How to Convert Fonts from Mac to Windows?

    It has been awhile since my last post but I am back with something worthwhile.
   

    So how do you convert a Mac font into a PC font?
    After googling this for hours, I found a brilliant solution. 
    Thanks to the Peter Upfold's DFontSplitter.  With FontForge, it worked well!
   
 

How to Recover (or Reset) Lost Windows Password

photo by Idea Go

     I lost my Windows password at work once.  The exact sentence might as well be: I Forgot my windows password at work once.  Yes, I had cold sweat thinking of reformatting my hard disk.  All was not lost with the help of about.com PC Support and the 7 free windows password recovery tools. I managed to log on after 15 minutes.

     
     Of the seven password recovery tools, I used PC Log In Now

 and it worked like a charm for me.  It was easy to use nonetheless.
It required me to download the ISO file, burn it on a CD and boot to the CD.  It did not recover my password but instead it erased my password in order for me to create a new one.  I successfully accessed my account but experienced one minor drawback which is a recurring windows error.  However, my PC works normally.

    Here are the 7 Free Password Recovery Tools (as reviewed in About.Com) in case you get locked out too.

1. Ophcrack

2. Offline NT Password & Registry Editor

3. PC Login Now

4. Kon-Boot

5. Cain & Abel

6. LCP

7. John the Ripper

   
   

      Yes, it happens that we forget sometimes and these tools are great but when setting up a user account with password, we might as well create a Password Reset Disk. It'll be grand to access your computer in just about 5 minutes.

Crowd, Cloud and Google Apps - How They Became Loud

A year ago, I took a challenge.  That challenge was deploying Google Apps for Education.  A year and a half ago, I half-heartedly accepted the task of looking into “cloud computing” (which I mistakenly heard as “crowd”) from my visionary boss C.  Little did I know how this cloud computing could change the concepts of communication and collaboration in my humble workplace. 

With limited resources and budget, not-so-techie staff and language barrier, it was picture perfect for chaos. With chaos, I mean duplicates, missing files, clutter.  To add more, double engagements, missed meetings and overlooked events.  The whiteboard wasn’t effective anymore.  And so, inquiring into cloud computing and reflecting on our needs gradually revealed that Google Apps could be the solution. 

So it was. 

Here are the top 3 Google Apps that became my company’s communication and collaboration enhancers:

1.    Google Docs

2.    Google Calendar

3.    Gmail

I must also give credit to the teachers and staff who were very open-minded for a radical change. 

What Google Apps is essential for you?

What to do when your computer gets virus infection?

    So you opened an email you unknowingly thought came from your sister. Then you clicked on a hyperlink.  Now you are agonizing how you can get rid of those annoying porn pop ups, overwhelming virus warnings, and just about everything.  Your computer has the symptoms of a virus infection!  No need to panic since you thought you have an antivirus software.  You’ll do a complete scan.  You are starting to think it’s hopeless waiting for your antivirus software as it scans your system for hours.  Finally, it finishes and you thought your computer will be back to normal after deleting the scanned virus but it turns out, it did not!     Now, this is the time you would wish there is an emergency number for infected computers.  Lucky for some who have but what can you do if you don’t have?
    Here’s what you can do: 1)Install Malwarebytes. 2)Run it. 3)Do a complete scan. 4)Relax.
    Malwarebytes detected 800 malware infections with my friend’s computer and thoroughly sweeped it clean after.  It’s easy to install.  It’s easy to use.  It works lightly and quietly in the background. It"s very effective and it's free!  The free version does not include real-time protection.  It works well with Antivir though.
    Trojans are designed to work like that.  Usually, it comes with fatal malwares such as rogues, rootkits and spywares which could harm your operating system.  They are hard to detect and disinfect.  They mess up your system and sometimes disable some of your devices.  Infamous antivirus softwares (free or commercial) could work well protecting your computer but could be deficient in detecting and removing hardcore malwares. Malwarebytes is my best remedy when your computer wreaks havoc with a virus infection.  
    If you had virus infection before, what did you do?
   

How About A Funky Business Card?

  In Japan, you have to give and receive it with both hands after introducing yourself, bowing and expressing the pleasure of meeting by saying "Dozo yoroshiku onegai shimasu".  In Japan, business cards are essential and involves etiquette upon presentation. For the rest of the world, it is also an important tool for establishing ties and making an impression of your company, craft or yourself.

How I Organize 5,000 (or more) Photos

 
   Problem. You have 5,000 or more photos and they are everywhere on your computer.  Now, you want to find a photo of a friend but it's taking you forever browsing your folders and files just to find it. To each his own but here is my answer to your problem- Picasa 3.

   Here are the top 5 reasons why I choose it:

1. Easy to search for photos.

2. Name tags.

  

Picasa automatically detects faces and organizes them.
You just have to confirm detections.  You'll find out what I mean.

Picasa helps you organize your photos based on people in them.  This has helped me a lot in making the digital yearbook for the kindergarten graduating class.  Compiling photos for each of the 25 students was easy and fast.

2. Sharing is easy.

    Together with Picasa Web Albums, sharing can be done in a click.  You can also upload your masterpiece album on Youtube and publish photos on your blog.

3. It comes with editing features.

    It can help you fix your photo, adjust the light or give it a sepia look for an effect.

4. Create desktops, slideshows and collages in a snap.  Upload or print them! Do as you like!

5. It's Free!

Here's to show you how easy it is to use.

12 Kids Free Fonts

    Font is a great way to liven up publications such as posters, signage, brochures and newsletters, school papers and invitations.  Since I work in a school, my font collections are usually child-friendly, handwritting and fun styles.  There are a lot of sources of fonts free for personal and commercial uses.  Just read the license and agreement if you download.
   Here are some from my collection of 12 childish free fonts. 

Feel free to comment if this helped you in some way.

Why can't I play some videos on my iPhone?

Last week, I got an urgent call from my boss.  He just wanted to ask if the videos in our website could play on Smartphones and iPhones or iPads.  I answered prolonging the Y of my “Yes, sir…”. It was somewhat a wrong answer, of course.  It was also a slap on my face how oblivious I have become of information technology and its high speed evolution.  Where was I when that part of the world was buzzing about iPods, iPads, Apps and “No Flash Videos on iPhone”? I have an iPhone anyway. I know it’s a shame.  It is my job to be aware of the latest and useful innovations of technology. Anyway, enough of the whining.  I am redeeming myself.

So why won’t some videos play on the iPhone?  These videos are in Flash formats. Apple vetoed Adobe Flash products. In April 2010, Steve Jobs posted an open letter to Apple’s website explaining why Apple chooses not to allow Adobe’s Flash on iPhone or iPad .  However, he emphasized videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and others can be viewed.  He also mentioned how Apple embraces “open standards” such as HTML5, CSS, and Javascript. So, what do you think about Apple's stand against Flash?  As an iPhone user,  is this a big deal for you?

Recently, Skyfire- a mobile browser for android, iPhone, and iPad is the top grossing utility app for both iPhone and iPad, offering a remedy to this “Flash on iPhone” incompatibility.  But, of course, it’s all up to you to check it out.

Now I know why. Now I know IT. So I am sharing IT!

How I Mind Mapped My First Post

   

This is how I came up with my blog.  

It started with a simple phrase: “Now I know it!” which I encircled and after a few minutes of thinking, it branched out as more ideas popped.  Now, that is the beauty of mind mapping! Thanks to my friends Sarah and Donna.  With mindmaps, they showed me how effective it is to introduce a topic to kids.  I saw how it helped kids think and collaborate among themselves.  If it is good for these kids, I thought it must benefit a cluttered mind like mine as well. 

Try mind mapping. Try it in times when it is just really hard to come up with ideas or when you have overflowing ideas.  Yes, grab those pencils and papers and start drawing your idea in the center.  Draw lines connecting to your central idea as information keeps on popping on your head.  Go ahead, free your mind and be surprised.  Oh well, I know you will have fun with it.  Now, to spice it up- try Spicynodes!  It’s a free web-based mind mapping tool.  It’s how I came up with my blog.  Once you tried, let me know what you think of it.