All Questions
56
votes
7answers
218k views
How do I change the default font of Sticky Notes?
How can the default font be changed for the Windows 7 Sticky Notes application? I can't stand that faux handwriting font it uses.
56
votes
9answers
3k views
Suck or blow? What's better for dust?
The guy at the local PC hardware store told me it's better to use a small hand-held leaf blower to blow dust out of your PC case than a hand-held vacuum cleaner. Why is this? I understand that fans ...
56
votes
5answers
108k views
A DownThemAll equivalent for Chrome
I'm looking for a Chrome extension / add-on that's like DownThemAll in functionality.
Basically an add-on that will allow me to bulk download files with the same extension and/or pattern from a web ...
55
votes
14answers
59k views
What is the Windows equivalent of Wget?
How can I download something from the web directly without Internet Explorer or Firefox opening Acrobat Reader/Quicktime/MS Word/whatever?
I'm using Windows, so a Windows version of Wget would ...
55
votes
7answers
10k views
File extension for Markdown files?
Is there an official file extension for standalone Markdown files?
55
votes
2answers
25k views
Where should the .vimrc file be located on Windows 7?
I recently installed vim on Windows 7 as a stand-alone binary.
Where should I put my .vimrc file?
55
votes
2answers
1k views
Make bash terminal cursor flash to the beat of Survivor - “eye of the tiger”
I was listening to Survivor - "Eye of the Tiger" and writing some documentation in Vim and noticed that the cursor not flashing to the beat started to annoy me. Can this be fixed?
I'm using ...
54
votes
11answers
6k views
How can I copy nytimes.com slideshow images to the clipboard?
Slideshows on the New York Times website seem to have used some trickery to* cause a right-click in Firefox (and IE/Chrome) then "view image" or "copy image" to return a 1 x 1 pixel. The images also ...
54
votes
13answers
1k views
Missing computer?
I'm trying to find a computer at work that we can't find the physical location of. There's no documentation in the inventory of it but it responds to nslookup, ping, and i can log onto it and edit its ...
54
votes
3answers
35k views
How do I ensure Git doesn't ask me for my Github username and password?
I am working with a repo on Github. Everytime I try to push something, it asks me for my github username and password. I tried instructions on this page, namely set up the git variables github.user ...
54
votes
4answers
5k views
Is there a tool that can determine the file type from containing data?
I sometimes get files from my clients that have the wrong file extension. For example, the name is image.jpg but the file is actually a TIFF image. In many cases I can clarify it by opening the file ...
54
votes
6answers
16k views
How to tell from what Ubuntu or Debian repository a package comes?
On a Debian-based system, including Ubuntu, how can one tell which repository a package will be downloaded from, without actually beginning the download? aptitude show and apt-cache info will show the ...
54
votes
5answers
132k views
What is the difference between an Intel i7 and a Xeon quad core processor?
I know the Xeon processors have been around for a long time and are mostly used in servers, but I am curious, why do people not use the Xeons in a high performance desktop?
As far as I know about ...
54
votes
6answers
30k views
How to rename user folder in Windows 8?
When I log in on a Windows 8 machine for the first time with my Microsoft Account (by providing an e-mail address), a new user folder is created:
C:\Users\dzinx_000
In previous versions of Windows, ...
53
votes
14answers
4k views
Is there a way to make my hard drive inaccessible to everyone but me?
Let me give you some backup story first: A computer technician challenged me to give him my laptop and ask him for any piece of information that I wanted to "hide" in my hard drive. He claimed that he ...
53
votes
10answers
3k views
Securely erasing all data from a hard drive
I am about to sell my old desktop PC and I am cautious about some of my sensitive information being available to the purchaser, even after reformatting the hard-drive, using data recovery software.
...
53
votes
6answers
5k views
How does a CPU 'know' what commands and instructions actually mean?
How does a processor 'know' what the different commands mean?
I'm thinking of assembly level commands like MOV, PUSH, CALL, etc...
53
votes
6answers
33k views
How do you gunzip a file and keep the .gz file?
The default behavior of gunzip is to delete the .gz file after it decompresses.
How do I prevent it from deleting the file??
If this functionality is not included then is there an alternative ...
53
votes
4answers
48k views
Difference between OTF (Open Type) or TTF (True Type) font formats?
On a Mac, when I'm downloading fonts am often given the choice between OTF (OpenType Format) and TTF (TrueType Format).
Is there any difference in the way ligatures work or anything between the two ...
53
votes
14answers
156k views
How do I compare two Excel documents? [closed]
The compare function in Word 2007 is very handy -- is there a similar capability in Excel 2007? I can't seem to find it...
The documents I'm trying to compare are essentially two versions of the same ...
53
votes
3answers
16k views
Change Ubuntu 11 scrollbars back to the old style
The question:
I've installed Ubuntu 11.04 and the new scrollbars in Nautilus, GEdit, etc. are driving me insane! How do I go back to the old (Ubuntu 10.10 and earlier) scrollbars?
The explanation ...
52
votes
6answers
10k views
How do I reorder tmux windows?
In screen, I can just type C-a :number 0 to move a window to the top of the window list and push all the other windows down one. What's the equivalent command sequence for tmux? I looked at the man ...
52
votes
3answers
45k views
How to list files of a Debian package without install
This command can only list contents of installed packages,
dpkg -L PACKAGENAME
but how to list contents of a non-installed package, to preview/examine the package?
52
votes
6answers
132k views
How to mount a HFS partition in Ubuntu as Read/Write?
I plugged in my external harddrive (which was formatted on my Mac into HFS+ journaled) to my Ubuntu desktop 9.04 64bit. I am not able to get the drive to mount with write capability, how do I do ...
52
votes
6answers
6k views
How can I prevent Ask.com Toolbar from being installed every time Java is updated?
As many are painfully aware of, Oracle continues to not only bundle the Java installation with the useless Internet browser toolbar from Ask.com, but also enable its installation by default. In ...
52
votes
6answers
121k views
How can I read my hard drive's SMART status in Windows 7?
Is there a tool, application, gadget or similar which lets me read the S.M.A.R.T. state of my HDDs while using Windows 7?
Ideally, it should be something that can monitor my HDD temperature ...
52
votes
3answers
29k views
What Tiling Window Manager for Windows do you recommend? [closed]
What is the best tiling window manager for Windows?
I'm looking for something like awesome.
It would be nice if it removes the title bar and has "comfortable" shortcut keys (for me that's vi keys, ...
52
votes
0answers
6k views
32 vs 64 bits… what's the big deal?
Why is it considered to be such a big deal to have a 64-bit computer? Why does it "change everything?" Why do applications need to be designed differently between 32- and 64-bit platforms?
And, on ...
51
votes
11answers
89k views
Is there a way to “auto login” in PuTTY with a password?
Is there a way to configure a password for a stored session in PUTTY?
I know there is the capability to specify an "auto-login username" (under Connection/Data) but is there a way to do the same with ...
51
votes
12answers
31k views
How to get git-completion.bash to work on Mac OS X?
I have followed http://blog.bitfluent.com/post/27983389/git-utilities-you-cant-live-without to
add git-completion.bash to my /opt/local/etc/bash_completion.d/git-completion
and I put ...
51
votes
4answers
17k views
What's different between Ctrl+Z and Ctrl+C in Unix command line?
I'm using Mac OS X Terminal. And I use Ctrl+Z or Ctrl+C to stop some programs. But I realized that I don't know exactly what they're doing. What are they and what's the difference between them?
...
51
votes
6answers
28k views
How to make SUBST mapping persistent across reboots?
Does Windows (XP or later) have a built-in way to create persitent drive mappings, like the ones SUBST creates? I found a 3rd party tool psubst. Is there a way to do it without 3rd party tools?
51
votes
8answers
131k views
How to stop jucheck from running? Java won't remember “Check for Updates Automatically” setting
I've installed Java on Windows Vista, and every day I get a Vista security warning asking me if I want to run "jucheck". Apparently this is the Java automatic updater.
Well, I don't want it to run ...
51
votes
11answers
39k views
Should I keep my swap file on an SSD drive?
I'm considering getting an SSD drive to run as the primary OS partition. As I understand, this should provide a substantial improvement in performance. My question is this: Should I leave the swap ...
51
votes
9answers
20k views
Is TrueCrypt truly safe?
I have been using TrueCrypt for a long time now. However, someone pointed me to a link that described the problems with the license.
IANAL and so it really didn't make much sense to me; however, I ...
51
votes
9answers
11k views
What is the right procedure to safely remove stickers from a laptop?
My new Dell Studio 15 has those annoying "permanent" decal stickers for Windows Vista and Intel Centrino processor. I want them gone. I don't want to try to peel them only to discover that I've ruined ...
51
votes
5answers
17k views
Aptitude vs. apt-get: Which is the recommended (aka the “right”) tool to use?
Some time ago I read that aptitude is the preferred tool for installation on Debian-based systems. But when you search around on how to administer a Debian-based system, then aptitude is rarely ...
50
votes
4answers
25k views
What does wwws mean?
I've seen a couple of sites that use wwws in their domain, for example: wwws.mint.com and wwws.whitehouse.gov. I'm sure it has something to do with an extra layer of security.
What does it mean and ...
50
votes
5answers
2k views
Associate a tab in Google Chrome with its process in task manager
How do I identify which process belongs to which tab in Google Chrome?
Normally, I have a (ridiculously) large number of tabs open. If I need to free memory on my box, I would like to choose based ...
50
votes
8answers
13k views
Why is “Everything is a file” unique to the Unix operating systems?
I often hear people say "Unix's unique philosophy is that it treats everything as a file" or "In Unix, everything is a file". But I've never heard anyone explain why it is unique to Unix.
So, why is ...
50
votes
2answers
1k views
Can I make Ctrl+Alt+Del go directly into the task manager in Windows 7?
I am using Windows 7 and when I press Ctrl+Alt+Del I first go into the welcome screen and only then I can go into the task manager.
I have no use for any other option on this screen, can I change it ...
50
votes
3answers
21k views
Native alternative to wget in Windows PowerShell?
I know I can download and install the aformentioned library (wget for Windows), but my question is this:
In Windows PowerShell, is there a native alternative to wget?
I need wget simply to retrieve ...
50
votes
7answers
15k views
Running upstart jobs as unprivileged users
What's the canonical way to have an upstart job change its userid and run the script as an unprivileged user?
Obviously one can use su or sudo, but this seems hacky (and can generate needless log ...
50
votes
7answers
5k views
My webcam just came on “out of the blue”
I have a Microsoft LifeCam HD sitting atop my monitor. Today, completely out of the blue, its light came on -- I was simply browsing the web (in Chrome) when it happened. After about 5 minutes the ...
50
votes
5answers
2k views
What do I need to consider when buying hardware to meet my needs?
I'm looking to build a new computer from the ground up. I'm not sure what to look out for and need guidance and help on how to pick the hardware needed to construct my new rig.
How do I know what to ...
49
votes
20answers
41k views
Compressing with RAR vs ZIP
A lot of people are compressing files with RAR, sending compressed files with RAR and so on.
ZIP is more standard and works on all platforms. Windows users have ZIP included and Linux users have no ...
49
votes
6answers
6k views
What is the correct term for the mouse pointer/nipple/joystick thingy in the middle of a laptop's keyboard?
I want to call it a "mouse nipple" or maybe a "joystick", although I know these are not correct.
It's different from the touchpad, which is below the keyboard and has dedicated click buttons. ...
49
votes
4answers
3k views
Is a file system just the layout of folders?
I have used Windows since childhood, and when I hear the phrase "Windows filesystem" I think of directories (folders) within directories, a folder called SYSTEM, a folder called PROGRAM FILES etc. Is ...
49
votes
4answers
794k views
How do I locate the MAC address of my computer?
I am unable to locate the MAC address in a new computer with Windows 7. I've tried ipconfig /all in the console to which I got no items match your search. I also tried getmac. A screen flashed very ...
49
votes
5answers
4k views
If there are 13 Wifi channels, can I only use 13 Wifi devices on the same room?
As wikipedia reference, 802.11 standards (which defines Wi-fi networks) tell us that wireless networks works with 13 different channels on OFDM (depending on the release, a, b, g or n). From this I ...
