If you?ve ever used a utility included with the Windows Operating System, you know the hurdles required to even access the folder within which it?s found. If you?re suffering the fatigue of having to take an unnecessary number of steps to make your way to these tools, we have an app that offers fast access without the hassle you?re used to.
Before proceeding, we should add that this will require the installation of .NET Framework 3.5. At the end of this article, you?ll find a link to it.
Requiring no installation, all you need to do is unpack the executable, place it within the ?Program Files? folder and assign it a shortcut.
Once you?ve completed the brief task of setting it up, you can start the Windows Utilities Launcher, where you?re given immediate access to the utilities you?d otherwise have to endure superfluous clicking to locate. Looking at the ?Utilities? tab, users will notice all the usual helpers ? Computer, Device, Disk, Performance, Display, Services, Task, System, Add/Remove, et.al.
On the ?Settings? tab, you?re given the option of having the Launcher start up with Windows; you?re also able to have it start minimized, which will see it occupying your system tray whenever you boot up your computer.
This app also comes with a handy right-click menu. Including the Task Manager, you can access the Notepad and Calculator from the right-click menu.
While these utilities aren?t frequently used, they?re still very helpful in a time of need, which every user will be confronted by at some point. Its use comes with ease, finding that it?ll spare you those few extra steps that were previously required. If you have questions about how to use these utilities, or discover that whatever issue you were attempting to correct hasn?t been resolved, Computer Geeks is here to help you.
This application is available or Windows XP, Windows Vista, and the recently launched Windows 7.
First, if you haven?t already done so, download .NET Framework (version 3.5 SP1) here.
Then, download Windows Utilities Launcher (version 1.1) here.
Microsoft recently made the successor to the popular Microsoft Office 2007, Office 2010, open for public beta. Available for both 32 bit and 64 bit systems, this new package is poised to become the standard once it moves on to its final stage.
To download the beta, you must be subscribed to MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) or TechNet.
Be advised that it is not recommended to access the beta across P2P networks, with obvious concerns about using such services for the exchange of copyrighted software.
Ever find yourself on a website you only rarely browse for a specific purpose, yet you?re unable to recall just what that is? Ever maintain ongoing dialogues on your favorite message board, wishing there were a way jot your thoughts down?? If you?re someone who?s slightly forgetful, requiring the occasional reminder for something important, we have a neat Firefox extension that you might put to good use.
Called Internote, this extension allows a user to place sticky notes? (yes, they look exactly like the sticky notes any office dweller is familiar with) on any website page they?re visiting. Even better, the sticky notes will remain there until removed, staying around for the user?s next visit.
After the extension has been installed, the status bar will see the addition of a small yellow icon. If you’re so inclined, you can make the icon larger. Simply clicking the icon once will generate a new sticky note. Placement of each note is up to you, with no limit on the number of stickies you wish to apply.
If you want to edit a sticky note, remembering something you wished to amend it with, use the Internote manager. With it, you can open any of the stickies you?ve left behind and modify them: changing the content of the notes, assigning them to different websites, and even altering their appearance.
While it seems rather simple, it?s an incredibly resourceful tool for people who spend a good amount of time on the internet and are involved with tasks that require the management of all kinds of data.
Being the most popular streaming site on the web, home to content that ranges from music videos to full-length pictures, YouTube is also visited by millions the world over.
As anyone knows, a good number of those on the internet behave in ways that some might find objectionable, using profane language and exhibiting behavior that is nothing short of juvenile.
If you?re a frequent visitor of YouTube who?d like your viewing experience to be free of the rhetorical rubbish, there?s a new extension for Firefox that cleans up the comments and makes your time more pleasant.
Called the YouTube Comment Snob, this extension filters the comments to your choosing, allowing you to block those video responses that might border on offensive. It filters out the following:
Those comments that include more than the allowable number of spelling mistakes ( you can specify the tolerable number of errors).
Comments that are entirely in CAPS
Comments that are entirely in lowercase
Overuse of punctuation (i.e. ?!?!?!?!?)
Explicit language
As seen below, the commentary ranges from profane (which has been blackened out) to overly puerile.
Once the Comment Snob has been implemented, you?ll see that those comments which fall into your specified filter have been hidden. The filter even provides the reasoning behind the comment?s removal. If you?re curious about what was hidden, you?re given the option to reveal what was said, if you so choose.
When using the Comment Snob, you?re offered the ability to specify that content which you?d rather not see, including a choice of how many spelling mistakes are allowed before the comment is deemed unsuitable.
Some people have a high tolerance for buffoonery, even finding it amusing on some levels, but I?m guessing that many of you would rather not be subjected to infantile behavior when looking to pass time on the internet. This tool will help rid YouTube of those comments you’d rather not see.
You can download the YouTube Comment Snob extension here.
Google Translate enables users to instantly translate text and web pages into their native language. Not unlike other services included within its stable of innovative products, Google Translate introduces a convenient and easy-to-use resource that speaks to the pioneering impact of Google on our use of the internet. ?Serving over 98% of internet users today, Google Translate is available in 51 languages.
Aside from cosmetic changes, which have resulted in a cleaner appearance than we last remember, Google has implemented new features that are designed to make use of this service even more responsive and intuitive.
Those features include:
Translate Instantly: Doing away with the old ?Translate? button, Google Translate will not instantly translate your text, showing updating the translates right as you type.
Read and write any language: When translating certain languages, it?s difficult to glean the phonetic subtleties that accompany its pronunciation, as the characters ? Chinese, for example ? can?t be read. By clicking ?Show romanization,?? Google Translate will churn out the translated text in phonetically English form.
Translations for Arabic, Persian, and Hindi: Should a user want to translate from one of these three languages, yet find they?re unable to type to script on the keyboard, this new feature grants users the ability to type words as they sound and convert them into the original script format.
Text-to-Speech: After performing a translation into English, one now has an opportunity to listen to those translations spoken.
As internet use spreads, bringing disparate cultures closer together, tools of this type will prove invaluable. Once again, Google has developed a service that expands upon our use of the internet, augmenting it for the benefit of the greater community.
Many computers are shared by multiple people, be it a family or a small office filled with employees. If you have administrative privileges, provided the computer is your property, Windows 7 grants you the ability to determine just what applications can be accessed by the users of that computer with the use of AppLocker.
There could be an application that only one or two people in your office are authorized to utilize, or you could be a parent who wants to restrict the use of games by children during homework hours.
You must be logged in as an administrator to use AppLocker. First, click on the start menu, which will bring you to search field. In that field, you will enter: gpedit.msc and press Enter.
Looking at the ?Local Computer Policy? tree, you will go to: Computer ConfigurationWindows SettingSecurity SettingsApplication Control PoliciesAppLocker
Once you’ve selected that, you will see the controls for the applications, which is where you?ll begin setting those privileges.
Click on the ?Configure Rule Enforcement? link.
On the ?AppLocker Properties? panel, you?ll see an unchecked box immediately beneath ?Executable Rules.? Click on that.
Now, press OK.
As an example of how this process works, we?ll use the example of ?Jack,? someone who whittles away time playing games while his productivity in the office declines. We?re going to restrict his access to games.
On the ?Overview? panel, click on ?Executable Rules.?
With being the first time you’ve implemented this feature, you?ll find that there are no rules defined. If you right-click on that clear window, you can then ?Create New Rule.?
You?re now at the ?Create Executable Rules? wizard.
After selecting ?Permissions? on the left hand bar, you will then choose ?Deny.?
You will then add Jack as a user who you?d like to place a restriction on.
After he?s added, press OK, which will allow you to toggle him with the ?Deny? action.
The “Conditions” panel enables you to determine those conditions under which his access is denied. Selecting ?Path? will allow you to deny him access to those games.
Clicking on ?Browse Folders,? you can now prevent him from using any of the games within the ?Microsoft Games? folder.
You?re given the option to select the name for this restriction, an option that allows you to monitor several restrictions if you so choose to add them.
Once that?s complete, a message will read ?The default rules are currently not in the rule list for this rule collection.? With it being necessary to know what this rule or restriction entails, you should click ?Yes.?
Looking at the list, you?ll notice that Jack is now restricted from accessing the Microsoft Games directory.
When accessing his user account, Jack will see that he can no longer play those games, which is indicated by a window that will pop up and alert him to this restriction each time he attempts to do so.
This is how you can deny certain applications to those users you specify, being just one of many features included with Windows 7. With it, productivity is guaranteed to be increased — in the office and, if you have children who need to do their school work, at home.
If you have additional questions about Windows 7 and its powerful set of tools, Computer Geeks is here to assist you.
