I don’t like iTunes much, but I still use it, to syncronise my iPod Shuffle. I have hand-picked the songs on my harddrive and created a playlist in iTunes, which I sync with my iPod. The problem is, due to iTunes’ inability to save its playlist in anything but a cryptic XML or text format, it cannot be imported into any other player. I have now chanced upon a simple method to do that.

Open your intended target player (e.g. Winamp). Select all the songs in iTunes that you want to add to target player’s playlist (press Ctrl+A after clicking on any song entry in iTunes, to select all the songs). Now left click on any of the selected song in iTune and drag (while keeping your mouse button still pressed) to the playlist of the target player. Now all these songs have been added there!

My friend Kaustubh suggested an ingenious way hiding your folders in Windows. The method is easy to follow for any user. I have modified it a bit to make the folder completely disappear. It will be right in front of you but u will not be able to located it, unless you have been told that there is a folder there. See below for example.

Locate the folder in the screenshot below.

Did u find it? See below.

Now did u find it? U can open the folder like any ordinary folder, i.e. by double-clicking it.

The method:-
1) First rename the folder. (Right-click on the folder and choose ‘rename’ or select the folder and just press F2 on ur keyboard.) You must rename the folder to blank but Windows doesn’t allow you to name your files or folders just blank. Hence u need to name ur folder with a character which appears to be blank but it is not a blank. Confused? Well just follow me.
a) Select the folder and press F2 on your keyboard.
b) Make sure NumLock of your keyboard is on. (You do this by making sure that the LED corresponding to your NumLock is glowing).
c) Now press Alt on your keyboard and while keeping it pressed, type 255 on your NumPad. NOTE: You must use the number keys on your NumPad to type in 255 not the number keys on the top row of the alphabet keys.
d) Now press Enter key on your keyboard.

2) Now after making the file name to disappear, it is time to make the icon disappear.
a) Right click on that folder and then left click on Properties.
b) Now left click on Customize.
c) Left click on Change Icon button.
d) A new dialog will pop-up. Scroll the icons list and choose the blank icon. (There are 4 blank icons.) Refer the picture below.

e) Now click on OK. Click on OK in the following dialog too.

Now u have an invisible folder! Enjoy!

Today I saw a movie. I had copied the full DVD to the hard disk because my PC had trouble reading it. I clicked on the .ifo file but PowerDVD failed to open it, same thing with VideoLAN, then I found refute in Media Player Classic. It played it exactly as if it were being played from the DVD itself, but there was a problem – the picture was too dark to see. My monitor’s brightness settings and contrasts were already 100%, now how do I increase its damn brightness, Media Player Classic doesn’t have any such brightness control feature as VLC or PowerDVD has. Idea!

Why not use Intel Graphics Controller Properties? This thing is only available for computers with Intel made motherboards. This tool may not be available even on ur Intel made motherboard comp if ur comp is quite dated. Search Intel’s website.

Now, open Control Panel and double click on Intel(R) Extreme Graphics. This will open the above mentioned dialog.

U can alternatively open it by right clicking on an empty area on ur desktop then navigate to Graphics Options and then to Graphics Properties.

If u can’t see Graphics Options then click on Properties on that menu. Then on Settings tab. Click Advanced button. Now click on Intel(R) Extreme Graphics tab in the newly opened dialog box. Click on Graphics Properties .

Now u r there. Click on Color tab. See here the Brightness and Contrasts sliders? There u r, but wait….If u drag these sliders then u affect the whole screen. Wouldn’t it be nice if could just set these values for the movie only? Yes u can! Just look on that page. Click on Video Overlay option. There, now u have another option, Saturation, available. Now there u r. Don’t forget to cick on Ok. Click on Restore Defaults if u want to goto the default values.

It is recommended that u open the movie while changing the settings. This way u will know how much to move the sliders.

It would had been really nice if we were allowed to save them as schemes. I don’t understand why on earth do they disable the Save as Scheme button for Video Overlay.

Today I saw a movie. I had copied the full DVD to the hard disk because my PC had trouble reading it. I clicked on the .ifo file but PowerDVD failed to open it, same thing with VideoLAN, then I found refute in Media Player Classic. It played it exactly as if it were being played from the DVD itself, but there was a problem – the picture was too dark to see. My monitor’s brightness settings and contrasts were already 100%, now how do I increase its damn brightness, Media Player Classic doesn’t have any such brightness control feature as VLC or PowerDVD has. Idea!

Why not use Intel Graphics Controller Properties? This thing is only available for computers with Intel made motherboards. This tool may not be available even on ur Intel made motherboard comp if ur comp is quite dated. Search Intel’s website.

Now, open Control Panel and double click on Intel(R) Extreme Graphics. This will open the above mentioned dialog.

U can alternatively open it by right clicking on an empty area on ur desktop then navigate to Graphics Options and then to Graphics Properties.

If u can’t see Graphics Options then click on Properties on that menu. Then on Settings tab. Click Advanced button. Now click on Intel(R) Extreme Graphics tab in the newly opened dialog box. Click on Graphics Properties .

Now u r there. Click on Color tab. See here the Brightness and Contrasts sliders? There u r, but wait….If u drag these sliders then u affect the whole screen. Wouldn’t it be nice if could just set these values for the movie only? Yes u can! Just look on that page. Click on Video Overlay option. There, now u have another option, Saturation, available. Now there u r. Don’t forget to cick on Ok. Click on Restore Defaults if u want to goto the default values.

It is recommended that u open the movie while changing the settings. This way u will know how much to move the sliders.

It would had been really nice if we were allowed to save them as schemes. I don’t understand why on earth do they disable the Save as Scheme button for Video Overlay.

Some days back I setup a LAN at my home between two PCs and one of them DOESN’T have a LAN card! PC1 has Ethernet card but PC2 doesn’t. I used BSNL’s broadband modem (router) to connect them. (Those not in India maynot know about BSNL). My router is Huawei SmartAX MT882. It has ports for both USB and ethernet. Basically when using USB u r required to install the router’s drivers and this installs a software dslagent. Now the router will appear as a LAN card to the computer.

Steps to setup this:-
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1) router’s ethernet port was connected to PC1’s ethernet card, and the USB port was connected to USB of PC2.

Follow these steps for both PC1 and PC2.

2) Goto ControlPanel->NetworkSetUp Wizard (note for SP1 this option is available only in Network Connections as Set Up home or small office network).
3)Click Next 2 or 3 times and AT a page Choose ‘This computer connects to the internet through a residential gateway or through another computer on my network.’
4)Enter comp description and comp names (Note the names of both the pcs should be different).
5)Let the workgroup name be MSHOME
6)Turn on File and Printer Sharing.
7)Now click next and finish.

8)Right click on drives or folders u want to share in both the comps and choose Sharing and security. Click the threatning looking link there. U may need to click on one or two threatning links and the u maybe be shown a dialog; Click Just turn on file sharing. Now u have two check boxes-> Share this folder on network AND ->Allow network users to change my files. Turn the 1st one on. Turn the 2nd one on only if u want that files from that folder to be changed from the other pc. NOTE: any file deleted on say PC1 from within PC2 wil delete that permanently, so beware!
When the folder has been successfully shared then a hand will appear superimposed on the folder icon.

Now u can start accessing them from My Network Places>View Workgroup Computers. Wait for some time. Now both the comps should appear there and u should be able access the shared folder by double clicking and getting inside them.

Troubleshooting:-
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Problem1:-
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If u have installed 3rd party firewall like ZoneAlarm, then, when u click View Workgroup Computers, if u r greeted by an error message like Path not found. Access Denied or somthing like that then its maybe ur overprotective firewall’s deed.
Solution for ZoneAlarm: U should be using the LAN connection for internet hence it will be in Internet Zone.
1)First note down the IP address and subnet mask of this LAN connection. (for this goto Network Connection>Single click on that LAN connection’s entry. See the Details section there).
2)Goto ZA’s control centre>Firewall>Zones>Click on ‘Add>>’>Subnet
3)Choose Trusted for Zone. Enter the just noted IP address and subnet mask there. Enter anything for Description.

Done!

Note: When ur router will connect to the BSNL’s server then the IP of ur card may change and hence all the above troubleshooting u did may fall flat on its face. In that case just TURN OFF ur FIREWALL.

Problem2:-
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The comps in the View Workgroup Computers sections shows fine but when u try to double click on the other PC’s icon then u get error.
Solution: Try typing the url to the shared folder in the addressbar of the folder. Like this:-
\\the PC name\the shared folder or drive’s namee.g. if the pc’s name is homePC and u have shared d drive and its share name is D. then type
\\homePC\D\

A useful tip:-
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U can make the shared folders or drives show up as drives on ur comp. Open My computer>Tools>Map Network Drive>in Folder field type url to your folder as shown above.
Now a new drive of type Network Drive will appear in MyComputer of Drive letter starting form Z:

U can follow it up at the forum where I have posted it.

Disclaimer:-
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Any harm done to ur comp due to following this tip is not my reposibility. Please don’t try to burden my conscience with ur accusitions later for screwing up ur network settings.