Chuck's Blog

Microsoft issues warning on F1 key

Microsoft is warning XP users not to use the F1 key. Pressing the key can trigger a new flaw discovered in Internet Explorer. A malicious site may prod users into pressing F1. The flaw could give attackers full control of a PC. I recommend using a safer browser until this is fixed. Read more:

Inkless printer with rewritable paper

We were all promised a paperless office in the future. That hasn’t happened. There are still reasons to print things. That means spending a fortune on printers, ink and paper. But a new solution may be on the horizon.

PrePeat is a printer that doesn’t use ink. And it uses special heat-activated rewritable paper. Done with a document? Just feed it back into the printer. It’s erased and reused. This is pretty cool. It’s also kind of expensive. The printer costs around $5,600. And a lot of specialized paper will run another $3,360. But we can still dream of a paperless future.

Roll Up Laptop

Much like a concept car, this German concept laptop shows what will be possible in the near future using flexible Organic LED (OLED) displays. OLEDs are much thinner, require no backlight, have higher contrast ratios, and draw five times less power than typical thin film transistors. You won’t need a suitcase to transport this laptop!

How to keep documents from being changed

The easiest way to protect files from accidental changes is to set the Read Only attribute on them. When a file is Read Only, any changes you make to it can’t be saved under the original file name. You can save changes with a new file name, but your original will remain the same. Here’s how you set a file to Read Only:
Navigate to the file in Windows Explorer.
Right click it and choose Properties.
Click the General tab.
Check the box that says “Read Only.”
Click OK.
If you want to make all files in a folder Read Only, you can check this box on the folder’s Properties sheet. Note that this will make all of the files currently in the folder Read Only, but it won’t affect new files that you put in the folder. Remember that others can still delete or move Read Only files, they just can’t make changes to them.

Emergency Patch for IE flaw released

In case you don’t have XP set to automatically download and install critical updates, be aware that Microsoft released an “out of band” emergency patch of Internet Explorer last Thursday. This addresses the exploit that was used in the attacks on Google and other companies. Be sure to do a manual update to ensure that your system is protected.
http://www.wxpnews.com/UHNJHV/100126-Google-Attack-Patch

Imagine a future with no keyboards or mice.

Removing autocomplete entries in IE

Have you wanted to get rid of autocomplete entries you don’t want, without affecting those you do want to keep? If you’re still using an older version of IE, just type the first letters to display the autocomplete list, then press the Down arrow to get to the entry you want to remove, and hit the Delete key. If you’ve upgraded to IE 8, you’ll notice that when you highlight an entry in the autocomplete list with your mouse, a red X appears at the end of it. You can delete the entry by clicking that X.

Windows 7 still has to battle XP

Gartner analyst Annette Jump said that Windows 7’s biggest rival will remain XP for many years. She said that XP is still too popular on business desktops, something that Vista could not defeat. Jump said that with the recession meaning that many IT departments were faced with reduced IT budgets many would delay the widespread adoption of Windows 7 until 2012.

Read more:

USB 3.0

When you’re in front of your PC, waiting for something to transfer to removable media, that’s when seconds feel like minutes, and minutes feel like hours. And data storage scenarios such as that one is where the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0’s greatest impact will be felt first. As of CES, 17 SuperSpeed USB 3.0-certified products were introduced, including host controllers, adapter cards, motherboards, and hard drives (but no other consumer electronics devices). Still more uncertified USB 3.0 products are on the way, and they can’t get here fast enough. Read complete article:

Wi-Fi Is About to Get a Whole Lot Easier

Going Wi-Fi is about to get a lot easier. For many consumers, setting up an in-home Wi-Fi connection point is something of a hassle. Before you can enjoy the convenience of logging onto the Web without cables and wires, you need to hook up some gear and create your own “hotspot.”

Read complete story: