Monday, September 7, 2009

Rumors Of iPod Touch With Camera And Microphone

According to this Wired article Apple will possibly be releasing a iPod Touch that will have a built-in camera and a microphone. Based on the article it seems to be a very high chance that they will be releasing it. I think that with the iPod Touch having these capabilities Apple will really broaden their customer base and you will then have many more possibilities with just an iPod Touch.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/07/apple-preparing-ipod-touch-with-camera-microphone-source/

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Linux Wallpapers

These are some Linux Desktops that I have created. You can just right click them and choose Save Image As. Also for a larger version of the images you can just click on them to see the larger version and all images are at 1280X800 resolution but if you would like to have it in a different size I could resize to another resolution.

(Click on image to view larger version)


(Click on image to view larger version)


(Click on image to view larger version)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Download Movies Legally

I have found this site called MovieBerry where you can download movies for as low as $1.00 but you can get to download movies for free if you send out some links and have some friends click on them and download a movie with the free $1 credit for signing up you will get $10 in you account. This seems like a very good service to download movies for really cheap or free.

MovieBerry.com

Sunday, August 2, 2009

How To Become A True Computer Geek

Little known to most, there are many benefits to being a computer geek. In our high-tech society, being a computer guru can be one of the most high paying jobs available and they are highly in demand, especially if you want to become a network administrator. By tapping into your inner geek, you can develop a most useful skill that will be sure to pay off later in life.

Steps


  1. Learn what hardware is.
  2. Learn what software is.
  3. Learn the specs (technical specifications) of your computer. There are some programs one can use in order to learn the specific specs a computer has, if you do not know off-hand. E.g. CPU-Z.
  4. Learn to navigate a computer without using the explorer window, only by using the command line. Here are some common commands:
    • cd folder (*nix/Windows) to change the directory to folder
    • ls (*nix) or dir (Windows) to list the files or folders in the current directory
    • rm file (*nix) or del file (Windows) to remove file
    • mkdir name (*nix/Windows) or md name (Windows) to make a directory with a name of name
    • cp origfile newfile (*nix) or copy origfile newfile (Windows) to copy origfile to newfile
    • Note: *nix is any Unix based system such as Linux, BSD, or MacOS X (previous versions of Mac OS are not based off of Unix)
    • Note: Cygwin allows you to use *nix commands in the Windows Environment.

  5. Learn to type without looking at the keyboard,
  6. Ask. If someone does something on a computer that you would like to know, ask them about it.
  7. Learning a programming language is a must-do. HTML is not considered a geeky language, nor CSS, HTML is a markup language and CSS is a presentation language. Python and PHP are excellent programming languages for beginner geeks, while Perl and C should only be learned after grasping the basic "geeky" computer and Internet concepts. If you chose to learn HTML learn XHTML.
  8. Start learning basic repair procedures. This can help you out a lot if your or someone else's computer breaks down, which will also increase your reputation as a computer geek. You may lProxy-Connection: keep-alive
  9. Cache-Control: max-age=0
  10. rn the advanced methods, but that may require lessons from an actual computer geek.
  11. Work with others with their computer problems. By interacting with other PC users, you may find that they know things that you don't and vice versa. However as a computer geek wannabe, you'll want to know more about computer than your friends, at any given time.
  12. Help others out with their computer problems. Not only will you build a name for yourself, but it is good practice and can help you learn about situations and problems you have not encountered before.
  13. Learn to recognize malware(computer viruses, spyware and the other nasty stuff) before running the daily antivirus/antispyware scans.
  14. Use a restrictive firewall, that would cause normal people to cry because they don't understand how to use it. Of course, you should know how to use it!
  15. Use an Open Source Operating System
    • Most computer geeks will use an open OS such as BSD or Linux, because it is (usually) free and allows them to do geeky stuff such as programming, running servers and using a command line interface (CLI).

  16. Know the expression "Free as in beer or free as in speech" and what it means.
  17. Use Shortcuts.
  18. Know the inner workings of the Internet.
  19. Remember to keep things simple. Skip overwhelming or overly-complicated ideas. Instead, focus on learning the knowledge and skills you may need to accomplish a big idea in the future.
  20. Learn to speak Geek!
  21. Binary is very important to geeks. Learn It
  22. One of the best ways is to look up the meaning of any word in wikipedia. On any wikipedia page, just click on all the words you don't know. You will be led into a massive spider web and you will amass a wealth of knowledge. For example, look up the word Code (as in computers) in wikipedia.
    • Now, do you know the meaning of "stored procedures"? if not, open the link in a new tab. Here, you find another unknown term, "Relational database system". Open that in a new tab. Keep doing that until you've thought you've had enough. Now come back all the way and check out all the other meanings. By the end of half an hour, you know at least 20-30 new terms.
    • An interesting fact about wikipedia (for those newcomers) is that every article in wikipedia starts with the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
    • Now you can type whatever you want after the link and you will get the article you want 90% of the time except when it doesn't exist, you've typed the wrong spelling, or a disambiguation. But beware, if you're searching for a two word or more article, then you must put underscores instead of spaces and the first letter of the first word must be capitalized.
    • That said, those of you who don't know what "tabs" are, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabs

  23. Subscribe to something This does not only mean subscribing to a technologically oriented magazine such as Wired, but also regularly reading tech news sites such as Cnet. With the internet option, try using RSS or Atom.
  24. Customize your User Interface Dont just stick to that chearful green Start button, create your own User Interface using cool shades of black or red.
  25. Get a job in the computer industry/business.


Tips


  • If you use Windows, obtain an anti-virus and spyware software, as this can keep your computer infection-free. Be sure you are wary of what anti-virus and spyware programs you download, however, as many turn out to be more malicious than the problems they are supposed to prevent.
  • When fixing computers, it may be good to keep a flash drive or IPod to carry utilities, diagnostics, or just the drive for space to move files from/to computers for diagnostic purposes. Get PortableApps (http://portableapps.com) installed on it so you can run programs straight off your hard drive.
  • When fixing software, keep a CD with you, containing at least 5 different antivirus and antispyware products and an open OS.
  • Always have a better sort of cooling system(preferably liquid nitrogen) when overclocking computers.
  • Try to refer to the internet as "the tubes, the interbutts, the interwebz, the intertubes", etc., and find out what makes them funny.


Warnings


  • Trying to fix computer problems(specifically hardware problems) may void the said hardware's warranty. But of course, computer geeks do that every day.
  • Make sure you don't become obsessed with computers; being a geek and having an interest in computers and how they work is one thing, letting that interest take over your life is another. If you find yourself thinking of computers all the time, take a break (a few days) from using the computer.


Related wikiHows




How to Be a Computer Geek
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Be a Computer Geek. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Geeky Computer Quizzes

You can test you computer skills with these quizzes found Here. Most of them are pretty easy but some can be a bit more challenging than the others though it will just depend on what you know better than others. Hope you can have fun taking some of these quizzes.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet-quiz.htm

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Saving Images On The iPhone/iPod Touch

Have you ever been browsing the internet on your iPhone/iPod Touch and came across a picture that you would really like to save so that you can either show somebody else or just want to look at another time? This can be accomplished very easily you will need to be on the page that the picture is on and then just press and hold the picture until you get a notification if you would like to Save Image or Copy (you will have more options if the picture is also a link). You will want to select Save Image.


Save Image

To veiw your photo you can goto the Photos app on the botton of the main screen with all of your other apps. When in Photos you photo will be saved in the Saved Photos folder.


Saved Photos album

Now if you would like to copy these images to your computer you will need to plug in your iPhone/iPod Touch. Then goto My Computer in Windows XP or Computer in Windows Vista (on a Mac it should just be mounted on the desktop) and then look for the name of your device (mine is called Nate's iPod). You should see the pictures when you open it. Now you can just copy and paste these images to where ever you would like onto your harddrive.


Picture that was saved

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Send Text Messages For Free From An iPhone Or iPod Touch

Have you ever wondered if it was possible to send text messages for free from you iPhone or iPod Touch over a wifi or 3g connection? Well there is a free app out that can do just that and it's called textPlus. This app is very simple to use it's pretty much like texting on a normal phone. You can download this app from the App Store on your iPod/iPhone or through iTunes.

To send a message is really easy you will just need to click on this icon in the top right corner. This will then bring you to a screen where you have the option to either select a number from your contacts or just manually enter a number.


Choose to enter manually or from contacts

After you have selected your contacts that you would like you will then be brought to a screen where you are able to write your text message.


Write your message

After you have sent your message you will then be at a screen where you can see all of the messages you have sent and received from that group.


Conversation screen

You can also get notification for when you get new messages so that you will not have to just keep checking the app.


Notification

If you go into the settings of the app by pushing this icon. You will then be sent to a screen where you can enter a name that will be used for when you send messages to other people. You can also enter your phone number so that when other people send you a message from textPlus it won't be sent to your phone but to your textPlus.


Settings

I hope that you can have fun sending messages for free from your iPhone or iPod Touch using textPlus.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Fix Computers Remotely With CrossLoop

Have you ever had a friend or relative that has a computer problem and wants to to fix it? Well instead of you having to travel to their house you can just fix the problem from your house with a program called CrossLoop. What this program does is it gives you remote access to their computer so you can control their computer from your own home.

To use CrossLoop is very simple all you will need to do is download and install the program from here: http://www.crossloop.com/ipage.htm?id=predownload. Also you will need to sign up for an account which is also free so no worries there.

When you open CrossLoop you will see a screen that looks similar to the image below. On this screen you will just need to login so that you will be at the main CrossLoop window.


CrossLoop logon screen

Once you have logged in you will now need to make sure that whoever has the computer that you would like to connect to has CrossLoop setup. Now to connect to them you will need them to click on the Share tab and then give you the code. Once you have the code they can they click Connect and so can you after you have entered their code into your CrossLoop. When you get connected to them they will get a notification asking if they would like to accept the connection.


Accepting connection

Once they have accepted your connection you will then be able to control their screen from within a window on your computer. It will look something like the image below.


Connected in CrossLoop

Now that you have been successfully connected you can now fix their problem or just help them with something. CrossLoop can be very useful in many different ways so have fun with it. Now you can help others without even leaving your house.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Convert A Movie To Animated Gif File

Have you ever wondered how people make the images that look like a video? Well there is a program that I have found that can convert your video files into an Animated Gif. To do this all you will need is a program called Movie to Animated GIF Converter. To use the program you do not need to install it you will just need to open the .exe file. Once you have the program open it should look something like the image below.


Main screen

Now to convert your movie file to a .gif file you will need to goto File > Open Movie then just browse to the video file that you would like to use and click Open. Once you have you video file opened you will see a preview of it in the program as shown below.


Video preview

Now you can edit to video clip to how you would like the final product to look like by just moving the middle slider and then clicking on the buttons on the sides. So if you want to set where you would like the clip to start you just set the slider at that point then click on the { button. Then to set the ending point you just need to do the opposite so just set the slider to where you want the end to be then click the } button.


Editing slider

Now when you have everything set to how you would like it to be you can just goto Export > Export To Animated Gif then you can select where you would like to save the file. Now you will be presented with a window that has a few options.


Choosing quality

From this window you will be able to select if you want the video file size to be the same size or 50% of the original size. Also you can choose to have the program close when it is done converting or not. Once all of your options are set you just click OK then wait just a little bit for it to convert.


Converting

Once everything is done you will then be able you view your .gif file. So now you can start making .gif files of whatever you like. Have fun with this really simple tool to use.

Finished product

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Replacing The Jack On Your Headphones

Do you ever break the jack on your headphones and then you need to buy a new set of headphones? Well I have found an Instructable that shows you how you can replace the jack on a pair of headphones. Now you should be able to fix your broken headphones so that you will not need to buy new ones and in turn save you money.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Replacing-the-jack-on-a-pair-of-headphones/


Fixed pair of headphones

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Friday Funny - Geeky Zombie Comic

Here is a comic that I found that is pretty funny if you are into Left4Dead or just zombies in general.


(Click on image for larger view)

Friday, June 12, 2009

Friday Funny - Tech Support Happenings

Here is one that I found awhile ago but it is always a good one to look back on to get some good laughs. I hope that this will keep your Friday on a good note.

http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_os.shtml

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Essential Downloads For Windows

Here is a huge list from Lifehacker of some essential downloads for Windows.

http://lifehacker.com/5271828/lifehacker-pack-2009-our-list-of-essential-free-windows-downloads

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Fully Erase Hard Drive With Darik's Boot And Nuke

Have you ever wanted to give your computer away but didn't want to have any confidential data left on the drive? Well there is a live CD called Darik's Boot And Nuke and what it does is it will erase all of the data on the drive by rewriting over the drive many times using one's and zero's. This is still not a completely fail safe way but it is good enough to ward off a very high majority of people who would would try to figure it out.

Now to get started. You will first need to download the image from: http://www.dban.org/ and you will need to burn the image to a disc. Then you need to set your bios settings so that you can boot from a CD. If you don't know how to do this go Here. Once you have booted onto the disc your screen should look similar to the image below.


Main Screen

Now you have a couple options to choose from and this will most likely depend on how secure you want the drive to be afterward. You can choose Autonuke which is just a standard wipe but may not be as secure as you need so the other option to choose is pressing Enter (this is the method I am going to be showing). When you press Enter you should be then brought to a screen like the image below.



Now from here you can change how the drive will be erased. If you push P it will then bring up a screen with two options you can select which ever you like but I just kept the top one selected. Once you have the one you would like to use just push the Spacebar.


PRNG (Pseudo Random Number Generator) screen

To change the Method used you will need to push M. This is where you can select a method that fits how secure you would like the drive to be afterward. When you scroll through the options it gives you a short description and also how secure the option is. If you want to have a high level of security I would sugest you use either the Gutmann Wipe or the PRNG Stream. I am going to choose to use DoD Short because I am just testing for this tutorial but normally I would use one of the more secure options. To select your option press the Spacebar.


Method screen

The next thing you are going to want to do is press V. This options lets you set whether you would like to verify that the drive is wiped on each pass or if you would just like to verify the last one (you can also turn it off but not recomended). You can choose whichever you would like but if you set it to verify each one it is going to take just a bit longer. I am going to set it to verify after each pass. To select your option press the Spacebar.


Verify options

The last option to change is the Rounds option. To select this you need to press R. Now once you are on that screen you then have the option to set how many rounds you would like to do. A medium security level is around 4 rounds and high is around 8 rounds. I am going to do 4 rounds. To get back to the main screen press the Enter.


Rounds screen

Now if you have everything set the way that you want it to be you can then just push Enter to select your drives then push F10 to start to wiping process. This may take awhile to complete usually a couple hours depending on how many passes you have chosen so just be patient.


Wiping drive

I hope that this can help you feel more secure about getting rid of your old hard drives.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Quick Reference guide For Commands

Have you ever been doing something but then can't remember the right command for what you are trying to do? Well there is a site that you may just want to add to your bookmark list and it's called: SS64.com. You can find commands for all sorts of things like: Windows, Bash, Oracle, and SQL Server. So now you will never be left in the dust when using commands on different interfaces.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hulu App For iPhone/iPod Touch

The Hulu app is said to be released in a month or so and is supposed to be close to as good as the real thing. I think that this app will be a huge hit seeing as there are so many people that already use Hulu and now they would be able to stream T.V. shows on their iPhone/iPod Touch. I have been searching for this app on my iPod Touch ever since I bought it and have been wondering why it was never released but now it's on it's way and I can't wait to see what it will be like. I'm hoping that it is really close to the real thing and that everything is still free like it should be.


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Access Your Files From Anywhere Using Dropbox

Have you ever went some where and needed to bring some files with you but you forgot to put them on your flash drive or lost the flash drive on the way there? Well there is a simple solution to this and it's called Dropbox. Dropbox is an online storage site that lets you store your files there so that whenever and where ever you need to have access to your files you can just download them from their server.

Dropbox is very simple to use all you need to do is download the program from the main page. Install it and follow the on screen instructions. You will then be asked to create an account so that you will be able to access your files securely via the web. Once all of this is completed you will have a folder that is designated for your Dropbox files. The default is My Documents/My Dropbox. Any files that you put into this folder will be uploaded to the Dropbox site. You may want to be careful with how many files you put in it because if you are using the free version you will only get 2 GB's of space which isn't that much if you have a ton of photos like I do.

Monday, May 25, 2009

DIY Indoor Lighting Using 2-Liter Bottles



This seems like it would be a great idea to use in a garage or a shed. Also a very good solution to save money on lighting during the day.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Free Independent Lord Of The Rings Film

This is for all of the Lord Of The Rings enthusiasts out there. It is a film that was inspired by the Lord Of The Rings books and movies. It is a very good film if you are into those kinds of movies and it is free to watch.



You can watch the film for free here: http://thehuntforgollum.com/

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Download Coldplay's LeftRightLeftRightLeft Live CD For Free

You can now download Coldplay's live version of their LeftRightLeftRightLeft CD for free from here: http://bhandler.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!70F64BC910C9F7F3!5539.entry. There are not any catches here you just put in your email address then you can download the whole CD for free.


LeftRightLeftRightLeft track list

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Adding Digg Button To Your Blogger Website

I spent about a half hour looking though the html code for my pages and could not find what I was looking for. So I then went over to www.google.com and did a search to see if anyone else was having the same problem and this is the article that I found: http://briancantin.blogspot.com/2007/12/add-digg-to-bloggercom-posts.html. Now you can see that there are small Digg buttons on the sides of all my posts now. I hope that this can help save you some of the time and effort that I had to endure to add Digg to your site.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Using OS X In VMare

Have you even wanted to try out a Mac but just didn't want to throw down a ton of cash to do so? Well there is a way that you can do this using VMware. What VMware does is it creates a virtual machine so that it is like running a computer on your computer. The process of getting OS X up and running in VMware is a tedious process but is well worth it in the end.

Full instructions on how to do this can be found here: http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Vmware_how_to.

That wiki page has all of the information that you will need to get OS X up and running in VMware. Also I think that there may be a prebuilt OS X VMware image somewhere out in the torrent world but that was just a rumor that I have heard. I also suggest that if you really do like OS X then go out and buy a Mac.


OS X running in VMware
(Click Image to view larger version)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Make Ice Cream In just 5 Minutes

I found this really good article on Lifehacker not too long ago and decided that I would share it with all of you. I hope that you can have some fun creating your own ice cream. http://www.instructables.com/id/5-minute-Ice-Cream/

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Spice Up Firefox With Personas

Are you tired of the plain Firefox look? Then why not spice it up a bit by using Personas. Personas is a utility for Firefox that lets you dress up Firefox by using skins. This Add-On is one of the better ones that I have found for making Firefox look more stylish and can be done in a matter of seconds.

To setup Personas it is really easy you just go to there homepage Here and then click on the Get Personas For Firefox - Free button to download it.


Personas download button

Once you have Personas downloaded and installed you can now go and take a look at there Gallery of skins Here. To preview a skin all that you have to do is scroll over the image of the skin on the Personas Gallery page. Now to set the skin so it stays all you need to do is click on the image. You can also click on View Details and then click on the Wear This button on the next page.


Firefox with skin applied (click on image to view a larger version)

If you can't find what you are looking for in the Gallery you can also make your own skins very easily by just going Here. Once you have signed up you can then see all of the information that you need to upload your own skins. What you will need to create your own is two images (one for the header and one for the footer). The header image needs to be 3000 wide x 200 tall and the footer needs to be 3000 wide x 100 tall. If you need more details on how to create your own you can visit this page Here. Also if you need a free image editing program to create your own skins a very good one is Gimp.

Now you can make Firefox look personalized to who you are in just a few minutes. Have fun and if you have any that you have created don't be afraid to post them up in the comments.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Recover Forgotten User Passwords In Windows With Ophcrack

Have you ever forgotten your password in Windows and then did not know how to get it back so you were then locked out of your computer? Well there is a very simple solution to this problem and it is called Ophcrack. Ophcrack is a utility that you boot your computer into and it then uses Rainbow Tables to find the passwords.

First to recover your passwords you will need to download Ophcrack it can be found here: http://ophcrack.sourceforge.net/download.php?type=livecd. When it is finished downloading it will have a .iso file extension. What this means is that it is a file that is used to be written to a disc or mounted to a virtual CD/DVD drive. You will want to burn the file to a disc.

To burn the file you can use a program called ImgBurn and can be downloaded from here: http://www.filehippo.com/download_imgburn/.

Once you have Ophcrack burned to a disc you will then need to restart your computer and set your Bios settings to boot from a CD/DVD first. If you don't know how to do this you can read more on the subject Here.

After you have set it to boot from a disc you will need to have your Ophcrack disc in the CD/DVD drive. When it is booting from the disc you should see a screen similar to the one shown below.


Ophcrack Live CD Boot Screen

When you see this screen you will want to select Ophcrack Graphic Mode. It will then load and boot into the disc. Once Ophcrack has booted completely it will start to find your passwords. This may take a couple minutes to do depending on how long and complex your passwords are.


Ophcrack finding passwords

You can click stop once you have found the password for the account that you can't remember. Now all that you will have to do is just restart your computer by clicking Exit. You will then be asked in the teminal to Press any key to exit. Then push any key and you will then be asked if you would like to Shutdown (Y/N). You will want to hit Y then push enter.


Shutdown (y/n)?

Now just boot back into Windows and enter in your lost password. Now if you ever forget your password again you can just use this little tool to help you out.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Backup Your Hard Drive Using DriveImage XML

Backing up your hard drive can be one of the more important things that you can do before disaster strikes. If you create hard drive backups before something bad happens you can then just restore your machine back to the way it was before but you will also lose all of your data you have saved in the time period between the backup and the present. When making backups of your hard drive it is a good idea to keep the backup files on a hard drive that is not your C: Drive/OS so either try to keep them on an external or an extra internal drive. Then disconnect after the backup is finished so there is less of a possibility for something to go wrong with it like it getting infected with a virus or something similar. So with that being said lets get started.

First you will need to go to http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm to download and install DriveImage XML. Now you will need to run DriveImage XML and you should get a window that looks similar to the one below.


DriveImage XML main window

Now you will want to click on the Backup button that is located in the left bottom corner. This will then bring you to a screen where you can choose which drive you would like to backup (not the drive that you will be saving the files to).


Choose which drive to backup

Once you have chosen the drive all you should need to do then is just click Next. This will then bring you to the Drive Backup Wizard. If everything is correct on the first screen then you can proceed by clicking Next.


Drive Backup Wizard

Now you should be at a screen where you choose where to save your backup to (preferably not the same drive as the OS). You can change some of the settings on this screen to fit your preferences. The settings that I have chosen are shown in the image below.


Options I have chosen to use

Once every thing is set to how you like it you can now click Next. This will now start the backup process. This may take awhile to complete depending of how much stuff you have saved on your hard drive.


Backup in progress

When the backup is completed you will see a small notification window pop up saying that the backup was completed then closes after a few seconds. Now all you have left to do is just click on Finnish.


Backup completed successfully

Now you can start making backups of your hard drive with just a few clicks. You may be wondering how you can restore your machine using these backups and that is just as easy as making them.

You will just need to go to the Restore button in the main window in the bottom left corner. Then you will want to select the drive you would like to restore and click Next. Now the Drive Restore Wizard should pop up. You will then need to browse to where you have the backup .xml file located. Once you have located the file click Next. Now your Drive should be restored back to what it was before.


Drive Restore Wizard

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Change Your Boot Screen Using BootSkin

Have you ever wanted to change your boot screen in Windows to something other than the plain one that is the default? This may seem like something that will be difficult but as usual there is a program that can make this process a lot easier. The program is called BootSkin and can be downloaded from here: http://www.stardock.com/products/bootskin/downloads.asp.

First you will need to install and run BootSkin. Once you have this completed you should see a window that looks similar to the image below.


BootSkin main window

Now you can go and search for some good BootSkins that you can use with BootSkin. You can find them Here for Windows XP skins and Here for Windows Vista skins. There are tons to choose from so I am sure that you will be able to find one that will suit what you are looking for.

After you have found the one you would like to use you will need to go back to BootSkin and go to File > Import From File then you will need to navigate to where the BootSkin file is saved and then click Open. You then need to select the skin that you want to use and then click Apply.


Skin selected

Now you have your boot screen changed to what you have chosen. If you ever want to change back to the normal Windows boot screen you will just need to select Default System Boot Screen then click Apply. The boot screen that I have chosen to use can be found Here.