People are so predictable.
Quite a few times I figured out where some people try to hide stuff not exactly for anyone else to see. Not exactly intentional though. But fear not, I haven't spread any of them nor do I have any bad intentions with them. So how did I find it?
Suspicious folders in the wrong place
The easiest indicator to see that a certain folder contains NSFW content is that the name of the folder has something to do with the computer system, such as 'system xp' or 'network', sitting somewhere outside C:\Windows or C:\Program Files. I often check these suspicious folders when I see them, mainly because it might also be some malware lurking around the hard disk. Besides, anyone computer-literate enough can tell the content isn't what the folder says.
Leaving NSFW folders/files unencrypted
These files might possibly been left as it is for convenience sake, but this also mean that anyone can stumble into it wide and open. They might have them out of the usual places people will most likely stumble, but mind that Windows have a search utility. This allows people to find your files within minutes. I'm not kidding.
History wasn't forgotten
In case you didn't know, doing anything on a computer will almost always leave some trace behind. Normally, people can just look up the history on a browser, or look into 'Recent Files' in Windows and applications. Then, "Hey, let's see what's in here- OHNOOO CANT UNSEE".
So what to do?
Don't keep them in the first place. Just delete it. It's not important and it takes up hard disk space. It will also risk you being humiliated. Especially if you're a girl.
Still insist on keeping it? Okay... Use CCleaner regularly to wipe out most of the histories, and encrypt your files using utilities like TrueCrypt or WinRAR. Also don't bother faking computer names, using numbers are much more effective.
But seriously, just delete it. Not worth all that trouble.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Retro Love: NES Screensaver
I never had the chance to play a real NES before, during the age where 8-bit graphics were all the rage. I started off with the Sony Playstation instead.
Anyways, if you're feeling nostalgic (or simply having a knack for retro stuff) you can get some NES games as your screensaver. And it's not a simple screensaver showing some NES gameplay; you can actually play NES games in it. Provided you have the ROMs, which you can easily obtain (hint: Google).
You can get it from the UberNES website:
Here's a shot of it in action:
Pretty neat huh?
If you don't want to play in a screensaver, you can download UberNES as a standalone emulator.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Why I Hate Laptops
WARNING: THIS IS A RANT. I WILL NOT HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY BUTTHURTS. ENJOY.
If you know me long enough, you should know that I don't like laptops. Studies show that I curse 476% more when I use laptops*. It's just a major pain to use.
*The study does not exist, but you can make one if you wish.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Freakin' expensive
Everyone knows that laptops are expensive, and even more expensive to get decent one. This also means that getting them repaired will cost the blood of a newborn.
2. Too damn slow
As a power user, I have a relatively low tolerance with inefficiency and slowness. It's really annoying when the laptop cannot catch up with my APM of 3000**. And decent laptops that can handle that are way too expensive.
**Possible with Razer Talon.
3. No spare parts I can buy.
Trust me, with electronics, something is gonna go bad, especially when it is complex and portable. With a laptop, the problem will be amplified further, since you can't do it yourself. Maybe you can do the hard disk and RAM, but other parts are simply not available in your local store. Even then you'll have to deal with warranties, which can get confusing (such as batteries have a different warranty period than the laptop itself).
4. Bad ergonomics.
Laptops have keyboards so small that it hurts the wrists under prolonged usage. Perhaps using a USB keyboard would be better (and protects the laptop keyboard from heavy abuse), but who wants to lug a seperate keyboard along? Not to mention that laptops might burn your lap (or penis).
5. The touchpad.
Sure, grabbing a wireless mouse for the laptop is a no brainer, but at times a mouse is just not available. Many times I can barely feel my fingertips due to the touchpad. It also interrupts typing a lot in case you forgot to disable them.
6. Drivers.
While this isn't limited to laptops, some manufacturers gives a confusing list of drivers to download, as there were variations with the specification of a particular model. Many times I find multiple graphics drivers and wireless drivers of different chipsets, only to find out that only one of them works. Such a waste of bandwidth and time. Why can't they give a different model name for different specifications instead?
7. OEM junk.
Manufacturers give lots of unneeded software which nobody used them, but included by default in their laptops. This wastes resources and time to uninstall all these unwanted stuff.
8. No room for extra storage.
Face it. It's now the era of HD content, and files reaching GBs are not rare these days. Now most laptops offer at most 500GB*** of storage space, and it will eventually become full of junk. Now here's another problem: there is no place for a secondary hard disk. You'll be forced to use an external hard disk or burn them to disks, just to satisfy your insatiable hunger for data. Unfortunately, external hard disks are very prone to problems (Trust me, they can fail at any time, regardless of what brand it is, so have a backup handy at all times), and optical disks (CDs, DVDs, BDs) isn't the most practical way either.
***There are 1TB 2.5" hard disks on sale today, but these are sold separately. I am yet to find a laptop with a 1TB hard disk preinstalled.
Conclusion
Now I might have added more reasons than just eight, but I think that would be enough to argue about. And it will make the whole post a bore (tl;dr). So yeah, don't take this too seriously. Use whatever works for you. That's the important part. Cheers.
If you know me long enough, you should know that I don't like laptops. Studies show that I curse 476% more when I use laptops*. It's just a major pain to use.
*The study does not exist, but you can make one if you wish.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Freakin' expensive
Everyone knows that laptops are expensive, and even more expensive to get decent one. This also means that getting them repaired will cost the blood of a newborn.
2. Too damn slow
As a power user, I have a relatively low tolerance with inefficiency and slowness. It's really annoying when the laptop cannot catch up with my APM of 3000**. And decent laptops that can handle that are way too expensive.
**Possible with Razer Talon.
3. No spare parts I can buy.
Trust me, with electronics, something is gonna go bad, especially when it is complex and portable. With a laptop, the problem will be amplified further, since you can't do it yourself. Maybe you can do the hard disk and RAM, but other parts are simply not available in your local store. Even then you'll have to deal with warranties, which can get confusing (such as batteries have a different warranty period than the laptop itself).
4. Bad ergonomics.
Laptops have keyboards so small that it hurts the wrists under prolonged usage. Perhaps using a USB keyboard would be better (and protects the laptop keyboard from heavy abuse), but who wants to lug a seperate keyboard along? Not to mention that laptops might burn your lap (or penis).
5. The touchpad.
Sure, grabbing a wireless mouse for the laptop is a no brainer, but at times a mouse is just not available. Many times I can barely feel my fingertips due to the touchpad. It also interrupts typing a lot in case you forgot to disable them.
6. Drivers.
While this isn't limited to laptops, some manufacturers gives a confusing list of drivers to download, as there were variations with the specification of a particular model. Many times I find multiple graphics drivers and wireless drivers of different chipsets, only to find out that only one of them works. Such a waste of bandwidth and time. Why can't they give a different model name for different specifications instead?
7. OEM junk.
Manufacturers give lots of unneeded software which nobody used them, but included by default in their laptops. This wastes resources and time to uninstall all these unwanted stuff.
8. No room for extra storage.
Face it. It's now the era of HD content, and files reaching GBs are not rare these days. Now most laptops offer at most 500GB*** of storage space, and it will eventually become full of junk. Now here's another problem: there is no place for a secondary hard disk. You'll be forced to use an external hard disk or burn them to disks, just to satisfy your insatiable hunger for data. Unfortunately, external hard disks are very prone to problems (Trust me, they can fail at any time, regardless of what brand it is, so have a backup handy at all times), and optical disks (CDs, DVDs, BDs) isn't the most practical way either.
***There are 1TB 2.5" hard disks on sale today, but these are sold separately. I am yet to find a laptop with a 1TB hard disk preinstalled.
Conclusion
Now I might have added more reasons than just eight, but I think that would be enough to argue about. And it will make the whole post a bore (tl;dr). So yeah, don't take this too seriously. Use whatever works for you. That's the important part. Cheers.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Elementary OS released
No, it's not an april fools joke.
Seriously, you can now download elementary OS 0.1 "Jupiter" via BitTorrent clients from their website: http://elementaryos.org/
Elementary OS is a new Linux OS based on Ubuntu, but focused on simplicity and elegance. You can even install the popular elementary theme in Ubuntu, like I did a few months back. Easy on the eyes, and looks very elegant.
Despite being based on Ubuntu, it doesn't really behave like Ubuntu. For example, you can't place shortcuts on the desktop. And not all of it's proposed features/softwares comes preinstalled. There isn't even a music player in this release! But that can be solved easily by installing any music player of your choice, of course.
It's interesting to play around with this OS, but to make it as a primary OS is going to be a long way ahead. Perhaps we should wait until elementary matures a little more, with all the cool features (Slingshot, Plank, Wingpanel...) available for use. And the release of a 64 bit version as well.
Seriously, you can now download elementary OS 0.1 "Jupiter" via BitTorrent clients from their website: http://elementaryos.org/
Elementary OS is a new Linux OS based on Ubuntu, but focused on simplicity and elegance. You can even install the popular elementary theme in Ubuntu, like I did a few months back. Easy on the eyes, and looks very elegant.
Despite being based on Ubuntu, it doesn't really behave like Ubuntu. For example, you can't place shortcuts on the desktop. And not all of it's proposed features/softwares comes preinstalled. There isn't even a music player in this release! But that can be solved easily by installing any music player of your choice, of course.
It's interesting to play around with this OS, but to make it as a primary OS is going to be a long way ahead. Perhaps we should wait until elementary matures a little more, with all the cool features (Slingshot, Plank, Wingpanel...) available for use. And the release of a 64 bit version as well.
Friday, April 1, 2011
A New Layout
You might have noticed that this (not-so-active) blog changed its layout, to a much cleaner and lighter one. Well I got bored with the old layout, and saw the new layout tool. It looks neat and modern, but as you see I made a few tweaks myself. Hope you guys like it.
What happened to the other Techrangers? Well I guess they already forgot that this blog exist, leaving me to maintain it alone. Never mind, they aren't really the blogging type either. I have this covered. So stay tuned for more content soon.
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