Notepad++ is a great utility for coders in a Windows environment. Essentially Notepad++ is a combination of the simplicity of (the built-in Windows app) Notepad plus a lot more features specific to coders like syntax highlighting and auto-completion, which it picks up on automatically by understanding the file type extension when you save the file. You can also specify the … [Read more...]
A Thunderbird Update Problem
I've run into this error message a few times now when Thunderbird chooses to automatically update itself on Windows XP and Windows Vista machines: "Software Update Failed One or more files could not be updated. Please make sure all other applications are closed and that you have permission to modify files, and then restart Thunderbird to try again." It certainly isn't a … [Read more...]
AutoRuns – Beyond MSConfig for Startup Investigating
SysInternals offers a great utility for investigating the behavior of your machine. If you've ever tried tracking down spyware/adware or other malicious processes, you've probably used the msconfig tool to look at the startup processes. MSConfig allows you to reach a middle ground between Safe Mode and Normal mode where you can test the environment slowly and meticulously to … [Read more...]
Disable Firefox 3’s New “Awesome” Bar
If you find Firefox 3's new Awesomebar (what they're dubbing the URL bar) more annoying than awesome, you can disable the new feature where it searches your history and bookmarks to try and match what you're typing. To disable this, just type about:config in the url bar. You'll get a warning if this is your first time going into the about:config. You'll want to be careful, … [Read more...]
Free Office 2007 Ribbon Customizer
There are two big changes with Office 2007 that are fairly visible. One of those changes is the new file types: .xlsx, .docx, etc. The other change is to the interface. Office 2007 introduces the "Ribbon." Overall, it serves the purpose of unifying the interface through the Office suite. This should make it easier to use one application and then switch to another and not have … [Read more...]