Livewatch is the service that I’m using to monitor my dedicated servers 24/7 to make sure that they are running. The main advantage of Livewatch over similar services is that you can check every element of the server and not only the http connection. It is for example possible to check the http connection, MySQL, Email, FTP, selected ports and pretty much everything else that you have running through regular expressions.

This might sound confusing and difficulty at first but it is not. I use it to check that the http and mysql services are running on my servers. The http connection can be checked with a php script that they offer on their website. Just download and upload it to your web server and make them observe the path that links to the script.

Users get notified in numerous ways if a service fails. They can receive emails, SMS, instant messenger notifications and even phone calls depending on the subscribed plan.

continue reading "Monitor Your Servers With Livewatch"

I used to research tasks of the Windows Task Manager by opening a website like Process Library and entering the process name in the search box on that website. I always thought that it would be nice to be able to click on a button to get the information that I was seeking instead and it seems that my wish come true in the form of the Quicklinks add-on for the Windows Task Manager.

Quicklinks (via Makeuseof) is powered by Process Library, one of the biggest websites on the Internet that contains a huge database of processes. The plugin adds a button in front of every task in the Windows Task Manager. A click on a button loads the process information page of that process at Process Library.

That page is loaded in the default web browser and thankfully not only in Internet Explorer. Installation is straightforward. The software has to be downloaded from the Process Library website and installed on the user’s system.

continue reading "Add Process Quick Links To The Windows Task Manager"

I was not very pleased with the guys who decided to publish the songs that they were listening to in public IRC channels back in the days when I was using IRC daily. It always had a spammy feeling to it and I used to add those users quickly to my ignore list so that I would not see what music they were listening to.

There might be a use for it though especially if you are among friends in a private channel. Y!Status Revolution brings that to Yahoo Messenger though. Users can select a custom status that includes information like song names and length among others. (A total of seven parameters are available to chose from)

Winamp and AIMP are currently supported to deliver those information and Y!Status Revolution acts as a proxy that changes the status message as soon as a new song begins to play.

continue reading "Show The Song That You Are Playing In Yahoo Messenger"

An autoloader is a device that aids the user by loading and unloading CDs and DVDs automatically which is beneficial if he has to burn multiple disks. QQhandy is a plugin for Nero that adds support for DupliQ and MiniCubis autoloaders and supports the autoloading of five disks without registration and unlimited disks with (free) registration.

A full version of Nero Burning Rom is required as well, it does not currently work with OEM versions of Nero and it is doubtful if Nero Micro and Nero Lite are supported but I cannot say that for sure.

The only other requirements are an operating system that is either Windows 2000 or Windows XP, no word on Windows Vista support yet.

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It’s not a problem to make a screenshot of the Windows command line if it is opened in Windows but what if you have to open the command line before Windows start? There is no obvious way to create a screenshot of the command line when Windows is not running. Some users might need to make screenshots in DOS, the most common reason must be for documentation purposes like posting them on a website or in a book.

CmdCapture is a small command line tool that can make screenshots of the current command line. Since it is a command line tool it is driven by parameters which are explained when entering CmdCapture.exe /h.

The easiest way to create a screenshot of the command line is to run the application without parameters. It will save a screenshot in the same directory in png format with the date and time attached to the filename.

continue reading "Make Screenshots Of The Command Line"