Everybody’s favorite open-source browser, Firefox, is great right out of the box. And by adding some of the awesome extensions available out there, the browser just gets better and better.

But look under the hood, and there are a bunch of hidden (and some not-so-secret) tips and tricks available that will crank Firefox up and pimp your browser. Make it faster, cooler, more efficient. Get to be a Jedi master with the following cool Firefox tricks.

1) More screen space. Make your icons small. Go to View – Toolbars – Customize and check the “Use small icons” box.

2) Smart keywords. If there’s a search you use a lot (let’s say IMDB.com’s people search), this is an awesome tool that not many people use. Right-click on the search box, select “Add a Keyword for this search”, give the keyword a name and an easy-to-type and easy-to-remember shortcut name (let’s say “actor”) and save it. Now, when you want to do an actor search, go to Firefox’s address bar, type “actor” and the name of the actor and press return. Instant search! You can do this with any search box.

3) Keyboard shortcuts. This is where you become a real Jedi. It just takes a little while to learn these, but once you do, your browsing will be super fast. Here are some of the most common (and my personal favs):

• Spacebar (page down)
• Shift-Spacebar (page up)
• Ctrl+F (find)
• Alt-N (find next)
• Ctrl+D (bookmark page)
• Ctrl+T (new tab)
• Ctrl+K (go to search box)
• Ctrl+L (go to address bar)
• Ctrl+= (increase text size)
• Ctrl+- (decrease text size)
• Ctrl-W (close tab)
• F5 (reload)
• Alt-Home (go to home page)

4) Auto-complete. This is another keyboard shortcut, but it’s not commonly known and very useful. Go to the address bar (Control-L) and type the name of the site without the “www” or the “.com”. Let’s say “google”. Then press Control-Enter, and it will automatically fill in the “www” and the “.com” and take you there – like magic! For .net addresses, press Shift-Enter, and for .org addresses, press Control-Shift-Enter.

5) Tab navigation. Instead of using the mouse to select different tabs that you have open, use the keyboard. Here are the shortcuts:

• Ctrl+Tab (rotate forward among tabs)
• Ctrl+Shft+Tab (rotate to the previous tab)
• Ctrl+1-9 (choose a number to jump to a specific tab)

6) Mouse shortcuts. Sometimes you’re already using your mouse and it’s easier to use a mouse shortcut than to go back to the keyboard. Master these cool ones:

• Middle click on link (opens in new tab)
• Shift-scroll down (previous page)
• Shift-scroll up (next page)
• Ctrl-scroll up (decrease text size)
• Ctrl-scroll down (increase text size)
• Middle click on a tab (closes tab)

7) Delete items from address bar history. Firefox’s ability to automatically show previous URLs you’ve visited, as you type, in the address bar’s drop-down history menu is very cool. But sometimes you just don’t want those URLs to show up (I won’t ask why). Go to the address bar (Ctrl-L), start typing an address, and the drop-down menu will appear with the URLs of pages you’ve visited with those letters in them. Use the down-arrow to go down to an address you want to delete, and press the Delete key to make it disappear.

User chrome. If you really want to trick out your Firefox, you’ll want to create a UserChrome.css file and customize your browser. It’s a bit complicated to get into here, but check out this tutorial.

9) Create a user.js file. Another way to customize Firefox, creating a user.js file can really speed up your browsing. You’ll need to create a text file named user.js in your profile folder (see this to find out where the profile folder is) and see this example user.js file that you can modify. Created by techlifeweb.com, this example explains some of the things you can do in its comments.

10) about:config. The true power user’s tool, about.config isn’t something to mess with if you don’t know what a setting does. You can get to the main configuration screen by putting about:config in the browser’s address bar. See Mozillazine’s about:config tips and screenshots.

11) Add a keyword for a bookmark. Go to your bookmarks much faster by giving them keywords. Right-click the bookmark and then select Properties. Put a short keyword in the keyword field, save it, and now you can type that keyword in the address bar and it will go to that bookmark.

12) Speed up Firefox. If you have a broadband connection (and most of us do), you can use pipelining to speed up your page loads. This allows Firefox to load multiple things on a page at once, instead of one at a time (by default, it’s optimized for dialup connections). Here’s how:

• Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit return. Type “network.http” in the filter field, and change the following settings (double-click on them to change them):
• Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
• Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
• Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to a number like 30. This will allow it to make 30 requests at once.
• Also, right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0?. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

13) Limit RAM usage. If Firefox takes up too much memory on your computer, you can limit the amount of RAM it is allowed to us. Again, go to about:config, filter “browser.cache” and select “browser.cache.disk.capacity”. It’s set to 50000, but you can lower it, depending on how much memory you have. Try 15000 if you have between 512MB and 1GB ram.

14) Reduce RAM usage further for when Firefox is minimized. This setting will move Firefox to your hard drive when you minimize it, taking up much less memory. And there is no noticeable difference in speed when you restore Firefox, so it’s definitely worth a go. Again, go to about:config, right-click anywhere and select New-> Boolean. Name it “config.trim_on_minimize” and set it to TRUE. You have to restart Firefox for these settings to take effect.

15) Move or remove the close tab button. Do you accidentally click on the close button of Firefox’s tabs? You can move them or remove them, again through about:config. Edit the preference for “browser.tabs.closeButtons”. Here are the meanings of each value:

• 0: Display a close button on the active tab only
• 1:(Default) Display close buttons on all tabs
• 2:Don’t display any close buttons
• 3:Display a single close button at the end of the tab bar (Firefox 1.x behavior)

You haven’t use firefox?

Written by Leo Babauta

PLEASE NOTE: I’m making edits and amendments to the list. Please see the bottom, for some of your additions which have been kindly forwarded to me in the comments. I’m only adding films that have youtube clips, so please send me those links. Thanks.

In a director’s cinematic bag of tricks the long tracking shot is the boldest way of making a statement. It’s the flashiest and most attention-grabbing egotistical way of flexing one’s muscle. In most cases it’s a narcissistic maneuver, “look-at-me” filming technique, but rare ones, the best ones, serve to reflect and further the story in a way that can’t be reflected with traditional editing.

Let’s examine specifically the long ‘tracking’ take which involves extensive and complicated movements of the camera. The fact is filmmakers have been doing long takes since the medium was invented. In fact the first films didn’t have any edits. Perhaps the first most notable film to use long unedited takes for storytelling purposes was Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” (1948) which was an entire film shot in real time created by seamless cutting together a series of long 8-10 mins shots made to look like one. In 1948 it was a bold and unprecedented experiment for Hitchcock. The film works because its takes place entirely in one room for 80 minutes, so there was limited movement and lighting changes.

The difficulty arises when the camera is forced to move which complicates the logistics ie. Focus changes, lighting changes and hiding production equipment. And so perhaps the first true, universally-accepted “long tracking shot” is Orson Welles’ opening shot in “Touch of Evil” (1958). This shot was a large step up from Hitchcock’s experiment because of the extensive movement of the camera. Let’s start the list with this masterful one:

Touch of Evil (1958) – The Opening Shot – dir. Orson Welles

This shot is perhaps the greatest, because it actually has a specific purpose to its length. The shot starts on a bomb being placed in the trunk of a car. The camera follows the car into the street. As the camera moves back we pickup Charlton Heston walking with his date. Though we’re concentrating on Heston, subliminally, as the audience, the bomb is still in our minds. The sheer length of the take heightens the tension for the payoff at the end. It’s important to note that on its first release Universal placed the opening credits over the shot, which severely retracted from its power and suspense. In a later re-release Welles original intention of the scene was re-instated.

Goodfellas (1990) – The Copacabana – dir. Martin Scorsese

The other granddaddy of the long tracking shot is Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco’s walk through the Copacabana in “Goodfellas”. This shot’s serves to put the audience in the point of view of Karen, who is about to be swept off her feet by the temptation of the gangster lifestyle. This introduction to Henry’s world will counterpoint their eventual downfall later in the film. The movement of the camera through the tight spaces and long corridors while maintaining constant dialogue makes this shot an impressive maneuver and a benchmark in cinema.

Boogie Nights (1997) – The Opening Shot in the Club – dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

All of PT Anderson’s films have a bit (sometimes a lot) of Martin Scorsese in them. Boogie Nights is no exception. The opening shot which starts on a marquee and moves down the street and into a 70’s disco serves to introduce to us the ensemble characters. The shot ends on Mark Wahlberg moving in slo-motion triumphantly introducing Anderson’s star character. As a side note, it was rumoured PT Anderson specifically started the shot on the marquee which reads the title of the movie, to make it impossible for the studio to re-title the movie, which was done with his first film – “Hard Eight” (aka “Sydney”).

Raging Bull (1980) – Pesci and De Niro Walking to the Fight – dir. Martin Scorsese

No youtube clips are online yet for this shot, so I’ll describe it. Starting on Jake La Motta and his brother exiting their dressing room the camera follows them down the hall to the arena, where La Motta is to face the Middleweight Champion for the first time. The shot starts in front the brothers as they make their way through the winding corridors and tunnels, then the camera moves in behind as they enter the arena. As they make their way through the cheering crowd and into the ring, the camera lifts in the air to capture the entire arena in a wide shot. In 1980 the steadycam was a new invention, but Scorsese obviously used it to its full potential as soon as he could get his hands on it. This great shot serves the story because it highlights the greatest moment for La Motta – the fight which won him the Middleweight belt.

Oldboy (2003) – The Fight with the Hammer – dir. Chan Wook Park

Perhaps not grandiose in its flare or style – the camera only moves back and forth on one axis – but the impact of the action on screen is awe-inspiring. Fight scenes are usually choreographed around the camera so the punches, kicks and falls appear real and violent. But in one majestic tracking shot Chan Wook Park puts to shame most other fight scenes. It’s a dozen baddies with just one guy, one shot? and one hammer.

BTW: The actual long shot doesn’t start until the 30 sec mark of this clip:

The Player (1992) – The Opening Shot – dir. Robert Altman

Another one of the greats. Altman was actually sending up, or paying homage to “Touch of Evil” and actually references it in the dialogue. Unfortunately the clip isn’t available on youtube (yet). So, I’ll describe it. The shot takes place entirely outside on the grounds of a Hollywood studio. The camera tracks, and picks up pieces of conversation from several characters, all setting up and providing the backstory for the film. Altman innovatively overlaps the conversations as he moves from one conversation to the next. He frames the star, Tim Robbins, in an awkward shot through an obscured window to his office. Robbins, as Griffin Mill, is taking a pitch from Buck Henry (writer of “The Graduate”) for “The Graduate 2”. Simply hilarious.

Sorry, the trailer is the best I could do (if anyone can post the opening shot, I’ll re-embed the youtube clip):

Magnolia (1999) – Entering the Studio – dir. Paul Thomas Anderson

This shot doesn’t quite have the dramatic impact of “Touch of Evil”, “Goodfellas,” or even “Boogie Nights”, but it’s still a marvel. Anderson combines the techniques of Scorsese and Altman to create a dizzying tour of the television studio where much of the drama will go down. It’s raining and Stanley Spector and his dad are late for their game show taping. It’s a tense sequence which moves at a quick pace with much help from Jon Brion’s hypnotic music cue.

I Am Cuba (1964) – The Rooftop – dir. Mikael Kalatozov

There are half a dozen shots in this film which would make this list. Youtube happens to have the magnificent rooftop shot, which introduces the decadent lifestyle of the Cuban upper class. This shot is important because it provides counterpoint up the plight of the poor farmers and working class Cubans whom we will see in the next scene. Not only is it beautiful but it’s so bold that the shot ends with the camera following a woman into the pool and under the water.

The other shot from the film I would have included is the parade sequence which actually covers a Cuban demonstration by moving up a building, crossing the street in midair, through the top floor of a cigar rolling manufacturer and out the window again moving through mid air. I’m tired just writing this.

Children of Men (2006) – The Car Chase – dir. Alfonso Cuaron

Please don’t watch this clip if you haven’t seen the film as it contains major spoilers. Good, now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss the magnificent chase between Clive Owen and the bunch driving away from the vicious marauders. The shot spins around to show all the characters fighting off the assailants as they drive backwards, avoid bullets and spears etc. No effects were used to create the shot other than a specially rigged car which allowed the camera to hang suspended from the roof and spin and move to capture everyone’s reactions. This shot is one of a series of long extended takes in the film – equally impressive is the rescue of the baby in the refugee camp at the end of the film.

Hard Boiled (1992) – The Hospital Shootout – dir. John Woo

During the shooting of “Hard Boiled”, towards the end of a long series of days at the hospital, John Woo realized he was running out of time to shoot the remainder of the action sequences. He decided to ‘compromise’ and shoot the remainder of his scene in one shot, the result is the John Woo version of the long take. It’s almost unbelievable the carnage, gunshots, and explosions he creates with just one shot of the camera. You just have to see it to believe it.

The Protector aka Tom yum goong (2006) – Running Up the Staircase dir. Prachya Pinkaew

It’s no “Goodfellas” that’s for sure, in fact the scene is just ridiculous, but the sight of Tony Jaa leaping up the circular staircase, and throwing guys off the side and down the stairs is just so satisfying and audacious it’s worthy of inclusion on the same list as “Touch of Evil” or “Goodfellas”. Wow. Again, you have to see it to believe it.

Carlito’s Way (1993) – The Subway Chase – dir. Brian De Palma

Brian De Palma has used his trump card too many times (ie.”Bonfire of the Vanities”, “Mission to Mars”, “Snake Eyes”) and so I’m inclined to discount his entries. But “Carlito’s Way” is one of the great long take shots. The shot follows a chase between Al Pacino’s character in flight from a trio of mobsters in the NY Subway system. It’s magnificent choreography punctuated by Patrick’s Doyle grand score. Unfortunately no youtube footage exists yet.

Russian Ark (2002) – The Whole Damn Movie – dir. Aleksandr Sokurov

Using a sophisticated High Definition camera, Sokurov was able to do what Hitchcock originally wanted to do – stage an entire movie in one shot. “The Russian Ark” is more an artistic experiment than a traditional narrative film, and technically, it’s an achievement, but only a few occasions in the 96-minute running time does the film actually achieve the grandeur the storyline implies. But when it does, it is magnificent – you just have to sit through the really boring parts.

Here’s 10 mins of it:

The Passenger (1975) – Locke’s Death – dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
Warning this clip contains spoilers. A rare feat is a final long take shot. “The Passenger’s” final shot is a 7-min long opus which starts inside a hotel room, where we see Jack Nicholson’s character lying on a bed, the camera then pushes in to catch the action outside. It actually goes through the window and outside into the courtyard. By the end of the shot, the camera has turned itself around and is looking into the room where we discover Jack, while out of our sight, has just been murdered. It’s one of the more sly and devious long take shots of this list.

Of course dozens of other films have used long takes including Gasper Noe’s “Irreversible”, Godard’s “Weekend”, and many of Tarkovsky’s and Theo Angelopolis’s films. This is by no means comprehensive. Please chime in your favourites.

Thanks.

ADDITIONS AND AMENDMENTS:

Due to the overwhelming responses I’ve added some more clips. Please see below.

Satantango (1994) Walking to the Police Station dir. Bela Tarr

Bela Tarr is a master, and sadly I’m not familiar enough of the work to provide ample commentary, but this clip is a beautiful shot:

Weekend (1967) Tracking Across the Farm Dir. Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard’s classic, “Weekend” features a series of long tracking shots, as a kind reader pointed out, ‘before it was in vogue’. Check this one out.

Breaking News (2004) – The opening shootout – Dir. Johnny To

This highly stylized crime classic opens with a wild shoot out with the police, of course, all in one take. Shades of De Palma on this one.

Strange Days (1995) – The Opening POV Chase – Dir. Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn’s Bigelow’s opening shot is taken from the POV of a robber escaping a robbery. It’s entirely handheld and therefore very jittery and nausea-induces. But it’s lengthy. Judge for yourself.

Nostalghia (1983) – Carrying the Candle – Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

The Russians/Soviets seem to love their long takes. Here’s a head-turner from Tarkovsky’s “Nostalghia”, which features a man’s numerous attempts to carry a lit candle across a courtyard. It’s not technically amazing, but it’s fascinating how it draws you in. It’s a remarkable example of determination.

Elephant (2003) – John’s Walk Through the Halls and Outside – Dir. Gus Van Sant

Elephant has about a dozen long steadycam shots. Here is a key shot, from the brilliant Harris Savides, which shows John walking through the halls and then outside the school. The movement and camera exposure from inside to outside is seemless. Potential SPOILERS here as well.

Kill Bill Vol 1 (2003) – The 5,6,7,8’s – Dir. Quentin Tarantino

Here’s another one of Tarantino’s De Palma homages – the famous 5,6,7,8’s shot. Robert Richardson is at the helm photographically on this one. Enjoy.

Serenity (2005) – The Opening Credits/Walk Though the Ship – Dir. Joss Whedon

By popular demand, here’s the opening of “Serenity”. Capt Mal starts out in the cockpit, then moves back through the rest of the ship introducing us to all the characters. A well-hidden cut occurs midway, but it’s two impressive long takes put together.

Snake Eyes (1998) – The Opening – Dir. Brian De Palma

Ok Ok Ok. I really hate this film, but people wanted this shot up here. Here’s 10 minutes of the opening of Snake Eyes, whose opening shot lasts 20mins or so – too long for a 1000 mag of film, so I think there’s a cut in there.

Great Expectations (1999) Kissing in the Rain – Dir. Alfonso Cuaron

Alfonso loves his long takes. This one cleverly spliced a few shots together, but is a great moment nonetheless. Enjoy.

Nine Lives (2005) – William Fichtner Sequence – Dir. Rodrigo Garcia

Rodrigo Garcia’s “Nine Lives” is composed of nine different each showing a part of a woman’s life. This one features the great character actor William Fichtner showcased like he should.

Irreversible (2002 ) – At the Club – Dir. Gaspar No?

Gaspar No?’s notorious film with Vincent Cassel and Monica Belluci. Here are a couple of segments mended together over a span of a full day and night. All segments are long tracking shots. Warning this clip contains some graphic material. Viewer discreti?. Ahh just watch it, it won’t kill you.

Don’t worry, there’s more to come. Please keep checking back. Thanks.

Written by Alan Bacchus

 

Maybe the old ones never die. My Portland flock could be the self-same bunch of birds that filched clams from the Abenaki Indians and pooped upon approaching Viking boats. In addition to adapting flawlessly to the total nature-fake of a human habitat, maybe pigeons have also adapted perfectly to life: It doesn’t make them die.

But because that’s improbable, and because I was terribly curious about what kind of guy intentionally associates with pigeons, I called John Heppner, president of the National Pigeon Association.

“Absolutely,” he said in a sobering tone of voice when I asked if there is such a thing as a baby pigeon. “I’ve been raising ’em for fifty years.” What he went on to tell me gave me a new respect for the grubby, shining, strutting, victorious pigeon.

First of all, unlike dippy little English sparrows or robins, pigeons hide their nests.

Heppner said that back when they emerged in Asia (evidently, they were nature-living animals, once), pigeons were cliff-dwellers. So now they balance their messy nests of sticks inside the guts of bridges, or atop tall buildings, or on top of your air conditioner.

Secondly, pigeons are parents non pareil. They lay only two eggs at a time, and spoil those babies shamefully. “The parents will feed the babies until they’re totally feathered out,” Heppner reported proudly. “By the time they leave the nest, they’ll be about the same size as the adults. You know when people eat squab, that’s when they take ’em — when they’re nice and plump.” Squab, for the culinarily challenged, being baby pigeon.

And the doting parents don’t feed these butter-balls your typical bird baby-food.

These birdlets get something called “pigeon milk,” and the faint-of-stomach may not wish to explore this paragraph further. Both parents manufacture in their crop, or throat, a rich, fatty “milk” that looks, Heppner says, much like yellow cottage cheese. They ralph this delicacy up and expel it into the throats of their darlings. “You can see this white stuff glowing in the crops of the squabs,” Heppner says. “They’re just full of it.”

After eight or 10 days of this ambrosial diet, the parents begin mixing in solid food and water. “They’ll eat heavily, then drink a lot of water to easily chuck up the grain,” Heppner enthuses, and offering between these fascinating facts to send me photographs of fancy pigeons. “And did you know pigeons drink like horses? Hens will lift their heads up to swallow. But pigeons put their head down and just take a long draught.”

And do the parents flinch at all this work, this cheese-making, this grain-chucking, this drinking-like-a-horse? Of course not. “If all’s going along well with the first nest, they’ll build another, right near by, and lay the next batch,” Heppner says. “They’ll take turns sitting on the next set, while the other feeds up the squabs.” And they’ll do that four to six times a season. So, not only are there baby pigeons, there are baby-pigeon assembly lines.

And when the fledglings do finally leave the nest, Heppner says, their plumage and size are so similar to those of the flock they hang around with that only the practiced pigeonophile would be able to pick out the babies.

Care to practice finding the youngsters? Look for them in the spring and summer.

They may have stray strands of down poking through their feathers.

They may retain a trace of the “lip” around their beak that gives the parents a wider ralphing target.

Their heads may be narrower.

They may be shy. “They’re more timid,” Heppner explains. “They won’t be professional in going after the best food.”

So if you really want to see a baby pigeon, throw down a fried clam. That’ll separate the men from the boys.

Vocabulary

leaching, v. There’s not much calcium in egg yolk, but by the time a baby bird exits the egg, there’s a fair amount of calcium in its bones. The answer to the riddle lies in the eggshell, which thins by about 25 percent during incubation: Through a network of blood vessels, the embryo “leaches” calcium from the walls of the egg.

Written By Hannah Holmes

Chances are that you have seen a lightsaber at one time or another, whether on the evening news or down at the local cantina. Therefore you know that a lightsaber is an amazing and versatile device that is able to cut through nearly anything in a matter of milliseconds.

Photo courtesy Lucasfilm Ltd.

Have you ever wondered how these remarkable weapons work? Where does the energy come from, and how are they able to contain that energy in a rod-like column of glowing power?

In this article, you will have a chance to look inside a lightsaber and discover the source of its incredible characteristics. Let’s get started!

It’s All In The Handle

Photo courtesy Park Sabers

Graflex Model

A lightsaber is a unique device, created by hand — the controls will be slightly different on each individual lightsaber that you buy. But all lightsabers share the same general characteristics. If you were ever to pick up and examine a typical lightsaber, here are several things that you would immediately notice:

• A lightsaber is normally about 30 centimeters long, about the size of a large flashlight.
• At one end is the hand grip, belt ring and on/off switch (a.k.a., the Activation Matrix).
• At the other end there is the blade arc tip and stabilizing ring.
• Somewhere on the case (generally near the blade end of the lightsaber) you find one or two adjusting knobs for blade power and blade length.

When you turn on the lightsaber (*see important safety tips), you will notice the blade rapidly extending to its set length. You can adjust the length using the blade length adjusting knob. The lightsaber blade will make a distinctive sound that is typical of an arc wave energy field. You will also feel a gyroscopic effect in the handle, which again is a distinctive characteristic of the arc wave blade. This gyroscopic effect can take some getting used to, so be sure to handle any active lightsaber with extreme care until you are completely familiar with its feel and handling.

Slicing and Dicing
Once active, the blade of a lightsaber can be used in four different ways.

The most common use, of course, is slicing. A lightsaber is like a sword on steroids. Cutting through any human limb — even an entire torso — is trivial. It’s like cutting through a banana with a machete.

A lightsaber can help convince an assailant that no means no.

With practice you can also use a lightsaber like a knife. For example, if you need to cut open the belly of a large domestic animal like a horse or a tauntaun, the lightsaber is the perfect tool. Simply use the tip of the blade and control the depth of your cut just like you would with a scalpel.

Nearly anything you would normally find around the home or office is easy to cut with a lightsaber, including steel pipes, reinforcing beams, mounting struts and so on. If you happen to find yourself hanging upside down in a cave, a lightsaber is the perfect tool to use to cut the rope.

Another common use is melting. For example, if you come upon a three-foot-thick blast door, you cannot “slice” your way through it like you can with a normal steel or concrete partition. But you can plunge the blade of your lightsaber straight into the door and then melt your way through it to cut out an opening. This normally takes several minutes, but the results are most impressive to anyone on the other side of the blast door.

Another important use of a lightsaber is deflection, in two different ways:

1. A lightsaber blade can deflect another lightsaber blade and block its path.
2. A lightsaber blade can deflect blaster bolts. In most cases you will want to deflect the bolts back at the person who shot them at you in the first place, but it is also possible to deflect them toward other objects and people in the room.

A lightsaber user with a strong affinity for the Force has a distinct advantage in the latter situation. By using the Force, the wielder can anticipate the path of the blaster bolt and align the blade with that path prior to the bolt’s arrival. Using normal visual tracking to accomplish the same effect can be far more difficult.

Important Safety Information

A lightsaber is not a toy! Keep it out of reach of children at all times. Lightsaber locks are required in most states.

There are two ends to any lightsaber — one end has the belt ring, while the other end houses the blade arc tip and blade emitter. NEVER point the blade emitter of a lightsaber toward your own body. NEVER look down the “barrel” of a lightsaber, even if you are “sure” it is in safe mode. If you accidentally activate the lightsaber, serious injury could result.

Written by Marshall Brain

*1. High school started before 8am, but now anything before noon is considered “early”.

2. You have more beer than food in your fridge.

3. Weekends start on Thursday.

4. 6am is when you go to sleep, not when you wake up.

5. You know many different ways to cook ramen noodles or macaroni and cheese.

6. The health center gives out free condoms, and people take them? just in case.

7. Instead of falling asleep in class, you stay in bed.

8. You know how late McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Qdoba, etc. are open.

9. You think it’s the weekend on a Wednesday and you don’t know what month it is.

10. You can’t remember the last time you washed your car.

11. Your underwear/sock supply dictates your laundry schedule.

12. You check Facebook/Myspace more than once a day.

13. You get drunk dialed on any night of the week.

14. You wash dishes in the bathroom sink.

15. You’ve fallen off a loft bed.

*16. You talk about beer pong like it’s a sport.

17. Finding random people in your house is perfectly normal, and you even sympathize with them… sometimes when you wake up you have no idea where you are.

*18. Your primary news sources are the Daily Show and the Colbert Report.

19. You open a beer at 10 am and your roommate asks you if there’s more.

20. The standard of meals per day falls to two, sometimes just one.

21. Your trash is overflowing and your bank account isn’t.

22. You go to Target or Wal-Mart more than 3 times a week.

*23. You wear the same jeans for 13 days without washing them.

24. Your breakfast consists of a coke or cereal bar on the way to class… anything with caffeine will do.

25. Quarters are like gold.

26. Your idea of feeding the poor is buying yourself some ramen noodles.

27. You live in a house with three couches, none of which match.

28. You try to study but seem to procrastinate by eating, going to study breaks, talking to people, etc…

*29. You talk to your roommate on instant messenger when you’re both home.

30. You ask people what YOU did last night.

*31. Certain things are now deemed “Facebook worthy.” When friends take pictures of you, you wonder how long it will take them to post them.

*32. You’ve seen a hit and run involving a bicyclist/pedestrian.

33. You see people you know you’ve met but can never remember their names or how you know them.

34. You sleep more in class than in your room

35. Your idea of a square meal is a box of Pop-Tarts.

36. You’ve traveled with bags of dirty clothes.

37. You go home to do your laundry because you’re too poor to pay the $2… or too lazy to go to a change machine.

*38. You pay $100 for a book you don’t read once, return it four months later, and get $7.

39. More than 20% of your household furnishings are made from milk crates.

40. You recognize the meat in the dorm soup as yesterday’s meatloaf, and thus decide to eat a nice bowl of cereal – a safe bet for any meal.

41. You use words like “thus” (see #40).

42. You throw out bowls and plates because you don’t feel like washing them.

43. Your beer pong table is nicer than all your other tables.

44. It takes preparation… and 3 people… to take out your garbage.

45. Going to the library is a social event.

46. You wear flip flops in the shower your freshman year… you know why.

*47. You start joining clubs because of the free food.

48. Visits home depend on how much money you have for gas.

49. You skip one class to write a paper for another.

*50. You have no idea where your tuition money is going… technology fees? I think not.

*51. Bicycles don’t seem as lame as they did in high school.

52. You stay up late to finish homework then sleep through the class in which it was due.

53. Girls: You’ve balanced your foot on a shampoo bottle to shave.

54. Your backpack is giving you scoliosis.

55. You’ve written a check for 45 cents or stopped to get $2.00 of gas.

56. Your bill in the bookstore will be comparable to tuition.

57. Going to the mailbox becomes an ego booster/breaker.

58. Most of your T.A.’s are foreign…what’s the deal?

*59. You never realized so many people are smarter than you.

*60. You never realized so many people are dumber than you.

61. Western Europe could be wiped out by a terrible plague and you’d never know, but you can recite the last episode of your favorite show verbatim.

*62. Care packages rank right up there with birthdays.

63. You craft ways to make any game into a drinking/stripping game.

*64. You meet the type of people you thought only existed in movies.

65. Printers break down only when you desperately need them.

66. Anything can be cooked in a microwave.

67. Two words: bike cops.

68. You have Safe Ride programmed into your phone.

69. Old school Nintendo… and guitar hero… are pretty much the best things ever.

70. Going to the grocery at midnight is completely normal.

71. You call restaurants that deliver more than you call your own family.

72. You’ve paid bills over $5… in coins.

73. You can’t imagine life without your computer/cell phone/ i-pod.

74. Hoodies and sweatpants become the norm – jeans are considered “dressy” at certain occasions… like school.

75. A canceled class is almost as exciting as Christmas.

76. Taking a nap in the library is perfectly acceptable.

77. Your professors speak English… as a second language.

78. Your teachers swear in class and no one cares.

79. Candles in your dorm room are considered contraband, but cigarettes are ok.

80. You take condiment packets and napkins from fast food restaurants – hey, they’re free.

81. Betta fish are like your family.

82. You bring back socks from the laundry room that may or may not be yours.

83. You know what people carrying suspiciously heavy backpacks after dark are doing…

84. The elevators take forever but you’ll wait 10 minutes just so you don’t have to climb stairs.

85. Your roommate asks you to check the weather on your computer when they’re standing 5 feet away from the door.

86. Showers become more of an issue.

87. You press the automatic door opener instead of simply grabbing the handle when you approach a door.

88. Christmas lights seem to be acceptable all year round.

*89. Class size doubles on exam days.

90. You donate plasma even though you know it’s pretty sketchy.

*91. You are no longer thankful that fire alarms are here to protect you.

92. You’ve bought Christmas presents from the book store and charged it to your student account so your parents pay for the gifts because you’re too broke.

93. You begin to include ketchup on your list of acceptable vegetables.

94. You stay on campus for hours in between classes when it’s too cold to walk home.

95. People have to help you kick the vending machine just so you can get your 50 cent bag of chips.

*96. There’s always a “question kid” in at least one of your classes, and you really wish someone would just tell him/her to shut the hell up.

97. You steal dishes from the cafeteria so you don’t have to wash your own.

98. Laundry is an all-day event.

99. You no longer find it uncool to take naps. In fact, you quite enjoy them.

100. It’s illegal to drink in the dorms yet they sell an assortment of shot glasses, beer mugs, tankards, etc. in the bookstore.

101. You find your list of acceptable napping places expanding daily to increasingly uncomfortable locations.

102. You fill out credit card applications for the free food.

103. You’ve eaten cereal out of a cup… with a fork.

104. Dressing up for Halloween becomes cool again.

105. You know at least one person who has dropped his/her cell phone into a toilet.

106. You hang multiple shirts on the same hanger to save space/money.

*107. You become increasingly annoyed with the “old” people in class – props to them for going back to college but they generally ask really, really annoying questions.

108. You admire people’s alcohol bottle shrines.

109. You set your clock 5-10 minutes ahead so you can potentially make it to class on time.

110. You check ratemyprofessor.com (or something of the like) before choosing your class schedule.

111. You text faster than you type.

112. You only find out a class is cancelled after you get there and sit for about ten minutes.

113. You actually start using coupons, especially those school coupon books.

114. You open canned food and eat it… out of the can.

115. You run out of black ink and, instead of buying a new ink cartridge, decide blue is a nice substitute… adds a little flair.

116. You have numbers in your phone with labels like “Sketchy Steve” and “Alcohol Guy.”

117. The food in your fridge may or may not be older than your little brother.

*118. You finish reading this and wonder how you can procrastinate next.

Source: www.theburningbiscuit.com

Google has a solid amount of cash in its pockets, but with all the recent lawsuits against YouTube one has to wonder if it’s time to salvage whatever videos you like from the service and save them somewhere where evil attorneys won’t look – your hard drive.

Luckily, there are literally dozens of tools for downloading videos from YouTube and/or converting those YouTube videos to some format other than .flv. It’s hard to pick the best one, as they all have pluses and minuses. Thus, we’ve chosen 23 YouTube downloader tools we’ve found to be actually working. Here they are, categorized according to the platform they work on:

Web based

1. YouTubeX doesn’t have a lot of options, but it’s simple, and it works. It also enables you to share the YouTube video with your friends via e-mail. Unfortunately, all the files are called get_video, and you have to add the .flv extension manually.

www.youtubex.com

2. KeepVid is another simple site. No hassle, works not only for YouTube movies but for a number of other sites, including Google Video, MySpace Video, DailyMotion and others. Again, you have to add the .flv extension by hand.

keepvid.com

3. VideoDownloader is very similar to KeepVid, but supports even more video sharing sites, and it’s also available as a Firefox extension. Just like with KeepVid, all downloads are in .flv format. We recommend MediaCoder for free conversion.

javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php

4. YouTube Downloads takes the cake in the longest domain name contest. It also separates itself by using a proxy for downloading videos, which means that you might be able to get videos even if YouTube access is blocked at your workplace or in the country you live. Just search Google for YouTube videos, and copy/paste the URL into YouTube Downloads.

www.downloadandsaveyoutubevideos.info

5. Zamzar is an online file format conversion site which can do a lot more than just converting YouTube videos to another format and downloading them to your hard drive, but it’s doing a great job so we had to include it here. Thoroughly tested by us and highly recommended. See the video of it in action here.

www.zamzar.com

6. YouTubia separates itself from the crowd by enabling you to search as well as download YouTube files. Options are scarce, but it works.

www.youtubia.com

7. VidGrab is another simple site that works with YouTube, Google Video, MySpace and Break.com. Besides the download function, the site also sports a top list of most viewed videos.

www.vidgrab.com

8. Vixy offers both downloading videos and converting them into DivX avi, mov, mp4, 3gp, or mp3 (for audio only) formats. The conversion works well enough, but sometimes results in slightly choppy playback.

vixy.net

9. Hey! Watch is an ambitious video encoding service with a large number of options, especially when it comes to converting videos to portable media player formats (it even supports my trusty iRiver H340.) Most online video converters often produce crappy results, with video and audio being out of sync, and this problem is also present on Hey! Watch, but it happens rarely.

heywatch.com

10. Media Converter can be a little slow, but the results of the video conversion are quite good. We’ve converted some YouTube videos to avi (mpeg4 + mp3) format and it worked well. The tool is not limited to video conversion; it also supports several audio and document formats.

www.mediaconverter.org

11. KcoolOnline is a web-based converter which supports 98 video sharing web sites, including YouTube. It has literally zero options, so it’s recommended for those who like to keep it simple.

www.kcoolonline.com

Windows Applications

12. VDownloader is a desktop application that catches YouTube, Google Video, and Grinvi video links from your clipboard. Start it up, copy the video URL and click download. It automatically converts the videos to mpeg or avi formats.

www.softpedia.com/progDownload/VDownloader-Download-51327.html

13. YouTube Grabber downloads files from Youtube in .flv format. Copy and paste the URL of a video from YouTube into the program, press ?grab?, and the file will be downloaded into the same directory as the program.

www.download.com/Youtube-Grabber/3000-2071_4-10574801.html

14. Orbit Downloader is a desktop application which can download videos from a wide variety of sites. The download process is very simple, just hover your mouse over the video and you’ll get a button that says ?Get It?. The developers of the program claim that it’s very fast (up to 500% faster, they say) due to its P2P download technology.

www.orbitdownloader.com

15. My Video Downloader. With all these free tools, it’s actually funny to see a commercial one. It’s called My Video Downloader, and while it does look solid and offers a lot of conversion options (a free trial which enables you to download 10 videos is available), we’re not sure it offers enough to warrant a price tag.

myvideodownloader.com

16. KeepV is a desktop downloader as well as a converter, which can convert the downloaded videos from flv to avi, mov, mp4, or 3gp formats.

keepv.com

17. VideoGet boasts being able to download video clips from more than 100 video sharing websites. We haven’t tested all of them, so we’re just going to take their word for it. It’s a deskop application with a nice, simple interface, and a solid number of options.

nuclear-coffee.com/php/products.php

18. TubeSucker is a desktop YouTube video downloader with some interesting options, including batch downloading large amounts of videos from a certain user. See the video tour on the site.

www.newrad.com/software/tubesucker/

OS X

19. Get Tube is an OS X application which lets you download video or audio files from YouTube, DailyMotion and Kewego.

web.mac.com/simonvrel/iWeb/software/v.1.0.html

Linux

20. Youtube-dl. Here’s some love for Linux users. Youtube-dl is a program that lets you download YouTube clips in flv format, which both mplayer and VLC can easily chew up.

www.nuxified.org/blog/download_youtube_video_files_with_youtube_dl

21. YouTube Ripper is not actually an application; it’s a simple script that rips all videos that match a keyword, uploaded by a specific YouTube user. We don’t really have ideas on what to use this for, but maybe you do! PHP port is also available.

nlindblad.org/2007/04/08/youtube-ripper-collectors-edition/

Plugins

22. Vidtaker is a Firefox-only plugin that can download videos from most streaming websites: Google Video, YouTube, MySpace, as well as a number of nasty adult SomethingTube spinoffs (Pornotube, YouPorn etc). It automatically converts the video to a DivX avi.

www.vidtaker.com

23. Ook? Video Ook! Yes, that’s the full name of this Firefox plugin, which enables you to download videos from YouTube and several other video sharing web sites. It features one click downloading and integration with the popular DownThemAll Firefox plugin.

addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2584

Written by Stan Schroeder

Google has some insanely useful applications, the top of their field in many cases ? and by mastering these tools, you can become a productivity ninja. But these apps ? Gmail, Gcal, Google Reader, Google Docs, et al ? they aren?t perfect.

Don?t get me wrong ? I love these apps. They are awesome, and I couldn?t bring myself to use anything else. But although they?ve come out with some minor upgrades recently, Google has been a little slow in upgrading their great apps with much-needed features. Perhaps they just need a little nudge.

Well here it is. Google, here are just a few of the features you need to add, pronto.

Gmail

1. Sort features. You should be able to sort your inbox (or any folder/label) by date, sender, etc.
2. Two panes. When you open an email, you shouldn?t have to leave the inbox view if you don?t want to.
3. Dragging. You should be able to drag emails if you want, to re-arrange them, pop them in a label.
4. Drag-n-drop and batch uploads. Why should we have to manually select each individual file attachment? Allow us to select a bunch of files, and drag them into an email.
5. Progress bar. Speaking of uploads, if you?ve got some big files attached, and it takes awhile for Gmail to upload, Gmail should show you a progress bar so you know it?s working.
6. Better integration with Gcal. This has been improving, but as of right now, you need to add third-party extensions to allow you to schedule stuff from an email into your Google Calendar, or to see your agenda for the day in Gmail. With two great tools like this, integration really should be complete.
7. Unthread. I love the threaded conversations. It?s ingenius. It took me a couple of days to get used to this, back when Gmail first came out, but now it?s indispensable. Except when you don?t want emails to be threaded (if you email something to 50 people, for example). Give us a choice.
8. Notification. I?m actually not a big fan of email notification, as they?re horribly distracting. But I know that others want it. You could use a third-party extension for this, but you shouldn?t need to.
9. Open emails in new tab. Self explanatory. Firefox made me addicted to tabs. Why can?t I use them in Gmail?
10. Read receipt. I wouldn?t use this much, but I think a lot of people find it useful.
11. Message size. I should be able to see how big a message is, and sort by size. Would make deleting emails easier.
12. Off-line reading. I love Gmail being online all the time, but what if my Internet connection is down, or I?m away from a wi-fi spot? How will I get my Gmail fix?

Gcal

1. To-do list. C?mon. This is pretty basic.
2. Pop-up notifications. Yes, they have this already, except when Gcal isn?t open. I?d like to be notified at all times.
3. Quick-add. There?s an extension for this, but it should be built in. Do a simple key combination, and enter an event. Voila.
4. Off-line usage. Same complaint as Gmail ? you should be able to save stuff and view your calendar even when you?re not connected to the Internet. I?m sure this is coming, but it should come sooner.
5. Drag an event to another week. I love being able to drag an event to another day when I?m in ?week? view ? but what if it?s next week, or the next month? What then, Google?
6. Icons. OK, this isn?t that necessary. But darn it, I?d like a little birthday cake next to the birthdays, and a little Christmas tree ?

Google Reader

1. Nothing much. This feed reader is pretty much perfect.
2. Except. Off-line reading.
3. And search! How is it that the king of search companies doesn?t have search in Reader?
4. Also: someday/maybe list. If I unsubscribe to a feed, I might want to save it on a list to check out at a later date.

Google Docs & Spreadsheets

1. Sharing with non-Google users. As far as I know, if you want to share a Google doc with someone, they?ll need to log in with a Google account to access it. Well, they shouldn?t have to.
2. Drag-n-drop. When I?m looking at my list of docs, I should be able to re-sort them, put them into folders, drag them to my desktop, and drag documents from the desktop to Google Docs.
3. Selecting text. I should be able to use the keyboard to select a paragraph of text, like you can in other word processors. Control-Shift-Up Arrow. It?s frustrating not to be able to do that.
4. Spreadsheets. This app needs a lot of work. It?s so behind other spreadsheet programs it?s almost not usable. I can make some very basic spreadsheets, but it?s a lot more time consuming. Simple things, like being able to quickly do a Sum formula without having to click on the Formulas tab first. Keyboard shortcuts. Things like that.
5. Off-line working. Same as above. This would be killer.

Other apps Google needs

1. Glist. Instead of just adding a to-do list into Gcal, Google should come up with a really cool to-do list program, with multiple lists, project view, drag-n-drop, reminders, etc. Basically a Google GTD program, integrated tightly with Gmail, Gcal, and Google Docs & Spreadsheets.
2. GMoney. There are a lot of personal finance programs out there, but Google needs one, integrated with its other features. I?m sure it will do this one day.
3. GDrive. This has been discussed, but really, Google should put your hard drive online. Drag and drop files, sort them, put them in folders.
4. GContacts. I like how Gmail automatically adds email address to your contact list. I barely even think about my contacts anymore. Until I want to look up a phone number. Then I have to go to Contacts, do a search, click on the contact ? using the contact manager is one of the worst features in Gmail. Google should have a separate Contact manager, integrated with Gmail and Gcal. And make it really cool, kay?

Written by Leo Babauta

Scroll down for the top 10 list. Great List

I only met my brother’s ex-girlfriend’s family once – the year they invited our family over to share Thanksgiving dinner. Since we were basically a group of strangers looking to make a good first impression, the table conversation was nothing more than friendly idle chitchat.

When I asked our hostess for more mashed potatoes, she took the opportunity to ask me about myself while dishing out my second helping – “So Shaun, what do you do for a living?”

Hesitantly, I responded: “I work in computer support.”

The transition to silence was immediate. All eyes suddenly turned to me, raised eyebrows all around. If you hadn’t heard my response, judging from everyone’s reaction you might think I said something outrageous like I was a male stripper or a gynecologist – but I knew the awkward silence would soon be broken by an overwhelming outpouring of computer questions.

“Oh wow, a computer guy!” – “So you know how to remove spyware and viruses and stuff, right?” – “Our family computer is really slow, I think it has a virus.” – “Do you have a business card, or can I get your number?”

I politely and patiently answered their questions, hoping that we’d exhaust the subject in a matter of minutes and then move on to something else. As it would turn out, my hopeful prediction was very wrong – the gentleman sitting next to me scooted his seat closer to me to begin an interrogation.

This man I was meeting for the first time must’ve truly believed that I was going to help him with his problem at that very moment. It didn’t matter how uninterested I looked or sounded, he was convinced that I must know the answer he’s looking for and he was determined he would get it.

Situations like this one were common for me. I’ve had eavesdropping strangers approach me with questions about their computer while I was eating in a restaurant. I’ve had oblivious coworkers step in front of me in a buffet line to tell me about their computer problems while I was serving myself food. I’ve had neighbors who spotted me from their window rush outside to coax me into working on their home computer while I was walking to the corner market. My knack for solving people’s computer problems had become so well-known among my neighborhood that these circumstances were near impossible to avoid.

You might be thinking, “So why complain? If your help is in high demand, why not embrace your talents and charge people for your time?”

I tried to for seven years. I’ve worked in the computer industry in various ways – help desk support, web design, consulting and sales, field technician, freelance computer specialist, and whatever other fancy name you want to give “the computer guy.”

I stopped enjoying it. There were certainly times when I enjoyed myself, but most of those times were when my computer talents were still developing. Once I stopped learning new things on the job, I would become fidgety and want to move on to something else.

From my career-hopping experiences in the computer industry, I’ve become acquainted with the Top Ten Reasons it doesn’t pay to be the computer guy:

Reason #10 – Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible

The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know ? everything is working fine!”

The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.

As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.

Reason #9 – Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same

When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer?”

Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.

Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to reinstruct the user of this same process – indefinitely.

Reason #8 – You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?

The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.

“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”

Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.

If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat – “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”

Reason #7 – Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued

Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.

That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”

Reason #6 – You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace

The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:

1. Computers never sleep.
2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
3. Every problem takes time to diagnose.
4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.

Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others – because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.

Reason #5 – People Ask You To Perform Miracles

The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:

“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”

Reason #4 – Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down

There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.

This is somewhat related to the next reason:

Reason #3 – You Possess Unlimited Responsibility

The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.

Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:

1. Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
2. Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
3. Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.

Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.

Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem – and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.

Reason #2 – A Life Of Alienation

People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something – as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.

The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour – he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day – not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.

Reason #1 – You Have No Identity

It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him – it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.

Having read these reasons, you may believe that I’m complaining. It’s true that I was upset with many aspects of my life as the computer guy, but I’m past the point of complaining.

I took a good hard look at my existence and realized that things were not likely to change in the line of work I had chosen. Instead of just complaining, I took action and began making positive changes in my life.

Working in the computer industry isn’t for everybody. It wasn’t for me. I’ve compiled my reasons for putting it behind me and placed them here, so that anyone who is unsatisfied with their life working in computers might recognize it’s not for them either.

The article is From here

Written by Robin Harris

You may already know that “deleting” a file does nothing of the sort. But did you know that your disk drive has a built-in system for the secure erasure of data?

No? Then read on.

What do you mean “delete” doesn’t delete?
File information is maintained in a directory so your operating system can find it. All that “delete” does is erase the file’s reference information. Your OS can’t find it, but the data is still there.

That’s what those “file recovery” programs look for: data in blocks that the directory says aren’t in use.

You really want to do this
If you keep business, medical, or personal financial information on disks, simple deletion isn’t enough to protect the data when disposing of the equipment.

Besides identity theft, data loss may leave you or your company liable under federal laws such as HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, Graham-Leach-Bliley or other state laws. Criminal penalties include fines and prison terms up to 20 years. Not to mention the civil suits that can result.

So what’s the magic?
Something called Secure Erase, a set of commands embedded in most ATA drives built since 2001. If this is so wonderful, why haven’t you heard of it before? Because it’s been disabled by most motherboard BIOSes.

Secure Erase is a loaded gun aimed right at all your data. And Murphy’s Law is still in force. But hey, if you’re smart enough to read Storage Bits, you’re smart enough to not play with Secure Erase until you need to.

How does Secure Erase work?
Secure Erase overwrites every single track on the hard drive. That includes the data on “bad blocks”, the data left at the end of partly overwritten blocks, directories, everything. There is no data recovery from Secure Erase.

Says who?
The National Security Agency, for one. And the National Institute for Standards and Testing (NIST), who give it a higher security rating than external block overwrite software that you’d have to buy. Update: There is an open source external block overwrite utility called Boot and Nuke that is free.

Secure Erase is approved for complying with the legal requirements noted above.

UCSD’s CMRR to the rescue
The University of California at San Diego hosts the Center for Magnetic Recording Research. Dr. Gordon Hughes of CMRR helped develop the Secure Erase standard.

Download his Freeware Secure Erase Utility, read the ReadMe file and you’re good to go.

To use it you’ll need to know how to create a DOS boot disk – in XP you can do it with the “Format” option after you right-click the floppy icon in My Computer.

Update: Some folks have commented that I didn’t actually say how to use the utility, leaving that to the readme. For those of you who’d like to judge how tricky this is – and it is definitely not for newbies – here’s a quote from the instructions:

Instructions for using HDDerase.exe
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Copy the downloaded file, HDDerase.exe onto the created floppy/CD-ROM bootable DOS disk. Boot the computer in DOS using the bootable disk. Make sure to set the correct boot priority setting in the system BIOS. Type “hdderase” at system/DOS prompt to run HDDerase.exe. All ATA hard disk drives connected to the main system board will be identified and their information displayed. Make sure that the jumpers on the hard disk drives are correctly configured. Avoid setting the jumpers to CS (cable select) on the hard disk drives. Master or slave jumper setting is preferred.

There’s more, but if this is more than you want to deal with then Secure Erase isn’t for you. Update II: A late commenter says “Floppy boot does not understand SATA drives and thus the method described does not work.” I don’t know if it is true or not, but if it is it is worth knowing. Maybe someone well-versed in Windows floppy booting can confirm.

If you want to know more CMRR’s 12 page Tutorial on Disk Drive Data Sanitization should satisfy you.

The Storage Bits take
Protecting data sometimes means erasing it. With this utility every storage pro has another tool to protect confidential information.

PS. Mac users already have a similar option under the Finder: “Secure Empty Trash”. And with Disk Utility you can perform a secure erase of all drive free space.

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