With the increase of disk space we tend to store more files on the hard drives. Managing these files is done using folders, sub folders and more nested folders. Accessing these nested folders is an irritating task, especially if you have a multi level nested folder that you access frequently.

Other ways to reduce the clutter is to partition the drives to a more manageable size. But this is not always possible. So what to you do when you need to access a nested folder frequently? Well here is a nice little trick that exists from the old DOS days, but was forgotten.

You can easily map a local folder to a virtual drive letter, thus by “switching�? drives you are simply redirected to that folder.

In order to map a local folder to a drive letter follow these steps:

• Go To Start->Run, type Cmd and press Enter.
• Now type the following command in the command prompt: subst drive: path_to_folder and Enter.

For example lets say we want to map the My Documents folder to drive letter M: so we type: subst M: C:\”Documents and Settings\YourUserName\My Documents”

Now every time you’ll enter M: you will be redirected to the My Documents folder. Also this new virtual drive will show in Windows File Explorer.

To delete a mapping you simply type SUBST drive1: /D – so in our example, if we want to delete the mapping of M: to My Documents we simply type SUBST M: /D.

Typing SUBST without any parameters will display all the mappings.

The firmware of the Xbox 360 DVD drive has been hacked, allowing users to boot backups of games on the new Microsoft console. A group of hackers on the xboxhacker.net forum managed to trick the DVD firmware into reporting a recordable disc as an original Xbox 360 disc.

This means that it will not allow booting of unsigned homebrew code (like Linux), as the signature check is not bypassed. This hack will just trick the Xbox 360 into thinking you inserted an original Xbox 360 disc, so it’ll only boot unedited executables.

A video has been released, the hack has not been released to the public (because it will be mainly used for piracy), but all the research of the last few months is publicly viewable

Source: Slashdot

The network that stitches together radars, missile launch sites and command control centers for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) ground-based defense system has such serious security flaws that the agency and its contractor, Boeing, may not be able to prevent misuse of the system, according to a Defense Department Inspector General’s report.

The report, released late last month, said MDA and Boeing allowed the use of group passwords on the unencrypted portion of MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) communications network.

The report said that neither MDA nor Boeing officials saw the need to install a system to conduct automated log audits on unencrypted communications and monitoring systems. Even though current DOD policies require such automated network monitoring, such a requirement “was not in the contract.”

The network, which was also developed to conform to more than 20-year-old DOD security policies rather than more recent guidelines, lacks a comprehensive user account management process, the report said. Neither MDA nor Boeing conducted required Information Assurance (IA) training for users before they were granted access to the network, the report stated.

Because of this poor information security, the DOD IG report said, MDA and Boeing officials “may not be able to reduce the risk and magnitude of harm resulting from misuse or unauthorized access or modification of information [on the network] and ensure the continuity of the system in the event of an interruption.�?

Source: fcw.com

Medicines can’t work effectively if patients don’t follow their dosing schedule - a problem researchers hope to overcome by delivering drugs using an implanted microchip linked to a wireless control outside the body.

Researchers for MicroCHIPS Inc. say they’ve successfully controlled drug doses for up to six months in dogs that received implants in an experiment. Inside the implants were postage stamp-sized microchips containing 100 tiny reservoirs of medicine released at different intervals and amounts.

The privately held company says its first test in humans is likely three to five years away and could involve implanted sensors that would monitor a patient’s circulatory system or blood glucose to manage heart disease or diabetes.

A system to release drugs in solid, liquid or gel form could come later, perhaps initially involving a medicine that isn’t easily absorbed into the bloodstream when taken orally, said John Santini, president of Bedford-based MicroCHIPS.

Source: AP

Goal is to speed up translation of files

Goaded by Congress, Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte has begun to release millions of pages of captured files online in an unprecedented effort to harness the Internet to disseminate raw intelligence material. There, anybody with a knowledge of Arabic can download the files and translate them for the world.

It’s the same ”open source” principle that drove the successful development of the Internet and of powerful free software like the Linux operating system. Instead of hiring a team of brilliant professionals to analyze Iraqi documents in secret, the open source systems will use hundreds of clever amateurs, who’ll publish their work for anyone to analyze and improve upon.

US intelligence officials say nearly all the documents released have been given at least a cursory reading by Arabic experts. Beth Marple, Negroponte’s deputy press secretary, said amateur translators won’t find any major surprises, such as proof Hussein hid stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Source: boston.com

Sony Electronics has introduced an array of Blu-Ray Disc (BD) products, taking the wraps off of a high-definition DVD player, a BD-enabled desktop computer, and an internal BD drive.

Together, these products mark a concerted push by the Japanese electronics giant to put next-generation video into the hands of consumers and fend off a major challenge from Toshiba’s competing HD DVD format.

Sony’s BDP-S1 disc player, priced at $1,000, will ship in July with an output feature that will let those who have first-generation HD TV sets play Blu-Ray video content. In addition, according to Sony, the BDP-S1 will be backwards-compatible with standard DVDs and existing receivers.

Sony’s Vaio RC computer, the first announced with Blu-Ray technology built right in, will list for $2,300 when it is available this summer. Vaio RC users will be able to edit high-definition video footage, then archive it and share it on Blu-Ray discs. In addition, the Vaio RC will come with software that will give users the ability to convert video to standard DVD formants.

In April, Sony plans to ship 25-GB BD media, which will retail for about $20 to $25 for each disc. The 50-GB versions of the media will be dual-layer discs that will retail for around $50, according to Sony.

Later this year, Sony will release the internal BWU-100A drive, which will be able to handle both 25-GB and 50-GB discs, burning a full 25 GB disc in about 30 minutes. Retail pricing for the BWU-100A drive will be available later this year.

Sony Pictures’ Home Entertainment division recently announced it will start shipping eight movies on BD beginning on May 23, with additional titles being released in June. Sony has noted that film studios will deliver about 100 Blu-Ray titles by the end of the year.

Source: Newsfactor

Want to peer into the steaming summit of an erupting volcano without risking death?

Anyone with an Internet connection and a computer can do just that, thanks to about 30 cameras and other recording devices set up on Alaska’s Augustine Volcano that are streaming information to a Web site hosted by the Alaska Volcano Observatory, a joint federal-state office.

The site has received over 253 million hits since the start of the year, becoming a popular destination for everyone from scientists to amateur volcano buffs who want to keep tabs on the restless 4,134-foot (1,260-meter) volcano.

“The Web has really revolutionized information dissemination and consequently the level of interest and knowledge of the public,” said Shan de Silva, a volcanologist and professor at the University of North Dakota.

Augustine Volcano, on an uninhabited island about 175 miles

southwest of Anchorage, roared to life on January 11 with an explosion that shot ash miles into the air. It sits under a major air travel route between Asia and North America.

The volcano has remained active since then with a series of ash-producing explosions but has settled into a period of less-dramatic lava burbling, dome building and occasional small ash puffs.

For scientists, Augustine provides a near-perfect combination of factors.

It is close to population centers, but not so close that it poses any serious risks. Its flanks and summit are dotted with more monitoring instruments than perhaps any U.S. volcano except Mt. St. Helens in Washington and Mauna Loa in Hawaii.

“It’s a new way of monitoring volcanoes now, but this is going to be kind of the standard way of doing it,” said Chris Waythomas, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist who works at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Source: Reuters