RileyTec Tips

One of the neatest new features in Apple OS 10.5 (aka Leopard), is Quick Look. The feature enables you to take a peek at most files from within the Finder window, including images, text files, PDF documents, movies, Keynote presentations, email attachments, Microsoft Word and Excel documents. Just select the item and tap the space bar to see a file in Quick Look or press Command-Option-Y to launch Quick Look in full screen mode.

The use of pirated software is illegal. The following procedure is described purely for the purpose of education. Additionally, do not use this crack if you have already tried another, or have used the re-arming technique documented on Windows Secrets. This crack will stop the activation timer, permanently leaving the time left for you to activate your Vista at 30 days. Windows Update will continue to run normally.

1. Start your PC and enter its BIOS setup
2. Set your system date to 31 December 2099
3. Save and Exit
4. Re-start the PC from the Vista installation CD and follow the normal installation procedure
5. Vista will install and after rebooting your PC, ask you to enter an account name and password
6. Follow the on-screen instructions until the entire installation process completes
7. Shut down Vista and re-start the PC, once again entering its BIOS settings
8. Set the date back to the correct value
9. Save and Exit the BIOS and continue booting in to Vista
10. Download and unzip vistacrack.zip
11. Right click on vistacrack.exe and select Properties
12. Go to the Compatibility tab and select the Run this program as an administrator check box
13. Close the properties window and double-click vistacrack.exe to run it
14. Select Crack
15. The crack process will start and the PC will reboot
16. When Vista loads it will show a warning on the system tray about blocked programs, right click on the system tray icon in question and select to allow the program to run
17. The warning will pop up a second time, click Allow
18. The crack process will open and complete
19. Select Finish

The crack is now done. To check whether it has worked, reboot your computer a final time and do the following:

1. From the Start Menu, select Run
2. Type slmgr.vbs -dlv and click OK
3. Look at the last line of the results window (it can take several seconds for this window to pop up so just be patient), if it says the time remaining is 43200, the crack worked

Remember: the use of pirated software is illegal.

So you want to use your favourite MP3, or a part of it, as your ringtone? Why pay Vodafone, O2 or anyone else for a second-rate offering? All you need is an Apple computer, iLife (06 or 08) and a mobile phone that supports MP3 ringtones (that rules out the Reliant Robin disguised as a Ferrari, aka iPhone!) to which your computer can send files using bluetooth or USB.

1. Open iTunes and find the song you want to use, it can be any song and it does not matter if it is an MP3 or AAC file
2. Launch GarageBand
3. At the welcome screen select Create New Music Project
4. Give it a name (e.g. ringtone)
5. Click create, you will see the default virtual keyboard and a track that is called Grand Piano marked in green
6. Close the virtual keyboard by clicking on the red X in its top left corner
7. Select Track from the menu bar and Delete Track to delete the default track
8. Switch focus to iTunes and simply drag the track from the iTunes window to the GarageBand window
9. Your tune is shown in an orange bar in the track automatically named the same as the song
10. If the track is not placed at point zero on the GarageBand ruler, simply drag it to the left until it is
11. Double-check you have the right song by clicking GarageBand’s play button
12. Take this opportunity to decide where you want to “cut” the track for your ringtone remembering that most phones divert to voicemail after 10-20 seconds
13. Click on GarageBand’s ruler on the point at which you want to start your ringtone
14. Select Edit from the menu bar and Split
15. Click anywhere in the grey area underneath your track, then click on the orange track to the left of the vertical red line
16. Select Edit from the menu bar and Delete, this will delete the portion of the song to the left of where you have just split it
17. Click and drag the remainder of the track all the way back to point zero on the GarageBand ruler
18. Press the GarageBand play button to decide where you want your ringtone to end and make a note of where that point is on the ruler
19. Press the GarageBand play button again to stop playback and click in the ruler at the point you made note of above
20. Select Edit from the menu bar and Split
21. Click anywhere in the grey area underneath your track, then click on the orange track to the right of the vertical red line
22. Select Edit from the menu bar and Delete, this will delete the portion of the song to the right of where you have just split it
23. Select Share from the menu bar and Send Song to iTunes
24. In the resulting pop-up window ensure that Compress Using is set to MP3 Encoder and click Share

iTunes will automatically take focus and start playing your ringtone. All you need to do now is send or copy your newly made MP3 file to your mobile phone and set it as your ringtone. Please note, you are not legally entitled to distribute your new ringtone to anyone else.

Microsoft Outlook maintains a nickname list that is used by the automatic name checking and completion features. The nickname list is automatically generated as you use Outlook. If the nickname cache becomes corrupted, Outlook may not be able to identify recipients, may offer incorrect recipients when automatically completing the e-mail address, or may send the message to the wrong person. Additionally, if one of your contacts changes their email address, Outlook will continue to remember their old address indefinitely. Use this procedure to reset the Outlook nickname cache in MS Windows XP:

1. Quit Outlook
2. Click Start and then Search
3. In the left-side panel of the Search Results window, click All files and folders
4. In the All or part of the file name text box, type *.nk2
5. In the Look in selection box, select Local Hard Drives
6. Click More advanced options and click the Search hidden files and folders check box
7. Click Search
8. Once found, right-click the appropriate NK2 file (most probably “Outlook.NK2″) and select Rename
9. Rename the file to Outlook.bak and then press Enter
10. Close Windows Explorer
11. Launch MS Outlook

Outlook will now generate a brand new nickname cache.

To remove the Links toolbar from Internet Explorer, you can simply right-click any area of the toolbar and deselect it from the menu. However, doing this will not remove the Links folder from your Favorites. Do not just delete this folder as at best, it just will not go away and at worst, it will cause a variety of problems with your browser. Instead, open your Favorites menu and right-click the Links folder. Choose Properties from the popup menu and select the Hidden check box. Click OK and re-start Internet Explorer.