Walker News » Howto

How To Display Sound Or Speaker Icon In Windows 7 Notification Area?

Walker — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:34:08 +0000

By default, Windows 7 displays the speaker icon or sound control in Notification Area (bottom-right corner; better known as System Tray by Windows veteran).

If yours is not there, and so as the network icon, USB or Safely Remove Hardware icon, etc, then the Notification Area might have been customized to behave in such a way.

If this is not setting issue, then the Windows Vista system tray icon missing bug could have been developed in Windows 7 too (though I have not encountered this glitch yet in 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate).

To confirm this is actually caused by Notification Area settings:

1) Right click Taskbar, select “Properties” to open “Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box”.

2) Click the Taskbar tab and then the Customization button of “Notification Area” section – there you can set one of the 3 system-defined behaviors of such icons, i.e. Show icon and notifications, Hide icon and notifications, Only show notifications.

Personally, I prefers to see all active icons in Notification Area, and thus instead of configure individual icon’s behavior, the “Always show all icons and notifications on the Taskbar” option is enabled.

If the sound / speaker icon, network icon, power icon, etc, are not in the list, then click the “Turn system icons on or off” option (screenshot @ above) and confirm the Volume, Network, Power, etc, are “ON”:

The Easiest Way To Disable Or Turn Off Windows 7 Aero Peek

Walker — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:19:35 +0000

Unless the graphics card is using WDDM-compatible device driver, the Windows 7 Aero Peek feature is disabled or deactivated.

Although my Nvidia GeForce 7600 GT supports only WDDM 1.0, it is still capable to render those fancy Windows 7 user interfaces. At most of the time, however, I don’t feel comfortable with Aero Peek and desperately want to turn it off whenever possible.

How to EASILY toggle Windows 7 Aero Peek on and off

Other than open up the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box to activate / deactivate it, there is a faster way to enable or disable Aero Peek in just two mouse clicks:

Move mouse pointer to the Show Desktop / Aero Peek control bar and right click on it. There you will see two options – Show Desktop and Peek At Desktop.

A tick or check mark next to the option means it is enabled and vice-versa. Hence, you can quickly enable or disable Aero Peek by right click the Show Desktop button and click the Peek At Desktop option to toggle check mark on and off.

If your graphics adapter is using the older Windows XP Display Driver Model (XPDM), then the Peek At Desktop option is checked but dimmed / greyed out (i.e. Aero Peek is not available and not activated).

How To Relocate Or Change Google Chrome Cache Folder Location?

Walker — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:02:58 +0000

If you have a reason to change or relocate Google Chrome default cache folder to other directory or even different disk partition, the chrome.exe comes with a command line option switch to do the job.

It’s pretty easy that everyone can make it – no complicated step, not an advanced skill, no registry change, doesn’t required third party program – the magic of command line option switch, a good old concept that are mostly found in Linux / Unix or Windows command line utilities.

Anyway, if you have doubt, just spend 2 minutes watching the screencast below (another silent-video but should serve purpose well than my poor writing skill :-(

If you have good broadband connection, this screencast is available in High Quality video mode (HQ) for better visual experience. Check it out at WalkerNewsdotnet Channel.

How to change Google Chrome default cache directory

This work is tested and proved with Google Chrome v1.0.154.36 (and should be working in future release, hopefully):

Right-click the Google Chrome program shortcut and select Properties from the menu
Append the chrome.exe command line option switch at the end of program path in Target text-box:
```
--user-data-dir="type the full path of your own cache folder here"
```

Takes note that you must specify the full, absolute path of the user-defined cache folder for --user-data-dir option to work as you wish.

Unlike the --user-agent that change the Chrome user agent string, the --user-data-dir command line option switch is effective as soon as you double-click the “tweaked” chrome.exe shortcut without having to close all chrome.exe process and restart the Chrome browser.

How Easy To Change WordPress 2.7 Post Permalink With Post Slug

Walker — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:53:40 +0000

If WordPress is setup to use “Pretty Permalink”, then the weblog software automatically convert the post title into a permanent URL of the post or page (i.e. the Permalink). Although the permalink is not necessary contains the exact words in post title (due to simplification / truncation logic).

If you have a reason to change the default “Pretty Permalink”, WordPress allows you to edit or change the permalink, just as you wish.

For example, I change the permalink of earlier post “How To Change Google Chrome 1.0.154.36 User Agent String?” by eliminating version number 1.0.154.36.

Prior to WordPress 2.5 (that I know), the post slug feature allows blogger to define an alternative post title which is then referred and converted into a permalink of the post.

Then, WordPress 2.5 (and 2.6, if not mistaken) removed the post slug button from weblog interface. As a replacement, the “edit” link of Permalink was used for the purpose.

Now, post slug make a “hidden” comeback in latest WordPress 2.7. As compare to edit the “Pretty Permalink” directly, post slug allows user to write an alternative post title as normal, without worry about the dash character that form the permalink structure.

As mentioned, WordPress 2.7 doesn’t show Post Slug interface by default. In order to display Post Slug text box, click the “Screen Option” on upper-right corner (below the Log Out link), select “Post Slug” and look for the Post Slug input box at bottom of post editor:

How To Change Google Chrome 1.0.154.36 User Agent String?

Walker — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:30:47 +0000

Web browser identifies itself to web server with an ID, a web ID that is commonly known as web browser User Agent String.

Based on this reported ID, the web server-side programming logic can (by theory) delivers browser-dependant web layout or feature for achieving best browsing experience. It’s also (by theory) a way to statistically record web browser market share or penetration rate.

However, the User Agent Spoofing technique that exists in many well-known web browsers void these theories.

Google Chrome v1.0.154.36 (first non-Beta) is of no exception!

That’s to say, Google Chrome can identify to web server with a fake user agent string, if you want to.

How to easily change Google Chrome User Agent String?

Before graduate from beta to final release, Google Chrome 0.4.154.33 that never goes public allows developers changing user agent string via option switch, in order to trick Hotmail.com in believing an “IE-compatible” web browser is requesting services (particularly composing mail and switching folders in Hotmail).

As seen in the screencast, the --user-agent option switch is apparently available in the fifteenth release (i.e. the first non-Beta release, version 1.0.154.36).

Indeed, the first non-Beta release is still using original user agent string suggested in v0.4.154.33 to fix Hotmail compatibility issue.

To change Google Chrome user agent string, add the –user-agent option switch to the chrome.exe program shortcut:

chrome.exe --user-agent="Your favourite User Agent String here"

Remember to close all active Google Chrome browser window and reopen chrome.exe with the tweaked –user-agent option switch.

To confirm the user agent spoofing, just go to useragentstring.com or copy this simple JavaScript to Address bar and press ENTER:

javascript:alert(navigator.userAgent)

As long as majority of web sites still not recognize Google Chrome, I think Google Chrome will continue to support user agent string spoofing technique. So, it may be one day Google Chrome will fed up and remove the –user-agent option switch.

How To Create High Quality And High Definition Video For YouTube?

Walker — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:36:47 +0000

In the past few days, I’ve been trying to create screencast that can playback in sharper visual level at YouTube. After number of tests, I am pleased to share the findings of how to create HQ (high quality) and HD (high definition) video clip that YouTube recognize.

It might because of the HD video rendering feature is still in beta stage, I only found a brief guideline of creating high quality video. There is nothing yet in YouTube Help Resources talks about how to create YouTube-certified high definition video.

According to the guideline, video with a resolution of 480×360 pixels or higher and able to playback at 24fps or higher will be regarded as “high quality” video.

When a high quality video is available, YouTuber has a choice to watch that video at sharper and better visual clarity level, by clicking hyperlink that reads watch in high quality, shown at bottom-right corner of YouTube Player (as seen in this TRK screencast).

Besides the HQ video, YouTube is also trying to support high definition video (HD) that can playback at a resolution of 1280×720 pixels – a hyperlink that reads watch in HD appears at the bottom-right corner of video (as shown in this screenshot; taken from my public screencast):

^{How to create a true HD video that YouTube recognize as high definition video?}

How to create a HD video that recognized by YouTube HD video scanning system?

For testing, I created two sample screencasts at 800×600 pixels and 1280×1020 pixels.

Then, both sample videos are converted into two sets of HD video that differed by frame rate, using Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate HD profile that encode video with H.264 codec, 1280×720 pixels, 800 bitrate, 30fps (another set is at 24fps), 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio, mpeg4acc audio codec, etc:

^{Using Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate with HD profile to create HD video that YouTube recognize as true high definition video.}

Next, all four Xilisoft-converted HD videos uploaded to WalkerNewsDotNet Channel. However, only the screencasts that produced with original 1280×1020 pixels are recognized by YouTube as valid HD video format, regardless it’s at 24fps or 30fps.

Having says that, Xilisoft is likely unable to encode source video at 800×600 pixels to a true HD video format that recognized by YouTube. (Although the Media Player Classic shows these HD videos inherit HD video properties, as those set in Xilisoft HD profile.)

Verdict

To create High Quality video (HQ) for YouTube, the source video resolution is at least 480×360 pixels (or higher), frame rate of 24fps (or higher), MP3 audio, YouTube recognized format (.WMV, .AVI, .MOV and .MPG), better encoded with MPEG4 codec (Divx or Xvid).

To create High Definition (HD) for YouTube, the source video resolution must be at least 1280×720 pixels (or the video encoder must have a mean to encode a non-HD source to true HD video that YouTube agree).

How To Add Background Music To Your Video At YouTube?

Walker — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 17:06:04 +0000

I’ve uploaded more than five screencasts to WalkerNews.net channel@YouTube but none of those original video clips contains neither narration nor background music to spices it up.

Not that I want to go Charlie Chaplin style because I like his movies, but I’m shy to speak :-). There is no background music, simply because of I’m trying to save some uploading bandwidth.

However, regardless of what reasons I have, my screencasts don’t have to be silent after uploading to YouTube (if I really want to them sing).

The YouTube AudioSwap, as its name implies, is to tune the audio (of a video) with another from YouTube music library on the fly (i.e. directly, online at YouTube)! This feature is no doubt capable of adding background music to make silent-video hot, rock, jazz, classical, blue, country, etc:

^{How to add or change background music of a video in YouTube?}

So now, all of my screencasts at YouTube channel can sing, and I hope you won’t feel boring when watching them with earphone/speaker on (but you may feel unexciting of my poor demo skill that looks as suck as my writing :-(.

So long you’ve login to YouTube and watching at your own posted video clip, it’s not that difficult to find a hyperlink or web button that describe “AudioSwap”. Just click on it and there is a “huge” music library ready for you to choose a dream song.

In order to find music that likely matching video playback length, select the option “Only show songs of similar length to my video”. Remember to click “Preview” button to hear and feel your selection before rushing to press “Publish” button. Of course, there is currently no limit of using AudioSwap.