Antenna Positioning – When installing an antenna use NetStumbler to assist you in positioning and aiming the antenna to get the best coverage possible.

Site Survey – When installing or troubleshooting a wireless LAN, it is important to pick locations and channels in such a way that interference is minimized. A site survey typically includes finding out what existing items (microwave ovens, cordless phones, radio hams) are using the radio frequencies as the wireless LAN. A survey should done before installation of a new wireless LAN, and then subsequent surveys should be performed after installation. A full site survey requires special hardware such as an RF spectrum analyzer, but NetStumbler can also be used as part of a site survey.

Wardriving – Detect wireless LANs while moving, walking or in a vehicle, using a laptop or PDA (use of a GPS receiver is highly recommended).

Wireless Coverage Verification - Use NetStumbler to verify signal quality as well as extended coverage beyond the intended area.

Wireless LAN Auditing – Securing a wireless LAN from unauthorized or “rogue” access points setup independently by network users is a task common to network administrators. Using a laptop and walking around the office, an audit can be performed using NetStumbler to detect the presence of a risky exposure to the wireless LAN.

NetStumbler’s List View

The list view contains an item for each BSSID detected. A large amount of information is presented in the columns.

NetStumbler Video – Watch this video by SecurityTube to learn more about how NetStumbler works.

Download NetStumbler

In this tutorial you will see how easy it is to create an Action in Photoshop to resize multiple images and even apply filters.

Before you begin
Please note that to automate image resizing, all your “raw” images have to be the same dimension, meaning width and height is the same for all files to be processed. Pixel dimensions are proportionate to the image size of the input file and any variation in dimensions may output an undesirable distorted new image.

About Actions

Actions in Photoshop are a sequence of steps which you record one by one as you edit an image. An action can then be played back on a single file or a batch of files to apply—menu commands, palette options, tool actions, and so on. You can record, edit, customize, and batch-process actions, and you can manage groups of actions by working with action sets.

About Image Processor

Image Processor in Photoshop converts and processes multiple files. You can do any of the following in the Image Processor:

- Convert a set of files to either JPEG, PSD, or TIFF format; or convert files simultaneously to all three formats.
- Process a set of camera raw files using the same options.
- Resize images to fit within specified pixel dimensions.
- Embed a color profile or convert a set of files to sRGB and save them as JPEG images for the web.
- Include copyright metadata into the converted images.
- Works with Photoshop (PSD), JPEG, and camera raw files.

Let’s begin!

Organize the image files to be resized by placing them in a “source” folder if you havent’ already done so. Launch Photoshop then go to:

Window->Actions or use keyboard shortcut Alt+F9

This will activate the Actions palette in your Workspace so you can begin building an Action.

Click Create New Action from the Action palette and give it an unique name that describes the purpose of this Action.

This will create an Action set under the Default Actions folder of the Actions palette.

Next, open a “raw” sample image from your “source” folder and from the Actions palette, click Record

As the name implies, the Record function will create a record of all operations performed on the image you’ve opened. It is this set of “steps” in form of an action that will be used by Image Processor to resize your images. Next, go to the Image menu and click Image Size, specify the desired Width and Height and click OK

If you would like to apply any filters, click the Filter menu and proceed to edit the image knowing that any filters you use will be recorded and applied to subsequent images. After you finish editing the image, click Stop from Actions palette to halt further recording of operations. Close the image without saving any changes.

Go to File->Scripts->Image Processor…

From the Image Processor window in step 1 click Select Folder… to specify the source folder containing the “raw” images to be processed. In step 2 click the second radio button to activate and click the Select Folder… button to specify the destination folder for your resized images. Next, in step 3 select the output File Type for your images. In this example I am saving all images as JPG with a high quality of 11 (maximum quality is 12). Finally, click the Run Action checkbox and from the second dropdown menu adjacent to Default Actions select the name of the Action you created earlier. Begin the automation process by clicking Run.

Photoshop will now apply the set of Actions you’ve recorded in form of Image Resize and Filters (if any) to your “source” folder images and output JPGs to your specified “destination” folder, leaving the originals untouched.

I am a repeat customer of the Dell brand, especially the Latitude family, for the simple reason that even the most economical Latitude laptop is well-equipped to perform daily tasks such as Internet, email, photo editing, web development, multimedia and more.

The design of this model laptop is appealing because, in the case of my E5500, the black body frame is esthetically pleasing, the keyboard layout is practical and it’s not too different from my old C840 (R.I.P), computer ports are conveniently located so they can be easily accessed from either side without having to reach behind the LCD.


Another noticeable improvement in the E5500 is that it befits the definition of a laptop, meaning you can place it on your lap for an extended period of time without it burning you. Better heat dissipation is complimented by a decrease in weight, compared to my C840 which weighed nearly 10 lbs, my configuration is about 4 lbs lighter.

If I could change anything about the E5500, I would improve the clonky keyboard,  offer Ambient sensor software for Windows XP, cover up the dock port at the base to protect it from shit gettin’ all up in there, upgrade to an UltraSharp LCD and install better speakers.

My Dell Latitude E5500

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.40GHz, 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
BIOS Version/Date: A11, 4/15/2009
Hard Drive: 80GB, 5400 RPM, 9.5 WD-ML160
LCD: 15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ Anti-glare LCD Panel
Graphics: Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
Memory: 2.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
Optical Device: 24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD
Wireless LAN: Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card
Battery: 6 Cell Battery
AC Adapter: 90W A/C Adapter (3-pin)

It works out of the box which includes the hard drive, an USB 2.0 cable and AC adapter. No waste of CD’s with product utilities because all the software you need comes pre-installed on the drive itself (good idea). The hard drive is also “smart” enough to be energy efficient and power on and off with my computer. With a prestigious brand name like Western Digital I know from experience this product is built to last, will pay for itself and will work every time.

The drive’s pre-installed WD Application Installer is a bundle of four programs including:


Google Desktop, Picasa and the Google Toolbar

Memeo AutoBackup (30 day trial) which is a one-time setup, backup application that allows you to preserve your data files with around-the-clock protection. Features include multiple destination backup and simple, intuitive file recovery.

Memeo AutoSynch (30-day trial) which safeguards your files using encryption with its simple, flexible sync plan setup and allows you to keep your latest work with you at all times.

And Copy Application Software which is a standard utility that allows you to back up the valuable software included on My Book to your internal drive.

My Book is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Macintosh OS X 10.4.8+ and can only be used via USB. It is recommended that you have the latest service pack for Windows or Software Updates from Apple to enjoy your My Book out of the box. Since My Book is compatible with Windows and Macintosh the drive is preformatted as a single FAT32 partition. According to the User’s Manual the FAT32 file system has a maximum individual file size of 4 GB and the device cannot create partitions larger than 32 GB in Windows 2000/XP, but this limitation can be overcome by reformatting the drive to NTFS file system using the Disk Management utility.

Whether you’re a student, professional or occasional computer user, and especially if you’re a business owner, I strongly recommend you consider making a habit of backing up your files. I worked in IT for 5 years and I know firsthand the frustration and economic impact of data loss. Unfortunately hardware has a lifetime that may exceed its expectations or fail prematurely, but in case shit happens you should always have a backup, if anything for piece of mind. Fortunately for consumers and the IT industry the manufacturing costs of mass storage drives and devices are low enough that you can purchase a 1 TERABYTE (1,000 gigabytes) hard drive for less than $100 bux.

Display->Settings->Advanced

Go to the Troubleshoot tab and drag the Hardware Acceleration bar all the way down to None. Then proceed to uncheck the Enable Write Combining checkbox, click OK and Restart.

By downgrading the Hardware Acceleration you’re doing away will fancy transitions and rendering. Unchecking the Enable Write Combining option is to ensure that Windows isn’t fucking up the video card, basically. These steps worked for me and I have not had an nv4_disp error since. Good luck mate!