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Windows 8 teaser trailer

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A few days ago, Microsoft release a "teaser trailer" for the next operating system Windows 8. It gives a "taster" of Windows 8 can do. However, I think Windows 7 teaser seems MUCH better... part of me is waiting for it to count down to 1. 10..9...8... 7?

See for yourself! Here's the teaser for 8:

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1GNDs7DCTw

And this Windows 7's teaser:

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Z7rZ22LNU

Analysis of a computer screen

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I'm sooo bored so I can't believe I'm doing this:

The following screenshot is taken from the second Wolfblood episode "Mysterious Developments" at around 10:55 minutes in



I can tell the PC is running on Windows 7 with aero disabled.

Here's the direct capture from the episode without labels.

Mega Patch Tuesday

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Today is mega Patch-Tuesday with both Adobe, Microsoft, and Sun release updates to their softwares. There is a lot to update:
  1. Windows Update: http://update.microsoft.com
  2. Java (Version 7 Update 6): http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/jre7-downloads-1637588.html or through the program updater. Not available at the get Java website yet.
  3. Adobe Flash Player (11.3.300.271): http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
  4. Adobe Shockwave Player (11.6.6.636): http://get.adobe.com/shockwave/
  5. Adobe Reader (10.1.4): http://get.adobe.com/reader/
  6. PDF XChange Viewer (2.5.205 ): Available from http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer/ or through the built in Live Update.

Be careful NOT to install the toolbars (Google Toolbar with the Shockwave / Flash player and the Ask toolbar with the Java Runtime and PDF XChange Viewer) and browsers (Google Chrome with the Adobe Flash player and Adobe Reader) that come bundled with the free software.

Patch on jeans image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Fix it: Issue with KB2647753 being offered to install over and over again

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There is an issue with KB2647753 and Windows Update. Update KB2647753 is being offered to update over and over again. When you install updates and reboot and then recheck for updates, you will see the patch for KB2647753 presented. Installing it (again and again) will not make it go away. Each time it will claim to have been successful.

Rest assured that it is not your PC as there are four threads on the Microsoft run Microsoft Answers forum. There are currently two solutions to the problem:

Solution 1: Hiding the Update

To hide the update:
  1. Load up Windows Update. Then click on the text 1 Important update available.
  2. Right click Update KB2647753 and then left click "hide update" as shown: Yes I know a different update is shown but the same steps applies

Solution 2: Fixing the update manually by uninstalling it and re-installing it

There are many ways to do this. The fastest way is shown first:

Method 1:

  1. Go to start and type in "view install." Click on view installed updates.
  2. In the search bar type in "kb2647753."
  3. Double click on it. A window would pop up asking if you want to uninstall the update. Click yes. Wait for the process to complete and reboot as prompted.
  4. Go to http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=2647753 and download the full installer for this patch - make sure you get the right version for your OS including x86 versus x64.
  5. Run that installer, let it complete, and reboot the PC as prompted.
  6. To check the problem, run Windows Update and force a check for updates by clicking on "check for updates" as shown. The repeat offender should now be gone.

Rue's whistle similarities to other song

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When I listened to Rue's whistle in the movie, it reminded me of some other songs. The first "4" notes of the whistle. Listen to them and tell me what you think!

Rue's Whistle

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGmlSWYpyzQ

What is a Youth from Romeo and Juliet

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTdjHvmGcz8

Lugia's Song from Pokemon the Movie 2000

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkMfBgWi60M

Fix it: Hacked Twitter account

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Recently there is a spate of Twitter account that have been hacked and spewing out spam tweets and direct messages to followers that says

Hi someone is posting horrible things about you... bit.ly/LKOFNj.
The shortened URL (address) and message may vary. Here is another variant:
Hi someone is saying nasty rumors about you... bit.ly/LKOqSG
But they all lead to tvvitiler.com/1w/ and have a similar suppose: to steal your Twitter account login details so they (the hackers) can pose as you.

How to fix it? Well the solution is easy, change your Twitter account password. Also change any other accounts that use a similar password. If you don't know how to do this, see this Twitter support article. For your convenience the instructions have been copied over.

  1. From your logged in account, click Settings in the upper right hand top navigation bar.
  2. Click on the Password tab.
  3. Enter your current password.
  4. Choose your new password.
  5. Save your changes by clicking Save changes.

If you are unable to log in to your account, you may try resetting your password:

How to send yourself a password reset via email:

  1. Click the Forgot password? link. Or click here
  2. Enter your email address or Twitter username.
  3. Enter your mobile phone number, if prompted, in the format suggested. (Forgot your number? Contact support for assistance.)
  4. Check your email inbox. Twitter will immediately send a message to your account's email address.
  5. Click the reset link in that email.
  6. Choose a new password

How to send yourself a password reset via SMS:

If you've added your mobile number to your account in your Mobile settings, you may receive a password reset via SMS/text message.

  1. On a computer, go to the Forgot password? page and enter your username (or email address).
  2. Enter your mobile number.
  3. Select Reset via phone.
  4. Twitter will text you a six digit code that is valid for 15 minutes. 
  5. Enter this code on the Twitter website. Use the code given and enter it in the space given. You will then be prompted to change your password.

Not receiving the SMS code?

  • It may take up to a few minutes for you to receive the code.
  • If you do not receive it after a few minutes, try texting HELP to your Twitter short code to ensure you are receiving SMS notifications from Twitter. If you do not receive anything back, please review our SMS troubleshooting page or use the email password reset option above. 

If that doesn't work you may try contacting Twitter customer service.

You may also want to check the apps you authorized to your account and remove any you don't recognize. To do this see this Twitter support article. For your convenience the instructions have been copied over.

How to revoke access or remove an application

  1. Review the applications you've connected in the Apps tab of your account settings.
  2. Click the Revoke Access button next to the application.

Clean up

Now that you've secured your account, you may want to clean up your post by deleting all the spammy tweets and direct messages. This can be done by either clicking on delete or on the symbol of the trash can or clicking on the tweet to expand it and them deleting it.

Prevention

To avoid falling for phishing scams, always check the address bar of the browser or url. Most try to use a url similiar to the site they are trying to imitate. Therefore, check carefully. Avoid phishing, malware, and viruses by examining short URLs before visiting them. Find out where links really take you by expanding those pesky shortened URLs with LongUrl. Also, it is always best to go to the main website itself. In addition, ignore such message as others are spreading rumors about you since it is most likely fake and the account sending the message is compromised. It is also a good idea to keep an up to date AntiVirus on your computer, regardless of your operating system; yes, Apple Macs can get viruses too (see my list of blog posts debunking that myth). For PC I recommend use Norton Internet Security 2012 since I use it myself. Free reputable alternatives include (in no particular order) Avast, Comodo Internet Security, AVG AntiVirus, and Microsoft Security Essentials. Don't flame me if I have forgotten anything. There are many others security products but since I never used them "personally" and have never read about them before I can't recommend them; use them with caution as there are many "rogue" programs that are really malware that try to "trick" you into installing them.

For Macs I recommend Norton Internet Security for Macs or Sophos free AntiVirus for Macs. Though I haven't personally tried that, it is made by a republe company with a history in the anti malware industry.

Fix it: Favicons not showing or displaying green orbs

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Do you have a problem when the favicon of your Internet bookmark or websites in "frequent" jump list is showing a green orb instead of the beautiful favicon? Well not to worry. I may have the answer.

First right click on a blank spot in your desktop and then click "personalize."

In the next window that comes up, click on "display."

After that click on the bubble next to medium and click "apply." When a window pop ups saying if you want to log off now, save all your work and click log off.

To log back in click on your user name. Now you may see the icon really large. Not to worry. First check if the favicon problem is fixed. After that repeat the steps above and this time click small (100%) and log off / log on. Check if problem is fixed.

If it is, reboot and see if problem exist. After that clean up your thumbnails as this process may produce multiple cache of the thumb nails. To do that, run disk cleanup (search disk cleanup) and check thumbnail option:

If doing this you still see green orbs (globes) repeat the procedure. It took me up to 5 times to get it right. And from time to time I saw green orbs but repeating the procedure took care of the problem. Also, if for any reason, the menu texts become too small go back to personalize and click on the "Windows 7" under aero theme. If you don't like the Windows 7 theme background that display during the log on / log off screen and want the one that came when you first bought the PC, scroll down to the list and find the theme provided by the manufactuer. My PC is made by HP so the theme name is called "Hewlett-Packard." On my Dell machine, the theme is called "Dell." Click on that and customize the theme as you wish.

Note: You may not see the "AMD VISION Engine Control Center" option in the right click menu of the desktop. It only appears on computers with AMD Processors and ATI Graphic Card installed.

2012 Olympic flame

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The Olympic Flame will be passing my town (Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom) this Saturday. Are you guys excitied for the Olympic! I will be sure to capture a ton of picture.

If you are in the United Kingdom and want to see where the torch is going, go to http://www.london2012.com/torch-relay/route/index.html. Click here to see a cool animation of the highlights of the route.

Edit: See the torch passing Truro here: http://my.opera.com/shootell/albums/tags.dml?tag=tyw7%20olympic%20flame.

Rant: Mp3 files are too long

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I hate music files that doesn't stop as soon as the music stops. Disney are the worst offender. One of the High School Musical 3: Senior Year Track ("Scream") goes on for 3 whole seconds after Zac Effron screams at the end of the track. I used Windows Media Play and used the "scope" visualization to see whether there is any round. That file flat lines after 3:53 but the song runs till 3:56. That's 3 whole second of silence. It's a waste of space, especially on a feature phone where the storage space is really less.

To solve the problem, I used an online converter to trim the file and chop the extra bits off.

Bluetooth on PC

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Bluetooth logoWhen was the last time you have used Bluetooth on a PC? Almost never. Bluetooth was intended for devices to connect together wirelessly. Through Bluetooth, devices can send files and control other devices remotely. On PCs wireless devices like mice and keyboards come with their own dongles and doesn't require additional hardware. Don't want multiple dongles? No, problem. New Logitech devices come with Logitech Unifying dongle that allow multiple devices to share the same dongle. Furthermore, this blog post mentions that Bluetooth devices have a serious lag to them and may not work properly with PCs.

But that doesn't mean that Bluetooth is useless. It found its niche in mobile devices. It lets headphones and car sets to connect to the device and on most non smart phones and Android and Symbian phones files can be transfered over Bluetooth.

All in all, Bluetooth is a pretty niche technology that have usefulness only among the mobile devices.