Command Prompt tricks - Writing file names to a text file

 That's right, the mysterious black window that most new users of windows steer clear of has more utility than you thought it did. (Missed my post on how to remove viruses just by using Command Prompt? Read it here : http://agzuniverse.blogspot.com/2016/05/remove-viruses-and-malware-using.html)

     The Command Prompt, hereby referred to as CMD, can do a lot of things that would otherwise require a user to download fancy programs stuffed with adware and additional installations. If the reason why you shy away from CMD is because it is too complicated - you're wrong. Although the higher-level functions require a respectable level of computer knowledge, basic commands in CMD that can carry out tons of useful functions are no-brainers.

     And through this post, I'm pointing out such a useful CMD utility : Writing all the names of files in a folder to a text file. This can be incredibly useful for making a quick list of all the files relevant to a project or something else you have on your computer. Making a list of all the files in your movies folder or all the songs in your songs folder can be a great way to back them up or use them to put up a reminder to collect or share some movies or songs.

     So, let's get on to the method. First step, of course, is to locate the folder that requires it's filenames written to a text file, and open up command prompt by either typing in 'cmd' in the search box in the start menu (Users of Windows 8 just needs to type in 'cmd' from their home screen), or launching Run, typing in 'cmd' and pressing enter.

     Then, change to the local disk drive your folder is located in by typing 'z:' and pressing enter. (Replace z with the local disk drive in your computer.) In my case, I want to change to local disk 'e'.

     Then, go to the folder you want to use for this, and copy it's path.

     Type in "cd" followed by the path you copied, and press enter. (cd here stands for Change Directory)

     NOTE: Ctrl +V doesn't work in command prompt. In order to paste, you have to right click in the window and choose paste.

     Now it's time for the command to generate the text file : type in "dir /b > filename.txt" and press enter. You can replace 'filename' with any name you want, but don't forget the '.txt' extension.

     And with that, a text file should be generated in the same folder, with the names of all the files in that folder.

     Useful, isn't it?

How predictable are you?

     Ever had that feeling of having your mind read? Ever wondered how some people can see right through your skull and all your mental shields? (I'm not talking about magicians, duh.) Well this post......will not be telling you the science behind it(=P) but instead will direct you to a video, that proves that a random guy with sticky notes and some math behind him can make your jaw drop in wonder.

Once again, a great pick by ScienceDump.

Watch the said video here:

http://www.sciencedump.com/content/how-predictable-are-you

Another tool to check if a website is down

     Hi,
     Few weeks back I made a post regarding www.isup.me, a simple tool that allows you to check if a particular website is down or not. This time it's yet another website that basically does the same thing: www.isitdownrightnow.com (Quite the self-explanatory name, huh?)

     What makes this website different is that it does the checking for you perfectly, and gives you access to additional actions. You can post comments regarding a down website to let other visitors know, and you get to see a recent history of comments posted by other visitors for each website, which can be invaluable in confirming if a website is down or not beyond all doubt.

     An info graphic regarding the server status history is displayed for fairly popular websites. Ratings for websites are also an additional bonus.

     If you want to check if a server is down, and want more than a plain text 'yes' or 'no' as the response, www.isitdownrightnow.com is the way to go.

Cut and convert Youtube videos with ClipConverter

     One of the most common problem that an average user experiences while using Youtube, Google's immensly popular video hosting service, is the inability to directly download videos. I mean, if you like a video so much so that you want to see it again, you should be able to do it without wasting more data and waiting out even more buffer-time, right? But the closest we have come to realizing this via Youtube itself is the 'Save for offline' option, which does not allow you to share the video to other sources.

     But of course, this is the internet, where anything is possible. There is a large host of web services where you simple paste the URL of the video of your choice, and saving that video to your device in a format of your preference is just a click away.

     However, not many of such websites offer something www.clipconverter.cc does: It allows you to cut videos before converting them. This is especially useful when you just want to grab a few seconds from a huge video for a project or compilation you are working on, or if just one portion from a video is good enough to make it worth keeping.

     ClipConverter is pretty much self-explanatory. You enter the video URL, click on the format you wish to convert it to, enter the beginning and ending points of the portion you want to download, click 'continue', and choose the video quality of your choice. Then, the download is just a click away. Just in case you want to keep the whole video, ClipConverter also has a handy download without conversion button.

     Useful, ain't it?