Spriglet #8: Hack the buttons on a Dell SK-8135 Keyboard (and others)

Posted onCategoriesspriglets, technology & science

Dell SK-8135

Just bought a new Dell SK-8135 keyboard off of eBay.  I have one at work and like it a lot.

It has some buttons on it that are sorta configurable — if you don’t mind poking around in the Windows Registry.

Start -> Run -> regedit

Browse to:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AppKey

  • 7 =  Browser home button – this will launch the default browser
  • 15 = Mail button  – this will launch the default mail app.
  • 16 = Music note button – this will launch the application associated with the .cda extension.  I changed this one to .mp3
  • 17 = My Computer button
  • 8 =  Calculator button

Make your changes, reboot and you’re good to go.

EDIT: This does work in Windows 7

EDIT: 12 Dec 2012 – This also works on other keyboards with media controls…like my new Amazon Basics chiclet keyboard (affiliate link).

UPDATED: For the hard drive click, freezing does the trick

Posted onCategoriestechnology & science

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Came home last night to find my external hard drive unresponsive. It was making the dreaded clicking sound.

I used it primarily for backups, but there were still a few important files on it — archived Media Center videos, MP3s and some pictures.

I had read about people freezing their hard drives as a way to restore them temporarily.  I decided it give it a try.

I stuck it in a ZipLoc freezer bag and placed it on top of the Minnesota corn in the Cool-Whip container in my deep freeze.

After about an hour, I took it out and hooked it up. No change.  I stuck it back in the bag and put it back in the freezer.

So I get it out this morning and hook it up. Click. Click. Click. Whirrrrr. Click. Click. Sigh.

Then surprisingly, I heard this.

Boom, it was back. I frantically copied off about 3 GB of data. Not a hitch. Couldn’t believe it.

EDIT: This method does not work on newer hard drives with hydro dynamic bearings. It also does not work for all types of hard drive failures.

Other NBA Refs Could Face Gambling Discipline

Posted onCategoriessports

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It didn’t surprise me to read that there could be other NBA referees caught in the F.B.I. dragnet.  While they may not face criminal charges, they could be slapped down by the N.B.A.

Stern could face some serious credibility issues after his emphatic statements about Donaghy being a “rogue, isloated criminal.”

I hope this all gets resolved by the beginning of the NBA season in October.  I really don’t want any shadows over what’s shaping up to be an interesting year in the league.

Spriglet #7:Toggle case in Microsoft Word

Posted onCategoriesspriglets

Here’s a nice trick if you want to toggle the case of a selection in Microsoft Word.

  1. Open a Word document
  2. Highlight the text with your mouse
  3. Hit Shift-F3 multiple times to cycle through the different cases

lowercase:

the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

sentence uppercase:

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

uppercase:

THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPED OVER THE LAZY DOG.

DirecTV to Sell Powerline Broadband

Posted onCategoriestechnology & science

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This is welcome news.  Now if they can get some competition going to drive the prices down.

I would bet there’s a fairly large rural market for broadband internet service.  Even if this pushes the traditional DSL and cable providers into the rural areas, it’d be good for country dwellers like my parents.