How-To Geek

Download the Digital Collages by Ionut Caras Theme for Windows 7

Asian Angel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:30:21 GMT

Are you looking for a theme with a bit of a photographic twist? Then you may enjoy the Digital Collages by Ionut Caras theme for Windows 7. The theme comes with six images showcasing his unique work.

The theme is available in the following aspect ratios:

4:3 Aspect Ratio Resolutions: 1600*1200, 1280*960, 1152*864, 1024*768
16:9 Aspect Ratio Resolutions: 1920*1080, 1600*900, 1366*768, 1360*768
16:10 Aspect Ratio Resolutions: 1920*1200, 1680*1050, 1440*900, 1280*800

Uncovering Artists Through Windows 7 Themes – Ionut Caras [7 Tutorials]

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Heroes and Villains D&D Alignment Chart [Awesome Chart Image]

Asian Angel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:00:50 GMT

View the Ultra Large Version Note: Image is 2245*1799 pixels in size.

Image of the Day: Awesome comics hero and villain alignment chart [via Geeks are Sexy]

You can view an alternative version of this chart here:

TV Show Casts Reimagined as D&D Alignment Charts

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Geek Trivia: Which Video Game First Inspired Widespread Controversy?

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:37:27 GMT

Which Video Game First Inspired Widespread Controversy?

1) Mortal Kombat
2) Grand Theft Auto
3) Death Race
4) Doom

Think you know the answer?

IKEA Nightlight Hacked for Android-based Control

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:00:44 GMT

Normally this cute IKEA nightlight simply displays some LED-powered colors. With hacked guts, however, it becomes a remote controlled indicator.

The initial hack simply adds in a Bluetooth-based serial controller, allowing you to change the light from an Android phone (or any Bluetooth enabled device capable of communicating with the module, really). It’s a short step from there to toggling the color based on specific input (as oppose to user desire) such as changing color based on the weather or to indicate new messages in an inbox.

Hit up the link below for more information.

SPOKA Nightlight Controlled From An Android Phone [via Hacked Gadgets]

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What You Said: How You Increase Workstation Comfort

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:45 GMT

Computers may have evolved mightily in the last century but we haven’t; read on to see how your fellow readers increase their computing comfort.

Machines have gotten smaller, screens brighter and thinner, and peripherals more varied. With all this change, however, the human body has stayed the same. In order to use technology effectively and safely, we have to make adaptations to our environment to save our wrists and backs. Earlier this week we asked to share the workstation tweaks and tricks they had adopted to increase their comfort. Clearly we hit on a topic that many readers had invested some serious thought into.

Steve-O-Rama shared a lengthy response that covers everything from keyboards to chairs:

After having gone through several keyboards, mice, desks, monitors, chairs, etc., here’s what I’m running with at my main workspace:

1. IBM Model M keyboard from 1993. This is #1 for many reasons, but most of all, my hands don’t hurt after an entire day of using the keyboard anymore. :)

Hacker Geek: OS Fingerprinting With TTL and TCP Window Sizes
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LEGO Stadium Replica Geekiest Super Bowl Tie In You’ll See Today

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:00:35 GMT

Most of the hype surrounding the Super Bowl surrounds the game and the commercials–take a break from that and check out this awesome LEGO replica of Lucas Oil Stadium.

Created by Brian Alano out of 30,000 bricks the impressive build includes a functional retracting roof and over 1,000 LEGO minifigs. Over at Wired’s GeekDad they said it best:

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend three hours looking at this model than watching Sunday’s game.

True story; I could spend all of Super Bowl Sunday playing with that thing. If the video doesn’t give you the kind high-def resolution you crave, check out Brian’s photo gallery here.

[via GeekDad]

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A Rainy Journey through the Woods [Wallpaper]

Asian Angel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:30:56 GMT

Forest [DesktopNexus]

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NASA Releases First Video Footage of the Dark Side of the Moon [Video]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:24 GMT

Courtesy of NASA’s GRAIL moon exploration spacecraft, we can see the first video footage of the dark side of the Moon.

From the press release:

A camera aboard one of NASA’s twin Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) lunar spacecraft has returned its first unique view of the far side of the moon. MoonKAM, or Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students, will be used by students nationwide to select lunar images for study.

GRAIL consists of two identical spacecraft, recently named Ebb and Flow, each of which is equipped with a MoonKAM. The images were taken as part of a test of Ebb’s MoonKAM on Jan. 19. The GRAIL project plans to test the MoonKAM aboard Flow at a later date.

Hit up the link below to read more about GRAIL and MoonKAM.

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Friday Fun: Untangle

Asian Angel — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:00:19 GMT

Another long work week is almost over, so taking a quick break for some fun is just what you need to make it through your Friday. In this week’s game you get to test your puzzle solving skills by untangling complex patterns so that none of the threads are crossing each other. Are you up to the challenge?

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From The Tips Box: Easy Access to iPad Brightness, 4.5GB of Free Dropbox Storage, Banishing Charging Cable Clutter

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:00:00 GMT

Once a week we dump out the Tips box and share some great reader tips with you. This week we’re looking at an easy way to change the screen brightness on the iPad, how to score extra Dropbox space by syncing your photos, and how to cut down on your cable clutter.

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Celebrate Groundhog Day in Style with Bill Murray and Co. [Best Scenes Video]

Asian Angel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:30:35 GMT

Relive all the fun of the holiday once again with this compilation of the best scenes from the 1993 Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day. Hopefully your day will not be as long as Phil’s was!

Best scenes from Groundhog Day in just 19min in HD, another Baransy Studios edit [YouTube]

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The Abominable Snow Monster from Ski Free gets Desperate (and Creative) [Video]

Asian Angel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:00:23 GMT

The Abominable Snow Monster is really hungry and rises to new levels of creativity in his attempts to catch his next meal. Will his schemes work on that pesky skier or will it all end in disaster? Watch to find out!

Ski Free Yeti Gets Desperate [Dorkly Bits]

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Geek Trivia: Which Laboratory Boasts The Most Nobel Prize Winners?

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:37:59 GMT

Which Laboratory Boasts The Most Nobel Prize Winners?

1) GE Research Laboratories
2) IBM Research Laboratories
3) Xerox PARC
4) Bell Laboratories

Think you know the answer?

Use Google Docs As A Simple Rich Text Web Proxy

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:36 GMT

If you’re at a location that filters out a site you want to visit but allows Google sites, this clever work around allows you to browse blocked web sites.

It certainly has limitation: you won’t get pictures, video, javascript, or other advanced web content. You will, however, get the text and the basic formatting–consider it a Rich Text sort of browsing experience.

The secret sauce is a Google Docs spreadsheet that calls up the HTML code through the Google servers (instead of via regular DNS requests at your local machine). Watch the video to see it in action and then hit up the link below to read more about it.

Use Google Spreadsheet As A Proxy [via Hack A Day]

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Syncly Automatically Uploads Your Mobile Photos to Dropbox

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:00:21 GMT

Android: Don’t stress about syncing your Android phone to get the photos off, Syncly will take care of all your photo transfer needs automatically.

Install Syncly, authorize it as an external app on your Dropbox account, and it will begin automatically uploading the photos from your mobile phone. You can specify whether you want it to upload via Wi-Fi only or on your cellular plan if you’re worried about using up too much data. You can also browse the photos within your Dropbox account and shuttle them back to your phone–even if you need to delete photos off your phone to free up space you can easily browse, edit, and share the ones that are stored in Dropbox.

Hit up the link below to grab a copy. Syncly is free, Android 2.1+ only.

Syncly [via Addictive Tips]

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A Walk Through Summer Fields [Wallpaper]

Asian Angel — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:30:10 GMT

BLOSSOMING SUMMER [DesktopNexus]

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The Legend of Zelda: The Lost Oracle [Video]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:16 GMT

The Legend of Zelda: The Lost Oracle doesn’t–outside of this artfully executed game trailer mockup–exist, but after you watch the video, you’ll wish it did.

The above trailer, courtesy of Joel Furtado, plays out as though the animation-style Zelda title The Wind Waker had a sequel–The Lost Oracle. We won’t lie, if this was a trailer for an actual upcoming Legend of Zelda game we’d being placing our pre-orders.

Joel Furtado’s Animation Portfolio [via Neatorama]

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Find Hidden Features and Easter Eggs on Firefox’s About: Pages

Chris Hoffman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:00:46 GMT

Mozilla Firefox has a variety of hidden Easter eggs, configuration settings and diagnostic information hidden away in its internal about: pages. You can access each page by typing about: into the address bar, followed by the name of the page.

The about: pages contain everything from the story of Mozilla’s battle against Internet Explorer and robot pop-culture references to advanced configuration settings, permission management and diagnostic information.

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IT: How to Create a Virtual Machine in Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008

Taylor Gibb — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:29 GMT

Once you have Hyper-V installed the first thing you are going to want to do is start creating virtual machines. The process is mostly a next, next, finish matter, but just incase you are unsure, here’s a quick start-to-finish guide.

Note: this is part of our ongoing series teaching IT administration basics, and might not apply to everybody.

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Ask The Readers: How Do You Keep Your Workspace Comfortable and Ergonomic?

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:00:31 GMT

Most of us spend a lot of time at our workstations both at the office and at home. How have you tweaked your workspace to keep things comfortable and ergonomic?

Whether you work at a traditional desk in an office, deploy a mobile work station as you drift from location to location, or work entirely from home, we want to hear your tips and tricks for keeping your body comfortable and injury free.

How do you configure your work station? What kind of mouse do you use? How is your desk setup for maximum comfort? Have you bought or made add-ons and accessories for the sole purpose of increasing comfort and ergonomic alignment?

Sound off in the comments with your workspace design tips and trick; don’t forget to check back in on Friday for the What You Said roundup.

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The Tools that Software Developers Use [Infographic]

Asian Angel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:30:38 GMT

View the Full-Size Version

Infographic: What Tools Developers Actually Use [via TinyHacker]

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Enable the new ‘Speed Dial Style New Tab Page’ in the Latest Firefox Nightly Builds

Asian Angel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:00:39 GMT

In the past you needed an extension to get ‘speed dial based’ new tab pages in Firefox, but the latest Nightly Builds have the function built in. Today we will show you how to quickly activate it using two about:config hacks.

Note: Make sure you have the latest ’13.0 Alpha 1′ nightly build set up on your system (download link provided below).

To get started type or paste “about:config” in the Address Bar and hit Enter. Click on the I’ll be careful, I promise! Button to access the settings…

Type or paste “newtab” in the Search Filter Bar and hit Enter. You should see the following two entries appear.

Double click (or right click) on the “browser.newtab.url” listing and change the value from “about:blank” to “about:newtab”.

Next double click on (or right click and select Toggle) the “browser.newtabpage.enabled” listing and change the value from “false” to “true”.

When you are done everything should look like this. To finish things up restart Firefox and get ready to enjoy that built-in speed dial goodness.

You can chose to set the new Speed Dial Page as your homepage if desired, otherwise it will appear only when you open new tabs (thus preserving your homepage preferences).

Note: The new speed dial page may be a little slow to display thumbnail images as seen in the first screenshot above. Your mileage may vary due to the newness of the feature…

If you change your mind and want to deactivate the new Speed Dial Page re-enter the “about:config” settings, right click on the two entries you added and select Reset. You will need to restart Firefox to complete the deactivation process.

Note: We have a third entry in our settings due to setting the new Speed Dial Page as our homepage.

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Geek Trivia: Which Game Console Was The First To Feature Built-In Ethernet?

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:37:18 GMT

Which Game Console Was The First To Feature Built-In Ethernet?

1) Xbox
2) Dreamcast
3) GameCube
4) PlayStation 2

Think you know the answer?

Signal to Noise: A Time Lapse Video of the Very Large Array [Video]

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:00:20 GMT

Time lapse footage, beautiful scenery, massive radio dishes scanning deep space, what more can one ask for in a video?

Video courtesy of Douglas Koke:

Time-lapse footage taken at the Very Large Array in Socorro, New Mexico; one of the largest Radio Astronomy Observatories in the world.

As a learning exercise, and something to challenge myself, I wanted to try to combine two of my favorite things: motion-graphics and time-lapse photography. I also wanted to see if I could stretch my editing techniques a little further.

The VLA really is a legitimately amazing thing to see in person. If you’ve ever considered making a visit, you should. It’s an awe-inspiring feat of human engineering, and the surroundings are gorgeous. Unbelievable skies in New Mexico. I caught some nasty weather, but it was still a great experience. I’m definitely going back!

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Geek Deal: 120GB SSD Upgrade Package for $129.99

Jason Fitzpatrick — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:00:33 GMT

If you’ve been thinking about upgrading to an Solid State Disk (SSD) to speed up your machine but put off by the prices, today’s deal of the day will score you an SSD with a full upgrade package for a little over a buck a GB.

One of Amazon’s electronics Deal of the Day posts today is the Kingston HyperX 120GB SATA III upgrade kit. Normally the bare drive is around $200-225 at most retailers (and over $300 at stores that gouge you with the full MSRP), you can pick it up today for $129.99 after rebate ($189.99 if you don’t mail in the rebate). Not only that it come with a HDD bay converter for mounting it, a new SATA 3.0 cable, Acronis Migration Kit (to clone your existing disk to the new SSD), and an external USB drive to using in the cloning process. All that for $129.99 is a steal.

Hit up the link below to grab one.

Kingston HyperX 120GB SATA III Upgrade Kit

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