In Vista, normal users are not allowed to save the hosts file, so the easiest way to edit it is to run notepad as an administrator.
- Go to start and either search for “notepad” or go to All Programs > Accessories
- Right click “notepad” and select the “Run as Administrator Option.”
- Once Notepad opens go to File > Open and browse to “C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc”
- Set the file filter to “All Files”
- Select and Open “hosts”
- Edit it and save it.
If you get an error about it being read only:
- Go to File > Open, right click the “hosts” file and select properties
- Uncheck read-only at the bottom and click OK.
- Click Cancel to go back to notepad”
- Save it
BrowserCam has long been the best tool for testing websites in a multitude of situations; however, it isn’t free, so its usefulness is limited for people who just want to test a new design quickly: enter BrowserShots.
This free website has most of the features developers will need to test their sites; however, unlike BrowserCam, there seem to be waits of up to 20 minutes for some OS/Browser combinations, so it is better for casual testing to ensure compatibility rather than live tweaking—it does have a detail page to show how long your wait will be. It has a few useful features: all screenshots are of the entire screen instead of a small part and requests are based on the website, so multiple people can view the results without sharing log-ons.
However, the most interesting part is that the software that runs it is freely distributed and you can, optionally, help the project by volunteering to run a screenshot “factory” from your computer that operates in the background while you go about your normal computing business; thus, combining the best things in life: free stuff and being nice to others.
Super-fast Wi-Fi in the works
Wi-Fi with speeds of 15 gigabits per second? Coming soon to a computer near you.
(AP) — With a wave of his hand over a homemade receiver, Georgia Tech professor Joy Laskar shows how easily - and quickly - large data files could someday be transferred from a portable media player to a TV. Poof! “You just moved a movie onto your device,” Laskar says.
While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth have emerged as efficient ways to zap small amounts of data between gadgets, neither is well suited for quickly transferring high-definition video, large audio libraries and other massive files.
I’ve used Firefox for years mostly for the tabs. However, Firefox 2 removed the ability to “force new windows to open in tabs” and lately my number of “required” extensions have built up to the point that opening a new window takes 5-10 seconds. Which makes the occasional link that forces a new window very irritating.
To force all new windows into tabs type about:config in your url bar and set the following properties:
- ‘browser.link.open_external’ should be 3
- ‘browser.link.open_newwindow’ should be 3
- ‘browser.link.open_newwindow.restriction’ should be 0
