 Have you ever rebuilt a computer using OEM operating system discs only to be left with a dozen unknown devices in the device manager?
This can often be a real pain, especially if you don't want to have to take the PC apart, and remove each piece of hardware in order to ID it. However there are a few ways to get around this problem, one of which is to use Microsoft's Windows Update site. Not only does this offer all the latest security updates, but it also contains driver updates as well. This has often helped me in the past to not only identify the device but to download the latest version of the driver.
NB: To locate drivers using Microsoft Update, choose the custom search and not the express search, ensure you select any additional downloads from the 'Hardware Updates' category.
Failing that, Driver-Soft.com have an application called Driver Genius Professional which is also capable of locating that mysterious piece of hardwares drivers...
Failing that, there is one last thing you can try, and thats to do it the manual way.. Each and every hardware device hidden dark inside the murky depths of your PC's case carries important identification information in the form of a 'Device ID Number' and a 'Vendor ID Number'. Both of which are easily accessible using the properties window in device manager. To get them, all you need to do is: - load Device Manager
- Right click on the device in question
- click properties
- navigate to the Details tab.
On that tab you should see a drop down box listing all the property's of the card, select Hardware ID's from the list and note down the 'VEN_' and 'Dev_' numbers.
Once you have obtained this information you can then use the service offered by the PCI Database, the site essentially lists details for a huge number of vendors (hardware manufacturers) and devices in a searchable database. Click the link above to load the site and then enter the numbers after the VEN and Dev strings.
So, for example here you have a hardware ID for an ethernet adapter: PCI\VEN_10EC&DEV_8029&SUBSYS_04001AB8&REV_00 Breaking this information string down, we can see that the vendor ID number is 10EC and the device is 8029.
A quick search using the PCI Database shows us that the vendor is Realtek, and the device ID shows the exact model number of the device in question. In this case it's a Realtek RTL8028
So as you can see, with very little effort you can quite easily pin point the exact driver required without even picking up your tool kit!
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Have you ever found a clip on you tube of a live event\concert that you wanted to listen to whilst away from your PC? Well now you can, all you need to do is grab the url of the clip you want. Now paste it into the box provided over at http://www.video2mp3.net/index.php 
Select your preference on quality, and then click the convert button. Within minutes you will be redirected to a download link containing your MP3. It really is as simple as that!
I would strongly advise against using this for 'theft' of music - if you like a track, buy it!
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 Back in December 2008 I posted a link to a tutorial on how to create iPhone ringtones. Which worked well, as long as you had the patience to pin point the timings of a track. Well since then I have had to get a little bit more 'technical' with my ringtone creation. Mainly because of the music I was trying to clip.. So I thought it was about time I put another tutorial together, but this time a little bit more in depth, covering all the aspects of clipping using the wave display.
First of all your going to need some tools to attack the music file you want to convert. I have always sworn by Audacity for all my music work. Audacity is 'freeware' and available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Unix
Once you have downloaded Audacity you will need to download and install the library, I use the FFMpeg Library which is also available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Unix
Once you have all the tools downloaded, launch the Audacity editor. You will be presented with a new project window which looks similar to the one below (depending on OS)
Now, all you need to do is locate your MP3\Wav\Sound file through the built in menu system, or drag and drop it into the dark area in between the menu bar and status bar. Once it's done loading the music file you should be presented with a window which looks like this (obviously this will differ for each sound file) 
Using the built in menu bar you can play the track, and locate the section you want to clip. Remembering that most devices using 30 seconds of the clip for the tone. Once you have found the section you want click on the wave table where it starts, and drag you mouse whilst keeping an eye on the field under the 'Length' radio button until you have grabbed 30 seconds worth. You should notice the highlighted section will turn a slightly darker grey colour: 
With the section highlighted, if you press the 'Play' button Audacity will play the section you have selected. If you are not happy with it you can move the highlighted section back and forth with your mouse until you find a section you like. Once done simply click Edit > Cut in the menu bar, or ctrl + x on your windows keyboard (cmd + x on Mac) to cut out the section of track. Now click File > New to open a fresh project window and paste in your clipping. (Edit > Paste etc) Check you have clipped the correct part using the play button, and once you are happy click File > Export. Give it a meaningful name and select a location for the file, in the format drop down box select "M4A (AAC) Files (FFmpeg)" and click ok. Once the export has completed, locate the file and rename the extension from .m4a to .m4r. Now open iTunes, select the 'Ringtones' sections and drag in your newly created .m4r file. All that's left to do now is sync you iPhone, select the new file in the settings menu and your done. So hopefully, you will never pay for a ringtone again :)
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 If you are a heavy user of your iPhone, and like to take advantage of your unlimited text message plan - then this app is for you.. Although I love my iPhone and quite frankly would be lost without it, sometimes it can be quite frustrating taking part in long winded text message conversations with several recipients.
Because of this, applications such as the SMS client exist.. Basically this works in a similar way to my own RAPId SMS application. In the way that an application needs to be running on the device, and one needs to be running on your Mac.
The applications use your Wi-Fi network to communicate, so this essentially gives you the ability to send text messages using your Mac's keyboard, which makes for much easier and faster texting. If you don't have a wireless network at your current location you should be able to create a point to point wireless lan.
There is one downside unfortunately, due to security in the iPhone SDK all messages sent must be confirmed on the device. So you will still need some interaction with the unit.
However, the simple/straightforward interface of the client/server software makes up for it. The application ties in nicely with your address book on your Mac, allowing quick and easy selection of your contacts. With a large text field for long winded text messages, and a character count for those of you who are not on unlimited plans.
To get started with the SMS client app, you will need to buy and download an app from the Apple AppStore:
Once you are up and running on your phone, grab a copy of the OS X app from the MacMedia website, now follow the instructions on screen.
Product Requirements: - iPhone version requires iOS 4 or later
- Mac version requires OS X 10.6.4 or later
I have been using this app for a little over 2 days now, and have sent 50+ messages through it without any issues at all. Sure, it could do with the ability to be able to view received messages as well as send messages. However this is no doubt a restriction on the SDK.
The SMS client app has been developed by the people over at MacMediaNet who's website pays homage to some other nifty applications such as:
If you know of any other free mac to iPhone SMS applications please let me know using the comments facility below
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If you are experiencing speed issues with you machine, or would just like to give it a general service to improve performance then you could do much worse than Soluto. Soluto monitors your PC\Laptop whilst it boots, and using an innovative time line based interface helps pin point what it is that's making your PC boot like it's burning coal. The interface is so simple to use, I don't think anyone would have trouble with it. Since it's recent release I have been using it as my first point of call for performance improvement requests from my customers.
Once you have found the offending application, Soluto offers you the chance to delay it's boot up and essentially move it to the end of the boot process. To aid your decision of what to do with the application Soluto queries it's community database and returns simple easy to understand percentages of who did what. So not only does it explain what it is the application is doing, it suggests what you should do with it and backs it up with what over people do with it.
The Soluto client continues to run in the background once your machine has booted up, and monitors\reports on performance of the apps being run. This is useful information to eventual aid in software design to truly make PC's better to use.
Now, obviously there are many factors surrounding the boot up of your machine such as hardware, age etc. However this is the perfect place to start, and could potentially save you shelling out for Ram upgrades, new machines or even costly IT Technician time.
Hardware Requirements: Microsoft Windows XP, Vista or 7 - 32bit or 64bit Minimum 512MB Ram
If you want to see just how easy Soluto is to use before downloading it, check to the video on their website! However, if you are confident you know what you are doing and just want to get stuck in, click here to download your copy. |
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