Use Steam With Windows 7 By Disabling GPU Acceleration

Cannot Enter Steam?

Recent updates to the Steam client seem to have broken use with Windows 7. One symptom is the computer hanging after the Steam client starts opening windows. Something to try when this happens is to add the -cef-disable-gpu switch to the target line of the properties dialog box of the Steam.exe shortcut. This will disable GPU acceleration which may help to avoid some glitches related to rendering.

Solution

On the Desktop: 

Right click on the Steam shortcut.

Select Properties.

Select the Target line.

Depending on the Steam installation folder on your computer change it to something like 

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe" -cef-disable-gpu 

Select OK.

Run Steam.

If all goes well one may be able to bypass any problems with rendering causing the computer to freeze. This has worked with older versions of the Steam client but whether it works with newer versions cannot be guaranteed.

Linux Mint - How to Automatically Log In

Logging in to Linux Mint a Problem?

So you installed Linux Mint and have decided that you want to cut down on having to input a password to login and just want to login automatically. The option to automatically login was given during the installation process but you either unintentionally skipped by it or have changed your mind.  The answer often given is from the Linux Mint Menu button on the bottom left of the screen to type in and go to Login Window, enter your password, select Users, input your username, and then add a value for the timeout. However sometimes following these instructions still leads to a login screen showing up asking for your password. What's going on?

The problem is likely that you are using a username that has some capitalized letters. Linux can be picky about this. The solution is when asked in the Login Window - Users interface to input your username that you input it all in small letters.

Logitech K120 Keyboard Problem

Logitech K120 Keyboard Not Working in Windows 7?

Keyboard seems dead. Typing on the keyboard does nothing. Under Device Manager there is an exclamation point next to an entry for USB Keyboard. Windows Update cannot seem to find it. No worries, it's from Logitech right? They probably have a device driver for it that you can download on there site. Uh, no. Logitech doesn't provide any downloadable software for the keyboard. What can you do now?

Solution for Logitech K120 Keyboard Missing Drivers

Find the file usb.inf on your computer and copy it into the Windows/inf folder. Restart your computer. See if your previously dead keyboard is working. Under Device Manager uninstall the device and scan for hardware changes again if necessary to refresh.

Casue USB KB Problem in Windows 7

Keyboard not working?

Keyboard seems dead. Typing on the keyboard does nothing. Under Device Manager there is an exclamation point next to an entry for Casue USB KB. Windows Update cannot seem to find it. You're unsure who the manufacturer of the device is. Does this mean you are stuck missing a device driver? Probably not. 

Solution

Find the file usb.inf on your computer and copy it into the Windows/inf folder. Restart your computer. See if your previously dead keyboard is working. Under Device Manager uninstall the device and scan for hardware changes again if necessary to refresh.

USB Device Not Working In Windows 7

Plug and play problems? 

USB devices not being recognized can be really annoying. There you are expecting to instantly start using your new gadget and instead of quickly getting up and running you are forced to plumb the depths of the internet for solutions that might not even work if you can even find mention of one.

The problem presents itself pretty simply. You attach a supposedly plug and play USB device to your computer and instead of working you see a drawn out search for the device driver which cannot be found with Windows Update. Under Device Manager you see an entry under Other devices with an exclamation point beside it indicating a missing device driver. With that as the explanation given by Windows you are led to look for the missing device driver. Thing is you cannot find it anyware. If you do find something it is being offered from a site that is probably sketchy and you need to worry what is is really offering is malware. You try generic drivers. They don't work. You try drivers from different manufacturers. They don't work. Here's the likely reason the foregoing doesn't seem to work: the device driver that is giving you problems likely isn't particular to your device. It's probably a USB problem.

Solutions

It's possible the missing drivers are the USB drivers that should be installed for your motherboard. So reinstall or update them. But before doing so try the following two possible ideas beforehand. First try attaching your device to a different USB port. Some devices work only with USB 2.0 ports. Different ports on the same computer may also be run by different controllers. Second find a copy of the usb.inf file on your computer and make a copy of it in the Windows/inf folder. Restart your computer and check if the previously not working USB device comes to life. You may need to uninstall and then scan for hardware changes first under Device Manager to see updaed results.

Webcam USB PHY 2.0 Driver Error

What USB PHY 2.0 driver?

An apparently missing USB PHY 2.0 driver error is known to come up with a type of inexpensive generic web camera. When this error presents itself the webcam is inoperable. Furthermore Windows Update cannot provide a driver. The error is displayed under Device Manager under Other Devices and associated with Hardware ID USB\VID_1224&PID_2A25&REV_0100. Aside from that though there is not much to go on even on the internet.

Given the description of the error one might be led to believe that one needs to find a driver USB PHY 2.0 driver from somewhere and install it. That is probably not the case. Going down that route is likely going to be a waste of time if the simple solution works. Because there is a simple fix to this problem. The quick fix is to make sure to install the webcam in a USB 3.0 port and not a USB 2.0 port.

How to Get to the SendTo Folder in Windows 7

Where is the SendTo Folder in Windows 7? 

The Windows SendTo folder location is different in Windows 7 than it was in Windows XP. In Windows 7 the path to its location is in the form of the following:

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo

A shortcut that one can type in Windows Explorer to get to the same directory:

shell:SendTo

How to Improve Virtual Machine Performance

In situations where the VM is installed on the same hard drive as the host's operating system the performance bottleneck is often the system's ability to read and write from the hard drive while running the VM and host operating system at the same time.

To improve VM performance try changing the location of the VM installation to a separate physical drive from the one on which the operating system of the host is installed.

32-bit or 64-bit CPU

How to Determine Whether Computer is Using a 32-bit or 64-bit Processor

To find out if your computer is using a 32-bit or 64-bit Intel processor look up the model specifications at http://ark.intel.com/

If it is a 64-bit processor the following should be seen in the table  "Intel® 64: yes".

One can also run CPU-Z to find out. Under the CPU menu Instructions field you should see EM64T listed.

AMD  64-bit processors will show AMD64.

In Windows, once can also get a description of the processor by typing into a command prompt the following: wmic cpu get description

The instructions here are on how to find out if you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit CPU not how to find out if you are using a 32-bit or 64-bit version Windows operating system.  Some of the instructions found on other sites although claiming to address the former seem to be answering the latter question and not the former.

Working with HTMLCollections in JavaScript and jQuery

To manipulate HTMLCollections successfully, one must be able to correctly identify and select the kind of object that one is working with. Depending on the command used on an HTMLCollection a DOM element or jQuery object may be returned.  The kind of commands that can be used on such returned elements or objects depends on the nature of that element or object. jQuery methods can only be used on jQuery objects not DOM elements.

Select and Create HTMLCollection

For example to select and create an HTMLCollection from all paragraph elements in an HTML document:

JavaScript 

document.getElementsByTagName("p")

jQuery

$('p')

Access HTMLCollection and Get Item as DOM Element

To return the first element (in the above case paragraph) in an HTMLCollection as a DOM element use one of the following:

JavaScript

document.getElementsByTagName("p")[0]
document.getElementsByTagName("p").item(0) 

jQuery

$('p')[0]
$('p').get(0)

Note the above jQuery commands return the first element as a DOM element.  DOM elements cannot be modified with jQuery methods. For jQuery methods to work they need to operate on jQuery objects. So something such as $('p')[0].text() will not return the expected result.  Use $('p')[0].textContent instead.

Retrieve Item from HTMLCollections as jQuery Object

To return the first element as a jQuery object use one of the following:

$('p').eq(0)
$('p:eq(0)')
 
Since it returns a jQuery object the command $('p').eq(0).text() should work.

Resources

• The jQuery Object- jQuery
• HTMLCollections - MDN

Pangrams for Faster Typing

Typing Test Pangrams

 A pangram is a phrase or sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. 

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is probably the best known pangram.  It is commonly used as an example in typing lessons to get one used to touch typing. But there are other pangrams one could also practice typing out. Using a variety of pangrams may efficiently help increase muscle memory with varied letter combinations and patterns. Therefore typing pangrams is an effective way to improve touch typing speed.

Here are a few pangrams to use for typing practice:

Five jumping wizards hex bolty quick.
Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.
The jay, pig, fox, zebra and my wolves quack!
A wizard’s job is to vex chumps quickly in fog.  
Amazingly few discotheques provide jukeboxes. 
Watch “Jeopardy!”, Alex Trebek’s fun TV quiz game.
While making deep excavations we found quaint bronze jewelry.
A quart jar of oil mixed with zinc oxide makes a very bright paint.
The job requires extra pluck and zeal from every young wage earner.
The jukebox music puzzled a gentle visitor from a quaint valley town.
The public was amazed to view the quickness and dexterity of the juggler.

Pangram Typing Tips

Make sure you are in a comfortable position.

First learn them one at a time getting comfortable typing each one out over and over on its own then start adding and alternating the ones you have mastered in combination.

Practice typing for accuracy first then start typing with a view to accelerating speed.

Learn to tap the keys lightly and string common letter combinations together. 

Practice typing drills with these pangrams for a week or two and see your touch typing speed improve! 

Non-Breaking Space Keyboard Shortcut

Non-Breaking Space HotKey

To insert a non-breaking space also called a hard space or fixed space:

In Microsoft Office or LibreOffice type

CTRL + SHIFT + SPACE

In Windows and Notepad

Hold ALT then type 0160

In HTML use

  or  

Customize Sublime Text 3 Context Menu in Windows 7

Edit Context Menu in Sublime Text 3

To change the right-click context menu in Sublime Text 3 and add extra commands one will need to create Context.sublime-menu file with the following general format similar to JSON:

 [
    { "caption": "-", "id": "separator" },
    { "command": "new", "caption": "New" },
    { "command": "open", "caption": "Open" },
    { "caption": "-" }
]


Example: Add the Use Selection for Find and Use Selection for Replace to the Right-click Context Menu

To determine the commands associated with the Use Selection for Find and Use Selection for Replace instructions, first find the hotkeys for the Use Selection for Find and Use Selection for Replace instructions. In the top menubar under Find one sees the hotkeys for Use Selection for Find (Ctrl+E) and Use Selection for Replace (Ctrl+Shift+E).

Open the Default(Windows).sublime-keymap file (Preferences - Key Bindings - Default) and search for Ctrl+E and Ctrl+Shift+E to find  associated commands.

One will find that the commands associated with Ctrl+E (Use Selection for Find) and Ctrl+Shift+E (Use Selection for Replace) are "slurp_find_string" and "slurp_replace_string".

Once the commands are known create a file called Context.sublime-menu in Sublime Text 3's Data\Packages\User directory containing the following:

[
    { "caption": "-" },
    { "command": "slurp_find_string", "caption": "Use Selection for Find" },
    { "command": "slurp_replace_string", "caption": "Use Selection for Replace" },
    { "caption": "-", "id": "end" }
]

Save the file.  Opening the right-click context menu should now show the options Use Selection for Find and Use Selection for Replace

Install SublimeLinter in Sublime Text 3 in Windows 7

SublimeLinter is a framework plugin for Sublime Text that allows for the use of various linters to find errors in code.  This is why SublimeLinter is a very handy plugin to install despite a somewhat convoluted installation process.

To use recent versions of SublimeLinter one will need to install SublimeLinter and the SublimeLinter interface add-ons for the specific linters you wish to use, preferably through Package Control, and also install or have on hand the linters themselves.

For example to check HTML in Sublime Text one may wish to install HTML Tidy.  To do so download through Package Control or through their website and install/extract the following:

1. SublimeLinter
2. SublimeLinter-HTML-Tidy
3. HTML Tidy

Adding Linter Path to SublimeLinter in Sublime Text 3 in Windows 7

To make sure SublimeLinter can access HTML Tidy, the location path to tidy.exe needs to be added to the SublimeLinter.sublime-settings file. In Sublime Text right-click on the screen to bring up the right-click context menu and then select SublimeLinter - Open User Settings to open the SublimeLinter.sublime-settings file. Find the portion that looks like the following:

        "paths": {
            "linux": [],
            "osx": [],
            "windows": []
        },

If using Windows, insert the location of the HTML Tidy folder.  For example if tidy.exe and its accompanying files were extracted and then moved to a folder called HTML Tidy in C:\Program Files one would change alter the above to look like

        "paths": {
            "linux": [],
            "osx": [],
            "windows": [
                 "C:\\Program Files\\HTML Tidy"
            ]
        },

Notice the double backslashes.  The extra slashes are used for coding escape.  Save the file then exit Sublime Text. Restart. SublimeLinter should be working.  Try it out by right-clicking to bring up the right-click context menu access to SublimeLinter. Verify it is working by typing out some incomplete code and running SublimeLinter.  It should display the mistakes.

Links:

• SublimeLinter Installation 
• SublimeLinter-html-tidy
• HTML Tidy for HTML 5
• SublimeLinter Troubleshooting

Notepad++ Sublime Text Differences

Notepad++ vs. Sublime Text

Notepad ++ and Sublime Text are two popular text editors for coding. Both are feature-rich text editor programs .  While not all features are available in both some of the features missing in one and found in the other in the default installed setup can be activated via preferences or added on with plugins but the implementation may differ in quality. After a short time evaluating these programs here is an overview of how they compare. 

Notepad++ Pros

• Free
• Folding based on tags
• Matching tag highlighting
• Replaces inside multiple files without opening them
• Close More command

Notepad++ Cons

• Multiple line find and replace inside multiple files cannot be done without adding \r\n per line manually
• Single line text area entry for find and replace

Sublime Text Pros

• Find and replace multiple lines in multiple files 
• Multiple selections with find feature 
• Works similarly on different operating systems
• Find and replace in multiple files preview 
• Intuitive auto-complete

Sublime Text Cons

• Opens all files during replace in multiple files operation 

Discussion

The differences between Notepad++ and Sublime Text are smaller than I anticipated but those small differences can be significant in terms of efficiency.

In general Sublime Text comes across as more polished.  Its find and replace feature is more powerful.  Notepad++'s find and replace is frustratingly close to being good enough as an alternative but falls short and that short gap in features and ease of use creates a chasm in terms of productivity.

The ability to use multiple cursors is touted as an advantage for Sublime Text but Notepad++ also has a less developed but serviceable version of the feature although it is not activated by default.

The third-party validation tools can be a little complicated to setup for Sublime Text but when running are easier to work with than Notepad++'s.

Open File Location in New Window in Windows Explorer in Windows 7

Open File Location in New Window

In Windows 7's Windows Explorer, do the following to open the folder containing a file in a new window:

1. Right-click on the file to bring up a context menu
2. Scroll down to "Open file location"
3. Hold down Ctrl and then left-click "Open file location"

Notice the above procedure is different from simply simultaneously pressing Ctrl and clicking on the file.

This can be especially helpful when after performing an extensive search one wants to evaluate a search result but don't want to keep reloading the search after evaluating each file.

Calculate Effective Interest Rate on Credit Card Loans

Calculating the interest rate on a credit card loan can be confusing because of the different interest rate terminologies and definitions.

APR

Let's take for example a loan of 10000 paid back over a one-year period with 1000 in interest added on so that at the end one ends up paying a total of 11000.

One way to compute the interest rate is to take that 1000 added on and divide by the loan amount so

1000/10000 = 10%

This interest calculation is commonly referred to as Annual Percentage Rate or APR. It is a simple calculation and, if you were to get the 10000 and then payback the loan at the end of the year as a lump sum of 11000, largely sufficient.  But for most amortized loans with a more involved payback schedule APR has the significant drawbacks of underestimating the true cost of the loan by not accounting for compounding and the time value of money.

IRR

In these cases a better computation of the cost is probably the internal rate of return or IRR.  IRR does not tend to get mentioned though perhaps because it is usually from the perspective of an investor or creditor. IRR is commonly defined as the rate at which the sum of the net present values of cash flows equals zero.  Computing IRR is better left to a financial calculator or computer since the manual computation often involves trial and error.  The accuracy of the computation is also reliant on the quality of the estimate for the discount rate applied to the net present value calculations.

Monthly Date Increase in Calc

To increase the date by a month in a series in LibreOffice's Calc spreadsheet program there are different options depending on the particular date that is to be increased.

To increment most dates  (e.g. January 12, 2000; February 12, 2000; March 12, 2000; etc.)

1. Input the first date in the series in a cell, for example cell A1
2. In the cell underneath it (i.e. cell B1) input the following formula referencing the cell above: =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+1,DAY(A1))
3. Click on the cell with the formula and then drag the bottom left corner handle down to fill the column with monthly incremented dates

To increase dates at the end of the month (e.g.  January 31, 2000; February 29, 2000; March 31, 2000) a little more finesse is required. Follow the above procedure but change the formula to the following:

=DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+2,0)

To better understanding what is going on:
 =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1),0) ends up referring to the last day of the previous month
 =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+1,0) ends up referring to the last day of the current month
 =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+2,0) ends up referring to the last day of the next month

Insert Multiple Rows in Calc or Excel

Inserting Rows in Calc or Excel Spreadsheet

To insert multiple blank rows in LibreOffice's spreadsheet program Calc, immediately underneath the point where you wish to insert the rows use shift-click to select the number of rows you wish to insert, whether they have content or not, and then right-click on the numbered column on the far left and select Insert Rows Above.

To insert even more rows, using the repeat/redo keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Y may be helpful.

Bluegriffon - Drawbacks and Weaknesses

BlueGriffon is an open source freeware WYSIWYG HTML editor.  It was created by the same developer that contributed greatly to the development of the popular Kompozer with which it shares many similarities. As a more recent project it also has added features, less bugs and better compliance with more recent HTML and CSS specifications. It uses the Gecko rendering engine behind Firefox. 

After a quick initial look here are some of the possible drawbacks and/or weaknesses that were noticed using this program.

1. There is no mouse right-click editing menu for quick copy-cut-paste operations in the source view although keyboard shortcuts can be used.
2. Empty <div> elements are automatically removed on save.
3. Extra features require paying for add-ons. 

Overall it still suffers from the Achilles heel that plagues WYSIWYG editors: a lack of control and precision.