David Vielmetter

Category: Tips

  • Das DOS to the rescue

    Lets say you’ve got a folder with a bunch of files and subfolders…each subfolder in turn contains a bunch more files of which you are only interested in one with a specific name. You could perform a search in the root folder and quickly find all the files with that name. Copying them from that…

  • Get a Directory up button in Vista/7

    I like a lot of features in Windows 7. Enough in fact, to make 7 the operating system I use in around the house…but there’s always been one thing that’s bothered me. Where did my folder/directory “up” button go on the explorer toolbar? I’d gotten used to it from years of working with Windows 95,98,NT,2000,XP…

  • Access the DCIM folder on your iPhone

    I am updating this article for the first time since 2011 because I get a lot of requests for help on this particular topic. The original article (now crossed out below) is 6 years old and likely doesn’t apply to newer model iPhones. Now then, with that bit out of the way, here’s some updated…

  • Use Picasa to add photos to iPhone contacts

    The facial recognition feature in Picasa is addictive, but it’s also useful for adding portrait thumbnails to all of your existing Gmail contacts. Since Picasa already integrates with your Google account, adding faces to your contacts is as simple as right-clicking a picture. Here’s how: What you’ll need: Picasa iPhone/iPod Touch Gmail [step 1] Get…

  • Paste as plain text in Outlook

    I use Outlook at work and a lot of the information I send out in messages is copied from various sources to the clipboard and then to the pasted into the new message dialog. One thing that has always annoyed me about this process is that by default in Outlook the underlying styling/formatting of the…

  • Delete files using crontab

    Got some files on your *NIX system that need a good deletin on a regular basis?. Well then crontab is going to be your friend. There are tons of articles that painstakingly explain the crontab format when you Google “scheduled job Linux”, but how to actually implement a scheduled job using crontab from start to…

  • Buy by rating and get free shipping

    Buy a lot of stuff online? Get a free year of Amazon Prime membership for students with a valid .edu email address. Later, when buying electronics or computer parts using said Amazon Prime membership, use newegg.com to comparison shop online. Its rating system is one of the most honest in the industry and they carry…

  • VIM quick reference

    This custom VIM reference chart is organized for me – but you can borrow it. There are lots of quick VIM reference charts, but this one is mine. It has the stuff I’m always looking for and none of the crap I don’t need. VIM quick reference cheat sheet (from ViEmu.com) David’s frequently used &…

  • Use Microsoft Office in a browser

    Microsoft has finally released their online versions of Excel and PowerPoint Word and OneNote on SkyDrive. While the “cloud” versions of these programs don’t have all the features found the installable Office product, they offer enough power to be considered a reasonable alternative to Google’s suite of cloud applications called Apps. Now, if you don’t…

  • Repurpose shipping foam as a cable manager

    Today like clockwork my notebooks power cord fell into that void between my desk and the dresser the moment I unplugged it. Swearing like a sea-captain and scraping my arm whilst surely looking like a crazy person performing contortions to get that darned cable back I thought to myself: There must be a better way.…