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ComputorEdge™ Online — 12/06/13

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Netflix Update and More!

Netflix on a Roll; New Tech Race: Ultra High-def 4K—and Even up to 8K; Green Tech Sickness?; More High Tech for the Disabled; Romantic Relationships in the Internet Age; Banks Upgrading Their ATMs; Can Helium Hard Drives and Hybrids Save the HDD Market?; Public Cyber-Crime: Ransomware to Charge-Back Scams; Home-based Entrepreneurs Making Money Through Online Companies; Lawsuits Galore Electronic Arts and Sports Video Games; Gamer News: Troll Enforcement to Gamer-Training Houses; China Lifts Ban on Foreign Game Consoles; Sales on New Release "Call Of Duty: Ghosts."

Magazine Summary

List of ComputorEdge Sponsors

Digital Dave

by Digital Dave

Digital Dave answers your tech questions.

Free Antivirus AVG; Is Windows 8.1 Worth the Risk?; Win7 Laptop—Backspace Key Doesn't Type.

Netflix on a Roll and More Little Known High Tech Stories

by Marilyn K. Martin

Ultra High-Def, Sick from Green Tech, Smart-ATMs, Helium Hard Drives, and Beeping Baseballs for the

New Tech Race: Ultra High-def 4K—and Even up to 8K; Green Tech Sickness?; Netflix on a Roll; More High Tech for the Disabled; Romantic Relationships in the Internet Age; Banks Upgrading Their ATMs; Can Helium Hard Drives and Hybrids Save the HDD Market?; Public Cyber-Crime: Ransomware to Charge-Back Scams; Home-based Entrepreneurs Making Money Through Online Companies; Lawsuits Galore Electronic Arts and Sports Video Games; Gamer News: Troll Enforcement to Gamer-Training Houses; China Lifts Ban on Foreign Game Consoles; Sales on New Release "Call Of Duty: Ghosts."

Windows Tips and Tricks: DiskMon for Drive Activity

by Jack Dunning

A Utility That Adds the Disk Activity Light to Your System Tray

This little tool may not be the most needed utility unless you don't have (and want) a drive activity light.

Building a Recipe Book with AutoHotkey, Part II

by Jack Dunning

Loading the RecipeTree from a Data File

Data file structure is one of the most important decision points when designing scripts. Get it wrong and the headaches will be endless.

Wally Wang's Apple Farm

by Wally Wang

The Convoluted Logic of Advertising and Marketing

The Convoluted Logic of Advertising and Marketing; Dead Apple Technology; Tracking Your Heart Rate with an iPhone; Sharing from within the Finder.

Worldwide News & Product Reviews

by Charles Carr

The latest in tech news and hot product reviews.

How to Improve Family Bonding This Holiday Season; New PSA Helps Parents Make Informed Video Game Purchases for the Holidays; YouTube Poetry Competition; LG G2 Smartphone (AT&T).

Editor's Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers

by ComputorEdge Staff

Computer and Internet tips, plus comments on the articles and columns.

"Windows 8 vs. 7," "Sysinternals vs. Standard Autologon"

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Digital Dave

“Digital Dave answers your tech questions.”
by Digital Dave

Free Antivirus AVG; Is Windows 8.1 Worth the Risk?; Win7 Laptop—Backspace Key Doesn't Type.

Free Antivirus AVG

Dear Digital Dave,

As suggested in an earlier ComputorEdge article, I installed the trial version, which stopped after the trial version period expired. In that article, it was indicated that by trying some tricks, it can be made to continue to work without payment. Please advise.

With highest regards,

Tattapura Sindhushayana

San Diego, CA

Dear Tattapura,

I think that you may have downloaded a free trial of the AVG Premium Security version. While it offers a free trial, it is not free. However, AVG does have a free version available which will include many of the same features. Almost all antivirus software programs have a free, stripped-down version, but it is often hard to find since they want you to buy the advanced version.

While AVG has many Web pages, most obscure the free version while highlighting the free trial. The best site to use is free.avg.com which has a direct link to the download.

You may need to uninstall the premium version before installing the free version. After that you should no longer need to upgrade, although you will continue to receive annoying message trying to entice you into buying the premium version. But that is the price you pay for some free software.

Digital Dave

Is Windows 8.1 Worth the Risk?

Dear Digital Dave,

I am one of the dumb persons who installed Windows 8 when it first came out. I soon found that almost all of the apps and games that I used were gone. It took me weeks and several hours of phone time with Microsoft to get about 80% of them back and running.

Now Windows 8.1 is out and like a moth drawn to a flame I am tempted. My question is: Is Windows 8.1 an upgrade with little effect…or is it a portal back to Windows Hell?

Phil Rostodha

San Diego, CA

Dear Phil,

Windows 8.1 is Microsoft's answer to many of the complaints about the original release of Windows 8. There is a restored Start button with limited function and you can now set up Windows 8 to boot directly to the Desktop. (See the article, "Making Windows 8.1 Act More Like Windows.") Plus, there are a number of other changes which are actually improvements. So, yes, I would call Windows 8.1 an upgrade.

If you are running regular Windows 8 right now (not the Windows 8.1 Preview), then your upgrade should work without problems. You will (most likely) continue with all the same programs and settings that you currently use. I have done the upgrade myself and did not experience any problems. (I did find some issues working with a VPN (Virtual Private Network—LogMeIn Hamachi), but If you don't use a VPN, then you should be OK.) However, when working with computers, there is no such thing as an absolute guarantee, but overall I do think that Windows 8.1 is worth the risk.

Digital Dave

Win7 Laptop--Backspace Key Doesn't Type

Dear Digital Dave,

Does a Windows 7 laptop non-functional Backspace key require refurbishing or can I remap the Backspace key? The problem key was caused by dropping the laptop.

James Taylor

San Diego, CA

Dear James,

There are a couple of things that you can do before you send the laptop in for repairs. There may be a simple fix and there is certainly a workaround.

First, assuming it is a mechanical keyboard, when the computer is turned off, carefully pry off the keycap for the Backspace key. This can usually be done with a small flathead screwdriver. You should find a small spring loaded plunger or button which activates when you press the key. At times this button can become stuck or cocked making it inoperable. If the button does not move freely when you depress it, try jiggling it until it comes free. If this works, then all you should need to do is replace the keycap.

If there seems to be no mechanical fix for the key, then there is a software way around it. The best Windows utility I've seen is the free AutoHotkey. You can download and install the main program, then create the simple one-line script:

Insert::BackSpace

saved in a text file with the AHK extension (i.e. backspace.ahk). You can do this with Notepad. When you run the file the Insert key (or any other key you prefer) will become a Backspace. (I selected the Insert key not only because it is pretty much useless, but also because it is very close to the Backspace key on most keyboards.) If you prefer an EXE file which will run without the main AutoHotkey program, then compile it.

If you want to learn about what AutoHotkey can do, then ComputorEdge E-Books has a couple of AutoHotkey titles by Jack Dunning.

If none of these options work or seem reasonable, then replacing a keyboard on a laptop is not usually that expensive or difficult. There are a number of sites which offer guidelines. But if you're not the do-it-yourself type, then I'm sure you can find a computer repair person to do it for you without too much expense.

Digital Dave

Netflix on a Roll and More Little Known High Tech Stories

“Ultra High-Def, Sick from Green Tech, Smart-ATMs, Helium Hard Drives, and Beeping Baseballs for the”
by Marilyn K. Martin

New Tech Race: Ultra High-def 4K—and Even up to 8K; Green Tech Sickness?; Netflix on a Roll; More High Tech for the Disabled; Romantic Relationships in the Internet Age; Banks Upgrading Their ATMs; Can Helium Hard Drives and Hybrids Save the HDD Market?; Public Cyber-Crime: Ransomware to Charge-Back Scams; Home-based Entrepreneurs Making Money Through Online Companies; Lawsuits Galore Electronic Arts and Sports Video Games; Gamer News: Troll Enforcement to Gamer-Training Houses; China Lifts Ban on Foreign Game Consoles; Sales on New Release "Call Of Duty: Ghosts."

Netflix on a Roll

CNBC (with Reuters) announced in October 2013 that Netflix' third quarter (Q3) earnings had quadrupled to $31.8 million, from their Q3 in 2012. Netflix says it gained more subscribers than expected at home and abroad, helped by original series like "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards." Netflix is the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 in all of 2013, and expects to end the year with around 33 million subscribers.

Also in October 2013, Business Insider (through Yahoo!Finance) reported that the Chief Content Officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, was announcing some bold plans while speaking at a Film Independent event. Not only is Netflix happy to be creating its own TV shows and movies, but Sarandos laid out some disruptive plans for Hollywood movies in general. "Why not premiere movies on Netflix, the same day they're opening in theaters?" he asked. (While he was following the new TV trend of offering viewers content-on-demand, it's doubtful Hollywood studios would even try and broach this subject with movie theater owners.)

New Tech Race: Ultra High-def 4K—and Even up to 8K

In October 2013, TechRadar announced that the momentum behind Ultra HD 4K continues to build. HD 4K is already the next big thing in display tech, and now it's headed to living room TVs, with new screens that can deliver an 8 megapixel image. It also reported that almost all major Hollywood movies and TV shows are now being filmed in 4K—or even 5K. And Japan is already working with Super High-Vision—or an 8K format with 32 megapixels.

Forbes, in November 2013 discussed Netflix's recent announcement of testing smartphone video in Ultra High-Def 4K, which is usually reserved for television. Even Samsung has announced it wants to increase smartphone screen resolution to 4K, and Huawei is investing $600 million in 5K mobile for a 2020 launch. The problem is that the Internet is already stressed at peak hours, and massive delivery of 4K video would require a compromise like serious compression. So another decade-long technology race has already started.

Green Tech Sickness?

Everyone assumed that "going green" would be healthier for us, but a town in Massachusetts has discovered otherwise. ABC News reports that after Cape Cod Town erected three wind turbines, people started suffering headaches, ringing in their ears, insomnia, heart palpitations and dizziness that caused falls.

"Wind Turbine Syndrome" is being blamed, although the diagnosis is not recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People have had to move and lawsuits are being filed, with case studies suggesting that people living within 1.25 miles of these "spinning giants" do report getting sick. "It acts like a drum and pounds on the house," reports an affected resident. But others have no reaction, and the American Wind Energy Association and Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection and Public Health have rejected the town's ill health claims.

In September 2013, Stuff.TV ran a story (through Huffingtonpost) on how iOS 7 design is giving some people motion sickness. Some iPhone and iPad owners are reporting motion sickness and vertigo after downloading the new operating system. The iOS redesign incorporates rapid animations into basic software features, and the screen zooms in and out when switching between applications and the folders that hold them.

Apple didn't respond to a request for a comment. But Stuff.TV suggests that affected iOS7 users go to "Settings," then "General" and then "Accessibility." Find "Reduce Motion" and turn it On. App developer James Thomson, creator of calculator app PCalc, is already working on a function that disables the iOS7 animation. I couldn't find anything specific online about this new function. But Thomson has just released a new PCalc3 for iOS7, with a new "Samurai Night" feature that darkens the screen background. Hmmmm...

Netflix on a Roll

CNBC (with Reuters) announced in October 2013 that Netflix' third quarter (Q3) earnings had quadrupled to $31.8 million, from their Q3 in 2012. Netflix says it gained more subscribers than expected at home and abroad, helped by original series like "Orange is the New Black" and "House of Cards." Netflix is the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 in all of 2013, and expects to end the year with around 33 million subscribers.

Also in October 2013, Business Insider (through Yahoo!Finance) reported that the Chief Content Officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, was announcing some bold plans while speaking at a Film Independent event. Not only is Netflix happy to be creating its own TV shows and movies, but Sarandos laid out some disruptive plans for Hollywood movies in general. "Why not premiere movies on Netflix, the same day they're opening in theaters?" he asked. (While he was following the new TV trend of offering viewers content-on-demand, it's doubtful Hollywood studios would even try and broach this subject with movie theater owners.)

More High Tech for the Disabled

In September 2013, the Associated Press (through Silicon Valley) reported on innovations from beeping-baseballs to bases that buzz, for limited-sight folks who want to enjoy playing baseball. The National Beep Baseball Association was founded in 1975, and now has nationwide teams that compete annually in a World Series. Strangely, players are required to wear blindfolds to ensure fairness, since all the players have varying degrees of sight-impairment. Only the pitcher and catcher have normal sight, and play on the same team as the batters. Plus there is no second base. Cheering is not permitted until the play is over, so the players can "hear" the buzzing bases they are running toward.

NextBigFuture reported in October 2013 that Google Glass is making life-changing differences for the disabled. Researchers are working to improve the lives of those with compromised mobility, vision and hearing. Some are even working with people afflicted with autism, by using facial-recognition GG software to help the autistic identify the emotions of others. With speech recognition software getting better, a deaf person could soon hold a conversation by reading a real-time transcript of the other speaker in Glass's prism. Or a person with limited vision could get walking directions from Glass through its bone-conducting speaker housed in the right temple.

Romantic Relationships in the Internet Age

In October 2013, the Seattle Times reported that a recent Pew study finds that online dating is growing in popularity—despite most daters reporting negative experiences. While online dating is successfully shedding its original image of "only for the desperate," more than half the online daters say that someone else "seriously misrepresented themselves" in an online dating profile. More than a quarter of the respondents have felt uncomfortable or harassed by someone who contacted them for a date. Yet nearly 46% said they are using online dating to find a long-term relationship, and that 29% of them know someone who has been in a long-term relationship or married someone they met online.

On Newser in October 2013, software engineer David Auerbach recommended treating your marriage like software code. He suggests you "beta-test" a potential marriage (he and his wife dated for 10 years before marrying), and be aware that "bugs hibernate, but never go away on their own." So take the time to talk about finances and chores, as well as that obnoxious friend. And understand that a marriage built on love alone "is about as stable as Windows 3.0."

Banks Upgrading Their ATMs

I've written before how banking needs to improve and innovate, as more online retailers, from Amazon to eBay, are setting up their own payment functions. So Silicon Valley (from the Raleigh News and Observer) reported in November 2013 that banks have launched into mass upgrades, triggered by next-gen ATMs. New "smart ATMs" can do more than just dispense cash, such as transfer funds between accounts, and issue receipts featuring an image of the check you've just deposited.

They can also accept deposits of up to 50 checks at once, which will benefit small businesses. And these "smart ATMs" can even dispense cash in $1 and $5 bills—instead of the standard $20. Wells Fargo has already revamped the user interface on all 12,000 of its ATMs. While Bank of America is going in a different direction with "video ATMs." These enable customers to interact with a video image of a teller at another location, and can handle virtually every transaction that an in-person teller can, including dispensing coins. Bank of America has already installed these "video ATMs" in Boston and Atlanta, and is slowly adding them in other cities.

Can Helium Hard Drives and Hybrids Save the HDD Market?

In February 2013, IHS predicted that the hard disk drive (HDD) market was set for a double-digit (12%) decline in 2013, mainly due to the upswing in sales of tablets and smartphones. But hard drives won't disappear anytime soon, since they are the most inexpensive storage solution for businesses dealing with Big Data and cloud storage, and are still cheaper than solid state drives (SSD). Optical disc drives are also expected to experience slowing sales, due to a shift by consumers to more video streaming and downloads than buying discs.

IHS mentioned one bright spot this year for HDD, and that is Western Digital's anticipated "helium hard drives." FoxNews announced this new HDD in November 2013, after Western Digital unveiled its 6 terabyte hard disk called the Ultrastar He6, that can pack seven platters of data in the space usually filled by five. Since helium flows better than air, there is less friction with lower vibrations, which translates to greater storage density and lower power consumption.

MIT's Technology Review also ran an article in November 2013 about these high-capacity, energy-efficient helium-filled hard drives. The hard-drive industry has been working with helium since the 1970s, but no one could make it work since helium has a tendency to leak—which stops the hard-drive. But Western Digital/HGST has apparently overcome the barriers and is producing helium-filled hard drives guaranteed to last 5 years. It is working now to fulfill contracts for everyone from CERN, the European physics institute, to computer maker Hewlett-Packard.

Hybrid SSHD drives made an appearance at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show last January. Western Digital and Seagate have released SSHD hybrid hard drives this year, among others. Although reviewers still favor the faster (and more expensive) SSD, a reviewer for GHacks suggests that users with notebooks that only have room for one hard drive would benefit from switching from an HDD to an SSHD.

By July 2013, Seagate had released its new Enterprise Turbo Solid State Hybrid Drive (SSHD), that is available in capacities up to 600GB, and a reviewer at StorageReview was duly impressed. Seagate and IBM have also built a hybrid Enterprise drive platform with a 10K RPM version of the drive that is available for IBM System X servers.

Public Cyber-Crime: Ransomware to Charge-Back Scams

In November 2013, a security blogger reported the latest on CryptoLocker's ransomware attacks. This malware encrypts all the most important files on a victim's PC (documents to entertainment files), then demands a ransom paid through Bitcoin or MoneyPak, before unlocking the files. A countdown clock is installed on the victim's desktop that ticks backward from 72 hours—although the ransomers have recently expanded the timeframe demand.

The Verge also reported in November 2013 that a Kickstarter scammer has been targeting projects with fraudulent pledges. The "chargeback scam" was to make malicious pledges on over 100 different campaigns, wait for the rewards to ship out, then dispute the credit card charge—so the scammer gets both the reward and their money back. For people with the usual small Kickstarter projects, losing up to $1,000 from a malicious pledge puts them back at square one. But Kickstarter reports they have identified the scammer posting as "Encik Farhan" and shut down his account.

Home-based Entrepreneurs Making Money Through Online Companies

More and more, ordinary citizens are developing at least fun part-time careers by selling products and posting videos online, and their how-to articles are beginning to pop up everywhere. eHow describes how it works for posting videos on YouTube, in that YouTube pays you every time someone clicks on an ad associated with your video. You make money by aiming for as many views and ad-clicks as possible, and can also link to your existing AdSense account. Continually putting up fresh videos is necessary to gain an audience, and promoting your videos on social media and content-sharing sites are also important for success.

Addicted2Success also ran a March 2013 article on how to make money using YouTube. You can start with a how-to tutorial or exercise video, and then branch out with videos selling your related products. Some people with expertise can make tutorials for products they have no financial stake in, but the most money is made by promoting affiliate products. Others create video series around a theme, music videos around original music, or videos from their radio programs. You also make money by selling links in your video description, and from video rentals.

Squidoo ran a January 2011 article (updated in November 2013) on what products sell best on Amazon or eBay. The first tip is classic: narrow your selling to a niche of products you love and are most knowledgeable about. eBay is also your best bet if you sell "vintage items," although Amazon is the place to go if you want to sell older books or DVDs.

Amazon started out selling books and has a massive built-in reader audience, plus you can list your for-sale books and DVDs for free. You can also make money by producing your own YouTube videos about your selling experiences and offering tips. In the Comments section, mention is made of selling on Etsy and Rubylane, that may have better profits and service than eBay. Multiple Sellers also mention Amazon's bad Customer Service and unexplained Suspensions, while eBay is criticized for constant changes. Scroll down the page for free apps for eBay and Amazon, sample products and more insightful Comments.

Lawsuits Galore Electronic Arts and Sports Video Games

Forbes reported in July 2013 that Electronic Arts has been ordered to pay the original "Madden Football" programmer $11 Million in damages. Robin Antonick programmed the original "Madden Football" for MS-DOS, Apple and Commodore 64 back in 1988. His contract with EA said that he would be paid for any games he developed, as well as any "derivative works" that followed. EA has produced many Madden games since then without compensating Antonick, who sued in 2011 for the games EA produced in 1990-1996 that most closely resembled his original work—and won.

In November 2013, High-Def Digest reported that Electronic Arts has just announced a $40 million settlement with Collegiate Licensing Co. in a class-action lawsuit by ex-student athletes. But now the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) has filed suit against both EA Games and CLC, accusing its former partners of breaching contractual obligations with the proposed settlement. Electronic Arts has already announced that it will not publish any college football video games next year (2014).

Gamer News: Troll Enforcement to Gamer-Training Houses

In August 2012, Forbes announced that Microsoft was recruiting players to hunt Xbox trolls. This is apparently in answer to the common complaint of online gaming, that "toxic players" make the experience miserable for others. Microsoft has created several online programs to address the problem. "Enforcement United" lets Xbox players sign up to "serve justice" to such toxic players. (To start, Xbox gamers online will weigh in on the appropriateness of other players' possibly offensive Gamertags.) And the second program for players is "Xbox Community Level," where Xbox players can level-up and earn rewards by being positive members of the Xbox Live collective.

The New York Times reported in September 2013 that pro-circuit video gaming has been getting closer to acceptance as an e-sport. In response, "gaming houses" have been popping up around the country, like the Lair, which is such a game-crib on an island east of San Francisco. Looking more like a shared-bathroom dormitory, bristling with equipment and cables snaking across the floor, the Lair is where hard-core gamers play video games for twelve-hour stretches to hone their skills for pro competition. To pay the expenses, the Lair team produces advertising videos for companies like Intel and eBay, to promote products to the Lair's core of young, wealthy fans.

China Lifts Ban on Foreign Game Consoles

In July 2013, Forbes reported that China was getting ready to end their 13 year ban on the sale of video game consoles. This is in line with recently announced Chinese reforms (ending the one-child only mandate, and ending re-education prison camps), in order to "make the Chinese economy more competitive internationally."

But don't expect millions in Chinese sales for PS4 and Xbox One, since China will only allow game consoles manufactured in Shanghai. However, that shouldn't apply to software. Investopedia announced in September 2013, that Microsoft and Polygon are already developing a new game and "streaming entertainment" device for the Chinese market.

And in October 2013, it was announced that the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group was buying a 20% equity stake in video game company Red 5 Studios, for about $24 million.

Sales on New Release "Call Of Duty: Ghosts"

When this highly-anticipated first-person-shooter combat game sequel was released on November 6, Activision Blizzard reported $1 billion in global sales on the first day. Yahoo!Movies advised that this still isn't a first-day sales record, since that $1 billion just represents copies shipped to retailers—not actual point-of-purchase sales. The game was set as the "launch title" for both the PlayStation4 and Xbox One game consoles released later in November.

By November 9th, VGChartz was listing "Call of Duty: Ghosts" in the first and second Global Top Seller game slots for both the older XBox360 and PS3. U.S. reviews for the new game were tepid, however, with TrustedReviews saying the graphics were spectacular with some good new multiplayer features, but that it doesn't achieve the promised next-gen feel of guerrilla warfare. Amazon (who sells the $60 game) showed that it was rated 2.5 stars (out of 5 stars) by 342 customers. It was also ranked #5 on Amazon's Best Seller Video Games List, behind Payday2, (ranked #2) and the new-launch gaming consoles (at #1).

Marilyn is a freelance writer and humorist, with a special interest (besides computers and technology) in Science Fiction. Besides short stories published in various magazines, she also has some new e-books available on Amazon Kindle: Hunting Monster Aliens is an on-going series of novellas, about a wise-cracking team of ghost investigators who occasionally turn into alien-monster hunters. Culture Crash! A California Yankee Transplanted to Texas is a collection of humor essays chronicling her adventures in her new home-state.

Twelve months (July 2012 through June 2013) of Marilyn's Little Known High Tech series has been compiled into an almanac (with a complete index) available exclusively at Amazon. If you want a quick reference for the obscure or unusual in computers and the Internet over the last year, then check it out.

ComputorEdge E-Books has converted many of Marilyn's computer humor columns into four e-books. Now available in a four-book Kindle bundle from Amazon.com The Best Computer and Internet Humor, Anecdotes, and Jokes Found on the Web. Marilyn's collection of the funniest stories about our computing machines and how we use them at home, the office, and in cyber space. Save 25% off the individual book price!

Windows Tips and Tricks: DiskMon for Drive Activity

“A Utility That Adds the Disk Activity Light to Your System Tray”
by Jack Dunning

This little tool may not be the most needed utility unless you don't have (and want) a drive activity light.

There are two primary reasons that the average Windows users may want to use DiskMon (Disk Monitor) from Microsoft's Sysinternals. The first is to see if one of the hard drives is having problems. The second is to add a disk activity light to the System Tray.

DiskMon opens a window which displays all the disk activity in real time (see Figure 1). In fact the activity flies by so fast that it's impossible to make much sense of it while watching. However, as long as it is set to Capture Events, it is recording all the activity for later review.

Figure 1. A log of the disk activity flashes by in DiskMon when Capture Events is on.

If I suspected that a hard drive was going bad, I could load DiskMon to see what it has to say about it. My guess is that it might pause on bad sectors encountered. There doesn't seem to be much helpful information for the average computer user other than the fact that reads and writes are occurring.

If you happen to have a computer with no hard drive activity light or located your computer case out of sight (under your desk), DiskMon can be used as a drive activity light. All you need to do is click Minimize to Tray Disk Light in the Options menu (see Figure 2) and an icon will appear in the Systems Tray (see Figure 3).

Figure 2. Select Minimize to Tray Disk Light in the Options menu to put a disk activity light in the System Tray.

If you want the System Tray icon to load every time you logon, then place a shortcut in your Startup folder (Run => shell:startup) pointed to DiskMon. Then edit the shortcut (right-click => Properties) and add /l (slash plus lowercase L) to the end of the Target/program path. On some systems you may need to place the original path in quotes before adding the /l:

"C:\Sysinternals Tools\Diskmon.exe" /l

Figure 3. System Tray disk activity light.

When there is a read, the light turns green. Red is for a write. Gray shows when the drive is idle.

*                    *                    *

ComputorEdge is offering free my e-book packed with even more free software recommendations, Jack's Favorite Free Windows Programs, at the ComputorEdge E-Books Web site.

The e-book is available in EPUB format for iPad, NOOK, Android, and PC, or MOBI for Amazon Kindle and Kindle apps. While you will need to a enter name and address to get the download, you can always use fake information. (The e-mail address must be real or you'll never get the download information. But, we won't use your e-mail address to Spam you.)

You don't need to provide a credit card to get the free e-book—unless you decide to buy other e-books. Just select "Print and Call" at checkout, but you don't need to call. We'll activate your order and send a download e-mail once we see the order. Give it a little time since occasionally we will be out of the virtual office.

If you do buy any other e-books and use a credit card, you will immediately receive an automatically generated e-mail with download instructions and the link. Tell a friend. We could run out—except for the fact that it's an e-book. This is a limited time offer, although we don't know how limited.

While you're there, peruse our other books. We have an incredible deal on a two-book bundle of Jim Whiting's ComputorEdge cartoons.

Jack is the publisher of ComputorEdge Magazine. He's been with the magazine since first issue on May 16, 1983. Back then, it was called The Byte Buyer. His Web site is www.computoredge.com. He can be reached at ceeditor@computoredge.com. Jack is now in the process of updating and compiling his hundreds of articles and columns into e-books. Currently available:

Hidden Windows Tools for Protecting, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Computers.

Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Digging Deeper Into AutoHotkey.

Our second compilation of stupid ComputorEdge cartoons from 2011 and 2012 is now available at Amazon! That Does Not Compute, Too! ComputorEdge Cartoons, Volume II: "Do You Like Windows 8 or Would You Prefer an Apple?"

Special Free Offer at ComputorEdge E-Books! Jack's Favorite Free Windows Programs: What They Are, What They Do, and How to Get Started!.

Misunderstanding Windows 8: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Windows 8 (Seventh Edition)!

Windows 7 Secrets Four-in-One E-Book Bundle,

Getting Started with Windows 7: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Using Windows 7,

Sticking with Windows XP—or Not? Why You Should or Why You Should Not Upgrade to Windows 7,

and That Does Not Compute!, brilliantly drawn cartoons by Jim Whiting for really stupid gags by Jack about computers and the people who use them.

Building a Recipe Book with AutoHotkey, Part II

“Loading the RecipeTree from a Data File”
by Jack Dunning

Data file structure is one of the most important decision points when designing scripts. Get it wrong and the headaches will be endless.

If you're not yet into AutoHotkey, the material in this column may seem pretty esoteric. However, there are thousands of simple things that you can do on your Windows computer with AutoHotkey which will make your life so much better—and they're easy to do. For a quick look, check out this page: Introduction to AutoHotkey: A Review and Guide for Beginners.

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Last time the outline of a recipe book app was set up using the AutoHotkey TreeView GUI command. The structure was hardcoded into the script, but that was only to check out the feasibility of the concept. Eventually the data that constructs RecipeTree must come from a file that can be read, edited, and saved again. The design of data files is one of the most critical steps in any programming process. Get it right and the implementation of the app is relatively simple and easy to expand in the future. Get it wrong and you might find that not only is it difficult to make the software work, but the solutions become more and more convoluted as time goes on—often resulting in the need to start all over. (Does any of that sound familiar?) It is worthwhile to explore various options in data file design before proceeding too far down the line. The time spent up front figuring out good design will save even more time down the line.

Choosing Data File Structure

Previously I briefly discussed the possibility of using an INI file to hold the data since AutoHotkey has many file handling functions built into the INI commands. This would work for a simple example, but the limitations of INI files would prove impractical over the long run and would certainly limit the capabilities of the RecipeTree app. In addition, since INI files are not naturally read with loops, the structure of INI files would necessitate tracking the number of recipes and the number of ingredients for each recipe.

INI files are great for storing program setup information and small bits of data without any natural order from record to record. They are ideally used in situations with ad hoc information which is often unrelated. I discarded the approach—even for early testing—since most of the code written would later be dumped. I've opted to use the CSV (Comma Separated Values) data file format.

Comma Separated Values (CSV) File

Just like INI files, CSV files are written in plain text and can be readily edited with Notepad or any other text editor. They are delimited with a comma between each data field and a carriage return at the end of each record (set of data items). Normally, each data item is enclosed in double quotes, but numbers may appear without quotes. This makes it fairly easy for me to construct a data file with Notepad for further testing of the RecipeTree app.

Another advantage to CSV files is that the size of the fields is not limited to a set amount of space. When reading a CSV file, a script is only concerned with the location of the quotes and commas, not the length of the data itself. That means the text for the branch names in the TreeView control and the steps and instructions in the Edit control field can vary in length with little concern for the data file structure.

There are four items that I need to know for each branch of the tree: the recipe id, the ingredient id in that recipe, the text name of the branch (name of the recipe or ingredient), and the text (steps and instructions) associated with that branch for the Edit control. Using the same coding as last week, the first data field is a recipe code; the second data field is an ingredient code; the third is the name of the recipe or ingredient to appear in the branch name; and the fourth is a text description or instructions associated with that branch (see Figure 1). If the record is for the top level (recipe), then the ingredient field is marked with a zero (0).

It's important to remember that this file structure is not set in stone. During the process of developing this script I may find that I either need to save more data or I have added unnecessary data fields. For example, I could have combined the first two data items (recipe level and ingredient level) as they appeared in the hard coded script from last time, but then I would need to parse the data into the two levels every time I used the file. By using two fields which designate first the recipe then the ingredient, I will hopefully be eliminating the extra code.

Figure 1. The RecipeTree.csv file contains four items of data in each record (row or line): 1) recipe level, 2) ingredient level, 3) level name, and 4) description, steps, or instructions.

The CSV type of file is natural for reading data in a loop with the AutoHotkey Loop, Read command and the Loop, Parse command. As Loop, Read is used to run through the file line by line, Loop, Parse is used to extract the data and add branches to the TreeView. (Another advantage to using a CSV data file is that AutoHotkey Loop, Parse has a CSV option which makes extracting data easy.) Once in the TreeView editing, deletions and changes can be made which will later be saved in the same file using otherTreeView functions to reverse the process. This time we are only concentrating on what's needed to read the file and set up the TreeView.

If you look through the data, you'll note that the recipe branch (second data item is "0") always appears before any ingredient branches for that recipe. This is necessary since the recipe branch must exist before any ingredients can be added. However, all of the ingredient branches can appear anywhere in the data file as long as it is after the recipe data record. Regardless of the codes given to the ingredient branches they will appear in the tree in the same order as their location in the file.

Reading the RecipeTree.csv File to Build a TreeView

To emulate what appeared in hardcode last week the set of TV_ADD() function lines is replaced with the following:

Loop, Read, RecipeTree.csv

{

Loop, Parse, A_LoopReadLine , CSV

{

RowData%A_Index% := A_LoopField

}

If RowData2 = 0

{

RecipeID := TV_Add(RowData3)

%RowData1% := RecipeID

%RecipeID% := RowData1

RowText := RecipeID . "text"

%RowText% := RowData4

}

Else

{

Ingredient := RowData1 . RowData2

IngredientID := TV_Add(RowData3, %Rowdata1%)

%IngredientID% := Ingredient

RowText := IngredientID . "text"

%RowText% := RowData4

}

}

This snippet of code for reading the data file RecipeTree.csv and creating the TreeView is composed of two loops. The first is the Loop, Read, RecipeTree.csv command which reads the file line by line. The second loop within the first is the Loop, Parse, A_LoopReadLine, CSV command which parses the line of the file stored in the variable A_LoopReadLine into its CSV data items.

The values extracted from A_LoopReadLine are stored in incremental variables with RowData%A_Index% := A_LoopField. The variable A_Index tracks how many times the Loop, Parse has incremented—starting with 1. Therefore, RowData1 equates with the recipe code, RowData2 is the ingredient code, RowData3 is the name of the branch (recipe or ingredient), and RowData4 is the text description, steps, or set of instructions associated with the branch (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. When the data shown in Figure 1 is read by the AutoHotkey RecipeTree.ahk script, this GUI window is created. When a branch in the TreeView is clicked data is displayed in the right-hand edit field.

Since there are only two branch levels involved, the recipe level can be designated by using a zero ("0") for the ingredient code (RowData2). If I were adding a third level (sub-ingredients), then I would add a new data item for that level. The recipe level would use a zero as both the ingredient code and sub-ingredient code. The ingredient level would use a zero as the sub-ingredient code. This allows for quick recognition of the appropriate branch level.

In the IF conditional above (If RowData2 = 0), a recipe level branch is added when RowData2 is zero. Otherwise (Else) an ingredient level branch is added.

Tricks with Variables

This next part can get a little confusing—even for me. I'm not sure how much of this will be required in the long run, but for now I'm covering my bases—and it works.

Last week I demonstrated how to create reciprocal variables in AutoHotkey. Reciprocal variables each contain the name of the other variable. For example, the VariableA = "VariableB" and VariableB = "VariableA", thus if %VariableA% is evaluated in an expression it returns the value of VariableB and if %VariableB% is evaluated in an expression it returns the value of VariableA. This is a method for linking two variables together on the fly.

In the case of the TreeView, the temporary ItemID is linked with the recipe and/or ingredient associated with a specific branch in the tree (e.g. "R1","C1"). The ItemID is assigned at the time the TV_ADD() function is used in the script to add a branch and a new random ItemID is created every time the function is used. Although create on the fly when loading the data, the ItemID is the primary way for AutoHotkey to identify any branch and must be saved and linked to the data for future use. It's the only way to knowing which ItemID has been assigned to a recipe branch. Only the value of RowData1 tells the script where to place the ingredient branch. Thus, the line RecipeID := TV_Add(RowData3) creates the ItemID and saves it in RecipeID. Then the ItemID (RecipeID) is saved in the value of RowData1 (%RowData1% := RecipeID or R1 := RecipeID for the first recipe).

However, we need to know the name of the variable that the holds the ItemID so we save that name by making the ItemID a variable ( %RecipeID% := RowData1 or, if ItemID happens to be "7654322", 7654322 := "R1"). Now the value of R1 (or %RowData1% when adding records from the CSV file) will be the ItemID and the value of the ItemID variable (7654322 in this example) will be "R1" or the original %RecipeID%. This can be recalled by using the TV_GetSelection() function which returns the ItemID and evaluating it (%ItemID% = "R1" in this example).

Suffice it to say A = "B" and B = "A" and when A is evaluated in an expression (%A%) we get the value of B. When B is evaluated in an expression (%B%) we get the value of A. As confusing as it may be, in practice this reciprocal variable technique makes it possible to tie temporary variables (ItemID) to the variable values in the data file.

Displaying Data Associated with a Branch of the Tree

Also added to the snippet of code are lines which create a text variable for display in the right-hand Edit control field:

RowText := RecipeID . "text"

%RowText% := RowData4

These lines save the text from the data file to a variable easier reconstructed from the ItemID with the word "text" concatenated. The Edit control pane is loaded with any click of the mouse on the associated branch with the following code:

MyTreeView:

TV_GetText(TreeText, TV_GetSelection())

Unit := TV_GetSelection()

Text := TV_GetSelection() . "text"

GuiControl, , MyEdit, % TreeText . "  `n" . TV_GetSelection()

. "`nHow Many  " . TV_GetCount() . "`nParent ID  " .  TV_GetParent(TV_GetSelection())

.  "  `n" . %Unit% .  "  `n" . %Text%

Return

Note how TV_GetSelection() is used to construct the variables for display. The value of Text originally obtained from the CSV data file is the last line shown in the right-side of Figure 2.

Editing the TreeView Branches

By adding the -ReadOnly option to the Gui, Add, TreeView control statement, each branch of the tree becomes editable by slowly clicking on the branch.

Gui, Add, TreeView, vMyTreeView gMyTreeView h400 AltSubmit -ReadOnly

This option is required for later editing of the recipe and ingredient names.

Once the data in loaded, the RecipeTree windows becomes both the editing program and the reading program. After any additions or changes are made, the entire book will be saved in a new CSV data file by the same name. All the recipes and ingredients will be saved to the data in the order they appear in RecipeTree and recipe codes and ingredient codes will be reassigned. I envision the recipes being in alphabetical order and the ingredients in cooking step order. While I can see that putting the recipes in alphabetical order should be relatively easy. Moving the ingredient branches to the proper cooking stop order could be a little more problematic.

We still have a few steps to cover. Next week (hopefully) we will start editing and saving the changes in the tree.

I've posted the current versions of the RecipeTree 1.2.ahk script and the RecipeTree.csv data file ComputorEdge at AutoHotkey Dropbox download Web site if you care to play with them.

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The new second edition with more chapters and an index to the AutoHotkey commands found in the book is available in e-book format from Amazon (and other formats—EPUB and PDF— at the ComputorEdgeBooks Web site linked below). Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 offers a gentle approach to learning AutoHotkey.

Building Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8, AutoHotkey is the most powerful, flexible, free Windows utility software available. Anyone can instantly add more of the functions that they want in all of their Windows programs, whether installed on their computer or while working on the Web. AutoHotkey has a universality not found in any other Windows utility—free or paid.

Based upon the series of articles in ComputorEdge, Jack takes you through his learning experience as he explores writing simple AutoHotkey scripts for adding repetitive text in any program or on the Web, running programs with special hotkeys or gadgets, manipulating the size and screen location of windows, making any window always-on-top, copying and moving files, and much more. Each chapter builds on the previous chapters.

For an EPUB (iPad, NOOK, etc.) version of A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey click here!

For a PDF version for printing on letter size paper for inclusion in a standard notebook of A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey click here!

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Jack's latest AutoHotkey book which is comprised of updated, reorganized and indexed columns from ComputorEdge is now available at Amazon for Kindle hardware (or free software) users. Since the columns were not all written in a linear fashion, the book has been reorganized and broken up into parts by topic. The book is not for the complete beginner since it builds on the information in A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey. However, if a person is reasonably computer literate, they could go directly to this book for ideas and techniques without the first book.

For an EPUB (iPad, NOOK, etc.) version of Digging Deeper into AutoHotkey click here!

For a PDF version for printing on letter size paper for inclusion in a standard notebook of Digging Deeper into AutoHotkey click here!

Jack is the publisher of ComputorEdge Magazine. He's been with the magazine since first issue on May 16, 1983. Back then, it was called The Byte Buyer. His Web site is www.computoredge.com. He can be reached at ceeditor@computoredge.com. Jack is now in the process of updating and compiling his hundreds of articles and columns into e-books. Currently available:

Hidden Windows Tools for Protecting, Problem Solving and Troubleshooting Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Computers.

Jack's A Beginner's Guide to AutoHotkey, Absolutely the Best Free Windows Utility Software Ever!: Create Power Tools for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 and Digging Deeper Into AutoHotkey.

Our second compilation of stupid ComputorEdge cartoons from 2011 and 2012 is now available at Amazon! That Does Not Compute, Too! ComputorEdge Cartoons, Volume II: "Do You Like Windows 8 or Would You Prefer an Apple?"

Special Free Offer at ComputorEdge E-Books! Jack's Favorite Free Windows Programs: What They Are, What They Do, and How to Get Started!.

Misunderstanding Windows 8: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Windows 8 (Seventh Edition)!

Windows 7 Secrets Four-in-One E-Book Bundle,

Getting Started with Windows 7: An Introduction, Orientation, and How-to for Using Windows 7,

Sticking with Windows XP—or Not? Why You Should or Why You Should Not Upgrade to Windows 7,

and That Does Not Compute!, brilliantly drawn cartoons by Jim Whiting for really stupid gags by Jack about computers and the people who use them.

Wally Wang's Apple Farm

“The Convoluted Logic of Advertising and Marketing”
by Wally Wang

The Convoluted Logic of Advertising and Marketing; Dead Apple Technology; Tracking Your Heart Rate with an iPhone; Sharing from within the Finder.

Like Microsoft, Nokia recently released an anti-iPad ad that shows the major advantage of the Nokia tablet over the iPad, which is that it can use an external keyboard. While this may seem like an advantage, it makes little sense when you realize that the Nokia tablet keyboard is an optional accessory like the Surface tablet keyboards, and that you can easily buy a third-party external keyboard for an iPad. Given these facts, what's the real advantage of Nokia and Microsoft touting the availability of a keyboard that you need to pay extra for, especially when you could easily buy an external keyboard to use with an iPad if you wish?

Microsoft and Nokia act like only the Surface and Nokia tablets can work with a keyboard while the iPad cannot use an external keyboard, and that the keyboard is part of the Surface and Nokia tablet, which it is not. If your strongest marketing advantage is a non-existent advantage, why bother pointing this out except to mislead consumers into thinking the iPad can't use an external keyboard and that the keyboard comes with the Surface and Nokia tablet?

If you watch Microsoft's ad for their Surface tablet, they tout the advantages of a built-in kickstand to prop up the tablet along with the ability to run multiple accounts on the tablet, which the iPad can't do. At least those are two advantages that actually make sense. Whether those advantages are enough to sway you over the iPad's advantages is another story, but at least Microsoft offers a distinct advantage of the Surface tablets that can't be easily duplicated by the iPad.

When you study much advertising, you'll see that logic often takes a backseat to inflated claims and thinly disguised misinformation. Companies often believe that if you spend more money on marketing, you can make more sales. While true to a certain extent, marketing can only sell decent products. If you try to sell garbage, you can spend billions on marketing rotten banana peels as a fashion accessory, but you probably won't sell many of them.

This year alone, Samsung reportedly spent $14 billion on marketing. Yet Apple only spends a fraction of that amount (approximately $1 billion) on marketing while collecting the lion's share of the smartphone market's profits.

"Samsung's marketing is too much focused on projecting an image they aspire to: being innovative and ahead of the pack," said Oh Jung-suk, associate professor at the business school of Seoul National University. "They are failing to efficiently bridge the gap between the aspiration and how consumers actually respond to the campaign. It's got to be more aligned."

Just look at how many millions Microsoft threw away on their Jerry Seinfeld/Bill Gates ads, their Windows 7 launch party video campaign, their Microsoft Kin marketing campaign, and their dancing Surface tablet ads while getting little in return. The purpose of advertising is to sell products. If your advertising costs more than the profits you're making from that product, then your advertising isn't working. This simple fact seems to elude so many people, especially companies like Microsoft that keep writing blank checks to advertising agencies that are only too eager to cash them while providing no proof that their efforts are doing any good.

Too many companies would rather spend money on advertising as a substitute for creating a decent product in the first place. Rather than create products that solve a pressing need, companies often throw in as many technological features as possible into a product and hope that consumers will be overwhelmed into thinking more features equals a superior product. That's like trying to sell a battleship with wings and claim that it works as both a yacht and an airplane so you don't need to buy either one separately because a flying battleship offers the advantages of each without any compromises.

If people can't see the need to buy a flying battleship, then just pour millions into ads to mislead people into thinking a flying battleship has no drawbacks but only the advantages of each type of vehicle. If this type of thinking makes sense to you, then you can spend a lifetime spending money on mediocre products that fall short of expectations every time.

This constant misuse of advertising falls squarely on the responsibility of the CEO. If a company's leader has no vision for the future, then you can't expect him (or her) to develop any products that have much of a future either.

Microsoft's latest ads involve attacking Google's Chromebooks. Back in 2010, Steve Ballmer criticized Google for creating ChromeOS and Android. "I don't know if they can't make up their mind or what the problem is over there," Ballmer said. "The last time I checked you don't need two client operating systems."

So under Steve Ballmer's leadership, Microsoft created three client operating systems instead of two: Windows 8.1, Windows RT, and Windows Phone. How is having three different operating systems better than having two? For creating this mess, Steve Ballmer earns millions of dollars in compensation. Should any company really reward such convoluted thinking that leads into a dead end?

If advertising can't highlight a single, concrete advantage that a product offers, chances are good that the product may not live up to its marketing hype. Deceptive and misleading ads are meant to separate you from your money, so question all advertising with a critical eye.

In Microsoft's anti-Chromebook ad, they claim that Google tracks users through their search engine. Of course, Microsoft omits saying that their Bing search engine does the same thing. Microsoft also claims that a Chromebook isn't a real laptop unless it's running Windows and Microsoft Office, which means any laptop running OS X or Linux aren't real laptops by Microsoft's definition. When you have to resort to deliberate deception to promote your own products, that's when you know your own products don't have a compelling advantage to highlight on their own.

To help develop your skepticism towards any claim, read the book Think: Why You Should Question Everything by Guy P. Harrison. The author encourages everyone to think with the mind of a scientist in looking for proof and evidence before accepting any claim at face value. Skepticism can save you from buying pointless products that either don't work (cream that rubs away fat!) or products that could actually harm you.

"What matters is trying to be as closely aligned with truth and reality as you can be at all times," the author states.

The most important point the author makes in "Think" involves how the brain works and thinks. Basically the brain works not like a video recorder, but more like a filter that ignores irrelevant details while focusing on other details.

The author states a study where subjects were told to watch a video of people playing basketball and count how many times the players passed the ball back and forth. After the video, the researchers asked the subjects if they noticed anything unusual during the basketball game, but none of them did.

Later, the researchers showed the same video again, except this time the subjects could see that someone dressed in a gorilla suit walked out in the middle of the court, thumped its chest, and walked off. Yet not one person saw this because they were so focused on counting how many times the players passed the ball that they completely ignored the gorilla, even though the gorilla was right in front of them all the time.

Similar, but more serious than ignoring irrelevant details is "confirmation bias," where the brain only seeks out information that supports its beliefs but ignores information that contradicts those same beliefs. This is likely the thought process that led Blackberry down its path of failure. By refusing to accept the reality that the iPhone changed the smartphone market with its virtual keyboard, Blackberry clung to their belief that physical keyboards were the future.

You can read how one Blackberry user clung to physical keyboards after the iPhone arrived, but later switched to the iPhone and can't imagine why he would ever need to use a physical keyboard on a smartphone ever again. If people can change their minds about physical keyboards on smartphones, it seems likely they can also change their minds about physical keyboards on computers too.

As Guy P. Harrison says in his book Think, "Changing your mind is okay. It shows wisdom and maturity. Never wavering from a belief no matter what is a mistake."

In the technology world, you can see the failure of never wavering from a belief in Kodak, Blockbuster Video, Blackberry, and Nokia. As long as Microsoft refuses to waver from their belief in the importance of Windows, Microsoft Office, and physical keyboards, you can see the path that Microsoft could be heading down too.

Dead Apple Technology

One problem with Apple is that they're often quick to dump technology that seemed promising at one time, but then failed for some reason. One of Apple's biggest failures was Ping, their pointless social network that failed to get any attention because it targeted no specific need. With Facebook, Twitter, and numerous other social networks, there was little reason to use Ping.

A little bit more disturbing is the loss of iWeb. The initial idea behind iWeb was to create a Web page designing program that let you focus on creating the content and letting the program modify the appearance of your pages by choosing different themes based on cascading style sheets.

The idea behind iWeb was sound, but the technology was soon surpassed by content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, that offer far greater flexibility. If you're still interested in using an iWeb-like program, two alternatives are RapidWeaver and Sandvox. Both programs work like iWeb, which could be their downfall since WordPress is still easier and more versatile to use. Given a choice between RapidWeaver/Sandvox and WordPress, you'll be better off choosing WordPress most of the time.

WordPress offers far more third-party support and themes so you can customize your Web sites in far more ways than RapidWeaver or Sandvox can offer. Best of all, WordPress keeps growing and improving while RapidWeaver and Sandvox are stuck in the iWeb days and not likely to ever offer as many choices as WordPress.

The latest Apple technology casualty is Dashcode, a little known program for creating widgets, which appear on the Dashboard of OS X, which you can view by clicking the Dashboard icon on the Dock or pressing F12.

The Dashboard was originally meant to display simple utility programs on the screen in much the same manner as Sidekick, an MS-DOS utility program that displayed a notepad, calculator, and address book on the screen no matter what other program you might be running at the time. (Remember, this was a time when you could only run one MS-DOS program at a time.)

Dashboard never really caught on so with OS X Mavericks, Apple has killed their Dashcode program, which was designed to create Dashboard widgets. For most people, the loss of Dashcode is no big deal, but Dashcode was handy for creating widgets to insert in iBooks Author e-books. As a newer alternative, you can use Apple's free iAd Producer program to create iBooks Author widgets.

Figure 1. iAd Producer can create interactive widgets for iBooks Author.

As long as the technology looks promising, Apple continues supporting their products, but at a maddening timeframe that often leaves customers in the dark. The last time Apple updated their iWork office suite was in 2009. Recently they released an update, but this latest version lacks many features of the original iWork 2009 version. If you like the original iWork 2009 version, you can still use it. Just realize that Apple promises to add advanced features to the current version of iWork soon. Then again, that promise could mean next week, next month, or next year.

If you use any Apple software, watch out if Apple suddenly stops development. That's usually a clear sign that Apple has abandoned that technology, even if they never publicly admit it. When updates start getting scarce, it's time to abandon that Apple program.

Expect Dashboard to disappear completely in a future version of OS X. Although Apple took a long time to finally update iWork, expect more rapid improvements since iWork is crucial to promoting both OS X and iOS. Sometimes companies need to dump dead-end products and sometimes they need to overhaul them. In Apple's case, you can often spot their future by seeing which technologies they no longer seem to care about, and then you can abandon that technology before Apple does.

Tracking Your Heart Rate with an iPhone

One reason why the iPhone wiped out Blackberry and Nokia smartphones was because the iPhone acted more like a portable computer that could make phone calls. By adding more apps, you can make an iPhone perform a variety of interesting features. In comparison, previous smartphones acted more like mobile phones that offered a limited range of computer features but focused mostly on making phone calls.

One interesting iPhone app to monitor your health is Cardiio, which can measure your heart rate just by examining your face or fingertip using the iPhone's camera.

Figure 2. The Cardiio app uses the iPhone's camera to measure a person's heart rate.

Cardiio's developers claim that its technology is based on research conducted at the MIT Media Lab. Every time your heart beats, more blood rushes through the vessels in your face, causing them to expand. The increase in blood volume absorbs more light, resulting in a decrease in the amount of light reflected from your face. These tiny variations in light can be used to calculate your heart rate.

By measuring your heart rate before and after exercising, you can see the difference and track your results over time. With a simple app like Cardiio, you can turn your iPhone into a fitness tool.

Figure 3. Cardiio can chart your progress.

Of course, such an app could have been possible with traditional computers, but ordinary computers would be clumsier to use. The Cardiio app on the iPhone makes such tasks simple enough that anyone can do it with little extra work.

If you're interested in monitoring your health, you can use an app like Cardiio to turn your iPhone into a heart rate monitor. Who knows? Maybe an app like Cardiio could spot health problems ahead of time and potentially save your life.

*                    *                    *

When you open a Finder window, OS X Mavericks now gives you a Share icon that lets you share one or more files by e-mail, Messages, or AirDrop. Just click on the file (or files) you want to share, and then click the Share icon. A menu will drop down so you can choose the way you want to share that file.

Figure 4. Sharing from within the Finder.

In the early days, before Wally became an Internationally renowned comedian, computer book writer, and generally cool guy, Wally Wang used to hang around The Byte Buyer dangling participles with Jack Dunning and go to the gym to pump iron with Dan Gookin.

Wally is responsible for the following books:

Microsoft Office 2013 For Dummies

Beginning Programming for Dummies

Beginning Programming All-in-One Reference for Dummies

Breaking Into Acting for Dummies with Larry Garrison

Strategic Entrepreneurism with Jon and Gerald Fisher

How to Live with a Cat (When You Really Don't Want To)

The Secrets of the Wall Street Stock Traders

Mac Programming For Absolute Beginners

Republican Fairy Tales (Children's Stories the 1% Tell About the Rest of Us)

The Zen of Effortless Selling with Moe Abdou

The 15-Minute Movie Method

Erotophobia (A novel)

Math for the Zombie Apocalypse

In his spare time, Wally likes blogging about movies and writing screenplays at his site "The 15 Minute Movie Method," finding interesting news stories about cats at his site "Cat Daily News," giving advice to authors who want to self-publish e-books at his site "The Electronic Author," and providing the type of advice he wishes someone would have told him when he was much younger at his personal Web site. Wally can be reached at wally@computoredge.com.

Worldwide News & Product Reviews

“The latest in tech news and hot product reviews.”
by Charles Carr

How to Improve Family Bonding This Holiday Season; New PSA Helps Parents Make Informed Video Game Purchases for the Holidays; YouTube Poetry Competition; LG G2 Smartphone (AT&T).

How to Improve Family Bonding This Holiday Season (Hint: Does not Involve a Gaming Console or TV!)

The Parent Institute, considered a prime education source for family involvement information, has provided us with 31 alternatives to TV and video games to benefit parents and children:

31 Alternatives to TV and Video Games

Making the Switch. So you've decided to limit TV and computer time in your house. But how can you go about it? Here are a few simple ideas:

• Take the TV and the computer out of your child's bedroom. Children who do not have TVs and computers in their rooms spend nearly 40 minutes fewer each day watching TV or playing video games.

• Eat dinner as a family and keep the TV off during the meal. Children who regularly have dinner with their families spend a half hour less watching TV and playing video games each day.

• Preview TV shows and video games before allowing your child to watch and play unsupervised.

• Move the television set(s) to less prominent locations. TV is far less tempting when it is not easily accessible.

• Start small. Turn off the TV for 30 minutes each evening.

• Set limits. Fewer than half of all children say their parents set any limits on the amount of time they can spend watching TV and playing video games. You may decide that your children can watch no TV on school nights. Or you might give your children tickets, each good for 30 minutes of TV viewing or video games. Once the tickets are gone, the set is turned off.

• Post a schedule. Each week sit down with your child. Help him make a chart of his TV and computer time for the coming week.

• Make it a challenge. Record how many minutes your family spends watching TV this week. Then try to reduce that amount next week.

• Expect your child to complete homework before watching TV, surfing the net or playing video games.

• Make sure your video rental store requires parental approval before a child can rent a violently rated video game.

• Hide the remote control. If your kids can't find the clicker, they may read, play games, or get some exercise. (They're also more likely to plan their viewing than just mindlessly channel-surfing.)

• Think about times when you rely on TV. In some families, TV keeps kids busy while dinner is cooking. If you sometimes use TV as a babysitter, try doing some advance meal preparation instead. Or get your kids in the kitchen to help you cook.

• Be patient. If you can live through 20 minutes of whining, your children will find something else to do.

1. Play board games or card games together. (Go Fish®, Uno®, Checkers®, Scrabble®, Chess). Teach your child how to play solitaire (not on the computer). A card game of War can occupy children for an eternity.

2. Keep some play dough on hand. You can make your own with the recipe on this page. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and bring it out on a rainy day or at a time when your child wants to play alone.

3. Create an Idea Box. Help your child decorate a small tissue box. Brainstorm about ideas your child can do when she's bored. These should be things she can do by herself, with no help from you. Write them on small slips of colored paper and put them in the box. Then when your child is bored, or when you need a few minutes to finish a task, you can get out the Idea Box and have your child draw a slip. Here are some ideas to get you started: read a book, work on a puzzle, start writing a story, invent a secret code, write a sentence backwards (without looking in a mirror).

4. Give your child a magnet. Let her see where it will—and won't—stick. She'll learn that only iron and steel are attracted to magnets. But a magnetic force will pass through a piece of paper, glass, cloth, or pottery. See if your child can figure out how to make her own magnet by rubbing a piece of metal against the end of a permanent magnet twenty times, and always in the same direction.

5. Help your child create an indoor garden. Save small plastic containers. Let your child fill them with potting soil and plant herb seeds in them to make a window herb garden.

6. Phone Bag Fun. There comes a time when every parent has to take a phone call. That is usually the same moment that your child insists on talking to you (or starting a fight with his brother). One way to amuse your child while you're on the phone is to assemble a small box with activities your child can do alone. Here's a list to get you started:

• Crayons and a coloring book.

• A deck of cards.

• A yo-yo.

• Easy puzzles your child can do alone.

• Activities you have cut out from newspapers or downloaded from the Internet—word search, mazes, connect the dots.

7. Give your child a magnifying glass and let him see the world close up.

8. Design a new board game together. Draw a path of squares from "Start" to "Finish" on a poster board. Fill in some spaces with fun things to do—"draw a picture," "sing a song." Add some other silly things in other spaces—"make a funny face," "hop on one foot," or "wiggle your nose." Have your child create rules for the game. Roll the dice and have fun.

9. See who can fill in the most words in a crossword puzzle—or in the least amount of time.

10. Take turns hiding different items and challenging the other person to find them. Give the "finder" clues to let her know what to look for and where to start looking.

11. Have your child decorate and fill a "time capsule" box using pictures and objects that represent his life and interests this year. He might include a family picture, a drawing of a pet, or the name of a favorite book. Ask him how he wants to remember this year. Have him write a short essay about what is happening in the world. Now put the capsule away for safekeeping. In several years, it will be fun to look at it to remember the significance of the objects your child included.

12. Take a walk together. Ask your child to bring paper and a pencil to write down street names and landmarks. After you return, have your child make a map of your neighborhood.

13. Cut a long piece of rope and teach your child jump-rope rhymes. Here's one old standby:

A—my name is ALICE, my husband's name is AL, we live in ALABAMA and we bring back APPLES.

B—my name is BETTY, my husband's name is BEN, we live in BERMUDA and we bring back BUGS.

C—my name is…

14. Go to the park and let your child climb, swing, slide, teeter-totter or just run.

15. Challenge your child. Who can keep a hula hoop spinning the longest?

16. Design a family emblem or logo. Draw or paste together pictures of things your family likes to do.

17. Have a family sing-along time. Use instruments, or sing to a tape of old favorites. Or turn on your favorite music and dance together.

18. Make a puppet theater. Use an old appliance box to create your stage. Brown paper lunch bags or old socks make great puppets. Let children add faces, button eyes and yarn hair, along with any other decorations they like. (For more puppet ideas, visit the site Family Fun.

19. Make your own musical instruments. Here's how to make maracas: Put a handful or two of dried beans, rice, or popcorn kernels on a paper plate. Staple another paper plate securely on top of it. (Or use a single paper plate, folding it in half, adding the beans, then stapling the sides of the paper plate together.) Decorate the maracas with crayons, markers, or paint. You may want to staple long crepe paper streamers to the maracas. Instructions for making other musical instruments are at Enchanted Learning.

20. Make pasta pictures. Toss a handful of pasta spaghetti (for each child) into boiling water. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil to keep it from sticking together. Cook the pasta until it is soft, but not mushy, then drain and cool. Now give your child colored paper and the spaghetti. Let him shape the spaghetti into shapes, faces, flowers, or other designs. To keep a favorite picture, cover it with waxed paper and top with a heavy book so that it will dry flat. The pasta will stick even after it hardens.

21. Instead of watching cartoons, have your child make her own. To learn how to draw cartoon characters, visit Cooltoons.

22. Make your own papier-mâché. Tear several sheets of newspaper. Put them in a bowl and moisten them with water. In a plastic cup, dilute two parts of white glue with one part water. Layer strips of paper on a mold (try a plastic bowl, an inflated balloon, a paper towel roll, or a plastic egg), applying a small amount of the glue mixture with a paint brush. Let it dry and then decorate it with markers or paint. (Note: This can be messy.)

23. Involve everyone in making a family meal. Have your child look through cookbooks and select the menu based on the photos they see in the book that they like.

24. One night a month, eat food from a different country or culture. Locate the country on a map, and have your child read something about it. If you can find maps of the country, turn them into place mats by covering them with clear contact paper.

25. Pick one letter of the alphabet to focus on for dinner. Discuss foods that start with that letter with your child. Together plan a menu of foods that begin with that letter. For example, for the letter C, serve carrots and chicken for the main dish and chocolate cookies for dessert.

26. Once a week, bring a clipping of a news article to the dinner table. Discuss the event, its impact and what each family member thinks about it.

27. Pick a favorite book and make a dinner or snack based on the book such as an Alice in Wonderland tea party, a French dinner with Madeline, honey and bread with Winnie the Pooh and his friends, or a British meal with Harry Potter. Let your child help plan out the meal, and take turns reading from the book after eating!

28. Set aside some time each day to read aloud with your child. The Family Literacy Foundation has resources, including recommended books to read aloud.

29. Have your child choose a word out of the dictionary without telling anyone else what the word means. Ask everyone else in the family to write down what they think the mystery word means. Then share answers. Who comes closest to guessing the definition of the word?

30. Make and enforce the rule that all snacks have to be eaten in the kitchen. Then make sure you keep books, comics, and magazines handy in the kitchen. Your child will get a lot of reading done while he is snacking.

31. Have a household scavenger hunt. Include simple household items like a can of vegetables that start with the letter "B," something from the bathroom that has a "T" in its name and items from the kitchen with initials that spell "CAT." Set a time limit and see how many items on the list your child can find.

These ideas should get you started thinking about fun ways for your kids to spend time away from screen media. Talk with your children to think of other ideas. If you have concerns about specific effects of screen media on your child, check with your pediatrician.

New PSA Helps Parents Make Informed Video Game Purchases for the Holidays

Daniel M. Jacobs from the Entertainment Software Association writes:

There's a new PSA from the Entertainment Software Association designed to help parents make informed video game-purchasing decisions in many ways—on video game consoles, through social networks, aired in GameStop stores across the U.S., shared on video game company Web sites, and featured at professional sporting events, including NASCAR. With the holiday season around the corner and video games often at the top of kids' wish lists, I thought you'd be interested in helping to get the word out.

Find the PSA here.

YouTube Poetry Competition

The Western Folklife Center and its 30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering has announced the launch of a spoken word poetry competition, "Expressing the Rural West: Poetry of the Next Generation." In a bit of an ironic twist, the competition will take place on YouTube.com:

Poets between the ages of 18 and 35 are invited to submit videos which include an artist introduction and do not exceed four minutes in length. Submissions must be original compositions, content should have a rural focus and poems should be performed and not read. Poets must be currently living in one of the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

Poems will be judged by the public as well as by a committee of two professional poets and two staff members of the Western Folklife Center. There will be a winner of the public vote and a winner of the juried competition.

The winner of the public vote will receive two free 3-Day Deluxe Passes to the 30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and a free Gathering poster. The winner of the juried competition will be given a performance slot at the event and must be able to travel between January 29 and February 2, 2014. Travel and lodging will be paid by the Western Folklife Center.

Videos should be uploaded on the Expressing the Rural West: Poetry of the Next Generation competition YouTube channel.

Public judging will end on December 19 and contest judges will select a winner by December 21.

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering turns 30 years old in 2014, and the nation's greatest celebration of the American West, its people, culture and traditions, will turn its focus to the future of the region. From Jan. 27 to Feb. 1, 2014, in Elko, Nevada, the Gathering will present poetry, music, fine western gear, films, workshops, dances and discussions with a clear focus on encouraging the next generation and working together to ensure the sustainability of the occupational and artistic traditions of the rural West.

The theme of the 30th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is "Expressing the Rural West—Into the Future!" Through performances of poetry and music, thought-provoking films and fruitful discourse, artists and audiences of all ages will share their art and their opinions on meeting the challenges of rural life in the modern West. In particular, the next generation of cowboy artists will present their work and discuss their brand of ranch life—with one hand on the reins and the other on the cell phone.

More than 50 poets, musicians and musical groups from the U.S. and Canada will perform on seven stages at four different venues. The 30th Gathering line-up includes cowboy poets Baxter Black, Paul Zarzyski, Waddie Mitchell, Yvonne Hollenbeck, Joel Nelson, Doris Daley, Pat Richardson, Randy Rieman and many others. Music is as integral to the Gathering as poetry; the musical line-up includes Ian Tyson, Michael Martin Murphey, Riders In The Sky, Don Edwards, Dave Stamey, Jeffrey Broussard & the Creole Cowboys, Caleb Klauder Country Band, Martha Scanlan and more. For a full list of participating artists and much more information, visit www.westernfolklife.org.

The Western Folklife Center is dedicated to exploring, presenting and preserving the diverse and dynamic cultural heritage of the American West. We celebrate the wisdom, artistry and ingenuity of western folkways through exhibitions, educational programs, national radio and television programs, research and preservation projects, our Web site, and our premier event, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We nurture connections among rural and ranching cultures globally, exploring universal themes in working traditions and artistic expression, which we believe are vital links to the past, present and future of the American West.

LG G2 Smartphone (AT&T)

Product: LG G2

Web sites: www.lg.com and www.att.com

Price: $49.99 with two-year contract pricing requires new activation and qualifying monthly data and voice plan.

LG's G2 smartphone is really something to behold. At a time when lots of phones look the same, it's got some interesting things happening. For one, there's no switches, at least not where you expect them. The on/off and volume switches are right in the middle of the back, just a bit higher than center. It seems a little strange at first, but you get used to it. It helps a lot with people who take your phone from you to take a picture, movie, or to video chat who invariably push a side button and mess everything up. By the time you get things straightened out the aliens have already taken off leaving you with no evidence.

The buttons on the back also make for true one-hand operation. I've dropped my regular phone tons of times trying to juggle it to get to a button. Finally, the G2 has something called KnockOn that turns on the phone with a simple tap of the screen. Don't worry, it's pretty good at not turning on unless you really want it to turn on.

Also, the screen is pretty amazing. It's 5.2" with 423 pixels/inch resolution and a 16:9 cinema-like presentation. And it really goes from edge to edge making the picture seem impossibly large for a phone of its size. Even the back, menu, and home buttons are parts of the screen, allowing them to hide giving you more screen space when they're not needed.

And, to fill that screen, the G2 has a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. It's crazy-fast. Has no problems at all running 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean Plus).

The G2 has a crisp, fast 13 MP camera with optical image stabilization for full 1080p HD video recording.

Sound is incredible. Hi-Fi playback and HD multichannel. Something this small is not supposed to be able to sound this good.

LG has figured out a way to jam more battery into the G2's profile. The 3,000 mAh battery always gets me through an entire day (providing it's not 8 hours of Netflix or Angry Birds).

Very cool phone. Looks, build, power, screen. It's got it all. Definitely check out the LG G2 if you're in the market for an Android device.

Review contributed by Connor Riesslen

————————————

Technical Specifications (from LG)

Smart Phone

GSM, WCDMA, LTE*

Snapdragon™ 800 2.26 GHz Quad-Core

GSM 850/900/1800/1900, UMTS 850/1900/2100, LTE 850/1900/700/AWS*

GPRS Class 10, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+, LTE*

5.45" (H) x 2.79" (W) x 0.35" (D)

5.04 oz

5.2" (1920 x 1080) Full HD IPS Display

3,000 mAh

Up to 17.9hrs

Up to 29 days

32GB (Memory available to user: Up to 22GB)

Certain features may use more power and cause actual time to vary.

Android 4.2.2 Platform (Jelly Bean Plus)

Network

Mobile Hotspot

Bluetooth® Version

Wi-Fi® Connectivity

Direct/Android Beam

Wireless Storage

AT&T 4G LTE Network

Share a 4G data connection with other compatible wireless devices

802.11a/b/g/n/ac

Share via NFC (Near Field Communication)

Share files between your phone and computer via Wi-Fi

AT&T's 4G LTE Network not available everywhere.

Video Player

Music Player

High Quality Sound

QuickRemote

Live Zooming

Smart Video

Touch Lock, Audio Effects, and Resume Play Function; supports DivX, WMV, MP4, 3GP, and 3G2 formats

Audio Effects: supports MP3, AAC, AAC+, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG, and WMA formats

Supporting 24-bit, 192 kHz Hi-Fi playback for FLAC and WAV files

Control compatible TVs, Blu-ray players, cable provider set-top boxes, and more via infrared.

Zoom in/out on videos during playback

Video pauses automatically when phone detects eyes are not looking at the screen.

2.0 MP Full HD Front-Facing Camera

13 MP Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) Full HD Rear-Facing Autofocus Camera and Camcorder with LED Flash

Clearer results by keeping imagery stable while a photo or video is taken, even in low-light conditions

Up to up 4160 x 3120 (default) pixels

Camera detects and captures a particular subject faster and more precisely with nine autofocus points.

Helps eliminate select moving objects in the background of a picture.

Zoom in on a subject while recording to track and magnify it through the scene.*

Use voice commands to capture a photo.

Automatically identifies a scene's characteristics and adjusts camera options such as aperture and shutter speed

Up to 1920 x 1080 (60 fps; 30 fps default)

Front and rear cameras take pictures or videos with picture-in-picture technology.

Pause and start in record mode for one continuous video file.

Focus on a specific audio source by zooming in on the intended subject while recording video.

Take still shots while recording video.

Capture still shots from a video during playback.

Make and edit your own movies.

Three-finger swipe to the left saves up to three running apps; access tabs with a swipe to the right.

Overlay up to two QSlide app windows with adjustable sizing and transparency on primary screen.

Copy and paste multiple items to a slide-up clipboard, then select later to use or share.

Take a screen grab of an entire webpage and save to view later.

Jot down notes during a call, and retrieve them instantly in a call log entry.

Create and share personalized memos by adding handwritten drawings or messages on-screen.

Translate sentences and phrases from 44 different languages into 66 native languages.

Knock twice with a fingertip to turn the display on or off.

Save events to a calendar, search the web, or do a map search directly from information sent through text messages.

Voice commands to send text messages/ emails to contacts, add appointments/reminders to the calendar, or complete online searches

Draw and make notes, transfer images, and screen share in real time between compatible devices.*

PC-like office suite app

Create a shareable notebook with ability to cut and paste pictures, add videos, record voice, and more.

Create a photo journal with select photos, text messages, calls, videos, calendar events, Facebook® posts, and Twitter® tweets.

Create a separate unlock screen pattern for guests with pre-set access and restrictions.**

Plug in an earphone or USB Cable and related features or apps will appear on the home screen.

Accept incoming calls by raising the phone to the ear.

Ringtone volume automatically increases in noisy environments.

Display setting keeps the screen active when device detects eye movement.

Hide caller information for incoming calls; swipe screen to reveal information.

Specify times to turn off all sounds except alarm and media.

Colored and patterned light for alerts on the Power/Lock Key like alarms, calendar reminders, new messages, missed calls, etc.

No voice call required. VuTalk offers simultaneous data and voice sharing when both devices are in 4G LTE coverage or connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Pattern lock must be enabled to use Guest Mode.

Multiple award-winning author Charles Carr has written more than two thousand newspaper articles, magazine stories, and columns for many publications including the San Diego Union Tribune, The Californian, The North County Times, Parent Magazine, ComputerScene, and ComputorEdge Magazine where he has been an editor for more than two decades. He is also a television producer/director with shows both currently airing and in production on Cox Cable and elsewhere.

In the 1990s, Charles wrote 3DHouse, a complete inside-and-out virtual reality tour of his family's log home in Southern California. One of the first virtual reality programs ever created, 3DHouse enjoyed tens of thousands of shareware downloads on all major portals. He also sold the rights to Radio Shack and Egghead Software. 3DHouse has since been featured in many books and articles about VR.

Carr has also been commissioned to write and/or directed many of his own stage plays. Several years ago, Carr and others looking for ways to help organizations struggling in difficult economic times, founded Art Animates Life (www.artanimateslife.org).

To date, Art Animates Life, a CA incorporated, federal non-profit, has raised tens-of-thousands of dollars for San Diego area disaster relief, an arts non-profit and municipal gallery, a community outreach center, and several struggling community theaters.

Several years ago Carr was commissioned to adapt and direct the beloved Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. The play, titled "Mr. Scrooge & Mr. Dickens," has sold out So Cal theaters for the past several years. Six shows will take place Dec. 2013 to benefit the San Marcos Historical Society.

Another original play, "All the Time in the World," has been performed many times and garnered broad acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Carr is working on a brand new adaptation of the classic Hitchcock thriller, "The Lady Vanished," to be performed spring 2014.

Carr has won many writing accolades, including San Diego Press Club awards for Best Column Writing, Best Consumer Writing, and Best Arts and Entertainment. He has repeatedly taken top honors in San Diego Songwriter's Guild competitions for his original musical compositions.

Carr is also a noted producer, director, and videographer. Several of his documentaries can currently be seen on So Cal's Cox Cable. Since its inception he has produced the Fallbrook International Film Festival's red carpet event and panel discussions.

Charles receives dozens of requests each year to appear on Southern California television and radio stations to talk about important tech events. He also speaks from time-to-time to high schools and organizations about his eclectic life in the arts.

Learn more at www.charlescarr.com.

Editor's Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers

“Computer and Internet tips, plus comments on the articles and columns.”
by ComputorEdge Staff

"Windows 8 vs. 7," "Sysinternals vs. Standard Autologon"

Windows 8 vs. 7

[Regarding the November 15 Editors Letters: Tips and Thoughts from Readers column:]

Rich said "...it's crippleware if I have to not only sign up/in with a Microsoft (vs. linking? a MS account to my PC), I have to use their login, which would also require an Internet connection all the time..." While it's true that more and more apps require an Internet connection to be useful, there is nothing preventing us from using Windows 8 Pro just like Windows 7. We can sign-in with a local account and use almost all the same programs we used in Windows 7. Personally, I got used to signing-in when Windows 7 offered Windows Live Mail which optionally allowed me to sign-in in order to store and update contacts on Microsoft's servers. With Windows 8, I can now optionally sign-in to also store IE Favorites, and many PC settings as well, making it easier to set up a new system or switch between using one PC and another. But the keyword is "optionally."

-Ron Cerrato, San Diego, CA

Sysinternals vs. Standard Autologon

Is the way Sysinternals Autologon interface sets up automatic logon for your computer any different than the "standard" way I've been using for years (since XP, although the XP Powertools/tweakui also does it)? The way I've done it for years is to run:

control userpasswords2

This brings up the same box in XP, W7 and 8 (and probably in Vista, I have little experience so I can't tell you) that lets you have the system automatically log on to whichever profile you like.

Shift also allows you to choose which login, just as with Sysinternals Autologon.

Thanks,

-Rich Ernst, San Diego, CA

It seems that Sysinternals Autologon was probably introduced because Microsoft the Advanced User Control Panel which is brought up by Run => control userpasswords2 or Start => Search => netplwiz stores the username and password in plaintext in the Registry. This also explains why Microsoft made it more difficult to find the panel. As I understand it, anyone with access to the Registry can get your password when this autologon is implemented.

Sysinternals Autologon encrypts the username and password and bypasses the Windows autologon, though it does uncheck the box in the Advanced User Control Panel.

-Jack Dunning , ComputorEdge

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