Step 1

Using Windows File Explorer navigate to:

%homedrive%\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\

Notice my use of %homedrive% this is essentially the same thing as C:\, however is the root of the disk your OS uses, useful in cases where people have the default drive mapped using something other than the letter C

Step 2

Locate the folder “SystemData”. You will not be able to open this folder without first taking ownership. Right Click on this folder and click properties and under the Security tab at the top click advanced. Within the windows that pops up take ownership using your account.

Step 3

The folder you just took ownership of right click it once more and choose properties. Under the security tab at the top, a permissions windows should now be available. Choose the edit button and add yourself to the permissions and give your account full control using the check boxes provided.

Step 4

You should now be able to open the “SystemData” folder. Now that your inside that folder, you can navigate to the following.

\S-1-5-18\ReadOnly\LockScreen_Z

Step 5

You should see what appear to be blank or corrupted lockscreen image files. Using the security tab like in the previous steps take ownership and give yourself permissions for the individual image files. After completing this you should be able to see the image files containing the ugly Seattle background

Step 6

Although you can change them all we are looking at one image file in particular. “LockScreen___1280_0800_notdimmed.jpg” It is not dimmed and 1280 X 800 in resolution.

Step 7

To replace the logon screen image with that of your own, please first ensure it is precisely 1280 X 800. If it is you may then rename it to that of the image file “LockScreen___1280_0800_notdimmed.jpg”. When you have done this copy it to the folder replacing the existing image.

Step 8

Lastly, before you go running off to the logon screen in hope of promising change. Right click the newly replaced image file and under the security tab edit permissions and add SYSTEM giving it Full Control.

Your finally done! If you have successfully completed all the steps above you can now go to your default logon screen and see the change.

Usability

You can tweak all the settings on your device, but if your not following some very simple steps you could be killing battery. First and foremost if your not using your device turn the screen off. Is it really that hard to get into the habit of hitting the unlock button when you put your device down. Secondly turn off the unneeded services. Wifi, GPS, etc. If their not being used they don’t need to be on use the power control widget too quickly toggle these settings.

Location Services

Not only do location services waste battery, but they will also eat up your data like crazy. You can turn off location services by going into settings > Location Services and unchecking all 3 options. When you wish to use navigation or similar you can toggle it on the power control widget with ease.

If you experience problems with things such as the weather widget. You can manually set the location in the weather settings.

Application Refresh Settings

This should be obvious, but most users will never touch their applications settings. In any app that has the potential to consume data you should set its refresh settings to somethings more manageable like 1 to 4 hours rather than every 15 minutes. If the application offers the ability to do push notifications you should elect to use push notifications rather that a timely checking interval.

Its also important to note that Facebook for Android is a huge battery drainer, while its may run fast and smooth on the gnex it is still apparent their developers have no idea what they are doing. I found Friendcaster to be a much better app for Facebook. I can double my usage and at the end of the day Friendcaster may account for 2% usage in comparison to 20%+ with the official app on battery usage.

If your concerned about being able to message, you can download the Official Facebook Messenger App It doesn’t seem to suffer from the same problem

Toggle 4G

I don’t care what a sales rep tells you, 4G will drain your battery. If your happy with 3G and are looking to extend your battery switch to 3G only (a.k.a. CDMA Only) by navigating to Settings > More > Mobile Networks and selecting CDMA under network mode.

Get an extended battery

There are a good number of extended batteries available for the galaxy nexus. If your looking for more juice without compromising the phone design you can pick up the oem extended battery packing 2100 mAh, or if your looking to go days without a charge Seidio makes a 3800 mAh extended battery.

Not For The Faint Of Heart

Flash a Custom ROM / Kernal

Increase battery with a rom or kernal optimized for battery life. For more information check out forums such as Rootzwiki or XDA.

Underclock or Undervolt

Reduce processor power consumption with the loss in some performance by under clocking the processor using a root app.

Conclusion

The nexus is no doubt a spectacular device, and while the battery can sometimes be debilitating with the above tweaks and or an extended battery you can enjoy your nexus device even more. If I missed anything or you’d like to see something added to the above please forward me a message through my contact page.

Fragmentation in the Ecosystem

Microsoft did it Google can too. I understand that Android is open source and it brings a lot of good things to the platform, but manufacturers are stepping all over Google and making their own interpretations of the OS for better or worse and 9 times out of 10 its for the worse. If manufacturers want to differentiate their products that I suggest they make better hardware or drop Android and make their own operating system. Now not all of this talk about fragmentation is the manufacturers fault though. Google needs to work more closely with manufacturers for creating drivers and handle the development process for all the devices out there themselves.

Another contributor to fragmentation are the wireless carriers. An iPhone doesn’t come with bloatware neither should and Android phone. Carriers need to take a step back and look in the mirror much like manufacturers. Wireless carriers like Verizon are service providers and shouldn’t have any say in what goes into an operating system. As well as companies like Motorola and Samsung. They all think there something more that there not. For example you don’t see Microsoft creating hardware with exception to the X-BOX and for good reason their a software company not a hardware company and because of this understanding is why their so successful. If things don’t change soon Microsoft will crush Apple and Google’s mobile platforms in good time.

Solution: Google needs to talk it over with manufacturers and release one version of Android that will run on all devices with little intervention by manufacturers to get drivers working. Secondly Google needs to put their foot down and put an end to carrier abuse. This would leave one stock flavor of Android on all the devices and lead to a much cleaner, more quickly updated ecosystem.

Ridding Android of Lag

For anyone who’s ever used an Android device at some point has probably experienced small lag on occasion when performing and action in the OS. The latest hardware makes this problem ever so distant but it still exists and needs taken care of. Unlike iOS which prioritizes UI rendering with handles threads as real-time priority Android treats them as a normal priority thread. Another contributor to Android’s occasional lag is the way the Android UI hierarchy is handled. Instead of rendering each UI view separately and storing it in memory the Android UI hierarchy is flattened before rendering, so animations require every animating section of the screen to be redrawn.

Now you may ask if this is such a big problem why does Google still allow this problem to exist. Well to best answer this question you have to know a little bit of history on the Android Operating System. The original prototype to run Android didn’t feature a touch screen as it was supposed to be a direct competitor with Blackberry. When Google acquired Android they were in such a rush to complete and release Android that they failed to redesign how the OS handled UI rendering and as a result it still exists today.

Solution: This problem I’d assume is being worked on my the developers at Google, but its not something that can be solved overnight. Changes have to be made in a more subtle manner to ensure that existing applications still work. Google needs to step up the pace though because the patience of millions is on the line.

Make Android More Feature Rich

This isn’t necessarily a problem or a cripple to Android as of this date but may be so in the future. In fact Android is the most feature packed mobile operating system of the bunch, but it could use more features. Take what Microsoft is doing for example their merging their ever so popular desktop operating system with that that of their newly created mobile operating system and the result is a highly powerful, scalable operating system that can be used for fun or business. If mobile systems like Android are going to keep up with Microsoft their going to have to offer more in their OS because quite frankly Windows 8 on tablets looks promising. This not only includes the making more apps but making it a native feature of the OS to run Windows applications. As a little tidbit Android doesn’t even offer their own note application sure their are a dozen or more in the play store but this is just one of the many examples of how Android needs to step up their game.

Solution: Google needs to make their OS more powerful and feature more native apps than they currently do even if it means taking away from some developers who already offer similar applications. In addition Android needs to incorporate something to natively run windows applications. Bottom line the Android OS should be powerful enough to use as a desktop operating system or close to it if it wants to remain prevalent. We live in the digital age, your a multi-billion dollar company with lots of resources make it happen.

Conclusion

I may have over simplified the underlying problems in Android but make no mistake they can be fixed and the clock is ticking if Google wants its operating system to remain relevant. It’s the only pre iOS operating system still alive and it would be a shame to see such a fine operating system bite the dust this late in the game. At this point its not even iOS that’s a competitor but rather Microsoft and a battle with itself and consumers. I remain hopeful though that Google will address these issues in good time, but they need to speed things up.

So whats going on?,

Well today Verizon “Big Red” took a fairly monumental stand and is refusing to give up private information of publishers who book John Wiley & Sons who are acclaimed pirates. Verizon is questioning whether the information would lead to any relevant findings.

This brings up the the argument of whether ip addresses could accurately be linked to specific customers and as of now it doesn’t appear that Verizon believes they can.

Verizon also makes mention that all its customer information is strictly confidential and that the first amendment along with a few other objections protect it, leaving the only way to obtain this information is through a court ordered subpoena.

Its also worth mention that there were several ISP’s involved in this investigation and Verizon was among few who didn’t divulge any information.

- Verizon later released a statement that read “our objections are of a technical nature”.

- Good Job Verizon

What is an SSID?

To understand how hiding the SSID can affect your network in a negative way you must first understand how an SSID works and its role on your wireless network. An SSID or (Service Set IDentifier) is used to distinguish one wireless network from another and make an access points presence known for the successful transfer of packets. For this reason the SSID is included in nearly every packet between the hosts and access point to make the transmission of data possible according to IEEE 802.11.

Compatibility and Convenience Issues

This is a category that doesn’t need much explanation. In general hidden wireless networks or SSID’s or a hassle to setup and are often followed up with a swarm of confused users. In addition the majority of wireless clients struggle with connectivity issues and poor network performance.

Performance Issues

Not only is network performance degraded due to software discrepancies, but it also suffers from undue network congestion caused by the wireless clients trying to constantly locate your network, so instead of having one broadcast from your access point you now have numerous clients sending out broadcasts in an attempt to locate your network flooding your network with unnecessary requests at a much more frequent rate.

Security Concerns

No one seems to understand why hiding the SSID is not at all secure. WHat people fail to realize is that your only disabling the broadcast of the access point, you still have numerous clients broadcasting your so called hidden SSID. The other security concern when hiding you SSID is that while your wireless deivce is searching for your hidden network, a hacker has the opportunity to intercept those packets and replace your access point giving them full access to your device.

Another misconception is that hiding the SSID still prevent anyone who may pass by from attempting to hack your network. This is really a sad excuse for hiding your SSID because anyone who is capable of hacking a wireless network with WPA2 encryption is not going to attempt to do so off a whim from passing by.

Conclusion

In all actuality all your doing is creating a great inconvenience for yourself and degrading the performance of your wireless network, and for what? NOTHING. When your really making every one who uses your network for susceptible to attacks.

Supports of “Debunking the Hidden SSID Myth”

Several organizations including the IEEE(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), IETF(Internet Engineering Task Force), ICSA(International Computer Security Association), and Microsoft all oppose SSID Hiding and coincidentally are the companies that control the protocol, but hey what do they know?

Learn More

If you’d like to here more please check out of some of the following publications more a more thorough overview.

http://www.library.cornell.edu/dlit/ds/links/cit/redrover/ssid/wp_ssid_hiding.pdf

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/bb726942.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2008/02/08/non-broadcast-wireless-ssids-why-hidden-wireless-networks-are-a-bad-idea.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/steriley/archive/2007/10/16/myth-vs-reality-wireless-ssids.aspx

Enter in gpedit.msc in the search box of the Start menu and hit Enter. Or You may choose to do so from the Run Box.

Under Local Computer Policy navigate to Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Bit Locker Drive Encryption \ Operating System Drives and double click on Require additional authentication at startup.

Enable the feature and check the box next to Allow BitLocker without a compatible TPM, click Apply and Ok, and close out of Local Group Policy Editor.

Go back to the hard drive you want to encrypt and turn on BitLocker. A restart will be required to prepare the disk, and at this point make sure the flash drive is plugged in.

After the restart you’re prompted to use the startup key on the flash drive every time you start the computer.

Select the drive you want to use to store the key.

You should now have a fully functional Bitlocker setup without the need or expense of having a TPM installed on your system. If you don’t want wish to go through this process you could always try TrueCrypt a highly rated alternative to Bitlocker.

Via: How to Geek

Reducing the Number of File Types

It will be much easier to manage embedded song information in the future if you stick with one file type and convert all others to your chosen file format. Some may recommend AAC(m4a) because of its loss-less compression and others because its Apple’s chosen format, of course if you have an iTunes account its a whole lot less work too. I however recommend the mp3 format because it is the most compatible format with existing music players, has great compression, and any quality loss is negligible even to the best ears.

For Converting M4a to Mp3 You Can Try Free M4a to Mp3 Convertor, it makes it easy to convert a large number of files in a short amount of time.

Choosing a File and Directory Naming Scheme

Its always best to avoid throwing files in just one folder, you have to think of your collection much like a webpage in the hierarchical sense. To start you have your main directories 123, and A-Z, that being one folder for every letter of the alphabet and a folder for bands starting with a number. Within those folders you can create a folder for the artists in your collections according to the first initial of their first name or band.

At this point you can decide how much of a neat freak you really want to be. You can choose to just throw all the artists songs in this folder or add an additional sub directory for a particular album or unspecified music belonging to the artist. Regardless of how you do the last step it is important that you have a good song naming scheme. It should always start with the title and end with the artist name, if the song belongs to a CD you should also include the track number in front of the title. Example: 05 New Song – Artist Name.

By choosing this naming scheme you can ensure that you are always able to find what your looking for when you need a certain file or of you remove a file from its parent folder.

Editing Song Information and Album Artwork

How a music file is displayed in a music player, regardless of file name is controlled through the use of ID3 tags. Like your file type you want all your files to contain the same version of ID3 tags to reflect consistency in your collection and make it easier to troubleshoot compatibility issues with certain music players. I should also note using more than one editor or player to edit these ID3 tags greatly increase the likelihood of getting a corrupt tag or mixed versions of ID3 tags.

ID3 Tag Versions

There are a good number of ID3 versions but only two you should worry about. Version 2.3 and 2.4. Many still prefer to use ID3v2.3 because of its greater compatibility with older music players and windows explorer(Not to be confused with Windows Media Player). However ID3v2.4 is perfectly suitable in most cases and is emerging as the tag of choice of mp3 files. Besides some compatibility issues nearly all music players edit as ID3v2.4 by default nowadays.

For ID3 tag editing I’d recommend Mp3tag. As a great music player I’d Recommend Songbird.

Troubleshooting ID3 Tags

If all your ID3 tags are of the same version you can determine if the music player you are using can recognize that version. If they do not and you must absolutely use that music player you can mass convert tags using mp3tag and selecting all of your music.

If a particular song is not displaying correctly the simplest way of diffusing the problem is to delete the tag and start adding information resulting in the creation of a new tag in Mp3Tag.

The Open Systems Interconnection Model

What is the OSI Model? The OSI model is a hierarchical model of how different devices, protocols, and applications can interoperate to provide a network. The OSI (open systems interconnect) model was created by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

The Layers of the OSI Model

• Layer 7 – Application
• Layer 6 – Presentation
• Layer 5 – Session
• Layer 4 – Transport
• Layer 3 – Network
• Layer 2 – Data-Link
• Layer 1 – Physical

The best way to remember the order of these layers when first learning them is to use a mnemonic. Let Me Show You:

• Please Do Not Tell State Police Anything
• Phew Dead Ninja Turtles Smell Particularly Awful

The Layers Further Explained:

The higher the layer the more intelligent the task a device performs. Therefore layers 1-3 typically are left ungrouped and layers 4-7 are grouped as pertaining to end user devices.

Layer 7 – Application

All protocols and services that make up you applications are in this layer. Some common examples are Simple Mail Transfer Protocol(SMTP), File Transfer Protocol(FTP), and Telnet.

Layer 6 – Presentation

The presentation layer “presents” the session layer data to the application. It is responsible for encryption and the formatting of data such as ASCII and JPEG.

Layer 5 – Session

The session layer is responsible for making, breaking, and maintaining the connection. Remote Procedure Call (RCP) and the login of an SQL session are some of the things that take place at this layer.

Layer 4 -Transport

TCP and UDP take place at this layer. TCP provides the reliable, in-order delivery of your data, as well as error correction, sequencing, and windowing (flow control). Data in this layer is called a segment. In addition this layer also provides the source and destination ports that correspond to applications that handle certain requests.

Layer 3 – Network

The network layer is where the “IP” part of “TCP/IP” happens. IP is responsible for addressing in the network. Because IP works at layer 3, you could also say that routing and routers work at layer 3. Any data at layer 3 is called a packet.

Layer 2 – Data-Link

The data link layer provides the functional and procedural means to transfer data between network entities and might provide the means to detect and possibly correct errors that may occur in the physical layer. Examples of data link protocols are Ethernet for local area networks (multi-node), the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), HDLC and ADCCP for point-to-point (dual-node) connections.

Layer 1 – Physical

This layer conveys the bit stream – electrical impulse, light or radio signal — through the network at the electrical and mechanical level. It provides the hardware means of sending and receiving data on a carrier, including defining cables, cards and physical aspects. FastEthernet, RS232, and ATM are protocols with physical layer components.

Why is it so important to learn the OSI Model?

Any technician can address a network or trunk a switch-port with the proper knowledge but unless you learn the OSI Model you will never truly understand what it is that your doing and how it applies to the successful operation of the network.

This heightens your decision making abilities and reduces the amount of time you’ll spend troubleshooting and planning your network.

Learn More

For more information on the OSI model, see Cisco’s Internetworking Technology Handbook