Want the Image Resizer PowerToy for Windows 7 or Vista? Here it is (sorta).
Microsoft's Image Resizer PowerToy for Windows XP was a convenient, no nonsense way to quickly resize images on the fly. I used to use it all the time in XP, and was bummed it never found its way to Windows Vista/7.
But thankfully, all is not lost to Microsoft's neglect. The Image Resizer Powertoy Clone for Windows is available for free on CodePlex, in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors.
Works on XP, Vista, Windows 7...oh and even Windows 2000. 
How to get different wallpaper on dual monitors in Windows (without 3rd party software)
Applies to:
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
Windows XP, Vista, and 7 will only show the same wallpaper on both of your monitors. There isn't actually a setting to change this behavior (without the use of 3rd party tools such as Ultramon), but there is a very easy workaround.
You just need to do a little bit of image editing. For this demo, I'll use Adobe Photoshop, but any simple image editing tool will do.
First off, either open an image that is the resolution of your left monitor, or re-size an image to the proper resolution.
Note: this tutorial also assumes your left monitor is the same size or bigger than your right monitor. If not, this won't work right.
For example, my left monitor is 1920x1200, so — using Photoshop — I re-sized an image to 1920x1200.
The next step is to re-size our image's canvas to the total width of both monitors. Simply add up the width of your two displays. In my scenario, my monitors are 1920x1200 and 1280x1024, so the total width is 3200 pixels.
Using your image editor, re-size the width of the canvas (not the image) to the total width of both monitors. Make sure the left side of the image is anchored to the left edge, so the part that expands is blank. Finally, ensure the unit of measurement is set to pixels.
Now, copy another image, paste it as a new layer, and make it fill up the blank space (you'll probably want to use an image that is close to the resolution of your right monitor). Make sure the new image doesn't overlap the first image!
Save your new image somewhere as a JPEG or something Windows understands, and set it as your desktop wallpaper.
Then, go into your display properties and make sure the image's position is set to tiled:
That's it! You now have the appearance that each monitor has its own unique wallpaper. Kind of a pain, but worth it if you like a little variety in your wallpaper.
(Note: the screenshot below looks a little weird because the monitors are not the same height, and that's how it is displayed when I captured the image.)
R.I.P., Dell XPS M1330
My Dell XPS M1330 died after only 14 short months of ownership (conveniently two months after the warranty expired). Dell's tech support proved to be completely useless. Don't recommend Dell, and definitely won't buy another one.
Will this be my turning point in getting a Mac? Time will tell...
Location of important folders in Windows 7
I often find myself trying to remember where Windows 7 stores my important stuff. Here are a few important locations, and I'll probably continue to add more to this article as I find 'em.
Note: I'm pretty sure most of these are the same in Vista, but I can't personally vouch for that.
Note 2: Most of these require you to turn on viewing of hidden folders
Note 3: I am assuming the "C:" drive is your system drive; if not, replace it with the correct drive.
Location of Outlook data file(s):
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
Location of iTunes backup of iPhone:
C:\users\{username}\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
(Note: there will be a cryptic folder name for each backup made. For example, "df774585e699dff29cf10cf495a1fe81540495e6")
Location of Windows 7 user-installed themes:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes
You can find some of the "hidden" Windows 7 themes here (more info here):
C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT
Windows 7 temp file directory:
C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Temp
And of course, don't forget about the most uber folder of all — God Mode.
How to get your iPhone app rejected by Apple
Often puzzling, always frustrating, the list of reasons why developers are denied access to Apple's iPhone App Store grows ever longer.
While no guide could ever encompass the whims of Steve Jobs, this one put together by infoworld.com does a pretty good job of summarizing the major ways that you can promptly get your iPhone / iPad app rejected by Apple. Some are obvious, like "don't write lousy code." Some are less obvious, like making sure your app doesn't gobble up too much of AT&T's bandwidth, or seeing to it that your app doesn't execute interpreted code.
Read the full article on infoworld.com
7 Genuine Ways to Generate Click-Throughs
Working at an interactive, content marketing agency, we do all kinds of emails. It's always good to remind ourselves of the primary objective, which is (usually) to get the user to click on something (a.k.a., take an action).
I found a great article on openforum.com that provides some basic, yet effective, tips. My favorite:
Contain one main message in each email, or clearly articulated and delineated messages for newsletters.
I'll be the first to admit that we have — at times — taken a shotgun approach to email blasts, trying to cram as much information into the email as possible. A focused, main message is more likely to generate click-throughs than the "everything and the kitchen sink" approach.
Read the whole article here.
Getting the Run item back on the Windows Start Menu
Honestly, I liked the Run menu in Windows XP and earlier editions of Windows. I got pretty good at clicking Start, Run, and then typing in what I wanted to run (iTunes, Winword, calc, etc.). Most geeks like to be able to access msconfig and services.msc through the Run menu, for example.
But, for some reason, Microsoft ditched the run menu in Vista and Windows 7. Sure, I know you can still press Windows Key + R to invoke the Run menu, but it's kind of nice to have it there, for some reason. Makes my Start Menu feel less naked. So if you want to bring Run back, follow these simple steps.
- Right-click on the Start Menu, and click Properties.
- On the Start Menu tab, click Customize.
- In the Customize Start Menu window, scroll down until you find Run command. Check the box next to it (you can also get a lot of other stuff back here, too, like Recent Items, Network, Administrative Tools, and more. Poke around to see if there's anything you'd like to add to the Start Menu).
- Click OK on any open windows or dialog boxes.
That's it. You've got the Run menu item back — your Start Menu is whole again.
You have to love the Most Awesomest Thing Ever
Electricity vs. Canada? Puberty vs. the Catholic Church? Bacon vs. The Little Mermaid? Vote for your favorite "Vs." battle on http://www.mostawesomestthingever.com/
EA, please don’t screw up Dead Space 2
Overheard that EA wants to emphasize action rather than survival in Dead Space 2.
Hasn't anyone learned anything from Resident Evil 5?? Note: games that are successful as survival horror should stay that way, not go the "epic action" route. Those are a dime a dozen these days!
EA / Visceral Games: please do right by Dead Space 2. Don't make Isaac uber-powerful...part of the thrill of the original is that he was just engineer, barely getting by. Make the game methodical, creepy, suspenseful, NOT bombastic, campy, and over-the-top. Think Alien vs. Aliens. Brooding. Uncertain. Desperate.
Please EA? If you screw this one up I could learn to hate you again.
Restoring the Vista / Windows 7 bootloader after a Linux dual-boot
I often flip-flop back and forth between Windows and Linux. I'm sort of bipolar about it.
This time, I decided it was time to just use Windows for a while. I was dual-booting Windows 7 and Linux Mint. I used Acronis Disk Director to delete the Linux partitions and used EasyBCD to restore the Windows bootloader — I thought I was all set.
For whatever reason, it didn't work this time (that combo has always worked well for me in the past). When I rebooted, I was greeted with "Grub Rescue >". Not good. I tried the easiest solution first: I stuck in the Windows 7 disc and tried an automatic startup repair. Unfortunately, it claimed there weren't any problems!
So here's how you fix it when all the easy methods fail (and this is still pretty easy):
1. Boot using a Windows 7 CD/DVD/bootable USB disk
2. If prompted, press any key to start Windows from the installation disc
3. Choose your language settings, and then click Next
4. Click Repair your computer
5. Select the operating system you want to repair, and then click Next (there will probably only be one)
6. On the System Recovery Options menu, click Command Prompt
7. At the prompt, type:
bootrec /fixmbr
And then:
bootrec /fixboot
8. Reboot your PC
That solved it for me! Shout below with questions.