Every Windows user goes through this some time; a damaged operating system caused by a virus, bad update, data loss, or just an overall laggy system. Sometimes the best thing to do is to re-format Windows, and install from scratch.
This can get very tedious- backing up gigs of data, reinstalling Windows, downloading and installing all the hardware drivers, restoring backed up data, AND going through all the websites to download your must have software (I made a list of all the software I reinstall every time here).
Luckily, there is a handy little utility called “Smart Installer Pack“. SIP covers a set of 24 of the most commonly used applications such as Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash Player, OpenOffice, CCleaner, Mozilla Firefox, and more- all ready to install with a click of the mouse.
Just download SIP, click on the icons of the apps you want to install (from within SIP), and you’re all set- go take a quick shower or something while it automatically installs the chosen apps.
Features of Smart Installer Pack
• Easy, intuitive, user-interface design
• Contains usual start-up software
• Greatly improves the time needed to install that software, eliminating some of the unnecessary searching, downloading, etc
• The installer comes packed in a convenient executable file
• You can choose which software you want to install using suggestive icons
Dreamfield.se (CruchGear) has hacked iPhone OS 2 to run on a multi-touch monitor of a Mac Pro. I’m not sure if this is real or not, but that looks awesome. Hey, it’s no iTablet, but it’s getting there. Hope this is legit- enjoy!
If you’ve decided to stay clear of Vista and stick with XP, you might like this. You can install the handy sidebar offered in Vista, right on your Windows XP desktop. This is the actual Vista Sidebar ported to XP by Joshoon over at Deviant Art. Users can grab additional sidebar gadgets directly from Microsoft, and experience the same functionality as they would with the sidebar on a Vista system. The Windows Vista Sidebar pack is free, Windows XP only.
Not too long ago, I posted a guide on reducing your Windows startup time by disabling unwanted startup apps (Here).
When Windows loads it’s Startup file, it attempts to load every program in there at the same time. Therefore if you have quite a lot of programs starting when Windows starts, each program will try and grab CPU time so that it can load.
Now, you can make Windows startup even more faster by delaying the apps you left in the startup list with Startup Delayer. Startup Delayer allows you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started, to load each program.
For example, you have a mail app in your startup list, you can now set mail to start 20 seconds after Windows starts, and another app to start say, 45 seconds later. This will significantly improve your startup performance.
Attention computer techs, you will love this!. It’s a collection of useful, and powerful computer repair utilities. These are ready to be loaded onto a USB flash drive. Just extract using WinRAR, and drag the folder into the USB drive. The extracted file weighs in at 186 MBs- so make sure you have enough room. The set was compiled by Technibble.com.
BEFORE YOU DOWNLOAD- READ THIS:The Computer Boss takes no responsibility in how these tools are used. If you don’t know what you are doing, don’t use it. Many of these tools have the potential to damage a computer and cause loss of data if used incorrectly. Always back up important data before using any of these tools.
All rights belong to the application creators. If you use any of these applications for commercial purposes you should donate to the application creator.
If you’re in the mood to change the look and feel of your OS X Leopard dock, then Dock Library by Dative Studios is for you. It takes the pain away from customizing the dock with this easy to use tool.
Once you get some styles in your library, you’re just a click away from changing the look of your dock. No hunting through hidden system directories, just select the dock you want and click “Activate”.
Windows XP is full of applications you won’t find in the Start menu. These applications/utilities perform a handful of very useful tasks- here is a list with descriptions.
To run these programs, go to Start > Run, and type in the executable name- for example: mplay32.exe
1. Character Map = charmap.exe (very useful for finding unusual characters)
2. Disk Cleanup = cleanmgr.exe
3. Clipboard Viewer = clipbrd.exe (views contents of Windows clipboard)
4. Dr Watson = drwtsn32.exe (Troubleshooting tool)
5. DirectX diagnosis = dxdiag.exe (Diagnose & test DirectX, video & sound cards)
6. Private character editor = eudcedit.exe (allows creation or modification of characters)
8. Mcft Synchronization Manager = mobsync.exe (appears to allow synchronization of files on the network for when working offline. Apparently undocumented).
9. Windows Media Player 5.1 = mplay32.exe (Retro version of Media Player, very basic).
10. ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32.exe (something to do with databases)
11. Object Packager = packager.exe (to do with packaging objects for insertion in files, appears to have comprehensive help files).
12. System Monitor = perfmon.exe (very useful, highly configurable tool, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about any aspect of PC performance, for uber-geeks only )
13. Program Manager = progman.exe (Legacy Windows 3.x desktop shell).
14. Remote Access phone book = rasphone.exe (documentation is virtually non-existant).
15. Registry Editor = regedt32.exe [also regedit.exe] (for hacking the Windows Registry).
18. Volume Control = sndvol32.exe (I’ve included this for those people that lose it from the System Notification area).
19. System Configuration Editor = sysedit.exe (modify System.ini & Win.ini just like in Win98! ).
20. Syskey = syskey.exe (Secures XP Account database – use with care, it’s virtually undocumented but it appears to encrypt all passwords, I’m not sure of the full implications).
21. Mcft Telnet Client = telnet.exe
22. Driver Verifier Manager = verifier.exe (seems to be a utility for monitoring the actions of drivers, might be useful for people having driver problems. Undocumented).
23. Windows for Workgroups Chat = winchat.exe (appears to be an old NT utility to allow chat sessions over a LAN, help files available).
24. System configuration = msconfig.exe (can use to control starup programs)
25. gpedit.msc used to manage group policies, and permissions
(the disk cleanup tool for Windows XP)
Edit: I forgot to mention this nice utility by Rizla+ called “Windows XP Hidden App Launcher”. It provides shortcuts to all the apps I mentioned above.
You will see a list of streams towards the right, click on any of them, and your default media player should start streaming them (Windows Media Player for Windows users).
When the audio starts streaming on your PC- right click the stream in the playlist, and choose “Properties”- you should see a feed address such as ‘ http://icecast3.scanamerica.us/ca_lapd1 ‘ (for Windows Media Player, other players may work different, you need to try to find the feed address).
Load Fstream on your iPhone, go to favorites, edit, add new webradio- enter anything you want for “Name”, for the “URL” enter the feed address. You don’t need to touch anything for format and bitrate.
Go to more, enable cellular network.
Now for the fun, go to “Play” and tap on the “Favorite” you just created. It will buffer and start streaming the police chatter.
Attention computer techs, you will love this!. It’s a collection of useful, and powerful computer repair utilities. These are ready to be loaded onto a USB flash drive. Just extract using 
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