It has been long time since I have watched television like “normal” people. Ever since I found bittorrent, there was no turning back!
The problem that I have is that I am a pack rat! Once I download a TV episode, I don’t want to get rid of it. After all, I used up all that bandwidth!
So, I’ve started organizing my television shows into three categories:
Downloaded - these are shows that have just completed downloading and are in their original form from the Internet
Unsorted - these shows are in in one central location and should be in playable format. These are all my new shows that I probably have not watched yet
Sorted - once I have watched a show, the shows get moved into appropriate folders based on series and season name
The issue that I have run into in the past is that once an episode is downloaded, it may not be in playable format since many shows are archived, typically into RAR files. This means that I needed to manually extract these files or move the playable files to the Unsorted folder so that I could watch them.
I finally got fed up with this and I thought that there had to be a better way. It took me a couple of evenings work but I finally came up with a batch files that does the work for me! I simply have Windows programmed to run the batch file on a regular basis and it extracts all of the RAR files to my preferred location and moves all of the AVI files there as well (without copying the samples).
Here is the contents of that batch file:
@echo off
setlocal
cls
rem Set program variables below:
rem sourcedir - where files are saved once they have been downloaded
set sourcedir=C:\Downloaded
rem destinationdir - where you want all of the playable files to be placed
set destinationdir=C:\Unsorted
rem winrarpath - location of the unrar program
set winrarpath=C:\Program Files\WinRAR\
rem filelist - the name of the file which will store all of the RAR and AVI file names that have been processed
set filelist=FoundFiles.txt
rem tempfile - name of the temporary file that will be created and then deleted during the cleanup process
set tempfile=TempFile.txt
set path="%winrarpath%";%path%
echo Extracting new RAR files...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*.rar) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 call unrar e -o- -y "%%R" *.* %destinationdir%\ & echo %%R>>%filelist%
echo Adding sample AVI files to no copy list...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*sample*.avi) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 echo %%R>>%filelist%
echo Moving new AVI files...
for /R "%sourcedir%" %%R IN (*.avi) DO find /C "%%R" %filelist% > NUL & if errorlevel 1 echo Copying %%R... & copy "%%R" %destinationdir%\ & echo %%R>>%filelist%
echo Cleaning up %filelist%...
for /F %%R IN (%filelist%) DO if exist "%%R" echo %%R>>%tempfile%
del %filelist%
rename %tempfile% %filelist%
All you need to do is copy this file and save it as TorMove.cmd. Then edit the three variables:
sourcedir
destinationdir
winrarpath
filelist
tempfile
Only the first three are critical. You just need to make sure that the last two do not clash with other files.
Also, you do not need to use WinRAR. If you do not have this program, UnRAR for Windows will work just fine.
Once you have modified your file, save it and then schedule Windows to run it as often as you want!
Building forms for your website is a real pain in the backside. There are so many different aspects of the form that you need to know in order to get everything just right.
When a friend from work asked me if I knew of some easier way to create forms, I realized that I didn’t have a quick and easy answer for him. So, a bit of time on Google and some typing later and I have created a nice list of useful form building resources.
pForm - a really good online form building tool that lets you create a customized form and then download the form for use in your website. Really easy to use and set up.
JotForm - offers a free and a premium account option. If you are looking at using the forms on your own website, there is very little reason to purchase the premium option. Provides a number of very professional tools that provides you with a maximum of flexibility. It even includes a really nice form building wizard.
PageBreeze - while this is not an online tool, it is an HTML editor that will allow you to create forms using a simple drag and drop method. You just need to do some basic HTML changes to connect it into your website.
FormMaker - much like our first two entries, FormMaker is also web based. One of the advantages that it has over the other forms is that it allows you to capture data and store it on their servers for later access. There is no charge for the form maker but it does require an account.
<STRONG><CONTACT> - An application designed specifically for creating contact forms. It will generate both the PHP and the CSS code required for the contact form to create the look and feel you want.
I know that all of the major IDEs out there have some sort of a form builder in them but if you are looking for a fast and dirty form, this may be a quick alternative.
There are a lot of people out there who are sending our e-mail after e-mail and offending everyone on their way, completely oblivious to what they are doing. We all experience them regularly. these are the people who WRITE IN ALL CAPS, > > > > > forward e-mails that have been forwarded several times previously, use REPLY ALL to respond to distribution lists, and attach 50 MB files that clock up our Internet connections.
Here is a great cheat sheet that you can print out and leave on their desk to that they can get the e-mail act together.
Update: I originally had the pdf embedded in the post but too many people were having problems with it (see comments below). It is now just a simple link. That will teach me to try and get fancy. Sorry about the trouble. -Tim
Every few months, I like to completely blow away my Windows system and reinstall it. This is primarily because I install so much junk on the system that it just starts to clog everything up. A freshly installed copy of Windows always runs so much quicker and has that “new OS smell”!
I firmly believe that more people would do the same if it wasn’t such a pain to do! Most people figure that you simply need to set aside a full day to do the job right.
So, I’ve put together a two part checklist of things that you should do before and after you completely reformat your system to start over.
Before You Reformat
Move all of your data off the computer and put it on a different system or drive. The most important folder to backup is the user profile (%USERPROFILE%) folder. This will usually back up 95% of what you want including your My Documents, music, pictures, favorites (for Internet Explorer), e-mail, etc.
Backup all of the device drivers that are being used on the system and store them somewhere else. I use a freeware program called DriverMax but I am sure that there are several other good ones out there.
Make sure you have a copy of all the software installed on your computer along with all of the license keys. A quick way to get a list of all installed software is to use something like Belarc Advisor. If you do not have the license keys, a program like Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder might be of help. This includes operating system and software that you bought by download. I usually start making this list a few weeks before I decide to rebuild my system.
Download AutoPatcher and prepare a Windows/Office update CD/DVD.
Create an image of the system just in case you missed/forgot something. There are a number of free imaging programs available. This way, even if there is something that you forgot to backup, you will still be able to get it back from the image.
Perform a thorough check of your hard drive. If your drive has errors or problems (r you just want a bigger hard drive), now would be a really good time to replace the drive. Some tools include:
Make sure that you have all of your account information for your Internet provider, including e-mail. Have their phone number handy in case you run into trouble.
If you do not have all of your online accounts information memorized, now is a good time to write record them so that you do not destroy the information when you reformat your drive.
Make sure that you have your wireless network information recorded and available.
If you have lost your passwords that are stored on your computer, here are some tools that may be able to help you out:
Well, you’ve reformatted your disk so there is no turning back. Here is a general overview of the process:
Make sure only the bare necessaries are plugged into the computer (monitor, keyboard, and mouse).
Boot from the Windows CD and install Windows.
Install all of the drivers that you backed up earlier.
Plug in all of your peripherals and ensure that they are all working correctly.
Install Office if you had it on your computer.
Install all of the updates from your AutoPatcher CD/DVD.
Run a disk clean and defragment on the drive.
Reconnect your systems to the Internet.
Install all of the applications that you want installed on the system.
Migrate all of your files to your newly built system.
Setup all of your accounts again.
I’m sure that there are a few things that I have forgotten but this is a really good start. Let me know what I’ve missed or if there is something that you do that I do not and I will add it to the list.
It has been long time since I have watched television like “normal” people. Ever since I found bittorrent, there was no turning back!
Building forms for your website is a real pain in the backside. There are so many different aspects of the form that you need to know in order to get everything just right.
There are a lot of people out there who are sending our e-mail after e-mail and offending everyone on their way, completely oblivious to what they are doing. We all experience them regularly. these are the people who WRITE IN ALL CAPS, > > > > > forward e-mails that have been forwarded several times previously, use REPLY ALL to respond to distribution lists, and attach 50 MB files that clock up our Internet connections.
Every few months, I like to completely blow away my Windows system and reinstall it. This is primarily because I install so much junk on the system that it just starts to clog everything up. A freshly installed copy of Windows always runs so much quicker and has that “new OS smell”!