Archive for the ‘Software’ Category

Setup a Personal Forum

In this post we’ll be describing the process to install a personal forum on your computer using the XAMPP server for Windows, and phpBB3, a free forum script with a decent number of features. We’ll be describing how to setup the MySQL database and the installation of the forum. You’ll need your local server set up at this point.

After installing phpBB3 you’ll be able to deploy a forum across your network (or Internet, if publicly accessible) which can be used for a variety of purposes, including discussion, file uploading, etc. (more…)

Record Game Sounds with Fraps

For those of you wondering how to record the sounds outputted by your computer, this simple post should configure Windows to allow you to record the sounds with programs such as Fraps.

Load up Fraps and hit the Movies tab. Make sure Record Sound is checked and Detect best sound input is selected. Next, head into Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices (in classic view). (more…)

Check if Your Computer Can Run a Specific Game

System Requirements Lab is a simple tool designed to help you check your computer’s hardware and detect whether it meets the official minimum and recommended requirements of a PC game. It requires the installation of a quick Java applet (SRLApplet from Husdawg, LLC).

Select Your Game

On the front page you’ll see a box asking you to select a product. It lists many of the newer generation games. Pick one and hit Can You Run It?

A loading bar will appear, and depending on whether you’ve used it before, it’ll ask you to install the applet. Let the applet install, and your results should appear shortly.

The Results

The first thing you’ll see is a quick glance at where your PC stands relative to the minimum and recommended requirements.

The second thing you’ll see below is a list of the required PC specifications, and then your PC specifications with a rating bar relative to the requires specifications. It’ll also list any “helpful” information, including links to free driver updates, and if your hardware does not meet the requirements, a link to their recommendations (which uses a page from the store TigerDirect).

Back Up Pidgin Settings and Data

Pidgin stores the buddy list, pounces, preferences, and other data as XML files in a “hidden” directory in Windows. This data can be useful for transferring data between Pidgin clients without reentering your data each time.

To copy/backup your data, head over to C:\Documents and Settings\[your username]\Application Data\.purple\ and copy the XML files.

To transfer them to a Pidgin Portable installation, paste the files in \PidginPortable\Data\settings\.purple\ overwriting any existing files.

Pidgin also stores cached buddy icons in the icons folder of the same directory and HTML logs (if enabled) in the logs folder (which can also be viewed through the main window with Buddies → View User Log.

Custom Buddy Notifications with Pidgin

Alert yourself to events in instant messaging, such as a contact signing on or sending you a message using Buddy Pounces in Pidgin. Buddy Pounces allow you to notify yourself in a variety of ways, including playing custom sounds and running programs. We’ll show you how to setup a simple buddy pounce that will alert you when a contact signs on. (more…)

Keep Pidgin Always on Top

For Windows - Keep Pidgin’s buddy list “always on top” of other windows for easy access to instant messaging without the hassle of switching windows. First, head to Tools → Plugins in the buddy list.

Scroll to the bottom, make sure Windows Pidgin Options is checked, then click it and Configure Plugin.

Next to Keep Buddy List window on top, click the menu and select Always. Hit Close to both windows and Pidgin should now remain on top of your other windows.

Open Firefox Searches in a New Tab

When you search using Firefox’s Search form, it’ll automatically open the queries in the same tab that was open. This behavior can be annoying, but luckily there’s an about:config setting to tell Firefox to open searches in a new tab.

Head over to about:config in the location bar, then type the following in Filter:

browser.search.openintab

Double click it so that the value becomes true, then restart Firefox.

Disable “Phrase Not Found” Sound in Firefox

Firefox, by default, makes an annoying sound everytime you type an additional letter in the “Find” field which it cannot find. A quick trip to about:config will easily resolve this problem.

Type about:config into the URL bar and in the Filter, type the following:

accessibility.typeaheadfind.enablesound

One entry should show up, and the value should by default be true. Double click it to change the value to false. Restart your browser, and changes have been applied.

Demo Software in a Sandbox

Sandboxie, a free application, creates a virtual layer on your computer where you can run and install various software applications without actual changes to your true hard disk.

Simply, Sandboxie forces applications to write to the layer instead of the hard disk, and is able to wipe everything clean afterwards, perfect for demoing software. In this post we’ll be explaining the very basic usage of Sandboxie so you can run and install programs into a layer (sandbox). Download and install from here. (more…)

Deploy a Local Web Server on Windows

In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how to quickly deploy a local WAMP (Windows Apache MySQL PHP) server in a few minutes using XAMPP. Using a local webserver, you can install PHP web applications on your local computer (such as a personal wiki, chat, forum, etc).

For this tutorial, we’ll be showing you how to setup XAMPP using the self extracting 7-Zip file. (more…)