September 2013 archive

Slumming a Gaming Experience on an Intel HD Graphics 4000 GPU

Whilst interstate on annual leave I have taken my Panasonic AX2 convertible ultrabook to be my main computing device. Normally, at home I would use my desktop computer with its twin GTX 295 video cards (which are getting a little long in the tooth now for some recent games at 1600p) but I don’t typically …

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Electronic Communications Versus Face to Face Meetings

It’s just amazing these days how electronic communications has shrunk the world. Many of use have mobile phones allowing us to call or text virtually anyone else. We also have a variety of social networks to help us keep up to date with random goings on with family and friends including photos and videos. Meanwhile, …

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Get the Most Out of USB 3.0 Flash Drives

This may seem obvious to technically minded people but given the similar look of standard USB ports you could forgive unsuspecting users for thinking that there is no difference between them all. However, if you look closely you can quickly work out which devices you should connect to which USB ports. If you see in …

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How to Set the Cisco DPQ3925 to Bridge Mode

I am visiting my folks at the moment and there are a few IT things lined up that needed addressing. One of those items was the removal of their Wi-Fi router when the cable modem was replaced due to suspected fault. The new Cisco DPQ3925 modem is also a Wi-Fi router but its performance when …

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Sometimes the GPS is Wrong

Yesterday, I made the leisurely drive from Sydney to Melbourne in the Prius and as per usual I used the GPS just so I could keep an eye on my arrival time as well as the traffic conditions once I got back into the metropolitan areas. However, as much as every GPS attempts to be …

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Disable the Sticky Keys Prompts in Windows

Don’t you just hate it when you’re playing a game and you are mashing the shift key only to be mercilessly thrown back to the desktop with a StickyKeys prompt? If you’re playing an online game it could mean the difference between winning or losing a narrow game. Fortunately, it is fairly easy to turn …

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Check Eligibility for the Family Energy Rebate

This is for those of you with families in New South Wales. Whilst keeping an eye on your household energy consumption is perhaps the best solution to reduce your power bill you can get some extra help in counteracting the cost by checking if you are eligible for the Family Energy Rebate. You can have …

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Resolve Distorted Video in Skype

One of the main causes of a poor video experience in Skype is a low quality internet connection but there are other things that can also impact upon a reliable video conversation. I am going to cover one of the more quirky issues I have encountered personally. Upon initiating a video conversation you may find …

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Enabling the Safe Mode Menu Under Windows 8

Silly me let updated nVidia drivers through Windows Update which caused my computer to encounter the blue screen of death upon every boot. As a rule of thumb, I don’t accept such driver updates for this very reason despite usually being able to get out of any resulting mess. Unfortunately, because I could not seem …

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Cruise Control Not Available Error in Toyota Prius

Here’s a quick tip. If you’ve got a Prius with radar cruise control then you may find under certain conditions that it will disengage and flash up an error saying “cruise control not available”. You could be forgiven for thinking that there may be a computer fault with the vehicle but there is another situation …

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