Friday, September 29, 2023

Windows PowerToys: Power Up Your Workflow with Free Utilities

 

 Windows PowerToys: Power Up Your Workflow with Free Utilities

 


Windows PowerToys is a set of utilities and tools designed to enhance the user experience on Windows operating systems. Developed by Microsoft, PowerToys offers a collection of handy features and shortcuts that can significantly improve productivity and customization options for Windows users. Here's a closer look at some of the key aspects of PowerToys and how you can make the most out of this powerful software suite:

1. Launcher:

PowerToys' Launcher is a fast and efficient way to launch applications, files, and folders on your Windows system. To use it, you can press Alt + Space by default (you can customize this shortcut) to bring up the Launcher. As you start typing, it dynamically filters and displays results, allowing you to quickly launch the desired item. You can use arrow keys to navigate through the search results and press Enter to launch the selected item.

What makes Launcher powerful is its extensibility. You can use plugins to extend its functionality. For instance, you can use web search plugins to directly search the internet from the Launcher.

2. FancyZones:

FancyZones is a window manager utility that helps you create custom window layouts on your desktop. When you drag a window, it will automatically snap into the specified zones. You can define different layouts for different tasks. For example, you could have a layout for video editing with a large space for your editing software, a zone for your file explorer, and another for your web browser.

FancyZones is highly customizable. You can create your own layouts or choose from predefined ones. This tool is especially beneficial for users who work with multiple applications simultaneously, allowing for a more organized and efficient workspace.

3. PowerRename:

PowerRename is a Windows Shell Extension for bulk renaming files. With PowerRename, you can search for specific text within file names, replace it with another text, or even use regular expressions for advanced renaming tasks. This is incredibly useful when you have a large set of files with inconsistent naming conventions and you want to standardize them.

4. Image Resizer:

The Image Resizer tool is a simple yet effective way to resize images. You can right-click on one or more images and select 'Resize pictures' from the context menu. This opens a dialog where you can choose from predefined sizes or set a custom size for the images. It's a quick solution for resizing images without having to open an image editing software.

5. Keyboard Manager:

Keyboard Manager is a powerful tool for remapping keys and creating custom shortcuts. You can remap keys so that pressing one key produces the effect of another key. This is particularly useful if you have a non-standard keyboard layout or if there are specific keys you rarely use and want to assign them different functions.

6. PowerToys Run:

PowerToys Run is a simpler version of Launcher. When activated (by default, it's Alt + Space), you can start typing the name of an application, file, or folder, and PowerToys Run will display the best match. It's a lightweight and fast alternative to the full-featured Launcher, perfect for users who prefer a more minimalistic approach.

7. Color Picker:

The Color Picker tool allows you to identify the color code of any pixel on your screen. When active, you can hover your mouse over any part of your screen, and it will show you the color information. This is especially useful for designers and developers who need to match colors precisely, ensuring consistency in their projects.

In summary, Windows PowerToys provides a comprehensive set of utilities that cater to different user needs, ranging from quick application launching and window management to file renaming and color picking. Its customization options and user-friendly interface make it a valuable addition to any Windows user's toolkit, enhancing productivity and streamlining various tasks.

Conclusion

Windows PowerToys stands as a versatile and indispensable toolkit for Windows users seeking to enhance their productivity and customization options. Its array of features, from the efficient Launcher and organized window management with FancyZones to the streamlined file operations through PowerRename, cater to a wide spectrum of user needs. The ability to resize images swiftly, remap keys with Keyboard Manager, and precisely pick colors with ease adds further value.

PowerToys' strength lies not only in its diverse functionalities but also in its user-friendly design, making these powerful tools accessible to both casual users and power users. By empowering users to streamline workflows, organize desktops, and simplify complex tasks, PowerToys significantly enriches the Windows experience. As an ever-evolving project backed by Microsoft, users can expect regular updates and compatibility with the latest Windows versions, ensuring a reliable and continually improving toolset for optimizing their Windows workflow. Whether you're a designer, developer, or simply someone looking to boost efficiency, Windows PowerToys stands as an invaluable companion, offering a smoother and more tailored Windows experience.

 


 

 

Thursday, February 2, 2023

5 Amazing Sites that Pay $50 to $500 per Article

5 Amazing Sites that Pay $50 to $500 per Article 

 

 Are you looking for websites where you may begin writing internet articles for pay? If you earn a living writing articles, you can work from home. There are fresh job advertisements that enable article writers to earn money every day. Being able to write and earn money online can be immensely gratifying. You can choose to work with the customers or websites that most interest you.
You'll discover that freelancing work portals are really helpful because employers frequently post new positions. Simply register as a writer and browse job posts is all that is required.

 #1. Strong Whispers: $50 — $150

 A variety of articles regarding culture, the environment, and other social issues are available to users of Strong Whispers. The spectrum is broad. Your involvement is unlimited. Various topics can be covered in articles, such as corporate greed, education reform, a shift in global leadership, and letting the people govern and decide how we treat the environment and exploit resources. You can write article write articles about the culture, environment social issues and you will get paid $50 to $150 per article based on article quality. Although article earnings are flexible, they normally range from $50 to $150 for each piece published. For the perfect content, they are willing to pay extra, and the website wants to publish two to three guest posts each month.

 #2. Cracked.com: $100 — $200 

 In essence, Cracked.com is a humor website. Cracked.com is an excellent opportunity to make some additional money writing articles if you’re humorous, smart, or creative. No prior knowledge is required. This is a fantastic way to monetize your blog, provided the content is quality. You can speak with the editors directly. They publish articles, photoshopped images, infographics, and videos. You may choose. When you sign up for the website, selecting the writer’s workshop takes you to the message board where authors can submit their writings. They typically pay $100 at the time of writing. But they pay you $200 when you complete your five post. 

#3. Michelle Pippin: $50 — $150 

  Michelle Pippin is seeking for content that will aid small businesses in boosting their revenue, stature, or impact. A large audience can get Michelle Pippin’s crisp and excellent business and marketing articles. This can be a site to take into consideration if you have any original writing, a brilliant concept, or a hack for the business or marketing area. While the site primarily focuses on women in business, it also offers a balanced selection of articles on marketing, case studies, entrepreneurial resources, and articles on profit. It also often updates with news stories about the business world. The website has a sizable audience and offers a diverse selection of content on marketing and business. Your articles should go beyond the bare minimum, but they shouldn’t be overly technical as if they were being written for a peer-reviewed publication. Michelle will count on you to do the research, and if it gets published and seen by her members-only audience (which is a print edition), you’ll probably get paid more. The average business or marketing post on the site has roughly 800 words. 

#4. Watch Culture: $25 — $500

 Each month, Watch Culture makes its news, commentary, and entertainment coverage available to millions of users worldwide. As a UK-based online publication, it covers the current zeitgeist. Numerous writers make money every day by submitting articles on a variety of topics to their steadily growing five million monthly readerships, including film, music, gaming, sports, television, and more. Every single week, contributors upload several hundred stories, some of which you may occasionally hear on Sky News, Metro Radio, BBC Radio, Dublin FM, and in the major newspapers. Their pay rate range from $25 to $500.

 #5. Wow Women on Writing: $50–100 

Wow, Women on Writing excels at one thing: caring for female writers, supporting them, and truly trying to provide possibilities for aspiring freelancers. Their varied audience is committed to delivering top-notch content for women. Wow, Women concentrate on freelance work, entrepreneurialism, and education. The articles are typically in-depth and created to assist writers in honing their craft and showcasing their work. You can choose to request payment via Paypal or, if you are in the USA, via check. Read other Wow Articles first. You should be familiar with the website’s tone. The website is enlightening, informal, and enthusiastic about exposing excellent writers. Make sure you are not simply rewriting their content or revising an old concept. Be innovative. A 3,000-word feature article can earn you up to $150 from Wow.

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Format a USB drive using the diskpart utility in Windows

1. Open the command prompt as an administrator by clicking on the Start menu, typing "command prompt", and then right-clicking on the Command Prompt icon and selecting "Run as administrator".
2. Type the command diskpart and press Enter. This will launch the diskpart utility.
3. Type the command list disk and press Enter. This will list all of the disks attached to your computer.
4. Identify the disk number of the USB drive you want to format. You can use the size of the disk or the label (if it has one) to determine which disk is the correct one.
5. Type the command select disk X, where X is the disk number of the USB drive. Press Enter.
6. Type the command clean and press Enter. This will delete all partitions on the USB drive and create a single unallocated space.
7. Type the command create partition primary and press Enter. This will create a new primary partition on the USB drive.
8. Type the command format fs=ntfs quick and press Enter. This will format the partition using the NTFS file system and perform a quick format.
9. Type the command assign and press Enter. This will assign a drive letter to the USB drive.
10. Type the command exit and press Enter to exit the diskpart utility.
You can use the diskpart utility to perform various other operations on disks and partitions, such as creating and deleting partitions, extending and shrinking partitions, and setting active partitions. You can use the help command to get a list of available commands and options.

10 Facts about Christmas

1) Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was the son of God. For most people, it takes place every year on 25 December – the day that the Roman Catholic Church chose to mark Jesus’ birthday. But, in fact, no one actually knows the exact date Jesus was born.
2) Did you know that not all Christians celebrate Christmas on the same day? In countries with large populations of Orthodox Christians*, such as Russia, the Ukraine and Romania, Christmas Day falls on 7 January. Some Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January, too. 3) The name ‘Christmas’ comes from the old English phrase Cristes maesse, which means ‘Christ’s mass’. But what about ‘Xmas’? Lots of people think this is just a modern-day abbreviation – but it actually dates back to the 16th century! The ‘X’ is said to represent the Greek letter ‘Chi’– the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, Χριστός (pronounced ‘Christos’).
4) Come Christmas, people around the world enjoy all kinds of jolly-good fun! Many of the festive traditions we have in the UK today came about in the Victorian era – such as Christmas cards, gift-giving and crackers, as well as traditional foods like mince pies and roast turkey! Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were huge fans of Christmas, in fact!
5) Christmas trees also became popular in Victorian Britain. But these were first seen in 16th Century Germany where, at Christmas time, people decorated fir trees with fruit and nuts – and later sweets, paper shapes and candles. Amazingly, historians think the origins of this festive tradition may date back to the Romans and Ancient Egyptians, who used evergreen plants and garlands as symbols of everlasting life. Wow!
6) Check this out – every year, Norway sends a beautiful home-grown Christmas tree to London, where it is decorated with lights in Trafalgar Square. Standing a towering 20m tall, the terrific tree is a gift to say thank you for the help the UK gave Norway during World War II. What a tree-mendous gift!
7) We can’t talk about Christmas without a mention to the big bearded, rosy-cheeked jolly man… Father Christmas! But have you wondered how he got the name Santa Claus? It’s from Sinterklaas, which means Saint Nicholas in Dutch, the language of the Netherlands. St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century – known for being kind and generous, he later became the patron saint of children.
8) But Santa isn’t the only Christmas character – there are many more around the world! In Italy, for example, a kind witch called La Befana is said to fly around on a broomstick delivering toys to children! And in Iceland, children leave shoes under the window for 13 mischievous trolls called the Yule Lads. If the child has been good, they’ll find sweets in their shoe – but if they’ve been bad, the Yule lads will leave them a rotten potato.
9) We all love to sing along to Jingle Bells, but have you ever noticed that the song doesn’t have the word Christmas in it? Or Jesus or Santa Claus? That’s because it wasn’t originally a Christmas song! In fact, the jolly anthem was written in 1850, entitled One Horse Open Sleigh, for the American holiday, Thanksgiving!
10) Now, imagine if there was no Christmas. Does it feel quite strange? Sad, perhaps? Well, believe it or not, in 1644 Christmas celebrations were made illegal in England, and soon after, in the English Colonies in America, too! At that time, members of the government felt that the religious meaning of Christmas had been forgotten, and so banned the holiday festivities. Some people still celebrated in secret, however, until Christmas was once again legal… almost 20 years later!

Copy : : https://www.natgeokids.com

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Why Lionel Messi knows as GOAT

Lionel Messi is often referred to as the GOAT, which stands for "Greatest of All Time," in reference to his outstanding skills and achievements as a professional soccer player. Messi has won numerous individual and team accolades during his career, including 10 La Liga titles, 6 Copa del Rey titles, and 4 UEFA Champions League titles with FC Barcelona. He has also won the Ballon d'Or, an award given to the best soccer player in the world, a record 6 times. In addition to his success at the club level, Messi has also had a highly successful international career, representing Argentina in numerous major tournaments like 2021 Copa América, Finalissima 2022 and 2022 FIFA World Cup. His exceptional talent, combined with his consistent performances at the highest level, have earned him widespread recognition as one of the greatest soccer players of all time.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Are you ready for your first home robot..? Meet Pepper









The path to mainstream home robots is strewn with the battery-drained corpses of AIBO and lesser-known, Dalek-esque robots like Wakamaru. But now Japan's SoftBank, flush from the purchase of Sprint, has introduced its robot game changer, teaming up with Aldebaran Robotics (the team behind NAO) to make sure it gets it right. This is Pepper-kun. He's adorable... and a bit of a ditz. Is it finally time, like it was for the home PC, for the home robot revolution? 




Those eyes


 


Pepper's giant eyes are designed to look at you wherever you are -- like the Mona Lisa. Creepy side-glances abound, but I was surprised at how comfortable I soon became when interacting with the 3-foot, 11-inch robot. The diminutive size and big eyes project that kawaii ("cute") aura that Japan loves. There's some manga-inspired design here, and it goes against the efforts to design more human-looking robots, which then inevitably tumble into the uncanny valley: Is it human? Is it a machine? It's like how parts of Blade Runner and Hiroshi Ishiguro's Geminoids might weird you out. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son talked about how he was inspired by Astro Boy, an Osamu Tezuka creation from over 50 years ago.


Fortunately, SoftBank's Pepper sidesteps that weirdness: It's designed to be inoffensive and lovable. Inside those black holes are an infrared sensor and a detector: This measures 3D depth. On the top of the head, there are four mics for directional sensitivity and a pair of speakers distributed between the ears. Confusingly, in the mouth, there's one of two high-definition cameras; the other resides between the eyes. There are touch sensors in the head and hands, as well as three bump sensors in the base. (I'll get to those; I'm working my way down.) This particular Pepper is the model that'll be working part-time in SoftBank's phone stores, although I'm told the hardware will be nearly identical to the ones the carrier will offer for sale early next year.

 That voice





Pepper speaks in childlike Japanese. The software behind it can speak and detect French, English and Spanish, but again, this is the robot that'll be working phone stores in Japan, where there's not a huge need for foreign-language skills at the moment. Pepper's "personality" features a love of cheesy jokes, but you'd probably have to appreciate that Japanese humor to get most of it. Still, it's a nice touch.




SoftBank's spokesman tells me there's a difference to the behavior between the shop-centric model (Pepper starts a lot of conversations and wants to play a lot of games), and the eventual home robot. The latter will base a lot of its interactions on established information and on face detection -- it'll know who it's talking to. Less small talk and gags and more "Don't forget your umbrella," "Are you feeling okay?"-type interactions. SoftBank is reiterating Pepper's ability to read into what you're saying emotionally, from a light-and-friendly "No," to an aggressive one. The meaning is different, and Aldebaran Robotics' boss told our Japanese colleagues that it can typically tell the difference if you say, "Yes," but your heart (and probably your face and intonation) says, "No."


Pepper, though, asks if he can join your family, asks what kind of person you are. It's friendly small talk, but it's also tinged with a hint of impatience. If he can't understand your roughly pronounced Japanese (sorry), he'll move on to a new question, or ignore you outright. But I don't feel all that offended; I feel like Pepper's still learning -- he's still a kid and I humor him. Maybe it's the way he talks, or the fact that he's a couple of feet shorter than me, but I forgive him for it, and that might be how it worms its way into Japanese homes.


The hands





 




They aren't going to pick up anything anytime soon. As you might have seen in the intro video, the hands, nay arms, are surprisingly fluid and Pepper's numerous poses are quite natural. There's a degree of give to the hands' movement too: They've been designed to be soft and pliable, because kids. Children can get excitable and they run around a lot. So to avoid poked eyes and subsequent tears, the fingers are bendable, while joints are surrounded by flexible rubber so that they don't pinch if a hand gets trapped in there. The whole body is a combination of gentle curves and SoftBank colors (white and light gray -- it's all very interior design-friendly).

There are touch sensors on the arms, as well as the head. But during our first meeting, it was the head patting that got Pepper's attention most. I'd love for Pepper to have the ability to hold our keys or umbrella while we prepare to go out, for example. I want my robot butler.



The leg(s)


 


 It's not a bipedal robot. ASIMO is safe for now. It's something Son mentioned at Pepper's debut, but it is a fact that wheel-based robots are far more energy efficient. SoftBank pegs the battery life of its newest sales assistant at around 12 hours. A combination of three specially designed wheels allow it to rotate on the spot, reverse and generally navigate its environment. To help, there are three bumper sensors and a trio of paired laser sensors augmented with sonar. This doesn't just avoid collisions, but also ensures that it can maintain a degree of distance -- you can keep your personal space. And if bipedal is your dream robot form, Aldebaran Robotics does have one in development.



The point



 

do you expect Pepper to do? That's the next challenge for SoftBank. It doesn't offer much in the way of manual labor or cleaning, but it definitely, unwaveringly, offers a glimpse into the sociable future of robots. Imagine Siri's savvy with Pepper's expressiveness and, er, Boston Dynamics' maneuverability -- that's probably the future.

 

But will it be a commercial success? By installing these robots in its stores (four at the moment, but rolling out further later this month), it could become a familiar sight in Japan -- and that's what Pepper will need if SoftBank's expecting normal people to stump up its 198,000 yen asking price. SoftBank's CEO Son said, "It's the first step," and the core part to this is its affordability. It may not be cheap in the world of phones and tablets, but nor is it out of this world (or your wallet). For a humanoid robot that wants to talk, $1,900 is a bargain.

 





Thursday, June 5, 2014

How to fix a corrupt user profile in Windows: The User Profile Service failed the logon



How to fix a corrupt user profile in Windows



Corrupt user profiles are a frustratingly common problem with Windows and there are various problems and solutions depending on the exact error message you receive. Here we show you how to recover from a corrupt user profile by either fixing the problem or creating a new account and transferring your user data across to the new profile.

When you type your password and press Enter, you will typically see the error message “The User Profile Service failed the logon” and “The user profile cannot be loaded”, and you’ll be returned to the logon screen.

WARNING: Some people have lost files by using Method 1 below, so create a backup of your hard disk, or just files you cannot afford to lose before trying anything which involves editing the Windows Registry. There are various programs which will allow you to make a copy of your entire disk, but you will need a second disk with sufficient capacity, and may even need a second PC or laptop in order to copy the disk (if you can't boot into Windows). You should also make a backup of the Registry itself from Safe Mode before you start. These instructions are provided as a last resort, and we recommend you try Method 2 - below - before trying Method 1.

Method 1: Fix a corrupt profile

Microsoft says that a user profile can become corrupted if your antivirus software is scanning your PC while you try to log on, but it could also be caused by other things.
A quick fix can be to restart your PC, but if this doesn’t work you’ll need to restart again and boot into Safe mode. Do this by pressing F8 before you see the Windows loading screen and choosing Safe Mode from the menu that appears.
Safe Mode logs you into the built-in Windows administrator account, but you might find that some options don’t work.

Step 1. To fix the user profile, click Start and type regedit into the search box and press Enter.

Step 2. Registry Editor will launch and you need to navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

Step 3. Click each S-1-5 folder and double-click the ProfileImagePath entry to find out which user account it relates to. (If your folder name ends with .bak or .ba follow Microsoft's instructions to rename them.)
If you can't see any file extensions at all, follow our instructions to display Windows file extensions.


Step 4. Once you have located the folder for the corrupt profile (and it doesn’t have a .bak ending), double-click RefCount and change the Value data to 0 and click Ok.


Step 5. Now double-click on State and make sure the Value data is again 0 and click Ok.


Step 6. Close regedit and restart your PC. You should now be able to log into your account.

Method 2. Create a new user profile

If you have a second account on your PC which you can log in to, you may be able to use this account to follow the steps below to create a new user account.
However, if there is no other account, boot into Safe Mode (as described above) and try to follow the steps. If that still doesn’t work, you need to enable the hidden admin account. To do this, type cmd in the search box and then right-click on Command Prompt in the list of results and choose Run as administrator.
Now type the following at the prompt:

net user administrator /active:yes

The response should be: The command completed successfully. Now reboot your PC and you should see an Administrator account as well as your corrupt account. Log into the admin account (there’s no password) and follow the steps below:

Step 1. Open Control Panel and click User Accounts and Family Safety (or similar). Click on User Accounts.

Step 2. Click Manage another account and type in the password (if prompted).

Step 3. Click Create a new account and type the name. This must be different from the account which is corrupt, but you can rename the account later on if you want to have the same name as before.

 Step 4. Restart your PC.




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Windows PowerToys: Power Up Your Workflow with Free Utilities

    Windows PowerToys: Power Up Your Workflow with Free Utilities   Windows PowerToys is a set of utilities and tools designed to enhance t...