — delivered via dual subwoofers, a midrange driver, and a tweeter directly into your eardrum — is the most precise sound capable short of a miniaturized Christina Aguilera living in your brain. Ultimate Ears UE-11
9. Krell KID iPod DockWhen it comes to iPod docks, there are a lot of them: No audio-equipment manufacturer wants to be without one. So high-end component maker Krell introduced its own $1,200 entry this past January, attracting attention as the most expensive iPod accessory — an erroneous qualification, seeing as how there’s BMW that docks a ‘pod. No matter. Krell left out its supersensitive tubes when developing the Krell iPod Dock (disparagingly nicknamed by the acronym KID), instead optimizing the output of the iPod’s digital-to-analog converter. Otherwise, the KID serves its simple purpose of passing along iPod (or auxiliary Zune or other input) signals with panache, offering balanced outputs, bass and treble adjustments, and video out for the discerning entertainment rack. Krell KID
8. Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 HeadphonesWhen buying audio equipment, the rules of diminishing returns inevitably require we budget-minded folks avail ourselves of the cost-value proposition. Yes, $100 headphones sound better than $20 headphones, but do they sound 5 times better? And does that mean that $1,500 headphones sound 15 times better than $100 headphones? Of course the answer is not frickin’ likely. But when cost is no option, plugging in a pair of bass-heavy Bose phones into a $7,000 receiver is tantamount to casting Charlize Theron as the She-Thing in FF3.
Audio-Technica’s $1,670 striped ebony-cased cans (that’s wood — better material for producing richer sound) enhance acoustics, output precise audio fidelity, and reduce noise. Leather ear fittings provide a comfortable hold, but not even the unique wood-y look of the things can communicate “rich audiophile” anywhere outside a specialty show, nor can they diminish the dork factor of DJ-style headphones. Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 headphones
7. modPod Egg ChairFans of Men in Black (the movie — not the comic book, and definitely not the kid’s cartoon show) may recognize the iconic Egg Chair. Everyone else will recognize it from breakfast. And while the unique retro design isn’t conducive to test-taking, it’s rather ideal for sound immersion — hence, the iPod integration with surround sound speakers. Each chair is custom upholstered in a choice of fabric, adding to the appeal/cost; a model with shaken-not-stirred rumble action goes for $1,800. modPod Egg Chair
6. Bentley HumidorNothing says, “I have money to burn” like a smoldering cigar. True tobacco aficionados keep their imported-at-great-human-and-fiscal-cost Cubabos in unnecessarily expensive humidors. This $6,400 jobby is cased in solid walnut, spiced up with Burr Walnut veneer and details of ebony and silver; a premium Credo humidity regulator (humidifier and hydrometer) — ostensibly the mechanism that justifies its gadget designation — is the best of its kind. A winged Bentley logo adorns the front to remind guest tokers that his other car is a lot more impressive than whatever you rolled up in. Bentley Humidor
5. Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947
Cell PhoneIf the iPhone is the Mercedes sedan of cellies — superperforming, aspirational, slobber worthy — than this $7,500 phone is the… Ferrari GT — a showy, overstated midlife crisis wrapped up in metal and leather. “Exclusive handset crafters” Vertu (a subsidiary of flashy-forward cell maker Nokia) has tweaked the styles of its Ascent line to feature various automotive masterpieces; the individually numbered Ascent Ferrari 1947 phone gets its cues from the GT models of that obsessive Italian carmaker’s lineup, pairing hand-polished titanium with red and black leather, tarted up with black lacquer racing stripes and a to-scale aluminum brake pedal adorning the back.
Beyond sleek, racy good looks (we’ll grudgingly give it that), the Ascent, like all Vertus, connects directly to 24-hour concierge service, providing tech support and “creative and relevant solutions” to customers via a dedicated button — ostensibly saving the pampered class the trouble of texting GOOGLE for Web-accessible information. Vertu Ascent Ferrari 1947 Cell Phone
4. Xexoo Gold-Plated iPod ShuffleThe ubiquitous iPod provides a blank palette ripe for ostentatious individualized prettying up — graphic stickers, laser engraving, plastic molding and the like. How, then, to best enhance the appearance of the stylish gadget in a truly over-the-top fashion? Perhaps German company Xexoo looked to C-3PO for inspiration, as their solution involved covering up the base, pedestrian materials (plastic, aluminum) of Apple’s music players with gold — gold plating, to be precise.
A $19,000 Shuffle makes the most of little, adding diamond bling to its otherwise-$10,000, red carpet-worthy, 18-karat-covered accessory. 24-hour tech support — including damage repair and replacement worldwide — sweetens the deal, though for the price of 240-song storage on one Xexoo Shuffle, his majesty could also purchase Shuffles for each of his 240 servants/mistresses. Xexoo Gold-Plated iPod shuffle
3. Steinway Lyngdorf Model-D
Handmade Music SystemSteinway & Sons built its reputation on building flawless pianos like its concert grand Model-D. Peter Lyngdorf has built his reputation on building high-end hi-fi equipment. Put them together and the result is a $150,000 sound system, a completely digital, ultra-high-end beaut capable of reproducing a full symphony without any sound loss — thereby scaring the bejesus out of beyond-their-prime oboists who’ve been phoning it in for decades.
Each speaker tower weighs 500 pounds, has four 12-inch drivers, two 5-inch midranges and a single ribbon tweeter. The hefty cost includes a visit from a sound technician to do the installation and configuration to ensure that Mr. Moneybags can hear every last piccolo inhalation from any point in his listening room. The Model-D all but requires a shrine to audiophile addiction. Further ratcheting up the exclusivity, Steinway is hand-making just 100 systems, keeping the pristine pieces out of the hands of latecomers as well as us commoners. Steinway Lyngdorf Model-D Handmade Music System
2. Tulip Ego Diamond Notebook PCDutch company Ego has seen the future in laptop design, and it looks like a purse. As with high fashion, utility and practicality are boring when it comes to luxury gadgets — hence the wholly underwhelming tech specifications of these Tulip Egos: single-core AMD Turion processor, 12.1-inch screen, blah blah blah. But they are so gorgeous, darling!
Women and fancy boys can customize their pocketbooks, er, notebooks with their choice of skin (leather or other fabric) and by integrating designs like embroidered initials or symbols into the case — all tailor-made. And while prices start at $5,000, the gem of the appropriately branded Ego is a $350,000 diamond-encrusted Tulip. It’s named for the flower-shaped icon consisting of 470 diamonds Krazy-glued to the lid, certain to attract jealous looks from socialites and diamond thieves alike. Tulip Ego Diamond notebook PC
1. Fujitsu Super Frontech
Vision LD DisplaySure, there are 100-plus-inch flat screens out there, but Samsung, Sharp and LG aren’t likely to sell you one no matter how much scratch you bring to the electronics show. But anyone with a half-million holiday bonus (or 63 million Japanese Yen) still burning their extraordinarily large pockets can get their hands on (if not their arms around) this whoppingly huge-ormous 231-inch display consisting of huge LEDs. And as opposed to a Jumbotron, the 16-million-color monitor accepts a myriad of inputs, including DVI. Just don’t expect to see larger-than-life Katherine Heigl standing in your living room in full HD: the resolution’s a paltry 512 x 288 pixels, requiring a viewing distance of at least 15 feet. Fujitsu Super Frontech Vision LD display
Quoted from http://www.neomeme.net/2007/02/07/nine-cool-things-you-didnt-know-you-could-do-with-wikipedia%20:
Neomeme » Nine Cool Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Wikipedia
Nine Cool Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do With Wikipedia
Published by Ilya Lichtenstein on February 7, 2007 06:49 am under tutorial, Uncategorized
You probably know Wikipedia as the world’s largest encyclopedia, suitable for research on most any topic. You know you can look up terms, but what you may not know is that Wikipedia features a ton of other information that can do a lot more than help you with that research paper. Wikipedia can also be a:
And there you have it. I’ve only scratched the surface of the myriad uses of Wikipedia. It is truly an incredible resource I turn to time and time again. I conclude with this cartoon from xkcd, which pretty much sums everything up:
Quoted from http://no2google.wordpress.com/:
Life at Google – The MicrosoftiePerspective
June 24th, 2007 by trixter98052
The following has been making the rounds on just about every internal email list I belong to in Microsoft. Here it is to share a little insight with the rest of the world. Microsoft is an amazingly transparent company. Google is not. Any peek is a good peek.
Many of you were asking for the feedback I received from my interview with the former Google employee I hired into ABC Development as a Sr.SDE. Here it is. This candidate is also a former MS employee who left the company and founded a “Start-up” called XYZ. XYZ was purchased by Google and he was hired on as a Senior Software Engineer II / Technical Lead. Here is his take on Google’s environment as well as areas Microsoft should consider improving in order to be more competitive.
Enjoy
1. What is the culture really like? How many hours are people actually working? What are the least amount of hours you can work before you are looked down upon?
The culture at Google is very much like the old culture at Microsoft – back when the company felt like most employees were in their mid 20’s. These kids don’t have a life yet so they spend all of their time at work. Google provides nearly everything these people need from clothes (new T-shirts are placed in bins for people to grab *twice* a week!) to food – three, free, all-you-can-eat meals a day. Plus on-site health care, dental care, laundry service, gym, etc. Imagine going from college to this environment and you can see how much everyone works. People are generally in the building between 10am and about 6pm every day, but nearly everyone is on e-mail 24/7 and most people spend most of their evenings working from home.
This culture changes a bit with more experienced folks. They generally work 10a – 6pm like the new hires, and most of them are on email until around midnight. It’s pretty common for them to be working most of the evening, too.
2. 20% of your time on personal project. How many people actually get to use it? If so, how do they use it? Does Google own your personal project?
“20% is your benefit and your responsibility.”
In other words, it’s your job to carve out 20% of your work week for a project. If you don’t carve out the time, you don’t get it. Your project needs to be tacitly approved by your manager. Whatever it is, is owned by Google. If you’re organized, you can “save up” your 20% and use it all at once. It’s not unheard of for people to have months and months of “20% time” saved up.
Most people don’t actually have a 20% project. Most managers won’t remind you to start one.
3. What are the office arrangements like? Do you have an office or cube space?
Google believes that developers are, with few exceptions, interchangeable parts. This philosophy shows through in their office arrangements which in Mountain View are all over the map. There are glass-walled offices, there are open-space areas, there are cubicles, there are people who’s desks are literally in hallways because there’s no room anywhere else. There are even buildings that experiment with no pre-defined workspaces or workstations – cogs (err, people?) just take one of the available machines and desks when they get to work.
In terms of employees per square-foot, every Microsoft Building 9-sized office is a triple at Google.
Google doesn’t seem to think that private offices are valuable for technical staff. They’re wrong.
4. What is the management structure like (hierarchy)?
There are front-line developers, and then their manager. My manager had over 100 direct reports and is the common case for managers at Google. Managers quasi-own products and their employees tend to work on their projects, but not always. It’s possible for a developer on your product to actually work for a manager in research (a completely different division). This makes it really interesting at review time. Oh and conflict resolution between team members is very complex – the product’s manager isn’t involved day-to-day, probably doesn’t actually manage all of the peers who are trying to resolve a conflict, and likely hasn’t spent any time with their employees anyway.
The overall structure is:
tons (a hundred or more) of individual contributors report to
a middle manager who reports to
a division v.p. who reports to
the management team (Larry, Sergie, etc.)
5. Do they actually have plans for career development?
Not really. There is no career development plan from individual contributor to manager. Basically if you get good reviews, you get more money and a fancier title (“Senior Software Engineer II”) but that’s about it.
6. Who would you recommend Google to? Is it for the college kid or family type, worker bee or innovator?
College kids tend to like it because it’s just like college – all of their basic needs are taken care of. In fact, even most of your personal-life can get tied up in Google benefits. Google provides free or subsidized broadband to every employee. Google runs its own, private, bus lines in the Bay Area for employees. Google provides free or subsidized mobile phones. A college kid can literally join Google and, like they did as freshman at university, let Google take care of everything. Of course, if Google handles everything for you, it’s hard to think about leaving because of all the “stuff” you’ll need to transition and then manage for yourself.
Mid-timers, people who’ve worked at other places for a few years tend to be a mixed bag. For some, this is the first stability they’ve seen after a few failed startups. For others, this is the company that represents a “better” way to run a company than the company they worked at before. Either way, for these folks to succeed at Google they have to drink the cool-aid and duke it out with the college kids because Google doesn’t place any value on previous industry experience. (It puts tremendous value on degrees, especially Stanford ones).
“Old-timers” tend to like Google because they’re the ones who know to take the most advantage of the perks. These are the people who religiously take their 20% time, use as many of the services as possible, and focus on having a “peaceful” experience. They’re here to do a job, enjoy the perks, and that’s about it. They still put in a lot of hours, but the passion of the college kids isn’t there.
7. Please provide any additional information that you believe will help in our battle for talent against Google?
Make the food in the café free. If an employee eats an average of $15 of food per day (the actual average at Google which is closer to $10) it would cost Microsoft $3,750 per year per employee to offer 3 meals a day. Instead of increasing starting salaries, switch to free food. Give everyone else half the merit increases we would have gotten AND ANNOUNCE THE FREE FOOD AT THE SAME TIME. For that quoted $10 average Google provides free soda, free organic drinks (odwalla, naked juice), breakfast, lunch, and dinner (most people only eat lunch), free sport drinks (vitamin water, etc.), and free snacks (trail mixes, nuts, chips, candy, gum, cereal, granola bars).
That single benefit gets people to work earlier because hot breakfast is served only until 8:30. And since dinner isn’t served until 6:00 or 6:30 the people with a home-life tend to skip it.
Google actually pays less salary than Microsoft.
Google’s health insurance is actually not nearly as good as Microsoft’s.
Google has no facility for career growth. Microsoft has more, but could do better. Continuing Microsoft-specific education for things like project management, managing people, communication skills, etc. should be promoted. A structured career plan for each discipline would be great – e.g. training, experiences, milestones, etc. Paths like “Developer to Development Manager” “Developer to Technical Architect” which show what courses and experiences (e.g. being a mentor) are encouraged for the different paths.
Private offices for employees is a big benefit. See http://joelonsoftware.com/oldnews/pages/March2007.html. Play this up. Take a cue from Google and loosen up a little about offices. Let people call facilities and have their office painted any color they want. Have the standard office come with a guest chair and a brightly colored Microsoft branded bean-bag chair.
Google has the concept of “Tech Stops.” Each floor of each building has one. They handle all of the IT stuff for employees in the building including troubleshooting networks, machines, etc. If you’re having a problem you just walk into a Tech Stop and someone will fix it. They also have a variety of keyboards, mice, cables, etc. They’re the ones who order equipment, etc. In many ways the Tech Stop does some of what our admins do. If your laptop breaks you bring it to a Tech Stop and they fix it or give you another one (they move your data for you). If one of your test machines is old and crusty you bring it to the Tech Stop and they give you a new one. They track everything by swiping your ID when you “check out” an item. If you need more equipment than your job description allows, your manager just needs to approve the action. The Tech Stop idea is genius because:
1. You establish a relationship with your IT guy so technical problems stop being a big deal – you don’t waste a couple of hours trying to fix something before calling IT to find out it wasn’t your fault. You just drop in and say, “My network is down.”
2. Most IT problems are trivial when you’re in a room together (“oh that Ethernet cable is in the wrong port”)
3. The model of repair or replace within an hour is incredible for productivity.
4. It encourages a more flexible model for employees to define their OWN equipment needs. E.g. a “Developer” gets a workstation, a second workstation or a laptop, and a test machine. You’re free to visit the Tech Stop to swap any of the machines for any of the others in those categories. For example, I could stop by and swap my second workstation for a laptop because I’m working remotely a lot more now. In the Tech Stop system, this takes 5 minutes to walk down and tell the Tech Stop guy. If a machine is available, I get it right away. Otherwise they order it and drop it off when it arrives. In our current set up, I have to go convince my manager that I need a laptop, he needs to budget for it because it’s an additional machine, an admin has to order it, and in the end developers always end up with a growing collection of mostly useless “old” machines instead of a steady state of about 3 mostly up-to-date machines.
Quoted from http://parthsuthar.com/derive/2007/06/20/a-computer-so-small-it-fits-in-a-wall-socket/:
dérive » Blog Archive » A computer so small, it fits in a wall socket
A computer so small, it fits in a wall socket
June 20th, 2007
( text/image/link via sci fi > tech )
U.K. firm Jade Integration has unveiled a computer so small, it fits into a wall socket and is powered via Ethernet. The Jack PC, a rival to the smallest PC in the world, can hook up to a standard monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and runs Windows CE, the stripped-down version of Windows often used in portable devices. It comes with up to 64 MB of flash memory and 128 megs of RAM, so don’t expect to play Half-Life 2 on it, but it should be able to handle basic Internet functions decently. There’s no word on pricing yet, but the device gets its official release on June 15th at the IT Works Show in Newcastle.
— Adam Frucci
Jack PC: the wall socket PC, via Gizmodo
Quoted from http://www.wtfsrsly.com/yz.php:
Nine Inch Nails gives birth to a new culture
4/16/2007
Whenever there’s a truly remarkable fresh twist in hypes, trends and jokes on the net (like with all the 300 rage) WTFsrsly documents it. And something pretty remarkable has been going on the past month… A full leak of the new Nine Inch Nails album found its way to the web some time ago (you can also legally listen to it on the Year Zero site) and it generated online community activity like nothing else. And the hype is not stopping now that the album is finally officially released.
Every day music leaks online illegally before it is even available in stores, but what has happened to Nine Inch Nails’ new concept album Year Zero hasn’t really happened before. At least 3 tracks of the album have intentionally been leaked throughout the past month and every time it happened it generated an enormous amount of forum talk and often also scored a Digg top #10 item. The main reason this happened was the elaborate Alternate Reality Game that was set up for the album and which is still evolving even now after the album’s release. They set up a bunch of websites that look like they are run by people, organizations, freedom fighters, churches etc from this alternate reality in which the concept of the album takes place (i.e. http://www.iamtryingtobelieve.com). The websites are filled with secrets and subtle references to the album and all the hardcore fans immersed themselves in it and spent many hours a day exploring the secrets and mysteries of the concept through the game.
But what happened now with the album finally available in its entirety is even more amazing. Year Zero’s dystopian alternate reality draws a lot of parallels with real world problems such as the ‘War on Terror’ and global warming and this has inspired fans to go further than simply discussing these ideas on forums. It seems like there’s a genuine Year Zero ‘movement’ (and even sub-movements) coming about, fans are taking action to prevent the world from evolving to the in many aspects realistic grim future that is being portrayed on the album. Organizations like FightYearZero.org are being formed and fans are coming together online and in real life to think and talk about what they can do to change the world for the better.
Open Source Resistance (OSR) could be seen as the ‘main hub’ of these organizations and is being led by the band (and 42 Entertainment). OSR has already organized a real life gathering and defines itself as “an attempt to start a grass-roots information militia, so ordinary people can fight to prevent a world where civil rights AND natural resources are both being strip-mined for the convenience of multinational corporations and People Who Know They Are Right.” These fans mean serious business, and it could be the start of a new culture. Just like Minor Threat inspired the birth of the straight edge movement, it’s starting to look like Nine Inch Nails is giving birth to the Year Zero movement: people not bound simply by a certain style or a strict code but by their motivation to change the world for the better in whatever way possible and to fight the power when needed. The question is whether it will evolve further on its own or will it fade away as the hype around the album dies…
Quoted from http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9732473-2.html:
5 things you probably didn’t know you could do in Google Docs & Spreadsheets
By Josh Lowensohn – June 20, 2007, 6:21 PM PDT
I spent part of today at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., talking to some of the folks behind Google Docs & Spreadsheets, part of Google’s Web-based office suite. I asked the product experts I met for their favorite features that often don’t get the limelight or that people simply don’t know about. I picked five that I thought were worth sharing:
1. Live lookup via Google and Google Finance. This is only available for Spreadsheets, but it’s one of the neater advanced tidbits that makes use of Internet connectivity. Using two special formulas, users can create cells that will update constantly with data or information gleaned from Web searches or Google’s finance service. This works for things such as stock symbols, sports statistics, or any other piece of information you want to source and keep up to date automatically. Spreadsheets users can have up to 250 of these live-updating cells per spreadsheet. You can read more about this here and here.
To do a Web search for any item in a spreadsheet cell, just right click it.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
2. Google search inside a spreadsheet. If you come across a word or phrase that’s unfamiliar, or you want to find out more about it, you can search for it without leaving the page. Just highlight it, right click and choose “Search the Web.” The results will open in a new browser window (Note: This doesn’t work in Google Docs, just Spreadsheets.)
3. Color-coded live comments. Microsoft Word junkies are probably well in tune with the program’s pop-up commenting system. Google’s approach in Documents is similar, allowing users to annotate wherever they please, as well as color-code comments. If the author or another contributor finds a comment useful, they can add it into the document by right clicking on it and then choosing that option from the contextual menu. Collaborators can also change their comment coloring on the fly, or create their own custom coloring scheme to denote things such as priority.
You can compare two versions of the same document at different edit points.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
4. Revisioning. Like an entry on Wikipedia, both Google Docs and Spreadsheets offer the option to keep track of changes that have been made over the course of a document’s or spreadsheet’s lifespan. You can jump back and forth between edits you or your collaborators have made on a drop-down timeline menu, or by clicking the “older” and “newer” buttons. The slightly more advanced version of this that’s only available in Google Docs (not Spreadsheets) is the ability to look at two versions of the same document side by side. The application will highlight the differences, and each revision gets its own color code. In any case, if there’s been a snag somewhere, or you find an addition you don’t like, you can nix it on the spot.
5. There are many copies. And they have a plan. The first thought in most people’s minds when they’re working with online apps is, “Where is this file being stored, and what if something bad happens?” Any document or spreadsheet created on the service is constantly being backed up in several places at once. Google uses the same file system for all of their Web apps, called GFS (Google File System), that’s been designed so even if the server in which your file is hosted bursts into flames, the system will automatically switch over to the backup copy. The team says if this were to happen, users wouldn’t even notice. Don’t try this with your computer at home–that is, unless it’s not your fault.
Quoted from http://www.officeslang.com/:
OfficeSlang.com – Funny Office Slang
New Office Slang
==============================
404 – Someone who is clueless. From the Web error message, “404 Not Found,” which means the document requested couldn’t be located. “Don’t bother asking John. He’s 404.”Adminisphere – The rarified organizational layers above the rank and file that makes decisions that are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant.
Alpha Geek – The most knowledgeable, technically proficient person in an office or work group. “I dunno, ask Rick. He’s our alpha geek.”
Assmosis – The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
Batmobiling – putting up emotional shields. Refers to the retracting armor that covers the Batmobile as in “she started talking marriage and he started batmobiling”
Beepilepsy – The brief siezure people sometimes suffer when their beepers go off, especially in vibrator mode. Characterized by physical spasms, goofy facial expressions, and stopping speech in mid-sentence.
Betamaxed – When a technology is overtaken in the market by inferior but better marketed competition as in “Microsoft betamaxed Apple right out of the market”
Blamestorming – A group discussion of why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible.
Blowing Your Buffer – Losing one’s train of thought. Occurs when the person you are speaking with won’t let you get a word in edgewise or has just said something so astonishing that your train gets derailed. “Damn, I just blew my buffer!” (Synonym: “Head Crash”)
Body Nazis – Hard-core exercise and weight-lifting fanatics who look down on anyone who doesn’t work out obsessively.
Bookmark – To take note of a person for future reference. “After seeing his cool demo at Siggraph, I bookmarked him.”
Brain Fart – A byproduct of a bloated mind producing information effortlessly; a burst of useful information. “I know you’re busy on the Microsoft story, but can you give us a brain fart on the Mitnik bust?” Variation of old hacker slang that had more negative connotations.
CGI Joe – A hard-core CGI script programmer with all the social skills and charisma of a plastic action figure.
Chainsaw Consultant – An outside expert brought in to reduce the employee head count, leaving the top brass with clean hands.
Chip Jewelry – Old computers destined to be scrapped or turned into decoration. “I paid three grand for that Mac and now it’s nothing but chip jewelry.”
Chips and Salsa – Chips = hardware, salsa = software. “First we gotta figure out if the problem’s in your chips or your salsa.”
CLM (Career Limiting Move)- Used by microserfs to describe an ill-advised activity. “Trashing your boss while he or she is within earshot is a serious CLM.”
Cobweb – A WWW site that never changes.
Crapplet – A badly written or profoundly useless Java applet. “I just wasted 30 minutes downloading that crapplet!”
CROP DUSTING – Surreptitiously farting while passing thru a cube farm, then enjoying the sounds of dismay and disgust; leads to PRAIRIE DOGGING…..
Cube Farm – An office filled with cubicles.
Dead Tree Edition – The paper version of a publication available in both paper and electronic forms.
Dilberted – To be exploited and oppressed by your boss, as is Dilbert, the comic strip character. “Damn, I’ve been dilberted again! The old man revised the specs for the fourth time this week.”
Dorito Syndrome – The feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction triggered by addictive substances that lack nutritional content. “I just spent six hours surfing the Web, and now I’ve got a bad case of Dorito Syndrome.”
Egosurfing – Scanning the Net, databases, etc., for one’s own name.
Elvis Year – The peak year of popularity as in “1993 was Barney the dinosaur’s Elvis year”
Flight Risk – Used to describe employees who are suspected of planning to leave a company or department soon.
Generica – Fast food joints, strip malls, sub-divisions as in “we were so lost in generica that I couldn’t remember what city it was”
Glazing – Corporate-speak for sleeping with your eyes open; a popular pastime at conferences and early-morning meetings. “Didn’t he notice that by the second session half the room was glazing?”
Going Postal – Totally stressed out and losing it like postal employees who went on shooting rampages
GOOD job – A “Get-Out-Of-Debt” job. A well-paying job people take in order to pay off their debts, one that they will quit as soon as they are solvent again.
Gray Matter – Older, experienced business people hired by young entrepreneurial firms trying to appear more professional and established.
Graybar Land – The place you go while you’re staring at a computer that’s processing something very slowly (while you watch the gray bar creep across the screen). “That CAD rendering put me in graybar land for like an hour.”
High Dome – Egghead, scientist, PhD
Idea Hamsters – People whose idea generators are always running.
Irritainment – Entertainment and media spectacles that are annoying, but you find yourself unable to stop watching them. The O.J. trials were a prime example.
It’s a Feature – From the old adage, “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.” Used sarcastically to describe an unpleasant problem you wish to gloss over.
Keyboard Plaque – The disgusting buildup of dirt and crud found on some people’s computer keyboards.
Link Rot – The process by which web page’s links become obsolete as the sites they’re connected to change or die.
Meatspace – The physical world (as opposed to the virtual) also “carbon community” “facetime” “F2F” “RL”
Mouse Potato – The online generation’s answer to the couch potato.
Ohnosecond – That minuscule fraction of time during which you realize you’ve just made a terrible error.
Open-Collar Workers – People who work at home or telecommute.
Percussive Maintenance – The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it to work again.
Perot – To quit unexpectedly. “My cellular phone just perot’ed.”
Plug-and-Play – A new hire who doesn’t require training. “That new guy is totally plug-and-play.”
Prairie Dogging – When something loud happens in a cube farm, causing heads to pop up over the walls trying to see what’s going on.
Ribs ‘N’ Dick – A budget with no fat as in “we’ve got ribs ‘n’ dick and we’re supposed to find 20K for memory upgrades”
Salmon Day – The experience of spending an entire day swimming upstream only to get screwed in the end. “God, today was a total salmon day!”
Seagull Manager – A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, shits over everything and then leaves.
Siliwood – The coming convergence of movies, interactive TV and computers; also “Hollywired”
SITCOMs – What yuppies turn into when they have children and one of them stops working to stay home with the kids. “Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage”
Square-Headed Spouse – Computer
Squirt the Bird – To transmit a signal up to a satellite. “Crew and talent are ready…what time do we squirt the bird?”
Starter Marriage – A short-lived first marriage that ends in divorce with no kids, no property and no regrets.
Stress Puppy – A person who thrives on being stressed-out and whiny.
Swiped Out – An ATM or credit card that has been used so much its magnetic strip is worn away.
Tourists – Those who take training classes just to take a vacation from their jobs. “There were only three serious students in the class; the rest were just tourists.”
Treeware – Hacker slang for documentation or other printed material.
Umfriend – One with whom one has a sexual relationship; as in, “this is Dale, my…um…friend.”
Under Mouse Arrest – Getting busted for violating an online service’s rule of conduct. “Sorry I couldn’t get back to you. AOL put me under mouse arrest.”
Uninstalled – Euphemism for being fired. Also: decruitment.
Vulcan Nerve Pinch – The taxing hand position required to reach all the appropriate keys for certain commands. For instance, the warm re-boot for a Mac II computer involves simultaneously pressing the Control key, the Command key, the Return key and the Power On key.
WOOFYS – Well Off Older Folks.
World Wide Wait – The real meaning of WWW.
Xerox Subsidy – Euphemism for swiping free photocopies from one’s workplace.
Yuppie Food Coupons – Twenty dollar bills from an ATM.
Increasing NTFS Free Space Efficiency
A simple hard drive tweak for NTFS file systems.
Ok, this one is sort of old but not well known because many don’t understand what it does. Most folks should understand the difference between this tweak and what most would recognize as cluster size they see when formatting their hard drive in Windows XP/Vista.
Let’s go over something real quick.
When you format NTFS, you’re asked to input the allocation size. The default of which is 4096 bytes per cluster. This is known to be the most efficient for NTFS file systems which are expected to harbor both very small files and very large files alike. This is also the maximum cluster size that you can use that will support compression. As a side note, you’re able to format NTFS file systems with cluster sizes as large as 64 KB. The cluster size denotes how large of a swath of hard disk space a file will take up. If your cluster size is 64KB then any file under 64KB in size will take up 64KB on disk. For example, if you save a file that’s 11KB in size it will take up 64 KB on the disk. Most see this as a grotesque waste of space, however, this extreme cluster size is very useful on extremely large volumes that are designed to house very large files such as video files or databases. This also allows the Master File Table to be very small, helping you recover much of the space lost, also called MFT overhead, noticed by most users who format at the standard 4KB cluster size.
The tweak of which I speak refers nothing to this allocation size, but rather how the system handles free space.
WARNING: This involves editing the registry.. If you botch something up don’t blame me.
Who does this tweak apply to?
Who shouldn’t apply this tweak?
The Tweak
What we’re going to is change the contiguous file allocation size. The default is something ridiculous like 16kB or something, meaning that when the system looks at the hard drive for free space to write a new file it comes across a gap of free space larger than 16kB it begins the new file there up to the end and then fragments to the next free 16kB. This can cause larger files to become insanely fragmented if stored on the same drive as many small files that are written and deleted often. What we want to do is set this value higher, a lot higher…
Depending upon what you do with the volumes, I’d initially recommend setting the value to 512kB. This means that now, the system will look for a contiguous length of at least 512kB of free space before beginning a file write operation. What does this do? A couple of things. Firstly, it speeds up the write process because the system will skip over the 16KB space and any other space less than 512KB. This also helps to avoid fragmentation because larger files will only fragment into spaces larger than 512KB.
On MY workstation, since I do a lot of video editing, but I also do a lot of writing and operations with small files, it behooves me to raise this value to 4096KB. This means that my system looks for a space of longer than 4 megabytes before writing a new file. This reduces fragmentation GREATLY and insanely speeds up the defragmentation process.
There are draw backs to this however. If your system can’t find the contiguous space long enough, then you may get a false “Drive is full” error. So this is risk of sorts. However, if you start this process while the drive has at least 50% free space and you keep up on defragging then you will have no problems.
Overall, this will increase the speed at which your system performs file operations on large files with very little, if any speed detriment to your small file operations.
Navigate your registry to the following key:
HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management
Create a DWORD key named ContigFileAllocSize and give it the DECIMAL value of 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096 depending upon how large of a space you want to use for this process.
I do NOT recommend going above 4096. If you know what you’re doing, be my guest, but if you set this too high, you’re system may fail to boot.
After you create and value this key reboot your machine and defrag immediately with whatever tool you have handy. Preferably something that will defragment free space. You’ll notice the defragmentation process being super fast and efficient.
Contrary to popular believe, this isn’t not like setting up your cluster size to be bigger than what’s necessary. You do not LOSE free space with this tweak, but you may have the situation in which you will lose ACCESS to said free space due to heavy fragmentation.
Now… for you kids with super heavy defragementable volumes, this is because you no longer have contiguous space big enough to handle the movement of your files…
To remedy this set your contigfileallocsize to something absurdly low like 4 or 8. Reboot into safe mode and defrag… go read the Iliad, it’s going to take forever, but it will eventually finish. Once you’re all defragged, go back and set your key back up to 512 and defrag once more after rebooting. Also, don’t do anything, and I mean ANYTHING no web browsing, no email checking while you’re defragging at such a low contiguous allocation size. You’ll just seriously jack it up and cause MEGA fragments.
Remember, you have to reboot after changing this key value in order for it to take effect.
Good luck and God Speed.
