Tag: howto

  • How To: Filter the Noise From Your Facebook News Feed

    Update: We’ve published a new edition of this article for the updated version of Facebook.  Check that out instead. Facebook has made some interface changes lately which have caused some frustration with its core users.  Most recently, they’ve removed the ability to exclusively view status updates on the Friends tab, which leaves you with only…

  • Stream Your Music Library With Vibe Streamer

    Vibe Streamer is a free program that allows you to stream your music library to any device with a Flash enabled web browser.  Vibe Streamer also offers a set of security settings, user controls, and customization features. Download and Install Vibe Streamer is very lightweight.  The system requirements for Vibe Streamer 2.06 are detailed below:…

  • How To: Check Your Hard Drive Health With A Linux LiveCD

    Previously, I wrote a guide on monitoring your drive’s status with S.M.A.R.T. tools from a running system [see Check your HDD’s S.M.A.R.T. Status].  Although these programs work well for checking the live status of your hard drive, you may run across a situation where you cannot boot the operating system to access these programs. If…

  • How To: Add Panels (Toolbars) to a Secondary Display in Ubuntu 9.04

    If you’re using multiple monitors in Ubuntu, you may find it frustrating that the Panels (Windows users will recognize these as toolbars) are only available on your primary display.  This means that if you’re working with applications on a secondary monitor, you have to look back to your primary to do any application switching, as…

  • How To: Install Adobe AIR in Ubuntu 9.04

    Adobe AIR is a platform that allows software developers to build rich Internet applications that run outside the browser on multiple operating systems.  A few examples of applications that are based on the Adobe AIR platform are Twhirl and TweetDeck. To install Adobe AIR in Ubuntu: Navigate to http://get.adobe.com/air/ and click the “Download Now” button.…

  • How To: Install and Configure Nvidia Drivers in Ubuntu 9.04

    Although Ubuntu has fantastic driver support in recent editions, I had some initial difficulty getting the Nvidia graphics drivers (for my GeForce 8600GT) properly installed and configured in Ubuntu 9.04 “Jaunty Jackalope”.  The built-in video drivers supported multiple monitors, but I was only able to drag windows halfway across the secondary monitor before they would…

  • How To: Fix Your Wireless Mighty Mouse’s Bluetooth Connection

    An issue that’s been popping up around the blogosphere recently is losing the Bluetooth connection with an Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse on Mac OS X. Essentially, the Bluetooth connection will be working fine and then – without warning – it will stop, leaving the user with no mouse support whatsoever. Here’s a simple way to…

  • How To Check Your HDD’s S.M.A.R.T. Status

    As your hard drive begins to age, the chance for failure and resulting data loss increases.  Today’s hard drives feature a monitoring system called Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology or S.M.A.R.T. for short.  With S.M.A.R.T. and the appropriate software, it is possible to keep updated on the status of your hard drive and the important…

  • Fix: Featured Content Gallery WordPress Plugin Displays Incorrectly in Internet Explorer 6

    For many websites, the Featured Content Gallery for WordPress provides the centerpiece and main focal point of the front page (Techerator included).  This plugin has the ability to display posts in a specific category as well as a graphic and accompanying text for a great preview of articles on the site. The Problem When doing…

  • How To: Remove the Smiley from the WordPress.com Stats Plugin

    One of the first plugins I installed when building the Techerator website was WordPress.com Stats, a plugin which offered useful and practical statistics (instead of the overwhelming metrics that Google Analytics and others provide) with the added benefit that since the statistics monitoring is hosted by WordPress, it would have no adverse impact on the…