Nookkin.com

Celebrating 20 Years of NPS Image Editor

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 13:46:00 CST

Picture this: a cozy December winter break in snowy Minnesota. A Windows 95 machine with 16 MB of RAM and a loud mechanical hard drive. And a teen who had spent the past year learning how to program in Visual Basic 6.

TrayBrowser

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 11:00:00 CDT

TrayBrowser is a small system tray icon that displays a flyout containing anything you want – custom commands for launching apps, home automation, or even information like news and status updates. You can use standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create any layout you want and even take advantage of Windows 11's Acrylic backdrops. The possibilities are endless!

The New NPS Image Editor 4.0

Sun, 24 Mar 2024 13:00:00 CDT

NPS Image Editor 4 is a significant update that provides visual improvements. Enjoy the new and improved dark mode, document templates, and re-written filters. [...]

Arduino Holiday Lights

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 00:00:00 CST

This is an Arduino-based addressable LED controller with a mobile-and-desktop-friendly web GUI. It's designed for fully custom holiday lights but can be adapted for other uses such as PC lighting. Use it out of the box (with some minimal configuration) or modify the source code for a truly 100% custom experience while learning along the way. [...]

Serial Server

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 22:23:00 CST

SerialServer is a simple HTTP server for Windows that allows you to send and receive commands via HTTP for a serial-attached device (such as an Arduino) [...]

Copy Image to Clipboard utility

Wed, 31 Dec 1969 18:00:00 CST

Copy Image to Clipboard allows you to easily copy an image file in full quality by right-clicking on a file or from within Windows Photo Viewer [...]

Null File Finder

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 00:00:00 CST

Null File Finder is a simple utility to find null-filled and/or empty files on your system. This can be especially useful after a system crash that could have corrupted data. [...]

NPS Image Editor: Now with Layers!

Mon, 02 Sep 2019 17:04:00 UTC

It happens almost every time. I mention NPS Image Editor to somebody who has never heard of it and the first words out of their mouth are "does it have layers?". After more than 3 years of rewriting everything to support multi-layer editing, NPS Image Editor has layers at last! And what a journey it has been. [...]

TrayMenu

Sat, 11 Nov 2017 00:00:00 CST

TrayMenu is a convenient popup menu that appears as an icon in the notification area (or "system tray") populated with shortcuts of your choice. This is similar to the built-in Windows toolbar functionality but takes up significantly less space on your taskbar. Use it to launch programs, control devices, or run arbitrary commands. [...]

Fixing a purple backlight on an HP DreamColor LP2480zx

Sun, 18 Dec 2016 03:05:00 CST

The HP DreamColor LP2480zx is a top-of-the-line color-critical monitor that retailed for $3500 and features some really impressive specs. Unfortunately, these monitors eventually develop a purple/magenta color cast over the entire screen. I got my hands on one of these monitors on eBay and set out to fix it. [...]

Introducing NPS Image Editor and Color Picker 3.1

Sun, 20 Nov 2016 22:20:46 CST

NPS Image Editor 3.1.0 has been released! This release has been long in the making due to a large numer of internal improvements that were necessary to support the new enhancements in this release (and for new releases going forward). [...]

The new look of Nookkin.com

Sun, 19 Jun 2016 13:23:00 CDT

Introducing the new Material-inspired responsive design and a few new features. [...]

Multiscreen Blank v2

Wed, 19 Sep 2015 00:00:00 CDT

Multiscreen Blank v2 is an easy-to-use utility that allows you to independently blank out or dim one or more monitors connected to your computer. [...]

Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro Review

Sat, 18 Jan 2014 15:25:00 CST

The Yoga 2 Pro is a convertible ultrabook with a unique design that allows it to function as a laptop, tablet, and something in between. This is a refresh of the original Yoga which brings faster hardware and an insanely high-resolution 3200x1800-pixel screen to the product. I purchased one of these machines about a week ago, and here are my experiences with it so far. [...]

VB_LOC: Visual Basic Line-of-Code Counter

Sun, 10 Nov 2013 00:00:00 CST

VB_LOC is a program that analyzes your VB.NET project and/or individual files and produces a report of total lines of code. It makes a distinction between actual code, whitespace, and comments, as well as user-generated vs. designer-generated code. [...]

NPS Image Editor, Beta 2

Fri, 19 Jul 2013 22:34:00 CST

NPS Image Editor Beta 2 has been released! Head on over to http://nps.nookkin.com to grab it. But before you do, check out the sweet improvements you'll be getting! [...]

New Year, New Server!

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 20:47:00 CST

The world hasn't ended and we are now well into 2013. Although nookkin.com has been fairly quiet recently, there has been a lot going on – the busiest semester of my life, a migration to a new server, and lots of programming. [...]

Computer Puppetry

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:39:00 CST

Computer puppetry is the process of animating an on-screen figure, making it follow a predefined set of movements. A puppetry animation can be as simple as having a stick figure walk across the screen; more complex puppetry animations involve multiple objects performing far more complicated maneuvers while interacting with each other, but the general process is the same. Unlike a video game, a puppet is animated using pre-defined movements as opposed to movements that the user inputs in real time. [...]

3D Graphics

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:36:00 CST

The world around us is 3-dimensional, but a computer screen is flat (2-dimensional). How, then, does one display 3D information on a 2D screen? Enter the world of 3D graphics. [...]

Computer Animation

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 23:27:00 CST

Computer animation involves continuously modifying something about an object on the screen. This can be its position, color, or even the overall shape (by modifying multiple points at once). This article will explain the details involved in making your own animations in a program. [...]

NPS Image Editor has gone Beta!

Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:45:00 CST

It's finally here! After a summer's worth of work, the NPS Image Editor Beta is now available for you to download and use. I'm amazed at how far NPS has come since the original never-publicly-released version nearly 7 years ago, and I hope to continue that original dream by making the application grow. Thanks to everyone who has helped me out in any way to make this a reality! [...]

How I would fix Windows 8

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 19:14:00 CST

Windows 8 has introduced some radical changes to the user interface, the likes of which have not been seen since Windows 95's introduction of the Start menu. The new "Metro" interface is sleek, elegant, and highly responsive, but unfortunately Microsoft seems to have missed their mark in a few small but nonetheless critical places. Here is my proposed solution to some of the common complaints about Windows 8. [...]

Summer 2012 Updates

Thu, 24 May 2012 20:07:00 CST

Nookkin's plans for Summer 2012 include work on NPS, nookkin.com, and others. Read on for more details about each. [...]

NPS Image Editor, Alpha 4

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 12:49:00 CST

NPS Image Editor has been in alpha stage for a while, due to the fact that I've been busy with classes, work, and projects around the house. Nonetheless, the promised yearly release has been built, and while not as grand as some of the previous ones, it is almost universally an improvement in subtle but useful ways. [...]

Logitech MX 1100 Mouse Review

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 21:48:00 CST

After using some of Logitech's higher-end mice for a few days at a time, I realized I needed more. The solution to my digital rodent needs manifested itself as a refurbished Logitech MX1100. I've been using my MX1100 for several weeks now, and I must say I enjoy it very much, despite a few quirks. [...]

Windows 8: First Thoughts

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:25:00 CST

Just yesterday, Microsoft showed off some of the new features of "Windows 8" at the CES, including an all-new touch-friendly interface. Is this radical change a natural evolution of Windows, or is Microsoft pulling another Windows Phone 7? Here, I'll outline some of the major changes as well as my own thoughts about them. [...]

Acer Iconia Tab A500 Review

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 22:04:00 CST

The Acer Iconia Tab A500 is a 10.1-inch Android-based tablet, designed to compete with the iPad 2 in terms of features. It's not mine to keep, but since I had several days to mess around with it, I decided to do a review. [...]

Android on the HD2

Wed, 18 May 2011 22:54:00 CST

One of the reasons I bought my HTC HD2 was to try out operating systems besides the stock Windows Mobile, including Android and Windows Phone 7. Here's my take on Android running on this versatile device. [...]

HTC HD2 Review

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:18:00 CST

The HD2 may be a year old, but it's still an impressive, head-turning piece of hardware with specs that would have put my old desktop computer to shame. Despite its giant screen size, it is amazingly thin, light, and pocketable, and feels like a premium product in every way imaginable. I purchased it to replace my aging Samsung Epix and my iPod touch, and so far, it has held up extremely well. [...]

How To Run Virtual PC 2007 and Windows Virtual PC on the Same Machine

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 20:35:00 CST

Windows 7 introduces a feature known as Windows XP Mode, which is reliant on the latest version of their virtualization software: Windows Virtual PC. The older Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 is unable to run when Windows Virtual PC is installed, and vice versa. But what if you need to run both? Microsoft says it's impossible, but I will prove otherwise. [...]

NPS Obsidian Alpha 3

Fri, 7 Jan 2011 12:49:00 CST

Can you believe that Alpha 2 was released in March of 2010? Yes, it's really been that long. But Alpha 3 is a significant improvement, addressing many of the issues people had with Alpha 2. I will highlight a few key points that are sure to prompt an upgrade. [...]

X-Fi Platinum Review

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:11:00 CST

My Sound Blaster Audigy 4 was a great card, no doubt about that – however, its spotty driver support and lack of hardware acceleration on Windows Vista and 7 made it almost painful to use. After a long while of dealing with random driver reinstalls, distorted audio, and other similar issues, I decided that enough was enough and bought myself a used X-Fi Platinum. [...]

DIY Lab Power Supply: Complete Guide

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:36:00 CST

A complete guide to converting a computer power supply into one suitable for electronics, with many tips and suggestions for improving the basic design.

A good lab power supply can run you well over $100. However, you can build one yourself with about $25 worth of parts. There are dozens of tutorials out there for converting a computer power supply into a lab bench unit, so what makes this one special? This one has a more comprehensive set of indicators and (in my opinion) a better front panel layout. [...]

Radeon 5450: Triple Monitors on the Cheap

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:43:00 CST

The ATI Radeon HD 5450 is the cheapest 5-series card, but it packs quite a punch for its low price. Namely, it is also the cheapest card to support three monitors and ATI Eyefinity. [...]

Logitech G110 Keyboard Review

Fri, 5 Nov 2010 23:31:00 CST

Well, my HP Multimedia Keyboard finally bit the dust when I broke the spacebar trying to put it back in. So which keyboard was the lucky replacement? The Logitech G110 Gaming Keyboard, of course. [...]

The Case of the Missing Gigabytes

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 22:08:00 CST

You buy a nice, shiny 500 GB hard drive. But to your horror, you realize that its actual capacity is only 465 GB. Where did 35 GB worth of space go? Your friend claims that it's used by "formatting". But formatting can't really take that muchspace... or can it? [...]

Blank File Generator

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 13:40:00 CST

Blank File Generator will generate a blank or random file of an exactly specified size, on any writable media including network shares. [...]

"Login" or "Log In"?

Mon, 6 Sep 2010 13:20:00 CST

Do you "login" to a website, or do you "log in" to a website? [...]

New iPods in 2010

Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:28:00 CST

It's that time of year again when Apple updates their iPod models. And while I'm no Apple fanatic, I think Apple is a pretty good innovator that sets the standards for other items. Here is my opinion of Apple's latest gadgets. [...]

iCandy FM Transmitter Review

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 14:01 CST

Company policy at work does not allow us to listen to music through headphones, but they do allow us to use radios. Not willing to settle for the same boring radio programming every day, I decided to buy an FM transmitter for my iPod touch. Amazon had an and I decided to try it out. [...]

Fragmented

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:30 CST

It came in the night, defying gravity, changing the laws of physics, hurling heavy chunks of metal into the air. It melted glass and steel like the hot July sun melts snow. It danced and lit up the sky in a blazing inferno, and then it died down, gone, leaving a cold, dead city behind, whispering with thousands of lost voices, covered in ash like snow. [...]

NPS on Linux and Mac

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:00 CST

Up until now, NPS has been a Windows-only application. But thanks to the Mono framework, this very well may change. I've known about Mono for a long time, but it wasn't until a few days ago that I seriously tried getting NPS to run on it. And it worked after several hours of "hacking" and rewriting code I hadn't touched since day 1.

NookkinEFI Concept, Part 1

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 0:23 CST

EFI replaces the aging BIOS and provides many new features, including rich mouse-based interfaces, modular extensibility, and support for OS-independent device drivers. NookkinEFI is a conceptual implementation of such a system.

Bamboo Pen & Touch

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:17 CST

I've had my Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet for only a day, but I am already starting to make use of it. I bought it for 3 reasons: as someone being interested in graphic design, I wanted to use a pen; as a programmer, I wanted to make use of the multi-touch gestures and eventually the Wacom-provided APIs; as a general computer user, I wanted a more ergonomic alternative – or complement – to my mouse.

How To Properly Use a Large Widescreen Monitor

Thu, 20 May 2010 20:40 CST

The days of small, square CRT monitors are over. Bigger, wider, and higher-resolution monitors now dominate the market. But how does one properly make use of all of this extra space? I run into a good deal of people who simply don't understand how to take advantage of this extra room, and hopefully this article will teach you how.

Why Computers Use Binary

Sat, 15 May 2010 16:04 CST

Binary numbers – seen as strings of 0's and 1's – are often associated with computers. But why is this? Why can't computers just use base 10 instead of converting to and from binary? Isn't it more efficient to use a higher base, since binary (base 2) representation uses up more "spaces"?

Windows Phone 7: A Step Backwards

Wed, 12 May 2010 13:12 CST

Windows Phone 7 aims to improve on the bad points of Windows Mobile. But in so doing, it introduces many of the shortcomings of the iPhone... 3 years behind the competition.

Resetting a Forgotten Windows Password

Mon, 10 May 2010 15:38 CST

Did you forget your Windows user account password? Are you stuck with no access to an administrative account? Do you need to get into someone else's computer for whatever reason? If so, there is an easy way to do it... and all it requires is a Windows Vista/7 DVD.

"NookkinPhone" Concept

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:23 CST

An open-standard smartphone that works equally well for all users. A pocket computer that runs your programs, your way. A phone that works on Verizon and T-Mobile without a hitch, thanks to its dual cellular radios. A device that plays your music in far better quality than your iPod, and is capable of streaming it via FM radio. I present to you, for lack of a better name, the NookkinPhone concept.

Setting Up a Home Server

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 12:32 CST

Do you need a home server? Yes, if you want the convenience of an always-on media server, instant access to your printer from any computer in the house, a dedicated machine for downloading and uploading large files, and a development web server that can be used to host an intranet within your home (or for testing a website outside the home).

Synesthesia: Seeing Colors

Fri, 9 Apr 2010 23:46 CST

What color are the numbers 0 through 9 and the letters A through Z? This question will strike many as odd. After all, numbers and letters are usually black, and if they're colored, it's usually in an arbitrary fashion. But what if I told you that the number 2 is green, 4 is blue, 5 is red, C is yellow, and T is purple?

Should I buy a Mac?

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:11:00 CST

Everyone around me seems to be using a Mac. Some of my friends switched and are now die-hard Apple fanboys. But do Macs really never get viruses, never crash, always work beautifully, better for multimedia, and are they worth the premium? Do you even NEED a Mac to experience Mac OS?

The Apple iPad

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 12:08:00 CST

The iPad was announced on January 27, 2010, and arrived in Apple stores on April 3. Instantly, floods of people came clamoring for the latest Apple gadget, and the web is abuzz with "success stories" of new iPad users.. But is the iPad really as amazing as everyone claims it is? Or is it just a big iPod touch?

NPS Obsidian Alpha 2

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:12:00 CST

Well, it's finally here... NPS codename Obsidian, Alpha 2. This version should have been released months ago, but I ran into various problems and ended up not having enough time to complete it. But that's all in the past now. Alpha 2 is available, and it's just waiting for you to click that "download" button.

My New Samsung Epix

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:13:00 CST

Ever since I saw someone using a Samsung BlackJack several years ago, I wanted a phone of the BlackBerry style but with Windows Mobile. Then in late 2008, Samsung released the Epix... a powerhouse phone that not only had the features of the BlackJack, but also added an optical mouse, touchscreen, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. It became my dream phone.

Porting your number away from TracFone/Net10

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 12:43:00 CST

The FCC mandates that carriers allow customers to port their numbers to another carrier. This usually works quite well; however, if you are a customer of an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) such as Tracfone, you may run into a paradox of sorts: since Tracfone uses another major carrier's towers (T-Mobile in my location), the web-based number porting eligibility tool tells you that your number is ineligible because (in my case) it is already a T-Mobile number.

LG 600G Review

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:20:00 CST

I have been using my LG 600G phone from Net10 (Tracfone also carries this model) since July 2009; it was my first actual cell phone with service, although I have had a good deal of experience with old out-of-service phones. Now that I've ordered my Samsung Epix, the LG will be going into my phone collection drawer, hopefully for good. But in tribute to it, I will write a nice review. [...]

Nookkin.com Mobile

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:36:00 CST

If you've ever used a mobile internet device to access Nookkin.com, you probably have noticed that it is a sub-optimal experience. With the ever-increasing popularity of such devices, I decided to create a mobile variant of my site. As of today, Nookkin.com is available in mobile and desktop variants. [...]

Asylum (a short story)

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:21:00 CST

They keep me trapped here. Trapped behind invisible walls, in a gray, heartless world of stoned businessmen bustling around in their office buildings, stoned schoolchildren sitting in their classrooms. Living a lie. Bustling about, oblivious, uncaring. [...]

Choosing a Good Password

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 15:25:00 CST

Passwords. They're the bane of our online existence, yet they are critical for protecting our privacy. How complex should a password be? How can you create a password that is secure and easy to remember at the same time – does such a thing even exist? Why do I regularly use 30-character passwords, while most people balk at meeting the minimum length of 8 characters? [...]

AGPTek Laptop Battery Review

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:32:00 CST

My ThinkPad's original battery now lasts less than an hour, which is explainable due to its age. It was time for a replacement, but Lenovo charges a whopping $159 for their 7-cell battery (it's the only one they now carry for my model). Well, what did I do? I decided to take a shot at a non-OEM battery: the AGPTek Li9. Here is my review, after owning it for nearly two weeks. [...]

Bitwise Operators

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:54:00 CST

Did you know that 2 AND 2 is not equal to 4? Well, it's not – open up Windows Calculator, click [2] [and] [2] [=], and you will see that the result is 2.But how does this work? This seems to make no sense. Haven't we all heard the expression"put 2 and 2 together"? [...]

Nookkin.com One Year Anniversary

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:15:00 CST

Well, it has officially been over a year since nookkin.com launched, late at night on December 22. And while school and work have taken an unexpected toll on the amount of things I wanted to post, I still think that it has been a successful year. [...]

My new audio setup

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:53:00 CST

I have been interested in audio equipment long before I even had a computer. My first audio system consisted of four old car speakers and a few others salvaged from old electronics, all of which were powered by a small red battery-powered radio which I partially disassembled in order to connect the speakers. I was around 8 years old at the time [...]

Goodbye, Sansa... Hello, iPod touch!

Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:30:00 CST

My Sansa e250 has served me well, but it is near the end of its useful life. The faceplate is cracked right above the screen, the mechanical scroll wheel is increasingly difficult to turn, and lately it has required several tries just to get it to recognize that it is connected to my computer. Thus, I decided that it was time to buy a new player, and chose one of the most popular and coveted players on the market: the iPod touch. [...]

Creating a word filter in PHP

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:07:00 CST

You are no doubt familiar with the concept of a word filter – a function that replaces "naughty" words with asterisks. There are many cases when a word filter is useful. A profanity filter can keep a site "G-rated" [...]

Ten tips for designing the worst software applications

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:22:00 CST

We've all used them - programs that either seemed to be designed by a 6-year-old, or that crash regularly, or even those that installed malware. But how does a software developer try his hardest to design the worst possible piece of software? The tips on this page will be sure to help. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Alpha 1

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:13:00 CST

NPS Obsidian Alpha 1 represents the culmination of several weeks of work on the existing Milestone 3 code. This release is not yet feature-complete, but it has most of the features used on an everyday basis – zoom, pencil and brush, resizing functionality, and filters. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 3

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 19:20:00 CST

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 3, was released today. Milestone 3 shares the same UI appearance as Milestone 2, but also boasts more features. Most toolbox items are now at least partially functional, including rectangular selection, brushes, shapes, airbrush, zoom, and flood fill.[...]

Beyond The Network

Fri, 15 May 2009 19:25:00 CST

"Beyond The Network" is a short story (about 25 printed pages' worth) that I wrote back in March of 2009. It is a science fiction story set sometime in the future. After numerous urgings from readers asking me to publish it, I decided to post it online for the world to enjoy. [...]

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 1

Fri, 8 May 2009 22:42:00 CST

NPS codename Obsidian, Milestone 1, was released today. The Milestone 1 release (version 3.0.15, build 253) is a fairly significant step in the history of NPS, as this is the first build from the Obsidian codebase to be released to the public. The Obsidian codebase is written from scratch using VB.NET (VB 2008), and does not contain any code from the RatTamer-Lagoon codebase (which is written in VB6). [...]

Windows XP on a ThinkPad 560

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 22:53:00 CST

About a week ago, I installed Windows XP on my old ThinkPad 560. This laptop was my first working computer, which I obtained about 4 years ago. It originally came with Windows 98, which ran fairly slow. The laptop has a 133mhz Pentium processor, 40MB of RAM, and a 2GB hard drive.

I decided to try my luck at installing XP on the thing – after all, I don't use it any more, and I might as well prove a point to the 20 or so people who have told me that XP would never install or on something t [...]

Dual-booting XP and Vista (my way)

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:09:00 CST

If you want both Windows XP and Windows Vista on your computer, you can set up a dual-boot configuration easily enough. But the default configuration may not be suitable for your needs. For example, I wanted to have XP and Vista installed on one hard drive, with XP being on a smaller partition which I planned on eventually using for a different operating system. However, setting up this dual-boot proved to be somewhat more complicated than I had imagined. [...]

A Few Updates

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:35:00 CST

For the past month, I have either been busy with school, or busy with something else, and I more or less neglected to post anything on my blog. But here it is... the long-awaited February blog post.

If you haven't already noticed, I've added a few things to my website. Most notably, Computer Bloopers. I have been collecting somewhat humorous computer-related incidents that I have experienced for several years now, and am now putting some of them onli [...]

Computer Bloopers

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:35:00 CST

In a world of technology, there are bound to be some people who don't understand it as well as others. At times, this can be frustrating to us geeks; at other times, these misunderstandings can manifest themselves in ways that can be perceived as humorous. [...]

Allowing any screen resolution on Vista

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:22:00 CST

By default, Windows Display Properties displays only the resolutions allowed by its driver, or (in the case of a Plug-and-Play monitor) exposed by its EDID.

I have been hacking my video and monitor drivers ever since I was 13. On Windows 9x, it was possible to enable all resolutions supported by [...]

Windows 7 Beta, part 2

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:40:00 CST

A few days ago, I installed the Windows 7 Beta on my physical machine. I am impressed by the ease with which it installed, as well as the additional functionality added to it; however, it's still not perfect.

Installation and bootup

Installation was fairly straightforward, and very similar to Vista's. I deleted my old installation of XP Professional (which I never used) and installed Windows 7 in its place. After the installer finished, 2 new entries were added to the Windows Boot Manager &ndas [...]

Windows 7 Beta

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 22:50:00 CST

The Windows 7 Beta is out, and I finally managed to get my hands on a copy. I installed it (unactivated) in a virtual machine, but plan to install it on my physical machine as well, in order to use all of its features. I will update my blog once I do that.

The beta

As you probably know by now, the beta was supposed to be released yesterday. However, Microsoft's servers couldn't handle the heavy demands, and the official download link did not appear until about noon today. I tried downloading vi [...]

Time for some upgrades

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:47:00 CST

My 2-year-old computer was getting a bit slow, as I now run a lot of programs simultaneously. For Christmas, I received an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ and 2GB of RAM, which was a welcome upgrade.

Here is a screenshot of Task Manager before I upgraded:

The RAM installed without any problems (at first). It took a good amount of force to snap the DIMMs in place, but the RAM worked. Vista instantly recognized [...]

Hello World

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:42:00 CST

echo("<p>Hello World</p>\n");

Well, it's been a hectic week, preparing for the launch of my site. Writing code, debugging, and making last-minute improvements. Then, uploading everything to the server, only to find out that MySQL isn't working quite the way I expected... but the site is finally up and running. What a relief.

I'd like to start off my blog by introducing myself. My name is Lyosha, known online as Nookkin or, less commonly, "Nookkin' OR 1=1;--". I'm 16 an [...]