I was having trouble downloading the ISO (disc image file) for Windows 7 Home Premium with Firefox. The 3.0 GB file always died around 200 MB, and I'd have to restart it. After this happened 4 times, I went in search of a better download manager. Google led me to the Firefox extension DownThemAll!
I installed the extension and restarted Firefox. I then right-clicked the ISO link in Firefox, and selected Save link with DownThemAll! I was able to pause and resume the download as necessary, and after a few hours (I have a slow DSL connection), the download finally completed!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Building blocks
Didn't your parents teach you to share? It applies to Legos and your lifeless body!
Source: xkcd: Lego
Source: xkcd: Lego
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Don't waste Anytime minutes to check your Verizon voicemail
By default, Verizon Wireless phones are programmed to call *86 to check voicemail. This counts as a regular call, so if you call it during peak hours, you're using up your Anytime minutes.
Here's a screenshot from my current bill, where I'm using minutes to check voicemail:
To avoid using precious minutes to check your voicemail, change the voicemail number in your phone to your 10-digit phone number. This will appear as a Verizon mobile-to-mobile (M2M) call, which never counts against your minutes. To change the stored number:
Sources
Here's a screenshot from my current bill, where I'm using minutes to check voicemail:
To avoid using precious minutes to check your voicemail, change the voicemail number in your phone to your 10-digit phone number. This will appear as a Verizon mobile-to-mobile (M2M) call, which never counts against your minutes. To change the stored number:
- Open Contacts
- Highlight the Voicemail contact
- Select Edit
- Change the number from *86 to your 10-digit phone number
- Save the contact
- Test by calling the Voicemail contact. You should be prompted for your voicemail password.
Sources
- Verizon Wireless Customer Service, via phone call, 10/22/2009
- Independent Democracy: Cell phone voicemail – Don’t be tricked into using your anytime minutes
- PDAPhoneHome:
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Crossword puzzle help sites
Need some help getting the last few words in a crossword puzzle?
First try One Across. You enter the clue and the word's pattern, and the site gives you a list of likely answers.
+
If none of those answers work, jump over to the Crossword Clue Solver. This solver isn't as smart as One Across', because it doesn't analyze the clue. However, it can be helpful when you know a few letters of the word and just need some help filling in the blanks.
First try One Across. You enter the clue and the word's pattern, and the site gives you a list of likely answers.
+If none of those answers work, jump over to the Crossword Clue Solver. This solver isn't as smart as One Across', because it doesn't analyze the clue. However, it can be helpful when you know a few letters of the word and just need some help filling in the blanks.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Light bulbs ranked by energy efficiency
I've often wondered how energy-efficient different types of light bulbs are. Here are some common bulb types, ranked by luminous efficacy. Luminous efficacy measures how much light the bulb produces for the electricity it takes in. The unit of measurement is lumens per watt (lm/W).
From most to least energy efficient:
LED (light-emitting diode)
10 - 150 lm/W
compact fluorescent (CFL)
46 - 72 lm/W
halogen
19.2 - 24 lm/W
incandescent (traditional tungsten)
5 - 17.5 lm/W
Images from Wikimedia Commons
Sources
From most to least energy efficient:
LED (light-emitting diode)
10 - 150 lm/W
compact fluorescent (CFL)
46 - 72 lm/W
halogen
19.2 - 24 lm/W
incandescent (traditional tungsten)
5 - 17.5 lm/W
Images from Wikimedia Commons
Sources
Windows 7 for $30 for college students
Images source: Microsoft
If you're a college student and there's even a chance you'll want to buy Windows 7, you need to check out Microsoft's special price offer:
- $29.99 for Windows 7 Home Premium. Compare that price to $120 to pre-order Home Premium from the Microsoft Store or Amazon.
- $29.99 for Windows 7 Professional. Compare that price to $200 to pre-order Professional from the Microsoft Store or Amazon.
Both the 32 and 64-bit versions are available.
Caveats:
- You have to be a currently enrolled college student with a .edu email address.
- This is a digital download, not a disc. The disc is an additional $13. You can burn the file to disc yourself, but that won't have any resale value like a boxed retail version will.
- This is the Upgrade version of Windows 7 Home Premium, not the full version. You'll need a previous version of Windows on your PC to install this upgrade version.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Why you should care about your credit score
I was at a bonfire this weekend, and the topic of credit history came up. Two views were presented:
- debt is evil and credit scores don't matter
- debt is a valuable financial tool if used properly, and credit scores are very important
I'm firmly in Camp 2. You should definitely care about your credit score. Here are a few things affected by your credit score (AKA credit history or credit rating):
- mortgage rates
- car loan rates
- credit cards rates
- small business loan rates
- auto insurerance rates
- home insurance rates
- renting rates
- employment options
- cell phone service
- utilities rates
The reason your credit score affects so many areas of your life is that it's used as a measure of how financially risky you are. Because of the tradeoff between risk and reward, if you have a low score, you're seen as high-risk, so institutions want a higher reward for dealing with you. So, your rates are higher, and your options are more limited than people with good credit.
Sources:
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