Monitor 1 set as the primary, and monitor 2 is the extended desktop. The taskbar however only stays on monitor 1. I found some nice freeware: Oscar’s Multi-Monitor taskBar.

This creates another taskbar on monitor 2. It’s not the pretty XP taskbar but it does do the job. There are hotkeys in which you can flip any window your working on, onto the next monitor or visa versa. There is also a clock similar to the windows clock.

The freeware also puts a button that looks like a play button next to your window minimize/maximize button. This will also quickly move any window you have open to the next monitor.

Multi-Monitor taskbar currently supports up to 3 monitors.

The site boasts that there is no fat in the software. As far as I can tell it has a pretty low footprint as well.

taskbar, dual monitor

Keep in mind that there are several possible wiring possibilities. You can reverse the wiring of any diagram on 1 end of your cable and make yourself a crossover cable. I also found by trial and error that there is a Cat5e T568B, and a T568A. This matters mostly in how your jacks are wired in your wall. If you are able to pop out your wall jack and check the diagram on the jack to see which you are running.

A Cat 5e Wiring Diagram

You need to make sure that you have cable, cable ends, a wiring diagram, and a network cable crimping tool. Most crimp tools come with built in cutters and strippers. The one I’m using came for free with a 500ft cable. They range from $10-$40. I’ve seen and played with a $25 model since I’ve done this. Personally, I prefer the simpler one.

Cut a good length

The first thing you need to do is strip about 2″ of the shield off. Unfortunately I didn’t know that when I took this picture during my first practice. Then you need to untwist each of the four pairs. ** Caution ** only untwist up to the shield. Twisted pair need to remain twisted to get the most out of it.

Untrimmed

Next, straighten the strands out best you can. Then hold up an end next to the cable. This is a tricky part. Visually measure the length of wire needed to get to the end of the cable end leaving just the right amound of shielded part to go into the cable end. Then cut off the excess. I had to do this about 6 times to get the hang of it.

Trimmed to a proper length

Then using the diagram, put the cables in their proper order, and hold them close together. Hold (Pinch) them tight so they don’t get out of order. Slide them into the clip. Push them firmly in. Push them hard! Some cable ends come with very small harnesses to hold the cables while you do this. This is a very worthwile investment. Ends only cost a few bucks for a package.

Hold em’ tight, and push in

Finally holding the entire assembly place the crimper on it an crimp that sucker! When you are finnished you need to make sure that you can’t pull the end off by hand using a reasonable amount of strength.

Crimp

Cable, Networking, Network Cable

Anyone have a clue what it’s purpose is?

Cat 6e, networking, cable

I expect as the Gbs increase on these devices this will become the thing to do. Why bother with a PC when you can have a 250Gb micro flash drive with everything on it and all you need is a vanilla pc to plug into!.

Check them out here: U3 Homepage

Sandisk Cruzer micro U3 Sandisk cruzer

How about a headset attachment for your ipod that will let you watch bigger than life video? According to the article, the device will most likely be available in 2006 for a retail price around $599.

With the proximity of the screen to the eye, and the magnifying effect of the company’s optical technology, the company says that using the headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away.

At first glance the headset would seem to look odd in public, but as the report notes:

But eMagin executives say they expect people to get used to the appearance, in the same way that Bluetooth headsets are no longer uncommon.

This is the kind of stuff that used to be in popular mechanics schematics…

Eyebud 800, ipod video

  
  

• Inspiron 6oo0
• Intel Pentium M 1.73GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB
• 15.4″ Ultrasharp WUXGA LCD
• 1GB Shared DDR2 SDRAM(2 – 512’s)
• 128MB DDR Radeon PCI Express
• 60GB 7200rpm HD
• XP Professional With backup media
• 8x CD/DVD+/-RW
• Intel Pro 2915 AND Bluetooth Internal Wireless NIC

Off the start, I like the look, weight and feel. I really dig the pocket mouse. It has a compartment to hold the usb connector. The batteries set under the hood, much like a Volkswagon Beetle. The laptop itself has some spiffy looking buttons on the front of it for controlling media. Volume, play pause etc.

  

It’s got all kinds of connection options.

… Including Wild Tangent!

Immediately I tried to use the nifty integrated wireless card, but no such luck…

Later in the evening I was able to pick up a nearby signal, but not strong enough. Now and then a network will show up, but it’s encrypted. I installed a 108mbps G wirless router that screams. Next I tried a DVD. The screen, though WUXGA, is not as smooth as I like for viewing movies. But I can’t see myself using that too often. The 128MB vid card, and the 1GB of RAM helped it along quite nicely. I could resize and move the screen while the movie was playing and it didn’t even hiccup.

I was able to log on to my current favorite online game Project Entropia, and the system not only handled the connection well, but the graphics ability are quite ample.

In General I am quite pleased with the system. It has most all the ability of my desktop, yet nice and portable.

Dell, Inspiron, Review

I was seeing a burned in image of my email client. It looks similar to the problem that used to occur in CRT’s. I found that to be odd, as I understood LCD’s don’t have this problem.

I first contacted Acer about the problem. This monitor has a 3 year waranty, and I only had it for 3 months. The good news is that they could repair it in 7-10 days. Cool. The bad news is that they wouldn’t send out aImage Persist Cleaner replacement in the mean time. Not even with a credit card to secure it. I asked them how they proposed I continued to do any work. I’m paraphrasing their response as, “that’s for you to figure out”. Nice warranty….. so much for support.

At this point I decided to investigate further. After much googling, I discovered that my problem was not uncommon. Hmmm. It’s called Image Persistence.

It turns out that pixels in an LCD have a memory. If an image is on the pixels for an extended amount of time, the pixels will remember the image. The amount of time is unknown to me. I’m suspecting that it hase something to do with response time? As you can see in the upper portion of the screen, you can make out the ‘box’ of my outlook email client.

The good news is that it’s not permanent. Here are a few steps you can take to remove it (suggested by an article at dslwebserver.com);

1. Create a 1200 x 1600 100% white .gif to use as a screen saver. (In windows you can add it to “My Pictures Slideshow”). You can just download this one if you like. (Right click->save as)
2. Set that to run after 2 minutes of non-use.
3. Set the monitor to power off in a short amount of non-use. Say 15 minutes.

In a few days your monitor shouldn’t remember those open application borders anymore. Then you can return the settings to a more tolerable time setting, and set your old favorite screensaver etc.

Rinse, and repeat as needed.

Update 1/05/2006:You can do the same with apple LCD’s as described here.

Have you had something similar happen to you? If you have any other suggested comments or educational tips on image persistence, please leave a comment.

LCD, LCD, burn-in, Image Persistence

Apparently this malware gets in your machine, and asks you to reboot to fix a problem. It’s pretty usless after that point…

“The device basically becomes a brick,” says Richard Archdeacon, director of technical services at Symantec. “You might as well use it to build a house.”

psp, sony, malware, brick, gaming, symantec

I recently have had to buy a new inkjet printer. My old printer was connected via an HP print server. The old printer was an HP as well. The problem I had was that the new printer is USB, and the print server has a parallel connection. Print servers can start in the price range of $250+. So I went looking for a solution to coble the 2 together.

Print Server

DB25 Male Parallel Cable

While looking for some converting cables, I made the mistake of buying the wrong ones several times. The connection world can become overwelming in connection types and names. I ran across this page at msprojectstart.org, that made things so much easier. This page includes pictures, drawings, and the technical names for all different types of connections. It definatly sped up the research process!

The closest cable I could find was a DB25-male (Parallel connection to the print server) to a USB A. However, most larger periphials require a USB B connection. I was able to find a USB A female to USB B male adapter. So for roughly $30 plus freight, I was able to save a few hundred bucks by not having to buy a new print server.

USB A – Male

USB B – Male

USB A-B Adapter

One would think that somebody out there would have a backward-compatable cable out there in which all you need to do is plug it in without monkeying around- without buying adapters and such!

Cables, USB, Parallel, Hardware