Doing Screencast

If you are an educator and do not want to spend a lot of money or your needs are basic, you can use a combination of a screen capturing program and video editing program to capture your computer screen as you do a live presentation with voice and then edit this video for distribution on video sharing sites like YouTube.

The combination that I recommend is SnagIt from http://www.techsmith.com and Windows Movie Maker (PC) and iMovie (Mac). The later two are free from Microsoft and Apple, respectively. SnagIt costs $50 while the others are free.

Below is a video showing you how to make a seamless transition from SnagIt to WMM.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0KpzLUOF8

If you plan to anymore fancy video editing, then there is a free program called Lightworks. It is on par with the commercial program Premiere by Adobe. There is a free and paid version of Lightworks, but Premiere is not free, even with the lite version called Premiere Elements.

http://www.lwks.com/

MOCA Setup

The followings are links to instructions on setting up your MOCA devices to extend the Internet connection in the homes. MOCA is a technology that uses the coax cable grid that is already built into your home to carry the Ethernet signal. From my experience, it is much more reliable than HomePlug and wireless repeater technology.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=501722

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R58dh24Xgw0&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMhe9EoDp4Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7yknwV1YME

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYi7OYM0xU

How to Disable XPS Document Writer

XPS is Microsoft's attempt to dethrone Adobe's ubiquitous PDF format. It's an uphill battle because PDF format is so entrenched. So far, the XPS format is nowhere near the heel of PDF. It does not help that Microsoft installs the XPS printer by default in Windows. Remove it is easy if you are the only person using the computer, but for a public PC, whenever a new person logs in, his profile may get the XPS printer as the default printer. It's not the end of the world, but it is annoying.

So to disable the XPS printer, follow the link below. It's a pretty easy thing to do.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disable-xps-document-writer-49624.html

Now, my next project is to find an easy way to remove the Send to OneNote printer.

Online Learning: A Bachelor's Level Computer Science Program Curriculum

http://blog.agupieware.com/2014/05/online-learning-bachelors-level.html

It's a collection of IT courses that matches closely to a typical required curriculum to satisfy an undergraduate degree in Computer Science at a 4-year university.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/pictures-story/686-5-online-learning-apps-websites.html

Trouble-shooting Intel VT-x Issues

https://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8978

I have a PC that has the Z87 chipset and an i5 CPU. Both support Intel VT-x.  However, whenever I try to run a 64bit version of Windows 8 as a guest OS, I would get this error message.

So far, I have not found a solution. I have updated the BIOS to the latest version. I have even re-installed Windows 8 Professional 64bit as the host OS. I have enabled VT-d in the BIOS. Curiously, in the BIOS of the Z87M-Plus motherboard, it says that VT-x is supported but there is no setting where I can toggle it on and off. The only ON/OFF switch is for VT-d. However, according to the KB article above, VT-d is irrelevant for VMware Workstation. It is only important for ESXi.

This is the first time that I have encountered this problem where I have a motherboard that supports 64bit CPUs and has a 64bit CPU and yet, it cannot run a 64bit guest OS. On this Z87M-Plus motherboard, it can run 32bit guests just fine.

Update: I updated to a Z97M-Plus motherboard with an i5-4690 CPU and VMWare Workstation now can run 64-bit Windows 7 and Windows 8 without fuss. I am still not sure why the Z87 chipset cannot run them.