Lockergnome

GnomeREPORT

Hello, Gnomies! I just want to let you know that we are looking at all the overwhelming amount of feedback, good and bad, regarding the new look of these newsletters, and we're trying our level best to process all the commentary and use it to our advantage and yours. Many of you are raving about the spiffy new look, while some don't understand why we needed to make a change at all and feel that we messed up what was otherwise a good thing! Ah, but being technophiles, the concept of change is integral to our very nature. We couldn't resist the temptation to throw caution to the wind and overhaul the whole thing, bugs on the windshield be darned! Oh, and there are bugs, as many of you folks are letting us know loudly and clearly! Please be assured that we're working hard to remedy them as quickly and efficiently as possible.

It's a bit like getting a new car. We loved the old one dearly; it served us well and will be remembered fondly for all its quirks and eccentricities, but we felt the need to try something a little... racier. Something that would give us the option to let the top down and feel the wind in our hair. Sure, it's a little like going from the comfort of running local errands in the well-worn family car with an automatic transmission to a stick-shift convertible on a cross-country road trip. It's so new that the paint's still a little sticky (which might account for the bugs, come to think of it)!

But more than making the change simply for change's sake, we're trying to improve something we've all come to cherish. We want to maintain the good things about Lockergnome - the sense of community, people helping people (asking for and sharing advice), and keeping on top of current news in the wide world of technology. We can still run errands and visit our friends in the new car, but now we have the option to take side trips at our leisure, too. Let's open the windows and enjoy the fresh air of the countryside together!

Well. Just as soon as we can wash all these bugs off the windshield!

Tuning up, over, and out,

The Lockergnome Service Center

"Dah! It's a RAM Drive!"

From the Great White North, Canadian Gnomie Martin writes:

I've been in search of a RAM Disk program for Windows XP for over a year now and have only been finding rather expensive solutions. For example, superspeed.com offers one that boasts "5 to...30 times improvement in application speed."

All I can say is "Dah! It's a RAM Drive, of course it's going to go faster!" Anyway, this program is over $30 and why pay for an option that was free in previous Microsoft operating systems? So I went back to Google recently and did a search for "free ram disk for windows xp" and found RAM Disk v 2.2 for Win 2K/XP /Server 2003

It's great! It installs via the "Add Hardware" option of Windows and shows up as a device in Device Manager. Then, you can control the RAM Disk size and drive letter via its properties. The only limitation with this program is the biggest size of RAM Disk you can have is 64M. However, the author (Christiaan Ghijselinck) says that he will provide the unlimited version upon request.

All and all, I think this is one of my best finds yet for this year. Thought I'd share my little gem with fellow Gnomies.

Thanks, Martin! We appreciate the tip!

Up With BIOS

In our forums, soccer writes:

"My computer is a PII 400 MHZ with an American Megatrends motherboard. The BIOS date is 07/15/95. My OS is Windows XP Professional. I recently purchased a Benq scanner and a PCI USB card because my system does not have a USB slot. The card was installed and shows in the device manager, however, when the scanner is installed. A message that the device has malfunctioned appears.

"The scanner works well on any other machine. Do I need a BIOS upgrade? Info says that BIOS released before 1998 do not handle USB. Can I get a free upgrade or do I have to pay for it?"

osprey chimes in:

"BIOS files are free from either the motherboard manufacturer or computer manufacturer. Given the age of your equipment (pre-95), you may have to look in the archives for support - they actually may have discontinued BIOS updates prior to 1998. If you do find the correct files, print out any readme files or instructions for flashing your BIOS. You will also need a DOS boot disk It is not hard, but a mistake can leave your computer useless. You would then most likely need a new motherboard, because one of that vintage would most likely have the BIOS chip soldered to [the motherboard] rather than plugged-in."

Aryeh Goresky adds:

"A BIOS upgrade might solve your problem, but then again it might not have any effect. American Megatrends, Inc. makes BIOS for other motherboard manufacturers and has their own line of motherboards as well, but they sell far more BIOS to other companies then in their own motherboards, so it's likely you have a motherboard manufactured by someone else. This page on their Web site explains how to determine the motherboard manufacturer.

"Have you tried any other devices besides the image scanner with the USB PCI expansion card in the computer? There are several revisions of the PCI interface, and it's possible your new USB PCI expansion card is not fully-compatible with your old motherboard. Trying a basic device like a generic USB mouse might help you determine where the exact incompatibility is with your USB image scanner."

Shortcuts Are Even Shorter When You RUN!

Tres London sends us this tidbit:

Want to access any program from the run command line (Start>Run or Windows key + r)?

Just open up your system32 folder (C:Windows\System32 or C:\WinNT\system32) and make a shortcut (Let's just call it "cool"). Then tell the shortcut to point to whatever program you want to run (see the example below). Then go to the run command line and type "cool". Voila!

Examples:

Target: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla\mozilla.exe"

Target: "C:\Program Files\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" http://google.com

Target: "C:\Program Files\Apache Group\Apache\Apache.exe"

Thanks, Tres!

SetNameToTime v2.0 beta 2l

• [170K]
• Win9x/2k/XP
• FREE

http://storcksoftware.com/setnametotime/

{Rename digital camera files} Most digital cameras output files as img001.jpg or something with a number. Taking as many pictures as I do because I take so many bad ones, it takes too much time to rename all the files. SetNameToTime converts the file names to date and time format. The Exif View Tab provides detailed information on each photo such as the camera make and model, orientation, exposure, and software (if it's been edited). After selecting the files to rename, the program immediately displays the new names and it won't make the changes permanent until Rename is clicked or if Autosave is selected. [Meryl]

WiredX.net v0.9.505 beta

• [242K]
• Win9x/2k/XP
• FREE REGISTRATION

http://wiredx.net/

{Access Unix apps} WiredX.net is an ASP (Application Service Provider, not Active Server Pages), which provides JavaTM X Window System servers. Access Unix applications on your LAN via your Windows-based desktop and Web browser. Though it's a free download, it requires registering to become a WiredX.net member. The program requires Internet Explorer 4.0+ or Netscape Navigator 4.5+, Java2 Plug-in (v1.3 is preferred), and Unix machines you can access through the LAN for running x clients, which is the sole purpose of the application. You can also use the application through the Web site. [Meryl]

Windows Startup Inspector v1.0

• [736K]
• Win98/2k/XP
• FREE

http://www.mywebattack.com/gnomeapp.php?id=107300

{Enable/disable startup items} Windows Startup Inspector lets you view and optionally disable programs that are currently set to start automatically with Windows. In addition to the details that are extracted from the registry, it can also consult an online database that provides additional information in plain English (if available). In addition, it displays a user rating that indicates whether other users find the particular entry to be of any use. The program is easy to use and comes with an attractive interface - it is designed to list and either disable or enable startup entries; it does not provide options to modify them or add new ones.

Time Tales

http://www.timetales.com/

{Snapshots of the past} There's something about looking at old photos whether or not you're related to the subjects. Looking at these photos from before 1930 brought many thoughts to my head. I couldn't help but make up a story about the people in the photo. If this site is still around 100 years from today, what will our descendants think of our photos from the '80s, '90s, '00s? They'll probably be overwhelmed because we take far, far more photos today thanks to digital cameras, cheap film, and cheap cameras. Each photo lists who found it, where it was found, and any text from the photo. Anyone can submit photos. If you find photos from Pultusk, Poland no later than 1925 or Latvia no later than 1904, drop me a line. My family is unfortunate in that there are so few photos beyond my grandparents' parents. Off to travel back to 2003. [Meryl]