Many mobile games need arcade-like controls, and implementing a virtual joystick is a quick and easy solution.
Here is a quick and simple way to implement a virtual joystick.
Tech Support
Technical support topics that can’t easily be found elsewhere.
Please note: This has NOTHING to do with pizza coupons nor discount codes. If you want pizza coupons, click here.
Every now and then, I run across the Geek Code, a compact notation for sharing basic profile and personality information.
I recently ran across this again, while looking for something else, and it inspired me to answer these questions:
- Could you define a compact yet robust notation for ordering a pizza?
- Could you order any pizza within an 80-character text message?
- Could you manage a single order with multiple pizzas within an 80-character text message?
Let’s find out…
Every year, major electronics retailers and discount stores offer “amazing deals” on personal computing devices, such as laptops, tablets, and desktops.
Here are some reasons you should be skeptical, and perhaps avoid them altogether.
Tech Tip: Navigating Tabs
Browsers and other applications use tabs as part of the user interface, allowing the user to multi-task within the application.
Here are some time-saving shortcut keys for navigating tabs within browsers and other applications.
| Hotkey | Action |
| CTRL+Tab | Move to the next tab |
| CTRL+SHIFT+Tab | Move to the previous tab |
| CTRL+F4 | Close the current tab |
| CTRL+SHIFT+T | (Firefox and Chrome) Open the previously-closed tab |
Using hotkeys works especially well when you’re composing in one tab, while referencing material in a 2nd tab. Hotkeys allow you to move back and forth without lifting your hands off the keyboard.
It’s that Turkey time of year again, and with turkey comes leftovers.
Here are some amazing ideas that transcend the turkey sandwich.
Proxy vs Firewall
I got asked the question recently, “What is the difference between a proxy and a firewall?”
I’ll paraphrase my simple analogy in response:
If you think of a firewall as a telephone, you can think of a proxy as a telephone operator.
As analogous to a firewall, you can think of calling the server via telephone, and then speaking directly to the server in order to make a request, and the server responds to you directly. The telephone might have some rules built in to it, about who you are allowed to call, and when (these are the firewall rules).
Extending this analogy, a proxy is like a telephone operator. Rather than make a request to the server directly, you are only allowed to call the operator. The operator receives your entire request, and then makes a separate call to the server. After passing the request to the server, the operator then receives the entire response from the server, and passes the response to you.
Now, imagine that the operator must consult a long list of rules to see if your request is valid before passing it to the server, and also must compare the server response to another long list of rules to ensure that it’s valid before passing the response back to you. This is known as filtering.
Shortcut: Pinch to Zoom in Android Emulator
Also, pinch to zoom with one finger in Android
This is known to work with Android Marshmallow. I have not tried this with other versions, but I have tried it on Bluestacks emulator as well as physical devices.
Problem: Can’t Pinch to Zoom in Android Emulator
When you do Android development, running an emulator is a necessity. In the emulator, the mouse simulates a touch event. Unfortunately, using only a mouse, you can’t “pinch to zoom” in or out. Although some laptop panels and computer monitors support touch input, this is expensive, and not a guaranteed solution.
Solution: Tap then Drag
Remember that the left mouse button simulates a virtual finger touching the display…
- Tap: Click the mouse button (quickly press, then release the left mouse button)
- Drag: Press the left mouse button and hold it down. Move the mouse to a desired location, then release the left mouse button.
In quick succession, Tap, then Drag
Zoom Out
Starting at the bottom-middle of the display, tap, then drag up to the upper-right.
Zoom Out: Tap on the bottom-middle (A) then quickly touch and drag (B) from the bottom-middle to the upper-right.
Zoom In
Starting at the upper-right of the display, tap, then drag down to the bottom-middle.
Zoom In: Tap on the upper-left (C) then quickly touch and drag (D) from the upper-left to the bottom-middle
Caveats
- This is known to work with applications that let you pan in both directions, such as Google Maps
- Although this effect seems to be built in to the OS, it might be difficult to trigger this effect in applications that explicitly scroll in one direction (such as vertical only).
- This approach might not work with applications that implement their own custom multi-touch logic.
STOP WINDOWS 10 UPGRADE AND GWX
FINALLY…
You can add these two registry settings to your Windows 7/8 machines, to STOP the “Get Windows 10” (GWX) upgrade prompts.
- Create an empty text file on your desktop, called “DisableWindowsUpgrade”
- Open the empty file
- Copy the text in the box below, to the empty file, and save it
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate] "DisableOSUpgrade"=dword:00000001 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Gwx] "DisableGwx"=dword:00000001
- Rename the file extension from “.txt” to “.reg”. Usually, you can do this in file properties.
- Double-click the file, and click “YES” when prompted to make changes.
- Reboot.
- Enjoy your Upgrade-Free existence!
I created a batch file that creates the reg file, then runs regedit, to import these keys in to the registry.
You can download it here. Right-click the following link, and select “Save As”: DisableWindowsUpgrade.cmd
- Once you save the file, double-click to run it.
- Click “Yes” when prompted to make changes
- Reboot
- Enjoy your Upgrade-Free existence!
I had a unique situation occur while troubleshooting an XP machine – I had physical access to the machine, but not the keyboard and mouse.
I was able to use a USB mouse and On-Screen Keyboard (OSK) to navigate the user interface.
Here is how it works:
- Plug in the USB mouse. After a couple of seconds, you should be able to move the mouse cursor.
- Click on “Start” (or whatever passes for Start, for your version of Windows)
- Click on the computer name, to open an explorer window
- Navigate to c:\windows
- In the “windows” folder, navigate to “system32”
- If you can’t find it, go to folder options, select “Show hidden files and folders” and make sure “hide protected system files” is NOT checked.
- In “system32”, find a file called “osk” or “osk.exe”, and double-click to open it.
- The OSK will be displayed:
The OSK will remain in the foreground, and allows you to “type” using the mouse.
For example, click the Firefox Address bar, then click-type:
g – o – o – g – l – e – . – c – o – m – ent (enter)
You can manipulate most OS and application functions quickly and easily, even if the system’s keyboard and mouse are locked out for some reason.
Basic Foods That Exist In Every Culture
Here is a list of prepared foods that exist in every culture.
Bread
Some form of baked grain food product exists all over the world. In Europe, America, and northern Asia we have the traditional bread loaf. All countries have some form of leavened or unleavened, baked grain product, similar to a tortilla.
Harvesting and using grain is a more sophisticated process than simply picking fruits and vegetables, since grains must be prepared, usually by drying and then grinding them.
Simple bread-like products, such as tortillas and crackers, can be created using only grain and water, but more sophisticated products use yeast, animal fat, eggs, and and chemical ingredients such as baking powder to change the texture or flavor.
Mankind’s transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers was necessary in order to develop leavened bread, as it would be difficult to drag around the equipment, nor would it be feasible to spend the necessary time baking, if one is constantly on the move. Unleavened products, such as tortillas, can be made on-the-fly, and cooked quickly over a camp fire.
Sandwich
Once we have bread, it’s a simple matter to either slice it, or create a bread pocket, and stuff it with meats, cheeses, and vegetables.
Sandwiches are very portable, and can be eaten with one hand, making them extremely convenient.
The taco and gyro are more exotic examples of a sandwich.
Dumpling
A step up from the sandwich, a dumpling is a filling (such as meat, cheese, or vegetables) wrapped in dough, and then either boiled or fried.
Examples include wantans, egg rolls, flautas, empenadas, gyoza, and others.
Beer and Wine
Wine may have pre-dated leavened bread – no one is really sure. Once mankind figured out how to use yeast to make bread rise, we certainly, quickly found other uses for it.
Wines are made from fruit, while beer is made from grain. In each case, the raw materials are smashed up and mixed with water, in to a “mash”, that may or may not be cooked. Yeast eats the sugar, and slowly releases alcohol and carbon dioxide gas.
Every culture has at least one kind of wine, beer, sake, or mead.
Cheese and Tofu
The other thing we can do with bacteria is to ferment animal milk (or soybean) curd, to create cheese.
Every culture has some form of cheese, tofu, or both.