My Life's Story: in video game consoles

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlcqWQVVuU&w=420&h=315]

I wasn’t that kid. I knew I was getting my N64 for Christmas. But, hey, since the world is supposed to end and all, I figured today would be a good day to wax nostalgic about video games – and my awkwardly vivid memories of each and every console I’ve ever owned.

Age 3: Commodore 64: though not a console, it had a ton of games and was the first electronic gaming system we had in our household. It was Christmas eve, I think. The whole family waited for dad to unveil his big secret. The door to my parents bedroom was closed while my mother, my sister, and I sat on the couch listening to Christmas music, with the lights off, admiring the Christmas tree. Then the door opened. My dad had attempted to load a floppy diskette (yes, we said that back when they really were floppy) that would display a “fireworks show” on the screen. I don’t think it worked correctly. But there it was. The family computer. And so began my journey. Continue reading “My Life's Story: in video game consoles”

Let's all blame violent video games!

Well all know where this will end up. Do I even have to get in to the ring? It’s obvious where I stand in this fight. Be warned, below is an EDITORIAL blog post – it has nothing to do with the rest of this site or anything else I do with the remaining hours in my day. You’re reading at your own risk. Continue reading “Let's all blame violent video games!”

Trackage for Windows 8 – track packages easily

Trackage is a handy app that lets you list and literally “track” packages from various shipping companies like UPS and FedEx. It’s a simple idea, really, but you can label each package and with one touch see where things are. For instance, if you have two or three things coming from Amazon and eBay all at the same time, you can simply enter a title for the item, and have it appear. Clicking on any item will bring up a more detailed tracking history and current information.

To add an item, swipe up from the bottom, or on a traditional mouse, just right click. An Add button appears in the lower right and you can track your packages to your heart’s content! Simple, useful, and free! I love it! It’s an early release, but I believe it will only continue to get better.

Virus hid files, "Hidden" Attribute grayed out – Solved!

This thing is nasty. I’ve seen what I can only believe is a variant of WORM_VOBFUS.SMIS as defined by Trend Micro. Here’s what’s happening: an infected computer on your network looks for any shared folders (network shares, USB flash drives, etc…) and hides all of your real files. It then will replace the “hidden” files, with .EXE’s of the same names, to try and trick people in to clicking on them, and causing the worm to spread further. I’ve already seen this thing a few times and have developed a good plan of action for fighting it off.

Finding the infected computer and Cleaning the Infection

Skip ahead if you want to unhide your files, but I want to cover this virus a little further in depth. Continue reading “Virus hid files, "Hidden" Attribute grayed out – Solved!”