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2007 June

Video: Help and How To

Keep my data alive and kicking is a difficult task: CDs need to be cleaned, scratched need to be eliminated, and data must be backed up (otherwise there’s going to be a huge fight about why we’re missing gigabytes of photos and videos). While CDs and DVDs are good for short-term storage, they have their fair share of problems: top-foil damage, bad scratches, dirty, oil, and bit-rot can make them almost useless.

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How to End Windows Programs

http://live.pirillo.com/ – The task manager is a Windows program that shows all of the running programs on your system. Why would you need something like this? Well, imagine if a program hangs and you can't do anything about it: if you bring up the task manager you can end the program; but, how do you distinguish which programs are safe to end?

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What is Hydroponics?

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Don Herbert – better known as Mr. Wizard to many of us geeks – passed away on June 12. So, a member of the YouTube community decided to ask for a moment on science out of respect for Mr. Wizard.

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Merging Partitions

http://live.pirillo.com/ – People create logical disk partitions for various reasons: sometimes it’s to separate data, while other partitions can contain different operating systems, and still others can be used to store the swap space. But, how do you remerge partitions into one physical drive, instead of having multiple logical partitions? There are few tools you can use.

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How to Backup on your Network

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Are you backing up on a regular basis? You should be! As we move forward in this digital world we’re putting more and more of our personal data on our machines; but, what would happen if something horrible were to happen to our hard drive? That’s why we should regularly backup our data.

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How to Clean CDs

http://live.pirillo.com/ – How many times have you gone to listen to your CD or watch a DVD and you find out that the player couldn’t read the disk? You may have a dirty disk or a scratch on it.

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Overcoming Your Fears

I’m forced to face my arachnophobia [fear of spiders] throughout the summer months in Seattle – which is manageable in relatively controlled environments. Heights bother me only in utterly exposed situations, which is a different fear altogether.

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Apocalypse 2012

Ponzi and I decided to pick up Apocalypse 2012 (a real book!) this weekend. At first, we took turns reading chapters to one another – but Ponzi’s brain voluntarily dropped out at the halfway point. I continued to read the rest of the book on my own, finishing up around 3AM. I was hoping for a truly scientific approach to these matters, but Joseph couldn’t quite deliver full impartiality. I’m particularly interested in the “facts” on page 114:

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“F” That “S”

I’m sorry, I just don’t see the logic in claiming that the “F” word is a bad word. It’s not a bad word any more than the “A” word is, or the “B” word – and let’s not forget about the “Z” word. Entire civilizations have fallen from using the “Z” word. I understand not using the “Z” word, because the “Z” word is the most offensive word in the entire galaxy. But the “F” word and the “S” word?

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OS X Security

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Why does OS X have fewer viruses than on Window, and is there a "perfect" operating system out there that can’t be exploited?

It’s pretty simple to understand why there are more viruses on Windows than on OS X: more people use Windows than OS X. Hackers generally target the biggest nail in order to reach a much larger audience.

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Does Microsoft Price Gouge Europe?

Lockergnome subscriber Anthony Down is of the opinion that Microsoft is gouging its European customers. I’m seeking clarification on his assertions, hoping that someone from Microsoft’s European division can clarify the situation – as I’d only assume this is a mathematical error:

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Astronomy Software

http://live.pirillo.com/ – Sometimes it’s a pain to view the stars in the night sky – especially if you live in a big city, where pollution is a big problem, but there’s software which lets you not only view the night sky, but much more.

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How to Edit Your Photos Online

http://live.pirillo.com/ – There are some nifty image editors out there, but what if you didn’t want to install anything, or use your CPU cycles? Why not try Fauxto?

Fauxto only requires three things: and Internet connection, a web browser, and flash. So, if you don’t have Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, or some other image editor installed on your machine, you can use Fauxto, because it’s all online.

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How to Put DVDs on an iPod

http://live.pirillo.com/ – IConverting a DVD to play on your mobile device (like the PSP) is much easier than trying to push really hard. All you need is the DVD and some free open source software.

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Tablet Stylus Mouse?

http://live.pirillo.com/ – It’s possible to use a stylus to control your cursor without having a Tablet PC. With a tablet you can use the mouse with a pen-like device called a stylus.

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