The main drum part is almost universally in common time (4/4); meaning 4 quarter note pulses per bar.^[129] In its simplest form, time is marked with kicks (bass drum beats) on each quarter-note pulse, a snare or clap on the second and fourth pulse of the bar, with an open hi-hat sound every second eighth note. This is essentially a disco (or even polka) drum pattern and is common throughout house music and its derivatives (of which techno is one). The tempo tends to vary between approximately 120 bpm (quarter note equals 120 pulses per bar) and 150 bpm, depending on the style of techno.

Some of the drum programming employed in the original Detroit-based techno made use of syncopation and polyrhythm, yet in many cases the basic disco-type pattern was used as a foundation, with polyrhythmic elaborations added using other drum machine voices. This syncopated-feel (funkiness) distinguishes the Detroit strain of techno from other variants. It is a feature that many DJs and producers still use to differentiate their music from commercial forms of techno, the majority of which tend to be devoid of syncopation. Derrick May has summed up the sound as 'Hi-tech Tribalism': something "very spiritual, very bass oriented, and very drum oriented, very percussive. The original techno music was very hi-tech with a very percussive feel... it was extremely, extremely Tribal. It feels like you're in some sort of hi-tech village."^[130]

By John Podesta

On September 9, 2008, the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank headed by John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to U.S. President Bill Clinton, published a report by entitled "Green Recovery: A New Program to Create Good Jobs and Start Building a Low-Carbon Economy." It was suggested at the time that the report may serve as a road map for the next U.S. President. Podesta now heads President-Elect Obama’s transition team. As such, it may be instructive to review its contents as a guide to the Obama Administration’s energy policy.

The signs are clear: Our economy is in trouble. Falling home prices, foreclosures, bank failures, a weaker dollar, rising prices for gas, food, and steel, and layoffs in banking, construction, and manufacturing sectors are all indicators of serious economic strain-following a long period in which the middle class went nowhere even while the economy grew as a whole. What’s more, evidence suggests the current downturn will continue for at least another year.

You can change your blog header or add favicons by modifying the HTML code of main index template

1. Login to the Blogs system and enter a blog.
2. Click Design in the top menu then select Templates.
3. Click the link for Main Index (also called "index.html").The HTML displays a set of MT variables in orange and blue.
   
4. To modify the header, click the Header link under the Includes and Widgets category on the right. The HTML for the header will be displayed.
   
5. To change the header, change code within the
   class.
   Note: Tags beginning with $MT are pulled from Movable Type and should not be changed unless there is a specific reasonClick Save then click the Publish button in the top links.
   Note: Just licking Save saves the changes, but does not publish them to the blog. to.
6. Click Save then click the Publish button in the top links.
   Note: Just licking Save saves the changes, but does not publish them to the blog.
7. To test the file, click the View Site button in the top links. Hit Shift+Control+R (Win) or Command+Shift+R (Mac) to refresh the blog in your browser.

Identifying Key Divs in the Header

The HTML Includes the following divisions (which refer to the CSS stylesheet)

• is the main body of the blog excluding background images
• is the top header of the blog. This can be changed as needed, althouggh $MT variables should be left intact.

Undo Template Changes

If you find a serious flaw in a new template, then open it up and select Refresh from the More Actions menu in the lower right. This will restore the template to the previous version.

Modifying other Parts of the Template

Caution should be used when modifying other parts of the template since many involve the use of MovableType variables.

1. Login to the Blogs system and enter a blog.
2. Click Design in the top menu then select Templates.
• For the main body with entries, select Main Index. This opens to the HTML for an individual entry.
• For information beneath each entry, click Entry Summary in in the Includes and Widgets menu.
• For the footer, click Footer in the Includes and Widgets menu.
• For the header, click Header in the Includes and Widgets menu.
• For the sidebar, click Footer, then click Sidebar.
  Note: It is usually recommended that you use the Widget Manager to edit the sidebar.
3. The Insert menu in the template allows you to insert different variables.

This article describes how to modify a scheduled task in Windows XP. After you create a scheduled task in Windows XP, you can modify the task's settings, stop or pause the task, or remove the task from the schedule.


Opening scheduled tasks to modify them
To modify a scheduled task, click Start, click All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Scheduled Tasks. The Scheduled Tasks window opens so that you can modify the settings.


Changing settings for scheduled tasks
To change the settings for a task, right-click the task you want to modify, click Properties, and then use either or both of the following methods:

* To change the schedule for the task, click the Schedule tab.
* To customize the settings for the task, such as the maximum run time, idle time requirements, and power management options, click the Settings tab.

After you change the scheduled task, the task temporarily stops. To restart the task, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Control panel, and then click Scheduled Tasks.
2. Right-click the scheduled task, and then click Rename.
3. Right-click the renamed task, and then click Run.




Stopping and pausing scheduled tasks
If you are about to perform an important task on your computer, such as installing software, changing system configuration options, or performing any task that involves restarting the computer, you probably do not want a task to run while you are performing the task. If a task is already running, and you do not want to wait for it to finish, you can stop it. You can also pause all tasks, to make sure that no tasks start while you accomplish your task.

* To stop a running task, right-click the task in the Scheduled Tasks window, and then click End Task. It may take a moment or two for the task to stop. To restart the task, right-click the task and then click Run.
* To pause the task scheduler so that no tasks run until you want them to, click Pause Task Scheduler on the Advanced menu. To permit tasks to run again, click Continue Task Scheduler on the Advanced menu.

NOTE: If you click Pause, the task will run at its next scheduled time.


Removing scheduled tasks
You can remove a task from the task scheduler permanently or temporarily.

* To delete a task, right-click the task in the Scheduled Tasks window, and then click Delete.
* To prevent a task from running until you decide to let it run again, right-click the task in the Scheduled Tasks window, and then click Properties. On the General tab, clear the Enabled check box. Select the check box again to enable the task when you are ready to let the task scheduler run it again.

From time to time we need to help customers change the way an application interacts with the operating system or SDKs. The challenge is often the access to the code. Sometimes neither party may own the application in question and none of the parties have access to the source. Luckily, the Microsoft Research team came up with the Detours SDK to address this problem a number of years ago and the latest version makes it easy to implement a solution to a situation like this. In short, Detours allows you to create a DLL that hooks one or more operating system functions, so that when that function is called, the caller will actually invoke your custom Detours code instead.



The process is very simple:



· Download the detours SDK http://research.microsoft.com/sn/detours/ and build it.

· You can start with the SIMPLE Sample or our included sample that builds in the Visual Studio command-line environment.

· Create a function pointer prototype for the API you want to detour (TrueCreateFile in the example below). It should have the same parameters and return value as the function you will detour. As part of the declaration set the function pointer value to the real API Address. In the following sample we will detour the CreateFile API.

· You will also need to create your own version of the API you are detouring (ModifyCreateFile below). In this case we are creating our own Createfile, which will call the original CreateFile with the FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH flag OR’d into the dwFlagsAndAttributes parameter.



static HANDLE (WINAPI * TrueCreateFile)(LPCTSTR lpFileName, DWORD dwDesiredAccess, DWORD dwShareMode, LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityAttributes, DWORD dwCreationDisposition, DWORD dwFlagsAndAttributes, HANDLE hTemplateFile) = CreateFile;



HANDLE WINAPI ModifyCreateFile(LPCTSTR lpFileName, DWORD dwDesiredAccess, DWORD dwShareMode,

LPSECURITY_ATTRIBUTES lpSecurityAttributes, DWORD dwCreationDisposition, DWORD dwFlagsAndAttributes, HANDLE hTemplateFile)

{

dwFlagsAndAttributes |= FILE_FLAG_WRITE_THROUGH;

return TrueCreateFile(lpFileName, dwDesiredAccess, dwShareMode, lpSecurityAttributes,

dwCreationDisposition, dwFlagsAndAttributes, hTemplateFile);

}



· You will need to write your detour code in the DLLmain of your dll. This should be executed when your DLL loads and dwReason is == DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH. In our call to DetourAttach we pass our TrueCreateFile pointer (the real CreateFile address), and the address of ModifyCreateFile (our custom create file api). The detour API handles the intercept for us.

DetourRestoreAfterWith();

DetourTransactionBegin();

DetourUpdateThread(GetCurrentThread());

DetourAttach(&(PVOID&)TrueCreateFile, ModifyCreateFile);

DetourTransactionCommit();



· When the DLL_PROCESS_DETACH happens you will need to clean up the detour and unhook the real API.



DetourTransactionBegin();

DetourUpdateThread(GetCurrentThread());

DetourDetach(&(PVOID&)TrueCreateFile, ModifyCreateFile);

DetourTransactionCommit();



So how do you get the DLL loaded into the target process? There are a couple ways. I recommend using the setdll tool that comes as part of the Detour SDK. In the following case we are modifying NTBackup to automatically load our detoured DLL when NTbackup runs.



C:\test>setdll /d:nocache.dll ntbackup.exe

Adding nocache.dll to binary files.

ntbackup.exe:

nowritethru.dll

MFC42u.dll -> MFC42u.dll

msvcrt.dll -> msvcrt.dll

ADVAPI32.dll -> ADVAPI32.dll

KERNEL32.dll -> KERNEL32.dll

GDI32.dll -> GDI32.dll

USER32.dll -> USER32.dll

ntdll.dll -> ntdll.dll

COMCTL32.dll -> COMCTL32.dll

SHELL32.dll -> SHELL32.dll

MPR.dll -> MPR.dll

comdlg32.dll -> comdlg32.dll

NETAPI32.dll -> NETAPI32.dll

RPCRT4.dll -> RPCRT4.dll

ole32.dll -> ole32.dll

SETUPAPI.dll -> SETUPAPI.dll

USERENV.dll -> USERENV.dll

NTMSAPI.dll -> NTMSAPI.dll

CLUSAPI.dll -> CLUSAPI.dll

query.dll -> query.dll

sfc_os.dll -> sfc_os.dll

SYSSETUP.dll -> SYSSETUP.dll

OLEAUT32.dll -> OLEAUT32.dll

VSSAPI.DLL -> VSSAPI.DLL



Note that if you modify a binary that is protected by Windows File Protection the modified binary will be replaced by the OS with the original binary. I recommend keeping your modified version in another directory so it does not get replaced.

If you're If you're here, then you want to know how to unload all of those pesky little TSR (Terminate, but Stay Resident) programs that run when Windows starts up. If you're curious as to what you have running, many of the programs have cutesie little icons in the system tray (bottom right side of the screen). The others can be seen by holding CTRL+ALT+DEL. In Windows 98/ME you will see them immediately. Windows XP is ever so slightly trickier. After doing the key combo, you will need to click the Processes tab.

"So", you wonder to yourself, "What needs to be running, and what should be closed?" The way I usually determine what a process is, if I can't tell offhand, is to use WinTasks. Other than that, some searching through Google and educated guesswork is in order.

Since you are modifying your startup, it is generally a good idea to close down everything that doesn't need to be running. (I go into slightly more detail here about why) In Windows 98/ME pretty much anything other than Explorer and Systray can be closed. For Windows XP, refer here as to what you should leave running.

The fastest, easiest, and safest way to modify your startup is to use msconfig. It's a handy little program that Microsoft includes with Windows that looks at most of the places that your OS gets its loading instructions from and allows you to change the settings in an easily reversible way. To start it click Start->Run and type "msconfig" (with or without the quotes, doesn't matter) in the box and press OK. A program like this should show up:

You'll notice that I have some items removed at the bottom, and have just removed "qttask" from the boot process. The easiest way to tell if a program is something you want running is to look at the path. "AcBtnMgr_X84-X85" looks confusing; however, if you look at where it loads from: "E:\Progra~1\LEXMAR~1\AcBtnMgr_X84-X85.exe" then it's pretty obvious that it has something to do with my LexMark printer. From this we can infer that the BtnMgr part of the filename probably means "button manager". (I have a scanner/printer combo) The same goes for the rest of it. "WCESCOMM" is in the ActiveSync directory, and thus it's a pretty good bet that it relates to my Dell Axim Pocket PC.

Remove anything you don't recognize, especially if the path is Windows, Windows\System32, or Windows\System. Many viruses and spyware apps store themselves in that directory to make themselves look important and to make sure they are in the systems PATH. (I'll explain what the PATH is in a different article) Don't worry, anything that you remove using msconfig can easily be replaced if it turns out that you do, in fact, need it. All you do is run it again and put the pretty little check mark back next to it's name. If you're a Windows 98/ME user, you can stop reading here. If you are in XP then you're not quite done yet.

Windows XP has startup items called services as well. These are usually different components of Windows or add-ons from 3rd party vendors. If you don't need them running, they slow your system as well and use up memory that would be better spent playing Doom III.

There are a lot of services, and I generally don't mess with the ones from Microsoft, so check the box next to "Hide All Microsoft Services" to make the list easier to read. Review the stuff shown there and make a judgment as to whether or not you think it needs to run. Once again, you can always put it back if needs be.

When you reboot the first time a message box will appear telling you that you've used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts. Well, duh. I'm betting we already knew that. Just check the box that tells it not to show itself again, and click OK.

That's pretty much it! There are other places that Windows looks when it loads, but this covers 90% of it. We'll get into BHO's, and registry editing later.

Read all of this, and are still intimidated? In that case, I'd go with SpeedUpMyPC. It'll walk you through the entire process.

Just how do we go about connecting to the internet wirelessly? A wireless network needs to have two components a Wireless Router/Modem to share the internet connection a suitable Wireless card in your laptop or desktop Just about every new laptop has a wireless card built in, the actual type is the mini PCI

But what if you have an older laptop that does not have a wireless network card built in?

Luckily though there is a number of options available to us to make virtually any desktop or laptop computer wireless. The best type of wireless card, which is suitable only for laptops, to install is the mini PCI type, you will need to make sure your computer has a mini PCI slot to accommodate this type of card, and then you will need to either remove the keyboard or small panel on the bottom, but once fitted its totally unobtrusive.

The USB wireless type or dongle is perhaps the most common as its just a case on installing its software plugging in the dongle and you are pretty much ready to go The big advantage of this type of network card is the ease of installation, but on the downside it means you will need to remove it if you ever travel and they do have a habit of getting knocked if your limited by your USB ports, this type of network card is suitable for desktop and laptop computers, just make sure your computer has USB type 2 ports or you might find it too slow.

For desktop computers a PCI card is a good choice, all we need to do is install the software, shutdown the computer remove the case, fit the card In a spare PCI port, put the case back on, power on the computer, it will then recognize the new hardware and automatically install the drivers for it and after a minute or so thats it all installed.

Lastly we have the PCMCIA type of wifi network card, although PCMCIA ports are pretty much redundant just about every laptop has one of two of this type of long horizontal port, if your short of USB ports this could be just what your looking for, maybe not as obtrusive as the USB type, but it still needs to be removed when travelling with your laptop though.

Due to the amount of wifi network cards around the prices have really come down a lot over the past year and now really good wifi cards can be bought for as little as 15 pounds by good we mean either a 54mbps or 54g type of card, rather than the much slower 802.1l b type of cards.

Installing

When installing a wifi network card, make sure that you read the manuals prior to installing, most cards need to have the software installed before the wifi card is connected or plugged in, otherwise the software drivers may fail to load or Windows will attempt to locate a driver from elsewhere, giving driver or configuration issues which can be a hard to resolve it may mean removing the card again.

Now your ready to connect, you should see a pop-up at the bottom right of the screen when a wireless network is in range of the card, click on the pop-up and you'll be able enter your pass key (if you have one set ) to connect to your wireless network.

Notes

Only connect to wireless networks you trust, especially if you need to disclose credit card details for any reason. If you have setup your own wireless network you must ensure that you have some form of wifi security, if your router is not protected, not only can anyone simply just connect and browse from your Wifi network, but if so could be much more malicious, performing such actions as changing your router passwords, stopping you from accessing your own internet connection, they will also be see any able to see any computers or devices attached to your router and may try to gain access to these.

Its imperative to make sure any wireless connections are secure, check out more articles on Wireless security, plus much more at So please make sure any wireless connections are secure, feel free to checkout more on Wireless security, plus all of our other articles at computer-adviser.com