2007 June | Kevins Crate.com/Blog

Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote

Jun 302007

Step up to the ultimate in universal remotes. Experience a new standard in simplicity with even the most complex components. With just one touch you can start watching, listening or playing. And you�ll be proud to display the Harmony 1000�s sleek brushed aluminum and iconic color LCD.

This remote can control up to 15 components including all your Home Theater devices, lights and even appliances.

It has a 3.5″ color touchscreen and a charging station so you don’t need batteries.

Setup is easy just plug it in to your USB port on your computer and walk right through initial setup or adding equipment, through its 175,000-device database. The price is alittle steep at $499 but check their site at
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/remotes/universal_remotes/&cl=us,en
for some more reasonable priced units.

JibJab Will bring a Smile to your face

Laughs 2 Responses »

Jun 292007

JibJab is a website featuring hilarious Flash cartoons. Its run by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis, who call themselves “the JibJab Brothers”. This site is all about fun from their own unique style and user submitted videos. The site was started in 1999 and has been growing stronger everyday.

JibJab Originals are the classic funny videos created by the JibJab team. You’ll find your favorite hilarious flash animations like ‘This Land’, ‘Big Box Mart’, ’2-0-5′, ‘Good to Be in D.C.’ and more – they got more over-sized pumpkin heads and dancing politicos than you can shake a stick at! You may have seen them on the Tonight Show announcing their newest video The Star Spangled Banner.

Find them Here. http://www.jibjab.com/

SequoiaView a Better Way to Visualize your Files

Program Crate, XP 2 Responses »

Jun 282007

Is your hard drive space rapidly shrinking and you don’t know where it�s all going. Then you need to try SequoiaView.

SequoiaView will show you what is taking up the most space on your drives in a most unusual way. instead of seeing your files in hierarchical folders this program gives you a graphical representation and lets you visualizing all your files at once as squares of different size, according to the size of the file. This way it is easy to spot files that take up the most disk space, even if they’re hidden deep in the directory tree. It also tells you the file and directory size.

Get it here. SequoiaView

Files and directories can be selected, inspected and opened, but can not be modified directly. Users can define different color schemes to facilitate identification of certain file types or load a ready-made color scheme from disk. Files can be filtered on name, size as well as creation, modification or last access date or any combination of these.

It is a small download of only 515kb and supports Windows 95 / 98 / ME / NT4 / 2000 / XP

Stop Startup Programs from Launching

Windows Tips Crate, XP 4 Responses »

Jun 262007

It seems like every program you install these days wants to run when you start your computer, is your system tray overflowing with icons. This can lead to system instability, low resources and generally sluggish computing experience. But all is not lost you can easily disable the unneeded ones with the System Configuration Utility or msconfig

To get to Msconfig

Click Start- Run the type msconfig in the Run dialog box.

2. Click the Startup tab

Here you can see what processes are starting with your computer, some need to running but many can be safely disabled. You want your Anti-virus to start but do you really need iTunesHelper or QuickTime, hell no, all you have to do is remove the check mark next to the item you want to disable, if your not sure of a process just Google the name.

Then click apply and close then restart the computer. Nothing you disable in this section will prevent your computer from restarting and you can always enable it if you find something not working.

When your computer restarts you will see this screen. Put a check mark in the box and click Ok. Your computer will most likely startup much faster now.

Car Talk, Now available as a Podcast

Podcast Crate No Responses »

Jun 252007

Car Talk is a call in radio talk show broadcast weekly on National Public Radio stations throughout the United States. They talk about cars and car repair in an extremely hilarious way that makes it fun to listen to. The hosts are Tom and Ray Magliozzi also known as Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers. http://cartalk.com/

Callers describe their car troubles and the Tappet Brothers take over and try to diagnose and solve the problem with jokes directed at the callers and themselves. Their knowledge of cars is extensive and they are usually able to come up with a diagnosis to cure the ailing automobile.

The show is an hour long and you can find it on NPR. Check the site for stations and time. http://www.npr.org/programs/

You can also subscribe on Itunes at Sign up for our free show podcast,

Give it a try, if you like cars and comedy you�ll like Car Talk

How to avoid being ripped off when shopping online

Website Crate No Responses »

Jun 242007

Online shopping can be dangerous but it doesn�t have to be if you know who to trust with your credit card. Before buying online with an unknown merchant I always visit ResellerRatings.com first to check out the stores ratings. http://www.resellerratings.com/ Click on the Store Ratings tab at the top right and then enter the Stores name in the box. The results page will show the Overall Customer Satisfaction Rating for the last 6 months and the lifetime ratings, and below that you can read the reviews of the company to see if you want to do business with them.

You can also use the site to find the best prices on items and Comparison shop different stores. They also have an extremely active forum. As an aside, for Tech related purchases I always shop Newegg and highly recommend them.

Use Alt-Tab to Quickly Switch Between Applications

Windows Tips Crate, XP No Responses »

Jun 232007

You can quickly switch between applications that you have opened by holding down the the Alt key and repeatedly pressing the Tab key.

WordPress update in progress

News No Responses »

Jun 232007

I am updating my WordPress install at this time so please check back soon. The site will look different and have reduced funtionality. This is me first try at upgrading WordPress, I have my fingers crossed.

The update to Wp 2.21 went very smooth no problems. everything is back to normal.

Kevin.

Help save Net Radio

News 2 Responses »

Jun 222007

If you�re like me and listen to net radio or music streamed over the net please read the post below if we all act on June 26 and call our Representatives maybe we can continue to enjoy free music on the web.
The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger. Royalty rates for webcasters have been drastically increased by a recent ruling and are due to go into effect on July 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!).

Belkins Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista

Gadget Crate, Windows Vista, XP No Responses »

Jun 212007

Have you purchases a new computer lately and want to transfer your old data to the new computer, This little wonder is worth its price in gold. There available everywhere for around $30. If your buying a new Dell its offered on their site.

Moving files and settings between computers is scary enough, but moving them between operating systems? That’s REALLY scary! Luckily, for the advent of the new Windows Vista PCs, Belkin has the answer. The Easy Transfer Cable for Windows Vista gives you an efficient, simple way of moving your files and settings from your old Windows XP PC to your new Windows Vista PC.

Connect each end of the generous 8-foot cable to the USB ports on both computers. The Windows Easy Transfer Wizard automatically appears and lets you select some or all items to copy. With a couple of clicks, your photos, music, settings and more transfer easily and cleanly without complications, CD-burning, and having to build a network connection. This is also the ideal mobile solution for copying files to and from your notebook for moving between home and work PCs.

Belkin includes FREE file-synchronization software. With “One-Click,” PCsync software automatically synchronizes files, folders, music, photos, video�and much more�between your PCs.

The Windows Easy Transfer Wizard automatically appears and lets you select some�or all�items to copy.