http://agentutah.artician.com/ http://agentutah.artician.com/ http://uc.artician.com/members/0/6/6930/avatar.png en-us Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:11:02 -0500 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/does-your-education-define-you/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/does-your-education-define-you/ what is; and to awaken this capacity, in oneself and in others, is education.
...
Unfortunately, the present system of education is making us subservient, mechanical, and deeply thoughtless; though it awakens us intellectually, inwardly it leaves us incomplete, stultified, and uncreative.
...
When there is no self-knowledge, self-expression becomes self-assertion, with all its aggressive and ambitious conflicts. Education should awaken the capacity to be self-ware and not merely indulge in gratifying self-expression."
- Krishnamurti


I found this incredible section in a book I'm reading by Krishnamurti. It's about education... and how people tend to correlate it to their persona. Beyond these amazing excerpts, you'll find that "education" should mean something much more than how it is defined in today's societies.]]> Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:41:59 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/a-one-person-team-makes-a-wii-game/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/a-one-person-team-makes-a-wii-game/
http://www.siliconera.com/2006/12/08/a-wii-game-developed-by-a-single-person-makes-the-european-launch/]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:46:47 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/install-osx-on-pc-the-easy-way/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/install-osx-on-pc-the-easy-way/
I learned of this after researching iATKOS and EFI-X. iATKOS being an ISO that you download that has a hacked installation, and depending on what version you have, it'll only work on certain motherboards... you can view the wiki for the availability. Doing this method, it's illegal obviously... and you'll be trusting torrent sites for your source files. EFI-X is a dongle that you plug into your USB port and it'll make your PC able to install OSX. Feel like shelling out serious cash? Me neither. There are definitely other methods that I haven't listed, and after seeing those methods, you'll have to have a lot of time on your hands.

So the guy who assisted in the creation (so I've read) of EFI-X, has released a boot loader that allows you to install OSX on your PC, without going nuts and running terminal commands. It's called Boot-132:

download here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?uwd9dtttjfk

or

learn here:
http://www.insanelymac.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=113288

Basically you download the ISO, burn it to a CD/DVD... you boot your computer from this disk, it'll load, then you swap your disk at the Darwin prompt with the actual OSX Leopard install DVD (retail) and you can simply tap your Enter key to enter the installation process. The process is incredibly easy. You might be confused when it asks your for the hex number of your default device, just hit "Enter", it'll pick the default for you.

So, now you're looking at the installation screen... wait, my keyboard and laptop mouse pad don't work. That's right... at least with my installation and others (I've read about, not everyone though). So you can just plug in a USB keyboard and mouse and you're off. And for that reason, I did not keep my installation. I like a more practical OS to my laptop. I don't want a separate keyboard... but, if I had a desktop. I'd install it.

Keep in mind that when you perform the installation, your hard drive will need to be formatted to be recognized by the OS. So you'll have to go to Disk Utility before you continue your installation. This is pretty easy, you'll partition a new space and in the "Options" you'll choose "GUID Partition Table". From that point, you'll see your drive for your installation.

You can also perform this same method, to simply install your OSX on a USB stick, and boot from that stick on your PC. That function can be outlined here:
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/partitioning_tiger.html

The cons of installing OSX on your PC:
- it's possible that you'll need a USB mouse and USB keyboard. Not laptop friendly.
- your devices may not work correctly, built-in laptop camera. Not laptop friendly. Ofcourse if you buy Apple products you're good.
- your graphics card may not be supported. If you get to the installation screen. Try opening a window (say Disk Utility) and drag the window around. If you don't see any glitches, you should be good.


Note: I tried installing OSX on Sun's VirtualBox OSE within Ubuntu/Linux (PC). I got to the gray screen with the apple logo and that was it. To get there, I had to enable some settings for the OS in VirtualBox... but since it doesn't work, it's not worth mentioning.]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:29:36 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/a-true-artist-by-krishnamurti/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/07/a-true-artist-by-krishnamurti/
-Krishnamurti

Think on These Things
http://www.amazon.com/Think-These-Things-Jiddu-Krishnamurti/dp/0060916095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246639184&sr=8-1]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:43:02 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/eee-pc-netbook-masterslave-config-misbehaving/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/eee-pc-netbook-masterslave-config-misbehaving/
After going to BIOS, the 8GB drive no longer showed as an option; therefore, leaving you with the 4GB drive which (see above) has no boot information. So now what?

Easy, we need to trick (per BIOS) the IDE controller. So if you disable both drives, when you reboot, it will ask for a bootable device. Then restart, F2-Setup, and then you will now see your 8GB drive. Trick complete.]]> Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:46:44 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/force-winxp-boot-into-safe-mode/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/force-winxp-boot-into-safe-mode/
I just simply went to Start>Run>msconfig

From here I just clicked the "Boot.ini" tab and checked /SAFEBOOT]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:13:12 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/connect-verizon-wirless-card-with-ubuntu/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/connect-verizon-wirless-card-with-ubuntu/
1. System>Preferences>Network Connections
2. Choose "Mobile Broadband" tab, click "Add".
3. Pick your carrier: "Verizon"
4. Number: #777
5. Username: 1112223333@vzw3g.com [put your phone number in the first area, no dashes]
6. Password: vzw
7. Under the "PPP Settings" tab... leave as is... and then you can choose to connect automatically if you'd prefer.


Troubleshooting: If your card did not work, you can revisit the "PPP Settings" tab and uncheck all of the authorizations, and then it will work.

Other carriers... this method will work with any carrier besides Verizon Wireless... without the need of their clunky proprietary software/applications. You'll just need to get the domain for the username, find the password (it's "vzw" always for Verizon), and that should be it. Keep in mind when you perform #3, you'll just need to pick the actual carrier from the list (should cover the spectrum).]]> Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:59:57 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/getting-around-eee-pcs-dual-ssd-drives-when-installing-ubuntu/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/getting-around-eee-pcs-dual-ssd-drives-when-installing-ubuntu/
After a little research, I found that you could not simply swap the master/slave relationship in BIOS... although I did find out that you could remove/install a jumper if you'd like to open your system up and mess around with the motherboard.

If you have this model, or another Netbook with limited space and 2 SSDs, then this is for you. Even with the original software it came with, Windows XP, your were plagued with limited space. Strange thing is, ASUS, didn't seem to integrate the 2 drives in a way that was beneficial or streamlined for the user. Your 8GB (slave) was about as helpful as plugging in a USB stick.

1st Attempt! FAILED!

I downloaded UNR, and burned the image to a USB stick, from my other Ubuntu-based laptop. I then booted from that stick on the Netbook. I noticed the BIOS would recognize the USB stick as a device (such as an internal hard drive) so when you designate "Removable Device" as your primary boot... it usually wouldn't work. So I'd have to go into BIOS and pick from the recognized list my Sandisk Cruzer stick. Then it successfully booted. I ran a test on the stick to test the contents, and I'd get failures... which is a flag to not install and reburn img to USB stick. I did so, same deal... I'd then download the img from various sources (as Ubuntu provides many mirrors to do so). No luck! So I defaulted to Ubuntu Standard. No errors, thus I succeeded to the install steps. I chose to format the master [4GB] drive so the boot info would no longer exist, I then formatted the slave [8GB] for a full install to the entirety of the disk. I was attempting to make the 8GB/slave drive the primary drive. Install went thru, then within about 2 boots or so, GNOME ate the dust. I went to the BIOS and attempted to reshuffle the boot order.

2nd Attempt! FAILED!

I booted from the USB drive with Ubuntu Standard. Went thru the motions, decided, to install on the 4GB/master thought it was decided by the ASUS gods. All went well... I had about 1 GB or so remaining on my 4GB master, and my 8GB slave was like a paper weight, equivalent to a USB key. After a couple of boots, Ubuntu ate the dust. I began to get boot errors, and my system wouldn't shut down properly leaving me to hold-down the power button. Back to the drawing board.

3rd Attempt! SUCCESS!

This time I did some research. I found that GNOME could be installed on a separate drive, when learning about a dual-boot between XP and Ubuntu. I then decided to manually format my 8GB slave drive and 4GB master drive.

Here's the breakdown:
- Master drive [4GB] I install a 500MB "swap" and a 4GB "/home".
- Slave drive [8GB] I installed a 500MB "/boot" and a 8GB "/".
- I formatted the drives in the flavor of ext4; whereas, before I formated as ext3.
* I put the boot on the slave,,,, I had to (after deleting each drive's full partition) partition a "/boot" first on the slave before doing anything on the master, because if I did the /boot last I got an error about the master not having a boot (even though in the end, if ordered correctly, I wasn't warned about not having a /boot on the master).

After this, I immediately went into BIOS, fingers-crossed. I situated the boot priority to the slave, since the slave now having boot information, I could now spot it in BIOS. I took the master out of the boot priority completely. I also took the master out of the bootable options as well. I saved, and exited.

Since the IDE controller goes to the master first when booting, it shot to the slave in the boot process, and worked. When in Ubuntu, I noticed the 4GB master was integrated... because my home folder was the actual 4GB master drive, proved by checking the properties of the folder. I then checked the properties of the file structure and I was a little over 8GB. This is great because I've integrated both drives without the need to boot up one or the other from the system upon logging in. Meaning... I had about 12GB of integrated storage.

I noticed zero performance flaws, and it matched the boot-speed of my super powerful laptop and matched performance on typical applications.]]> Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:40:52 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/installing-ubuntu-netbook-remix-904-on-suns-virtualbox-via-ubuntu/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/installing-ubuntu-netbook-remix-904-on-suns-virtualbox-via-ubuntu/
You'll have to convert the IMG file into a VirtualBox VDI file... then create a new virtual partition, and then create a slave drive, and load that newly created VDI file. Crazy!

To explain #3, to get to the location, I just put the IMG file on my desktop and typed "cd ~/Desktop" to locate my file. I just wanted to put this for Linux users who aren't versed in terminal commands.

http://blog.ibeentoubuntu.com/2009/05/playing-around-with-ubuntu-netbook.html

1. Install VirtualBox, either by downloading from Sun's site or by installing the FOSS version from the repository.
2. Download the .img file from the UNR download site. Use BitTorrent if you can -- it's faster and easier on the mirrors.
3. Convert the.img file into a VirtualBox .vdi file. In order to do that, you'll need to use VirtualBox's command line. Open a terminal and cd to the directory that you've downloaded the ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix-i386.img file to. When there, issue the following command:
VBoxManage convertdd ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix-i386.img ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi
This will leave you with the original file and a new file, ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi.
4. Create a new machine in VirtualBox with a 4GB hard disk, choosing "Linux" as the operating system and "Ubuntu" as the version. Give the machine between 512MB and 1GB RAM. Increase the video memory to 16MB. Finish and close the wizard.
5. Add the Netbook.vdi file as a second hard disk. Open the "Hard disk" tab of the machine's properties, and click the plus icon, setting the new drive as "Primary slave." Select the ubuntu-9.04-netbook-remix.vdi file, adding it with the Disk Manager when requested.
6. Boot the machine and hit F12 to choose to boot from the second hard disk. You'll need to press "2."
7. Choose your language and to "Install Ubuntu Netbook Remix." I won't explain how to do that here. You can give it the whole disk. It should be a simple, if slow, process.
8. Reboot the computer. You'll be in the UNR interface, but it will be dog slow because of the generic VESA driver being used. Luckily, there's a way around that problem.
9. Install the Guest Additions. While the machine is running, go to the machine's VB menu and choose Devices -> Install Guest Additions. If you are using the open source version of VirtualBox, you'll probably be prompted to download the Guest Additions .iso file, which will take a few minutes. The disk will appear in the right-hand menu bar. Click on it to make sure the CD is mounted. Open a terminal (in Accessories) and type the following:
cd /media/REACTOS
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
10. Install updates. You should be prompted for this. I won't detail it.
11. Reboot and use the computer. Mine is still a little slower than it should be, but it's OK with the Guest Additions installed.
]]> Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:40:21 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/sun-virtualbox-on-ubuntu-904-installing-guest-permissions/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/sun-virtualbox-on-ubuntu-904-installing-guest-permissions/
Once you've loaded your XP OS into VirtualBox... you'll need to "Install Guest Permissions" to activate the video drivers and take advantage of the on-the-fly window resizing that updates the resolution, as opposed to a fixed window size.

1. Start your installed XP OS from VirtualBox, and then in the top menu, after the system is idle, choose: Devices > Install Guest Permissions.
2. Exit out, and actually shut down the OS within the emulator, and not freezing it for later.
3. Within the main window, choose File > Virtual Media Manager.
4. Go to the CD/DVD Images section, and you'll see "VBoxGuestAdditions.iso". It should be over 25MB. If it's less, it's corrupt. If it's less than 1MB, click it, and choose Remove. And then start back at #1.
5. If #4 worked, then you'll need to go back to the Hard Disks tab. And choose Add, and then choose the actual file you just created by successfully adding permissions. Find it here when it asks you: usr\share\virtualbox\VBoxGuestAdditions.iso". You could also just load the ISO from the CD/DVD menu.

So now you've initiated the drivers for file sharing and video drivers. If you've noticed nothing has changed that's because you've got to answer the submission from within XP.

1. Start XP via VirtualBox.
2. Right-click the desktop, choose Shortcut.
3. Go to Network Neighborhood, and choose, View Entire Network.
4. You should see a Vbox drive automatically, if not, expand a few connections. Select it, and hit OK.
5. Activate this new shortcut on your desktop that you just created.
5. Within this network shortcut, you'll find some drivers. Activate the 32-bit, or 64-bit, depending on your setup. This will initiate sharing and your video card. I can't remember if you have to Restart.
6. From this point, you can go back to the main settings window in VirtualBox.
7. Select your OS, and then click the Settings button.
8. Set up your share folder, pretty intuitive here.
9. Start your OS.
10. Within XP, right-click your desktop and create a shortcut, view entire network and you should find your share folder, and then you can map it to a drive if you choose to.

Update: 6/12/09:
- Installing Guest Permissions on a Virtual Ubuntu is easy, as once you install it, it appears as a mounted drive.

Good luck!

]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:59:08 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/install-hp-bluetoothe-printer-on-ubuntu-904/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/install-hp-bluetoothe-printer-on-ubuntu-904/
1. Ubunutu Button > Add/Remove:
2. Make "Show" say "All available applications"
3. Search "HPLIP"
4. Download the application.
5. Restart
6. Ubuntu Button > Accessories > Terminal
7. Type in: hcitool scan
8. Copy the address, looking something like: 00:40:8C:5E:5D:A4
9. System>Admin...>Printer is just a frontend to CUPS. You can access cups at: http://localhost:631/
10. In Firefox, go to http://localhost:631/
10. Add Printer, choose HPLIP Printer when it asks, and when it asks for "URI", just paste your numbers and remove spacing and colons: bluetooth://00408C5E5DA4

Note: the number above will obviously be different. The process described will make several built-in PPDs available to you other than HP... although I only tested the HP Photosmart C5550. Also, please note they'll use generic model classes, mine being C5500.

Note: If you don't have "Printer" available to you as stated in #9, you can add that frontend from the Add/Remove section (see #1).

Good luck!]]> Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:33:12 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/i-love-ubuntu-linux/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/06/i-love-ubuntu-linux/
Just reformatted my mega drive and installed Ubuntu 9.04. I'll probably detail a brief 1-2 step guide later on my trials and tribulations of this undertaking, but for now, I'll just enjoy this freedom.

I can now safely compare Windows to OSX to Linux:

Windows, is like one of those crazy Japanese cars with the oversized muffler, slammed ground effects, and sweet rims,,,, but in the end, you're just dressing up a shitty car. Cars such as this lack luxury and the smooth ride. Sure, you can tinker with anything in Windows, and there are so many possibilities. But possibilities only because it's the de facto standard. Now this is just my opinion, but again, you can take a shitty car and soup it up to take on a Ferrari... but what a waste of time!

Mac OSX, ohh how pretty! Yeah, well, it just seems like such a hunk of software, and even with the fastest configuration, you're still a notch below what a PC can do. Don't get me wrong, I was a Mac fanboy for sometime, but man, those Mac people, they're so into it. Dude, it's just a computer, relax. Besides, I've never felt the speed of OSX, and although it's beautiful... oh yeah, talking cars here. So I compare OSX to a German car. Such luxury, such beauty, but the shelf life, yikes! Trying taking your '92 BMW to the mechanic, or even better trying updating your OSX a year later and watch how you feel the necessity to upgrade your system because it moves like a turtle. Macs are so overpriced and overrated.

Ubuntu is like you've taken a time-machine into the future and this is how it should be done. Everything is intuitive, and where it should be. The buttons/interface, after viewing, you're like, yeah, that's how it should have been done. Linux is like a F1 car, it can destroy any car in it's path... but it's forum for driving is only in the bowl (not street legal), so your software visibility is limited. But, we're talking Linux here... so what if you could drive that F1 and put that souped-up car in your garage? That's what I did, I have an emulator built in, super fast, that runs my Windows XP, Vista, etc. My next goal is to attempt to run OSX on it as well. The best part is that this software is free.


Lastly, my Linux boot-up is so fast, fastest I've ever seen, I feel like I have a Flash drive. The intro is so killer, and the bongo drums for your username/password, and then the musical Halo-like intro theme, WOW! The screen effects blow Mac OSX to bits, not to mention the built-in screen savers. When attempting to find support on issues, you'll be dealing with strictly the nerdiest of the nerds, which means the information/research on these OS's is pristine and untouched by the everyday yahoos who can barely find their Start menu in Windows. That being said, you really need to research and know a thing or two before attempting to install Linux.... and not have a fear of researching for a couple of hours.

Info on Ubuntu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu
]]> Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:44:06 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/more-malware-removal-magic-xp/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/more-malware-removal-magic-xp/
I tried everything, nothing worked. I could not delete the file either manually, in Safe Mode, Command Prompt Safe Mode, and either within the Registry {regedit]. I tried BitDefender System check, Norman Malware Removal, Spybot, and MSRT, with zero luck, they only program that actually saw this was BitDefender... which blocked it, but was unable to delete it.

After doing a Google search, I found that many people were having the same problem. I stumbled upon some solutions, none of which worked. A software solution called Prevx, and after saying in particular they could move that exact file, I fell victim to the old trick, of showing me they found the virus, but hey now I have to pay $29.99 to complete the removal process.

I don't pay for stupid solutions such as that, and I don't even know if it would have worked. So I tried a program called "Hijack This", you can find it via a http://www.download.com search. Basically you can run a scan, and target a suspicious file (and it found the file as suspicious), I then targeted it, but it was to slick. No luck.

I then tried "Avenger2", see below for detail, which is a custom program someone wrote, to basically have it execute a command pre-boot and delete the file in particular. It then zips/contains it and drops it into a specific location. No luck!

Avenger: http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/avenger2/download.php
Pasted this into the prompt: Files to delete:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2dva.dll

Then I gave a program called "ComboFix" a try. What a gem this thing is.
ComboFix: http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

I created a new TXT file via Window's Notepad, and pasted this information in there (Registry portion not authentic).

File::
c:\windows\system32\ati2dva.dll
Registry::
[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\~\Browser Helper Objects\{63608544-DEE0-49CA-BE63-C03E148FABBF}]

The information you pasted, is determined by the actual file location, see "File::". And then the registry location, see "Registry". The registry information will fluctuate, and you can't simply copy/paste the registry path above. You need to go to regedit [Start>Run>regedit] and click the root directory and search the file "ati2dva.dll". Then copy the folder structure up unto the long hex number.

You drag the TXT file onto the ComboFix executable. It will open a window and warn you about running Virus software simultaneously with the following processes it is about to perform. It will warn you twice, I ignored the warnings, and let my Virus software run. I did this because my Virus app could not delete the virus that I was in the process of deleting, but it was able to block it from attacking my computer, just not delete it (which would attack sporadically, yet be blocked.)

ComboFix, will then check your Windows Restore software, and if you don't have it, it will actually connect you with Microsoft for built-in download with the program itself. It then runs it course, reboots, and creates a log file. I forgot to mention it found 4 other suspicious registry issues, and repaired other areas as well.

Love this program!



]]> Sat, 30 May 2009 01:46:03 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/turn-xbox-360-into-a-real-media-center/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/turn-xbox-360-into-a-real-media-center/ http://tversity.com/

What I did instead, was just plug in a huge hard drive to my Xbox 360. As long as your AVIs aren't using odd audio codecs (or are beyond MPG and AVI/DIVX/XVID) you'll be fine. In the event your audio codec is off, you can download many utilities to update your audio codec (i.e. Lame MP3).

The Xbox 360 uses a Fat32 partition, and will not read NTFS. Also, if you try to format your hard drive on your PC (to a Fat32 partition), even from the command prompt, it will fail, because it will be unable to format a hard drive over 2GB. What you can do is download a application (Partition Magic) to fix this. I took the easy way out and just formatted the drive from a mac (OSX). It had no problem formatting the drive in a Fat 32 compatible partition.

Now I have a 1TB drive with thousands of movies and songs. The only catch is that Microsoft charges you, I think, $3.99, for a one time download to play DIVX movies. I also use USB keys (FAT32) and just plug it into the front of the console to view/listen to recent media.]]> Thu, 28 May 2009 10:31:56 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/free-norton-securityvirus-scan/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/free-norton-securityvirus-scan/ http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/WelcomePage.asp

The above link provides a point where you can perform a security or virus scan of your computer over the internet, with Norton's up-to-date security definitions. You can also download a program that can automate the scanning once per week. All of which are free.

From my understanding, this is not an active security application, it does not monitor your system activity, so to solely use this product without virus protection and spyware removal software would not be wise.

Also AVG provides the same solution, yet is more so an active living breathing application that monitors your system, as opposed to just finding viruses after the fact. I've heard mediocre results with this program. Anyhow, here it is:

http://free.avg.com/

I'm sure there'll be plenty of more web-based (like the Norton described) that will be appearing. I'm surprised that Firefox hasn't integrated spyware/adware monitoring via a built-in module.

Keep in mind that [see previous post] that you can save your computer from malware with Microsoft's MSRT and Norman's Malware Removal tool, all free. ]]> Wed, 27 May 2009 18:42:26 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/adobe-licenses-and-how-many-installs-allowed/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/adobe-licenses-and-how-many-installs-allowed/
From my experience, I was able to install one license 3 times successfully [allowing updates from Adobe and activation]. I've read elsewhere that you can only install 2 times. I've actually called during an installation of CS3 and I was told by Adobe tech support I was allowed to install 3 times.

After the 3rd installation, I simply called, and activated by phone. So it is possible to activate more than 2 or 3 times if you activate by phone. I simply stated that I did a rebuild of my PC, and they granted me an activation.

Thought this might help to those who own more than one computer.

Keep in mind that I'm speaking of legitimate software... ]]> Tue, 26 May 2009 19:41:05 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/daily-doodle/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/daily-doodle/



]]> Fri, 22 May 2009 18:16:08 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/clear-gbs-of-old-uninstall-files-of-your-machine-win-xp/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/clear-gbs-of-old-uninstall-files-of-your-machine-win-xp/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-9862223-68.html

If you have "Show Hidden Files and Folders" turned on (see Tools>Folder Options>View tab...), you'll see a bunch of Uninstall folders (in blue text, with $ signs) in the root of your C:. You can delete these files. These are the uninstall files for Windows Update, that allow you to roll-back your system if an update doesn't compute with your system. I decided to remove mine since my computer is fairly new and I don't see a risk of not being able to uninstall an update I've done through Windows Update.

Anyhow, I deleted my folders, totaling approximately 2GB.

The article above does not state this, but I found this via some research. I left two folders, one being "$hf_mig$", and the folder "ie7" (which is in blue, yet doesn't have a $ sign or "Uninstall" in the folder name). I was told the following folders/files will be needed in future updates. I kept those two folders.

Thought this tactic was interesting, especially since I help maintain a netbook that has an incredibly paltry hard drive, and this really helped free up some space.


]]> Fri, 22 May 2009 11:04:56 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/virustrojan-in-your-old-restore-points-xp/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/virustrojan-in-your-old-restore-points-xp/
I found this hidden Trojan gem in my: C\System Volume Information

My virus program was unable to remove this, I also could not manually remove it, even in Safe Mode, neither at DOS prompt, or could I even see the file for that matter.

Since I was unable to actually jump into the folder and remove the virus, I did the following:

1. I disabled System Restore [As mentioned above by right-clicking "My Computer"]
2. I then checked for the folder C:\System Volume Information to delete it
3. I then deleted C:\WINDOWS\PCHEALTH\HELPCTR\PackageStore contents
4. I restarted my system
5. I enabled System Restore [see #1]

I reran my virus program, and no more virus.]]> Thu, 21 May 2009 11:46:33 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/start-google-chrome-in-icognito-mode/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/start-google-chrome-in-icognito-mode/
The average way to access Chrome's Incognito mode is by simply going to the Wrench icon and clicking "New Incognito Window"... which can be a hassle and laziness will make you never go there.

So I just made an Icognito shortcut next to my Chrome shortcut in my Start menu.

Create a Chrome Incognito Mode shortcut:

1. Chrome is not in the average Program Files area, it's actually here:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application
2. From the path above, create a shortcut from your "chrome.exe" file [alt+drag].
3. Right-click that shortcut, and choose "Properties"
4. In the "Target" area, just add " --incognito". So basically a space after the already existing target path, and then two dashes, and then the word "incognito". There will be quotes around the already existing path, just don't add another set after your text insertion.It should look like this:
"C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --incognito
5. Hit "Apply/OK". Then just rename your shortcut, I called mine "Incognito Chrome".
6. Right-click your new creation and choose "Pin to Start Menu".

If it didn't work, it's because you can't spell "incognito".

]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 22:02:49 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/download-youtube-videos-easily-from-google-chrome/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/download-youtube-videos-easily-from-google-chrome/
Google Chrome Steps:
1. Make sure you can view your Bookmarks tab (go to the wrench icon, if you can't see it)
2. Right-click a blank area within the viewable bookmark toolbar, and choose "Add Page"
3. Call it "Download Youtube Videos" or whatever you'd like to call it.
4. Copy/Paste this into the URL area (see below):

javascript:window.location.href = 'http://youtube.com/get_video?video_id=' + swfArgs['video_id']+ "&l=" + swfArgs['l'] + "&sk=" + swfArgs['sk'] + '&fmt_map' + swfArgs['fmt_map'] + '&t=' + swfArgs['t'];

5. Then hit "OK". You're ready to roll.

Basically, when you're watching a Youtube video, you can just click your button you just created in the bookmarks toolbar, and it will download the video (or prompt you, depending on your settings), it'll even download it if it's not completely loaded from the URL.]]> Tue, 19 May 2009 21:49:49 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/windows-xps-system-restore-saved-me/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/windows-xps-system-restore-saved-me/
So I freaked, and then realized I had System Restore [Start >All Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore]. I then simply told System Restore to take me back to Friday. It worked like a charm... ]]> Mon, 18 May 2009 11:49:29 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/apples-faulty-system-audio-fix/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/apples-faulty-system-audio-fix/
I'm not responsible for any harm that may happen to your computer when following these instructions. If you do this incorrectly (although not likely) you may add too many output channels and blow out your speakers. Also, this process will not seem intuitive because we're using developer tools, so it's not geared towards the average computer user.

In summation, we are going to create a new audio device and couple it with the default system audio. Then we're going to utilize a new audio control device and create an audio configuration that boots and is ready to use whenever you boot up your system.

This was all done on Mac OS X: Version 10.4.11.

Programs needed [Free]:
1. SoundSource:
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18988
2. Apple's AU Lab: You need a login (Free)
https://connect.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MemberSite.woa/105/wo/0Q4snrkn9LlE2FyqSTPaRRFu5NS/1.0.1.17.2.21.1.1.2.1.1.0
3. Xcode Tools: You need a login (Free). Note, I downloaded version 2.1, but that is an old version, pretty sure the newest version works as well. You should also find this on your OSX install DVDs.
https://connect.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/MemberSite.woa/105/wo/0Q4snrkn9LlE2FyqSTPaRRFu5NS/1.0.1.17.2.21.1.1.2.1.1.0
4. SoundFlower:
http://www.cycling74.com/products/soundflower
5. Apple's Audio MIDI Aetup (found already in the Application's Utility folder).


What these programs do:
1. SoundSource: Creates an interface at the top of your menu bar (top-right), that allows you to select audio devices... keeping in mind that we are going to create another audio device outside of Apple's system audio driver. You'll only need to do this once, but for some reason you need to switch back to your default Apple audio device, it's as simple as selecting it here.
2. AU Lab: This is the application that we'll use to take over the volume controls and use as the device to play our audio out of now. This program will also create the new sound that you'll be enjoying.
3. Xcode Tools: I believe this is necessary for AU Lab to function correctly.
4. SoundFlower: This app allows you to create a new device for which to play your audio out of AU Lab.
5. Audio MIDI setup: Allows you to specify audio devices.


Basic Steps
1. Install all of these programs. Make sure to restart after installations.
a. AU Lab we'll be hidden. You can find it here after installation: HD/Developer/Applications/Audio
b. Soundflower will install not as an application, although a program will accompany it called SoundFlowerBed. Stay away from this because it tends to battle with SoundSource for supremacy.

Audio MIDI
1. Open "Audio MIDI setup", you'll find this in your Apps folder under "Utilities".
2. From this program, go into the menu and choose Audio > Open Aggregate Device Editor. From here hit the + symbol and create/name a new audio device. I called mine "Virtual + Built-in".
3. In the same window choose both "Soundflower (2ch)" and "Built-in Output". Hit "Done".
4. In the below window that is still active [Audio MIDI Setup] Under the tab "Audio Devices", plug in your new creation. So under Default Input, choose "Virtual + Built-in" or whatever you've named it. And then do the same for the "Default Output".
a. Make sure in this section under the button "Configure Device" that both "Soundflower (2ch)" and "Built-in" are selected. The radio button is not important.

AU Lab
1. Open AU Lab. For your "Audio Device" you'll pick your newly created device "Virtual + Built-in" or whatever you named it.
2. Create another output, by clicking "Add Output". The more output channels you have the louder it gets. I stick with 4 streams, two per channel. So click "Add Output" then drag the red box to the right. Then click "Add Output" again.
3. Now click the "Inputs" tab. Just click "Add input" once. This will render the outputs active, and doesn't have much use, unless you plan on recording.
4. When you're done, hit "OK". Now a new window will pop up with volume controls. You can actually Save this configuration, if you go in the the File > Save As menu. I saved mine as "Default". This is important. So you should have a file from AU Lab of all you configurations.

SoundSource
1. After you've installed this, you'll notice a headphones icon in the top right of your Finder's menu bar. Click this, and for your "Output" choose "Virtual + Built-in" or whatever you've named your new audio device. This kicks your new audio device into session, and will remain.

AU Lab + Startup
1. Now what we want to do is to always use AU Labs audio controls (as this will allow you to juice up your volume, and ignore Apple's default audio device).
2. Go to your System Preferences.
3. Go to Accounts
4. Choose "Login Items", and +/add your "Default" AU Lab file (or whatever you've named this file). and click a checkmark next to it. What this will do is load the file you've configured in AU Lab each time you power your machine on, so you don't have to locate and activate your file.


Please note: Using this method, you'll be using AU labs volume controls, as opposed to Apple's volume controls, and therefore your keyboards volume controls will be powered off. The interface is a bit bulky, but allows you to tweak and apply effects if needed. I actually love the interface.



Only Con:
When your computer goes to sleep/standby, the AU Lab file needs to be re-opened and gives the error "Audio Overload". So you'll need to go to File > Open Recent > ... and choose your file (should be the only file there).



Anti-Audio Hijack Pro:
After many hours of research, I noticed many people were using Audio Hijack Pro. Which basically hijacks your system audio, yet this costs money. Funny thing is, the program tells you it uses SoundFlower, which is free. It actually says this in the program, probably for legal reasons. So I just found the SoundFlower program, and it actually works better. Plus when using Audio Hijack Pro you can't save an boot your settings as I described in the startup/boot section. Also, this program costs money.]]> Sun, 17 May 2009 15:12:44 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/die-system-beeping/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/die-system-beeping/ If you have Windows XP then most likely you've been plagued with that damn system "BEEP"!

1. Start > Control Panel > System Properties
2. Go to the Hardware tab and choose "Device Manager".
3. Within Device Manager, go to the "View" menu and choose "Show Hidden Devices"
4. A new entry called "Non-Plug and Play Drivers" will appear, select/activate "Beep".
5. Within the "General" tab, simply "Disable" from the "Device Usage" pull-down at the bottom of the screen.

Here's a link with pictures:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows/turn-off-the-annoying-windows-xp-system-beeps/

]]> Tue, 12 May 2009 13:55:23 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/credit-score-scamming-companies/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/05/credit-score-scamming-companies/
www.annualcreditreport.com

and here as backed by the FTC:

http://www.ftc.gov/freereports
]]> Mon, 11 May 2009 03:07:45 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/clean-up-your-system-fonts-xp/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/clean-up-your-system-fonts-xp/ Tune Your System Fonts Folder for Graphic Design

START > Control Panel > Fonts

Notice any of your Adobe applications' splash screen loading forever?

Take a look at your System Fonts folder, pretty ugly huh? Well, especially if you've been given a hand-me-down computer. The lazy way to install fonts is to drag them into [System] Fonts Folder. Bad idea! Use Extensis Suitcase, so you can activate and disable your fonts; otherwise, your computer/programs will need to load the fonts and when you have more than enough fonts, your computer will be hurting.

So what can you do? Well, you could find a computer that has just had it's OS (XP) installed, and zip up the fonts folder and replace your obese fonts folder. When doing so, be careful. You could just delete your Fonts folder prior to dragging the new font folder in... but, you'll notice all the interface fonts will turn to junk.

What I did? I changed my garbage fonts "Modified Date" via a program called File Date Changer:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/filedatech.html

I applied the same method to the newer fonts that I was to transfer, yet with a later date (so my older fonts I put a date of 1/1/99, and my newer fonst at 2/2/00). Then I dragged the new/clean fonts into the Fonts folder. When you drag the files you will need to overwrite some of the older fonts (it will ask, and automate) and then you sort by date and delete your older fonts (based on the modification date you chose).

Restart! Now your computer is super fast. It helps to make an archive of your system Fonts folder after you've cleaned it up for future use.

You can find the exact list of XP system fonts here, and then cherry pick and delete unnecessary fonts:
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/fonts/winxp.htm

You could also perform a system upgrade/repair with the actual XP installation CD. This will fix fonts that may be corrupt, but will not clean up the garbage.

There is also a way to extract the fonts from the .cab file on the XP install disk that I have not covered here.

Keep in mind Microsoft Office fonts, which I never really use, but here's a list of fonts that are installed in your system folder:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA010347461033.aspx
]]> Tue, 28 Apr 2009 12:20:29 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/recovery-of-psd-files/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/recovery-of-psd-files/ Do you have a corrupt PSD file? Well, take a read...

When you do a Google search for "corrupt PSD" you'll be overwhelmed with all the available utilities at your disposable. Upon further inspection you'll notice most of these utilities are outdated or are from an unknown software developer. Usually most of these applications will attempt to repair the header information, and most will fail.

So what do you do when your PSD file is corrupt? Well, you could try the applications explained above (most of which cost money). In my experiences they will not work, either by simply doing nothing, or removing layers, layer FX, and pertinent information. If you've a corrupt PSD file with limited information (being the aforementioned) then this may be a great fix.

Here are some workarounds, try one or all:

1. Try opening your PSD file in another application that supports PSD files such as Painter, Acrobat, Sketchbook Pro, etc. And then re-save as another copy with different filename, so you're not re-saving over a corrupt data file.

2. Try creating a new [blank] PSD file and place the corrupt PSD file within it as a smart object. Then activate that smart object, to then from that point, save a copy of your file (not over the existing corrupted file). This has worked for me.

3. Try opening your file in an older version of Photoshop, step down a version.

4. Try deleting your Photoshop preferences:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Adobe Photoshop CS4 Settings\Adobe Photoshop CS4 Prefs.psp

5. Try opening your PSD file on a separate computer.

6. Try deleting all of your temporary files... via a disk cleanup, or by physically locating the temp/scratch/cache locations and deleting information (while Pshop is closed).

If any of these solutions work, you owe me! Actually, I've only experienced corrupt PSD files that happen to break into the gigabytes. If you are working with files above 250MB I'd recommend saving your files as a PSB file, instead of the PSD extension. I've never had a corrupt PSB file, and I believe that Photoshop CS and above accept this file type.

Good luck, and I feel your pain.
]]> Sat, 18 Apr 2009 21:42:54 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/help-spybot-has-killed-my-computer/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/help-spybot-has-killed-my-computer/ Spybot S&D, what a great program, but if used inappropriately you can really kill your computer. In the event you're running TeaTimer you can do some damage.

What do I mean? So if a process occurs and Spybot asks you if it's OK, and you say "No!". Wait! I didn't mean to say that and now I've disabled internet access... well you could roll back your settings via the program itself. What if by some freak accident you unistalled Spybot without rolling back your decision? Game Over! No, not really!

The easiest way to fix the damage that Spybot has done, you can simply create a new account:
Start > Control Panel > User Accounts

Then you could delete your old account. Make sure to transfer your files before doing so via a public folder or a USB key.

You're good again!

Now, this is just an easy non-technical way to do this. There are many other ways, but by far this is the easiest way.

Spybot S&D:
http://download.cnet.com/Spybot-Search-amp-Destroy/3000-8022_4-10122137.html?tag=mncol
]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:25:09 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/remove-everything-norton/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/remove-everything-norton/ First off, I can't stand Norton Antirus or any Norton application; but, that's just me. Don't get mad at me.

If you are trying to install a Norton program and can't do so [because of a previous Norton install], you may get agitated, especially after shelling out cash for the program. Or, maybe you've ditched Norton altogether and just want to clean your registry of everything Norton.

Download the Norton Removal Tool:
http://www.freewarefiles.com/Norton-Removal-Tool-XP-Vista_program_15892.html
Run this program, and you'll notice you now have the ability to install your program, or you've cleansed your system of unnecessary files and background processes.

By the way, I highly recommend BitDefender Antivirus:
http://www.bitdefender.com/

I used BitDefender in place of Norton. It has a less hokey interfeace and has much better/intuitive/thorough security options.]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:15:14 -0400 http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/clean-your-pc-of-malware/ http://agentutah.artician.com/blog/2009/04/clean-your-pc-of-malware/ Malware!!!!!

Many of you may have been visited by the Conflicker virus and then some of you may even have a Trojan Virus and not even know it.

Download this utility [might already be installed from a Windows Update]:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

You can run a quick scan and you'll be scared to see you likely have a trojan virus. If you're thorough you can even run this program to do a full scan of your system... which can take hours (worth it!).

But, what if you can't run this utility because the Trojan Virus is tricky? Well, you can try to run this program in safe mode... but what if even then this malware is so smart that it has disabled the tool. You're in luck...

Download this utitliy called Norman Malware Cleaner:
http://www.norman.com/Virus/Virus_removal_tools/en-us

Run Norman Malware Cleaner in safe mode and it will clean you up. After doing so, then run Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool.

You'll be suprised that some of you have had a Trojan Virus for years and not even know it. Scary huh?

Also, you can revisit Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool by typing "mrt" at the command prompt [Start > Run > mrt].]]> Sat, 11 Apr 2009 16:07:14 -0400