tech brain farts.com: January 2005

Using a Search Engine to SEARCH LOCALLY

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

It seems pretty obvious that when you use the variety of search engines to do your respective searches it would usually involve for looking things local to your area. A good example, is doing a search for a "Costcos" or "BestBuy" in your area. Getting results for an address or a phone number in Annapolis, Maryland does me no good here in Toronto, Canada. Well it seems like some the search engines out there have thought of this and added this feature and I have to say it seems to work extraordinally good. The two that I have found that seem to work the best are:
Google Local

Ask Jeeves Local

Give it a try, I think you will be pleasantly surprised as to exactly how well these sites work in isolating results specific to your location.

Modding your TiVo

Just under a year ago I purchased a premodded TiVo/DirecTV SAT Receiver. This particular model was modded by a friend of mine. This got me interested in modding these things myself so I could add even more functionality to my box. What I soon realized is that there were very few resources for people that were doing his in Canada. During my research I came across what I think in the single best collection of TiVo modding information on the web. If you are thinking about modding your box, changing your OS, adding features like Home Media Server or other options, or just finding out about secret codes (like commercial skip) programmed in by TiVo themselves. But for those of you that are specifically trying to do this and reside in Canada there is another great site that can help you out ! Have Fun....

Reference Sites:

TiVo Community Forum

TiVo Canada

Another great site based out of the UK - TiVo Portal.CO.UK

For those of you that have REPLAY PVRs instead of TiVos, this is a great site for you.

Keep in mind that none of these sites are in any way affiliated with the TiVo company.

p.s. If you have not personally experienced the unexplainable joy of a PVR, do not walk, do not jog, RUN to your nearest electronics store to get one OR borrow one from a friend for a couple weeks -- like I did. It will absolutely change the way to watch TV. If you only spend an hour or two watching TV a day or a week, you will get way more done in the same amount of time. It is my personal opinion that it the ONLY worth while device associated with television these days ! (HD, dual tuners, etc is pretty cool at first, but PVR functionality is so much more worth it.)

Google SUGGEST SEARCH Beta Site

Monday, January 24, 2005

This is the same very cool Google search site, except as you type your search, Google offers keyword suggestions in real time. It is very interesting to see some of the result that pop up in real time. Currently it is still part of the Google Labs, which is the testing area for Google, but I am sure it will soon graduate from a beta version to the main Google site. Give it a try...

URL: http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

Canadian Technology DEALS site

Friday, January 21, 2005

For those of you that live in Canada, and browse cool US DEALS sites like Egghead.com or Pricewatch.com but have always wondered if there were any cool canadian sites to get inside info on hot deals on technology, wonder no more !

This is a very cool site that basically amalgamates all the deals at canadian technology chains like TigerDirect.ca, BestBuy.ca, FutureShop etc. and puts it all in one place for easy access. It is called RedFlagDeals.com

Picasa v2 Releashed !

If you have used version one of this very cool free application by Google, you already realize exactly how valuable it is, especially if you own a digital camera. Well Google has done it again with even more cool features with same great interface. It allows you to move, rename, organize, colour correct, optimize, email, backup digital pictures all with its simple to use interface. It is simply a must if you are either into phtography or have a digital camera. AND IT IS FREE !!!

Download Link: http://www.picasa.com/index.php?tid=Y2NpZD0zNTU2JmN2PTE%3D

Micorsoft Anti Spyware Beta releashed ! -- FOR FREE--

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

The Microsoft Anti-Spyware was releashed a few weeks ago. It was a formerly Giant Anti-Spyware which had a reputation of being the best in the business. It was then brought over and rebranded by Microsoft. The good news is that Microsoft has not changed anything and so it stills remains the best anti-spyware software on the market, in my opinion. Even better than Adaware and Spybot, believe it or not !

Here is the download link...

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

Looking for a powerful, FREE HTML editor ?

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Try HTML-Kit, free from http://www.chami.com/html-kit

Unfortunately it is not true WYSIWYG, but it is an EXTREMELY powerful utility that has plugin support and is feature packed, not to mention the price is right !

MAC TIP: Macintosh Key Sequences during boot up

Have you ever had problems booting up up your Mac. As many people kno, there are a series of key sequences that can be done during the boot process that can help you either diagnose/correct problems or optimize your mac. Here is a link to a very cool website that explain this a bit further and is a great reference.

http://davespicks.com/writing/programming/mackeys.html#boot