Yet another product from Google...It's Google's 3D Modeling named as Google SketchUp!!!
Try it out at http://sketchup.google.com/index.html
See others' uploaded 3D models here at http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/
Set free your imaginations....and have fun with this new product...
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Sometimes when you boot up your computer, it takes a long time until you can actually click on the Start Menu. It can be because you have a lot of start up programs running when you turn on your computer. Many a time, those start up programs are those that you rarely use or need to use.
However, we have a way to control which start up programs we want to allow to run and which we don't. By selectively allowing only some start up programs can actually increase your computer's start up performance by reducing the "busy" time when you start your computer up, and/or by reducing the main memory loading.
I will use Windows XP to discuss on this topic as I assume that by now, most computers should all be running Windows XP.
Windows XP maintains two settings for start up program for each user; one is global settings which is applied to all users and the other local settings which is only applicable to the current user being logged in. Also there are two places where Windows XP configures which start up programs to run; one is under the folder Documents and Settings and the other is in the registry. In short, under the folder Documents and Settings, you can find a global setting and a local setting and the same is true of in the registry.
I will first discuss on the Documents and Settings. If you open the Documents and Settings folder under "C:" (it may vary depending on under which volume you install Windows XP), you will find the folder All Users and one other folder with the user name of your current account (if you current account is My Name then you will find a folder with the name My Name). All User folder contains global settings and My Name folder contains local settings. The Start Up programs settings are stored under the \Start Menu\Programs\Startup (under the respective folders, i.e, under All Users or My Name). All programs that you see under the Startup folders (under All Users and My Name) will be run when you start up your computer. You can delete the programs that you don't want. Deleting these programs there will not uninstall the programs because they are the shortcuts.
Now comes the registry. Click Start > Run. Type "regedit" without the quotes and hit Enter. Please remember to back up your registry before you do anything to it. It's important. In registry, the global settings are stored under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and the local settings are stored under HKEY_CURRENT_USER. To change the global settings for Start Up programs, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. On the right pane, you will see a list of programs that will be run at your computer start up. To change the local settings for your current user, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\CurrentVersion\Run. On the right pane, you will see a list of programs. You can delete those programs that you don't want to allow to run on start up.
It is that easy (yes, easy) to manage your start up programs. I have included somes screenshots for your convenience.
Hope you all benefit from this information or knowledge. If my writing is not clear, please leave your questions in the comment and I will try to answer your questions.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
An interesting blog from Google. I post it up so that you can take a look at it. Click on Avoiding RSI to read the full story.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
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Avoiding RSI: "Posted by Dr. Taraneh Razavi, M.D., Staff Doctor
From time to time, a resident physician at Google headquarters weighs in with her thoughts on healthy living. This is not medical advice, and you should check with your own doctor before pursuing any particular course of action.
There is a Chinese saying that 'To go beyond is as wrong as to fall short.' In other words, how long can you tap on that keyboard or sit in that chair before you hurt yourself. We’re not designed to remain as sedentary or perform the fine motor movements for the long uninterrupted hours that we have to do in so many of our jobs. Evidence suggests that prolonged abnormal posture and repetitive movements contribute to neck, limb and back pain. These conditions are collectively known as overuse syndromes, or repetitive stress injury (RSI).
RSI is no small matter. It accounts for 34% of all lost-workday injury and illness — and costs almost $20 billion annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Academy of Sciences has concluded that an estimated $50 billion is lost.....(read on)
A group of Myanmar students at the Webster in Thailand performed 3 well-rounded shows in the cultural night. Their performance is of considerably high quality and looks nearly professional. You might want to take a look at their shows.
Please click on each item to watch the video: Rap, Myanmar Traditional Dance, and Modern Dance.
Please leave your comments on my site. Thank you.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
PS: The videos are the property of Webster, Thailand.
Ever wonder where you can play a long series of puzzles online? Now Google has released this new thrilling (oops...is it really thrilling?) series of puzzles. Those from US, UK and AU can take part and, as far as I know, can win prizes. I cannot confirm on this information. But, anyone outside these three countries who want to play can just click on US. It will directly add to your Google Personalized Homepage (http://www.google.com/ig). From there, you can play it to your heart's content. Try it out here.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Windows Vista has a new look of windows and taskbar, start icon, start menu and many more visual improvements. Download this file to transform your Windows XP into Vista style windows. It does like other software (StyleXP or WindowsBlinds) does, but it is free. A sample screenshot is given above. You may either download this which include all Vista and Longhorn (premature Vista version) styles or a smaller file with reduced features (no Longhorn style). Enjoy it.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Do you want to change your computer's log-on screen (the first ever screen that you see after the boot screen) to your holiday's pic? (Your log-on screen is different from your desktop wallpaper.) You can. Here're some steps to do.
First, make sure that your picture is in BMP format. If your picture is in JPEG, you can open it with Paint (built-in with Windows XP) and Save As Bitmap. Also, make sure that your picture has suitable resolution to fit your screen, like 800 x 600 or 1280 x 800. Your picture doesn't need to match those resolutions. As long as it has suitable resolution, it is OK.
Now, you need to edit the registry. Click Start > Run. Or Press Win + R. Type "regedit" without the quotes. Then hit enter. And you will be taken to the Windows Registry Editor.
Navigate to HKEY_USER > DEFAULT > Control Panel > Desktop. Find the key Wallpaper. Double-click to open it. Type the path to your picture file in Value Data. Make sure you type correctly; otherwise, your Windows will screw up.
If you want the Stretch style for your log-on screen, make sure WallpaperStyle is 2.
I have included some screenshots so that you can do it more comfortably.
PS: As you are editing the registry, please take precaution to back it up before you do anything to it.
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
A picture taken in the kitchen of my hostel. A sticky note posted on the fridge. This is not, in fact, that much funny as it may seem. I have encountered such an experience twice myself during my stay there for less than a year.
This note was in fact written by an American in our cluster. Who could have been doing this to him and to me (and to others in like manner)?
Is hostel life that much fun after all? LOL...
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Hope that you have watched "The Hills Have Eyes." Just wanna give some comments on this movie.
Why are they that angry? What kind of mutation did they receive? It's clear that they got mutations from the nuclear testing by the US government. But, why can they survive? Natural selection selects against mutations (yes...mutations are mostly disadvantageous to the individual), and how come these mutated "alleles" are still there?
One thing that came into my mind is they got both "good" and "bad" mutations. A bad mutation is in their appearance. Because of that bad mutation, they are separated from the population and are not allowed to mate freely. So, they "move out" and become a distinct population, a phenomenon called Founder Effect. Because they interbreed with only a small number of individuals in their population, the frequency of the "homozygous recessive" (that is the mutated gene) in their population. So, they all have at least one type of mutation in their offspring. A problem with this reasoning is "why do they have different phenotypes while the recessive allele they pass on to every generation will be the same?" Let's say, the father has a mutation in his nose structure and the mother in her ear structure, then their child will have a mutation in either or both of the structures. But, why are all individuals have distinct mutations in their phenotype? Is it a matter of complex gene interaction? Beyond my knowledge...
A good mutation that they might have received is the ability to withstand the adverse physical environment. That could have been beneficial to them. But, what kind of mutation could have given the ability to survive "the gas explosion" (as seen in the movie)? That would be an exaggeration of mutation.
In my opinion, the maker of this movie should have considerd plausible genetic mutation in the first place. Instead, he is more inspired to direct a thrilling (but non-sense) scenes...
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
When you know what you write is going to be read by the public, what are the chances that you would ever write anything that you are later to be ashamed of?
Bearing this in mind, try to speculate to how much extent we can believe those materials written in blogs (yes, I am referring to personal contents). You (and me too) would not probably write anything that would deface ourselves, and even if we do, we are exposing it, looking forward to something in return, like understanding and sometimes forgiving, from the readers.
All in all, these blogs are written for the good of the writer (once again, I am referring to personal contents).
How much we can believe the blogs is not a tale, after all!
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Why do we blog? We want to express our ideas, our personal experiences, and, in some instances, boast of our achievements. After we blog, we want "audience" to read and comment on our blog entires. We expect more comments as more comments mean more people read our entries. But, how ridiculous it would be if one is writing blogs without any audience to read his!!! Imagine yourself in this situation too...what value does your blog have if no one reads yours?
Just thinking on it as I don't think my blog will have any audience. :P Then, why am I still writing blogs? Yes,...with an expectation that sometime someday someone will read mine.
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What do we do to get audience to read our blogs? We put the blog address in IM custom messages, deliberately invite friends to visit our blogs and comment on them, and put the address in email signatures (just to say a few). Isn't it like a singer sings a song and beg people to listen to his song? Finally, we would have someone to see our works and we will receive an appretiation for our works (maybe some criticism too). But, it would be a double-effort one. We put energy when we write...we put even more energy to attract audience to our blogs. So, is it worthwhile to write blogs while we put a lot of energy (and time too), what we get is just some comments (or criticisms) from the readers...?
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
It's been hard while using Gmail without Calendar while the counterparts (Yahoo! and Hotmail/LiveMail) all have calendars. Now, Google has listened to its customers and has launched Google Calendar (http://www.google.com/calendar). It's quite easy to use and sharing many calendars is made easier than it was with Hotmail/LiveMail. The user interface...it's intitively neat and tidy, Google's characteristics.
One thing is still expected of Google calendar. Tasks and Notes are not yet included in Google Calendar or Gmail. I tried requesting Google for the calendar a month ago using Google's feedback page. Now, I also DO hope that we can ask Google for "Tasks and Notes". Let's try it...
Until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
Writing the first entry...hmm...this is the first ever blog that I've written here...quite interesting...sharing knowledge...later, after the final exams, I will post up some of experiences and knowledge...until then...
~!~ Justin ~!~
