Author Archives: Robert S. Robbins

Tonight I tried a version of Linux called dyne:bolic. You can burn this version of Linux onto a CDROM and run the entire operating system from the CDROM. All of its multimedia tools worked pretty well on my system. I … Continue reading →

Today I upgraded my Linux system to Mandrake Linux 9.2. I found some welcome improvements. My sound card is now working. My built-in network connection is working so I can connect to the Internet over Verizon DSL. However, I did … Continue reading →

I recently bought a LogiTech USB Desktop Microphone because my voice sounds funny when I try to narrate a screen capture video. Unfortunately, my voice still sounds strange when I record it using this new microphone. It may be that … Continue reading →

Today I did some work on WordPress Theme customization. I added a topic on this subject to my notes. I created a custom snapshot image for the WordPress Theme Picker and I documented how to change the header image and … Continue reading →

I recently bought the Philips SAA 7130 PCI TV Card to capture video on my PC. I needed this in order to import some videotape of Linux running on my Playstation. This video capture card works extremely well with both … Continue reading →

I have created an ASP.NET version of my script to document a database design using queries of the information_schema.tables. This required dynamically creating an unknown number of datagrid controls, one for each table that would be found. To do that … Continue reading →

Today I learned how to do some Internet Explorer hacks to deal with differences in how Cascading Style Sheets are handled in other browsers and Internet Explorer. The problem I ran into is that I wanted to absolutely position a … Continue reading →

Yesterday I bought TechSmith’s SnagIT Screen Capture software. I plan to use it to make tutorial videos and screen capture videos. I will be able to create a video to show a client how to use a web application or … Continue reading →

Today I learned how to use the Response.ContentType property to cause the browser to open an ASP.NET page as a Word document in the Rich Text Format. I know how to do this in ASP to cause an Excel spreadsheet … Continue reading →

I went into business for myself three months ago. It has gone surprisingly well. I now have just three clients but they keep me very busy. I am unable to take on any more clients right now. I do not … Continue reading →

Yesterday I went to Beiter’s and bought an air conditioner for under $100. I managed to install it in the window of the room that I’m using for my home office. This will help me to remain productive when the … Continue reading →

I need to buy an air conditioner for the room that I am using for my office. The only air conditioner in the house is in the living room. I am not very productive when I’m hot and uncomfortable. We … Continue reading →

I bought a Sony DCR-TRV280 Digital8 Handycam Camcorder w/20x Optical Zoom on Amazon. I should have read the product description more carefully because this camcorder uses 8mm tapes rather than any form of digital media like memory sticks or compact … Continue reading →

Today I got a cheap web cam. I was unable to get it to work on my Windows 2000 system however it did work on my Windows 98 system. The only reason to keep a Windows 98 system anymore is … Continue reading →

I bought a new hard drive on Amazon which arrived today. This drive is 100 GB. I used PowerQuest’s Drive Copy 4.0 to transfer my operating system and data to this new hard drive. Hopefully it will not go bad … Continue reading →

After my hard drive went bad, I’ve realized that my home office needs a better data back up plan. First, I’ve ordered a bigger hard drive on Amazon. This will be a brand new drive and not a refurbished drive. … Continue reading →

I am currently reading another book on ASP.NET, Microsoft ASP.NET Step by Step by G. Andrew Duthie, published by Microsoft Press. I’m up to chapter 7 on configuring an ASP.NET application (using the web.config file). Although I already know ASP.NET … Continue reading →

I don’t want to give the impression that my home office is inadequate after my hard drive went bad. I plan to invest in more computer equipment to save my work. I did buy a battery backup system (i.e. UPS) … Continue reading →

Last night I ran PerfectDisk 7.0 and it did a pretty good job of defragging my hard drive. It got half of it defragged which is much better than Windows 2000’s built-in Disk Defragmenter could have done.