Learn about your PC

Some Computer Terms

RTM

Short for release to manufacturing, the version of a software product that is given to manufacturers to bundle into future versions of their hardware products. RTM versions are typically released to manufacturers before they are released to the general public so that the manufacturers can work out any bugs the software may encounter with hardware devices. The release of an RTM version does not necessarily mean that the creators have worked out all the problems with the software; there still may be more versions of the product before it is released to the general public.

OEM
Short for original equipment manufacturer, which is a misleading term for a company that has a special relationship with computer producers. OEMs are manufacturers who resell another company's product under their own name and branding. While an OEM is similar to a VAR (value-added reseller), it refers specifically to the act of a company rebranding a product to its own name and offering its own warranty, support and licensing of the product. The term is really a misnomer because OEMs are not the original manufacturers; they are the customizers.

IHV
Short for Independent hardware vendor, a hardware-manufacturing company that specializes in a specific type of hardware device and not a complete computer system. The IHV typically also provides the software drivers for its hardware devices

Pulling wire


A phrase used to describe the act of running network cable from one location to another.

SURGINET
SURGINET is one of the most well-known e-mail mailing list for General Surgeons that serves as a forum for academic and clinical discussions and knowledge sharing specific to the specialty of General Surgery. While officially the list membership is restricted to Surgeons, members are also from many disciplines, such as nursing, med students, basic scientists, pharmacists, residents, even veterinarians. The SURGINET mailing list is run by list owner Tom Gilas.

BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile e-mail devices and services from Research In Motion (RIM). BlackBerry is a complete package that includes airtime, software and choice of BlackBerry mobile device. BlackBerry is currently available in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
In the United States and Canada, BlackBerry depends on either narrowband PCS 800 MHz DataTAC networks or narrowband PCS 900 MHz Mobitex networks. In the UK, BlackBerry works over GPRS networks.
BlackBerry's popularity may be attributed to its easy-to-use interface and keyboard.

Bluejacking
Bluejacking allows phone users to send business cards anonymously using Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluejacking does not involve the removal or alteration of any data from the device. These business cards often have a clever or flirtatious message rather than the typical name and phone number. Bluejackers often look for the receiving phone to ping or the user to react. They then send another, more personal message to that device. Once again, in order to carry out a bluejacking, the sending and receiving devices must be within 10 meters of one another. Phone owners who receive bluejack messages should refuse to add the contacts to their address book. Devices that are set in non-discoverable mode are not susceptible to bluejacking

Bluebugging
Bluebugging allows skilled individuals to access the mobile phone commands using Bluetooth wireless technology without notifying or alerting the phone’s user. This vulnerability allows the hacker to initiate phone calls, send and read SMS, read and write phonebook contacts, eavesdrop on phone conversations, and connect to the Internet. As with all the attacks, the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the phone. This is a separate vulnerability from bluesnarfing and does not affect all of the same phones as bluesnarfing

Bluesnarfing
Bluesnarfing allows hackers to gain access to data stored on a Bluetooth enabled phone using Bluetooth wireless technology without alerting the phone’s user of the connection made to the device. The information that can be accessed in this manner includes the phonebook and associated images, calendar, and IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity). By setting the device in non-discoverable, it becomes significantly more difficult to find and attack the device. Without specialized equipment the hacker must be within a 10 meter range of the device while running a device with specialized software. Only specific older Bluetooth enabled phones are susceptible to bluesnarfing

MIN
Short for Mobile Identification Number it is a unique 24-bit number assigned by the wireless service provider (carrier) to each mobile phone it sells or includes in service plans.

Wi-Fi
Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
Any products tested and approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" (a registered trademark) by the Wi-Fi Alliance are certified as interoperable with each other, even if they are from different manufacturers. A user with a "Wi-Fi Certified" product can use any brand of access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is certified. Typically, however, any Wi-Fi product using the same radio frequency (for example, 2.4GHz for 802.11b or 11g, 5GHz for 802.11a) will work with any other, even if not "Wi-Fi Certified."
Formerly, the term "Wi-Fi" was used only in place of the 2.4GHz 802.11b standard, in the same way that "Ethernet" is used in place of IEEE 802.3. The Alliance expanded the generic use of the term in an attempt to stop confusion about wireless LAN interoperability.

Moblog
Acronym used to combine the terms "mobile" and "Web log". Where a Web log (also called a blog) is a Web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal for an individual, a moblog is a blog which has been posted to the Internet from a mobile device such as a mobile phone or PDA.

3G
3G is an ITU(International Telecommunication Union) specification for the third generation (analog cellular was the first generation, digital PCS the second) of mobile communications technology. 3G promises increased bandwidth, up to 384 Kbps when a device is stationary or moving at pedestrian speed, 128 Kbps in a car, and 2 Mbps in fixed applications. 3G will work over wireless air interfaces such as GSM, TDMA, and CDMA. The new EDGE air interface has been developed specifically to meet the bandwidth needs of 3G.

E-nag
A slang term used to describe a person who nags (annoys or torments persistently) through electronic means such as e-mail, instant messaging, forums or online chat rooms. An e-nagger typically is a person who sends a successive stream of messages without allowing adequate time for a response from the recipient.

Spim
Also spelled as spIM, spam over instant messaging (IM). Spim is perpetuated by bots that harvest IM screen names off of the Internet and simulate a human user by sending spam to the screen names via an instant message. The spim typically contains a link to a Web site that the spimmer is trying to market.
Also referred to as instant spam or the less-intrusive sounding IM marketing.
(v.) To send someone spam through an instant messaging application.
A spimmer is the individual or organization responsible for sending the spim.

Bot
Short for robot, a computer program that runs automatically.

Hammering
The act of trying repeatedly to connect to an unavailable FTP server with little or no time between connection attempts. It can be compared to repeatedly hitting the "redial" button on a telephone when dialing a phone number that is busy until the other phone is no longer busy.
Trading servers have a limit on the number of active connections that may be present at one time. A server cannot process an unlimited number of requests, so when servers are occupied to full capacity they will deny further access until they have free space. Hammering consumes bandwidth, slowing down the server. In addition to already working at capacity, the server has to then send a busy response to the device that was unable to connect every time that device attempts a connection, which further depletes the server's resources and slows the system down in its connections with other devices.
Most FTP sites have policies against hammering and require FTP clients to set retry times at specific intervals, commonly at least 120 seconds between each attempt to connect. Most FTP sites can also monitor for devices that hammer, and once detected the server will ban access to the offending IP address either permanently or for a limited amount of time.

Cuckoo Egg
A Cuckoo Egg is an edited MP3 file that appears to be a copyright protected song being distributed via the Internet without the permission of the copyright owner. The initial portion of the song (first 30 seconds or so) will be of the real song. The remainder of the song however, has been overwritten by something other than the initial song; usually cuckoo clock sound effects or or a series of random sounds and noises which are free of any copyright ownerships. Cuckoo Eggs will have the correct file size and playing time as the original copyrighted MP3 file will have.
Hoax
In e-mail terminology a hoax is a message which is written to deliberately spread fear, uncertainty and doubt.
Cloaking
1) Also known as stealth, a technique used by some Web sites to deliver one page to a search engine for indexing while serving an entirely different page to everyone else. There are opposing views as to whether or not cloaking is ethical. Opponents see it as a bait-and-switch, where a Web server is scripted to look out for search engines that are spidering in order to create an index of search results. The search engine thinks it is selecting a prime match to its request based on the meta tags that the site administrator has input. However, the search result is misleading because the meta tags do not correspond to what actually exists on the page. Some search engines, such as Lycos, Hotbot and Excite, even ban cloaked Web sites. Proponents of cloaking assert that cloaking is necessary in order to protect the meta data, as only the spider is supplied with the meta tags.
(2) In e-mail distribution, cloaking is the act of masking the name and address of the sender so that the recipient does not know who sent the e-mail.
Leech
Slang term frequently used by those actively engaged P2P and unethical file sharing. A leech or leecher is considered to be a user who downloads files and provides few or no uploads in return. Crackers also uses this term to describe those who constantly request sources and information and offer nothing in return.
Flame
A searing e-mail or newsgroup message in which the writer attacks another participant in overly harsh, and often personal, terms. Flames are an unfortunate, but inevitable, element of unmoderated conferences.
Sporn
A slang term used to describe e-mail spam specifically of adult content or of a pornographic nature. Sporn tends to be more aggressively marketed and deceitfully packaged than other types of spam.
Snailmail
Normal postal mail, where an actual physical letter or package is delivered. The term didn't exist until electronic mail (e-mail) became so prevalent that there was a requirement to differentiate the two. Obviously, the term was invented by e-mail aficionados as a small barb directed at the relative slowness of physical ransportation.

Spamdress
Slang term for spam e-mail address, a person's secondary e-mail address, which is used for registering to receive newsletters, discussion forums and for other Web sites requiring sign-ups where you may receive frequent e-mails. The spamdress is used in place of a primary e-mail address to assist in keeping spam out of the primary account. Also called spamaddress.

IMAP
Short for Internet Message Access Protocol, a protocol for retrieving e-mail messages. The latest version, IMAP4, is similar to POP3 but supports some additional features. For example, with IMAP4, you can search through your e-mail messages for keywords while the messages are still on mail server. You can then choose which messages to download to your machine.
IMAP was developed at Stanford University in 1986.
Hard bounce
When e-mailing, hard bounce is used to describe an e-mail that has bounced back to the sender undelivered without having been accepted by the recipient's mail server.
Soft bounce
When e-mailing, soft bounce is used to describe an e-mail that has bounced back to the sender undelivered after it has already been accepted by the recipient's mail server

:tea:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
XP Mouse Filter Fix


This is the WinXP mouse accel tweak. It restores the feel of the mouse back to Win2K style. Very helpful for gamers and those sensitive to mouse movements.

Navigate to [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse]

Then, under SmoothMouseXCurve, change to this:
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,a0,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,40,\
01,00,00,00,00,00,00,80,02,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,05,00,00,
00,00,00

Next, under SmoothMouseYCurve, change to this:
00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,66,a6,02,00,00,00,00,00,cd,4c,\
05,00,00,00,00,00,a0,99,0a,00,00,00,00,00,38,33,15,00,00,
00,00,00

:bump:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Winchat

Winchat

There is an application in XP that allows networked users to to communicate with each other. It is a very simple program located in the Windows System32 directory. A search for "winchat"
will also bring it up. This program can be very usefull to users that work in large office complexes and need to deliver a message to another individual quickly and efficiently. This application also has a real time chat screen, so you can see the other person typing. I have tested this program on 2 computers running XP Pro, not XP Home.

1 start, search, "winchat" (or find in Windows, System 32 directory)
2 right click and select send to desktop (for easy opening)
3 run the program
4 choose dial button at the top
5 choose the computer of the person on the network who you wish to talk to.
6 both users must agree to connect to each other to talk.

:SugarwareZ-299:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Win98 Style Network Nieghbourhood

Win98 Style Network Nieghbourhood

A fix for a minor annoyance, I don't like having to click on My network places, then view workgroup in order to see the computers in my network, so I created a shortcut to my workgroup. Opening Windows Explorer and dragging the workgroup over to your desktop creates a shortcut to the workgroup. No more useless 'view network places'
[in my opinion] This would probably work on Win2k and XP home as well, but I haven't tested it.
:SugarwareZ-064:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
View System Uptime


To view the amount of time that XP has been running with out rebooting or restarting the computer:

1) Open the Command Prompt (located under Accessories) or go to START - RUN

2) Type systeminfo

3) Once the system has finished gathering the information, scroll up and the time is displayed in the System Up Time field.

As you can see, running systeminfo also gives a lot of useful information.

:tea:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
View and modify user folder location

View and modify user folder location

Microsoft Windows XP uses a lot of folders for each user. Everything from "My video" to your personal documents folder. Below is where you can view the locations of these folders and can change them.

Start Regedit. If you are unfamiliar with regedit please refer to our FAQ on how to get started.

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\ Explorer\Shell Folders

Right click on the folders and select Modify
Change the path to a new path if you want to change the path.
Reboot your computer
.

:bigsmile:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Use your digital camera as an portable storage device

Use your digital camera as an portable storage device

This is not really a tweak as such, just a very simple thing you could do with your digital camera that most people don't think about.
Do you have a digital camera that shows up as a removable storage device in explorer? Well, start using it as one! You can use the memory cards on your camera for storing documents, mp3's or whatever you choose to store there. Perfect if you need to bring some files to a friend, but the files won't fit on a diskette and you don't have a CD burner - just save it on the camera!

:SugarwareZ-191:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Uninstall Windows Messenger

Uninstall Windows Messenger



Note: This is for WINDOWS Messenger, not MSN Messenger

On XP Systems without SP1:

Click Start / Run Then type the following:
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
Press ENTER
Restart Windows

On XP Systems WITH SP 1:

Control Panel
Add / Remove Programs
Click on "Add/Remove Windows Components" on the left
UNcheck "Windows Messenger"
Click "NEXT"
Click "Finish"
Reboot

NOTE: the second method does not work on every system - you may still need to use the first method

:bump:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Turn off system beeps

Turn off system beeps


f those beeps annoy you there is a way to turn them off


Start Regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound
Once there, locate Beep on the list on the right.
Right click on it and select Modify
Change the value equal to no
Reboot your computer and the beeps will be gone!

:SugarwareZ-064:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Tricking WinXP to use larger then 32GB FAT32 Partitions

Tricking WinXP to use larger then 32GB FAT32 Partitions

experts have found a way to trick WinXP into using Partitions bigger then 32GB. one of the experts comment==
I have been using a 60GB Fat32 partition on WinXP for over 4 months now and I haven't had a single problem. This is how you do it.

1 get a Win98 boot disk
2 boot from boot disk and run Fdisk
3 partition the drive to what size you want up to 120GB
4 reboot the computer off of the Win98 boot disk
5 format the drive
6 boot the computer off of the WinXP CD
7 proceed to install the WinXP.
8 When WinXP ask you what partition to install to choose the disk you just formated it will give you an several option dealing with NTFS don't pay them any mind and choose the last option which is to install WinXP to current drive without making any changes. WinXp will proceed to install normally and you will have WinXP installed to a fully functional FAT32 Partition greater then 32GB. WinXP can use larger then 32GB partitions M$ intentionally limited the Fdisk portion WinXP to push people to the Realm of NTFS.


:tea:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
System Restore Calendar Missing??

System Restore Calendar Missing??


If you open System Restore and try to choose a restore point but the calendar is missing, it's probably the Hypertext Markup Language Component associatiion (.htc) that is missing or corrupt.

Cut and paste everyting below into notepad, save it as a .reg file, and then double-click on it and let it put the information into the registry:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.htc]
"Content Type"="text/x-component"
@="htcfile"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MIME\Database\Content Type\text/x-component]
"CLSID"="{3050f4f8-98b5-11cf-bb82-00aa00bdce0b}"
"Extensi on"=".htc"

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3050f4f8-98b5-11cf-bb 82-00aa00bdce0b}]
@="Microsoft Html Component"
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{3050f4f8-98b5-11cf-bb82-00aa00bdce0b}\InProcServer32]
@="C:\\WINDOWS\\System32\\mshtml.dll"
"ThreadingModel"="A partment""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.htc]
"Content Type"="text/x-component"
@="htcfile

:bigsmile:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
System files: think before removing them



There are any number of programs available that will claim to search your hard drive and remove any duplicate files. Most of these programs do a pretty good job, but it's worth having an understanding of what impact removal of system files and application components can have upon your computer.

Sanx's pocket guide to DLLs, OCXs and TLBs

DLLs, OCXs and TLBs are sections of code that exist in a different file to the main program file - the executable.

DLLs (Dynamic Link Libraries): Programmers often use DLLs when they have sections of code they wish to share between applications, but don't want to duplicate in each application. Placing this code in a DLL allows multiple applications to access it whilst keeping the overall application size down.

OCXs (OLE Component Extensions): OCXs tend to be visual components or objects. Where a programmer wants to use a certain style of button or list box, he'll use an OCX to make it. This saves him from having to write all the code to display the button manually. He just puts it there using the OCX, and all the actions come pre-packaged without him having to worry about coding what happens to the button image when the user clicks his mouse on it.

TLBs (Type Libraries): Type libraries are basically definitions of data structures - methods in which information is stored and transfered. Whilst these are usually stored in the application itself, having thm stored in a separate file allows the programmer to use the same type definitions across more than one program.

So what happens when a programmer uses one of these files and you install their program on your computer? In the vast majority of cases, the process is seamless. The setup program copies down the files, registers them properly and the application works without any thought or other configuration required. Problems can occur however, when different applications use the same components.

Whilst this is not an issue for custom-written DLLs and OCXs (i.e. ones the programmer has written themselves), there can be a problem when the programmer uses stock components. Visual Basic comes with a whole bunch of these, as does Visual C++ and a whole number of other programming languages. The problem arises because the programmer cannot automatically assume that the machine on which the software is going to be installed has all the pre-requisite components already on it. And even if it does, he cannot assume that all the components will be the right version.

Because of this, he will usually package up into his setup routine all the components the application will require. Now, this may end up containing duplicates of what is already on the target machine.

To cope with multiple versions, Windows has a built-in way of handling calls to external components. If an application makes a call to a certain DLL (let's call it sanx.dll) Windows will first look in the directory in which the application resides, and then in the \Windows\System32 directory.

Should the programmer need a specific version of a component, he can install it in the application directory. If it's going to be a common one, he can put it in the System32 folder.

The issue really starts getting fuzzy when you realise that in addition to the component actually having to be on the machine, it also needs to be registered. Registration of a component involves writing a whole bunch of GUIDs (Globally-unique identifiers) to the registry. Registration basically makes the component available to applications under a certain name and identifier without the programmer having to reference it by path and filename - quite a good thing since the programmer doesn't know in advance into what directory you've installed Windows or what directory you're going to put his program. Because of this, it's quite possible to have two or more identical components in different places on the machine, with different identifiers. Removing one will probably break the program associated with it.

Let's say sanx.dll exists on your machine in two places; your Windows\System32 directory and in the directory into which you've installed Sanx's ReallyWonderfulDoEverything application - the program that uses sanx.dll. Which version of sanx.dll will it be using? Well, that depends on where the registered version of the component is - something that can be devilishly hard to find. Even if both versions are registered, you'd need to know which of the two identifiers the program is using. Removal of the wrong copy of sanx.dll (i.e. the registered one) will end up breaking Sanx's ReallyWonderfulDoEverything. And that's a bad thing.

-- End pocket guide --

Thanks for reading this far!

So what does all of the textual garbage above mean? Basically, it means be very careful. Most disk cleaners will have some functionality that will search down any unregistered components, and look for registration entries that point to components that no longer exist.

Every good disk cleaner will also have a backup facility that allows you to save all the files deleted to an archive, along with any associated registry entries. If yours doesn't have that facility, don't use it - find another one. Remember, backups are your friend.

You might also want to consider doing a full backup, or at least saving all of your data onto remvoable media so that if you do end up breaking Windows beyond repair a format isn't going to cause you to lose anything you cannot replace. Remember to include your email storage files, ICQ contacts database, etc. in this.


:bump:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Start Windows Explorer In C:\

Start Windows Explorer In C:\

In explorer's properties, use this path and switches in the target:

C:\windows\explorer.exe /n,/e,c:\


:tea:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Single key-press file/folder renaming

Single key-press file/folder renaming


Select a file or folder and press the F2 key... rename.
:SugarwareZ-064:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Shortcut Icon for Run...

Shortcut Icon for Run...


You can put the Run... command found in the Start Menu on the desktop or anywhere else you want


1)Click on the Start Menu
2)Drag the Run... command to the desktop
3)You can then cut and paste it anywhere you like.

I put it in my Quick launch toolbar, it saves you a mouse click and possibly a little time.

(Works only in XP style Start Menu not in the classic, and make sure "Enable dragging and dropping" is activated in Start Menu properties.)


:SugarwareZ-191:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
SHIFT+"No" = No to All

SHIFT+"No" = No to All


If you've ever performed some kind of file operation, you'll be blasted with "Are you sure?"-type dialog boxes with the options, "Yes", "Yes to All", "No" and "Cancel". Hold down SHIFT and press "No" to mean, "No to All".
:SugarwareZ-064:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Send to 'Send to' tweak

Send to 'Send to' tweak


Easiest way to configure the "Send to" feature is to create a shortcut to the SendTo folder (X:\Documents and Settings\username\SendTo\ (it is hidden) where X is your drive letter and username is your username and then paste that shortcut into the SendTo folder. Any program you want to assign to the sendto folder, you then just right click on the program's shortcut and choose Send To->Send To.

:SugarwareZ-064:
 

love_gundu22

MP Guru
Right-click tips..

Lets say you have a bout 4-5 very useful applications which you use always. By placing them all on the first level menu will eventually crowd your start menu. Now why not utilize the right-click option instead? The right-click option gives you the ability to Open, Explore and Find. If you can add a shortcut to your application to that menu, it would be great.

To do this, crank up your registry editor and go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Shell. Right-click on Shell and create a new key. Type in an appropriate name for the key. On the right pane, double-click on the Default value, and add a title with a & character in front of the letter as an accelerator key. Right-click on the key you just created and create another key under it called command . For the Default value of command, enter the full path and program you want to execute in the Value data box.

For example, if you wanted Notepad, you would add that as the first key, the default in the right panel would be &Notepad so when you right click on the Start Button, the N would be underlined and you could just press that key. The command would be something like C:\Windows\notepad.exe. Now when you right click on the Start Button, your new program will show up.

:bigsmile:
 
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