STFU && RTFM

Windows 7 takes a new approach to file management, which they have called libraries. Simply put, you library will show files from any and all folders you choose. There are libraries for documents, videos, pictures and music.
 
You can create folders in the libraries, the same way that you would create a folder elsewhere on your computer. You can also have your library display folders from different locations on the computer. There are two ways:
 

1. Open the library in question
2. Click the link that says “Includes # locations”
3. Click add
   
4. Browse to the folder that includes the folder you want to display, then click the folder you want to display
5. Click “Include folder”, then OK

 
-OR-
 

1. Open the Explorer window
2. Browse to the folder you want to include
3. Click “Include in Library”, then select which library to include the folder in, or choose to create a new library
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 | Posted by razumny | Categories: Windows 7 | Tagged: libraries, Windows 7, Windows 7 month |

When working with two windows at the same time, you can have them aligned so that they take up half the screen each. Simply click and drag the title line of the window to the left or right hand side of the screen, and you’ll see the window autmatically adjust to fit half the screen’s width.
 
There’s also the option of doing this through a keyboard shortcut. Win+left arrow will align the window to the left hand side, while Win+right arrow will align the window to the right hand side. To maximize the window, use Win+up arrow, and to minimize, use Win+down arrow.
 
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For the month of March, all of my posts will be centred around Windows 7. I’ll post tips, tricks and useful shortcuts to help you, and me, use Microsoft’s newest operating system efficiently.
 
Enjoy!

Like the iPhone and its app store, Android offers a market for download and purchase of apps for the Android phones. They’ve cleverly called this market the Android Market. It is directly accessible from the phones, and you can find it on the main menu.
 
The only problem with the Android Market, as I see it, is that navigating it tends to get tedious. Luckily, there is a website from which you can browse apps and see what rating they’ve got. The first is called Cyrket, and you can find it here. Unfortunately, Cyrket has a spotty record as far as uptime goes. An alternative to Cyrket is Androlib, which can be found here
 
There are basically speaking two ways of installing apps. The obvious one is using the Android Market to download and install them automagically. You can also get the installable package (Android uses .apk-files for installable packages) and install it directly from the file manager.
 
To do this, you first need to Allow installation of non-Market apps. In the main view, click the “Menu” button, then click “Settings”. In settings, choose “Applications”, then activate “Unknown sources”.

After reading this post at NRKBeta (link in Norwegian), I decided to follow suit, and install a theme to help speed up access to my blog from mobile devices.
 
I’m doing this for two reasons: Firstly, this blog is my personal knowledgebase. As I work a lot in the field, I needed a speedier way of checking for solutions than what I had. Secondly, I’d like whoever reads this blog to be able to reference it, even when on a portable device. I’ve been testing it for a month or so, and like what I am seeing!
 
I’ve installed WPTouch from BraveNewCode, which works out of the box, no tweaking necessary. I’m also thinking of installing Crowd Favorite’s WordPress Mobile Edition, but am hesitant as it does not support the automatic upgrade function all of my other WordPress plugins support.

My girlfriend recently got herself a shiny new MacBook Pro, and installed Firefox, as that’s her browser of preference. She kept having a problem that her tabs would not be saved when she closed Firefox, and asked me to look into it.
 
All the settings under Preferences were OK, so the problem was not with the settings. Likewise, the relevant settings under about:config were set correctly. We tried deleting prefs.js, but that didn’t help either.
 
Then, as a last-ditch attempt, I tried closing Firefox using the option on the menu bar. I then got the beloved question “Do you want Firefox to save your tabs”. I clicked yes, then restarted Firefox. All the tabs were reloaded. I then used the red X in the upper right-hand corner, the opened Firefox, and the tabs were not reloaded.
 
I registered the bug with Mozilla (bug #544880), and it seems like this is not so much a bug, as the way Firefox is handled in Mac OS X; when you use the red “x”-button, it does not shut down Firefox, but rather closes the window in question.

I’ve recently had a few users call in, telling me that they’ve been infected with Personal Security, a rogue anti-spyware program from the same family as Cyber Security. Luckily, it’s pretty easily removed. Here’s how:
 

1. Turn off System Restore on the infected computer
2. Download and run rkill.com, which kills the processes
3. Download and install Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
4. Run a full scan of the computer
5. Remove all threats
6. Reboot, then repeat step 4

 
The second search should turn up no threats at all. If it does, repeat step 2, then step 4. If a second removal run doesn’t do the trick, my advice is to reinstall the computer.

I recently wrote about the so-called God mode in Windows 7. As it turns out, there are as many as seventeen of them. In addition to the “full” God mode, you also have the following:
 

Function	Code
Monster Control Panel	{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
Enter a default location	{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33}
Use biometric devices with Windows	{0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428}
Select a power plan	{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}
Select which icons and notifications appear on taskbar	{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}
Store credentials for automatic logon	{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}
Install a program from the network	{15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4}
Choose the programs that Windows uses by default	{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}
Assembly Cache Viewer	{1D2680C9-0E2A-469d-B787-065558BC7D43}
Manage wireless networks	{1FA9085F-25A2-489B-85D4-86326EEDCD87}
Network	{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Computer	{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Devices and Printers	{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
RemoteApp and Desktop Connections	{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}
Windows Firewall	{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}
Windows Explorer	{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}
System	{78F3955E-3B90-4184-BD14-5397C15F1EFC}

 
To use the different modes, simply follow the guide from My original post.

A nifty little way of getting a more finegrained level of control over Windows 7, is using the so-called GodMode option. By creating a folder, and giving it a specific name, you will get access to loads of options:
 

Click on the image to view the full size
 
To enable GodMode, you need to do the following:
 

1. Create a new folder, anywhere you like
2. Call the new folder GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

 
That’s it. You’ll see the folder icon changes, adn looks like a control panel, and you can create shortcuts to it wherever you want.
 
Note: You don’t actually have to call the folder GodMode. What’s important is that you leave everything behind the . as shown above.

Note: Eirik Newth is a Norwegian writer and lecturer, who blogs interestingly and well about eBooks. Here’s his take on the iPad and its impact on the eBook market. The original article (in Norwegian) can be found here.
 
A few days after the announcement of Apple’s netbook challenger, anyone would be hard pressed to say anything definitive about how it will affect the publishing world. Journalists in Norway are insisting that the world will never be the same, as they have over the last few months in their attempt to convince themselves that salvation for print newspapers is near. The norwegian publishing industry’s premiere pundit on eBooks, Gyldendal’s Bjarne Buset, has remarked to the norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that the iPad will lead the way, without really being given the opportunity to expand on what he means by that statement. Here are a few reflections on the subject:
 
The iPad will lead to increased sales of eBooks. Even if it proves to be a MacBook Air, rather than an iPhone, sales to the fanbase alone will likely be in the millions of units. Many of these will want to try out the iBooks-bookshop, which will mean an increase in a market that, for the time being, is based on a eBook reader customer base of two to three three to four million units.
 
The iPad will lead to increased attention to eBooks. As previously mentioned, Apple has an ardent following among journalists. Anything they do about the iBooks store will most likely get broad coverage in the media, with corresponding followup in various sosial media services, especially blogs and Twitter.
 
The iPad wil not be the final breakthrough for eBook readers. I’d be hard pressed to envision an average reader of books being tempted to invest in a gadget that is both bigger and heavier than the typical book, and that most likely will cost somewhere betweeen NOK 4000 and 6000 (plus the cost of the 3G subscription for those who get that). The size and pricing rather indicates the textbook market as the likely target audience. In that event, the decision to launch an overgrown iPhone is hard to understand, given no support for Flash and multitasking.
 

 
The iPad does not herald the end for Kindle 2, as indicated by, among others, Forbes. The iPad is big and heavy compared to other eBook readers, is much more expensive both to buy and to use. We should also take into account the low battery capacity and the backlit display. Not to be forgotten is the fact that the Kindle Store is the largest, cheapest and most advanced eBook shop in the world. You can be certain that Amazon will do their utmost to keep that position for the year to come.
 
The iPad will probably push eBook reader prices down. As a dedicated device, the convensional eBook reader will need to be considerably cheaper than a multi-feature device. Count on somewhat lowered prices for the Kindle 2, as well as the basic models of Sony et. al., as well as considerably lower prices for the larger and more expensive models, such a the Kindle DX and Sony Daily Edition.
 
The iPad will probably not change the price for eBooks. The standard price in iBooks will be 2-5 US$ above the 10$ mark set by Amazon. Apple and the publishing houses are obviously counting on the users willingness to pay an added “Apple tax”, and Amazon has little to gain by pushing prices further down.
 
The iPad heralds the en for the Kindle format. Over the last six months, I’ve spent a lot of time saying that Apple would choose one of the two major formats (EPUB and Kindle), rather than develop a third, and that the choice would probably be EPUB. That turned out to be a correct analysis, and even though the Kindle users will be able to read their books on the iPad using an app, the smart choice for the long term would be converting the store to the industry standard, like Sony did with the Reader Store just befor christmas.
 
The iPad does not herald the end of consumer format confusion. At the moment, it looks like Apple have chosen their own DRM-standard for EPUB, rather than Adobe Digital Editions. The result? Books bought in iBooks will not be readably outside the iTunes system. ADE-encrypted books can be read using an app, and publishing houses will thus be able to sell eBooks for the iPad, even if iBooks doesn’t open in Norway anytime soon. The result? In half a year, we might see eBook customers with three separate, mutually incompatible, book collections on the same device. Day what you want about DRM, consumer friendly it ain’t.
 
To sum up: This is unlikely to be an “iPod moment” for the publishing industry. Even if it is, it needs time to develop, just like the real iPod-moment did. For the Norwegian publishing industry, the important thing is to keep eyes on the target, and make sure that as wide as possible a selection of EPUB-titles are available for sale i March.
 
Note: Eirik Newth is a Norwegian writer and lecturer, who blogs interestingly and well about eBooks. Here’s his take on the iPad and its impact on the eBook market. The original article (in Norwegian) can be found here.
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