The Raspberry Pi is a $25/$35 ARM-based system board that is a complete personal computer.  It is powered by the same CPU (ARM) used in tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices these days.  The ARM architecture offers very good performance and battery life at low price-point.

This is truly a remarkable computer.  The low price will allow this computer to be attainable for just about anybody.  But because this computer is really affordable doesn’t mean that this computer is only just intended for those people who can’t afford a more powerful computer – anybody could want this computer.  There are just about a million uses.  How about a media center for your TV?  A robotics controller?  Learning how to program computers?  Home automation?

If you think that the computer might be limited by its specifications, then you certainly have not tried GNU/Linux before.  It will run like a beast on this board (especially lightweight desktop environments like Xfce/LXDE).  You will be able to play 3d games on this machine, play back HD videos, and create animations using the GPU built into the board.  XBMC (a good media center application) has been tested and proven to work excellently on the board, meaning that you could use this tiny little thing as a whole media playback platform for your television (similar devices cost more than 100 dollars and do not nearly have the amount of functionality one of these computers have).  With MythTV set up in a client/server configuration with this device acting as the remote thin client hooked up to the tv with a TV server and DVR unit located everywhere, you could access your recorded TV shows from anywhere in the house.

One of the big things driving the team who prototyped, designed and developed the device was to recreate with the release of the device the sort of hacker/hobbyist culture that surrounded computers like the Apple II and Commodore back in the 70s/80s and even the early 90s.  These cultures were what got them into computers when they were children themselves, but they are finding that in this day and age of easily available internet and graphical user interfaces we are losing a bit of the magic of actually coding for a computer yourself.  Thus, these computers are likely to be used heavily in schools with programming courses, especially seeing as every single student could have their own, because of the price-point.  Programming really isn’t that hard once you get started.  Perhaps this machine will the be the catalyst for a new generation of programmers and tweakers to get into the field.

The lack of a case and keyboard/mouse/screen has been criticized by many people, but many people already have these things lying around, and if someone doesn’t have an actual computer monitor, then likely the standard definition RGB tv output will allow anybody to use the device (most people have at least a crt tv).  If anything, I like the fact that this device doesn’t come loaded down with all sorts of unnecessary things, bringing the price up, and increasing the likelihood that someone will dislike something included with the package.  It is a very DIY style kit, and by keeping it bare-bones, people will be able to create all sorts of great electronics using this system as a base.  You could even create your own tablet, for example, using a touch screen hooked up to the HDMI port and USB port, and load up android onto your Raspberry Pi (android is compiled for the ARM architecture, so it will run great).

I just can’t wait till everybody who is dying to get their hands on this device can (the launch was a bit underprepared for the demand, I believe).  When everybody’s got one of these, then the ideas for uses will pile up, and people will be coming up with new DIY projects all the time.  The Open Source revolution has begun, and what a better way to start it – cheap hardware that is immensely capable and powerful open source software.

This is something I’d wondered about for quite a while, and wasn’t able to do until now!

With Windows 7 there are a number of changes to how folders work.  You are now able to make ‘symbolic’ folder links among other cool things.

This allows you to congregate files from multiple locations and have windows recognize them as actually being in a location different than the one they are actually in (for example if you have a split archive with different parts on different hard drives you’d be able to make a “symbolic folder” to view them as if they were all on the same hard drive).

1. You’ll need a tool called Link Shell Extension.  This will add shell context menus to your right click context menus in Windows Explorer (giving you an option to make Symbolic Links and folders etc).   While this feature is new in windows 7 it is kind of buried and you would normally need to use the command line to utilize it.  Link Shell Extension provides a graphical front end to make this tool more useable in everyday situations.
2. Second of all, you will need to create a target folder to “paste” your symbolic links into, so Windows will be “tricked” into thinking that your files are actually there.  I guess that’s the best way of explaining it.
3. After creating your target folder wherever, navigate back to where your file is actually stored, and then right click and select Pick Link Source.
4. Navigate to your target folder and select Drop As and then select Junction (this was in instructions for linking folders; for your files you may need to try other options).
5. In your target folder you will see your file again with a little overlay icon. 
   
6. Repeat for all other parts of your archive.

Thanks to unifex from SevenForums.com for providing me with this knowledge!

When I first got my HP Pavilion DV6753ca computer, it had Vista installed on it!  This was back in 2008.

I felt like downgrading to XP, because I liked the experience on XP better, and one of my favorite applications wouldn’t run on Vista, but would only work on XP.  So I downgraded, but I soon realized that HP, the manufacturer, didn’t really provide any XP drivers for this laptop!  I was really thrown for a loop!

After HOURS and HOURS of endless searching, I’ve managed to compile an almost complete list of all the drivers you need, and I’ve included downloads also, so you can get them all of this one page!  BOOKMARK IT!  Some of these drivers are out of date, like the nVidia drivers, but they work just fine, and I don’t think there are any newer version available for XP, so if you really want XP you’ll have to put up with that.

Otherwise, you could go with Windows 7 .  What’s handy about installing Windows 7 on this particular laptop is that you don’t have to really manually install any drivers at all!  Once you’ve installed windows, it automatically installs all the drivers for you, including your video drivers!

The DRIVERS:

nVidia Graphics Driver

SM56 Modem Driver

Realtek HD Audio Driver

Realtek PCI-E Ethernet Driver

Intel Chipset Driver

Lightscribe Driver

Synaptics Touchpad Driver

Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

I hope that all of your driver installations run smoothly!  Please comment here if this works for you, or comment if you have a problem.

Thanks!

OK, in my last jailbreak article I taught you how to use redsn0w to jailbreak your iPod Touch or iPhone.

In this article I will be showing you a whole new way to jailbreak your iDevice… OK here are some things you need to do:

• Update iTunes to it’s latest version.
• Update your device to firmware 3.1.2
• WARNING: DO NOT, I REPEAT NOT UPGRADE TO FIRMWARE 3.1.3 IT IS A FIRMWARE THAT DOES NOTHING AND STOPS BLACKRA1N FROM WORKING.
• Download Blackra1n from here either for MS Windows or Mac OS sorry – Linux not supported.

and your ready to jailbreak.

1. Open iTunes and make sure your devices firmware is 3.1.2 not 3.1.3
2. Quit iTunes and launch blackra1n.
3. Hit “make it ra1n”
4. Wait
5. Your device will reboot.
6. A window will pop-up asking you to donate if this was the fastest jailbreak you ever had.
7. On your Device go to the second page and look for the Blackra1n app.
8. Launch it
9. From here you can install Cydia, or rock, (I like rock) or blacksn0w to unlock your iPhone (use it with other carriers)
10. Click uninstall blackrain. NO IT WILL NOT DELETE THE JAILBREAK, JUST THE INSTALL APP.
11. Now go into rock, create a RockID and download away!

EASY AS PIE!

Here’s an interview I did with my brother, Austin at the Apple Store.  We headed down to the states to check out the new iPad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P58ngsPbSpQ

Apple, to great fanfare, unveiled its long-awaited “netbook/tablet/iphone” in January.  The iPad looks simply like a big iPod touch, and even has that little home button at the bottom!

Being what, in reality, is simply just an iPod Touch with a processor that’s more powerful and a bigger screen – I don’t think its worth buying.

Validating the point that the iPad is really just an iPod Touch that isn’t portable and is overpriced, it runs primitive iPod Touch apps!  Now, some may say that this is a great idea, since people can run their iPod apps that they really like which don’t yet have iPad counterparts – but, I believe that if it can run iPod apps, that proves that it uses the same primitive Operating System that the iPod uses, with a few tweaks.

Also, the iPad doesn’t even have multi-tasking capability!  Although, with its ‘powerful’ processor you’d think it would – but it doesn’t.  Hopefully Apple will fix this in the long run with some sort of silly paid-for software upgrade.

I think that the iPad is a dud – and that Apple will greatly  regret not thinking this out more!

The advertisements in Windows Live Messenger, the popular instant messaging program, can be very irritating, especially when you just want a clean look for your chat windows and contact list.

There is a way to remove the ads, using a free program called A-Patch for Windows Live Messenger.

This program is 166 kB, and it doesn’t require an installation, so it simply patches your Messenger install, and then it is done!  You can then erase the executable from your computer, and then nobody will know that it was ever there, except for the fact that you’ll notice that the ads are gone from Messenger.

Here’s the list of all the possible options that you can choose to patch using this tool:

• Remove Advertisements (inside Contact List)
• Remove What’s Hot Section
• Remove Nudge Delay (allow you to spam your buddies with nudges )
• Disable Nudge Shake (disables the window shake when nudges are received)
• Accept more than 3 files (transfers) at a time
• Polygamy (log in to two messenger accounts at once
• Shorten Status Info in Info Bar
• Remove Advertisements (inside Convo)
• Remove “says” text (english only!)
• Remove Billing Info Menus
• Disable Photo Sharing (so people can’t spam you with photos)

This tools violates Microsoft’s EULA, so we’re not responsible if you get in trouble!

Optimize your computer with these tools!

This guide is a collaboration between Michael Louie and Connor McBrine-Ellis.

These tools that we’re about to show you will noticably optimize your system, and fix problems you didn’t even know existed!  And in this tutorial you’ll find out that to have a healthy system running well you really don’t need to have to spend any money on software to do it for you – all the tools are available for free!

Tools that are built-in to Windows:

In all Windows operating systems you will find the programs Disk Defragmenter and Disk Cleanup which are really useful.  Disk Defragmenter will rearrange the files on your computer into an optimal order, so that your files aren’t scattered all over the disk. Disk Cleanup will clean the “crap” off of your hard disk boosting your speed, although to be honest, this feature isn’t functional much anymore, it only really removes a couple kilobytes of data, which used to be quite a bit, but no longer really makes a difference.

You may also use the Add/ Remove Programs system maintenance tool to delete games and programs you no longer use.

Another good idea to speed start up times is to stop unnecessary programs from loading at startup – to do this go to Start -> Run. Type in the box “msconfig”, without the quotes, and then visit the startup tab.  Remove any applications you’re sure you don’t need to run at startup.

To really get into optimizing your system so that you REALLY notice the difference, you’ll need use a couple freeware tools.

Freeware tools (all virus-free):

The first tool we’re going to talk about is Cacheman, shareware software (if you have Windows 2000, google CachemanXP), which operates in the background while freeing up RAM and optimizing processes in the background.  It eliminates that sluggish feeling your windows PC would otherwise get after a few days, and saves precious time that you would otherwise spent waiting for your system to reboot.

CCleaner, freeware software, is a mix of a really polished registry cleaner, and a bit of a ‘disk cleanup’ tool, that is more functional (Microsoft hasn’t changed disk cleanup for years).  The registry cleaner will speed up your computer by removing references to files that no longer exist, and many other incorrect or outdated entries to your registry.  Though many will tell you using registry cleaners is pointless and are extremely dangerous, I will disagree.  CCleaner tells you to back up your registry before applying any changes, and it backs it up into a simple *.reg file, allowing you to simply double click that file and return to your previous state.  I think it’s always a good idea to backup before you scan with CCleaner, in case something does go wrong.  The disk cleanup tool will clean your Temp folders and your internet cache, speeding up your computer, and also clearing any personal data about web browsing in any amount of browsers you have installed, all at once.  Overall, this tool is excellent.

Antivirus:

The problem with antivirus tools these days is that they slow your system down a LOT, especially when scanning.  Depending on what type of an user you are, antivirus may help you, or it may hinder you.  If you are really smart about who you download and always run your programs in virtual machines or sandboxes (see my post on Sandboxie), then you may not need an antivirus, merely you may just need an anti-spyware tool that also scans for viruses and rootkits, like Malwarebytes.

Anyway, the average user should still use antivirus software, and these are our three top picks for freeware antivirus protection:

Avira Antivir, avast! Home Edition, and AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

For Spyware/Malware protection, we have three more awesome freeware picks:

Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware – This tool is probably my favorite freeware anti-malware program.  It is super-lightweight, not slowing down your system much, and scans your registry too for any virusy keys!  It has helped me every time I have gotten a virus when all else failed (my experience with the vundo trojan).  Try it out, it can’t hurt, and it doesn’t cost any critical system resources as it doesn’t automatically start scanning and it doesn’t automatically start up, just remember to scan once in a while.

Also try out Ad-Aware, and Spybot Search & Destroy for more spyware protection, but Malwarebytes’ is better, in my opinion!

Anyways, we hope that you enjoyed our guide on optimizing your PC with helpful tweaks and freeware/shareware tools!

DVI Connector

Ever since I became equipped with a computer, I always believed the ports on the back of your graphics card have been more or less the same.  Most monitors used VGA, so I always plugged into my VGA port.

Yet, there really is a difference between VGA and DVI monitor ports.  VGA stands for Video Graphics Array which was introduced in 1987 and transmits analog singnals.  Analog signals are typically lower quality when it comes to computer video cards.

According to Wikipedia, analog signals are:

Dealing with a continuous spectrum of values as opposed to a discrete on/off value.

Digital signals, on the other hand, are defined as:

A digital system uses discrete (discontinuous) values, meaning the signal is either on or off.

VGA Port

DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and transmits a digital signal instead and is mostly compatible with HDMI, the main differences being that HDMI ports are less clunky (they are small compared to DVI).  This means that basically, if you use a DVI cable you will get a crisper picture and a higher quality picture on your display.

CRT monitors don’t have DVI ports because the nature of CRT monitors makes them analogous.  Lower-end LCD screens may also lack DVI ports, but it’s always a great idea to check if your screen supports the DVI standard.  Also, if you computer uses HDMI, but doesn’t have a DVI port, you can buy little HDMI to DVI adapters so you can use DVI with your screen.

A great feature of Mac OS X is the Screenshot feature.  It is more highly developed than Window’s rudimentary Print Screen, and the combinations in which you can use it make the possibilities endless. This does not need any download what so ever, which is great!

Here’s the 3 screenshot keystrokes for Mac OS X.  All of the screenshots you take will show up on your desktop.

1. This takes  picture of your whole screen (does the same thing as Print Screen, but I think it’s superior because it saves the file at the same time instead of just copying it to the clipboard).
   Apple Key + Shift + 3
   
2. Select an custom sized area by dragging with the mouse – select any area of your desktop.
   Apple Key + Shift + 4
3. Your cursor will appear as a camera.  It takes pictures of the blue selected area that shows up when you hover over certain items.  It’s very handy for taking a picture of just one window or a certain area of the screen.
   Apple Key + Shift + 4 + Space