Month: June 2010 blog archive
Simple Way to Improve Apache Performance - 18 Jun 2010

When I was first setting up my Linode server, I spent quite a bit of time tweaking the Apache config files for performance. I ran a few tests with ab and kept a close eye on the graphs in Munin to see what worked and what didn’t. The single most effective change I made was […]

Categories: Computers
Name-based Virtual Hosts Serving Default DocumentRoot - 17 Jun 2010

I spent a while trying to figure out why one of my virtual hosts was serving the default DocumentRoot instead of the one in the virtual host section. I finally figured out the reason and am sharing it in case anyone else runs into the same issue. I’m running Ubuntu and the default VirtualHost configuration […]

Categories: Computers,Linux
Cool Online Drum Machine - 16 Jun 2010

Monkey Machine is a free online drum machine that can provide minutes of entertainment. It’s really quite fun. (via Download Squad)

Categories: Music
TV Shows I Watched as a Kid - 15 Jun 2010

I took a trip down memory lane the other day and made a list of all the old TV shows I used to watch. There are so many, it’s kind of sad. Family Matters Three’s Company Knight Rider Magnum PI Street Hawk Cosby Show Full House Star Trek: Next Generation Hawaii Five Oh CHiPs Wonder […]

Categories: My Thoughts
Lightning Fast Desktop Search - 14 Jun 2010

Being able to find any file on your computer in seconds is liberating. You no longer worry about putting files into precise folders, so it doesn’t take you as long to organize your files or to find them. Here’s the screencast.

Categories: Screencasts
The Best Free Windows System Cleaner - 12 Jun 2010

CCleaner is the best system cleaner for Windows I’ve used. It’s never damaged a system, and it fixed an issue I had once on Windows 7 where the Control Panel wouldn’t load. Its two main uses are cleaning up your filesystem and cleaning out your registry. Some argue your registry doesn’t need cleaning, and in […]

Categories: Screencasts
How to See Lyrics in Foobar2000 - 11 Jun 2010

Update 15 Mar 2011: This method no longer works. Here’s an updated way to see the lyrics. I can’t count how many times I’ve wanted to see the lyrics of the song I was listening to. I would usually fire up Google and search for “[artist name] [song title] lyrics”, then cringe at the awful […]

Categories: Screencasts
Identity Theft and Password Security - 09 Jun 2010

Here’s a cool infographic discussing the stats around identity theft and passwords. Via: Online MBA

Categories: Identity Theft,Security
Let Kids Go Wild On the Keyboard - 07 Jun 2010

If you have little kids, you’ve probably found they love to “help out” at the keyboard. I have a 1 year old who loves to sit on my lap and hit the keyboard, but the right combination of keystrokes can be paralyzing. So one night I wrote an application similar to Scott Hanselman’s BabySmash mainly […]

Categories: Computers
Quick Way to Speed up Your Wireless Connection - 01 Jun 2010

My wireless router was using channel 6, the default channel. Here is a benchmark of my connection. It’s not bad, but keep reading. I ran InSSIDer to see what was in my area. This is an example of what I saw (it’s not my actual results) There was nothing on channel 1, so I switched […]

Categories: Computers