64-Bit Drivers for Inspiron 1420 (Windows 7)

Trying to compile a Windows 7 x64 list here, for my own future reference. Maybe you'll be helped too!

Sound: STAC 92xx C-Major HD Audio WHQL'd or WQHL'd or whatever it is.
Card Reader: Ricoh Memory Stick Controller
Dell Touchpad / Pointing Stick: Synaptic Driver

AOL 9.0: Upgrade to 9.1?

Just as I was getting off aol I got a blurb from them, which I have gotten a few times, asking me to click to upgrade to 9.1 (I have 9.0 now). I did that a while back and didn't like the 9.1. Should I try it again now? What do you think?

AOL 9.1 is the same as it ever was. The update does change some things in order to make the experience more similar to what everybody else is using (e.g., changing the mailbox to work more like other email inboxes, making the sign-in process somewhat optional, etc). If using 9.1 was uncomfortable then, it will probably be uncomfortable now.

The good news is that while AOL does recommend you upgrade, they don't force you to. There aren't any differences in terms of security and safety, so it isn't necessary to make the upgrade.

The bad news is that this will not be the case forever. Eventually, the new AOL format will become entrenched, and every new version will use it. There will be some security measure that they won't be able to implement in 9.0, and make everybody upgrade. For now though, this isn't the case.

You have a couple of options.

The first is to keep AOL 9.0. If you don't have 9.0VR, try downloading a copy of that. It may give you the option not to bother you about upgrading, if you don't have that option already.

Alternatively, you can try the upgrade again, this time keeping in mind that this is the direction AOL is going in and try to be patient with it. A lot of general questions about it (which might make you more comfortable with the switch) are asked and answered here.

You can use the new AOL 9.5, which is in the testing process and isn't released to the public yet. It's not a polished package yet, and is on the cutting edge (at least to AOL standards), so I'm not sure that it will be any better. You can pick up a test copy here.

Finally, you can try AOL Desktop 10.1 (which is actually an entirely different product). It is a further departure from what you're used to, but it may end up being more comfortable for you to use. It's the result of AOL designing a new product from the ground up, without restricting itself to the same interface as all the other AOL versions. You can find the page to download it here.

AOL has set up a page that compares the last two options here.

I can't really make a recommendation based on my own experience, because I don't use AOL. If I could make any recommendation I wanted, I would say to forget about the AOL software entirely. It's an old dinosaur, an artifact left over from the age when dial-up was still around and web browser development was in its infancy. It's big, bloated, and slow. AOL Mail can be accessed quite quickly by going to mail.aol.com from any browser (or by using one of the many much better mail checking programs), and instant messaging (if you're into that) can be had as a standalone application. Gavi used to be big on AOL. She threw it away and never looked back. The switch is seamless, and you can even keep the old AOL around for the beginning as to ease your fears of stepping into the unknown. Eventually, you can uninstall the AOL software so that it isn't running in the background, 24/7 (even when you're not signed on and the browser is closed) and free up your system memory.

Unfortunately, I don't think that's the kind of recommendation you're looking for, so all I can say is to look at your options and choose which one you feel suits you best. At any rate, no decision is permanent, and you can always uninstall and reinstall whichever version you want no matter how many times you change your mind.

109 free email domains you've never heard of

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Where can I find the Official U.S. Government Student Loan Page?

Need a student loan? Check out the official site first, at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html

Hardware that Rocks!

So I recently Stumbled onto a YouTube video of a floppy drive playing "The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)". As in, actually playing the song by moving its read head back and forth. After bouncing around the "related videos" for a while, I decided to compile a decent list.


1. Floppy Drive playing "The Imperial March" (Darth Vader's Theme) from Star Wars:




2. Scanner playing "Ode to Joy" from Symphony No. 9 in D minor




3. Scanner playing "Für Elise"




4. Scanner playing "La primavera" (Spring) from The Four Seasons




...and I'm bored. K Bye.

How to use any game pad with Need for Speed Carbon

This could work with any racing game (probably). I'm not going into detailed steps, but this should be what you need. It works on Windows Vista or XP.

Download this:
http://members.shaw.ca/coxswainballs/joy.rar

It contains PPJoy and PPJoyJoy. The first is the install for a virtual gamepad driver, the second contains the configuration program.

I used my MatCatz MC2 Racing Wheel. I installed PPJoy, launched the program and added 1 virtual controller, then started PPJoyJoy. Then I made the wheel's X axis the X axis on the virtual controller, and the Z axis (the pedals) the Y axis on the virtual controller. I then assigned each of the 10 buttons as buttons 1-10 on my virtual controller. I didn't bother with the D-pad--don't know if it's possible. Anyways, you have to keep the second thing running Then I launched NFS Carbon and set the controls up there. Works! Remember that to calibrate your wheel, you need to use the Windows Calibration screen for the wheel itself (not the virtual controller).

If all the stars on the main sequence of a star cluster are typically only one-hundredth as bright as their main-sequence counterparts in the Hyades C

Question: If all the stars on the main sequence of a star cluster are typically only one-hundredth as bright as their main-sequence counterparts in the Hyades Cluster, then that cluster's distance is:

Background: I was walking on the street the other day, when this conversation took place:

GUY #1: Romeo, come forth; come forth, thou fearful man:
Affliction is enamour'd of thy parts,
And thou art wedded to calamity.

GUY #2: Father, what news? what is the prince's doom?
What sorrow craves acquaintance at my hand,
That I yet know not?

GUY #1: Too familiar
Is my dear son with such sour company:
I bring thee tidings of the prince's doom.

GUY #2: What less than dooms-day is the prince's doom?

GUY #1: A gentler judgment vanish'd from his lips,
Not body's death, but body's banishment.

GUY #2: Ha, banishment! be merciful, say 'death;'
For exile hath more terror in his look,
Much more than death: do not say 'banishment.'

GUY #1: Hence from Verona art thou banished:
Be patient, for the world is broad and wide.

GUY #2: Hey, if all the stars on the main sequence of a star cluster are typically only one-hundredth as bright as their main-sequence counterparts in the Hyades Cluster, then that cluster's distance is what?


Naturally, I had to answer that here.

Answer: 10 times as far as the Hyades's distance.