Slow?

I am sure you know people who move this way...

The Iguana departs

After a couple of days of obvious quiet, the iquana decided to peacefully move onto pastures new....


See you around JJ

She joins one of the cats and a couple of hamsters, where ever it is these go, when they er... go...

GameShark Media Player Crack

It seems I am getting a lot of people coming here for the GameShark Media Player Crack. I have no idea why, and what on earth could the crack actually do?

If someone would like to leave an anonymous comment as to the function of it (or what someone THINKS it is) I would very much like to know. I would be your bestest buddy for ever and ever and ever and ever.

You can read my original article on it here.

Until then, here's a pointless Star Trek link....



Poor chap in red, they always get it!
Is that Steven Segal?

Bye!

DON'T LOOK AT THIS. It will make you laugh and then you will feel REALLY guilty!


Now do you feel guilty?

Mag Innovision LT576s 15 inch Flat Panel monitor

Well after the success of messing about with a Mag LT776s Flat Panel Monitor I broke down and got a Mag LT576s 15 inch flat panel monitor which now keeps an underused PC company elsewhere in the lair.

It fit into the space just perfectly, and with a little care and attention, it means all you see is a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. No wires to worry about or get in the way.

This thing is just so nice, and there is no issue what so ever with the image quality. The more Mag products I get to try, the more and more I like them. It's one of those brand names I now tend to notice in the computery stores no matter what I am actually looking for.



Mag LT576s, nice and trim.

CRT - Cathode Ray Tube
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
Flat Panel Monitor - Same as LCD but for people with more money than God.
Second monitor on a laptop - Just plug a normal desktop monitor, into the monitor socket on the back of your laptop, and switch on.

How to check for Mydoom infection

Here is a little tip in case you were worrying about the latest and baddest worm to come out of some idiots head, for the rest of the world to have to deal with...

Look for the following file

ctfmon.dll

If you have it, congratulations, you are one of the infected unclean.

You can visit the Microsoft Security "What You Should Know About the Mydoom Worm" page and see for yourself. It details the ways in which these things get hold of you, and how you can minimize further exploitation from the nerdy non-girlfriended types out there.

So remember folks, ALWAYS have virus protection running and keep it up to date. Getting an email from someone you don't know is a no brainer, just delete it. Even if you get something that APPEARS to be from someone you DO know, if you did not specifically ask for, or expect it, then delete it. As they can quite easily send it again. They may not have even sent it, it could be the virus sending out emails to everyone in their address book.

It's good information chaps, read it!


Mydoom information from Symantec


Basic fact stuff

Viruses and worms are quite often delivered to the user in email attachments. You know when someone sends you a picture or another file, that is attached to the message? Well in some cases that attachment is infected with the virus, and as soon as you open it (by selecting open, view, or how ever your email program lets you see attached files) it goes to work behind the scenes messing up your computer, and in a lot of cases, thousands of others too!

To avoid being part of the problem, make sure you scan all incoming email with your virus scanner, and delete anything you did not expect or ask for. Most of that is called spam you know.

DOS or Denial of service attack - Someone repeatedly requests things from someone else's server, to bring it to a complete halt. In this case the worm will make infected machines send lots of requests to specific servers to try and flood them with requests and bring them to a grinding halt. Naughty

WORM - More naughtyness!

One final note. Viruses are ALWAYS man made. There is no natural source of computer illness anywhere. Some idiot with more time and acne, than brain cells has decided to ruin a lot of users days.

Installing Windows XP

I have had to setup WinXP Pro on 11 HP 401e machines over the last couple of days. Getting them all securitied up, and nice corporate looking wallpapers. In readiness for their big debut in a computer lab.

It doesn't take much for me to endlessly whistle, or hum, or in some other abstract way, make the approximation of the original score.

The one that gets me these days is the Windows XP first boot theme tune.
Which can be found here...
C:\WINDOWS\system32\oobe\images\title.wma

Go on, try it, you will be agog, amazed, for at least 23 seconds.


WinXP takes forever to run

Logitech Cordless MX Duo - Review

Having the need to experiment, and a recent expansion of the home network, led to the purchase of a Logitech Cordless MX Duo. Nice.

It's connected to a Windows 98 PC that is mainly used for remote desktopping to the other PC's when the journey is too far to contemplate, and your begal is threatening to cook itself stupid.

No drivers, no install, it just worked! It has a million extra buttons, which look as though they can do everything you would normally do with the mouse, but as I have not installed the accompanying software, I cannot say if they are useful. (Which means he hates those stupid, "do extra things" buttons, as that's what your desktop is for anyway!)

The mouse worked straight out of the box, and has rechargable mystery within it. It says to recharge before first use, but it worked anyway. A little receiver sits on the desk, and acts as a charger, and mouse holder, when you are not at the machine. This brings to mind the ability to loose a mouse that has free roaming ability. Just like your keys, TV remote, or cell phone, it can and probably will go awol.

The mouse also has a million other buttons on it, (See above sarcasm for details) which also appear to do everything as well.

The keyboard feels soooo niiiiice. What ever it is they have done to it, it just feels great. The mouse too, is large, and heavy feeling, and in no way feels like the usual, rickety mice which mere mortals have. The only complaint was that the mouse was on a completely shiny, white, flat surface which at first was no good at all. It hardly moved. Once ANYTHING else was under it, it was amazingly accurate and just all around super duper. It only needs the slightest of detail on the desktop to function correctly.

All in all, it is well worth the $80 is currently sells for. Seeing as the mouse on it's own is $60!! The two AA batteries come with the keyboard, so you can be up and running straight away. If you need a wireless keyboard, then get this, and be happy.


Logitech Cordless Duo MX mmmmMMmmm

Remote Desktop
It means to see your own desktop on a different computer, and use it as if you were sat in front of it. It's jolly good fun!
Microsofts "Using Remote Desktop"
FREE Version from Real VNC, which is MUCH simpler, much easier, works on anything (don't need Windows XP Pro, no sir) , and did I mention IT'S FREE!

SM01 mounting brackets

Your wireless network takes some care and attention. There seem to be a lot of factors, that no end of research will prepare you for. Strange alien composites in your walls to block signals, antenna position, interference, and even someone else with a default setup that stops you from initially configoring your own network. How rude!

Well all of this so far has befallen me too. It's a learning process which really gets you in touch with your inner house. Plonking the base station down, configoring your laptop like a good little boy scout, and wandering around all those places indoors you think you want to get wireless access, seems to be just the beginning of this adventure.

I looked into larger antenna, even cantenna, but nothing seemed to give a definative answer. The final solution came from an unexpected source.

The SM01 stacking/wall mounting bracket from Linksys. They are just a sheet of molded plastic, which has holes that match up with your Linksys router, switch, or hub.

1. Place mounting bracket where you want it on the wall and mark the points to put your two screws.
2. Pop the rubber feet from the router/hub/switch. (Yes they DO come out, and now you know after all this time WHY they are there)
3. Push the router/hub/switch onto the bracket. (No matter what anyone says, you do not have to screw the device to the bracket itself)
4. Screw your screws into the wall, nearly all the way, and then simply hook the bracket onto them. Easy as a very easy thing with a how-to video included!

One weird thing to note is that YOU DON'T GET ANY SCREWS with your SM01 stacking/wall mounting brackets. But anything will do, and unless you are susceptible to earthquakes then I am sure you will be fine. Even a teenage door slamming contest should be ok with these things, unless you live on the set of a major cheap soap opera, where the walls nearly collapse each time someone discovers they are the long lost sister/brother/father/mother of someone.

So all in all, moving the base station just 2 meters (beyond a wall with strange alien composites of unknown er... composition) has made an amazing difference to the reception throughout the house. In this instance, the WRT54G Wireless-G Broadband Router is now facing downwards, with the antenna in the usual position (L shaped), at the top of the center of the house, gives a great signal all round. Even in a heady mix of wireless house phones, microwave ovens, and an overuse of those little JENSEN DSC-IR100A Remote Control Extenders! All supposedly, wireless network stopping evilness.

They are only $2 each, but it seems you can only buy them in packs of 10. So it's a lot for just one box, so perhaps a buddy has one spare? Or you could sell them onto others, who knows, thats your problem. But they do work very well indeed!

Good luck


Open the pod bay doors Hal


Remember, you need to get power and your intial network cabling to this point, so take that into account when deciding where to place it.

Way of the exploding fist.

One has had the privilage of finding out that I know (really know, not just the fact I think I saw him once, possibly), one of the 18 Shihan Kai in the WORLD! These chaps decide everything karate-ish for the whole universe!

And this fellow is the only one in the USA!

See if YOU can work out who it is, kiddies?


Shotokan Karate
It's not about kicking peoples butts, but it could be if THEY insist!