Create folders from an Excel sheet
Let’s say that you’re working on a project and you have an Excel sheet that contains 100 names. For part of your project, you need to create a folder for each of the names. If you don’t want to create a new folder and name it 100 times, I have a very simple solution for you.
In this example, we’re starting out with this:
Step 1. Highlight the “A” column and select “Insert”.
Step 2. In the new “A” column type the letters “md” into the first row.
Step 3. Save the Excel sheet as a CSV (Comma delimited) file.
Step 4. Right-click on the new .csv file and choose to open in Notepad.
It should look like this:
md,folder1
md,folder2
md,folder3
and so on…
Step 5. Click on “Edit” and then select “Replace…”.
Step 6. Replace every comma with a space.
Step 7. Save the file as “filename.bat” and change the file type to “All Files”.
(This makes the file executable.)
Step 8. Double-click on the new .bat file.
Note: The new folders will be created in the same directory that the .bat file is in. So, if you don’t want 100 folders on your desktop, don’t run the .bat file from the desktop.
Office 2007 MIME types for Apache
When you try to download .docx (Word 2007) files from the Internet, does Internet Explorer want to rename them to .zip files? If you’re looking for an easy fix, stop banging your head against the wall, it’s not you. It’s the server. You should contact the webmaster and ask him or her to add the Office 2007 mime types to the server’s configuration. With Apache running on linux, this is typically in the file /etc/mime.types. Ask them to add the following line:
application/vnd.openxmlformats docx pptx xlsx |
If you can’t get the webmaster to add the mime type, you’ll have to save the file to your computer and rename it to remove the .zip extension, changing it to .docx. Then you’ll be able to open it by double-clicking the icon.
This is explained in more detail here.
Build your own PC air filter
If your computer is anything like mine, it sucks in a lot of air and with that air comes a lot of dust. I’ve got two 80mm fans in the front and two 80mm fans in the back plus the 120mm PSU fan. Since the side of my computer has a Plexiglas window, I can see all the dust that accumulates inside the case. Not only is it ugly, but it’s really not good for your computer’s parts. When dust gets around the processor, power supply and other components, it blocks the vents and overheats the computer. As it works harder to keep itself cool, it slowly degrades hardware performance which shortens the life of the computer.
Every couple of months, I like to take my computer outside and blow it out with bottles of compressed air, but I wanted to figure out a way to cut down on the dust even more. With my computer case, there’s a recessed area in the front panel that’s in front of my intake fans. This provided an excellent area for a custom air filter.
I went to Lowe’s and picked up a cheap furnace filter and cut it to fit. You can see in the picture below how it fits in there. I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I put the wire mesh side on the outside.
Now, most of the intake air is pulled through the air filter before it enters my computer case. There’s still some places that the dust sneaks in, but this catches a majority of it. You can see a comparison in the picture below. The air filter on the bottom is brand new and uncut and the one on top was used in my computer for about two months.
If your case isn’t designed like mine, you may have design a air filter with a different size/shape. I hope this helps someone else keep their computer clean, cool and happy!
Useful Links:
Attack of the Killer Dust Bunnies
Create a Dust-Free Environment
Spoofing your MAC for wireless
I was recently at a very expensive hotel that charged $12.95/day for wireless access in the rooms. I couldn’t believe that I could go to a Red Roof Inn and get free wireless, yet at this 4-star hotel/casino, I had to pay that much for wireless access. With the amount of money that I donated to the casino, I felt that I could just “bypass” that for a couple days and it wouldn’t be a big deal.
My laptop picked up the wireless network right away and it seemed like I was connected, but when I opened Firefox, I got the hotel’s page instead of my homepage. I got to thinking about how they could track who has paid and who hasn’t and I figured that it had to be the MAC address of the wireless adapter. Couldn’t I just change or “spoof” my MAC address and get in? Unfortunately, I didn’t have any software with me that would allow me to do anything like this. So, I paid for the first 24 hour period in order to do some research and get some software that would allow me to do what I wanted.
My first step was to get some sort of scanner that would allow me scan the network and get the current MAC addresses that were on the network. I came accross a free tool called Find MAC Address.
After you install and open the program, you’ll see that it’s not that complicated. It picked up the range of IP addresses and I just hit the scan button.
Once the scan was complete, I had a list of MAC addresses that I could just export as a text file and refer back to later. The next step was to find out how to temporarily change my MAC address. After a quick Google search, I found Technitium MAC Address Changer.
Technitium MAC Address Changer allows you to change Media Access Control (MAC) Address of your Network Interface Card (NIC) irrespective to your NIC manufacturer or its driver. It has a very simple user interface and provides ample information regarding each NIC in the machine. Every NIC has a MAC address hard coded in its circuit by the manufacturer. This hard coded MAC address is used by windows drivers to access Ethernet Network (LAN). This tool can set a new MAC address to your NIC, bypassing the original hard coded MAC address.
Not only is it free, but it’s easy to use. Once you open it up, you’ll see a list of network connections towards the top of the screen. All you have to do is click on the wireless connection and then click on “Change MAC”. After that, it gives you a place to insert your new desired MAC address. That’s where that exported list from the other program comes in to play. Type in the MAC you want and hit “Change Now!”. (Don’t worry because you can change it back when you’re done.)
After my MAC address had been changed and I opened Firefox, I was taken to a page similar to the one that required payment, but now it just had a link to activate the wireless. If a password is required after you click that link, I can’t help you there. I knew my password because it was the same as the wireless connection that was used in the conference room.
Warning: Don’t blame me if get into trouble using this technique!
How to download RealPlayer files
Have you ever tried to download a full “.rm” file and all you get is a 47byte file? You know that’s definitely not the full version. That’s just the file that tells RealPlayer to stream the file from another location. After some research online, I came up with the solution. If you’ve already downloaded the small file, then you can skip to step #2.
Step #1 - Download the initial file using something like DownThemAll, which is a downloader add-on for Firefox. You do use Firefox right? If you don’t, you shouldn’t be allowed to use the internet. Anyways…
Step #2 - Open that small file in Notepad. If you see a line that starts with “http://”, then just copy/paste that into a new firefox tab. If the line starts with “rtsp://”, then you need to use a program called FlashGet.
Both programs mentioned above are free and are fairly self-explanatory, so I’m not going to go into much detail about using them. You should be able to figure it out. I have faith in you!
Now, I need to figure out how I can burn an .rm video file to DVD with decent quality.
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