Get that Old Girl Ready for Battle

So that new game you got as a holiday gift won't play or bogs down that PC you spent 2 grand on two years ago, now what are you going to do?

May be it just needs tweaking. The first thing I recommend doing is freeing up system resources. The biggest drain on your PC is likely a bloated virus scan like McAfee or Norton. Remove those, save some money and install one of the free virus scans I posted. FreeAV is the best I've tested. You should also think about removing unnecessary toolbars and quick launch applications. You need at least 1 Gig of Ram for gaming and I recommend 2 Gigs. For Windows7 or Vista 64bit I recommend 6 gigs or more.

If that doesn't help try:



America's Army Tweak Guide
Amiga Emulation Guide
ATI Catalyst Tweak Guide
Battlefield 1942 Tweak Guide
Battlefield 2 Tweak Guide
Battlefield 2142 Tweak Guide
Battlefield Vietnam Tweak Guide
BioShock Tweak Guide
Call of Duty 2 Tweak Guide
Call of Juarez Tweak Guide
Crysis Tweak Guide
Dark Messiah of Might & Magic Tweak Guide
Doom 3 Tweak Guide
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Tweak Guide
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Tweak Guide
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars Tweak Guide
Far Cry Tweak Guide
F.E.A.R Tweak Guide
Firefox Tweak Guide
Game Music Extraction Guide
Gamer's Graphics & Display Settings Guide
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter Tweak Guide
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 Tweak Guide
Half Life 2 & Source Engine Tweak Guide
Halo Tweak Guide
Hardware Confusion Guide
Joint Operations Tweak Guide
Neverwinter Nights 2 Tweak Guide
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Tweak Guide
Need for Speed: Most Wanted Tweak Guide
Nvidia Forceware Tweak Guide
Prey Tweak Guide
Quake 4 Tweak Guide
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Tweak Guide
Star Wars Battlefront Tweak Guide
Star Wars Battlefront 2 Tweak Guide
Star Wars KOTOR 2 Tweak Guide
Thief: Deadly Shadows Tweak Guide
TweakGuides Tweaking Companion
UT2003 Tweak Guide
UT2004 Tweak Guide
Unreal Tournament 3 Tweak Guide
VIA Hyperion FAQ
Web Hosting - Ten Basic Tips

Drop My Rights - Border control for the PC

Lower the rights for internet facing applications.

When setting up a PC for my Father or Kids I always set up a limited user account. I finally got my father on Gmail after his system was infected multiple times with a virus. I can only assume this was through a email or bad web site. If he had been running as a limited user there wouldn't be a problem. When I set up a limited user account he complained about not being able to operate as he was use to.

A Microsoft developer generated a short code snippet the you can assign short cuts run trough that limit the rights for those specific applications. Setting this up is simple and requires no programing skills. Follow the direction on the link provided or set up the shortcut as shown below.

The download:
Download the DropMyRights.msi file

The link for instructions:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms972827.aspx

Setup

Simply copy DropMyRights.exe to a folder. Then for each application you want to run in lower privilege, follow the steps in the next three sections.

Create a Shortcut

Create a shortcut and enter DropMyRights.exe as the target executable, followed by the path to the application you want to execute in lower privilege.

For example:

C:\warez\dropmyrights.exe "c:\program files\internet explorer\iexplore.exe"

The article from microsoft explains in greater detail.

************* Here is the Code ********************
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
DWORD wmain(int argc, wchar_t **argv) {

DWORD fStatus = ERROR_SUCCESS;

if (2 != argc && 3 != argc) {
Usage();
return ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER;
}

// get the SAFER level
DWORD hSaferLevel = SAFER_LEVELID_NORMALUSER;
if (3 == argc && argv[2]) {
switch(argv[2][0]) {
case 'C' :
case 'c' : hSaferLevel = SAFER_LEVELID_CONSTRAINED;
break;
case 'U' :
case 'u' : hSaferLevel = SAFER_LEVELID_UNTRUSTED;
break;

default : hSaferLevel = SAFER_LEVELID_NORMALUSER;
break;
}
}

// get the command line, and make sure it's not bogus
wchar_t *wszPath = argv[1];
size_t cchLen = 0;
if (FAILED(StringCchLength(wszPath,MAX_PATH,&cchLen)))
return ERROR_INVALID_PARAMETER;

SAFER_LEVEL_HANDLE hAuthzLevel = NULL;
if (SaferCreateLevel(SAFER_SCOPEID_USER,
hSaferLevel,
0,
&hAuthzLevel, NULL)) {

// Generate the restricted token we will use.
HANDLE hToken = NULL;
if (SaferComputeTokenFromLevel(
hAuthzLevel, // SAFER Level handle
NULL, // NULL is current thread token.
&hToken, // Target token
0, // No flags
NULL)) { // Reserved

STARTUPINFO si;
ZeroMemory(&si, sizeof(STARTUPINFO));
si.cb = sizeof(STARTUPINFO);
si.lpDesktop = NULL;

// Spin up the new process
PROCESS_INFORMATION pi;
if (CreateProcessAsUser(
hToken,
wszPath, NULL,
NULL, NULL,
FALSE, CREATE_NEW_CONSOLE,
NULL, NULL,
&si, &pi)) {

CloseHandle(pi.hProcess);
CloseHandle(pi.hThread);

} else {
fStatus = GetLastError();
fwprintf(stderr,L"CreateProcessAsUser failed (%lu)\n",fStatus);
}
} else {
fStatus = GetLastError();
}

SaferCloseLevel(hAuthzLevel);

} else {
fStatus = GetLastError();
}

return fStatus;
}
**************************

OEM vs. Retail, we have a winner

From the Microsoft message boards:

OK, If I understand the issue, I would say that in your situation, the Microsoft person, that you talk to, was incorrect.

If a computer is bought with Vista pre-installed, and then the user changes out the motherboard, then you can not continue to use the same Vista license, but if the "computer builder" was the one to change out the motherboard, then you Can continue to use the same Vista license.

So, in your situation, it soulds like you bought the computer and the Vista software seperatly and installed Vista on the computer, yourself. In that case, you are now seen as the "Computer Builder" and since you (the computer builder) changed out the motherboard, you CAN continue to use the same Vista license.

I suggest that you follow the below steps to re-activate you copy of Vista:

1) Click the Start button
2) Type: slui.exe 4 and hit the 'Enter' key
3) Select the area that you are located in.
4) Follow the steps provided by Activation Wizard

NOTE: The key to this process is that you need to talk to a Live Activation Rep! When you first call, you will be interacting with an Automated Voice, either select the option to talk to a Live Rep or if there is no option, do not enter any numbers. This should force the automated voice to tansfer you to a Live Rep. I Highly suggest that you DO NOT mention that you changed out your motherboad, it will only confuse the Rep. Just say you need to Re-activate because you changed out some "hardware" in your computer.

Thank you,

Darin Smith

WGA Forum Manager

Hunting the Mythical Energy Vampire

For a little while now I have been showing you ways to save money but I haven't told you about the Energy Vampire. I say he is mythical but as an engineer I know he is very real. The vampire bat feeds on blood at night while animals sleep. The energy vampire feeds on you all day long. You can try to fight him with a cross and wooden stake but your best weapon is knowledge. Knowing how and where he feeds will allow you to hunt him down. It doesn't require high tech devices to locate his source of food but it can help.

Here is a energy monitor that might make a great geeky gift for a birthday or for the holidays.

Todays Price: $20.98 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-Kill-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

For a review:
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/kill_a_watt_electric_usage_monitor_review

What this device does is allows you to monitor the power consumption from devices that might leech electricity when turned off.

In the United States how much a product leaks has little relation to cost or features. The power consumption represents a arbitrary design based on how the system is engineered and in some cases based on a company saving as little as 25 cents. If you were shocked at the Chinese killing our pets and poisoning our kids in the US with lead or worse, do you think they will go the extra mile at a small additional cost to make energy efficient electronics? What about devices designed in the US or Europe? You educate yourself on many aspects of life. How about understanding the real hidden costs behind operating that Big screen TV or new gaming console.

Lets look at the TV for example. The average TV is turned on 4 hours a day. From the research I have done some TVs would use 180 kWh a year during use and 100 kWh when turned off. A competing model with comparable features would draw only 120 kWh per year while watched and as little as 5 kWh when off. A small amount of power is required to allow you to turn the TV back on via the remote.

A 100 watt load costs about $183.96 per year (TV or good sized computer monitor).
The costs mention are related to actual kilowatt usage. What most people don't understand that there is another layer of hidden costs. Energy used is dissipated in your house in the form of heat. In the winter time this is a good thing. In the summer it can be expensive. A CRT computer and monitor or Plasma TV can act like a heater. It is costing you energy when turned on and it costs you double the energy to cool the space it is heating. This is mainly because most cooling systems are only about 50% efficient.

Online power calculator:
http://www.consumerspower.org/home_energy/billestimator.php

A article from Microsoft on the question of turning off that PC. In short it is recommended that you hibernate or standby that PC. Hibernate powers down the PC while retaining the memory state by storing it to the hard drive. Standby gives the PC just enough power to keep the memory in its current state. Both of these methods allow you save power and keep you desktop applications open just as you left them the last time you were at the machine. You should always save unsaved work and you should consider security when it come to some applications if someone else awakens the machine.

You can find the complete article here:
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/resources/technology/hardware/do-you-need-to-turn-off-your-pc-at-night.aspx

Other Links:
http://www.energystar.gov/

Wimpy Yes, Flashy No - Free FLV players

Flash Movie Player (FREE)

http://www.eolsoft.com/freeware/flash_movie_player/

*Flash Movie Player is absolutely free - no nag screens, no ads, no spyware, no time limit.
*Allows to rewind swf movies, animations and Flash games to any position in playing or paused mode.
*Opens exe projector files from version 4 to version 7 and works with them same way as with ordinary SWF files (allows rewinding, etc.)
*Flash Movie Player can extract flash movies from exe projector files and save them in SWF format.
*Supports Playlists. Playlist entry editor, sorting functions.
*Has full screen mode with auto-hiding navigation bar.
*All other Macromedia Flash Player standard features (zoom, quality select, repeat, scale mode select).
*Snapshots creation : allows to create snapshot of any animation's frame and save the image in Jpeg or Bmp format.
*Hotkeys for all frequent operations.
*Has Drag-n-drop support.
*The executable has small size and low system requirements.
*Multilingual interface. (32 Languages supported at the moment).
*Allows to explore cached SWF files. (Add swf files from IE, Firefox and Opera cache to playlist).
*Can act as Screensaver. You can set up Flash Movie Player as your screensaver to play flash animations while computer is in idle.

________________________________

Wimpy Desktop FLV Player (FREE) http://www.wimpyplayer.com/products/wimpy_standalone_flv_player.html

Play FLV - Flash formated files on a PC or Mac

_____________________________________


FLV Player
http://www.martijndevisser.com/blog/flv-player/

FLV Player is a standalone utility to play Adobe Flash Video (FLV) files with. FLV Player is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista. FLV Player supports both local and internet streaming content, has fullscreen mode and, best of all, it is free.
___________________________________

http://www.globfx.com/products/swfplayer/

No Fuss, No Muss, or should I say mess.

(potentially not work safe!!!)


http://www.videocodezone.com/

(potentially not work safe!!!)


Online Tools Convert And Download Your Favorite Videos (For Free!!!)


VideoCodeZone and other similiar services (some listed below) work by entering a URL for the FLASH or MEDIA or browsing to a file on you PC. Then like your toaster you simply push the button and wait. Some of these services notify you by email when they are done with the conversion process.

Home Video Conversion and Download
Convert and download videos from popular websites without installing any software.

These services allows you to download and convert videos to many popular formats available today. Some of these sites also allow you to browse videos converted by other which could be in conflict with your employers code of conduct.

This is a online flash video converter where you copy and paste the URL of the video, select the output format and click the Convert/Download button.

You can also convert any flash video from your own files as well. Select the file and click the Convert/Download button.

Other sites:
http://online.movavi.com/
http://vixy.net/
http://www.flvix.com/ - not work safe
http://media-convert.com/
http://www.zamzar.com/

http://www.all2convert.com/index.html - choose your poison (very simple interface)

http://mux.am/

http://heywatch.com/page/home - registration required (supports Adobe Flash 9 H.264)

Is it Hot or what?

Weather, Sport Scores, News for just about any mobile device.

http://express.handmark.com/express-free

Ok maybe this isn't that hot or even that cool but FREE Pocket Express from Handmark offers some nice features at your fingers tips. You could fetch much of this from the web yourself. With pocket express when you get weather radar info and news you know it is always nicely formatted to fit your mobile device and its always at your fingertips.

The subscription service is a bit pricey at $10 a month offering travel information such as flight status and directory assistance.

It seems that the Google G-PHONE is in our future and this may be the direction it is headed in. If I owned Handmark I would have a flat $24 per year for the full service option. I'm sure it would out sell the $99 plan.

With that said the Exexutive Package offers one of the coolest and most useful mobile features for yet another $30 a year on top of the $99 full subcription. This feature is well worth the price if you travel often. Let's say you are on vacation in Sarasota Florida and need more detailed info on what pizza place is the highest rated, or maybe you want to see if that sale item is really worth buying. You might want a quick review of a movie or game that you see at the store.


Don't call your idiot brother:


24/7 Mobile Cierge live personal assistant
Help with almost any request any time of any day
The Assist feature, located on the PageOne interface, offers a whole new level of service and convenience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – anywhere in the world. With one click speak to a live MobileCierge representative who will help with almost any request.

Express Assist features the world’s first mobile personal assistant service, MobileCierge. MobileCierge is staffed with experts in everything from restaurant referrals to medical care and travel assistance. This feature allows Pocket Express customers to experience a whole new level of service and convenience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – anywhere in the world for a minimal fee. For an unpreccidented value, check out the NEW Elite Edition and save nearly $30 a year on Express + Mobile Cerge

Here is a list of Supported Devices