*One of the wallpaper sites we usually link to has changed its design and is now riddled with ads. Because of this, I’ve removed all links to this site, which takes the number slightly lower than 800.

Did you miss the first two round ups?

• Desktop Wallpaper: 800 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 1]
• Desktop Wallpaper: 800 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 2]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 33]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 34]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 35]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 36]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 37]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 38]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 39]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 40]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 41]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 42]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 43]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 44]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 45]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 46]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 47]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 48]

The short answer

The short answer is (in the words of Aerosmith): Hotspot is like Ad-Hoc, but not quite. Okay Aerosmith never said it like that, but if you know which song I’m referring too, leave your answer in the comment. HotSpot and Ad-Hoc can both be used to share your internet connection, and in some respect they are two of the same. They differ in what they are intended for.

The slightly longer answer

First, let me try to define what an Ad-Hoc and a HotSpot is:

HotSpot

Generally speaking, a HotSpot is what you are using when accessing Internet when you’re at a Café or a Hotel. Usually you need a username and/or password to log on through a web-Portal to be able to connect to the Internet.  HotSpot requires a Wi-Fi connection and works like your Wi-Fi Network at home. The HotSpot will normally only allow you to use the Internet. Not interact with other computers or gadgets using the same HotSpot.

Ad-Hoc

The Ad-Hoc is a wireless network without the need of a big Server, or a Router. A Router is preferable the easiest way to go, but you are able to do without. Ad-Hoc rely on each computers Wi-Fi Card to set up and Connect to other computers through one of the other, which for the sake of argument, is the Server (or main Computer). If this Computer has a Wireless Internet (USB modem etc.) then the Ad-Hoc Network can share the Internet Connection as well.

If you have multiple computers in your household, and all are running Windows 7, you might be using an Ad-Hoc Network already, otherwise known as HomeGroup.  The Ad-Hoc gives you much of the same functionality you would come to expect from a wired network, like Printer- and Filesharing.

I did promise an answer to my choice of title

The answer is simple. The main purpose of the article in mind, was to let other computers share your internet Connection. Not dealing with all the hassle with security, sharing, permissions etc. Though arguably you do the same as setting up an Ad-Hoc Network, you are only giving away Internet Access. And, besides, Rich would have a handful of 404 errors to handle If I were to change it now.

Tethering

Tethering is a word that began surfacing around 2009 when SmartPhones started appearing. In short, Tethering is using your phone (or other device) as an Internet Modem through an USB-Cable, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Connection. Allowing your Laptop to connect to the Internet, no matter where you are. With 3G (and 4G) standards, this is almost as good as using a Wireless Internet, but will in the long run cost your more. But for that one desperate moment when you really need Internet – well, then that is a great solution.

Be aware that some Internet providers require you to sign up for an extra Tethering Service if you want to connect more than one device to their service.

The technique is by far new, and has been available before the world even knew what a SmartPhone is. But back then, it was called: “Using your Cellphone as modem” or something similar.

[Disclaimer] Neither Mintywhite Staff nor I shall be held responsible (or liable) for any consequences you might suffer for using these pranks.  You do this at your own risk, so keep it clean if you would like to keep your friends (and job) …

On to the pranks

The first pranks I thought I’d come up with are new versions of old pranks. Pranks that are updated to fit the world of today, so to speak. Now the first rule, when it comes to pranks is to know your victim good. Find a prank that will baffle them, even us computer savvy people will fall for some of these. Let’s start with the simple ones (those who don’t require any or much planning), and move on to the more advanced ones as we go.

UnClickable Desktop (version 2)

This is an oldie but goodie. As soon as a computer gets left alone, take a snapshot  of the desktop (Click the PrintScreen Button (PrtScr)), open Windows Paint or whatever and paste the image there, saving it as a JPEG image. Then, set that image as the default wallpaper.

Prank 1: Make sure you hide all icons, so that the only icons visible are the ones in the photo. To amp this one up a bit, open a “not so safe for work” website or image, in the middle of the desktop, BEFORE taking the snapshot. Then, you can really enjoy watching as your victim desperately tries to close that window. But again, consider the environments before choosing the proper image. If your victim use desktop gadgets, you might want to hide those before taking the snapshot, then activate them again after you swap the wallpaper. This way everything will look normal.

Prank 2:
Download this Blue Screen of Death image, set is as the wallpaper, and hide both the desktop icons and gadgets. OR, you can download the BSOD Screensaver from Microsoft!

TIP: To hide the desktop images, right-click an empty part of your desktop and choose VIEW from the Context menu. Uncheck the options “Show Desktop Icons” and “Desktop gadgets” if appropriate.

UnUsable Mouse

Prank 1:
Back in the day, the mouse was subject to many pranks. One prank I enjoyed in particular was to remove the little ball inside the mouse, which of course would render the mouse useless. Now days the mouse is equipped with optical or laser sensors, so there’s really nothing you can remove. However, if you place a piece of tape over the sensor you will pretty much get the same effect. Try it.

Prank 2:
Another easy-to-pull-off prank is to open the mouse control panel and switch the buttons from right-handed usage to left-handed. Sit back and enjoy as your baffled co-worker cannot get that left click working. Also, set the pointer speed to slow for some added annoyance.

Keyboard pranks

Prank 1:
Changing the keyboard setup in the control panel is great way to cause havoc. Switch the keyboard language and layout from English to let’s say Russian. Hours of fun that.

Prank 2:
If you have a “one-finger typing” victim, brake loose a couple of the keys on the keyboard and switch them around. Swap A and S, and E and R. Enjoy as they really cannot type anything. Don’t switch too many letters as it will probably be you that have to switch them back later on. And here’s how you do it.

Speaker prank

If your workplace is a landscape or you share office with several co-workers, you can also have some fun with speakers. Simply switch the speaker cables between your two computers, leaving the cables in such a way that it’s not obvious what you’ve done. Now you can make the other computer, play music at random, Loud beeps etc. hours of fun – or minutes, depending on how long you can keep a straight face.

Advanced Pranks

Now over to the more advanced pranks, that require some effort and planning, and of course enough alone time (at the victim’s computer), to avoid getting caught.

Downloads

There are hundreds of small programs to help you prank someone. Here are a few of my favourites:

• Replace Keys clicker, that replace any keyboard keystrokes with different keyboard keystrokes.
• MouseClicks, let you disable/enable the mouse buttons at regular or random intervals
• Remove Programs, Add/Remove is a prank program that makes it appear that all of your software on your computer is being removed using the Windows Add/Remove Program feature.
• ClickStart, every 45 seconds it will click on the start button causing the start menu to open, talk about irritating behavior.
• DownHoax, is a fake downloader that will make it look like the computer is downloading Not-Safe-For-Work things. It cannot be stopped, as it will only re-start until done.
• EmailFun. When executed, Email Fun displays a fake email screen complete with the To:, From:, Subject: and message contents. Then it immediately pretends to automatically type an email to everyone that is in your address book. Once the message is completed it simulates sending the email, with itself as an attachment.

Phone

If you live in the US or Canada, you can use a free phone call wakeup service to play. Pop your victim’s phone number, a time, and a custom message into WakerUpEr and they will get one of the strangest phone calls of their life.

The Mouse Stinkbomb Prank

Now this has to be the most advanced prank I’ve ever come across. It definitively takes some time to prepare, and you do have to do some shopping. First off get hold of the standard office mouse (commonly used at your work). Then you’ll need a smoke bomb, timer circuit, super glue, and micro switches. Sounds fun? Check it out here!

Covered in Jelly Prank

This is a prank for those who love jelly (OR, have  much spare time on their hands). I cannot describe it, you have to see it. The “Covered in jelly Prank”.

Almost done

I could sit here forever writing about all the fun pranks I’ve come across. But now it’s time for you to contribute. Before I finish off though, if you should happen to have full access to a friend’s computer, then this would be the greatest prank (Warning, definitively NOT safe for work):  SoundPrank 1. There is a safe for Work version also: Soundprank 2.

Sources (or research links)

• http://lifehacker.com/373817/top-10-harmless-geek-pranks
• http://www.technixupdate.com/40-computer-pranks-to-play-on-your-friend-computer/
• http://keypusher.tripod.com/pranks.htm
• http://www.computerpranks.com

The best Prank Stories:

• http://www.toiletpaperentrepreneur.com/the-right-actions/31-great-office-pranks

[disclaimer] This guide is written using Photoshop, but there are several other programs available with the same capabilities as described here (like Paint.net). This guide will not focus on how to create photos for use on the web where pictures need to be downsized and data removed.

To be able to resize a photo (making it larger or smaller) without removing data you need to know what a digital photo is and you will also need to know what DPI is and how it works.  So let’s start with that.

BitMap Image

All photos stored on your computer are what we can call  Bitmap images. The Bitmap is simply explained a grid (or a mesh) that we fill with pixels (or dots) of various colors. Up close you will only see colorful pixels but zoomed out you will perceive it as a photo. A little trick of the eye as it were. And this is where the DPI comes in.

DPI – Dots Per Inch

As you may know, an image has two dimensions (height and width) but there is also a third one; called DPI (Dots Per Inch). The DPI is what tells you how much information is stored in your photo. The more pixels (or dots) we are able to squeeze into our photo, the more information we store and the larger the file. We measure this in inches.

DPI, Simplified

Lets break this down a bit. Lets say you’re at a stadium where each row is a line in your photo. Each person is a pixel. The more people you can squeeze into each row, the more people will get to see the match. Hence, the more pixels you can squeeze into an inch, the more information is stored in the photograph, and the better it will look.

Take a look at the illustration above that demonstrates the difference between 300 DPI and 72 DPI.

Different DPI = Different usage

Your monitor uses a DPI of 72 or 96, which plainly speaking means, 72 (or 96) pixels spread out on an inch long line. A newspaper will traditionally use a DPI of about 150 DPI, and a magazine will normally have a setting of 300 DPI. High Resolution Photos can use from 600 DPI and up to the thousands. Meaning that what you are going to use the photo for will decide how large DPI you should use. Some Printers will only print a DPI up to 600 so anything above that will just be a waste of space.

Also know that the larger the DPI, the more hard drive space and memory the photo will consume.

Scaling using DPI

We may convert the image physical size (height and width) to DPI and vice versa. Any normal digital camera will use a DPI-setting of 72 (or 96), making the images large in size. My camera takes pictures that are about 3000×2000 pixels with a DPI of 72, which is equal to 105×70 cm. Which of course is way to large to print.

If I were to just strip off the excessive data I would be stuck with a pixellated, unsharp photo. Instead I want to keep all the information, while still be able to print High-Res photos on my Photo paper. This is where I open my photo in Photoshop (but by all means use Paint.net or similar).

• Scaling the photo down to 40 x 30 will give me a DPI of 177 DPI
• Scaling the photo down to 15×10 cm  gives me a DPI of 500 DPI

The great thing about this kind of scaling is that should I decide to print this image in a larger format later I’m still able. Because no data is removed only stacked together tighter, there is no loss in data or image quality. That being said, if you want to double the image size (from 40×30 cm to 80×60) the image will not be sharp to look at up close, but zoomed out it will be. Take a closer look at a large poster next time you walk by it, up close you will see the pixels, but from a far …

In Photoshop

In Photoshop you are able to resize an image and save it without the loss of data. If you are using another program try not to save the changes after scaling.

1. Open your photo
2. Choose Image Size from the Image Menu
3. To Resize an image using the DPI information, uncheck “Resample Image”
4. Reduce the print size by entering a new width or height (to suit your Photo paper).

In Paint.Net

If you decide to use paint.net, be advised that if you are not careful it will remove data that are lost to you if you save the image after printing it.

1. Open your image
2. Choose Resize from the Image-Menu.
   Make a note of the file size in the top right corner, and the print size at the bottom of the resize-window.
3. Change the resolution (DPI) from 72  to 350.
   
   Notice how the file size is unchanged, but the printsize has changed.

You may if you like change the printsize instead of the DPI, in paint.net this will set the DPI to a default of 180. My recommendation is to keep the DPI at  least 300 to keep the printed image sharp and crisp on a High-Res photo paper. Read more about resizing using paint.net here.

*One of the wallpaper sites we usually link to has changed its design and is now riddled with ads. Because of this, I’ve removed all links to this site, which takes the number slightly lower than 800.

Did you miss the first round up? Desktop Wallpaper: 800 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 1]

Check out the third collection of 800 wallpapers.

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 17]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 18]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 19]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 20]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 21]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 22]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 23]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 24]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 25]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 26]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 27]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 28]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 29]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 30]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 31]

Desktop Wallpaper: 50 High-resolution Wallpapers for Windows, Linux, Mac [Set 32]

Featuring: WIM-images and Diskpart

When I first bought my netbook from Acer it came with the  Windows 7 Starter Edition. Luckily for me I had an extra Home Premium license I could use. Problem was that the graphics driver needed was not available for download, and was not available through Windows. A fact I only discovered once I had re-installed windows. Another irritating thing I discovered was that the bundled software that was pre-installed with my windows starter edition, did not run anymore.

The solution? The hidden recovery partition.

Most new computers today comes with pre-installed Windows and bundled software. These licenses or programs does not come with an installation disk, package or user-manuals. Instead the setup files (or recovery disk) is stored in a hidden partition on your hard-drive, together with various extra drivers and tweak files. At the end of this article I will show you where to look for the files and how to retrieve them, but first lets unhide the partition. To unlock or get access to this hidden partition we need to unhide it. This can be achieved using the built-in DiskPart Tool. You can choose to get access to the disk on a one-time basis or permanently assigning a drive letter for it. In most cases you are able to assign a drive letter using the Windows Disk management tool. The Recovery Partition is normally set to have no drive letter by default. We can override this feature by using Diskpart.

Diskpart

Diskpart is a Command Line Utility which allows us to control every disk and partition on our system. We have shown you different uses for this tool on occasion, and this time we will use it to get access to the hidden partition. To make a hidden partition available we need to assign a drive letter, and this is how:

1. Click Start-button and type DISKPART and press Enter.
2. Click OK when the UAC prompt you
3. In the Diskpart Dialogue Window, type: list disk This will show you a list of the disks  installed on your computer.
4. Type Select Disk 0 (where zero is the disk we want to use, if you have more that one disk you might want to try accessing one by one until you find the right one)
5. Type List Partition. You will see a list of all partitions on the drive, in my case there are two. One large and one small. The small one is the one we want to change. You can also identify the hidden partition by the fact that there are no drive letter assigned to it.
6. Type Select Partition 1 (Where 1 represent your partition)
7. Type Assign If successful you should get an Auto-run dialogue.
8. Type Exit to close the Diskpart Tool.

Hidden on reboot…

On some computers the partition will be hidden again on the next boot. This is due to a setting called “nodefaultdriveletter”, which tells windows that the partition is to be hidden by default. If you would like to keep the partition visible,  you will have to change the setting.

1. Open the Diskpart tool
2. Type Select Disk 0
3. Type List Partition
4. Type Select Partition 1 (Replace 1 with the corresponding letter)
5. Type Detail Partition This will display the settings for your partition. If the Type is set to 27 the partition is set as hidden.
6. Try one of the following commands: Set ID=07 OVERRIDE attributes volume clear hidden
7. Type Assign to assign a drive letter.
8. Type Exit to close the Diskpart Tool.

The next time you boot your computer the partition will still be visible.

Looking through the Recovery Partition Folder

Now it’s time to do a bit of digging inside the Folders. The location of drivers and software will vary depending on your brand or computer type. In my case, everything I need is  hidden inside the ACER-HQ1 folder. You will see many different folders containing everything from Windows Recovery or setup-files, drivers and the licensed software that came bundled with your computer. The content of these folders will most likely be WIM-files or images. The Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is a file-based disk image format (like ISO, RAR and ZIP). It was developed by Microsoft to deploy its latest Windows operating system releases, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, which use it as part of their standard installation procedure. It works equally well with older versions of Windows.

Windows Setup Files Found in the Recovery Partition

Accessing WIM-Images

To access the contents the WIM-files you need a WIM capable reader. I suggest you use WinMount which works similar to WinRAR, but allow you to mount WIM-images temporarily.

Inside a WIM-image you will usually find 2 folders and a xml-file (it may vary). Usually the content you seek is within the folder named 1 (one). After mounting you might need to copy the contents to a new folder before installing the program or driver. Once you have done that, you can install the software as you please.

Bundled software licenses

In order to make sure you don’t install the bundled software onto other computers most setup files have a CMD-file attached to it. This is a scriptfile that will check the identity of your computer before allowing the setup to start. Delete this file to avoid it from running.

The serial is usually found inside an INI-file or a XML-file. And that should be all you need to know. Good Luck

Download WinMount

Download WinMount

Today, we rely on the Internet to carry out various functions and it is no fun when your web browser, such as Internet Explorer, develops an error and fails to load. In this article, we will discuss how to resolve common errors associated with Internet Explorer as well as the following topics:

• How to remove additional toolbars from Internet Explorer, such as the yahoo toolbar.
• How to resolve system error 5
• Essential PC maintenance activities that every Windows user should perform to prevent common Windows errors and issues from occurring.

Iexplore.exe Application Error

Iexplore.exe is the executable file of the popular web browser Internet Explorer. You may encounter the following error when you try to start Internet Explorer 6.0 on a Windows XP computer:

“Iexplore.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

Typically, the error occurs when the following conditions hold true:

• Browser Helper Objects (BHO), such as Morpheus, Morpheus Shopping Club, WURLD Shopping Community, or BuyersPort are installed.
• You are logged in to your computer with a limited user account.

The error occurs when the installed BHOs try to make changes to specific system files and registry entries but cannot do so because of limited access. You may perform either of the following tasks to fix the error:

• Log on to your computer as an administrator.
• Remove the BHOs from your computer.

Uninstall Yahoo Toolbar

To achieve this, perform the following steps:

1. Close any open Internet Explorer Window.
2. Click Start and then click Control Panel to open its corresponding window.
3. Next, double-click Add or Remove Programs.
4. Now, locate and select Yahoo Toolbar.
5. Click the Uninstall button.
6. Restart Internet Explorer.

System Error 5

This error occurs if there is a problem with permissions to access another Windows computer. For instance, you may receive the error while trying to access a Windows Vista computer on your network from a Windows XP computer using the Net View command. One of the common causes of this error is Time Synchronization issues. Assuming this is the cause the error, you can resolve the error by performing the following steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and press Enter.
2. At command prompt type NET TIME /QUERYSNTP and press Enter to execute the command.
3. In case an error is reported, type NET TIME /DOMAIN /SET /YES and press Enter.
4. Also, ensure that Time Zones are set correctly.

Essential PC maintenance activities

By regularly performing the following PC maintenance activities you can not only prevent various Window errors, but also resolve various PC performance related issues.

Run malware scans – Install a robust antimalware software, update it regularly, and perform regular malware scans on your entire computer to ensure your Windows PC remains safe from malicious programs.

Update Windows files – Keep the built-in Automatic Update feature enabled to ensure new Windows updates are automatically installed on your computer.

Update third-party drivers – Use a reliable driver update tool or manually update your third-party drivers regularly.

Clean the Windows registry – Clean your Windows registry regularly using a top-rated registry cleaner tool to ensure your registry remains healthy and error-free.

James Ricketts is a writer whose work can be seen at Instant-Registry-Fixes.org. To find out more about his work or to contact him, please visit Instant-Registry-Fixes.org.

• What is an Easter Egg?
• What an Easter Egg is Not
• Easter Egg Examples

What is an Easter Egg?

Easter eggs, in software, are deliberately added and not not just “glitches” (see more about that below.) Often these Easter eggs are added by programmers for a joke, to get some attention, or to add some flair to the software you’re using.

A classic example of an Easter egg is a hidden menu on DVD or an animation in a piece of software that can only be seen by pressing certain keys.

What an Easter Egg is Not

There are some common misconceptions with the term “Easter Egg.” An Easter egg is not:

• A bug in a program.
• An imposed restriction.
• A hack in a program made by the end user.

For example, it has been claimed that not being able to create a folder, in Windows, with one of the following names is an Easter egg:

PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9

This is not an example of an Easter egg. This is a restriction, that dates back to DOS, to protect certain file names being used that are reserved by the operating system:

Although the first error message (seemingly, still, not updated with Windows 7) makes you think you’ve found an Easter egg (or glitch) in Windows, the second error message states otherwise.

Another commonly confused Easter egg is the ability to generate random text in Microsoft Word. Try this:

1. Open Microsoft Word

2. Type =rand(20,9)

This will create twenty paragraphs with nine sentences each (taken from the Microsoft Help files):

Still, not an Easter egg.

Enough of that though, you’re here to learn about some real Easter eggs…

Easter Egg Examples

Here are some examples of the best Easter eggs I’ve found/heard about in software over the years. Please share others, you know about, in the comments.

Picasa: Teddy Bears

In Google Picasa, press CTRL+SHIFT+Y. Watch the teddy bears rain down on your screen.

Firefox: The Book of Mozilla

If you’re a Firefox user, open any version and type about:mozilla in the address bar. You’ll get a quote from “The Book of Mozilla”:

Firefox: about:robots

Open Firefox and type about:robots in the address bar:

vim: :Ni! and :help!

In vim, if you type

:Ni!

in normal mode, vim shows the error message

Do you demand a shrubbery?

If you type

:help!

vim, reassuringly, says

Don’t Panic!

Source

Excel 97: Flight Simulator

Want to see the credits of Excel 97 in a flight sim-like fashion? Didn’t think so, but you’re welcome to try anyway. If you’re using Office 97 or have access:

1. Open Excel 97 (this doesn’t work in later versions.)
2. On a blank worksheet, press F5.
3. Type X97:L97 and press Enter.
4. Press the Tab key once.
   
5. Hold down Ctrl + Shift and left-click the Chart Wizard toolbar icon.

Click here for a screenshot if you don’t have Excel 97. Otherwise, try it for yourself as a fun surprise.

uTorrent: Tetris

In uTorrent, click Help > About uTorrent. When the About dialog appears, press T on the keyboard to play Tetris.

Are These Easter Eggs?

Here are a few I’ve found, over the years, that I’m on the fence about. What do you think?

Extra Files in C:\Windows on Windows XP

If you’re using Windows XP or have access to a copy of it, go to C:\Windows and look for a file named clock.avi. I’ve not seen any use for this file. I’m not entirely sure it’s an Easter egg, but I bet you didn’t know it was there!

Similarly, there is a file named “quotes”. Open My Computer and go to: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\etc, open the file named quotes in notepad then look at the quotes put there by the Microsoft developers.

Win Solitaire Every time

Open Solitaire Press Alt + Shift + 2 while playing and see the cards drop.

Windows Guides’ Rating	User Rating	Compatible with	System
5 out of 5	Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Whether or not you like playing games on your cellphone, you may have noticed people so hung up on a certain game that they hardly recognize anything around them. Which game is it? It’s called “Angry Birds”. The game first appeared on iPhone and has since then moved on to other platforms. Having a Windows Mobile, I know It will never reach my phone, as the developers have claimed NEVER to transfer the game to that platform. But in a small way (or should I say big) they have yielded – the game is now available for Windows PC. And it works on all window platforms. If you wonder about the HALF star up there, the game’s only flaw is that it’s so addictive… PRICE: $4,99 DOWNLOAD: Angry Birds

Curious about the game ?

[EDIT] There was a free edition available when it was first published. Seeing as I was a bit late telling you about this, the free edition is no longer available. Angry Birds is now only available in paid version at Intel App Up Store.

I must warn you – it’s very ADDICTIVE, and the hours will pass as you over and over again scream out loud in agony over the ONE, lousy pig that just won’t die, die .. d.. Oh well you get the idea.

The aim of the game is that a pack of green hogs have stolen the birds eggs. The birds of course are very upset about this and decide to attack the hogs claiming their eggs back. Using a large slingshot they use themselves as ammo trying to destroy the hogs fortresses. Some of the birds can drop bombs in the shape of, you guessed it… eggs. Others will explode on impact and others… well you will just wait and see for yourself now won’t you ?

It’s a rather simple game, and rather stupid – but the fact of the manner is – you will get addicted – so maybe you should just stay away from this one? Well, don’t come back and say I didn’t warn you. Now where was I.. oh yes… back to the game…

Angry Birds is available at the Intels App Up store.

Download Angry Birds at the Intel AppUp Store

Get Angry Birds

Windows Guides’ Rating	User Rating	Compatible with	System
4.5 out of 5	Note: There is a rating embedded within this post, please visit this post to rate it.

Screenpresso Features

If you are dealing with some tasks that require you to take a lot of screenshots (for example: a software application engineer who is responsible to look for bugs and test software), a simple but full-featured screen capture tool is necessary.

By the term simple, I mean the entire screen capture experience has to be natural so that the user can start using it right away without much exploring. Of course, if a really simple screen capture is needed, we can just opt for the Print Screen button on the keyboard. However, for advanced tasks with screenshots, like annotation and sharing, a full-featured application is needed. There are already plenty of screen capture tools for Windows that have the criteria mentioned, but most of them doesn’t come with a friendly price tag. If you are looking for a cheap (or should I say free?) alternative, there is only one program that is simple but full featured: introducing LearnPulse’s Screenpresso.

It has the best screen capture user experience

I have been using Screenpresso for screen capturing tasks ever since it was first released in 2009, and it keeps improving. I’ve tried numerous screen capture tools, and I must say Screenpresso provides the best screen capture user experience – and all my colleagues will definitely agree on this. If you have already used to press Print Screen button for screen capturing, Screenpresso will change your user experience in no time.

Screenpresso in action.

After you have installed Screenpresso, press the Print Screen button, and you will see how Screenpresso magically assists you in screen capture. As you can see in the screenshot above (OK, I admit that I didn’t capture this screen using Screenpresso), the mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair, and moving it around the screen will automatically highlight the area that can be captured in red. It does some pretty cool edge snapping to the screen, so you can choose to capture part of a window, or the entire window, or even the whole screen. Notice the zoom lens at the right bottom of the screen? It is really useful if you require a pixel-perfect screen capture, and it tells you the pixel size that’s highlighted. Besides that, Screenpresso does a very good job of capturing the window with clean Aero glass, but of course you can easily disable this feature in the settings. Want to capture a long webpage into a single image? No problem, thanks to the smart stitching mechanism in Screenpresso.

Which is better? The left or the right?

All of these features seem pretty simple, but a combination of them create an unrivaled user experience, in a free product. But there’s more …

It has a Powerful Built-in Editor

Applying annotation to the screenshots is both fun and efficient in Screenpresso. It has a very simple but powerful editor which allows you to do tons of editing, such as commenting, adding arrows etc. and you can even blur a region easily. One of the best features in the Screenpresso editor is their Add Image function. The developers have done a great job by providing users useful and ready-to-use images (check both the screenshots above for examples.) All are done in Screenpresso’s  built-in editor, without charging a single cent. Impressive?

Capture Sharing is Easier than Ever

Tons of sharing option. Screen captured with branding.

Besides providing great user experience and powerful editor, LearnPulse has also attempted to make sharing of screenshots easier. They have included numerous options for you to share screenshots easily; as you can see in the screenshot above. If you are not keen on using any services provided, you can just simply drag-and-drop the screenshots from the history to email or file-explorer for more sharing options. If you notice the screenshot above, there is some branding done on the screenshot, but this will only apply when you are using certain sharing options provided in Screenpresso, though I don’t find it intrusive at all in the screenshot. For the features that has the branding enabled, check their features list of Screenpresso.

It is a Portable Application

This great tool is not only available for your personal computer; it can be used as a portable application on a public computer as well. On the first run of the Screenpresso installer which can be found here, it will allow you to run it directly without installation, or install on the computer if you wish. This can provide high flexibility and the user is able to run it virtually in any Windows-based computers – another great user experience.

Screenpresso allows you to run as portable app, or install on your computer.

And … it has good customer support

I believe a good program without good support from the developer will not be success–most of the time. Learnpulse is always ready to listen to the users’ comments, complaints and suggestions, and they can be reached easily via their official Twitter account. I once suggested them to add a curvy line/arrow tools in their editor (after my colleague asked me about it) and they responded that they will add my suggestion to their ‘to do’ list – it’s pretty sweet if you ask me.

With the latest release in 2011 (version 1.2.1.4 at the time of writing), LearnPulse has looked into video capturing in Screenpresso. Although the free version can only capture a tiny 15 seconds video with branding. There is a Screenpresso Pro version which costs $28 (at time of writing) that removes all the brandings and has full length video capture. However, since it is a new feature, there aren’t any extra functions for the captured video besides sharing; however, I believe LearnPulse is working hard to improve Screenpresso to become the best screen and video capture tool for Windows.

If you looking for a great screen capture tool at no cost, look no further, try Screenpresso and you will be amazed!

Download Screenpresso

Download Screenpresso