Noviv Store http://noviv.com/ Sun, 20 May 2012 15:31:30 GMT FeedCreator 1.8.0-dev (info@mypapit.net) Week in Geek: Aero Glass Feature will be Removed from Windows 8 http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/week-in-geek-aero-glass-feature-will-be-removed-from-windows-8.html

This week’s edition of WIG is filled with news links covering topics such as a startup funded by Microsoft aims to kill BitTorrent traffic, a reset feature has been added to Firefox 13 beta, Windows 8 upgrades for new PC buyers will cost $14.99, and more.

Weekly News Links

Random TinyHacker Links

Super User Questions

How-To Geek Weekly Article Recap

Geeky Goodness from the ETC Side

One Year Ago on How-To Geek

How-To Geek Comics Weekly Roundup

How-To Geek Weekly Trivia Roundup

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sun, 20 May 2012 12:37:24 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/week-in-geek-aero-glass-feature-will-be-removed-from-windows-8.html How to Speed Up Web Browsing with Search & Bookmark Keywords http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/how-to-speed-up-web-browsing-with-search-a-bookmark-keywords.html

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All browsers support keywords, which you can type into your address bar to quickly search or visit websites. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer all have their own methods of setting keywords, some more hidden than others.

Internet Explorer’s keyword features are particularly hard to find, relying on a registry hack and a little-known bookmark feature. Google Chrome makes this easier, although setting a bookmark keyword requires a trick. Firefox makes this easiest of all.

Mozilla Firefox – Search Keywords

Firefox doesn’t include any predefined search keywords. To assign a search keyword, open the search box’s drop-down menu and select Manage Search Engines.

Select an installed search engine and click the Edit Keyword button.

For example, you can assign the keyword g to Google. Keywords can be a single letter or multiple letters.

Once you’ve assigned a search keyword, you can quickly search in that search engine from the address bar. For example, if we assigned the keyword g to Google, we could type g test into the address bar to quickly search Google for the word “test.”

Mozilla Firefox – Bookmark Keywords

You can also assign keywords to bookmarks. First, open the bookmarks library window by clicking the Bookmarks or Show All Bookmarks options in the Firefox menu.

Next, locate and select the bookmark you want to assign a keyword to. Click the More button to reveal the keyword option.

Enter a keyword in the Keyword box. For example, we can assign the keyword htg to How-To Geek.

After assigning the keyword,type it into the address bar to instantly open the bookmark. For example, we can type htg to open How-To Geek if we assigned the keyword above.

Google Chrome – Search Keywords

To assign a search keyword in Chrome, right-click in Chrome’s location bar and select Edit search engines.

By default, each search engine has its domain name as a keyword.

This means that you can type the website’s domain name into the address bar, press space, and type your search query to search that website.

You can also assign a shorter keyword. For example, you could assign the keyword ddg to DuckDuckGo. Then, you could type ddg into the location bar, press space, and type your search query.

Google Chrome – Bookmark Keywords

There’s no obvious way to assign a keyword to a bookmark in Chrome. However, you can use the search keyword method to assign a keyword to any website.

Create a new search engine using the Add a new search engine box. However, instead of specifying a special URL with a %s in it, just type a web page’s address. Here we’re assigning the keyword htg to How-To Geek.

Type your keyword – htg in this case –  into the location bar, press Enter, and you’ll be taken to the website.

Internet Explorer – Search Keywords

Internet Explorer’s Quick Search feature allows you to define search keywords. In Windows XP, you could use Microsoft’s Tweak UI tool to create and customize IE quick searches. In newer versions of Windows, this feature is only configurable from the registry – it still works in Internet Explorer 9, though.

First, find the search URL of the search engine you want to add. Let’s say we want to add DuckDuckGo. We’d go to DuckDuckGo’s website and perform a search for TEST, or another obvious word.

After performing the search, we’ll look at the address bar for the search URL.

In this case, the URL is:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=TEST

We’ll replace our query with %s, which means that our search URL is:

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s

Now we have all the information we need. Fire up Notepad or another text editor and enter the following text to add DuckDuckGo:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\ddg]
@=”http://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s”
“:”=”%3A”

The important options are bolded. Here, we’ve assigned the keyword ddg to the search engine at http://duckduckgo.com/?q=%s. Change these two strings to your desired keyword and search engine URL.

Save the file with the .reg file extension.

Double-click the .reg file and click Yes to add it to your registry.

After adding the .reg file, your keyword will immediately be available in Internet Explorer. For example, we could type ddg geek into the address bar and press Enter to perform a search for “geek” on DuckDuckGo.

Internet Explorer – Bookmark Keywords

Microsoft doesn’t advertise this feature, but every favorite’s name functions as a keyword. To assign a keyword to a web page, add the web page as a favorite in Internet Explorer.

Enter your desired keyword as the favorite’s name.

Type the name of the favorite into address bar and press Enter to go there immediately.

If you already have the web page saved as a favorite, you can right-click it to rename it. You can also create multiple favorites that point to the same web page, each with a different name.

To add more search engines to your browser – whether or not they offer search plugins – check out our guide to adding any search engine to your browser.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sun, 20 May 2012 11:30:46 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/how-to-speed-up-web-browsing-with-search-a-bookmark-keywords.html Geek Trivia: Pagers Were First Developed To Assist Which Professionals? http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/geek-trivia-pagers-were-first-developed-to-assist-which-professionals.html


Answer: Doctors

Although pagers may call to mind 1980s business men and drug dealers for many, the origins of the once ubiquitous radio pager is within the medical community of New York City.

In the early 1950s, NYC-area doctors enlisted the aid of the Reevesound Corporation of Long Island City, NY to construct a remote notification system for the purpose of calling doctors back to the hospital in the event of an emergency. The system was a success, but was quite a bit more complicated to use than modern pagers. While modern pagers can receive alpha-numeric messages so that, at minimum, you have a return phone number to call, early pagers involved a more complicated delivery route.

If a doctor needed to be recalled to the hospital using the 1950s model, the hospital would call a local station and give the name of the doctor they needed to contact. The station would then take a piece of movie film (the standard 16mm variety) that had the doctor’s specific identification code imprinted on it. That piece of film would then be fed into a machine with a primitive scanner which would read the identification code and then transmit it to the tower which would then amplify it up to 25 miles around the base station. The doctor in question would turn on his radio receiver at least once per hour to listen for his number being broadcast. This would indicate he was needed in some capacity and he would in turn phone back to his hospital or the transmitting station to receive a more specific notice.

The service cost $12 a month (equivalent to roughly $100 in today’s money) and was extremely popular with doctors, soon spreading to other professionals with time-sensitive jobs. By the mid-1950s Motorola was mass producing radio pagers for the New York City region.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sat, 19 May 2012 17:05:20 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/geek-trivia-pagers-were-first-developed-to-assist-which-professionals.html The Best Tips and Tricks for Using Email Efficiently http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/the-best-tips-and-tricks-for-using-email-efficiently.html

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Email has become a standard method of communication and we all use it often. We’ve gathered some tips and tricks for using email programs and tools and for learning more about email terms and how email works.

Gmail

Gmail is one of the most popular free email services, and many people have at least one Gmail address, if not more. The following articles show you how to backup your Gmail emails, how to use Gmail’s advanced search features and create filters, and how to enable and use Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts and create your own custom shortcuts. If you’re running low on space in your Gmail account, even though Gmail provides a high storage limit, we show you five ways to reclaim space in your Gmail account.

NOTE: For the last article listed below about accessing all your Google accounts at the same time using Multiple Sign-in, use the following URL to access the Multiple Sessions settings: https://accounts.google.com/MultipleSessions.

Microsoft Outlook

If you use Microsoft Outlook as your email client, we’ve provided some links to articles below that show you how to use some of the useful features of the program, including how to add your Gmail, Hotmail, and Live email accounts to Outlook so you can check multiple email accounts in one place.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is a very popular, free email client which can be installed on your hard drive or used as a portable program. The portability is useful if you check your email from various places. Below are a couple of articles that show you how to backup your web-based email account using Thunderbird and how to convert your email from Outlook to Apple Mail.app using Thunderbird.

Email Security

Security is very important when sending private messages in email, from selecting a secure password, to avoiding phishing emails and sending someone sensitive information through email.

Mobile Email

With the advent of smartphones and tablets, we can now check our email from anywhere. If you have an Android phone or tablet, you must have Gmail. One of articles below show you how to enable Priority Inbox in the Gmail app on your Android device. If you have a Kindle Fire and you want to check an email account other than Gmail on it, we show you how to setup Gmail for custom domains on your Kindle Fire.

General Email Information

If you want to learn more about email itself, and not just about the email programs and tools you can use, the articles below show you how it works, what’s in an email header, and the difference among POP3, IMAP, and Exchange.

Miscellaneous Email Tips

Finally, we provide some additional links to articles about installing and using the Email This extension in Firefox for sharing web page links via email, creating a shortcut on your desktop that allows you to directly email a specific person, and how to use email to send text messages to mobile phones, among other tips.

So, now you’re an email whiz. However, have you discovered that you check your email more often than you really need to? Do you get anxious if you can’t access your email for a little while? If your compulsive email checking is interrupting other more important tasks and disrupting your life, we have a solution to help you wean yourself from your compulsive email checking habit.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sat, 19 May 2012 17:05:20 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/the-best-tips-and-tricks-for-using-email-efficiently.html Desktop Fun: Starry Skies Wallpaper Collection Series 2 http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/desktop-fun-starry-skies-wallpaper-collection-series-2.html

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Last year we shared a beautiful collection of Starry Skies wallpapers with you and today we are back with more star-powered goodness. Gaze upon the stars from the comfort of your desktop with the second in our series of Starry Skies Wallpaper collections.

Starry Skies Series 2

Note: Click on the picture to see the full-size image—these wallpapers vary in size so you may need to crop, stretch, or place them on a colored background in order to best match them to your screen’s resolution.

More Starry Skies Goodness for Your Desktop

Desktop Fun: Starry Skies Wallpaper Collection Series 1

For more great wallpapers make sure to look through our terrific collections in the Desktop Fun section.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sat, 19 May 2012 14:29:58 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/desktop-fun-starry-skies-wallpaper-collection-series-2.html An Introduction to Charms in Windows 8: What They Are & How to Use Them http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/an-introduction-to-charms-in-windows-8-what-they-are-a-how-to-use-them.html

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Charms are an important new feature in Windows 8. Some of the charms are context-sensitive, while some aren’t. Some are important on the desktop, while some only work in Metro apps.

They’re named charms because they resemble items you’d find on a charm bracelet. To get to grips with Windows 8 – and shut down your computer – you’ll need to figure out the charms.

Accessing the Charms

You can pull up the charms with the keyboard, your mouse, or a touch screen.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey+C

Mouse: Move your mouse cursor to the top or bottom right corner of the screen, then move the cursor up or down towards the transparent charm icons that appear in the middle of your screen.

Touch: Swipe from the right edge of the screen towards the center of the screen.

You’ll see five charms: Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings.

Search

The Search charm can be either context-sensitive or global. When you invoke it from the desktop or the Start screen, you’ll access the system-wide search functionality. From here, you can search your installed apps and files. Any Metro app you install can extend the search feature and add its own search results – for example, a music-playing application could add song, artist, and album results.

The Search charm can also be context-sensitive in a Metro application. For example, when you invoke the Search charm from inside the Windows Store, you’ll access the Windows Store search functionality.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey+Q

Share

The Share charm only functions within Metro apps. You can’t use it from the desktop or Start screen.

Metro apps programmed to take advantage of “share contracts” can share content with each other using the Share charm. For example, you can open a web page in Internet Explorer and use the Share charm to send it to the Mail app, which can email the link to others.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey+H

Start

The Start Charm performs the same function as the Windows key. Use it and you’ll go to the Start screen. If you’re already at the Start screen, you’ll be taken back to the desktop or your previous Metro app.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey

Devices

The Devices charm offers a streamlined interface for interacting with the devices connected to your computer. For example, you can easily manage how Windows deals with additional monitors.

While the screen feature works from the desktop, most of the options here only work within Metro apps. If you want to interact with a device from a Metro app – for example, by printing from a Metro app to a connected printer – you’ll find the device in the Devices charm.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey+K

Settings

The Settings charm contains both context-sensitive and global settings. At the bottom of the Settings pane, you’ll find a grid of important, system-wide settings. The Shut Down option is here, as are options for controlling your sound volume, network, screen brightness, language, and notifications. These system-wide settings appear every time you invoke the Settings charm, even if you invoke it from within an app.

The options at the top of the Settings pane are context-sensitive. Invoke it from the desktop and you’ll see desktop-wide settings, including a link to the Control Panel. The Control Panel link at the top of the pane takes you to the desktop Control Panel, while the More PC settings link at the bottom opens the Metro-style settings app.

Invoke the Settings charm from within a Metro app to access the app’s settings. For example, select the Settings charm in Internet Explorer and you’ll see links to Internet Explorer’s different settings panes.

Keyboard Shortcut: WinKey+I

For more information on learning Windows 8, check out our guides to using the mouse in Windows 8 and living without the Start button.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Sat, 19 May 2012 11:21:23 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/an-introduction-to-charms-in-windows-8-what-they-are-a-how-to-use-them.html Pinsanity – When a Love of Pinterest Gets Out of Hand [Video] http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/pinsanity-when-a-love-of-pinterest-gets-out-of-hand-video.html

Liking Pinterest is one thing, but things get way out of hand when one woman takes her love of the website far too literally (and too far)!

Pinsanity! [YouTube]

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Fri, 18 May 2012 20:33:09 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/pinsanity-when-a-love-of-pinterest-gets-out-of-hand-video.html Geek Trivia: The Acronym SSD Stands For What? http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/geek-trivia-the-acronym-ssd-stands-for-what.html


Answer: Solid-State Drive

A solid-state drive (SSD) is simply a data storage device that uses integrated circuits to store persistent data. This solid state storage is a contrast to the electro-magnetic media (such as traditional platter-based hard drives and floppy disks) that dominated the data storage market for the later part of the 20th century.

While solid-state technology has existed since the 1950s in various forms, it wasn’t until the 1990s that it began to appear in the consumer market. Flash drives, the ubiquitous little USB-based drives used for portable data storage, are an early example of a compact solid-state drive widely adopted by consumers. Astronomical pricing kept computer hard drives based on solid-state technology out of consumer reach until a few short years ago. Now it’s possible to enjoy the benefits of a solid-state drive–such as lightning fast seek times and silent operation–without taking out a loan to do so.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Fri, 18 May 2012 18:14:37 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/geek-trivia-the-acronym-ssd-stands-for-what.html DIY Tesla Rifle Is a High Voltage Mad Scientist’s Dream http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/diy-tesla-rifle-is-a-high-voltage-mad-scientists-dream.html

Have your dreams of becoming a Tesla Trooper been thwarted by lack of a good Tesla rifle? Fear not, you can follow in this mad scientist’s foot steps to build your own.


Courtesy of Rob Flickenger, we find this polished Tesla rifle. Rob’s project guide covers every aspect of the construction including casting the body of the rifle and crafting the innards. Hit up the link below for the full run down or check out the video to see it action.

The Tesla Gun [via Boing Boing]

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Fri, 18 May 2012 17:15:26 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/diy-tesla-rifle-is-a-high-voltage-mad-scientists-dream.html What You Said: How You Recover Your Lost Tech Gear http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/what-you-said-how-you-recover-your-lost-tech-gear.html

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Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite tricks for keeping your gear from getting lost and getting it back should it go missing. Now we’re back to share some great reader tips.

Johann opts for the most straight forward method:

Best way is also the least geeky and therefore ignored by techies – stick a big label on the thing with some contact details.

By all means encrypt etc but this isn’t making it easier to return, just securing your data, and these are two very different things.

If someone who ‘finds’ your kit is the kind of guy to give it back then a label is the easiest way to give the info to them, forget about disk labels, autoruns etc. and just keep it simple.

There’s much to be said for this. If someone finds something and they’re inclined to return it, a straight forward label is certainly easier for them than say, plugging the device in and seeing that the disk label is your phone number.

Mr Blue loads his contact details on the device:

I keep a text document on my flash drives with my contact details in the event an honest person finds it.

As for my other tech like may others I use tracking software, but I also use the good old UV pen and etch my Name/Postcode into the device that way if someone finds it less appealing to keep with my name on it.

We can’t tell you the number of portable drives we’ve been able to return to their owners over the years because lots of people have their resumes and other identifying documents they’ve taken to a print shop or the like on the drives.

Other readers use tracking software for big ticket items, like Bryan:

PreyProject for my laptop. I haven’t tested if it works though.

As for my flash drive, I usually give up hope and encrypt my files instead.

While we label flash drives so honest people can return them if we misplace them, encrypting and assuming the worst is definitely a good practice.

For more tips and tricks, hit up the original comment thread.

]]> novivtemp@yahoo.com (Administrator) Fri, 18 May 2012 17:15:26 GMT http://noviv.com/computer-tutorials/what-you-said-how-you-recover-your-lost-tech-gear.html