Ian Dunn » Windows

Virtual Workspaces for Windows

Ian — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:26:16 +0000

I’ve been using Linux since high school — which is longer ago than I care to admit ;) — and one of my favorite features of *nix window managers has always been the concept of workspaces, but for some reason it never occurred to me until today to search for a Windows tool that would create them. A few minutes on Google revealed several options:

VirtuaWin - This one is my favorite. It’s pretty much perfect.
- It even has an extra option to preserve the dynamic order of applications on the taskbar, so it’ll work with Taskbar Shuffle.
- When I first started it I got an error that the hotkeys couldn’t be registered, but I just had to disable the corresponding hotkeys in Winamp and the Intel Graphics control panel to avoid conflicts.
PowerToys Virtual Desktop Manager – This works pretty well, but there was some flickering for me when transitioning between desktops, and it takes up way too much room on the taskbar.
Dexpot – This works well, but the interface is kind of clunky.

This is pretty huge for someone as neurotic about organization as I am.

Switching to a Dvorak Keyboard

Ian — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:00:19 +0000

The standard QWERTY keyboard layout was designed for typewriters in the 1800s with the purpose of preventing the type bars from jamming. They achieved this by arranging the keys in such an inefficient pattern that the operator was slowed down to the point where they couldn’t type fast enough to jam the the bars. So why are we still using it now that we no longer have that limitation? Because switching to a better layout is a pain in the ass.

Maybe not as much as you’d think, though, and there are several significant benefits. You can type faster and more accurately on a Dvorak layout, and most importantly, it’s better from an ergonomic standpoint, so it’s easier on your wrists if you have a repetitive strain injury (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome). I’ve heard about Dvorak several times over the years, but watching John Ford’s presentation on healthy computing at last year’s Wordcamp San Francisco motivated me to try it out.

Most modern operating systems allow you to choose from multiple keyboard layouts, so you can use Dvorak on your current keyboard. You can then buy labels to stick to the keys, make your own, or just rearrange the keys to fit the new layout. If you search for Dvorak labels on Amazon you can find both transparent and opaque ones in different font colors for about $6.

Once you’re all setup you can use online touch typing games and lessons to help you get used to the new layout:

Update: Apparently there’s some disagreement over the commonly held beliefs about the history of QWERTY and benefits of Dvorak, but I haven’t found anything definitive on either side, so I’d still like to try it out and see for myself.

Desktop TODO List Software

Ian — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:59:21 +0000

For the past several years I’ve just been using a Word document with a multi-layer bulleted list to keep track of tasks, but that’s getting a little hard to manage. I started looking for something with collapsible items and filters to show certain categories, statuses, etc. There are a lot of popular web-based applications, but I often work offline, so I looked for a desktop app and found ToDo List. At first I didn’t like a few things about the way it behaved, but after I dug through all the preferences I was able to get it running the way I wanted.

Tree View of Folders, Including Size

Ian — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:46:26 +0000

TreeSize is good for getting a tree view of all the directories on a box with the size listed, so you can track down which folders are taking up too much disk space.

Remove device from ‘Safely Remove Hardware’

Ian — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:32:21 +0000

My new laptop has a removable DVD drive, which is nice, but I’ll rarely–if ever–remove it and because it’s removable Windows puts the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray, which is annoying to someone who is as nuerotic and anal-retentive as I am. If you search for a way to remove it most webpages will only give you bad workarounds (like hiding the icon itself instead of changing the device to be considered non-removable) or tell you it’s impossible to fix. But, I found a real solution in a usenet post and thought it’d be helpful to write out some clear instructions on how to remove a device from the ‘Safety Remove Hardware’ app