Tech for Lunch!

I’ve been using Google Desktop for quite some time now and never really bothered to look at the size of the index that it generated.  Last week, I noticed my computer getting slower, so I realized that my c:\ drive was almost full.  After looking around for something out of the ordinary, I found that my Google Desktop index was around 10Gb.  I started looking around in the preferences but found no option to change the location of that index.  So I Googled it…  and found that there is a way to change it, but only for the “enterprise” version. Nice… Real nice.

I poked around in the registry and here’s the way to change the location of the search index generated by Google Desktop.

By default, the index gets created in “%SYSTEMDRIVE%\documents and settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Desktop” and creates a random folder with your index data in it.  Basically, in order to change that location, you need to stop Google Desktop, edit the registry to point it to a new location, move the actual index, and restart Google Desktop.  Here are those steps in slow-mo and in more details for you:

EDIT:  In steps 2 and 3, you can simply use whatever folder you want on the new drive.  You do not need to re-create the folder structure.  I originally re-created everything to be safe, but it is not necessary.

1. Stop Google desktop by right-clicking the icon in the task bar and select “exit”.  This is necessary so you don’t break anything while moving the index and so that Google Desktop knows the location has changed.
2. Re-create the folder structure for Google Desktop on another drive.  For instance, I moved mine from c:\ to d:\, so I created the structure using a simple copy/paste in a command prompt. So if you go the the drive you want to use for the index, d:.  Then type “mkdir \documents and settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Desktop“, this should create the entire structure that you need to move the index.  You may need to replace the %USERNAME% variable, but if you are in your own account, the command should work just fine.  You can create the folders manually if you are not comfortable in a Command Prompt.
3. Move the actual index files.  On your c: drive (or systemdrive if windows is not on c:) move everything that is under the original structure as “c:\documents and settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Desktop” to the new structure you just created.  This is the step that usually takes the longest since the index is a few gigabytes in size.
4. Using Regedit (start - run - regedit) go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Google\Google Desktop” and find the data_dir key.  The path in this key should be the original location which you need to modify to point to the new location.  Double-click the key to modify it and simply change the drive letter to the new location or type the path to the new location if you are not using the same structure.
5. Start Google Desktop and make sure everything is working.

This procedure is actually a lot easier than it looks and lets you free up a lot of valuable drive space on your system partition.  Let me know if it works for you.

By now, it’s old news that the iPhone 3G is available, but I’ve seen a couple already and wanted to take a look at the new features that make this phone what it is.  One of the great things about this launch is the availability in more countries than before.  It’s available here, in Canada, for instance via Rogers.  The only thing that sucks is the plans that are available here:  Only 6gb for 30$, while data is unlimited almost everywhere else.

The biggest new feature on the iPhone, and what gives it its name is the 3G capability.  3G is the most recent cellular network standard and allows service providers to offer greater speeds and services on their networks.  Apple has added the GPS functionnalities directly on the iPhone this time around.

I had a customer ask me to setup his iPhone to connect with his Exchange Server with the first version and, although I got it to work, it was still a pain to setup.  This new version boasts better Exchange server support.  I will certainly be taking a look at that one to see if the improvement was worthwhile.  The other new features are listed below:

• Flush headphone jack
• Improved audio
• Thinner edges
• Longer battery life
• Firmware version 2.0
• Syncs with MobileMe

The new firmware includes support for the AppStore so you should be able to get many new applications for you iPhone 3G.  The new set of features is pretty good and may make the upgrade worthwhile to many avid users but it shouldn’t anger the early adopters by making their “old” iphones too deprecated just yet.

For those who are hoping to hack or “jailbreak” their iPhone 3G, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before you can do so and install all the 3rd party apps you want.  Although Apple is forcing end-users to get a contract in order to buy an iPhone, some units will surely be available via eBay or other outlets when a hack becomes available.

Whenever you need to convert units to something else, you probably just Google a converter and run the first one you find.  That’s what I do.  But last time I did that, I came across Youconvertit.com.  The difference with this particular site is that you can use it as a one-stop shop to convert/download/send many different formats.

YouConvertIt.com, the world’s first and most complete conversion, file storage, units conversion website allowing internet users to convert audio video images and documents into an array of formats also sending or delivering file(s). YouConvertIt.com support unit conversion of thousands of types making it easy for users to reach one stop shop without the need to jump from one location to another.

The site offers many things, and all might not be useful to everyone, but some of them can be combined very often.  Unit conversions is the easiest one to understand and that’s the one I came looking for.  Youconvertit lets you convert in practically every unit there is(weight, distance, quantity, etc..), so my Kg to Lbs conversion was a pretty easy one.

The most interesting feature however, is probably the video conversion.  This one lets you download Youtube videos(or any other online video source) or just convert them and download them in a better format.  Simply supply the URL to the video you want, the new format, and you will get an email with a link to download your freshly converted video.

Youconvertit offers the possibility of converting between different file formats as well.  For instance, you could convert a Microsoft Word file into a PDF directly online.  You might also want to convert to an entirely different format such as from a .PDF to a .BMP file.  Naturally, not all conversions are supported, so you should refer to their conversion table to make sure that what you want is possible.  There are many document formats, audio, video, image and even archive formats to choose from.

Finally, Youconvertit lets you send files to your friends or post them on forums and blogs using a supplied link.  You can upload files up to 1000mb and the site gives you a link to publish.  You can simply email that link to a friend to download the file you wish to share.  Files you share remain available for download for a maximum of 7 days.

Keep in mind that Youconvertit.com is still in beta, so some formats may not work as expected, but for the most part, the ones I’ve used all worked just fine.

I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before and it’s no secret that I like beautiful girls.  Actually, most guys do, they just don’t show it as openly.  My girlfriend’s hot.. really hot… but my guy-nature can’t help but notice when a nice girl walks by.  Every time I see some hot girl on TV or anywhere else, I always have to do a couple of searches before I get all the info that I want.  Then I found Chickipedia.com… the Wikipedia of hot chicks.

Chickipedia is the world’s largest web-based, women-based, wiki-based database of hot chicks on the planet. It is entirely user generated, making it the first female-only encyclopedia of the people, by the people, and for the people.

I’m an avid IMDB.com user and this is probably the best complimentary site to add to your list since it is not limited to actresses.  You’ll find many categories including TV, Sports, Movies, Business, Fashion, Misc, Music and Politics.  The greatest thing about Chickipedia that makes it different from all those databases out there is the fact that you can embed a girl’s profile on your own site.  This way, you don’t need to copy all that information or steal pictures, everything links directly back to them.  You can even embed your own list of babes or a slideshow.  Here’s an example with my quick list - I’ve got Britney Spears, Jessica Lee Rose, Megan Fox, Jessica Simpson and Lacey Chabert in there.  Use the arrows to change girls.

If you add your “My Babes” list, your users have to change from one girl to the other using the arrows and clicking on the widget takes you directly to that girl’s page.  However, the option that I like the most is using a specific girl’s profile which, when you hover the mouse over, gives you more information on that girl.  Here’s Jessica Lee Rose’s profile:

This is just one of those sites that I wonder why I didn’t think of doing myself.  Everyone on the internet is looking for this kind of information and Chickipedia not only supplies it, but gives you a means to display that information without stealing anything.

Keep in mind that the information on this site is user-generated, just like on Wikipedia.  This means that the information may not always be accurate, although the content is moderated.  Overall, the information I have seen looks pretty good, and some humorous content is also added to make things more enjoyable.  For instance, one of Britney’s vices is “Mental Instability”.  One could argue that jokes are not facts, but it certainly is based on facts :-)

There are a few bugs on the site as well, but I’m sure those will get worked out very quickly since they are minor.  I had two problems while writing this.  The search box at the top didn’t seem to like spaces.  Searching for Jennifer Love Hewitt turned up nothing, but just jennifer works fine.  There was a problem with the embed code for “My Babes” but I’ve already flagged that one so it should be resolved in no time.

Chickipedia.com will very likely become a common web site if the content keeps growing and the response times remain the same as they currently are.  I can see the embedding feature popping-up on many web sites.  Give it a visit.

This must be one of those sci-fi fantasies everyone has at least thought about once in their life.  There have been a few products which have brought us closer to mind-controlled computers being a reality, and now there is actually a product that will be available on the retail market.

Based on the latest developments in neuro-technology, Emotiv has developed a new personal interface for human computer interaction. The Emotiv EPOC uses a set of sensors to tune into electric signals naturally produced by the brain to detect player thoughts, feelings and expression and connects wirelessly to most PCs. The Emotiv neuroheadset now makes it possible for games to be controlled and influenced by the player’s mind.

Emotiv’s focus is on the entertainment industry and more specifically, on electronic games.  The headset is initially meant to be used as a control in a video game, partly because avid gamers are usually the first adopters of new technologies.

A test of the headset showed that after “training” the EPOC system for less than a minute one could spin, push, pull and lift objects onscreen, or make them vanish, by simply thinking about it.  This is only the beginning of a new technology, the possibilities are huge for this control method.  The gaming industry is a great place to launch and put the headset to test, but other applications and industries should follow very soon.

If you live in the U.S. and are interested in giving this new ground-breaking technology a try when it becomes available late in 2008, you can reserve one right now.  The limited edition units are set to retail at 299$ and there is a limit of 4 per customer.  As an added benefit, if you reserve one, you will get email updates on the progress of the headset.

Everyone has an old cell phone that’s just lying around and collecting dust on a shelf somewhere.  I’m no exception to that statement.  So what can you do other than to wait for a friend who needs your older less-featured phone?  Well, Flipswap it, of course!

Flipswap makes it easy to give mobile phones a second shot at life by offering fast, free and eco-friendly ways to trade them in.  Flipswap provides an easy way for consumers and businesses to make sure that these phones get put back into use by offering cash or store credit for them and then getting them into the hands of people that can’t afford a new phone.

The great thing about this is that Flipswap is completely free to use.  To get started, you enter the information for your old cell phone such as make/model and its ESN Number.  Answer a few questions about the cosmetics and accessories that come with the phone.  For instance, you give a rating on minor scratches and what working condition the phone is in.  Once you’ve spent an enormous 3 minutes entering your phone’s information, Flipswap will give you the current market price for your phone along with several options of what to do with the amount.  Here are the options that were available to me with an HTC phone:

• Cash
• Donate to ASPCA (Learn More)
• Amazon Gift Card
• Donate to American Red Cross (Learn More)
• Donate to Sierra Club (Learn More)
• Donate to Susan G. Komen for the Cure

After checkout, you printout the supplied labels and ship you phone and accessories to Flipswap.  Once everything is checked-out and they get your phone, the option you chose for payment is put to execution.  You either get a check in the mail or a receipt for the charity you chose.

Flipswap is a very nice idea for a service and a very useful one too!  The average American buys a new cell phone every 12-18 months, which means more than one hundred million working phones become unused every year.  That’s a lot of solid waste when you think about it.  Flipswap not only offers a way to get rid of your old cellphone or iPhones, but also to help the planet while you’re doing it and give a second life to an item you might have trashed anyways.

If you have old cell phones to get rid of, Flipswap is a great place to start looking and you *almost* don’t have to get out of your chair to sell your dust-collecting phones.