However here is a list of reason and when not to use File Compression:

1. Never use NTFS File Compression on Windows Directories or Program Files

2. If you want to compress your documents make sure to compress them at the my documents/documents level not the USER level. Eg.(C:\Users or C:\Users\YourName) due to the fact you have registry info (User.DAT) in every user profile and will slow down or possibly corrupt your Operating System. Always compress inside the USER (YourName).  Eg.(C:\Users\YourName\Documents (Vista/7) C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\My Documents (Win Xp\2003))

3. When you have a Drive larger than 320 gigs. Why? Really? Typically you have a large disk for storage of files. All Compression will do is slow (snails pace) you backups or storage techniques like copy and paste.

4. Installing any Server or Heavily serviced Applications like oh lets say MSSQL server. First it wont install on a compressed disk and if you end up getting it to it will make you administration as well as use a nightmare.

5. When doing any kind of backup like Norton Ghost or Drive Image or Cloning of any kind. This already takes forever. Compression only makes the hours last longer.

Truth is File Compression is a great tool and is a good idea on smaller drives less than 320 gigs. Use a larger disk for storage even make it ntfs if you want but do not compress it.

Open a command prompt and type:

“wmic MEMORYCHIP get banklabel, devicelocator, caption, capacity”

So what and how do I find out if my current version of Windows has the right .NET framework installed? Well like checking your Java version you usually would go to control panel and “add/remove programs” or if Vista/7 you would go to “Programs and Features”. Inside this list of programs that are installed on your computer you scroll down to the microsoft Service Pack X.XXX and see all the patches and what not. You could also go to your C:\Windows directory and open Microsoft.NET folder open the folder called Framework. Inside you will find folders like V1.0.3705 to V3.5. These are the versions of .NET framework installed on your computer.

1. I have found a easier and well interesting way to find the versions installed on your current computer. Add “ javascript:alert(navigator.userAgent) “ to your Internet Explorer Bar and hit go and a message box will pop up with the information you want.

Please take note that that JavaScript code can be used in Firefox or Opera web browser to query their User Agent String too (but only the IE will report .Net framework version in its User Agent String).

2. Another interesting way to do it is:

Navigate to this Windows Registry path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP

The major version number of each .Net framework releases installed can be found at this Registry path. Click the major version number key and there is a string value called “version” on the right-pane that reports the full version number of that .Net framework.

3. Or try this: Navigate to the Registry path that keeps the IE User Agent String:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform

If you think this Registry key path is easier to remember than the shorter, one-line JavaScript code that query the User Agent String, then this could be your answer.

There is also some pretty good software that will tell you the version of .NET you are running. Called oddly enough Version Checker.

So now you have no excuse not to know which version is installed on your machine.

/p – Plugs in the specified VHD as a virtual disk device without mounting the volume.

/m – Plugs in the specified VHD as a virtual disk device and mounts the volume.

/f – Performs the specified operation without creating an Undo Disk. This parameter is applicable for /p and /m. All changes to the mounted disk are directly written to the specified VHD.

/u – Unplugs the virtual disk device for the specified VHDFileName.

/c – Updates the original VHD with all changes that were stored in the Undo Disk anddeletes the Undo Disk after unplugging the disk. This parameter is only applicable if the VHD was mounted without using /f.

/d – Discards all changes to the mounted disk and deletes the Undo Disk after unplugging the disk. This parameter is only applicable if the VHD was mounted without using /f.

/q – Displays the disk name of the mounted virtual disk device for the specified VHDFileName.

VHDFileName – VHD name including full path.

DriveLetter – Optional parameter for /m option. If drive letter is specified the volumes are mounted starting at the specified drive letter. If drive letter is not specifiedit is automatically assigned.

All – Applies the operation on all mounted virtual disk devices. This parameter is applicable for /u and /q.

By default, VHDMount creates an Undo Disk in current user’s temporary folder. All changes to the mounted disk are written to this Undo Disk. Use /c to commit or /d to discard these changes at the time of unplugging the disk device. Use /f option to mount a VHD without an Undo Disk.

Examples:
VHDMOUNT /p [/f] VHDFileName
VHDMOUNT /m [/f] VHDFileName [DriveLetter]
VHDMOUNT /u [/c | /d] VHDFileName | All
VHDMOUNT /q VHDFileName | All

Integrating VHDMount in the Explorer context menu

Ben Armstrong, a Program manager on the core virtualization team at Microsoft, has published a neat registry trick that allows you to mount VHDs by just double clicking on them. By creating a .reg file with the following contents:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell]
@="Mount"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Dismount]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Dismount\comma
nd]
@="\"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Vhdmount\vhdmount.exe\" /u \"%1\""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Mount]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Mount\command]
@="\"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual Server\Vhdmount\vhdmount.exe\" /p \"%1\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.vhd]
@="Virtual.Machine.HD"

Double click on the .reg file (to load it into your registry) you will be able to double click a VHD to mount it, and right click on it to dismount it.

Windows will auto-install the correct driver and allow you to see the .VHD file as a new hard drive.

Issues with Windows Vista

Two notes about using this trick with Windows Vista:

   1. For some reason ‘double click’ does not work in Windows Vista. The only way around it is to right-click on the .VHD file and select "Plug in".

   2. VHDMount needs to run ‘As Administrator’. You can either disable UAC (read my "Disable UAC in Vista" article), or, to get this to work with UAC enabled, you will need to configure VHDMount.exe, go to the Compatibility Mode tab, and check "Run this program as an administrator".

When you’re done working with the mounted .VHD file you can right-click it and either choose to commit changes, or not.

Get the functionality of VHDMount without installing Virtual Server

If you need VHDMount but you don’t need or want to install Virtual Server you can install only the VHDMount components, use the Custom option in the Virtual Server R2 SP1 installer and clear all components except VHDMount.

And yes there are more ways to do this.
First unpack a version from before the build you have as .VHD
(In this guide i will take build 7229 as an example)
to a folder.

Then go to the “control panel admin tools” :

There you go to : “Computer Management”

There you right click on : “Disk Management” and choose : “Attach VHD”
Then browse to your “.VHD” file.

And click “OK”
Then there will be added a “Virtual Drive”
In this example it is drive “J”
The drive icon color is blue.

Now open a “WAIK command prompt”
(there is a shortcut for that in your start menu)
In there paste this line :
imagex /compress maximum /flags “Ultimate” /capture j: c:\install.wim “Windows 7 Ultimate”
/capture j: (put your own drive letter there i used J: as an example)
Wait till its finished.
In this example it will place the new “install.wim” into “C:\”
Now copy the new “install.wim” into the folder where you extracted the build 7229 iso.
In the “Sources” folder

And overwrite the “install.wim” file.
Now open the build 7229 original ISO with a program like “UltraISO” and make a new iso from the folder where 7229 is extracted and the new “install.wim” is placed.
After that you can mount or burn it and run the setup.

Once again Enjoy!

Did you however think great I have a way to backup the data and its working however my hard drives are filling up quickly. What do I do now?

Well you have options:

1. Backup Less often (this can make things a bit interesting if you are constantly changing files and you may lose critical info.)
2. Delete older backup files. (if your paranoid like me how far do you go back and delete backups?)
3. Backup your data to a outside source.

So I am going to talk about option 3.  We want to publish all the backups to a outside source. Well what source or applications are available?

There are a ton of great backup applications/services on the web. I decided to just reference a few:

Microsoft Skydrive

Amazon S3 and Jungle Disk

Carbonite

Mozy

Sugar Sync

Yes I have tested these applications/services. Here is the break down.

Microsoft Skydrive: 25gigs of Storage. No automatic backup and have to be signed in to upload. Web interface to upload only. Non Encrypted. Free

Amazon S3: Pay per Gig use. Only a service. To be able to interface the service you have to use 3rd party applications (Jungle Disk) to do your backup. Encrypted transfers. Pay.

Carbonite: Unlimited storage. Installs to your local c drive and you can drag and drop files. Non Encrypted. Monthly service plan. *Used this service for 12months. Did not like the inflexibility of the service. Also after multiple emails asking if the data uploads and storage was encrypted. I was told in summary: Not to worry about what we do with your data. I promptly Canceled the service.

Mozy: Limited storage as of writing. A lot like carbonite. Non Encrypted. Monthly service plan

SugarSync : Another Clone to Carbonite and Mozy. Non Encrypted. Monthly service plan.

So there is the run down on services. However some things you might consider because it is your data. Right?

-Auto Backup?

-Where is the Data really going?

-Who has permission to view your data?

-Availability?

-Encryption?

-Support?

-How to Restore?

In summary all these services are very good. It is hard to choose a service unless you really nitpick.

My personal choice after using all these services. Is amazon s3 and Jungle Disk. As a second backup I use SkyDrive and for stuff I want to just publish to the web I use Drop.io.

Why I use these services is partly out of habit. However I like the pricing schema of Amazon s3 and the ease of making the files stored there made public.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.

Adobe reader will talk to you check it out.

Stop reading PDF and start listening.
Here is how to listen from a pdf.
You can listen/Audible to any PDF /word instead of reading with Adobe
Reader 7 .0 Or 6.0, and the short cut is:
Ctrl+shift+b – to hear the entire Document
Ctrl+shift+v – to hear the page
Ctrl+shift+c – to resume
Ctrl+shift+e – to stop
Open any PDF File and test. Sweet. Perhaps that’s why the adobe reader is so bloated.

I was lucky to stumble upon this little treat.

if you have vista and use readyboost you need this. http://area-71.net/rbmon/ ready boost monitor.

What was great was I posted this link on twitter as well the quoted text above.

A good twitter friend (@jkneen) made me aware this app didn’t work at all on windows 7. However he went ahead and improved and updated it to work for windows 7 so much thanks @jkneen. Please visit his site: BouncingFish.com

The link has been added to DropIO from jkneen ReadyBoostMonitor for Win7 download.

Enjoy!

Hold down the alt key and use the number pad on the far right of your keyboard to type out the 4-character code.  When you release the alt key, the character will appear.

Example: Alt-0169 = ©   or   Alt-0174 = ®  or  Alt-0153 = ™

Alt-0128  €
Alt-0252  ü
Alt-0129  
Alt-0130  ‚
Alt-0131  ƒ

Alt-0132  „
Alt-0253  ý
Alt-0133  …
Alt-0134  †
Alt-0135  ‡

Alt-0136  ˆ
Alt-0254  þ
Alt-0137  ‰
Alt-0138  Š
Alt-0139  ‹

Alt-0140  Œ
Alt-0255  ÿ
Alt-0141  
Alt-0142  Ž
Alt-0143  

Alt-0144  
Alt-0248  ø
Alt-0145  ‘
Alt-0146  ’
Alt-0147  "

Alt-0148  "
Alt-0249  ù
Alt-0149  •
Alt-0150  –
Alt-0151  —

Alt-0152  ˜
Alt-0250  ú
Alt-0153  ™
Alt-0154  š
Alt-0155  ›

Alt-0156  œ
Alt-0251  û
Alt-0157  
Alt-0158  ž
Alt-0159  Ÿ

Alt-0160 
Alt-0244  ô
Alt-0161  ¡
Alt-0162  ¢
Alt-0163  £

Alt-0164  ¤
Alt-0245  õ
Alt-0165  ¥
Alt-0166  ¦
Alt-0167  §

Alt-0168  ¨
Alt-0246  ö
Alt-0169  ©
Alt-0170  ª
Alt-0171 «

Alt-0172  ¬
Alt-0247  ÷
Alt-0173  ­
Alt-0174  ®
Alt-0175  ¯

Alt-0176  °
Alt-0240  ð
Alt-0177  ±
Alt-0178  ²
Alt-0179  ³

Alt-0180  ´
Alt-0241  ñ
Alt-0181  µ
Alt-0182  ¶
Alt-0183  ·

Alt-0184  ¸
Alt-0242  ò
Alt-0185  ¹
Alt-0186  º
Alt-0187  »

Alt-0188  ¼
Alt-0243  ó
Alt-0189  ½
Alt-0190  ¾
Alt-0191  ¿

Alt-0192  À
Alt-0236  ì
Alt-0193  Á
Alt-0194  Â
Alt-0195  Ã

Alt-0196  Ä
Alt-0237  í
Alt-0197  Å
Alt-0198  Æ
Alt-0199  Ç

Alt-0200 È
Alt-0238  î
Alt-0201  É
Alt-0202  Ê
Alt-0203  Ë

Alt-0204  Ì
Alt-0239  ï
Alt-0205  Í
Alt-0206  Î
Alt-0207  Ï

Alt-0208  Ð
Alt-0232  è
Alt-0209  Ñ
Alt-0210  Ò
Alt-0211  Ó

Alt-0212  Ô
Alt-0233  é
Alt-0213  Õ
Alt-0214  Ö
Alt-0215  ×

Alt-0216  Ø
Alt-0234  ê
Alt-0217  Ù
Alt-0218  Ú
Alt-0219  Û

Alt-0220  Ü
Alt-0235  ë
Alt-0221  Ý
Alt-0222  Þ
Alt-0223  ß

Alt-0224  à
Alt-0231  ç
Alt-0225  á
Alt-0226  â
Alt-0227  ã

Alt-0228  ä
Alt-0230  æ
Alt-0229  å

Alt to your hearts desire.

Clicking on this will take you to the google Gears page to install the gears application.

This application is supposed to cache your browser session much more efficiently. Gears works for all browsers. It installs a Sql lite database to keep track of your browsing sessions.

Not sure on how I feel about a mini database supposedly keeping track. However it does seem to speed things up.

Try out google gears if you dare.