|
We have 2 guests and 0 members online
Welcome Guest, become a member today.
|
|
|
| | | |
|
Those who use legality as their moral ruler will build odd houses indeed.
-- Paul Doherty |
|
| I Love to Singa |  OK this really doesn't have that much to do with technology, but I thought I'd share. Remember that cartoon from WAY back (1936 to be exact) that has little "Owl" Jolson, the unappreciated jazz-loving son surrounded by classically-inclined family members? I liked that cartoon and looked it up a while back. It's still a hoot ;-) and I thought it might make a good ringtone so I sampled a small part and make it available here for your listening (or ringtone) pleasure. You can grab it here.
|
|
| New program now available - Disk Search |  I've made a new app I've developed available in the PowerUsers Downloads section. It's called DiskSearch and it does what it sounds like - it searches for things on your disk. It can search by name, last access date and last modification date. This can be useful for IT administrators who are asked to generate reports of large hard disks on servers where some items may not have been touched in months or years. This app is console-based and can be run directly or via BAT files. The syntax looks like this:
ds [-a nn] [-m nn] [-n name] x:
where -a is a search by number of days since last access,
-m is number of days since last modification, and
-n is a name/term you wish to find somewhere in the filename
(either in the filename itself or its extension).
You can also combine an access or modification search with a name search term to restrict the results to what you're looking for.
Click "Read more" below or click Downloads in the pane on the left to get access to the app.
|
|
| New downloads in PowerUsers Downloads section | I've added two new applications to the downloads area. Well, actually, one is new and the other is an updated version of an older app. The first is an updated version of Switch. Switch is a text replacement program that lets you quickly and easily make changes to text files. If you've ever tried to do a find and replace on a large document in Notepad and seen how LONG that can take, you'll appreciate the speed of Switch which can make changes to even the largest documents in a couple of seconds or less.
The second application is a new one I call DefragBySize and it does just what it sounds like it does - defragment files based on their filesize. You can run it manually or from a BAT file or by scheduling it (for, say, automated weekly defrags) and it will defrag the subdirectory (or whole drive) you give it file-by-file in order from the largest files to the smallest. The theory here being that this increases the chances of large files being defragmented properly since they will get first stab at large areas of contiguous free space. Or, at a minimum, it saves the defragmenting app from having to move the already-fragmented small and medium-sized files out of the way when you get to the large ones that need more contiguous space which is being occupied by them.
Both of these utilities are self-documenting as all my apps are. See the accompanying text document with each download for more details. Click "Read More" below to get the direct download links or simply click "Downloads" at the left menu and go into "PowerUsers Downloads" to find them.
|
|
| Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme demolishes benchmarks |  Intel's new CPU looks like it's set to retake the CPU performance crown that AMD has been holding the last two or three years. Intel had hit a wall of thermal/electrical breakdown in their attempts to keep the P4 architecture moving towards higher clock speeds. The P4 was originally believed to eventually be capable of speeds up to 10Ghz but these limits dashed those hopes. So Intel's long-pipelined P4 took a back seat to AMD's chips for some time as Intel regrouped. And regroup they did. Using the low wattage Pentium M as the inspiration/foundation for this new chip they have created a monster of a CPU that runs cool and pushes performance ahead more in a single leap than we've seen in a decade. Some benchmarks are showing speed increases of as much as 75% over AMD's best chips, including the FX-62. In addition it's doing it without generating excessive heat levels. More information and a review of this new chip is here.
|
|
| Apple finally admits MacBook Pro has CPU whine problem |  I like Apple more than most, but the whine on my MacBook Pro was unacceptable and so was Apple's delay in admitting it was a flaw in the design or manufacture of the MacBook Pros. My 15" 2.0 Ghz model was silent if I ran it off of AC power, but as soon as the power was unplugged and the battery took over (and the power savings circuitry was engaged), a whine began that altered in pitch and volume. Bad in any event but infuriating in a high-end product like a MacBook Pro. Apple has finally admitted to the problem and will resolve it with a "logic board" swap (not sure if they mean the whole motherboard or simply a daughterboard, but I suspect the former) if you take it to your local Apple store. Mine is in the shop right now being fixed and I'll try and follow this post up with the results and whether it truly got resolved or not.
Apple's reluctant (and brief) admission/acceptance of the problem is here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303365
|
|
| Bootable Network Toolkit - 'Frenzy' | A new bootable toolkit for sysadmins is now available. It's called 'Frenzy' (not sure why) and it contains a lot of useful utilities for system and network administrators. Based on Free BSD 6.1 it contains tools for everything from tuning and analyzing networks, to testing computer hardware. It boots to a GUI environment making it a nice tool to keep in one's arsenal alongside a BartPE disk and a bootable Linux distro. It's free and available for download now.
|
|
| Why LCDs are bad for gamers |  A couple of years ago I began a thread here in the PowerUsers forums about which type of display is best for gaming, an LCD or a CRT. It sparked a bit of debate and I went into some great detail about why LCDs are the loser in the contest. Some disagreed with me, or put up various defenses for their beloved LCDs. I have new evidence in the battle that demonstrates one of the principal problems I listed with LCDs that make them unfit for gaming. The rest of the article including a screenshot of the problem and a link to the original forum thread with all the details is here.
|
|
| Apple releases first Intel-based Macs | Apple announced the release of new Apple laptop and iMac computers, both employing Intel CPUs. This announcement came 6 months earlier than anticipated. The laptop will be a 15.4" screen unit called the 'MacBook Pro'. The iMac units will be 17" and 20" models and will cost the same as the current models out now. The notebooks can be ordered now but will not ship until next month. The CPU being used is the new Intel "Core Duo" (at 1.67Ghz or 1.83Ghz) and the system will come with 512MB or 1GB of DDR memory and use the ATI X1600 mobile graphics chip with 128MB or 256MB of video memory (based on which of the two models are purchased). The two iMacs will both come with 512MB of DDR memory, the X1600 graphics (128MB of video memory) and either 160GB or 200GB of diskspace. Both have dual-layer SuperDrive burners. More on this story.
|
|
| Rejuvenate your Windows install! | Is your Windows XP install feeling sluggish? Windows 98 not booting as quickly as it used to? Then check out this guide to rejuvenating various flavors of Windows to restore them to decent speed again, without re-doing the install. More info on this story here
|
|
| | | |
|
On a day like today...
1891
U.S. troups invade Chile.
1955
Emmett Till, a Detroit teenager visiting relatives in Mississippi, is tortured and killed for allegedly talking to a white woman in an "improper" way. The questionable trial that followed, and Mrs. Till's decision to display her son's mutilated remains during an open-casket funeral, help to mobilize opposition to segregation in America. Later immortalized in a song by Bob Dylan. |
|
|
|
Main Menu
