Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Ad-Hoc, Hotspot, Tethering, three words you keep seeing. Three expressions everyone but you seem to know what is. In one of my more popular articles here on mintywhite we deal with setting up your Windows 7 computer as a Wi-Fi Hotspot. In the comments, one of our readers (who probably felt a bit awkward) asked if a HotSpot is the same thing as an Ad-Hoc. Hmm… Let’s explore this topic. After you read this, you might want to tell me to change the name of the before mentioned article to: “Set Windows 7 as WiFi Ad-Hoc” but I’ll explain a bit further down, why I chose the word HotSpot. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a neat little trick for those spy wannabes, or those of you who are paranoid wanting a secret user account on your system. Okay it may not be a totally secret account, as the user folder will be visible after login anyways… Jokes aside, if you have a public available computer, you may want to make sure users log on, using the proper account(s). This can be achieved with a little tweak of the registry. The hidden accounts are of course available for log in, when you know where to look. Read the rest of this entry »

(Get the theme above.) Want to change the UI of your Windows 7 Completely? Want to give it an overhaul and make it look absolutely awesome? Then you’re in luck, because today I’m going to show you how to apply custom themes in Windows 7.

Here’s How:

1. First you will need to download and install either the 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) patcher (auto installer) for your 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7:

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Every now and then you need to resize a photo for different reasons. Being an eager hobby photographer I like to be able to print some of my photos. Sometimes I want to make smaller prints and sometimes I want to make large ones. Storing different copies of my images would not be a space saver, so instead I use a different method: Scaling using DPI.

[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.

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Remember the quick launch bar in Windows Vista? The one with the Flip-3D, Show desktop, and IE shortcuts? You can have it in Windows 7 too; in this guide, you’ll learn how to restore this toolbar.

More Windows 7 Guides

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Yesterday, we explained IRC and how to get set up. Today, we’ll cover tips and basic commands for using IRC. In this guide, we’ll cover:

• How to join IRC networks
• How to join a IRC network channels
• IRC tips
• IRC basic commands

How to Join IRC Networks

An IRC Network hosts channels (more about that in a minute) on which you can chat and interact. A network is hosted by the server (what’s an IRC server?) and, generally, provides a chatting area for groups of interest or geographic location. There are many (tens of thousands or more) IRC networks, which can host anywhere from one to many thousand channels.

To join an IRC network, you need to know its address and port number. Once you’ve found a network, simply connect to it with your IRC client. For example:

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