Posts

Whether you’ve been searching with Grep or looking at programs that can batch rename files for you, you’ve probably wondered if there was an easier way to get your job done. Thankfully, there is, and it’s called “regular expressions.” (Comic from XKCD.com) What are Regular Expressions? Regular expressions are statements formatted in a very specific way and that can stand for many different results. Also known as “regex” or “regexp,” they are primarily used in search and file naming functions....

Docker is a popular platform for packaging apps as self-contained distributable artifacts. It creates images that include everything you need to run a particular software, such as its source code, third-party package dependencies, and required environment characteristics. As Docker images can run anywhere Docker’s installed, they’re a viable format for distributing your CLI applications. The Docker ecosystem includes Docker Hub as an available-by-default public registry, giving you a complete tool chain for publishing, updating, and documenting your tools....

To make reading documents, emails, and notes easier, try Immersive Reader in Microsoft Office. With font, grammar, voice, focus, and other settings, you can customize and use Immersive Reader in Word, Outlook, and OneNote. As one of the Microsoft Learning Tools, Immersive Reader is a wonderful option for those with dyslexia or dysgraphia. But this tool is actually ideal for anyone who wants to improve their reading experience. Immersive Reader Availability As mentioned, Immersive Reader is currently available in Microsoft Word, Outlook, and OneNote....

Windows 8 contains a completely revamped backup system. Windows 8’s File History replaces Windows 7’s Windows Backup – if you use Windows Backup and update to Windows 8, you’ll find quite a few differences. Microsoft redesigned Windows’ backup features because less than 5% of PCs used Windows Backup. The new File History system is designed to be simple to set up and work automatically in the background. This post will focus on the differences between File History and the Windows Backup feature you may be familiar with from Windows 7 – check out our full walkthrough of File History for more information....

Once you have Hyper-V installed the first thing you are going to want to do is start creating virtual machines. The process is mostly a next, next, finish matter, but just incase you are unsure, here’s a quick start-to-finish guide. Note: this is part of our ongoing series teaching IT administration basics, and might not apply to everybody. Creating Hyper-V Virtual Machines To get started you will need to open the Hyper-V management console....

Following our article on Advanced Query Syntax in Windows 7, commenters voiced their frustration with Windows Search. Here, we have a few tweaks you can use to get the functionality you want, but we also consider some alternative search programs. Earlier this week, we showed you how to use Advanced Query Syntax to search in Windows 7. Well, you readers gave us some feedback: Windows XP’s advanced search is much better!...

Install the extension, put your mouse cursor over any YouTube video thumbnail, and a preview pops up in the upper right corner of your Chrome browser window. The only request we’d direct at the developer is either the ability to adjust the mouse over delay or to simply extend the delay. As it is now the video preview starts almost instantly which can make a whole page of YouTube thumbnails like a mine field of unexpected videos....

The really annoying thing is that even if you go to Tools, Options, View, and click on “Apply to All Folders”, Windows may still revert back to thumbnail view! This happens because Windows will show a folder in thumbnail view if it finds a THUMBS.DB file in the folder. THUMBS.DB is a cache file that basically is used by Windows in any folder it finds a picture or video so that the next time you view the folder, the thumbnails will be loaded faster so you don’t have to wait....

All you have to do is use the Ctrl+Z keyboard shortcut, or use Edit \ Undo on the menu. This is especially handy when you are trying to select a bunch of files, and accidentally move the mouse and copy them into the same folder instead: Once you do that, just immediately use the Ctrl+Z shortcut and the files will be removed, although you will get the regular delete confirmation dialog:...

Creating a Shared Folder Setting up a shared folder in Dropbox is easy. Add the files you want to share to a folder in Dropbox on your computer, then right-click in the folder, select Dropbox, and then choose Share This Folder. Alternately, log into your Dropbox account online, click the drop-down menu beside the folder you want to share, and click Share this folder. Now, enter the email addresses of the people you want to share the folder with, and optionally enter a message explaining why you’re sharing the folder....

Search Engines and Crawlers When you search using a keyword on a search engine like Google or Bing, the site sifts through trillions of pages to generate a list of results related to that term. How exactly do these search engines have all of these pages on file, know how to look for them, and generate these results within seconds? The answer is web crawlers, also known as spiders. These are automated programs (often called “robots” or “bots”) that “crawl” or browse across the web so that they can be added to search engines....

What Is Browser Fingerprinting? Websites can use browser fingerprinting to identify you. It works by running a script that looks at specific data your browser sends to the site and compiling a profile of you as a user. It’s called a fingerprint because, like with the ones on your fingers, with enough data, it can be made entirely unique. Before we move on, though, let’s clear up some terminology: The terms browser fingerprinting and device fingerprinting are often used interchangeably, but that’s not entirely correct....

RBAC is a popular way to enforce user access constraints because it allows for granular permission grants that match each individual’s responsibilities. Many systems have a requirement that some users can create data, others can review it, and administrators get uninhibited access. RBAC can implement all these requirements. What Are RBAC Roles? An RABC role is a collection of permissions. Permissions represent the unique actions that users can take in your system....

The concept of SRE developed at Google. It’s based on the idea that code and software is the most effective way to manage large scale systems. Manual procedures initiated by a separate team carry a risk of oversight and inconsistency. In this article, you’ll learn what SRE is and how it helps to streamline cloud operations. We’ll also explain where SRE overlaps with DevOps, as well as the ways in which it differs....

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-drive grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader oKtosiTe noticed the warning label and needed to get to the bottom of things: Thankfully no field studies or warranty voiding were required to solve the mystery. What is the purpose of this hole and why would covering it cause damage or increase the likelihood of drive failure?...

Nothing but Rumors There are always rumors floating around about new products Apple’s working on that will help it disrupt a market it’s not currently part of. Sometimes these rumors turn out to be true, but we have yet to see any real evidence of an Apple AR headset, electric car, or TV. There are also rumors of an Apple gaming console, similar to the Nintendo Switch. That rumor also has no evidence we’ve seen to support it, but we think that it’s actually a great idea for Apple to make a games console....

If you’re a budding photographer or a seasoned professional, we provide tips and tricks for taking better pictures, some history of photography, and information about the future of photographic technology. Here are 10 of our best articles about photography. How to Use EXIF Data to Learn From Master Photographers Exif is a term that refers to an advantage of digital photography of which you may not be aware. It stands for “Exchangeable Image File Format” and it’s the metadata that is usually created for each digital photo you take, or the information about the images taken....

Your Thermostat Can’t Do Everything Automatically Lots of folks get a smart thermostat because they were offered one as part of an energy rebate from their utility company or, in newer homes with more advanced HVAC systems, it just came with the house or apartment. If you didn’t go out of your way to research everything there is to know about smart thermostats and your particular model, you’ve likely overlooked a feature or three....

1. Fully Portable Environments The first and most obvious benefit of container-driven development is the ease with which you can transition code between environments. Once you’ve built a Docker image for your app, anyone can run it using docker run in their terminal. This makes it easier to onboard new developers and keep code in sync between machines. It’s a welcome farewell to the days of working through long setup documents to bring up a dev environment that falls over a few hours later....

If you open different virtual machines in VirtualBox often, you will like VBoxLaunch. It allows you to launch virtual machines directly from the Start menu using a jumplist without having to launch the VirtualBox Manager first. VBoxLaunch does not change any settings in VirtualBox or the interface. It reads the list of virtual machines available in the VirtualBox Manager and creates direct links to those virtual machines in the jumplist for VBoxLaunch on the Start menu or the Taskbar....