Demo 2008 -Livescribe Pulse Smartpen in Action

Demo 2008 is a unique conference that hosts the latest and greatest technology companies. This year 77 companies from all different markets were invited to demonstrate their latest technology offerrings. At Demo 2008 Ceo Jim Marggraff demonstrated the Livescribe Pulse Pen. I for one am really excited with its potential and thought that you would like to see the live de...

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Posted in: Anoto,demo 2008,livescribe,pulse digital pen,smartpen

[TIPS] Stop learning science! Study for that test!

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/01/30/s1b_skscience_0130.html?imw=Y That article was mentioned in today's ASCD Brief. It talks about one school that is scrapping fully seven weeks of the usual science study to focus on reviewing for the FCAT test. How sad is that? As the one administrator says, it's not what they WANT to do but that test is their reality. Score low on that test and it costs you money - and a WHOLE lot of time for a whole lot of people. I mentioned this to some teachers yesterday when referring to our state's 21st Century Teaching and Learning program which is part of the Classrooms for the Future program. Bottom line - if it comes down to teaching content while honing collaboration skills, or creative expression, or authentic assessments,...

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[TIPS] shelfari - check this out!

Just read this in Robin Martin's blog: http://cfpmsram.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-widget-shelfari.html Shelfari. Look at her sample on the left margin when you scroll down the page. This is something that you should send to your favorite English teacher or librarian. You can post a virtual bookshelf on which you show the book covers of the latest books you're reading, or those you are recommending to others. What a cool tool!...

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[TIPS] Free blogging workshop on Atomic Learning

Want to know more about blogging? This workshop may be for you. Starting tomorrow (Feb 1), this course: http://www.atomiclearning.com/blogging will be offered FREE for the Month of February.   There are over 100 short movies in that course, ranging from some basics, to setting your options, and much more. It focuses on the blog tool at Blogger. The movies appear to average about a minute and a half in length each, so they’re easy to digest.   If you’re new to blogging, spend some time here. MANY of your questions will be answered right up front.     ...

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GyroQ to the Rescue

First I would like to thank Nick Dufill from Gyronix for providing me with a copy of GyroQ to review. GyroQ is a simple and elegant application that compliments MindManager and makes it easy for you to stay on task. I for one always have my MindManager maps open so that if I get a thought or an idea I can enter it into the map. With GyroQ I can continue to do work on my tasks and if an idea or an action items comes into my mind I can quickly open GyroQ and add the idea to the queue without breaking my stride. GyroQ has a number of built in tags that lets you categorize your entry as you quickly type it in. Some of the tags included are: Idea,...

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Posted in: Gyronix,GyroQ,Mindjet,MindManager

Keyboard shortcut of the week: don`t bin it, delete it

Whenever you delete a file it will be sent to the Recycle Bin so that it can be restored if you change you mind (unless the file is too large for the recycle bin).Sometimes, however, you may want to bypass the Recycle Bin and delete a file completely(ish), to do this highlight the files you wish to delete, hold down the Shift key and press Delete. As with a normal deletion you will be asked to confirm the action.These files can still be restored by using appropriate software, as I have explained in a previous post, unless the drive they were deleted from is defragmented - even then it may be possible to restore the files, although this requires sophisticated techniques beyond the reach of most use...

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut

[TIPS] STOP! You can't use Google Maps! What if...

I just heard this story and I'm hoping that by the telling it will lower my blood pressure a bit. A group of middle school teachers got together to create a cross curricular lesson. Each one would appoint a scribe for the day who would post information to a google map. The basis was that kids were going to "Walk to California" for wellness. They would do laps around the track, adding up the miles they walked and then plotting it on a google map where they stopped at each day. Other areas of the curriculum were involved, as well. Geography. Social Studies. Foreign language. It was going to be all the 6th, 7th and 8th graders building this project. Teachers were primed and ready to go. In steps the tech director who says, "What if someone posts something inappropriate on there - and other...

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[TIPS] a VERY creative site

http://producten.hema.nl/ Make sure your speakers are on (and turned down a bit) when you go here. You'll laugh out loud at it. Many thanks to Ken Pruitt for sharing this with me just now on Skype. This won't raise any test scores - just the corners of your mouth....

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Spinscape Announced at VizThink 2008

For those of you that read Jonathan Sapir's Blog, MindMapping 2.0 today he announced in a post that he has been working closely with BOSSdev in bringing Spinscape, a mindmapping 2.0 product to market. This is a description that I found on the Spinscape Blog about the product.Spinscape™ is a collaboration tool that introduces a completely new way of gathering and managing information. This tool provides a compelling solution to the problem of finding, visualizing, organizing, and sharing information by enabling individuals to collaborate and navigate over the web. With an easy-to-use interface, users have the ability to auto-discover information...

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Posted in: BOSSdev,mind mapping,MindManager,mindmapping 2.0,Spinscape

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen to Ship in March

A couple of months ago I reported on the development of the Livescribe pen and its unique features. I just learned that the LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen will begin shipping in March and there will be two different versions, a 1 Gigabyte version ($149 dollars) that can store up to 100 hours of audio and a 2 Gigabyte version ($199 dollar) that can store 200 hours of audio. This has the potential to be a great tool for students who have difficulty with note taking. The Pulse pen will include a Getting Started Guide, a Notebook, Docking unit, and Ear buds with built-in microphones. As part of the system students will be able to share their smart notebooks over the web as well as be able to search their notebooks for specific information. I for one am very excited with the platform they are building...

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Posted in: digital pen,livescribe,pulse digital pen

ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5.3 Creates Visual eBooks

I received this email today from CS Odessa about some new features in ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5.3 that I thought would be of interest to you. You can upgrade your copy of ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5.X for free at the Odessa website.CS Odessa’s ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5.3 Creates Visual eBooksOdessa, Ukraine, January 29, 2008 – CS Odessa today announces the release of ConceptDraw MINDMAP 5.3, a new version of CS Odessa’s mind mapping business productivity software. The 5.3 update adds a new unique capability of creating visual eBooks based on mind maps and several other important additions.Visual eBook is an electronic book where all the information is presented...

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Posted in: ConceptDraw MindMap 5,mindmapping,Odessa Software

Become a Computer Consultant by Focusing on Training and Client Acquisition

Many people wonder when first starting to try to become a computer consultant whether they should focus on computer consulting training first or client acquisition. The correct answer is, “Do both at the same time.”When I am helping people learn to become a computer consultant, I typically tell them how important it is to simultaneously focus on client recruitment AND skills development. You can’t feasibly take six months off to focus on training because six months later, you will find yourself broke. The truth is, you need paying clients at all stages of your business.However, you can’t let six months go by while you are trying to become a computer consultant without keeping your technical skills up to speed. You will eventually be incapable of taking on advanced technical projects and...

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Posted in: become a computer consultant

Buzzword Has Been Updated

For those of us who are moving toward more collaborative tools on the Internet then you should take a look at Buzzword, a collaborative word processor from Adobe. I had a post earlier last year about the features and my first impressions but now it looks like with the support of Adobe that it is really becoming a unique product to take a look at. Once you are in the Buzzword environment you will find that the application is both fast and very visually attractive. I just received and email today about some feature enhancements which I thought you would be interested in knowing about.New features in Buzzword Preview 7Remember to clear your browser...

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Posted in: Adobe,Buzzword,word processor

Jargon busting: software

In a new regular feature I will try to translate a few technical terms into plain English. In the first post I will look at some terms about software that you may have seen.FreewareSoftware that the authors retain the copyright for, which is free to use for an unlimited period. The term has come to refer to any free software, such as public domain and open source.SharewareSoftware that can be used for free for a limited period, after which the user will have to pay to continue using it.Public DomainAny software that is free to use, which the authors do not retain copyright over.AdwareSoftware - free or otherwise - that displays advertisements to generate income for the authors. This type of software often contains spyware.ProprietaryTechnically, any software for which the creator retains copyright...

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Posted in: Jargon

[TIPS] coveritlive - live blogging tool

I just read about this in Vicki Davis' blog (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com) in reference to some live blogging being done at EduCon this weekend.http://www.coveritlive.com/#This tool lets you embed your live blogging right into your own blog page, and the result is there to be watched live or replayed later. Embed polls, videos, images, links on the fly.This is a cool tool for a couple of reasons. For those of you who are lucky enough to allow your students to have a blog, think what this would do for your literary circle lessons. Think of how this tool can turn your students into "on-their-toes" thinkers. Imagine a mob of bloggers at a conference (like PETE&C??) informing the world of the great sessions they're seeing.VERY COOL!P.S.My bet is that this will become a VERY popular...

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[TIPS] Another inspirational Ted Video

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/209 How's this for a teaser: The speaker, Bill Strickland, has Herbie Hancock playing a little piano accompaniment to his speech. Want more? Bill tells his story about growing up in one of the worst sections of Pittsburgh, PA. He was befriended by his art teacher who got him into college. Now he's building centers in those same poor neighborhoods that inspire and bring hope to the same kinds of kids that he once was. Watch this video....

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[TIPS] supertimer and Blabberize

MANY thanks to Alma Row (no E) for sharing these. I laughed out loud with both of them. Supertimer is great for when you’re giving your class a fixed amount of time to complete a task. Sure you can have a bell on a timer, but Supertimer is too much fun. Set the time, select the kind of music you want, and click start. The music plays while a balloon inflates closer and closer towards an awaiting push pin. When the time is up they make contact and POW! Time’s up. What fun! Bookmark this one to keep it handy. Blabberize lets you upload a picture, say of a pig, highlight the lower lip and jaw, then record your message. When it plays back the jaw moves with the words. Watch the demo. Am I just punchy tonight or is that funny? (I’m willing to accept either answer to that question) The only...

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Carnival of Computer Help and Advice

I have decided to start a blog carnival to provide a monthly digest of the best blog articles that offer computer help and advice, preferably those that are written in novice-friendly language.This carnival will be published on the 27th of each month.The submission deadline for new articles is the 20th of each month.Like all blog carnivals, this is a community effort. If you wish to host a carnival you can leave a comment on this article or click here, and if you wish to submit an article for inclusion please click here. The carnival's website can be found here.[Edit 03/02/08] As with other blog carnivals the host each month will choose which articles to include.To be clear, this is not a general technology blog carnival, nor is it a carnival of blogging tips. It is a collection of articles...

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Posted in: Blog Carnival,Blogging,Websites

What are the Keyboard Shortcuts

Know the Keyboard ShortcutsWhen speed counts, the keyboard is still king. Almost all the actions and commands you can perform with a mouse you can perform faster using combinations of keys on your keyboard. These simple keyboard shortcuts can get you where you want to go faster than several clicks of a mouse. You'll work faster on spreadsheets and similar documents, too, because you won't lose your place switching back and forth between mouse and keys.Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcuts:Copy. CTRL+CCut. CTRL+XPaste. CTRL+VUndo. CTRL+ZDelete. DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an itemCreate shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an itemRename selected item. F2...

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Posted in: Key Board Shortcuts

Google Updates Presentation

Google quietly added two new features to Google Presentation recently which I wanted to share with you. Now it became easier to share your presentations by allowing you to export your presentations to PDF. This is a good stop gap measure until we get the ability to export our Google Presentations to PowerPoint format (ppt). Google Presentation has also added the ability to add vector based shapes to your presentation. You can now add speech balloons and arrows to your presentations to bring attention to your points. Take a look at the presentation bel...

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Posted in: Google Docs,Google Presentation

[TIPS] Something very cool - student blogging

I have to tell you about the experience I just had yesterday afternoon as I "live blogged" with Anne Smith's 5th period class of 9th graders. It was outstanding!   Her 9th graders, as well as fellow English teacher Maura Moritz’s classes, are reading, "A Whole New Mind." Yes, THAT one. Not exactly on the top of a 9th grader's reading list, is it? But they did just fine. Today we discussed the Story chapter. Oh, and before I forget, they even managed to get Daniel Pink himself to pay a virtual visit to the class to discuss the book. Can you say “MAJOR COUP?”   A few weeks ago, their Technology Coordinator, Karl Fisch, sent out emails to folks he thought might be interested in in participating in this experiment. He described the project and our potential roles in it. I jumped...

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[TIPS] vegetable orchestra?

You bet! Check it out. I, of course, learned about it from my blogs. http://123elearning.blogspot.com/2008/01/and-now-for-something-completely.html   Want to see more, check out: http://vegetableorchestra.org and explore.       What? You say you can’t read blogs in school? Question: How much longer do you think this should go on? Isn’t it time we get past this misplaced fear?   ...

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No Limits To Learning

It came as a real surprise to me, when I read one of the comments posted today on my blog; to find one of my former students from Pendleton, OR write a post about me in his blog. About 3 years ago, I taught an Introduction to Assistive Technology class for Lesley University and had a chance to speak with Lon over some lunch. We chatted about what he was presently doing and I remarked that once the district learned that he had knowledge of assistive technology and that he was working toward his Master's degree that they would put him into a leadership position. Sure enough this is what happened and Lon is overseeing a large region providing assistive...

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Posted in: assistive technology,blogging,educational technology

Free Lightweight Alternatives to Bloatware

We have to install many programs to open the variety of files we are sent or download off the Internet, and we have to install more programs to keep in touch with people on the Internet.These programs are often quite large and the install files can take a while to load, even on broadband connections. Thankfully there are some free lightweight alternatives to these bloated applications.Foxit Reader is a fully featured PDF (Portable Document Format) reader and a much slimmer alternative to Adobe Acrobat.I have already mentioned Real Alternative, which enables you to play RealMedia files without installing RealPlayer, in a previous post, and in...

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Posted in: Freeware

[TIPS] twenty for tech podcast

http://www.twentyfortech.com/?p=7 Many of you read Dave Solon's blog, the k12geek (http://k12geek.com/blog). Dave is a teacher in PA and a GTO (Getting To One) mentor. Well, he has begun a weekly podcast called Twenty For Tech. Twenty minute podcasts - short enough that you can listen to them on the way to work. This week I had the pleasure to talk with Dave for his podcast. I was pleased with how it turned out. Usually when the mic turns on my brain turns to silly putty (look it up) but I didn't stammer too much this time. :-) Check out his podcast for a few weeks. I think it's going to be a good one....

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Education Jargon Generator

This is too much fun. Do any of you remember the "bogometer?" Or, "Bogosity?" Well, this one will PEG the ol' bogometer when you through out some of these terms at the next faculty meeting.How 'bout some of these:extend strategic nichesempower subjective manipulativesexploit developmentally appropriate higher-order thinking (my personal favorite)deploy inquiry-centered synergies or...disaggregate holistic network paradigmsJust click the "Generate Jargon" button to get phrases of your own. Memorize a few of these and take 'em on the road. :-)Powered by ScribeFi...

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Kidspiration 3 Announced

Today Inspiration, Inc. announced that Kidspiration 3 will be released on February 6th. Kidspiration 3 adds lot of new features which really make this a very substantial upgrade. Kidspiration 3 will now allow students to use the expanded Symbol Library with over 3000 pictures as well as searching the symbol library for pictures when connected to the web. Kidspiration 3 now included Word Guide which is an online dictionary and thesaurus which is great for language development. Kidspiration 3 now includes an extensive visual math tools which makes it an ideal tool for interactive white boards. Teachers will have access to color tiles, pattern...

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Posted in: concept map,inspiration,Kidspiration,mind mapping

[TIPS] Flying through Google Earth

I LOVE my network of friends. Just hint that you're not sure of something and someone helps you out. Wonderful. So, when Alma Rowe read my post about flying through Google Earth she sent me this link to a page that will give YOU the controls to fly through Google Earth.  http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v4/flightsim/index.html Alma is also doing a PETE&C pre-conference workshop on Google Earth. If you're going to the conference, she's a pre-conference you may want to check into....

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[TIPS] writing prompts from Writers Digest

I stumbled upon this today while looking for something else. What a find. Perhaps the English teachers already know this one, but I'm guessing not ALL of them do.http://www.writersdigest.com/writingprompts.aspThe Writers Digest site puts out a weekly writing prompt on that page. They're very good, too, as you might expect. I don't know that I should republish any one of them here, but I CAN HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you go to check them out.I LOVE the one for January 15th. A mysterious text messager. How would YOU handle that situation? Check it out....

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[TIPS] Musicians on Google Earth

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2008/01/musicians_in_google_earth.html The gearthblog is fantastic for learning about the great work being done in Google Earth. This article talks about a project that is working to plot the birthplaces of the world's most famous musicians. It's well under way and this should be one that music teachers around the world will want to watch. Pass this along to YOUR favorite music teacher....

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MindManager Tip: Using the Paint Formatting Tool

I read today's Mindjet MindManager's blog post about using the Paint Formatting Tool and decided to create a screencast using Camtasia Studio 5.1 to show you how it is done. This tip was shared by Roger Parker noted author and mind mapping expert-who has done a great deal of work with MindManager in the course of writing and consulting. Click on this link to view the screenca...

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Posted in: camtasia_studio,Mindjet,MindManager Pro 7,TechSmith

[TIPS] skype - don't fall for the emails

It happened again today. I received another email SUPPOSEDLY from Skype, asking me to update my profile. That's at least half a dozen such emails of one kind or another. They were all hoaxes. Hovering over the link that you're supposed to click to update your profile shows that it's going SOMEwhere, but NOT to skype. This is just a little FYI. NEVER NEVER fall for emails like those. NEVER click the link in the email. If you think it may be legit, go to the website YOURSELF, by typing the address in manually. DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK IN THAT EMAIL!! ...

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Keyboard shortcut of the week: jump up a level

When you are using Windows Explorer - the file management program that opens when you double-click on 'My Computer' and the like - you can move to the parent folder by clicking the back-space key.By 'parent folder' I mean the folder that contains the one you are looking at. In the following image we see that the 'parent folder' of Adobe is Program Files.Another way to achieve the same thing is to press the F4 key followed by the up arrow, and then Return.Note for Vista users: using the Backspace key in Vista mimics the use in web browsers, that is, it takes you to the previous folder you looked at. To go to the parent directory using Vista, hold...

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Posted in: Keyboard shortcut,Windows GUI

[TIPS] Having Their Say

http://www.fi.ncsu.edu/initiatives/havingoursay/video.html   Many thanks to a post from Jennifer Dorman at Cliotech (http://cliotech.blogspot.com/2008/01/having-our-say.html) for this one. It takes a while to load, so be patient.   I’m curious as to your reaction to it. ...

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Virtual IT and On-Going Service

The most successful small business computer consultants work in the “virtual IT” industry. When you offer virtual IT services to your clients, you get steady business that benefits both you and your customers.The Definition of Virtual ITWhen you work in virtual IT, you essentially become your clients’ outsourced IT department. You’re not selling customers and clients products – PCs, routers, cabling, etc. – rather sophisticated technology-based solutions to major business problems. You become a “virtual CIO.”Virtual IT gives you the flexibility of providing a total technical services program that gives small businesses exactly what they need without having to pay someone to do it full time.Providing Services to Your ClientsIn order to be successful at delivering virtual IT services, you...

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Posted in: virtual IT

Five freeware image manipulation tools

The GIMPThis is a fully featured image editor with an interesting name - it stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program (apparently). This is an incredibly powerful application with features that rivals professional software like Photoshop. Whilst this software was originally developed for a Linux environment there is a Windows version available; however, in my experience it does not work well on Windows. Nevertheless many people do use it on Windows machines and enjoy its powerful features although for the novice user it's stark interface may take some getting used to.Paint.netWhereas the GIMP's interface may take some getting used to Paint.net's...

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Posted in: Freeware,Graphics

MS Word: replace, reformat, rejoice

Here is the scenario, you have copied some text from somewhere and pasted it into Word; however, the text ends up looking something like this.To see the cause of this problem, press the 'Show/Hide ¶' button. As shown, the original text has carriage returns - as indicated by the '¶' marks - at the end of the original lines. When this text was pasted into word the lines were no longer the same length, so, the carriage returns were in the wrong place.The solution to this problem is to replace the carriage returns with spaces. You can do this manually, or use the replace feature in Word. To open the 'Find and Replace' dialog box, pull down the 'Edit'...

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Posted in: Word Processing

Guest article: Computer Error Basics

This is the first guest article here at Bloody Computer! It was written by James Ricketts from Instant Registry Fixes. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful. K Windows errors can occur at any time due to several reasons. Most of the time, these errors leave us helpless and may even cause us to lose important data and spend large amounts of money on expensive computer repairs. We end up going through a lot of trouble, when in fact, there are some very simple steps that can easily help prevent these problems from happening in the first place. The top two causes of computer errors are malware and registry errors. Let’s take a look at some of the methods to deal with these problems and fix computer errors. Keep Your Computer Malware Free To keep your computer free of errors and other problems,...

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Posted in: Error Messages,Guest article,Protection,Registry