I came across Windows Steady State in my search for a free alternative for Faronic’s Deep Freeze. Though it is not quite as effective as deep freeze, it covers the basic task of keeping users from making changes to your computer’s setup. It does this by creating an compressed image of the hard drive and reverting back to it when it is in, for lack of a better term, the frozen state.
Here, ‘frozen’ means exactly what it sounds like – nothing changes. Ok, so that’s not exactly right. While in the frozen state, the computer allows the user to do anything he or she wants, but when it is restarted it reverts the computer and all of its settings back to the image it created when the program was installed (or the last time it was ‘thawed’ whichever is more recent).
The hardest part to this program is setting it up. Where Deep Freeze is a fairly quick and simple setup, Steady State takes 20+ minutes to setup and requires the user to check lots of boxes. Steady state runs on Windows XP & Vista, where Deep Freeze has versions out for other past Windows operating systems as well as for Mac computers.
Though Steady State is not for the average user, it does provide a fairly simple FREE way to keep users (especially useful for children) from messing up your computer. The only drawback to these programs is you have to make sure to save anything you want (unless you specify in the setup) to an external source or a separate partition on your computer.
If you have any questions reguarding this post or either of the programs mentioned, email technologysolutions4@gmail.com.
Posted by technologysolutions4 on February 6, 2009
The Senate unanimously voted to delay the DTV Transition from February 17, 2009 to June12,2009 due to the number of people who are still not ready for the transition. The converter box coupon program has run out of money to issue $40 coupons with and is now only issuing coupons as older, unused coupons expire freeing up more money. There are currently 2.6 million coupon requests on a waiting list for the $40 coupons, issued by the federal government.
“Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal policy at Consumers Union, argues that millions of Americans, particularly low-income and elderly viewers, will pay the price because “the government has failed to deliver the converter boxes these people deserve just to keep watching free, over-the-air broadcast signals.”
Posted by technologysolutions4 on February 2, 2009
Older ways of downloading music off of iPods doesn’t work with the new iPod touch or iPhone, but a free (free to use) program that makes copying music from your iPod is now available: Music Rescue
Posted by technologysolutions4 on January 16, 2009
EasyCounter is a very simple to use piece of code (HTML) that you simply post on the bottom of your web page (or the SIDE of your blog) and it shows the amount of views your page has had. When you log in to your account at easycounter.com, you gain access to stats about the users who view your site. Stats include: OS, Browser and Country. Also included is a yearly, monthly and past month stats. These are updated immediately after someone views your page.
Posted by technologysolutions4 on December 17, 2008
One of the most common problems in homes is the lack of telephone jacks where they need to be. This problem is simple to solve if you have about an hour and the will to do it.
REMEMBER: You must unplug the main feed coming in to your telephone distribution box BEFORE doing anything to a telephone jack. Failure to do this can result in electric shock if the phone were to ring!
You will need:
-Flathead screwdriver
-Drill
-Wire strippers (or scissors)
-Surface mount telephone jack (ANY home improvement store, even Wal-Mart will have these)
-Telephone Wire (Cat3, Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6; sold in 100 foot rolls or 500/1000 foot boxes)
The first thing to do is to decide exactly where you want to place the jack. It is usually best to place it near the floor, where the wire is least visible. After you decide where you want the jack to go, the next thing to do is decide how you want to run the wire. There are two ways: you can come out of an existing jack in the same room, or you can run a new line from the box outside your house. It is usually easier to run it by “jumping off” the existing jack. This means you unscrew the jack and connect the new wires to the back of the existing jack where the wires are currently coming in.
Start by drilling a hole just big enough for your wire to go through in the floor directly underneath where you want the jack to go and another under the existing jack (if surface mount). Then, unroll the telephone wire (only if you are using a 100′ roll) across the room so it won’t become tangled. Then tie a loose knot in one end (so it won’t fall through) and insert the other into the hole. Go under your house, find the wire dangling down, pull it to where your other hole is and push it up (several feet just to keep it from falling through). On the way out from under your house, open the telephone box on the outside of your house and unplug the incoming line (it should look just like any other telephone plug). Then go inside, unscrew each screw one at a time from the existing jack, connecting the same color wires to the jack (usually red/green) and replace the jack. Connect the wires to the other jack and close it up. You now have two options: use the supplied screws and screw it to the wall or use the supplied double-side tape to attach it to the wall (either is perfectly acceptable). Reconnect the plug outside your house and check for a dial tone on your phone. If you get a dial tone (you probably will) you have successfully added a telephone jack. Otherwise, you probably did not attach one of the wires to the correct place (the terminals are color coded).
If you were to run a new line from the box outside your house, follow the same procedure as above and connect the wires (usually red/green) to the terminals inside the box (be sure to unplug it first!)
If you have any questions about this entry, leave a comment below or email technologysolutions4@gmail.com
Installing the converter boxes is very simple. The box even comes with a diagram showing how to install
the boxes. Here is a summary:
Remove DTV Converter from packaging
Unscrew cable coming from antenna
Screw in to the IN terminal
Take cable provided with DTV converter (or any other coax cable) and push it onto the OUT terminal on the back of the DTV box and the antenna IN on the TV or satelite box
Plug unit in (AC)
Turn switch on side to on ( | not O)
Press Power button and follow simple on-screen instructions
Enjoy your new GREAT picture!
The only disadvantage to DTV is you either get a channel 100% or not at all.
I came across Windows Steady State in my search for a free alternative for Faronic’s Deep Freeze. Though it is not quite as effective as deep freeze, it covers the basic task of keeping users from making changes to your computer’s setup. It does this by creating an compressed image of the hard drive and reverting back to it when it is in, for lack of a better term, the frozen state.
