Desktop Search: Google vs Yahoo X1 vs Copernic

I never did use any desktop search programs until recently, when I discovered that I was searching through my files the old-and-slow way.

For instance, if I needed to look for a string of text such as “John was a boy”, my old method was to open up Dreamweaver and have it search for source code in the folder that I specified. Pretty neat, but there’s an easier and faster way - desktop search engines.

What’s Desktop Search For?

You know how web search engines work? Well imagine being able to search your own computer like how you search the Internet - that’s the kind of power desktop search programs give you.

Choosing the right desktop search engine was a 3-way dilemma: There was Google Desktop Search, the new Yahoo! and x1 partnership, and of course Copernic’s long-standing desktop search program.

The most famous of desktop search programs is seemingly Google Desktop Search - but I don’t like it. It’s clunky, and comes with extra stuff, like widgets (which I don’t need). It shows results in a Google search page, with some relevance ranking based on modified dates. That’s nice and all, but it’s not what I’m looking for.

Comparing Desktop Search Programs

Enter the next two players - Yahoo! Desktop Search, which is actually’s x1’s Enterprise Search application; and Copernic Desktop Search

Copernic Desktop Search

Versus

Yahoo! X1 Desktop Search

Well. I couldn’t decide on which to choose, so I tried both of these great software out for a week before deciding. And the winner’s clear - Copernic Desktop Search wins hands down.

Initially, Copernic was unimpressive - the installation screwed up, with the program crashing whenever I performed an index update. But after I restarted my computer, Copernic behaved, and all was okay.

The Yahoo!-x1 offering installed much more hassle-free. I was up and searching way faster. But as time went by, I discovered that x1 wasn’t really what I wanted. One thing was that the previewing of files made my searches very slow, especially for large and media files.

The Best Desktop Search Program

Soon I just began to use Copernic almost all of the time - and before I knew it, I decided to uninstall the Yahoo!-x1 offering. I’m now pretty dang content with my new desktop search capabilities. And I’m suffering no decrease in performance or speed whatsoever, so I guess Copernic Desktop Search’s going to stay on my computer for a long time.

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Understanding What Paper Quality Means

I know that I’ve been using “80 grams” paper, but I didn’t really understand why it was called “80 grams” until today.

What does gsm mean?

GSM is an abbreviation for grammage, or grams per square metre. It indicates the weight of a square metre of paper. Standard copy paper in Singapore is approximately 80 gsm, which means that a standard A4 sheet weighs 5 grams, and a 500 sheet ream weighs 2.5 kg.

Is gsm the same as thickness?

Not exactly. Thickness is measured in microns (millionths of a metre, or thousandths of
a millimetre). Standard copy paper typically has a thickness of about 100 microns, so
a 500 sheet ream is about 5cm thick. If two sheets have the same density, then their
thicknesses will be directly proportional to their grammage.

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Remove the QuickTime Annoyance (Internet Explorer IE Firefox)

Did you install QuickTime or iTunes, and then realised that your browser, be it Internet Explorer (IE) or Mozilla Firefox, now automatically launches QuickTime as the default plugin player whenever you try to play mp3s or video files?

Well, for iTunes lovers, it all started with iTunes 6. From that version onwards, we were also forced into an Apple QuickTime installation as well.

The problem is that the QuickTime Player is really annoying! Once installed, your system is immediately hijacked by QuickTime! QuickTime associates itself with mp3 files, becoming the default player and browser plugin. Most of you know - even editing the preferences in QuickTime itself doesn’t change anything.

So now whenever you come across a sound file online, QuickTime grabs control of your browser and stops you from downloading the sound file (sure, there’s an option to download it - after paying for the premium version of QuickTime, that is!).

Well, if you ever wondered how to remove QuickTime or disable QuickTime in your browser, here’s the solution!

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Set Your Default Player/Plugin Back To Windows Media Player

To set your default player/plugin back to Windows Media Player, run Windows Media Player first. Next, from the Windows Media Player menu, select Tools > Options > “File Types” tab. Look for the box labelled “MP3 Audio File.”

If it is unchecked, check it.

If it is checked, uncheck it and then check it again.

Now click “Apply.”

Note: You can open Windows Media Player by clicking Start > All Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Windows Media Player.

In the future if QuickTime prompts you with the message: “Some of the MIME types previously associated with the QuickTime plugin are currently associated with other applications. Should I restore these MIME type associations to QuickTime?”

Choose “No”, and check the “Do not prompt in the future” box, so that QuickTime doesn’t ask you this anymore.

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Disable QuickTime in Mozilla Firefox

Great news to Mozilla Firefox users too! It is possible to disable QuickTime and still keep iTunes - so here’s how to disable QuickTime in your Mozilla Firefox browser!

Simply go to Tools > Options > “Content” tab and click on the “Manage” button under the “File Types” category. Look around the list for “mp3″ and then click on “Change Action”. From the list provided, you can change the default action (which is QuickTime) to whatever you want! For me, I chose to have Firefox download the file.

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Good Laptop / Notebook Battery Usage

One of the easiest things to kill is the battery of a laptop/notebook. In fact, it is common that some people may notice their laptop battery life growing shorter as the weeks go by.

One reason why this is so is because of the way the battery is being used. To ensure that batteries last for the long term, they need to be used properly. Most people keep their notebooks plugged in all day, and whenever they can find a power socket.

They may unplug them to move around, i.e. to go to school, home, or work. But once they arrive, the first thing they do is take out their AC adapters and plug in again. This means that on most days the notebook battery is going from 100% charged to 97% or 98%, and then being recharged to 100% again. This makes the batteries wear out prematurely, as each time you do this, you add another charge cycle to the battery.

Batteries have lifespan determined by the number of charge cycles they can take, and with each charge cycle, the battery’s lifespan is affected.

This is especially true for users who put their laptops on ’stand-by’ mode, as ’stand-by’ mode consumes minute amounts of battery, and once plugged in, the battery will charge again.

Lenovo users won’t have this problem though, as Thinkpads (I’m not sure about the other models), provide options to change battery charging behaviour. For instance, I can set my battery to charge only when it’s below 80% - so unless it’s below 80%, the battery will never be charged. And once it drops below 80%, the battery will continue to charge until it is at full 100% capacity.

Of course, I can also change the options so that no matter what, my battery will always charge to 100%.

With proper battery usage, you can expect to see your battery’s lifespan to be prolonged, and reap the maximum from your battery.

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Vbulletin Can’t Login - Solve the Login Problem

Some Vbulletin users and owners may have experienced that some users face a problem logging in, especially with Internet Explorer (IE).

Does your problem sound like this: When the user logs in, the page shows the “Thank you for logging in” message, then refreshes, and the user is shown that he is not yet logged in. No error message is shown.

Well, the following 3 steps may help in solving this Vbulletin log in problem:

1. Close all open browser windows and clear all cookies. Then load your browser and try logging in again. If that does not help, continue with the next suggestions.
2. Login to your Admin CP, click on “vBulletin Options” in the left frame, and then select “Cookies and HTTP Header Options”. Once there, make sure that your “Path to Save Cookies” setting is set to “/” (without the quotes). If it is not, change it to “/”, save your settings, close your browser, clear your cookies, and try logging in again. If that still does not help, continue to step #3.
3. Go back to your Admin CP, click on “vBulletin Options” in the left frame, and select “Cookies and HTTP Header Options” again. Check your “Cookie Domain” setting and make sure it is set to “(blank)”. If it is not, change it to “(blank)”, save your settings, close your browser, clear your cookies, and try logging in again.

   If that still does not help, or the setting is already set to “(blank)”, change the setting to “.yoursite.com” (note the 2 dots!). Save your settings, close your browser, clear your cookies, and then try logging in again.

Note: By changing your “Cookie Domain” setting, it is possible to lock yourself out of the Admin CP if this is changed to an incorrect value. If this happens, upload the tools.php script (located in the ‘do_not_upload’ folder of the vBulletin zip file) to your admincp directory. Load the file in your browser and select the option to reset the cookie domain and path back to the defaults.

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Microsoft Word =rand Automatically Creates Text

Microsoft Word has a little known feature that inserts the following text into your document:

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is a pangram (a phrase that uses all the letters of the alphabet) that has been used to test typewriters and computer keyboards because it is nicely coherent and short. Read more about “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” (Wikipedia).

To insert this text into your Microsoft Word, simply type “=rand()” (without the quotation marks), and viola!

By default, the sample text contains three paragraphs, with each paragraph containing five sentences. You can control how many paragraphs and sentences appear by adding numbers inside the parentheses.

The =rand() function has the following syntax

=rand(p,s)

where p is the number of paragraphs and s is the number of sentences that you want to appear in each paragraph.

Examples:

=rand(1) inserts one five-sentence paragraph of text

=rand(1,1) inserts one one-sentence paragraph of text.

=rand(1,2) inserts one two-sentence paragraph of text

=rand(2) inserts two five-sentence paragraphs of text

=rand(2,1) inserts two one-sentence paragraphs of text

=rand(10) inserts 10 five-sentence paragraphs of text

=rand(10,1) inserts 10 one-sentence paragraphs of text

=rand(10,10) inserts 10 ten-sentence paragraphs of text

Note When you omit the second number, the default is five sentences of text. The maximum number that can be used inside the parenthesis is 200 (this number may be lower depending on the number of paragraphs and sentences specified).

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Jajah - The Alternative Skype

Jajah’s this really cool call-back service that allows you to talk to anyone - using any phone - anywhere! Rates are very low, and it’s much easier to use than Skype.

They even have a real demo that you can try out on their home page. I tried it out, and after about 3-5 seconds, my call was connected - amazing!

Check out Jajah now!

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