Breadcrumbs in WinXP

I've been using Windows 7 for over a year now on my home and my work pc. It certainly is a big step in terms of usability from Windows XP. Everything is more fluid, stable and easier to do. I can't recall having any BSOD's during my usage of Windows 7, or any system lockups at all. The only real problem I had was getting a driver for a 10 year old scanner, but since it is that old I can't really expect it to be supported. It was time for a newer and better scanner in any case. Overall I am very pleased with Windows 7 besides that.

Recently though I had to go back to use XP for a certain application which is not compatible with Win7. Compatibility mode gave me no results, so I fired up my old XP virtual machine to get the software working.
I wonder if 20 years from now we are going to have to run multiple virtual machines, in order to support the comparability of various different applications released over the years? A strange thought...
Anyway one major point of irritation that comes from using XP is the lack of breadcrumbs in the explorer window. Since I was going through a lot of files at the time, it became a bit more time consuming than I would have like. The way it is done in Win7 is great, so I wondered if someone else had perhaps done something similar for XP. And then I came across Explorer Breadcrumbs.

This nifty little utility adds a toolbar to your explorer window, which enables you to navigate to any of your sub folders in one click. I'll admit it isn't a very pretty design, but the functionality is there, so who am I to complain? The install is fairly painless, and all you need to do afterwards is to unlock your toolbar (done by right clicking next to the explorer icons), and then you can utilize your new plugin.
Sadly this program is no longer supported - even the website is now owned by someone else, so I can't even give you a link to the program. It was donateware so I would have donated a few dollars to the developer had I known who he was.
I think I got my copy off Softpedia, but it shouldn't be too tough to find. Apparently there are other programs that can add this functionality to XP's explorer, however those were paid ones so I'm not going to test them out.
I'll give this 7/10 overall, 10/10 for flawless functionality and a low memory footprint, and 5/10 for the rather bland design.

The Keurig b3000se

Recently our office got a new coffee maker. I can't remember what the old one was called, but it was certainly very slow which was a nuisance if you were in a rush to get back to work. Like most people I need to get my coffee fix at certain times, so the prospect of a new coffee machine got me excited. I normally only review products that I own, but since I use this machine 5 days of the week I don't see a difference.

After getting back to work on Monday 7th January, I was greeting by this sparkling new coffee machine sitting where our old faded one use to be. It stood out like a knight in shining silver armor  waiting to rescue me from the dreadful old machine it had replaced. The blue buttons drew me towards its sleek and futuristic design. It was called the Keurig B3000SE. The name "Keurig" sounded German, so I googled it. I was wrong, it was Dutch. However the company isn't Dutch, only the name is Dutch. They are actually based in North America, and have developed quite a reputation for themselves over the years.

Anyway, this coffee maker is linked directly to the water pipeline, so it doesn't need to be filled with water at any point. It is also quite advanced in the sense that it makes each new cup of coffee at a time. Conventional coffee makers tend to make a pot at a time which can lead to old and stale coffee. With this one you get a fresh cup each time, and you get it in under 60 seconds. It is pretty straightforward to use, and the blue lcd guides you through the basic instructions. There are four different strengths you can choose from, and also four different cup sizes. So far the Keurig B3000SE has done a great job in our office, with almost everyone praising how good the coffee is. I use it on average about 3 times a day, and it makes the perfect cup of coffee every time.

The price of the unit however is without a doubt out of reach of the majority of individual house owners. Being a commercial unit, a quick google reveals prices of just over $1000! Perhaps when I am rich one day I will be able to afford one of these, but in the meantime I'll stick to my cheap instant coffee at home. At least I get to use it during my working day which is when I need it the most!

My new chefmate mini fridge

Another gift I received over Xmas was a Chefmate mini fridge. We tend to buy goods in bulk, so our main fridge is generally crammed full of food that was purchased while on special. Our little lounge / home theater room is used on a daily basis, and someone thought it would be a good idea to store some beverages in there instead of having to dig around the main fridge to try and get some. Being a bit on the lazy side myself, I thought this would work out quite nicely - and it has!
This little fridge is quite limited in size, but it manages to store most of our goodies such as a six pack and various other beverages to keep us going during a movie or tv marathon. For students on a tight budget I can see this working quite nicely for them.

When we first plugged it in, I assumed the unit was faulty as it hadn't gotten very cool yet, even on the coldest setting. However when I woke up the next day, it seemed to have started to behave itself. I'm not sure if all mini fridges take this long to get cool, but this one certainly does. Besides that little concern, it has been working great since then. Our Chefmate mini fridge gets used on a almost daily basis, and besides using it to hold drinks, we also use it to store some frozen desserts for special occasions and a few condiments for when we eat in the lounge. Overall this is a lifesaver for those of you who always seem to be short of space in their fridge, and for those tv fans who like spending long hours in front of the tv.  

A look at Townecraft Cookware

Well Christmas has been and gone, and after a long break over December I have decided that it is time to get back to blogging. As usual I received a strange and unique set of presents from my family which is always a good experience. One of the bigger gifts was a full set of Townecraft cookware.

Now I'm not exactly the worlds best cook, far from it, but this new set of cookware has inspired me to perhaps try a bit harder when it comes to making some unique and tasty dishes. My old pots and pans had been bought from thrift stores, and they were really starting to show their age. This shiny new set is made out of carbon steel core, covered with stainless steel, and has a aluminum alloy base for the best heat retention. The packaging says the handles are over safe up to 450F so I might try my hand at a casserole in the oven to test this out!

I have what I think is the basic Townecraft cookware set which consists of 23 pieces in total. There are all sorts of goodies in here including your basic pots and pans, skillets, steamers and broilers. They also come with water retaining lids which means the moisture in your food gets retained a bit better.

I'm not really a big fan of nonstick cookware. In my experience the so-called nonstick coating tends to start peeling after a few months of use which renders the cookware useless, so I'm quite glad that I've got a traditional stainless steel cookware set. Sure, I might have to use a little oil to get some cooking done, but at least I know that this particular set will do the job for many years to come.

So far all the cooking I have done has turned out very nicely. You also get a recipe book, and I have tried one or two recipes from it with some success. Would I recommend this cookware set? This is a difficult question since I have no idea what it costs, nor can I find a price online for it. Assuming it costs the same as a standard cookware set of this size, then I would definitely recommend it. Looking at the quality of the cookware set, it is definitely premium grade stuff.
So far I am very happy with my Townecraft cookware, and if the price is right then I would without a doubt recommend it to any one else!

Remote Professional Mobile Software

I thought as a good post I could chat about a neat little piece of software that I found for my Nokia N8 the other day. And yes I realize that the Nokia N8 is no longer the king of the cameraphone world, but it is still a good little piece of equipment so I'm not prepared to put mine out to pasture just yet! The Nokia Pureview will likely be my next upgrade but until then my trusty old N8 will have to do the job :)

Anyway onto the software...Many of you out there may have noticed that there are lots of applications out there that allow you to control your pc from your phone, but there is a distinct lack of applications that allow you to control your phone from your pc. There could be a good reason for this, but I'm not really sure why. This was the sort of software I needed for one main reason - Whatsapp messenger. I have a few friends who absolutely swear by it, and refuse to migrate to any desktop based chatting programs which is quite annoying ! So when it comes to long conversations on Whatsapp, I always wished I could type using my keyboard instead of my touchscreen.

Curiosity got the better of me one day, and after some deep digging on Google, I finally discovered a little gem called Remote Professional. This was the exact piece of software that I was looking for!
It is designed for Symbian OS phones, and was recently updated to add S^3 support so it was my lucky day. The software is comprised of two parts, the desktop application and the phone software. It is pretty basic to operate, all you do is install both parts of the software, then you run the client on the phone, and connect via the pc. The great thing about the software is that it not only supports a usb connection, but also a wifi connection. This essentially means that while my phone is charging on the other side of the room, I can sit and chat on Whatsapp using wifi at my desktop - very very cool!Their website also lists bluetooth support but I haven't tested this out personally.

The performance of the software is really good too as there isn't really much noticeable lag. There is also a copy from phone to pc, and copy from pc to phone feature which comes in quite handy at times.
You can even record videos and take screenshots of what is being displayed on the screen. Yet another little feature I should mention is the ability to block the screensaver from turning on while you are using the software - very handy if you are having a conversation and you don't want to be continually unlocking the phone to carry on chatting.

The software comes with a trial version so you can check it out for yourself over here so you can decide for yourself. I've put some screenshots below so you can see what it looks like.

 

A look at Gunnar Glasses

Today I'm going to have a look at Gunnar Glasses. What exactly are these glasses, and who are they designed for?
These particular glasses are aimed at anyone who sits at the computer for extended periods of time, and claim to take some of the strain off your eyes.
For most people sitting in front of the tv for house can lead to dry eyes, irritation and headaches. I am one of the people, so a product like this is quite a good idea.
According to their website http://www.gunnars.com
"GUNNARS increase contrast, comfort and focus while minimizing eye fatigue and visual stress for anyone who spends long hours staring at digital screens. GUNNAR eyewear is powered by i-AMP lens technology comprised of a proprietary lens material in an advanced geometry tuned for intermediate viewing distance and finished with custom formulated lens filters, tints and coatings."
So it sounds good, but at the price tag of $79.99 is it really worthwhile? I got myself a pair last week and have been using them for several days now. The first thing you notice about the glasses are that they are very light, similar in weight to the 3d glasses you get at the movies. This means in terms of comfort you don't need to worry about using them over extended periods, in fact you barely notice them.
As for performance, I have found myself having less dry eyes the past two days, so all that fancy marketing talk must have some truth to it. Also my eyes didn't quite feel as burnt out at the end of the day so cleary something is working here.

It isn't all good news however. The yellowish tint on the glasses can make the colors on the screen a little distorted, so if you work in a field where coloring is important (say graphic design) then I would advise against getting these as this could cause a problem in the long run.

If you spend a large portion of your day in front of the pc then I would recommend these glasses to you. $79.99 may seem quite pricey, but when you look at some of the other brands of glasses who claim similar results for over $100 then it seems like a bargain!
For now I'm quite happy with my Gunnars, so I'd say they are a good investment overall.

XMBC & Vectir

Back onto the subject of XBMC, as per my previous post I had been having issues with my remote control after updating to the latest alpha build of XBMC. I recall reading about how some of the XBMC users were using their android phones as remotes to control their media centre, and wondered if my somewhat older Nokia N8 could do that job. Turns out it can with the little help from Vectir, the remote control software designed for mobile phones. I'm not sure if this is the software those Android users make use of to control their pc, but it supports Symbain phones so I was good to go!

The price for the software is a very modest $14.95, and the licence is valid for one computer - you can install the software on as many phones as you wish. It comes with a 30 day trial, so you can give it a good test run before you decide to buy it.
Setting up the application is quite straightforward, and i configured mine to use my wifi connection in about a minute or so. Other potential connections you can use include bluetooth, and I think you can also use usb.

XBMC Profile

The main use of this software is being able to control your desktop with your touchscreen, but I didn't really use it for this purpose. What i was keen to play around were the profiles that came with it, specifically the WMP and XBMC remote profiles. The WMP profile worked well as expected, and the XBMC seemed to work ok over wifi, although the interface could be a bit prettier. The XBMC interface is designed exactly the same way as the original Xbox dvd remote, so it has all the functions you need which work straight out the box.  You can see what it looks like on the left hand side. I personally think the buttons could have been spaced out a bit more, and made a little larger, but that's just my opinion.

WMP Profile

It does do exactly what it says on the tin however, but since the buttons are a bit small for my liking it isn't quite for me. It is a great idea however, and I'm sure many people would love this sort of thing. For $15 you can't go wrong. One minor issue I had with my Nokia N8 is that the screensaver kicks in after 2 minutes, which can be a bit annoying if you need to pause your music/movie. This means you have to unlock the phone first to get access to the remote. I did look through the settings but it didn't look like there was an option to block the screensaver unfortunately. Obviously I can change the screensaver setting on my phone, but it will drain the battery at quite a rate when Vectir isn't in use.
Still it was fun to play with the software, and if someone could make a slightly better XBMC profile I probably would have bought it.

XBMC & the XBOX360 Remote Troubles

For those of you out there who love XBMC as much as I do, it seems like support for the Xbox360 controller has been problematic since XBMC 12 Frodo alpha 6. Alpha 5 is the last build where the 360 controller works out of the box like it always used to. Since they added PVR support in the builds, my controller has not been properly functional, but as this is a Alpha release I'm prepared to forgive the devs :)
So in the meantime you can revert to Alpha 5 if you want the latest release, otherwise wait until the final Frodo build for (hopefully) complete support.

UPDATE 2012/12/02:
I spoke too soon, 4 days later and now Frodo Beta 2 adds official XBOX360 controller support! Check the blog post here detailing the info: http://xbmc.org/natethomas/2012/12/02/xbmc-12-frodo-beta-2-now-with-android/

The Razer Goliathus Mousepad

When it comes to gaming, some of us are quite fussy when it comes to our peripherals. Serious gamers need to have the best equipment to perform at top levels, and when it comes to first person shooters there can be no exceptions. As a girl, I have gotten a lot of slack over the years for trying my hand at FPS's like Counterstrike and UT, so I need a good mouse and mousepad to show that us ladies aren't completely incompetent when it comes to gaming!
My mousepad of choice has been the Razer Goliathus for the last two years, and below I'll try to explain why I chose it.

Razer Goliathus - Control Edition

 Razer has been associated with gaming for a few years now, and many gamers swear by their brand. Others think that they are overpriced and overhyped. I'd like to think I'm somewhere in between these two schools of thought. This is why I decided to take a chance on a Razer product.

After my old custom made mousepad finally bit the dust at the end of 2010, I knew it was time to bite the bullet and get a suitable replacement. Years of playing shooters had left me desiring a cloth/fabric mousepad, and after a bit of searching I came across the Razer Goliathus. It came in three different sizes, and since i found it on sale at half price for $9.99 (RRP is $19.99) I decided to give it a try. I opted for the large size which is around 30cm x 45cm, and it allows me to use a low sensitivity while still giving me a large surface to work with. There is an even bigger size than that, but I believe this size should be fine for most gamers.

The Goliathus comes in two different versions - the speed and the control edition. I opted for the control edition as it provides more friction which I prefer. For those of you who like a slicker surface the speed edition will be a better choice.
So how does it perform? Well I can say that after 2 years the mousepad is still going strong, although it is a little grubby at the moment. It is a little worn where my wrist sits, but aside from that it is still in really good condition. I put it through the wash every few months to get rid of the grimy buildup, so it can handle a fair amount of abuse.
The pad itself has a rubber grip underneath, which means it remains stationary on any surface. Those of you game will know how infuriating it can be when you are playing a game and your mousepad slips! The good news is that this never happens with the Goliathus. I find that the pad itself has the perfect balance between friction and slickness, so you can get those headshots in with ease. I use a logitech G5 with the pad, and it glides along effortlessly, but also allows me to come to a dead stop in a fraction of a second for those rapid fire kills.

Overall it has been a great investment, and I would heartily recommend it to anyone.I got mine half price, but considering how well it has served me I would be happy to pay the full retail price without a doubt. You can take a look at it on the official site over here.

Hyper 212+ Cooler

In this post I will be chatting about one of my newer purchases - the Hyper 212+ cpu cooler. This air based cooler really is a work of art, and supports a multitude of new and older cpu brackets. I am using it on my Core2Quad 9550 cpu and it does a fantastic job.

The cooler itself is quite a size, in fact it is massive. I had a mid atx case and it barely fits in. When i say barely, there is about 2 centimeters between the cooler and the side of the case. Still i'm not bothered about this due to the phenomenal value it provides. The 212+ is a couple of years old now, but even today it still provides terrific performance. The retail price is around $29.99 currently, and the cooler performs at the same level as some of the coolers double its price!
Lets be honest though, you can't expect to get top range overclocks on this thing, but what you can do is get a very reasonable overclock on a tight budget.
If you want a real world example, my Q9550 runs at a stock speed of 2.8ghz. With my Hyper 212+ I can safely add a 25% overclock pushing my speeds up to 3.5ghz. With the 25% overclock temperatures are in the mid forties when it is idling, and never go past 65C even when the system is under a full load. A 12 hour stress test with Orthos when I first installed the cooler yielded great results, and a year later it is still running very smoothly. My pc room is rather dusty, so I make a mental note to give it a a quick clean every 3 months. This is quite a simple process since the fan clips on to the radiator, so it is simply a case of unclipping the fan, and blowing the dust out from the opposite direction.

Installation is a little tricky, as you need to remove your current cpu bracket. This is somewhat of an annoyance as the motherboard has to be removed to do this. For this task I employed my boyfriend who helped me figure out where the bracket was supposed to go. Once you have the cpu bracket in place then you need to spread some thermal paste onto the cpu and you can fit the cooler. The cooler is held in place by four screws that connect to a plate which holds it onto the motherboard. I can't think of a better way to describe it, but you can check out this handy youtube video below if you want a better idea of how it is fitted.


In terms of noise it isn't too bad. I think it is a little noisier than my stock Intel cooler, but not that much more noticeable. I definitely got used to the extra noise after a few hours, and I don't notice it anymore.
The look of the cooler is pretty average. Most of these big tower style coolers all look the same, so I'm not too bothered with that. It does a good job, so that is my main concern.
So to sum things up:
Looks: 3/5
Installation: 2/5
Performance: 5/5
Value for money: 5/5
If you want to overclock your pc then this is the cooler you need! This will give you a moderate overclock with ease, and will completely walk all over any other cooler in the same price range.
Overclockersclub do a great write on the Hyper 212+, you can read it right here: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/cm_hyper212_evo/

Random thought of the day - Vmware

Does anyone else who uses Vmware notice that there is no key to quickly exit your guest OS and get back to your host OS? I find this somewhat annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love Vmware to bits, but this is something that has been annoying me in recent months.
Why would I need to do this? Say I want to change a song playng in WMP, I need to hit three different shortcuts to get back to my host machine, then another two to get back to my guest machine.
If you are working in full screen mode in the guest OS, the quickest way to get back to your host is to hit ALT-Enter (which takes you out of fullscreen mode), then CTRL-ALT (which takes focus away from the guest OS), then finally ALT-Tab to take you back to your host machine.
Surely I can't be the only one who takes issue with this? Can't they implement a hotkey to switch between the host and guest?
I've googled this before to find out if someone has an easier solution to this problem, but it doesn't seem like it. Come on Vmware,  surely you can do something about this!

Girly computer cases

In one of my first posts, I'd like to take a look at some more feminine looking pc cases out there. Being a female gamer myself, I know that we are a very small majority so there aren't many cases out there which really cater towards women. As they say it is a mans world, but is there a case at there which helps us retain some femininity? The world of pc cases is dominated by sleek and bulky cases designed to look sharp and modern, not really what I want. So I went in search of a more appropriate pc case for my gender, and this is what I found.

To be perfectly honest I had a pretty good guess that somewhere out there someone had made a bright pink hello kitty case :D
Considering Hello Kitty is on some form of world domination quest, it is only logical that someone decided to mod a case to look like this. What is next, Hello Kitty Coffins? Hello Kitty tampons? I shudder at the thought.
Even though I'm not a big fan of the whole Hello Kitty theme, you have to admit this case does look quite girly. And for those girls you are into Hello Kitty, they will surely love this case. It is a pity they aren't commercially produced, but this could give you some ideas to do a mod like this yourself.

Moving onto some commercially available cases we have the GMC R2 toast. This is a full atx case, and comes in a nice cherry red color. It is not as blindingly pink as the Hello Kitty one above, but not all girls are obsessed with pink!
There is a good reason this model is called the Toast - the optical drive is vertically mounted which is something you don't see every day. It's a novel idea, but in my opinion the last thing I want to think about are my components baking inside the case like toast! Either way it is a smart looking case, and retails for around $39.99 which is good value for money.

GMC seem to do a few more brightly colored cases, so next up we will check out the R3 Corona. This particular case has a stylish black front plate, with the sides being a nice hot pink color. Once again GMC have gone with a odd design for the optical drive. The big bulge on the top/front of the case house the optical drive, but unlike the Toast the optical drive opens downwards instead of upwards. Having seen a video of this in action, it looks a little strange at first, but it is definitely a unique idea. It seems like this case is out of stock everywhere i look, so I can't even give a price on it. GMC caters towards budget cases though so I wouldn't think it costs too much over $50.

Last up we have the Apevia X-Plorer2-PK. This is a nice mid tower case with a window in the side.It has a lcd temperature display on the front which is nice, and has quite a few different spots for 120mm cooling fans. In terms of looks, I think this one is a great compromise between looking feminine and stylish. The pink on the front of the case isn't too glaring apparent, and the sleek design adds a classy overall look. Currently this case retails for quite a reasonable $60, so at this price this may be my next case! I think this is the best overall choice for any female gamer and I was quite impressed when I came across it. Newegg have quite a few positive review on the case, you can read about them right here.

Bonus Pic: 

Even this case is too girly for my liking !

Welcome

Hi everyone, and thanks for visiting my blog. I'm a first time blogger, so this is somewhat of a new experience for me. I love all aspects of technology, so that is what my blog is going to be about. I've been told I'm somewhat of a geek, but I see this as a compliment! In the coming weeks I'll be discussing whatever aspects of technology interest me, so I hope my post will be enlightening and entertaining for you all. I'll try and be good and update it once a week, but a girl also has to make time for herself ;) So for now I'll leave it at that :)