cheap posts

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

Save $80 on your Windows 7 purchase - the Upgrade does full installs, too

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 23rd 2009

Paul Thurott and a friend over at the SuperSite Blog have worked out how to perform a clean Windows 7 install using the upgrade disc. Come again?

That's right: save $80 and buy the Windows 7 Upgrade disc, because you can use it to perform a clean, full-featured installation. Awesome!

The instructions are as follows:

1. Perform a clean installation using the Upgrade disc -- this should work without a hitch.

2. Make sure there are no Windows Updates pending -- if there's an orange shield icon next to the Shutdown button in the Start Menu, that means you need to reboot before attempting the next steps.

3. Open 'regedit.exe' from the Start Menu -- just type it in there, where it says: Search programs and files. Accept the User Account Control dialogue that pops up to give yourself Windows 7 superpowers.

4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/

5. Change MediaBootInstall from '1' to '0'

6. Open the Start Menu again and type 'cmd' -- use ctrl+shift+enter to run it as an elevated-permissions user

7. Finally, type slmgr /rearm -- and press enter.

Your computer will now reboot and run the Activate Windows utility. Type in your product key aaaaaaand, as the SuperSite Blog says: voila! Much love, Paul.

Tags: cheap, tricks, upgrade, windows 7, windows-7, windows7

Filed under: Hardware, Linux, Open Source

How to build an $80 file server in 45 minutes

by Jordan Running Nov 20th 2006

Jon Peck wanted a file server for streaming media across his network so he wouldn't need to leave his main PC on 24/7. Rather than buy an expensive preconfigured NAS machine, he did what real men do: He built it himself, in about 45 minutes, for under $80. Built around a cheap refurbished Dell and loaded with Ubuntu Linux, he does all of the machine's administration through web-based interfaces like SWAT and TorrentFlux. Of course, he gives step-by-step instructions on getting the machine set up, which took him less than an hour "from zero to a fully functional system." Very cool.

Tags: cheap, dell, file server, FileServer, howto, Jon Peck, JonPeck, networking, streaming, tutorial

Filed under: Audio, Web services, Commercial, Social Software

la la: Trade music CDs for a dollar

by Jordan Running Sep 20th 2006

Want some new CDs? Got some to get rid of? la la might be of some assistance. It's a web service that will hook you up with the CDs you want, in exchange for the CDs you want to rid yourself, and a dollar. It works like this: At the la la web site you enter the CDs you have and the CDs you want. When la la sees that you have a CD somebody else wants, and you agree to ship it, la la will send you prepaid mailing envelopes, and credit your account with one CD. Then, when la la sees that somebody else has a CD you want, they'll send it to you. While this might not seems like the best deal, consider how much money you're likely to get trading in your CDs at a used record store. While brand new albums are predictably rare on la la, if you're like me and constantly behind the curve when it comes to new music, or are constantly getting rid of old CDs, la la may be just what you're looking for. In addition to being good for trading CDs, la la has a social networking component and will recommend new music to you and introduce you to others with similar musical tastes.

[Thanks, David!]

Tags: cds, cheap, lala, music, social, socialnetworking, socialsoftware, trade

Filed under: Web services, VoIP

REBTEL: International calls on the cheap

by Jordan Running Jul 14th 2006

Along similar lines as JAJAH, REBTEL harnesses the power of VoIP to make international calling cheap, and it doesn't even require a funny-looking headset. It has a base rate of $1 per week, and you aren't charged for weeks when you don't use the service. After that, there are two kinds of service, REBout and REBin: REBout gives you a local number to call a friend for a small per-minute fee (e.g. calls to France cost $0.02/minute for land lines or $0.20 for mobile numbers), with the first 30 seconds free. REBin is free (apart from the $1/week) but a little more complicated--you make a REBin call by entering your number and your friend's on the REBTEL web site, calling your friend on the number it gives you, and then having them hang up and call you back at the number provided to them. You can try REBin for free on the REBTEL web site. Personally I prefer JAJAH's method because it does the dialing for you, but if you spend a lot of time on international calls, Rebtel's flat rate combined with REBin is cheaper in the long run. I did a test call (albeit with someone sitting in the same room as me) and there was a noticeable delay, but nothing intolerable.

Tags: cheap, international, jajah, phone, rebtel, voip

Filed under: Blogging, Web services

Building a profitable startup in one week on $500

by Jordan Running Jun 26th 2006

Is it possible to build a profitable web startup in seven days on a budget of $500? Jason L. Baptiste and Brian Breslin think so. On Saturday Breslin, CEO of Viral Ventures (which owns uGather.com) and Baptiste, CEO of Miami web design firm Infinimedia, set out to build WeblogWire from scratch in a week, and in true Web 2.0 style they're blogging as they go. WeblogWire will be "a system that would be a newswire for bloggers and online media outlets," basically providing a direct line between them and companies and PR firms. With five days left to turn out a working prototype I can't wait to see what they come up with. (Hey Breslin and Baptiste, you ought to have a countdown clock.

[Via Nestcape]

Tags: Brian Breslin, BrianBreslin, business, cheap, fast, Jason L Baptiste, JasonLBaptiste, startup, web20

Filed under: Web services

JAJAH dials the phone for you (and saves you some money)

by Jordan Running May 29th 2006

So last week when I posted Plaxo dials the phone for you, I didn't realize that the JAJAH-powered service is actually available Plaxo-free, in the form of a web service or Firefox extension. In case you missed the Plaxo post, what JAJAH does when you enter a friend's telephone number is call your phone, then when you pick up, dial their phone number. This would be unremarkable except for the fact that through the power of VoIP, JAJAH will cost you a fraction of what a normal long-distance or international call would. For example, long-distance calls within the U.S. cost less than two cents per minute, and a call from the U.S. to Japan costs a little more than three cents per minute. That ain't bad, and is decidedly more simple to set up (and explain to your grandmother) than, say, Skype. At the JAJAH web site you can get a free five-minute trial without having to sign up for anything and Mozilla Update has the extension that adds JAJAH to your Firefox search box.

Tags: cheap, jajah, phone, plaxo, skype, voip

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Windows

allTunes: Music store app from AllOfMP3

by Jordan Running Mar 30th 2006

Uber-cheap quasi-legal Russian music store AllOfMP3 has released a beta of a new app for Windows and smartphones called allTunes that puts a slick interface around the download service. TechCrunch's Nik Cubrilovic is a longtime AllOfMP3 customer and was impressed with the Windows version of allTunes, and he gives high marks all around, especially appreciating the "Preview" feature that lets you stream entire songs at low bitrates for free. In the comments, which get pretty fiesty, he also certifies that allTunes is spyware free. All About Symbian reviews the mobile version and declares ithe beta interesting but wanting. AllOfMP3 charges $0.02 per megabyte downloaded, and songs are available in a variety of DRM-free formats including lossless.

Tags: allofmp3, alltunes, cheap, download, itunes, music, windows

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures

Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party

Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

Download Squad bloggers (30 days)

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Jay Hathaway	108	5
2	Lee Mathews	76	23
3	Sebastian Anthony	67	248
4	Brad Linder	35	4
5	Jason Clarke	23	0
6	Dolores Parker	7	2
7	Grant Robertson	6	2
8	Nik Fletcher	5	0
9	Victor Agreda, Jr.	5	1
10	Matt Heerema	3	2
11	Paul O'Brien	2	0
12	John Burke	2	0
13	Download Squad Staff	1	0

More Tech Coverage

Control Shift It's all about the experience
Somewhat Frank Perspectives on tech as it fuses in everyday life
Switched Gadgets, web news and commentary
Urlesque Exposing bits of the web

Download Squad