9Mar/101
This just in: Firefox trumps Internet Explorer as browser of choice for andrewblock.net readers
Just goes to show how awesome readers of my blog are. In the past month, Firefox has surpassed IE as the most-used browser for visitors of this site.
Here's how the top 5 break down over the last month, according to Google Analytics:
Firefox: 41.78%
IE: 36.98%
Chrome: 13.27%
Opera: 4.31%
Safari: 2.77%
Interestingly enough, a couple users to my site even used SeaMonkey (.07%) and their Playstation 3 (.02%).
Keep it up! Maybe some day IE will be forced to conform to Web standards.
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9Mar/100
Fixing Windows 7 Aero Snap feature with dual / multiple monitors
If you're a dual / multiple monitor user, you're probably bummed by the fact that Windows 7's Aero Snap feature treats all of your monitors as one big desktop. I.e., with your mouse, you can only "snap" a window to the right side of the right-most screen, and to the left side of the left-most screen.
The good news is that you can get around this with keyboard shortcuts. Push Windows Key + Left or Right Arrow to "snap" a window the right or left side of the active monitor (the monitor the window is currently on). Continuing to press the Windows Key + An Arrow Key will keep snapping the window to the sides of your other monitors.
Try it out! It's not as nice as using the mouse, but it's better than nothing.
Read about additional Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts here and here.
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4Mar/100
The difference between Windows XP Mode and Windows xx Compatibility Mode
(I initially wrote this as a comment to this post but it seemed important enough to make into a post.)
Lately, I have noticed some confusion between Windows XP Mode and Windows xx Compatibility Mode — the former being a full image of Windows XP that runs within (some versions of) Windows 7, and the latter simply being a setting that tries to trick a program into working by applying settings from older versions of Windows.
Windows xx Compatibility Mode is accessed by right-clicking a program, and then clicking the "Compatibility" tab. It is (to my knowledge) available in any flavor of Windows 7 (Vista and XP had this capability, too).
In contrast, Windows XP Mode only runs on a couple high-end flavors of Win7, and requires a full download of Windows XP and Windows Virtual PC. More info here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/get-started.aspx.
Just clarifying. As usual, Microsoft hasn't made things easy with how they name stuff. 
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28Feb/100
How to: quickly and easily copy multiple file names to the Windows clipboard
At work, I needed a way to copy about 60 file names from Windows Explorer into an Excel spreadsheet. Copying each one individually seemed like a huge waste of time, so I Googled for a solution.
Turns out there's a slick, free utility called CopyFilenames by ExtraBit. It adds a simple Copy Filename (for a single file) / Copy Filenames (for multiple files) entry to the right-click context menu. Simply install CopyFilenames, right click on one or more files, and choose Copy Filenames. Then paste the list of file names into your application of choice.
See it in action below — in my example I used Excel but you can paste the file names into any application.
Nifty! Saved me a bunch of monkey work.
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23Feb/100
Enable Remote Desktop On Windows 7 Home Premium – 64 & 32 Bit
Finally found a link to (what appears to be) a reliable forum for the Windows 7 Home Premium desktop hack. The forum is here.
For the brave, a direct link to the file.
Sound off if it works for you, since I don't have Windows 7 Home Premium.
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2Feb/100
A potential cure for Windows 7 hanging on shut down
My Windows 7 PC suddenly started hanging up when attempting to shut down. It would just sit on the "Windows is Shutting Down" screen indefinitely, and I would have to force the computer to shut off. The weird thing is that the problem seemed to come out of nowhere; I Googled solutions 'til I was blue in the face — all to no avail.
What finally fixed it (and I'm not sure why I even thought to try this) was changing the power settings to not power down the hard drive(s). Don't ask me why this fixed the problem, but it did.
To find these settings, go to Start > Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Power Options. Next to the currently selected power plan, click Change plan settings.
At the next screen, click Change advanced power settings. Click the + next to Hard disk, and then click the plus again on Turn off hard disk after. In Setting (Minutes), type "0" (without the quotes). This will set your hard disk(s) to never power down. Click OK when you're done.
After changing the hard disk power setting, my hanging shut down problems were resolved. I'm sure there are many causes of this issue, so I'm not pretending this is the definitive fix. But it's worth a shot!
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11Jan/102
We have an app store for that
Uh oh. You knew this would happen—app stores are becoming as ubiquitous as iPhone apps themselves.
I guess even Intel has an app store now, and it's called AppUp. But that's not all! So do Ford, Samsung, Microsoft (still in the works), and many others. I don't mention Apple because...well, do they really need mentioning?
Will all of these app stores be useful? In my opinion, not at all. The concept of an app store is going to become so diluted and overcrowded that they will all become useless, save for one or two. I have a hard time managing all of my apps in one app store; I can't imagine trying to manage hundreds of apps spanning multiple devices and stores! imho, the only way it will work if there are one or two unified platforms.
Further reading on the subject:
NY Times: Even Intel Has an App Store Now
SiliconIndia: Now tweet from your TV with Samsung app store
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5Jan/104
How to Activate God Mode in Windows 7
So apparently there's a secret mode in Windows 7 called "God Mode" that gives you one-click access to all of Windows 7's "tweaky" functions. And all you have to do is create a folder with a special name! Here's how:
- Create a new folder somewhere
- Name the new folder this:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C} - The folder will transform into something that looks more like a control panel icon.
When you open God Mode, bask in your new tweaking ability, as you now have access to hundreds (nay, thousands!) of Windows 7 settings.
Note: I originally heard about this here.
Update 1.8.2009: Guess there are a lot more of these modes, and they work in Vista too! Also, looks like you can name it whatever you want. So you could call it AwesomeTweak.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}, for example.
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4Jan/101
Plants Vs. Zombies – location of save game file
Wanna continue playing Plants Vs. Zombies on a different computer, but don't want to lose your progress? I know I ran into this scenario: I've been playing the game on my netbook, but really wanted to start playing on my desktop's 24" monitor.
So I poked around and eventually figured out where the elusive save files are located.
Steam version
- Vista/Window 7: C:\ProgramData\Steam\PlantsVsZombies\userdata
- XP: C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common\plants vs zombies\userdata
Non-Steam version
- Vista/Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\PopCap Games\PlantsVsZombies\userdata
- XP: C:\Program Files\PopCap Games\Plants vs. Zombies\userdata
So, locate the files on the computer you're currently playing on. Then, copy all of the .dat files into the directory on the computer you want to start playing on (in my case, I copied them from the netbook to the desktop). Note that this will overwrite any progress on the target computer, but you probably figured that already.
Note: I can't vouch for XP, but in my Windows 7 + Steam scenario, the 'C:\ProgramData\Steam\PlantsVsZombies\userdata' folder is hidden. I had to turn on viewing of hidden files: Computer > Organize > Folder and Search Options > View > Show hidden files, folders, and drives (works in Vista too). In XP it's My Computer > Tools > Folder Options > View > Show hidden files — or something like that.
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