Entries from June 2007 ↓

A lot of applications for Windows do not come with a simple option : To minimize them to the system tray when not in use. For example I always listen to music while working on my PC. So I need to be able to minimize my media player to the system tray so that the taskbar remains clutter - free.

One such app which does not come with the “Minimize to tray” option is Windows Media Player. For such stubborn applications, there is a small app called “Windows Minimizer” which enables you to minimize each & every program that you use to the system tray.

Window Minimizer is a small utility that allows to minimize to the System Tray and restore each of the desktop window by clicking system menu item or pressing user-defined hot key.

Download and run the program. You will see new system tray icon and new system menu item (”Minimize To Tray”) on every opened window. You will be able to minimize any application to the Windows system tray now.

Hope this utility helps you.

Download Window Minimizer

Some good read from the blogs I read :

1. How to update your Sony Ericsson phone - Nirmal

Nirmal guides you through an easy process to update your Sony Ericsson’s firmware yourself.

2. Tiger Admin WordPress plugin: Polish your WP Control Panel - Shankar

Bored with the traditional default blue look of your Wordpress dashboard ? Give it a sleek new look with the Tiger Admin Wordpress plugin.

3. Comprehensive Guide to Saving Streaming Video - Pallab

Have you ever come across a wonderful video that you wanted to download, but couldn’t find a way to do so? If the answer is yes, read on.

Smart Keywords is a pretty nifty feature of Mozilla Firefox. To understand how useful Smart Keywords are, consider this example. I frequently visit Technorati a lot of times to search for blog posts. Using a Smart Keyword I can search Technorati right from the Firefox address bar without the need to go to Technorati.com.

Creating a Smart Keyword

For creating a smart keyword :

1. Visit the page that has the search field that you search with.
2. Then right click on the search field. Choose Add a Keyword for this Search…
3. The Add Bookmark dialog will appear. Give the bookmark a name, e.g. “Search Technorati” and create a keyword for e.g. “technorati” and save the Bookmark.
4. Click OK.

Now enter Technorati <yoursearchterm> into the address bar and hit enter. For example if you want to search for “Microsoft” at Technorati.com type Technorati Microsoft and you will see Technorati search results for the term Microsoft.

Repeat the steps above for any website search you want to add.

Quick Tip : To avoid cluttering your bookmarks, create a separate folder in your bookmarks to store these “Smart Keywords”.

I am a geek. At least my friends think so….

Got nothing worthwhile to do. So thought of writing a off topic post. Here are 5 reasons why I am a geek according to my friends. Get ready for the laugh riot…

1. I use Linux - And 90% of my friends cannot find the head or tail of Linux ( They search for C:\, D:\ … ) and proclaim that Linux is only for geeks like me.
2. My Windows XP desktop never looks like one - Somebody explain them that there are cool visual styles and icon patchers available for Windows.
3. My music files have Album Art - What a big thing ! One says, OMG look music files contain pictures.
4. I use Mozilla Firefox - Nothing to say here.
5. I can install Linux myself - Big deal ? Huh!

BTW, this list can go on and on … Do your friends call you a geek ?

Tired of pixel-by-pixel painting, trying to create seamless stripes textures? Looking for a simple way to create some jazzy looking backgrounds for use in your blog ?

If your answer to all these questions is YES then try Stripe Generator. Creating stripes just cannot get any simpler than this.

Stripe Generator is an AJAX tool which helps you create striped images perfect for use in blog backgrounds. And with the number of parameters (wonderful shadow, different colors, size, angle) they give to create the images, I am sure nobody will ever want to use Adobe Photoshop again to make striped images. Stripe Generator auto generates some very cool stripe images for your blog of the color you choose, in the sizes you wish, and also in different angles.

If you are running short of inspiration to create a stripe from scratch, then you can also browse the Showcase section for popular stripes and then edit the one you like.

After you have done making it, you can simply click on the Download button to download the image you created. Then to have it as your site’s background just tweak your CSS a bit with this simple code :

background-image: url("path-to-stripe.png");

If you want to only repeat horizontally your tile (as in the case of tiles with gradient), you must add this line too:

background-repeat: repeat-x;

So did you try Stripe Generator ? Do not forget to show me what cool stripes you made with that …