Do you want quick access to your hidden icons on your system tray?

If you have multiple programs running in your Windows system tray and you get fed up trying to hit the "Reveal all" arrow on the far left of the tray, try hitting Win+B and then Enter.
Win+B activates the system tray and since the reveal all arrow is selected first a simple Enter will expand your system tray.
After you hit Win+B you can use the Right and Left arrow keys on your keyboard to cycle through the running programs, hit Enter for a double click effect or the AppsKey or Shift + F10 for right click menu.
I have some 30 small apps on my tray ( resource hog I know, but I use them all..) and having access to all those icons can be a pain, even more since I'm running an app that makes the Start bar transparent. So Win+B is a lifesaver..

Looking for a way to recreate a folder structure in Windows ?

try this command in a DOS box :
XCOPY (source) (destination) /E /T
That is open a command promt by hitting Win+R ( Run menu ) and giving CMD at the promt and Enter and on the command window.. well you can imagine the rest if you've gotten so far..
Don't forget to replace the (source) and (destination) with your actual folder names, oh and don't try to create a loop by recreating the folder structure inside it.. it won't work anyway.. yeap, I actually did that by mistake..

Are you tired of your HP Pavillion quick launch buttons starting up the ugly media apps ?

Well then all you have to do is create an empty text file named empty.bat ( not empty.bat.txt, be aware ) open up "Control Panel", choose "HP Quick Launch Buttons" and on the first tab (Media) click the "Add" button next to the action button you want to reset. From there click the "Browse" button and point it to where you saved the empty.bat file. Oh, and don't forget to select the "Launch the media application listed below" tab.
That's about it. If you want to reset the action all you have to do is hit the "Delete" button next to the action you want to reset.
I hope this helps some of you that are annoyed by accidentally pressing them.

My most favorite apps for 2006 ( a short review )

It's been six whole months since my last post, my dear friends I have sinned.. No wait this is just a blog. So here's my rundown of my most favorite apps for 2006

== System Helpers ==

Servant Salamander :
Remember Norton Commander ? Well this is the program that not only brings the original idea of the two pane file manager to the 21st century it surpasses it by a million times. Besides the basic one button copy,rename, make folder actions it contains a slew of plug-ins, a multitude of shortcuts (I was stunned), command line user helping features, a file renaming engine and best of all once you select random files from a folder you cannot accidentally deselect them by clicking anywhere.

Unlocker :
So you want to erase a file and Windows gives you an error message instead ? Get unlocker and all those problems will fade away. This program was the answer to my question "why can't I unplug my usb drive since I closed all the dialog boxes and programs that were using it ?", it appears that a process was keeping it busy and unlocker simply took notice and killed it.

Freemeter :
A free system monitor that gives you a real time graph of your processor usage along with hard disk free space and other basic counters. Best of all it sits on your system tray so you get cpu, page file and memory usage stats in less than 30 pixels of space.

== for Shortcuts lovers ==

Autohotkey :
If you love shortcuts than this is the best of show. Essentially autohotkey is a scripting language that helps you create custom Windows shortcuts along with a string replacing engine, so you open Notepad and write "gtd", hit Tab and that is substituted with "getting things done" although that's not all. Many code experts have written full Windows apps with this simple yet powerful language, just visit the autohotkey forum and you'll be amazed.

Colibri :
Stop using the start menu now! Get Colibri hit Ctrl+Space and write a few letters of the program that you want to start, Colibri will give you a list of programs that contain those letters, press up or down, hit Enter and your selected program starts. As an added bonus you can launch web pages, web search and control the system volume.

Slickrun :
As far as Windows program launchers go this is my favorite one. You create keywords that launch your favorite program along with special keywords that launch multiple programs at once, so once you reach the office you can start your email client, your browser and your podcast fetcher all at once.

DM2 :
If you have a few hard disks ( or partitions ) and every time you want to open or save a file you find yourself navigating up or down the windows tree just to find your favorite folder then dm2 is the product for you. It creates an extra icon on the open and save dialog boxes of your windows programs ( except office ) and you can simply click it to select your preconfigured favorite folders. As an extra bonus it adds a minimize to tray (or to floating icon) feature for your open programs along with window opacity and process priority. It also allows you to define custom hotkeys that control the system volume and a bunch of other things. It's free although a donation would be welcome.

TaskswitchXP :
Are you a multitasker ? Is Alt-Tab your favorite key combo yet you feel that the interface is not giving you enough ? TaskswitchXP gives you a full blown Alt-Tab interface that has a picture of your program along with a slew of features like the use of the up and down keys to choose your app along with scrollwheel and mouse pointer selection. It's free so why not give it a try..

Volumouse :
Use your scrollwheel once you have your mouse pointer over a program titlebar and your system volume will play along.

== Download manager ==

Free Download Manager :
The title says it all. It works in Firefox with a plug-in and it's a must if you download large files over a slow line.

== Health ( avoiding RSI ) ==

Workrave :
Do you spend more than 7 hours per day on a computer? You are bound to get RSI ( repetitive stress injuries ) so here comes workrave, a free program that reminds you to take short brakes and stretch. I have been using it for a week and apart from the few laughs I get in the office I must say it has done me some good.

== Dual or large monitor helper ==

Gridmove :
If you are using a large monitor (or two) and you find yourself constantly moving and resizing windows just to do your work on more than one programs, then gridmove will become your best friend. This autohotkey script (and standalone program) helps you resize and place your programs, with the touch of a shortcut, on predefined areas ( kinda like the windows cascade command although much more powerful).

DM2 creates shortcuts on all open and save dialog boxes

I've recently discovered yet another time saving app called DM2. This nifty little app creates an icon on all Windows open and save dialog boxes and through that it gives you instant access on your favorite folders.. But that's not all, you also get custom shortcuts for your volume controls, a menu with constant access to your favorite folders and a host of plug-ins that come preinstalled.
If you find yourself always looking for some specific folders in your 5 hard drive system just to save a screengrab than this app is for you, or buy a mac..
This app along with Colibri are my 2 most favorite time savers. GO open source..

Photo restoration needs time and patience above all..

If you're about to start restoring some of your old family photos, be prepared. Knowing the tools is only half of the skills required. Patience and trial and error are the other half.
This image took me some 6 hours to fully restore, I know it sounds silly but the level of damage cannot be represented in a small thumbnail.

A few Photoshop lessons can get you a long way..

I've been watching PhotoshopTV for quite some time now and I have been developing a greater respect and a wider variety of knowledge about Adobe's flagship product.
I recently bought a book on photo restoration by Katrin Eismann called "Photoshop Restoration and Retouching".
So after some reading I decided to put my knowledge to the test and here are my first results.

Watch IPtv shows on your standalone DivX player while saving up bandwidth.

So, you just got into video blogs and video podcasts, you want to watch them on your TV through your standalone DivX player while you want to save bandwidth by not having to download the huge XviD (or DivX) version of the show ( if that is even available.. )
Here's a quick tip : Simply download the H.264 version ( .mov) and convert it to .avi in no time with Pocket DivX Encoder using the Home Theater profile it offers. This way you download a file that has a fraction of the size of the XviD (or DivX) , you convert it in a flash ( I've been getting 90fps compression ) and finally record it on a disc or pass it through USB on your iZak or hard disc enclosure and enjoy it on your TV.

lackluster releases under digilog (net)label.

Finnish born electronic music composer lackluster has released his lax ep on digilog.gr (net)label.
The 7 track ep is a gathering of ambient and summer chill out tunes that will give your relaxing moments a soothing soundscape.
Head over to digilog.gr and grab it. Being a (net)label release means you can download it for free and enjoy it as much as you want without looking behind your shoulder for the MPAA. With that in mind it's your obligation to download it..

Pocket DivX Encoder gets the job done!

I've been using divx encoding software for more than 7 years now and the one piece of software that I discovered just recently was the one I was looking for, for quite some time now.
I was out and about looking for a transcoder that would compress videos so that I could watch them on my PDA and on the "The Core Pocket Media Player" page I found some reference to PocketDivXEncoder.
This encoder not only did the job right, it recompressed the video in blazing fast speed. Be aware though that not only does it have compression profiles for PDAs and hadhelds it also has profiles for home cinema use, now that comes in handy in all the cases you want to view a vidcast on your stadalone or hard disk enclosure player.
I've had all sorts of industry approved software crash on me over the past few weeks and PocketDivXEncoder got the job done just right.