Archive for January, 2009

Run Disk Cleanup Automatically at Startup [Automation]

Friday, January 30th, 2009

The CyberNet tech blog details how to create a set-it-and-forget-it scheduled task to automatically run Disk Cleanup every time your computer starts.

The setup requires a few steps, starting with running Disk Cleanup from the command line with the /sageset:1 parameter to choose your settings, and then creating a scheduled task with the /sagerun:1 option to automatically run using the saved settings every time you start your computer.

If you’d prefer to use the reader favorite CCleaner to clean up your computer, we’ve already detailed how to run CCleaner silently with a shortcut, or run it automatically with a scheduled task, which could be adjusted to run on startup. For more on automated maintenance, check out how to create a self-repairing hard drive.

Automatically Empty the Recycling Bin at Startup [CyberNet]






Most Popular Stories of 2008

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Perhaps I should break my vow to my wife and build some more workbenches.

During a routine audit of our web traffic on this blog, I was surprised to learn that
the most popular page on the blog in 2008 was the “Workbenches”
page
. (You can access this page by clicking on “Workbenches” in
the Navigation bar at right. It calls up all the stories I’ve tagged as dealing with
workbenches and workholding. More than 20,000 people browsed that page last year.

Here the next nine most-popular stories, along with some updates.

2. Free
Drawing of the Knockdown Holtzapffel Workbench.
The lesson: Give away something
free about a workbench and it’s bound to attract some attention.  

3. First
Look at the Jointmaker Pro.
This incredible new saw from Bridge City Tools attracted
a lot of interest and controversy. Just this week, Bridge City announced that it is
assembling the Jointmaker Pro. You can read all about that here.

4. The
Handplanes page.
Click on “Handplanes” in the Navigation bar and hope you have
a good connection to the Internet.

5. A
Japanese Workbench.
This was a real shocker. Not a single person commented on
this blog post. And it had a cute photo of one of Harrelson Stanley’s kids. Almost
9,000 people read the story. Go figure.

6. Free
eDrawings of the Tabouret Table
. This was a popular project (I get mail about
it almost every week). So no surprises here.

7. My
First Pair of Pantyhose
. Note to self: Write more stories with undergarments and
cross-dressing in the headlines.

8. The
Holtzapffel Workbench
. Another workbench story. Click.

9. The
Electronic Drawings page.
This is encouraging. We really like the SketchUp and
eDrawing files we provide. And it looks like you guys do, too. Or perhaps we just
got a lot of clicks from Eastern European thieves who are ripping us off.

10. New
Premium Handplanes From Stanley.
Production on these planes has been delayed while
Stanley officials make sure that the quality is where they want it. Officials say
they are very close to being ready to crank up production.

Next week: The least popular stories of 2008. Or maybe not. I’m afraid it will be
my “Personal
Favorites”
page.

— Christopher Schwarz

Looking for More Woodworking Information?

• Sign up for our newsletters to get free plans, techniques and reviews HERE.
• Looking for free articles from Woodworking Magazine? Click HERE.
• Like hand tools? Read all our online articles on hand work HERE.
• Want to subscribe to Woodworking Magazine? It’s $19.96/year. Click HERE.

Watch Super Bowl Ads Today, Get Stuff Done on Sunday [Super Bowl]

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

If you’re one of the many who aren’t that into football but stay glued to your TV on Super Bowl Sunday for the commercials, you can head on over to Adweek right now to catch several of this weekend’s big campaigns. While we’re talking Super Bowl, let’s hear whether or not you’re planning to watch the big show this weekend in the comments. [via]






SHOPNOTES: Band saw fence & stop block

Thursday, January 29th, 2009
I like cutting tenons on the band saw because it's quick, easy, and accurate — especially with this fence and stop block. Continue reading: "SHOPNOTES: Band saw fence & stop block".

Measurement Lab Checks if Your Connection is Being Throttled [Net Neutrality]

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

Google and a host of net-savvy partners have opened up a free set of web tools to help anyone determine if their net connection is blocking or throttling BitTorrent or otherwise limits their bandwidth.

At the moment, three tools are available—when their servers aren't jammed up, and they seem to be pretty popular at the moment. The Glasnost tool determines how your ISP is handling BitTorrent traffic and gives a readout on whether it’s being denied, throttled, or otherwise impaired. Network Diagnostic Tool covers other problems that might affect your upload or download speeds. And the Network Path and Application Diagnosis tries to reveal the routing, network tools, and other “last mile” issues that affect net performance.

The tests are fairly simple, and each seems to require a working Java plugin to run. The Glasnost test, for instance, creates a fake BitTorrent stream between your connection point and the test’s servers, then monitors what happens to the packets.

That’s one reassuring block of HTML.

It doesn’t take a senior analyst to see that Google is looking to shine some light on internet providers’ moves against net neutrality, such as Cox Communications’ “time sensitivity” throttling. In fact, the next two products due out of the “Measurement Lab” are DiffProbe and NANO, which will tell a user whether certain types of traffic, for specific applications or users, are getting priority over others. The side effect of the net giants’ tussle, though, are some handy tools that (should) tell the user exactly why they are or aren’t getting the speeds they paid for.

Measurement Lab [via Google Blogoscoped]