Cheese Salt

Dan Hounshell's quickies. We call it "Cheese Salt" because that's what it is.

Frankenstein inspired MAME cabinet

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via frankencade.blogspot.com

I've thought about creating a MAME cabinet for a while now, even going so far as to start collecting controls. But I haven't yet taken the leap. I'm thinking it might be a cool project to take on this winter.

I'd like to build something kind of cool, but I know my limits and I'm sure it will end up being more utilitarian than beautiful. And I know it will be nowhere near as cool as this Frankenstein inspired cabinet. You have to check out the pics. The craftsmanship and attention to detail is amazing.

Which of these is not like the others?

In yesterday's mail we got a flyer from Hustler Hollywood, which is not that unusual since I live about two miles from one of the stores.

The thing I found interesting about the ad (okay there were other things I found interesting :)) was the list of store locations on the back. Each of the store names/cities are places that you probably don't have to say the state, just the city, and people will know what you mean. Lexington might not be as obvious to those not in the midwest, but around here we know you mean Lexington, KY. Anyway the list is:

FT. Lauderdale
New Orleans
Lexington
San Diego
St. Louis
Nashville
Tacoma
Hollywood
... and ...
Monroe

I'm not sure why they don't just call it Cincinnati? Monroe is a sleepy little suburb about 25 miles north of Cincinnati. Whatever. I just find it funny that my little town is listed right there along with such well known places without any kind of qualifier. It is bold and unapologetic. Monroe - ain't chu herd?!?!

Ever heard of Monroe? How about some of our (in)famous shopping and landmarks? Along with Hustler Hollywood we have Touchdown Jesus, Trader's World, the new Mall. Hmmm, I guess that's about it. Okay, maybe we're not so hot. But there is a big sale this month at Hustler Hollywood! :)

(download)

Resource for setting up Windows Server 2008 as a Workstation

This manual will help you to install Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and to configure your pc so you can use it as a workstation. T

If you are still not convinced why to use Windows Server 2008 as your workstation OS, read this article, and you will be installing Windows Server 2008 right after reading it! ;)

Table of Contents

1. Installation, Drivers, OS Language and Owner Information: Installation of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and how to set owner name and -organization.

2. Wireless Networking: (If you don’t use wireless, skip this step) Enable wireless networking in Windows Server 2008.

3. New User, Auto Logon and Strong Passwords Enforcement: How to create a new user, how to configure a user to logon automatically and how to disable enforcement of a minimum complexity for passwords.

4. Shutdown Tracker: How to disable the annoying Shutdown Event Tracker.

5. Ctrl+Alt+Del: Disable ctrl+alt+del at Windows startup.

6. Audio and Startup Sound: Enable audio and Startup Sound in Windows Server 2008.

7. Computername: Change computername.

8. Performance: Increase performance of applications in windows server.

9. Internet Explorer Enhanced Security: Disable Enhanced Security in Internet Explorer.

10. Themes, SideBar with Custom Gadgets, Aero Cursors and Thumbnails: Enable the Vista Aero theme and 3d flip with Sidebar and preview thumbnails in Windows Explorer.

11. SuperFetch: Maintain and Improve your system performance.

12. Delay Activation: How to extend the evaluation period to 240 days.

More Features

13. Windows Search: Install the Windows Search service to search your Outlook and documents.

14. Hyper-V: How to install the Hyper-V virtualization serverrole in Windows Server 2008 x64.

15. Offline Files: Installing the Offline Files feature to improve mobility!

via win2008workstation.com

I recently upgraded my dev rig from a 3-yr-old PC running Windows XP to a nice quad-core Dell box running WIndows Server 2008. All of my home PCs are either still running XP or Windows Server 2003. Having completely missed the "Vista Experience" I wanted to enable Aero, the Sidebar and other toys that I never had a chance to play around with on my new workstations.

None of goodies are enabled out of the box on Windows Server 2008, and the sidebar is not even supported, so I had to do a lot of searching to find instructions. More times than not the best source for detailed instructions was the win2008workstation.com site. It even offered some tips that I had not thought about like disabling the Shutdown Tracker and enabling SuperFetch. It's a very good resource if you're using Windows Server 2008 as a workstation and want to enable some of the UI goodies of Vista.

BTW, Windows Media Player will be installed when you enable the Desktop Experience feature.