Submitted by drew on

 

All of the people I've talked to who don't like Windows 8, don't like it because of the new start screen. You know, the tiled "apps" screen. A.K.A. "Metro" screen.

Maybe that sort of thing makes sense on a touchscreen device. Not on a desktop computer or standard laptop.

This free software brings back your start menu, like in Windows 7: ClassicShell. If you set it to start in desktop mode, you can say goodbye to the start screen! Here's how.

  1. Download and install ClassicShell.
  2. Right click your new start menu button  and select Settings
  3. Tick the option to show all settings
  4. Select the Windows 8.1 tab.
  5. Tick the option to skip the Metro screen
  6. Select "All" under "Disable active corners"
  7. Click OK.

Windows 8 settings

Tags
Windows

Installing GBridge on Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10

Submitted by drew on

 

Just because I don't want to have to look this up again. Windows 8's driver signing enforcement prevents installing GBridge's network drivers. I posted how to work around that on gbridge.net forums when I was testing the Windows 8 preview, but their forum is offline now.

Windows 8

This method works for Professional or Home versions.

Grape Harvest

Submitted by drew on

 

I finally got a full harvest off of this vine (before birds, etc.) These grapes are pretty sour, if you just pick and eat. And seedy. However, I always thought they might make good jelly or something. So this year, I have lots of grapes to try something.

Basically, the process is:

Raspberry-Vanilla Pudding

Submitted by drew on

We have a picnic on July 4 where we are supposed to bring a dish. An hour before the picnic... what should we bring? We have lots of fresh-picked raspberries and that vanilla pudding I got last week. After a few minutes of Google-searching for things that use those two ingredients (no results, except for baked items and stuff of the wrong kind), I am going to make my own recipe for this.

Five Crunch Mix

Submitted by drew on
 
Five different textures of crunch for a delightful and versatile snack that doesn't leave your taste buds feeling like you drank an ocean of saltwater.
 
Shake together in a container (or snack bag) in the desired proportions....
  • honey nut cheerios
  • pretzels (thin style, broken in pieces)
  • unsalted peanuts
  • Spanish peanuts
  • banana chips
  • raisins
 
I usually go heavy on the cheerios.