Restore the Show Desktop icon to Quick Launch bar in Windows XP and Windows Vista

For Windows Vista

Download ShowDesktop.zip and save to Desktop. Unzip the archive and move the file Shows Desktop.lnk to the Quick Launch folder which is located here:

%Appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

To quickly access the Quick Launch folder, type shell:Quick Launch in Start, Search box and press {ENTER}.

For Windows XP

The Show Desktop icon can be restored using any of these methods:

Method 1: Using Guided Help to re-create the Show Desktop icon

Here are the screenshots of Guided Help.

Method 2: Manually re-create the Show Desktop icon

Click Start, Run, and type Notepad.exe. Copy the following contents to Notepad.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Save the file as "Show Desktop.scf" (with quotes, in order to prevent Notepad from appending .txt extension). Now, drag the file to the Quick Launch Toolbar.

Method 3: Using the Regsvr32 command

Click Start, Run and type the following command:

regsvr32 /n /i:U shell32.dll

The Show Desktop icon file should be available now.

Method 4: Copy the file from another user account

Every user account will have a copy of Show Desktop.scf file. Search for the file named Show Desktop.scf in your computer by logging in as administrator. Copy it to your user profile path here:

%Appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

(Type the above path in Start, Run dialog)

25 Cool Windows 7 Keyboard Tricks That Will Impress Your Friends

Anyone working professionally with a computer has their hands on the keyboard most of the time. Reaching for the mouse can be an annoying disturbance and personally I often turn over my mouse in such situations. An easy solution is to simply keep the hands on the keyboard and complete as many tasks as possible with keyboard shortcuts only.

Apart from making you work more efficiently and faster, you can also impress your friends or colleagues by being able to work without a mouse. This article describes some cool Windows 7 keyboard tricks to get you started. In the end you might never want to take your hands off the keyboard again.

For your convenience, more keyboard shortcut resources are attached at the bottom.

Note that some of these shortcuts will only work if Windows Aero is enabled. If Aero effects are disabled on your computer, it might not be powerful enough to support resource intensive graphical features. The visual effects may also have been disabled to increase overall performance. If you wish to enable Aero nevertheless, have a look at my recent article explaining How To Enable and Troubleshoot Aero Effects in Windows 7.

Aero Shortcuts

• [Windows] + [Spacebar] (Aero Peek)
  Make all open windows transparent to view gadgets and icons on desktop.
• • [Windows] + [D] (Aero Peek)
    Show or hide the desktop.
  • [Windows] + [Home] (Aero Shake)
    Minimize all but selected window. Reverse by clicking the key combination again.
  • [Windows] + left arrow OR [Windows] + right arrow (Aero Snap)
    Dock selected window to the left or right half of your screen.
  • [Windows] + up arrow OR [Windows] + down arrow (Aero Snap)
    Maximized and restores the selected window.
  • [Windows] + [SHIFT] + up arrow OR [Windows] + [SHIFT] + down arrow (Aero Snap)
    Maximizes and restores selected window in vertical dimension only.
  • [Windows] + [Tab] (Aero Flip)
    Launch 3D representation of open windows and click [Tab] key again to flip through them.

  Windows & Taskbar

• [Alt] + [Ctrl] + [Tag] + left/right/up/down arrow
  Flip window.
• [Alt] + [Tab]
  Cycle through open windows.
• 
  
• • 

    [Windows] + [T] OR [Windows] + [SHIFT] + [T]
    Move focus to front or back of taskbar. Press [T] again while holding the [Windows] key to cycle through items in the taskbar from left to right or, with [SHIFT] button held too, from right to left.
  • [Windows] + [B]
    Puts focus on the ‘show hidden icons’ button on the system tray.
  • [Windows] + [1] THROUGH [Windows] + [9]
    Launch first through ninth icon on taskbar, including items pinned to taskbar.
  • [Windows] + [SHIFT] + [1] THROUGH [Windows] + [SHIFT] + [9]
    Starts new instance of respective taskbar icon.
  • [Windows] + [Ctrl] + [1] THROUGH [Windows] + [Ctrl] + [9]
    Cycles through multiple instances of the respective icon.
  • [Windows] + [Alt] + [1] THROUGH [Windows] + [Alt] + [9]
    Opens jump list for respective icon.
  

  Multiple Monitors

  • [Windows] + [SHIFT] + right arrow OR [Windows] + [SHIFT] + left arrow
    Move selected window from one monitor to another. They will remain in the same relative location.
  • [Windows] + [P]
    Select presentation display mode.

  

  Magnifier

  • [Windows] + [+] OR [Windows] + [-]
    Activates Windows Magnifier to zoom in or out of screen.
  • [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [D]
    Switch to docked mode.
  • [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [L]
    Switch to lense mode.
  • • [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [F]
      Switch from docked or lens mode back to full screen mode.
    • [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [I]
      Invert colors.
    • [Windows] + [Esc]
      Exist magnifier views.

    Other

    • [Windows] + [G]
      Cycle through desktop gadgets.
    • [Windows] + [X]
      Launches Windows Mobility Center. Especially useful if you’re working on a laptop.

Facebook launches app for 'Every Phone'

Facebook is embracing the reality that not everyone is on a smartphone.

Consumers using standard mobile phones can now download the social network's Facebook for Every Phone app. According to the company, users will be able to see their News Feed, check for messages in their Inbox, and view photos. Users can also upload images and find friends from their contacts list.

Much of Facebook's growth can be attributed to mobile devices. The social network's co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said last week that the site now has 750 million active users. A whopping 250 million active users access the social network from their mobile platforms, according to Facebook's site, and those folks have proven to be "twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users."

Although Facebook already offers smartphone applications for iOS and Android, among other platforms, its decision to embrace feature phones is a smart one, considering the sheer number of people who still aren't using a smartphone. According to a study released earlier this week by Pew Research Center, 83 percent of U.S. adults have a mobile phone, but only 42 percent of them have a smartphone. Just 35 percent of all American adults have a smartphone.

For Facebook, a key limitation of feature phones is that most consumers don't typically pay for data on those platforms. And the social network's app requires data to function. Facebook acknowledged that reality in its blog post announcing the new app, and said that it has partnered with a host of carriers around the world to offer users free data for 90 days to address that problem.

Surprisingly, Facebook did not include any U.S.-based carriers in its list of companies providing free data. The social network did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether or not the free-data offer is being extended to folks in the U.S.

According to Facebook, its app is available on more than 2,500 mobile phones. People interested in using the app can surf to the company's mobile page, scroll to the bottom, and click the download link. It's also available in app stores GetJar, Appia, and Mobile Weaver.

For a Safer, faster XP Close Unwanted Service

To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the "Services" Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect. 

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
Messenger
Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain)
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
Server
SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the utterly pointless "Universal P'n'P", & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet (disabled for extra security)
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks)
Workstation 

Toshiba develops the smallest 8MP CMOS image sensor in the world

Toshiba has announced it has developed a new type of CMOS image sensor, which it claims has the smallest level pixel size in the industry, at 1.12 micrometers. This is great news for squeezing in high-quality camera sensors in a small area, as is most required these days for mobile phones and other portable devices with a miniaturized camera onboard.

The new super-thin and small CMOS image sensor shown off was 8.08MP in resolution, and measured just 0.25-inches in size. The sensor also comes with backside illumination sensors (BSI), built right onto the silicon substrate, acting as lenses on the rear of the sensor. This enhances the light sensitivity and absorption, imaging performance, and responsiveness of the sensor, making it suitable for capturing fast moving objects and video capture as well.

Expect to see Toshiba’s new CMOS image sensor with BSI in devices by next year, as they will begin sampling it now, and mass produce it in the end of 2011.