Pinter Computing – Page 66 – Knowledge Base for IT Professionals, Teachers and Astronauts

Head tracking with a web camera and FaceTrackNoIR

FaceTrackNoIR is a free open source head tracking device to detect the movement of your head in simulation games.

In a web browser go to http://facetracknoir.sourceforge.net/information_links/download.htm

Download the full installer
Run the SetupFaceTrackNoIR_Full_v170.exe
On the select components page uncheck the Protocol for Virtual Jostick(s) in the Interface to games section. You don’t need it now.

In a web browser go to http://www.faceapi.com/Download/register.php

Fill out the registration form and open your email for the activation link.
Click the Click here to continue link
Select the Non-Commercial faceAPI link to downolad the head tracking API
Double click the FaceTrackingAPI_NC-V3.2.6.zip
Allow the extraction of the included files
Install all features the setup_faceTrackingAPI_NC_V3.2.6.exe

In a web browser go to http://sourceforge.net/projects/facetracknoir/?source=dlp

Download and install the SetupFaceTrackNoIR_Full_v170.exe file
Copy the headtracker folder to C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\bin (sorry I have to research the source of the “headtracker” folder)

Activate the head tracking

Double click the FaceTrackNoIR icon on your desktop to start the face tracking application
In the Profile group click the Load button.
In the C:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\bin\headtracker folder select the DCS_A10C.ini file
In the Global Settings group set the Smoothing to 20
In the Filter group set the filter to Accelera filter Mk2
On the Options menu select Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts
For Center select the Middle mouse button
Click the Start button to start head tracking

Windows web service authentication in IIS Express

When you develop a SOAP web service in Visual Studio 2013 the IDE uses IIS Express for testing. To set up Windows authentication in IIS Express follow the steps below:

Create a Local Security Group on your computer

Right click Computer and select Manage
On the left side expand Local Users and Groups
Right click the Groups folder and select New Group…
Create a group with the name WebserviceUsers for the users of the web service
Right click the Users folder and select New User…
Create a user and add it to the WebserviceUsers security group

Add the following lines to the <system.web> section of the Web.config file of your web service application

Set up IIS Express for Windows authentication

Select the web service project in the Solution Explorer
In the View menu select Properties Window
Disable Anonymous Authentication and enable Windows Authentication

In the caller application call the web service with user name and password

Add the following lines to your class to supply the credentials

private Webservice.Service _Webservice = new Service();

// Constructor
public Business() {
    string webserviceUrl = "Webservice_Url";
    string webserviceUserName = "Webservice_UserName";
    string webservicePassword = "Webservice_Password";
    _Webservice.Url = webserviceUrl;
    ICredentials credentials = new NetworkCredential(webserviceUserName, webservicePassword);
    _Webservice.Credentials = credentials;
}

How to sign in to your Windows 8 PC without an email address

When you set up Windows 8 the Sign in to your PC page asks you for your email address. It is you computer you should be able to use it without telling Microsoft your email address and other personal information.

To use you computer without giving away your email address

At the bottom of the the Sign in to your PC screen select Sign in without a Microsoft account
On the next screen select the Local Account button
Enter a User name and a Password

How to remove Windows 8 and install Windows 7 on a Toshiba Satellite p50-A series laptop

If you want to remove the preinstalled Windows 8 from a new Toshiba Satellite P50-AST3GX2 laptop you need a Windows 7 DVD. You can buy the Windows 7 DVD at Amazon.

The first step is to turn off UEFI in the BIOS and enable the legacy boot. This will allow the computer to boot from the Windows 7 DVD.

To enter the BIOS

Insert the Windows 7 DVD into the DVD drive
Completely turn off the laptop to access the Toshiba BIOS Setup. When you select “Shut down” on the Windows 8 screen the computer only goes to hibernation mode. To completely shut down Windows 8 follow the steps in How to completely shut down Windows 8.
Press the power button and continuously tap the F12 button to open the boot menu
In the boot menu select Enter Setup and press Enter

Turn off the UEFI boot mode in the BIOS

In the BIOS setup select the Security tab on the top of the screen
Press Enter on the Secure Boot option and select Disabled
Select the Advanced tab on the top of the screen
Press Enter on the System Configuration
Press Enter on Boot Mode and select CSM Boot

Save the BIOS settings

Press the F10 key on the keyboard
On the Exit Saving Changes window press Yes to save the changes
The computer restarts

Install Windows 7

The computer will boot from the Windows 7 DVD
Select Install, Advanced installation
Delete all partitions on the hard drive
Create one partition (Windows will create another 100MB system partition for itself)
Select the large partition as the destination of Windows 7

Windows 7 drivers

The Toshiba website contains all necessary Windows 7 drivers for this model. You can download them from
http://support.toshiba.com/support/modelHome?freeText=yd062172s

How to completely shut down a Windows 8 computer

As I found out the hard way when you select “Shut down” on the Power icon in the lower right corner of the Windows 8 screen the computer does not really shut down, it only goes to hibernation mode. This cheat is the trick behind the “fast boot” of Windows 8. This is great if next time you want to start Windows 8 fast. If you really want to shut down Windows 8 completely to access the boot menu of the computer you have to jump through a few absolutely illogical hoops:

Option 1

Log into Windows 8
Press Ctrl-Alt-Del on the keyboard
In the lower right corner of the screen click the Power icon
Press the Shift key on the keyboard and select Restart (not Shut down!!!!)
On the next page select Turn off your PC

Option 2

On the Windows 8 Start screen open the Settings charm in the lower right corner
Click the Power icon
Press the Shift key on the keyboard and select Restart (not Shut down!!!)
On the next page select Turn off your PC

How to remove Windows 8 and install Windows 7 on a Dell inspiron 7000 series laptop

If you want to remove the preinstalled Windows 8 from a new Dell inspiron 7000 series (7537) laptop you need an external USB DVD drive and a Windows 7 DVD. You can buy the LG external USB DVD drive for $40 at Best Buy, and the Windows 7 at Amazon.

The first step is to turn off UEFI in the BIOS and enable the legacy boot. This will allow the computer to boot from the Windows 7 DVD.

To enter the BIOS

Turn off the laptop
Press the power button and continuously tap the F12 button to open the boot menu
In the Other Options section of the boot menu select Setup

Turn off the UEFI boot mode in the BIOS

In the BIOS setup select Boot on the top of the screen
Press Enter on the Secure Boot option and select Disabled
Press Enter on the Load Legacy Option Rom and select Enabled
Press Enter on the Boot List Option and select Legacy

Save the BIOS settings

Select Exit on the top of the screen
Select Exit Saving Changes and press Enter
Press Enter on Yes to save the changes

The computer will automatically try to restart and displays a message that “Operating system not found”

Keep the power button pressed to force it to shut down

Boot from the Windows 7 DVD

Insert the Windows 7 DVD into the DVD drive
Start the computer with the power button and continuously tap the F12 button to open the boot menu
If there is a + sign next to the CD/DVD/CD-RD Drive option select it and press Enter
If there is no plus sign next to it turn off the computer with the power button and try to start it again while tapping the F12 key

Install Windows 7

The computer will boot from the Windows 7 DVD
Select Install, Advanced installation
Delete all partitions on the hard drive
Create one partition (Windows will create another 100MB system partition for itself)
Select the large partition as the destination of Windows 7

Enjoy the last usable Windows version.

How to disable Sticky Keys in Windows

When you press the Shift key five times Windows turns on a feature called Sticky Keys to help people to type with one hand. Sometimes this can cause inconvenience when you want to use two hands and just pressed the Shift key too many times.

To turn off this automatic feature in Windows 7

In the Control Panel select Ease of Access Center
Select the Make the keyboard easier to use link
In the Make it easier to type section select the Set up Sticky Keys link
In the Keyboard shortcut section uncheck Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times
In the Options section uncheck Lock modifier keys when pressed twice in a row

windows 7 disable sticky keys

How to remove Windows 8 and install Windows 7 on a Sony VAIO SVF15N17CXB laptop

If you want to remove the preinstalled Windows 8 from a new Sony VAIO laptop you need an external USB DVD drive and a Windows 7 DVD. You can buy the LG external USB DVD drive for $40 at Best Buy, and the Windows 7 at Amazon.

The first step is to turn off UEFI in the BIOS and enable the legacy boot. This will allow the computer to boot from the Windows 7 DVD.

To enter the BIOS

Turn off the Sony VAIO laptop
Press the small “Assist” button between the Delete button and the display to turn on the computer and display the VAIO Care Menu
In the VAIO Care Menu select Start BIOS Setup

Turn off the UEFI boot mode in the BIOS

In the BIOS setup select Boot on the top of the screen
Press Enter on the Boot Mode option and select Legacy

Save the BIOS settings

Select Exit on the top of the screen
Select Exit Saving Changes and press Enter
Press Enter on Yes to save the changes

The computer will automatically try to restart into Windows 8

Keep the power button pressed to force it to shut down

Boot from the Windows 7 DVD

Start the computer with the “Assist” button
Insert the Windows 7 DVD into the DVD drive
In the VAIO Care Menu Menu select Start from Media (USB device/optical disc)

Install Windows 7

The computer will boot from the Windows 7 DVD
Select Install, Advanced installation
Delete all partitions on the hard drive
Create one partition (Windows will create another 100MB system partition for itself)
Select the large partition as the destination of Windows 7

Enjoy the last usable Windows version.

How to use your Skype account in Windows 8.1

When you click the Skype tile on the Windows 8.1 start screen the “modern” Skype application opens. It forces you to abandon your Skype user name and password and use a Microsoft account to log in.

There is a way to use the regular Skype desktop application on Windows 8.1

Open the web browser and navigate to http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-full
This link will download the latest full desktop Skype application
Save the appication
When the download completed select Run to install the Skype desktop application
Log in with your regular Skype account name an password

To add the full Skype desktop application to the Windows 8.1 start screen

Click the down arrow at the lower left corner of the Start screen
The page will display all of your installed applications in alphabetical order
Scroll to the right to see the Skype for Desktop icon in the Skype section
Right click the Skype for Desktop icon
At the bottom of the page select Pin to Start
Move the Skype for Desktop application icon the desired location on your Start screen

To remove the “modern” Skype application icon from the Start screen

Right click the “modern” Skype application icon on the Start screen
At the bottom of the screen select Unpin from Start

To place the Windows 8.1 “modern” Skype icon back to the Start screen

Type Skype into the search field
Right click the Skype icon
Select Pin to Start

How to add tooltip to a Windows Form

In Windows Form applications the tooltip functionality is not built into the controls as in HTML objects.

To add tooltip to your controls on Windows Forms

Open the Windows Form in the designer
Drag the ToolTip control from the Common Controls section of the Toolbox to the form. The ToolTip control will be placed at the bottom margin of the design surface outside of the visible area of the form.
A new item appears in the Misc section of the property list of the form controls (buttons, textboxes, etc): ToolTip on toolTip1
Enter the text there you want the users to see when they hover above the control.