Remove Favorites Bar Folder in IE8

This solution uses the Group Policy Editor.

Close all instances of IExplorer.
Go to Start > Run and type in gpedit.msc
Go to: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Internet Explorer
Doubleclick Turn off Favorites bar and click Enabled

- Go to Start > Run and type in cmd
- In the command console type gpupdate /force

Open IE8 you will find the Favorites bar in the toolbar greyed out and Add to Favorites bar is no longer present in the Favorites menu.

You can delete the Favorites bar, it will not return. Ever.

Sky+HD Digiboxes

Amstrad DRX780 (what I have)
PVR4
300GB hard disk
160GB personal space

Amstrad DRX890
PVR5
500GB hard disk
250GB personal space

Amstrad DRX895
PVR6 
1.5TB hard disk 
1TB personal space
Sky Off mode

SQL Server – All Tables Cursor Query

This is a useful query to list all user tables.

/* SQL Server All Tables Cursor */

--Select name From sysobjects Where xtype = 'U' And Not name In ('dtproperties', 'sysdiagrams') Order By Name

Declare

@TableName varchar(64)
Declare @Sql varchar(1024)
Declare TableCursor Cursor For Select name From sysobjects Where xtype = 'U' And Not name In ('dtproperties', 'sysdiagrams') Order By Name

Open TableCursor
Fetch Next From TableCursor Into @TableName
While @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
Begin
Select @Sql = 'Select Count(*) From ' + @TableName
Print @Sql
--Exec (@Sql)
Fetch Next From TableCursor Into @TableName
End
Close TableCursor
Deallocate TableCursor

Surround Sound Confessions

Widescreen Era

Started with 10 year old Sony 32” CRT with old grey plastic TV stand and Sky+ Satellite Receiver and JVC DVD Player. Located in corner of room.

Purchased Xbox 360 Elite to play games but had poor quality and sound with Sony 32” CRT.

No space in old grey plastic TV stand for Xbox 360.

Start of High Definition Era

Purchased Toshiba REGZA 42RV635DB 42” Full HD 1080p LCD TV priced £799.00 from Tesco with free Sky+HD digibox, free installation and a £50 Tesco grocery voucher.

Watched standard Sky+ on the 42” LCD TV until the Sky+HD install date.

Also purchased glass shelf console unit from Tesco (delivered Sat 01/08/2009).

Sky+HD installed on Sun 02/08/2009

Attached PC speakers using the headphone socket on the 42” LCD TV for improved sound.

Purchased Onkyo TX-SR507 AV Receiver and Onkyo SKS-HT528 5.1 Surround Sound Speaker System with Subwoofer.

Positioned central and side speakers on glass shelf with surround sound speakers on the floor in the corner of the room.

Liked Onkyo TX-SR507 AV Receiver so much so I upgraded to Onkyo TX-SR607 AV Receiver with 6 HDMI inputs including a Game port, HDMI up scaling (which I don’t use) and on-screen menu.

Relocate TV

Coming soon…

Film Reviews

Quantum of Solace
8/10
Had difficulty following who the bad guys were. Storyline not as good as Casino Royale.

Max Payne
3/10
Linear story line like the game.

Starship Troopers 2
2/10
Flat story filmed mainly in the dark to save costs

The Reader 
4/10
A sense of duty to watch it to the end. Predictable and ultimately a loss of 2 hours from my life.

The Day The Earth Stood Still 
6/10
How to spoil a classic…
No massive spaceship, just a bright sphere.
Gort is not a real robot and turns into cloud of flies.
Hardly a mention of “Klaatu barada nikto”

The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2
1/10
The original was watchable but this was not.

Valkyrie
8/10
Excellent Tom Cruise film showing the American version of history.

Body of Lies
7/10
Good plot and characterisation. Very watchable.

Bedtime Stories
6/10
Walt Disney for kids and no sex but Adam Sandler is great.

Windows 7 God Mode – Complete List

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Administrative Tools
{D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}

All .NET Frameworks and COM Libraries
{1D2680C9-0E2A-469d-B787-065558BC7D43}

All Tasks (Control Panel)
{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

AutoPlay
{9C60DE1E-E5FC-40f4-A487-460851A8D915}

BitLocker Drive Encryption (Ultimate edition only)
{D9EF8727-CAC2-4e60-809E-86F80A666C91}

Computer Folder
{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}

Default Programs
{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}

Ease of Access Center
{D555645E-D4F8-4c29-A827-D93C859C4F2A}

Font Settings
{93412589-74D4-4E4E-AD0E-E0CB621440FD}

Get Programs
{15eae92e-f17a-4431-9f28-805e482dafd4}

Manage Wireless Networks
{1FA9085F-25A2-489B-85D4-86326EEDCD87}

Network and Sharing Center
{8E908FC9-BECC-40f6-915B-F4CA0E70D03D}

Network Connections
{7007ACC7-3202-11D1-AAD2-00805FC1270E}

Network Folder
{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}

Parental Controls
{96AE8D84-A250-4520-95A5-A47A7E3C548B}

Performance Information and Tools
{78F3955E-3B90-4184-BD14-5397C15F1EFC}

Personalization
{ED834ED6-4B5A-4bfe-8F11-A626DCB6A921}

Power Options
{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}

Programs and Features
{7b81be6a-ce2b-4676-a29e-eb907a5126c5}

Sync Center
{9C73F5E5-7AE7-4E32-A8E8-8D23B85255BF}

System
{BB06C0E4-D293-4f75-8A90-CB05B6477EEE}

User Accounts
{60632754-c523-4b62-b45c-4172da012619}

Windows Firewall
{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}

Windows SideShow (Warning, caused my system to slow down briefly)
{E95A4861-D57A-4be1-AD0F-35267E261739}

Windows Update
{36eef7db-88ad-4e81-ad49-0e313f0c35f8}

Action Center
{BB64F8A7-BEE7-4E1A-AB8D-7D8273F7FDB6}

Backup and Restore
{B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD}

Biometric Devices
{0142e4d0-fb7a-11dc-ba4a-000ffe7ab428}

Credential Manager
{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}

Default Location
{00C6D95F-329C-409a-81D7-C46C66EA7F33}

Devices and Printers
{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}

Display
{C555438B-3C23-4769-A71F-B6D3D9B6053A}

HomeGroup
{67CA7650-96E6-4FDD-BB43-A8E774F73A57}

Location and Other Sensors
{E9950154-C418-419e-A90A-20C5287AE24B}

Notification Area Icons
{05d7b0f4-2121-4eff-bf6b-ed3f69b894d9}

Recovery
{9FE63AFD-59CF-4419-9775-ABCC3849F861}

RemoteApp and Desktop Connections
{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}

Speech Recognition
{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}

Troubleshooting
{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}