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Technology
Steve Bass's Weekly Newsletter
TechBite's columnist Steve
Bass writes weekly commentary on the technology
products he loves, the strategies for getting the most out of them, and
the gotchas that can cause computing misery. Plus a couple of weekly
laughs.
PC
Annoyances; Security Updates; Super Security
Key
In This Issue
PC Annoyances
Louder. No, Quieter
Need a Quick Print? Just
Right-Click
Leave My Freakin' Icons
Alone
Product of the Week: Super Security for Your PC
Tool of the Week: Secunia PSI
Goofy Web Service of the Week: Polaroid Pix
Time Wasters
Image of the Week: You Can't Fix Stupid
Goofy Request of the Week
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PC Annoyances
I know you're not always happy with your PC, so here are three
fixes to some of the annoyances you've sent to me.
Louder. No, Quieter
The Annoyance: I have lots of MP3s
I've ripped onto my hard drive from CDs. Nothing seems to
play at the same volume level. When I play Copeland's
"Fanfare," it's loud enough to make the dog jump, yet
all of Dave Brubeck's music is way too soft.
The Fix: When you use Windows
Media Player to burn music into a CD, the trick is
to adjust--or normalize--the sound level as you're
burning the MP3s to the CD. Do that from the Burn menu by enabling Apply volume level across tracks on the CD.
Normalization doesn't work in WMP when you're ripping MP3s from a CD
to disk. Unfathomable, I know, but it's Microsoft's party. So use FairStars CD Ripper to do the job. The
freebie does its job, normalizes the cuts, and handles plenty of file
formats, including WAV, MP3, WMA, and more obscure ones, such as APE
and VQF. [top]
Use FairStars DC Ripper to normalize while ripping.
The hassle is what to do with all the music you've already ripped. Microsoft's WMP
fixes the problem by normalizing the volume as you play the
music. Look under View, Enhancements, Crossfading,
and turn on Auto Volume Leveling.
Unfortunately, this trick works only when you're playing
the music in WMP. But there's a way to permanently normalize all your
cuts. Download MP3Gain, a free--and very
cool--utility that analyzes and normalizes the sound levels of
MP3 files that you feed to it. Check out the FAQ; you have to send MP3 files to MP3Gain for it to do its work. [top]
Need a Quick Print? Just Right-Click
The Annoyance: I'm in Windows
Explorer and found the file I need to print. Isn't it silly
to have to double-click the file to open the application and then find
the Print command--just to print the file?
The Fix: You're
right, there is a better way to do it, but the
designers at the Redmond Empire don't make it obvious. The
fastest way to print a document, no matter what the application, is to
let Windows Explorer do the deed. Right-click the file and select
Print. Explorer will open the program that's associated with
the file extension and send the document to the printer.
Explorer's neat and tidy, too, closing the app when
it's done. [top]
Leave My Freakin' Icons Alone
The Annoyance: I like a messy
desktop, okay? I don't care if I haven't used some of the icons for
years. And no, I don't want you to clean it up for me, thank you very
much. Now how do I turn the freakin' thing off? [Actual note
from Judy Bass. --Steve]
The Fix: Yes, dear. Right-click
on the desktop, select Properties, choose the Desktop tab, and click Customize
Desktop. Uncheck "Run Desktop Wizard every 60
days" to disable the wizard, then click OK twice.
(I'll get to the lawn tomorrow. --Steve) [top]
Stop the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Win XP.
Product of the Week: Super Security for Your
PC
Say you have sensitive corporate
files on your notebook and want to lock it down so the files are
absolutely, unequivocally unavailable to even the smartest hacker.
Ordinarily I'd recommend encrypting the files, but I have
something more flexible--and tons more powerful.
GT SecuriKey Pro for
Windows keeps your info--heck, your entire
computer--safe from prying eyes. It's a special USB gizmo that
acts like a car key. Often called a dongle (though never in mixed
company), once you configure it, only someone with a
keyed-to-your-PC's security key can even boot your computer.
My doctor is using it on his file server -- he's afraid
someone might break into the office and grab all the PCs. He's
thrilled because if a thief does take it, the server's just a hunk of
metal. Now I need to convince my financial guy to do it (hello,
John?), buy one for my CPA (yoo-hoo, George?), and advise my banker to
plug one in (you reading this, Bill?).
The software that comes with the device lets you dictate what
happens when you remove the key: It can lock your PC; put it in
standby mode; or simply block Internet access. SecuriKey also prevents
hackers from booting your system into Safe Mode and then taking it
over. If others need to have access to your system, you can make
specific files and folders off limits to some users; for home users,
limiting your offspring's access to the Internet, instant messaging,
or practically any application is child's play. SecuriKey works with
XP and Vista; there's also a Mac version. The downside is it's not
cheap: A two-key set is $130. [top]
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Tool of the Week: Secunia PSI
Last week I told you about a freebie that alerts you if your
system needs any security patches. I screwed up, because there's a
program that does a better job. (No harm, no foul; the other tool just
wasn't as current.)
John, a subscriber from Scotland, said that besides scanning
your PC for necessary security updates, "Secunia
PSI was issued in June 2009, so it's current, and if you miss any
major Microsoft update, they'll e-mail you to make sure your patches
are up-to-date." Go to the Secunia Web site and run Online Software
Inspector (OSI), or download Personal Software Inspector (PSI) and run
it on your PC.
Warning: PSI will want to run from your system tray,
something that's unnecessary. Instead, just remember to run it once a
week or so. So if you install PSI, make sure to disable
"Start the Secunia PSI on boot" and "Enable
program monitoring" from Settings. [top]
Goofy Web Service of the Week: Polaroid
Pix
Why would anyone want to turn an image into a Polaroid? And why
anyone think Rollip could make money with this sort of
thing? (All questions entirely rhetorical; thanks for not answering.)
Actually, it turns out that this totally useless Web
service is neat--and a terrific time killer. [top]
Time Wasters
This week: a few views of the past, a bouncing dog, super bowlers, and a grind-you-to-a-halt game.
Also: I generally don't check any of the time wasters for
accuracy; some are blatantly false and others are obvious hoaxes. In
fact, I used one of last week's videos as a test of the intellectually
prowess and gullibility levels of the TechBite readership. Scads of
people (all right, maybe 20 of you) didn't believe that airplane video
for a second. Alert reader George Siegel wins the 2009 Volvo (just
kidding) for his link to the Hoax-Slayer site.
If you've had your car in for service recently, you're
going to drool over this 1928 auto repair price list. And how about
this view of Los Angeles during rush hour--in 1954?
You've seen videos with cascading dominos, right? Here's
a game that'll drive you nuts: Tomato Domino. It's simple: Hit the right
domino to knock down all the dominos and squoosh the tomato
All you need to do is flatten the tomato.
[[Well, you also need to knock down all the
dominos--or as many as possible. That's
how you win points. --Editor]]
Dogs are talented, no doubt. But some, like this bouncing dog, need an agent--and
a ticket to the Olympics.
My parents are bowling experts, but even they can't come
close to these two professionals. Watch Championship Bowling and Bowling Like You Won't Believe to see what
I mean. (Yes, before you write, I know what you're about to say. Enjoy
them anyway...) [top]
Image of the Week: You Can't Fix
Stupid
Sure wish they would invent something
to keep the sun out of my eyes.
Goofy Request of the Week
Hey, I know you forwarded the bouncing dog video to a dozen
friends and co-workers. I'll bet you even sent that Tomato Domino game
to your boss. So now do the deed and send them the whole dang
newsletter. If you can't forward it, point them to this subscription
page: http://www.techbite.com. By the way, if you're enjoying this newsletter
and getting something out of it, become a TechBite member by sending
us some financial support using PayPal. I promise, good things will
eventually come your way... [top]
___________
Steve Bass is the publisher and
self-appointed Chief Content Officer at TechBite; he continues to
experience the cool feeling of having his own newsletter. Send him your
feedback at TechBite. To sign up
for TechBite's free Steve Bass Technology newsletter, head for our signup
page.
Steve's also the
author of "PC Annoyances, 2nd Edition: How to Fix the Most
Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer," available on Amazon. You haven't purchased your copy today yet,
have you? Don't wait, supplies are
limited...
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