The House of AnimeJB

It took me a bit to scour the internet and find all the information I needed to get rid of annoying extra items in my Windows Vista context menus. Of ultimate annoyance were the “Send To” and “New” menus.

Many sites weren’t of any help at all, and some replies to this question on forums were met with, “Uninstall the program”, which is perhaps the stupidest answer of all.

So here’s the resources I finally used, so you don’t need to look anymore.

Removing “Send To” Entries:
Customize the Windows Vista Send To Menu - Simple, easy, and won’t break your computer.

Removing “New” Entries:
Clear Unwanted Entries from Explorer’s New Menu - For the more advanced only! You’ll have to edit your registry for this, but it’s relatively straightforward.

General Menu Customization
Fast Explorer - For the more advanced only! It was useful for getting rid of one of my general context menus that popped up on any file or folder I clicked for an archive program I used.

Here’s the problem with Linux.

Within the past two years or so, there have been GIANT LEAPS in usability on Linux platforms. The latest version of Ubuntu is an awesome testament to that fact. The last time I tried to configure a Linux machine - I think it was an installation of Suse - I managed to break it within a few hours after it was installed. I’ve also managed to kill Kubuntu before. I haven’t broken Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty) yet. This is a sign from the Gods.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is when a new user, like me, needs to get something done, obviously they turn to “experienced” Linux users, and the first thing those users say is, “open a terminal and type…”

This is very discouraging for those of us using the new installations and wondering why there isn’t a way to do it through the normal interface. The thing is - there ARE ways to do it through the normal interface now, but the people who have been using Linux forever only know how to do it through the terminal and find it easier that way - even though it isn’t easier for the rest of us who are graphics-oriented.

I’m not saying those of you who are using the terminal are wrong or bad people. And I know that a lot of people coming to you guys with questions have not “RTFM’ed”. But just be aware that help documents have improved, and that they and other system configurations no longer need to be accessed from the terminal.

And to new Linux users out there - pick up a modern installation and try to RTFM. And stop asking experienced users “how” to do things. It’s one thing to ask, “Is it possible to do this?” or, “What’s it called when you do this?” so you know how where to look in your manuals, but if you ask an experienced Linux user “how” to actually do it, you’re going to be in for a world of hurt. Just so you know.

There’s been a lot of debate going around about subbing groups encoding things with SoftSubs or in MKV format. I used to hate those things too, but now I find that they’re pretty awesome, especially for taking screenshots! So I did a little research and put together a little guide to get things looking pretty on Windows and Mac, displaying subtitles the way the group intended for them to look.

To see what I mean, check out these screenshots:

VS.

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There are a lot of different tips, techniques, and cheats for installing multiple versions of Internet Explorer on a Windows XP machine. Most of them are a huge pain in the butt for the functionality, and even then, when you’re doing it without using a virtual machine, some things still are broken, like cookies and conditional comments.

Well there’s a new program out on the block - Multiple IE by TredoSoft.

The installer allows you to run other versions of IE (versions 3-6) next to your IE 7 installation. The cookies and conditional comments work right, too! There are still a few issues, but it’s clearly better than any other solution out there.

Essentially, you just upgrade your IE6 to IE7 normally so that everything works properly, and then run the Multiple IE installer.