Create Custom Run Box Commands

If you are like me, you love to find new ways to navigate around your computer. I've been using the run box on windows for awhile now, and I had a thought. I wonder if I can use the run box to run custom commands, or even changing existing ones? After some web searching, I found exactly what I was looking for.

Hold down the Windows key and press the 'R' key.
This will open your run box.
Next type in 'regedit' and press Enter.
Now you have opened the windows registry editor.
Whenever you are going to change the registry, I would suggest backing it up first. In case you screw things up accidentally.
Highlight My Computer in the registry.
Click File and select Export.
Save the reg file somewhere.
Now you have a back up of your entire registry.
OK, on to the fun stuff.
Follow this path

"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths"

Right Click the "App Paths" folder.
Select New -> Key
Name the key what you want the command to be and add '.exe' to the end.
Example: chrome.exe
Now select the key you just added.
There will be one item in it named Default.
Double click the item.
A window will open asking for a new data value.
Enter in the path of the executable you are trying to create the command for.
Example: "C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe"
Click OK or press enter.
You are now ready to try the run command.
Open the run box and type the command you chose.
Example: chrome
Click OK, or press enter and the application should run.
Exit out of the registry.

This simple registry change can add many possibilities for opening up items quickly.

NOTE: This will even work with multiple words. The run command "control netconnections" will open up your network connections. If you create a registry for control panel (call it 'C.exe' for example) you can shorten it to "c netconnections".

Some might call this useless, but I like to call it exploring your options.

Hook up internet to your gaming system through wireless internet and a laptop

Quick how-to guide to obtaining an internet connection through a laptop that uses a wireless connection.

First off you will need the following tools.

1 Crossover cable (or tools to make one from regular Ethernet cable)
Game system with online capabilities.
Laptop/Computer with wireless network connection
Windows XP/Vista (may work on other operating systems, but I have not tried)

NOTE: I will be writing this assuming Vista is being used. If you need help with XP, feel free to email/post questions.


Step 1
Get an active wireless internet connection. Make sure you can surf the web before proceeding.

Step 2
Make sure your Xbox 360 is turned off or you will have to restart it later.
Connect the Crossover from your laptop to your Xbox 360.

Step 3
On the Laptop open up your network connections. (A quick way to get there is Hold down the Windows Key and press R. When the run box comes up type in "ncpa.cpl")

Step 4
Enable sharing on your wireless network connection.

Right Click on the Wireless network connection.

Click Properties.

Click the Sharing Tab.

Check the top box associated with "Allow other users to connect through the computer's internet connection.
(see image to the right)

Leave the bottom check box unchecked.

Click OK to exit this window.

Click Close to exit this window.

After closing the window, you might have to wait a minute before it start responding again.

Step 5

Set the IP Address for the local area connection.

To pass the IP Address test on xbox live (or ps2's dnas check) you have to set the IP Address of the connection to be unique.

Open up Network connections again.

Right click on the Local Area Connection (which should not connected since the Xbox 360 is not on).

Click Properties. A new window will open (see image to the left)

Highlight the item "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/iPv4)

Click Properties

A new window will open. (see image to the right)

Click the Radio button associated with "Use the following IP Address"

IP Address: 192.168.0.1
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Leave the rest blank.

Click OK to close the window.

Click Close to close the window.


Step 6

Turn on your Xbox 360, connect to Xbox live, and play. You should be all set.


NOTES:

If you are having trouble connecting. Run the Xbox Live Test Connections wizard.

If the IP Address fails, restart both your laptop and Xbox 360, and try again. (make sure your laptop is up and running before you turn on your Xbox 360 again).

If the DNS fails, then you most likely you have a router that has an IP Address of 192.168.0.1xx
If this is the case, look in your router manual to see how to change your routers IP Address to something like 192.168.0.2

All else fails, buy the 100 dollar wireless adapter for your Xbox 360.

Enjoy.

The Long List of Great Applications

I was asked by a friend of mine to write a blog on my favorite applications. So here it is…

I have a custom toolbar on my taskbar, title Apps, where I keep all my shortcuts in various folders.

So let’s start at the top.

Development

Photoshop/Gimp – There is not much I can say about Photoshop that you don’t already know. It is however expensive. If you can’t get your hands on a copy, you might want to check out an open source project, GIMP. It is not as easy to use, but there is a great deal of support on the web.

http://www.gimp.org/

Dreamweaver – Dreamweaver makes web building easy as pie. If you are looking to write a bunch of HTML and/or CSS look no further. It makes the job as simple as I’ve seen it.

Visual Studio 2008 – The newest version of Visual Studio is completely revamped. It includes new features, like Master Pages and a sleek split view of design/source mode. Whether you are building your first website, or are an ASP.NET wiz, this tool should be in your shed.

MinGW Developer Studio – Another IDE for developing. I have this for one reason. It has a built in gcc compiler. Ohio University (at which I attend), has all the computer science majors develop on a UNIX system. So naturally to do homework, I wanted to use a compiler as close to UNIX based as I can.

Internet

In order to prevent people from starting another browser war via post comments, let me say this. I love all browsers equally! (*sarcasm) Now that I got that out of the way, here we go.

Internet Explorer 7 – IE7 stepped it up for the most used browser of all time. The ability to use add-ins really helped the cause, but with a mediocre memory consumer, and not so blazing speed (to say the least), the browser has been sliding down the list of most computer users.

Firefox 3 – Mozilla had a world record 8,002,530 people download Firefox 3 in 24 hours alone, and for good reason. Firefox has made a name for itself and you all know why. Thousands of extensions, skins, etc. for download, high quality support, and very extensive security are a few of these reasons. If you have an Internet Connection, you most likely have Firefox. The biggest downfall for Firefox has always been the same tough, Ridiculously high memory consumption!

Google Chrome – The newest contender in the Browser war. The all powerful Google has released its own browser, Chrome. Though it is still in Beta, it is BLAZING fast. Some features include: Independent tab environments (If one tab crashes, it doesn’t take the rest out with it), incognito mode (browse the internet secretly), and an Opera style speed dialer shows when you open a new tab with nine of your most viewed websites showing. Google has been attracting tons of Firefox fans due to the speed and low memory usage.

Minefield – Firefox couldn’t just sit back and let Google take its entire hard earned fan base. They recently released an Alpha build of the next Firefox release, code named Minefield. I haven’t used it much, but dare I say it might be faster than Chrome. It will be fun to see how this war turns out.

Internet Explorer 8 – I have never used it, but I hear good things. Check it out at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/beta/default.aspx

Email

Thunderbird – I am not overly concerned with my email client. I use Mozilla Thunderbird because it is free, and handles IMAP and POP extremely easily. That makes it perfect for handling my gmail and my school accounts.

Music

­Audacity – Audacity is a powerful, free program that allows you to manipulate your audio files in many ways. The only time I really use this is when I am cropping mp3’s for ringtones, so I cannot offer much advice for its features.

iTunes – Is it just me, or is iTunes 8 terrible on Windows? It is extremely slow. Maybe it is my 1.46 GHz Celeron M processor? (Gosh I need a new computer). I have 2 Gigs of RAM though? Anyways, iTunes is a must have for iPod management. Several other music clients offer iPod sync, but none of them work well in my experience. Please tell me if I am wrong, I would love to replace iTunes all together…

MediaMonkey – MediaMonkey is my music client of choice. It offers many features like downloadable skins and scripts (miniLyrics is a must have), AND it is super fast. It definitely isn’t the highest quality music player though, but I’d prefer speed than ease of use in this case.

OpenPandora – This one is pretty self explanatory. If you love Pandora as much as I do, you should check out its open source version so you can run it outside of a browser.

Ruckus – There is only one reason to get Ruckus. College students get free music downloads! Albeit, the music selection is decent at best, it is a must have for college students who are against stealing. Note: some of the fastest downloads I’ve seen, you can download entire albums in 20 seconds, depending on your system specs and internet connection.

SoundTaxi – This one isn’t free, but if you want to get rid of those pesky DRM encryptions (WHICH YOU SHOULD NEVER DO! *disclaimer) this tool will get the job done. SoundTaxi is an internal recorder which essentially copies your protected music, and makes mp3 copies of it.

VLC Media Player – VLC is an extremely light weight media player. It is fast, small, and has support for pretty much any type of media file in existence. Easily my top pick for watching video.

Utilities

ConvertXtoDvd 3 – Ever want to take your media files and turn them into DVDs? This is a simple, easy to use program that does do for you. It has tons of options and support. This is perfect for taking avi files of video and turning them into DVDs for all to enjoy. However it is not free.

Filezilla Client- Very easy to use FTP client that allows remote access in seconds. Perfect for students who have school accounts they want to access remotely.

ImageBurn – Software for burning data. This one is a cousin of DVD Decryptor, but focuses more on burning image files.

Skype – Free, easy, and great for cam to cam interactions. If you plan on chatting face to face over the internet with any of your friends, Skype is your best option.

Synergy – This little piece of software works magic. I run a PC and my laptop next to each other all day, and doing so I wanted a way to share a mouse and keyboard as if I was using my laptop as a dual monitor. Synergy allows that plus more. You can connect your computers through a network and share the keyboard, mouse, and even clipboard! You can copy from one of your computers, and paste on the other. It is my favorite utility by far. NOTE: the computers do not even have to be running the same OS.

Trillian Pro – This is an instant messaging client for windows. It offers multi-account support of MSN, Yahoo, IRC, AIM, Google Talk, Novell GroupWise Messenger, Bonjour, Jabber, and Skype. Trillian Basic, the free version, only supports the first 4 and doesn’t allow audio or video chat. It is the best client on windows that I have found which supports all the instant messaging services.

Other

Quick list of other software I use…

Microsoft Office Suite 2007 Blue Edition, Cisco’s VPN client, Stardock’s Object Dock, SQL Server 2005, Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader (Adobe Reader replacement), Computer Alarm Clock.

Some Sidebar Widgets: Alarm Clock, Recycle Bin, Gas Prices, EBay Auction Watch, Stocks, Weather Bug, Sidebar Pong ( J ).

Shortcuts Shortcuts Shortcuts

Browse Quickly

* One of my favorite shortcuts on both Firefox and IE is "CTRL" ENTER. In the address bar type in google by itself and then hold "CTRL" and press Enter. It will automatically add the http://.com for you. Also instead of "CTRL" hold SHIFT and it adds .net for you.

Windows Key is your best friend

If you hold down the windows key there are many shortcuts that you might not know about.

Hold Windows and press...

* E - Will launch windows explorer.
* D - Will minimize windows open on your desktop and press it again to bring them all back up.
* Pause/Break - Will show the System View Screen.
* L - Will lock the computer.
* F - Search for Files/Folders.
* M - Minimizes all windows.
* Shift && M - Maximizes all windows.
* R - Run
* Tab - Select a task.
* U - Windows Utility Manager

More Shortcuts

Hold "CTRL" and press...

* C - Copies to Clipboard
* V - Pastes from Clipboard
* X - Cut Function
* P - Print
* Right Arrow - Skip through text a word at a time
* Left Arrow - Skips back through text a word at a time
* A - Select All
* F5 - A Hard Refresh
* F4 - Closes a Tab
* Tab - Cycle through Tabs
* Backspace - Delete the previous word in text editing
* Home - Jumps to the beginning of a line
* End - Jumps to the end of a line

* Scroll the Mouth Wheel - You will see the fonts grow and shrink right before your eyes. Works on all Firefox versions and Internet Explorer 7 and later.

Hold "CTRL" & SHIFT and press...

* Arrow Keys - Highlights text a word at a time
* Home - Highlights from the cursor to the top of the page
* End - Highlights from the cursor to the end of the page

Hold Alt and press...

* Print Screen - Copies a screen shot to the Clipboard
* F4 - Closes a Window
* Tab - Cycles through all windows

Make your own Shortcuts!

If you open up the Start Menu, and go to All Programs you will see a list of all your programs! Right click on the program you wish to make a shortcut for and click on Properties. Click on the Shortcut Tab. Press the keyboard key that you want to be associated with the program. Click OK. Now when ever you hold "CTRL" Alt and press the key you selected, the program will start.