How to Turn Off Volume Shadow Copy

Volume shadow copy is a feature on all versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems that allows backup copies of files or folders on a specified volume, either automatically or manually. 

To disable the volume shadow copy, the service has to be stopped. The service can be stopped from the volume shadow copy properties window and Windows administrative tools. 

How To Disable Volume Shadow Copy

What is Volume Shadow Copy?

Volume Shadow Copy, also known as Snapshot Service or VSS is a feature embedded in Windows 2003 and later in all releases of Microsoft Windows. This technology allows you to make manual or automatic backup copies or snapshots of a file or folder on a specific volume. Shadow Copy technology requires the file system to be NTFS. 

Note that once the volume shadow copy is disabled, there is no use for previous versions of a file or folder element. To lighten the properties of a file or folder,you must remove the previous versions tab through changes in the registry. If disk space poses a problem, users can edit the disk space allocated to shadow copies so that you don't have to disable the volume shadow copy. 

Disabling Volume Shadow Copy

Click on Start and type services.mc
 into the search bar. Hit Enter. 

An option for Volume Shadow Copy will appear. Double click on the icon. 

Change the startup type to Manual, and then click on Stop: 

Move to the Recovery tab: 

Set the First failure, Second failure, and Subsequent failures options to Take No Action. 

Press OK to confirm. 

How To Edit the Disk Space Allocated to Shadow Copy

If you do not want to disable shadow copies, and would prefer to customize the maximum disk space allocated to this service, here's a quick tutorial. 

Go to your Start menu, and navigate to All Programs > Accessories. 

Right-click the Command Prompt > Run as administrator. 

Next, type the following command: 
vssadmin resize shadowstorage/On = C: / For = C: / maxsize = 3GB 
. 

Note: 

The / On = C: indicates that the photos will be saved on the C drive. 

The / For = C: indicates that the photographs are those of the C drive. 

The / maxsize = 3GB indicates the size allocated to instant snapshots. In this case, that total is 3GB. 

Confirm by pressing OK. 

Disable Previous Shadow Copy Versions

Now that the service is disabled, all Previous Versions are useless. In order to lighten the menu and properties of elements, it is best to remove it. However, before proceeding with this, it is highly recommended that you back up your registry: 

Open the Registry Editor and locate the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\ 
. 

Create a new key with the name PreviousVersions by going to the Edit menu > New > Key. 

Next, create a new DWORD (32bits) under the latter key by using the name DisableLocalPage. You can do this by going to the Edit menu > New > DWORD (32 bit). 

Double click this value and put 1 in the data fields.

How to Train Siri, Cortana, and Google to Understand Your Voice Better

No two people sound exactly alike. Different people have different accents and ways of pronouncing words, and computer voice recognition systems like Siri, Cortana, and Google’s voice search aren’t as good as actual human beings at understanding every voice. Train your voice assistant and it’ll be better at understanding you.

Traditionally, computerized voice recognition systems have required some training before they understood you. Modern voice assistants are designed to “just work,” but you can still make them recognize the words you say more often by training them.

Siri on IOS 9.1

Apple added some voice training features to Siri in iOS 9. Activate the “Hey Siri” feature — which allows you to say “Hey Siri” and start talking to Siri from anywhere — and you’ll be prompted to perform some voice training.

(On most iPhones, this only works while your screen is on or while your phone is plugged in. If you have an iPhone 6s, you can also say “Hey Siri” while your screen is off to start a voice search.)

To activate this feature, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad, tap the “General” category, and tap “Siri.” Activate the “Allow “Hey Siri”” option and you’ll be prompted to train Siri.

Siri will have you say “Hey Siri”, “Hey Siri, how’s the weather today?”, and “Hey Siri, it’s me.” This will improve Siri’s ability to understand you.

Cortana on Windows 10

Cortana includes a voice-training feature so you can help Cortana understand your voice better. Like Google, Cortana will upload your voice activity and store it to help Cortana learn your voice over time and understand you better — that’s what the “Speech, inking, & typing” privacy setting controls. You could disable it and tell Cortana to “Stop getting to know me,” but then it would have a harder time understanding you.

To start training Cortana, click or tap the Cortana bar on the taskbar, click the “Notebook” icon at the left of the Cortana pane, and select “Settings.” Activate the “Let Cortana respond to “Hey Cortana” option and then click the “Learn my voice” button. Cortana will walk you through saying a variety of phrases to learn your voice. All of these are things you can actually do with Cortana

.

Google on Android, Chrome, and Elsewhere

Google doesn’t include a special training process on Android. However, some manufacturers do offer this feature on their devices. For example, the Moto Voice application on Motorola phones will prompt you to train it by saying several things the first time you open the Moto Voice app.

Instead, Google captures and keeps all the voice searches, voice actions, and voice dictation activities you perform on your phone. It stores this with your “Voice and Audio Activity,” which is tied to your Google account and used on Android, in Chrome, and in Google’s apps on iOS. You’re free to delete or halt collection of this information at any time, but leaving it enabled means Google will learn how to recognize your voice and the way you pronounce words over time.

To choose whether or not your Android device reports this information, use the “Activity controls” pane in the Google Settings app.

None of these training processes are mandatory, but they’ll help the service in question understand you better. If you find yourself annoyed that your phone, tablet, or computer doesn’t understand you as well as it should, it may just need some training.

Other similar programs — for example, speech-to-text programs — generally have their own integrated training features, too. For example, the Speech Recognition feature that’s been part of Windows for years can be trained to work better.

How to Use Windows Media Encoder 9 Series

Windows Media Encoder is a versatile screen capture, audio, video encoding software from Microsoft. WME captures a window or specified rectangle of the screen, with audio, and produces a compact Windows Media WMV file that can be progressively downloaded and viewed in Windows Media Player.

Windows Media Encoder Tutorials and Resources Roundup

Best Practices for Using the Windows Media Screen Codec - benefits of using the Windows Media Screen codec to capture screen content.

Introduction to Digital Media and the Windows Media 9 Series - Microsoft whitepaper introduces the concept of digital media and explains how you can use the Windows Media 9 Series platform to create, distribute, and play digital media.

Download Windows Media Encoder 10 from Microsoft Website

How to configure Windows Media Encoder (WMV Screencast)
Encode .wav and .mp3 files with Windows Media Encoder

Insert a web URL into your music with Windows Media Encoder
When an audio file contains URL scripts, a browser window opens and a specified Web page appears anytime the song is played on a computer connected to the Internet. That gives you the power to show photographs, lyrics, band information, and even advertisements each time your song plays.

Tutorial to Capture Video Content with Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 7
Create high-quality video content from television, film, and screen sources. Convert live and prerecorded audio, video, and computer screen images to Microsoft Windows Media based content for live and on-demand delivery.

Some software applications may not need to have audio in the final output files. This Microsoft knowledgebase article shows you how to capture a "video only" file with Windows Media Encoder version 7.0.

Streaming live video using Windows Media Encoder 7.1

Encode audio for the Handheld PC with WME 9

How to use Windows Media Encoder to record itself - Screencast

If you have questions about Windows Media, check out Windows Media Encoder Forums and Support

Download Windows Media Codecs - WM9Codecs.exe
Contains Windows Media Audio and Video codecs for Windows Media Player 7.1, Windows Media Player for Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9 Series, and Windows Media Player 10.

Windows Media Encoder Download on Microsoft Website requires Windows validation.

Apple iPod making inroads in University Classrooms

Calvin Garbin, a technology-savvy psychology professor at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is experimenting with Apple iPod as an educational tool. 

Garbin said technology (like iPod assisted teaching) enables him to teach about 30 percent more material a semester.

Garbin uses a wireless microphone hooked to his shirt to record the 50-minute lecture, then downloads the recording onto his computer. He cuts the lecture into short audio chunks and puts it on his Web site for downloading.

Students confused about certain parts of the lecture can click on a link and listen again. Psychology students don't have to sit at the computer to listen. Apple iPod allows students to take the lecture anywhere.

All the course's homework assignments are online. The professor also uses Powerpoint for the lectures, and students can print off the slides to follow along during class.

Garbin said he hopes to have video of his lectures on the Internet by the end of the semester.

Stanford University Faculty lectures are already available via the Apple iTunes Music store.

Camtasia Studio 3.0 - Screencasting Swiss Knife

Camtasia Studio 3 is one the most popular Screencasting tools developed byTechSmith. I personally use the wonderful Camtasia Studio with Snagit all the time for my website and presentations.

Camtasia Studio can help you record and edit videos of screen activity in all multimedia formats and enhance the captured material with special effects, narration and a variety of multimedia features. With Camtasia Studio, you can teach and demonstrate complex ideas and subtle points visually, rather than through words alone with exact video renderings of desktop activity. Stream videos live or distribute by CD-ROM and from the Web.

Camtasia is very popular tool for creating screencast. Even Jon Udell, the lead analyst for the InfoWorld Test Center prefers Camtasia over Qarbon Viewletbuilder andMacromedia Captivate.

Techsmith is now positioning the tool as a Flash Printer for converting CAD Drawings, Photographs to smaller Flash SWF files. The most amazing new features in the upcoming version :

Picture-in-Picture (aka PiP): You can now record the presentation and the presenter. Camtasia now captures video from your video camera and synchronizes it with your screen recording. Now it's easier than ever to deliver training and presentations with a personal touch.

Titling: Give your videos a common look and feel with Titles. Title graphics and text can be inserted to introduce your videos or to add credits to their endings.

The best screencasting software is just getting better. Other new features include quizzing, smaller Flash files, and one month of free web hosting for your videos. If you buy Camtasia Studio 2.1 today, you will get a free upgrade to 3.0 when it's released.

Techsmith has released a free update to Camtasia Studio 3.0.1 which is available for free.

What's new in Camtasia Studio 3.0.1 - Changed the IDs of the PowerPoint buttons so that they don't conflict with the IDs used by the Macromedia Breeze Add-in for PowerPoint.

Compare your version of Camtasia Studio with the latest Camtasia 3.0.1

Techsmith provides a casestudy for converting PowerPoint Live presentations to flash with Camtasia Studio used by Stanford University Professor Carrye.

Thom Robbins tells us that Microsoft Channel 9 team members also use Camtasia Studio for creating screencasts. 

Desktop Screen Sharing Software for E-Meetings

E-meeting solutions enable a computer screen to be shared in addition to sharing a phone line. Sharing applications and documents on a screen enhances a conference call. Most of the popular web conferencing systems are already equipped with Screen Sharing Software so that office workers can connect with remote colleagues as if they were in the same room. 

With services such as WebEx, Microsoft Live Meeting , Macromedia Breeze, andNetspoke, meeting participants are invited via E-mail to click on a prearranged link to enter the conference. The shared computer screen can be used to display a specific document or to share a Web browser to demonstrate an online application.

Robin Good mentions several cost-effective screen-sharing services that have extremely low monthly costs, offer a free trial, can be cancelled at any time, and do not generally require complex installation procedures or large software downloads. 

NetOp School takes the concept of the "Virtual Office E-Meeting" to the classroom. Students located in your computer lab, across campus or anywhere in the world can log into your virtual classroom where you can broadcast your screen, multimedia files, or any of the student's screens. The entire virtual training sessions can be recorded and you can monitor students' screens as they work during a class. 

InformationWeek has good list of points that you would like to answer before choosing a e-meeting solution vendor.

Q. Should I license the software or just subscribe ?
A. Depends on how often will E-meetings be held? Many services are priced by subscription rather than by individual meetings. Even if you hold meetings infrequently, it may be less costly to subscribe. For very heavy usage, licensing of software to run on your own server may be more cost-effective, but it isn't offered by every vendor. (Citrix users may want to consider their GoToMeeting product.)

Q. Will pop-up blockers stop the E-meeting software from functioning?
A. Many users have pop-up blockers installed in their browsers but don't always know how to disable them.

RealVNC is the only web based screen sharing software that is available for free. UltraVNC/TightVNC are a big improvement over regular VNC. Read this interestingSlashDot thread on choosing the right VNC Software for your job. 

Listen to Stanford University Lectures Online

Stanford University Faculty lectures, seminars, interviews and panel discussions featuring Stanford faculty from across disciplines are now available online for download to anyone, anywhere for free.



All you need is an Apple iPod or a PC / Mac with the Apple iTunes software. You can download all of the content from Stanford on iTunes for free .

To get started, launch the iTunes software and search for "Stanford" in the iTunes U section. This is also available inside the iPhone and iPad.

Open Stanford inside iTunes, browse the lectures, presentations and other audio content, download them to your computer or burn a CD.

Stanford started this public podcasting service Stanford on iTunes using Apple iTunes U service after running the program internally for some time.

Screencast, Photocast, Vidcast, Webcast, Skypecast, Textcast, Podcast: Differences explained

Screencasting, Webcasting, Photocasting, Podcasting, Vidcasting or Vodcasting, Skypecasting, Mobilecasting, Textcasting, Coursecasting, Blogcasting - these are all different forms of broadcasting digital content using basic hardware, software where you play the role of a actor, producer and the director. You create content on your computer and using RSS, broadcast it over the internet to be consumed by millions of people.

So let's put the techie jargon aside and try to understand these "complicated" terms in simple English so that you don't feel embarrased when someone mentions them in the next geek conference.

Podcasting - A podcast is just another mp3 file that you can play either on your computer or any portable device like the Apple iPod or Creative Zen. Podcasting refers to the entire process of creating the podcast [audio], editing and publishing to the web via RSS. Podcasting requires a microphone and audio editing software like Audacity or Adobe Audition. Mac users are lucky to have Garageband and iLife.

Autocasting - Autocast is like a cousin of podcast - the only difference being that the audio is not narrated by a human being but it has been generated automatically from the blog feed using a text to speech conversion engine. Talkr is one such Autocast service that converts the text inside RSS feeds to podcasts [mp3 files] for free.

Blogcasting - Barring a few search engines like Blinkx, most cannot index audio content. Therefore some podcasters attach a transcript of the podcast to their blog so that both human beings and search engines read [and index] what's there inside the podcast show. This is BlogCasting - blog + podcasting.

Voicecasting - VoiceCasting is the distribution of podcasts directly to a mobile phone, traditional phone, or VoIP phone. The audio is taken from a Podcast, and played back live to the listener. VoiceCasting is sometimes even referred as Phonecasting.

Mobilecasting - Like voicecasting, mobilecasting refers to downloading and listening to podcasts on cellphones. When we compare with voicecasting where the user dials a number to get the podcast,in Mobilecasting, the users subscribes to the podcast feed and automatically gets the content on his phone without making a separate request. For some, creating/recording podcasts using a mobile phone also falls under the mobilecasts umbrella. GCast is one such service that lets you record your podcast via a toll-free call from any phone.

Vodcasting - often used interchangeably with Vidcasting which essentially means creating and distributing video podcasts. Unlike Podcasting where you only require a microphone, for creating Vodcasts you need a video camera (preferably HD) and video editing software like Sony Vegas, Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cutpro. The video on demand {vod) content is distributed via RSS feeds. Associated terms are vlogs, vlogging, vodcasts and vcasts. Rocketboom and Diggination are popular vodcasts.

Learncasting - elearning via feeds - Learncasting is a category of podcasting or even vodcasting that aims deliver educational content. Stanford University professors are already putting their lectures on iTunes. Also know as podagogy.

Webcasting - The term webcasting is usually reserved for referring to non-interactive linear streams or live events like Product launches, stockholder meetings or reporting quarterly earnings. A webcast is similar to a broadcast TV show but designed for internet transmission. Webcast clients allow a user to connect to a server, which is distributing (webcasting) the webcast, and displays the televisual content to the user. 

Related: Desktop Screen Sharing.

Skypecasting In simple terms, Skypecasting means recording your Skype conversations, conference calls and interviews for inserting in podcasts. The person who does the recording is known as a SkypeCaster while the recorded audio is called a SkypeCast.

Photocasting is a new way of sharing photos accompanied by music or narrations. It's like sending your photo album to your friends and family, and having it change automatically on their computers when you update it on yours. When your grandmother subscribes to your photos [photocasts], she'll see them in her iPhoto library just as you see them in yours.

Screencasting According to Jon Udell, a screencast is a digital movie in which the setting is partly or wholly a computer screen, and in which audio narration describes the on-screen action. Capturing a screencast needn't be much more complicated that capturing static screenshots. Screencasts are excellent tools for learning how to use computers, and several podcasts have started to teach computer users how to use software through screencasts. Techsmith Camtasia Studio is pretty much the industry standard for creating screencasts.

TextCasting is just a day old term coined by Slate Magazine. Just like Blogcasting, Slate is looking to make text of some of its articles available for reading on the iPod. Lexus, which advertises on Slate podcasts, is sponsoring the textcast, with its logo appearing where the album art is usually shown and in a text ad within the story.

CourseCasting: Apple allows colleges to set up customized portions of the iTunes Music Store to distribute course content and other audio and video material. CourseCasting allows professors to record their lectures and make them available for students to download and listen to on their iPods or computers.

BlogCasting: Blogcast is just another Microsoft term to describe video podcasts for demonstrating software simulations like Screencasts. Microsoft refuses to accepts Podcasts since Pod is derived from Apple iPod which is Microsoft's rival. Members of the MSDN community produce blogcasts using Windows Media Encoder.