Uxtheme Patches (Windows XP SP3, SP2, Etc.)
Find them all here.
I used this guide to install.
Replacing your main hard drive is actually really easy
I recently had to swap out a hard drive on a perfectly good computer here at work. I needed to do this quickly, so I found out about Acronis True Image. This program lets you make a bootable disc that lets you clone one hard drive to another (so you can then remove the old and leave the new in), or you can backup in windows and then restore via boot cd.
The boot cd restore process is quite nice. You can even browse your network to find the backup files on another computer! So if you were thinking of upgrading your Windows (or whatever) drive with a Raptor or something, this would make it extremely painless.
Ram prices are at an all time low!
Yesterday I decided to upgrade to 4gb of ram because I was told by my local favorite computer shop (CompuTrak System) that ram prices were at an all time low (DDR2 only). He was sure right. Each 2gb stick cost me only $53. The 2gb kit I have now cost me somewhere around $285, and now I’m doubling that for only $106. Awesome.
Post-rock: The genre no one knows about
Post-rock is a genre of music that goes along with a certain philosophy, and that is if you take out the singer, it forces the band to play better music. In my personal opinion I think almost every singer ruins almost every band. On a whole other level, if you take out the singers from the music you hear on the radio today, you’d be bored to tears with all the boring, uncreative and shitty music that’s become way to popular and just needs to die quickly.
Here is a sampler of some of my favorite post-rock tracks. Take note that post-rock songs usually have build-ups, so when the music sounds all slow and boring, don’t immediately assume it sucks, just wait a bit and you’ll understand why you just waited.
The Mercury Program – Fragile or Possibly Extinct
[audio:post-rock/02 fragile or possibly extinct.mp3]
Jai Alai – To Liberate
[audio:post-rock/Jai Alai - To Liberate.mp3]
Salvatore – Js Bells
[audio:post-rock/Salvatore - Js Bells.mp3]
Jakob – I Was Hidden
[audio:post-rock/05-jakob-i_was_hidden-nuhs.mp3]
This Will Destroy You – A Three-Legged Workhorse
[audio:post-rock/This Will Destroy You - A Three-Legged Workhorse.mp3]
Molia Falls – Godalming
[audio:post-rock/Molia Falls - Godalming.mp3]
Caspian – Further Up
[audio:post-rock/Caspian - You Are the Conductor - EP - 02 - Further Up.mp3]
Maserati – Show Me The Season
[audio:post-rock/06 - Maserati - Show Me The Season.mp3]
Firebug Addon for Firefox
“Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.”
Don’t expect an XP repair install to work!
Try restoring the system to an earlier state with the recovery console in safe mode, or in safe mode with command prompt first! If you do a repair install it clears all restore points, so if the repair install doesn’t work, you’re screwed and have to format!
Find cool things to listen to with Last.fm
www.last.fm – has a player that plays random music based on what you search for, and shows lots of info about who’s playing so you can go find more music by them.
