Oct 03

To type a ™ trademark symbol on a Windows computer:

  1. Press and hold the Alt key.
  2. Type 0153 on the numeric keypad.
  3. Release the Alt key.

Sep 30

Windows provides a relatively easy way to type special characters:

  1. Press and hold the Alt key.
  2. Type the appropriate 4-digit numeric code (see list below) on the numeric keypad.
  3. Release the Alt key.

Note that the numbers must be typed on the numeric keypad.  It will not work if you use the row of number keys above the letter keys.

So for example, to type the symbol for the euro, press and hold the Alt key, type 0128 on the numeric keypad, then release the Alt key, and the euro symbol € will appear.

Some handy codes to remember:

  • bullet • 0149
  • copyright © 0169
  • dagger † 0134
  • dash — 0151
  • degrees ° 0176
  • ellipses … 0133
  • euro € 0128
  • paragraph ¶ 0182
  • plus or minus ± 0177
  • pounds £ 0163
  • registered trademark ® 0174
  • trademark ™ 0153

Here are the ASCII special characters and their 4-digit codes:

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Sep 29

To open the Cmd command line window in Administrator mode in Windows 7 and Vista:

1.  Click the Windows Start button.

2.  Type cmd in the search box at the bottom of the Start menu.

3.  Press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

4.  User Account Control will ask if you want to allow the Windows Command Processor to make changes to your computer.  Click Yes.

The command line window will open in Administrator mode.

Sep 28

When upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7, the compatibility report may generate the following error:

These devices might not work properly after the upgrade. Before upgrading, we recommend updating the drivers for these devices. Cancel the upgrade, open Control Panel and search for "update device drivers", or go to the device manufacturer’s website to search for updated drivers.

Network adapters: Microsoft Windows Mobile Remote Adapter

But if your mobile device isn’t currently connected to your computer, this network adapter may not appear in the list of devices.  Here’s how to find and remove this adapter from your system:

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Sep 13

Digital Dreams. Copyright © Flavio Takemoto. Image used under license.

Programmers’ Day is an unofficial international holiday celebrated on the 256th (0x100th) day of each year, which is September 13 (or September 12 in leap years).

On September 11, 2009, the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev recognized Programmers’ Day as an official Russian holiday.

The number 256 was chosen because it is the highest power of two that is less than 365, the number of days in a common year.  256 is also the number of distinct values that can be represented with an eight-bit byte, which is a common unit of measure for computers and software.

Source: Wikipedia

Aug 25

This is part 19 in a series of articles on obscure programming languages.

What is Script.NET?

Powered by Script.NET. Copyright © Microsoft Corp.

Script.NET (also known as S#) is an open-source metaprogramming language that adds scripting capabilities to Microsoft .NET applications, similar to VBA in Microsoft Office applications.

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Aug 19

Facebook status updates must be 420 characters or less.  If you try to post a longer update, you will receive the “Status Too Long” error message:

Facebook Status Too Long

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Aug 18

Owning an Internet domain is like owning a virtual property lot.  You can build a website on a domain, place ads on it, or resell it for a profit.  In addition to the initial purchase price, each domain requires an annual renewal fee.  If you fail to pay the fee, the domain returns to the market, and someone else can buy it.

Fortunately domains are not very expensive.  There are many low-cost domain sellers like GoDaddy.  Domain prices vary by top-level domain (TLD, i.e. the suffix after the final dot, such as .com and .org).  GoDaddy prices range from $11.99 for general domains (gTLD) such as .com, to $29.99+ for country-code domains (ccTLD) such as .co for Colombia.

The good news is that many domain sellers offer deep discounts on domains for the first year.  But the important thing to remember is: 

The annual domain renewal price is often much higher than the initial purchase price.

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Aug 16

Wow, I nearly fell out of my chair when I read this little gem on TechCrunch:

Android chief Andy Rubin wrote in a 2005 email, “If Sun doesn’t want to work with us, we have two options: 1) Abandon our work and adopt MSFT CLR VM and C# language – or – 2) Do Java anyway and defend our decision, perhaps making enemies along the way.”

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Aug 12

Broken Computers. Copyright © Paul Downey. Image used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

A new study by Gartner shows that 94% of newly purchased PCs run Microsoft Windows 7, four percent run Apple OS X, and two percent run Linux.  This number is boosted by corporate IT departments, which are conducting massive rollouts of Windows 7.  Many enterprises are still running Windows XP because they had decided to skip over Windows Vista, which was widely panned due to software incompatibilities and overzealous security. 

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