Most operating systems, namely Windows and OS X, have a well known set of alert, error and message sounds that have become synonymous with the product…. especially the Windows XP Start-up sound on computers with their volume up to loud >_<
Some users take the time to remix these sounds. As the sounds in the mixes are heard from computers on a daily basis, the song has an odd sense of familiarity, while maintaining quite a unique and catchy tune. Below is a compilation of some good remixes people have posted on YouTube.
I have recently read a few posts on other blogs and forums, discussing an ‘annoyance’ of not being able to disable the ‘fade-out’ or time-out period of the keyboard back-lighting after one minute of no keyboard or mouse activity. However, what most don’t realise, is the option is available… just buried.
I am using Windows 7, so I would assume the following steps would be more applicable to Vista, but not so much Windows XP.
This is also based on a Dell Studio 15 and Dell Studio XPS 16 laptops so I can’t guarantee it applies to all Dell Laptops with back-lit keyboards/touchpads.
- Open Windows Mobility Center (Just search it in the start menu, it only appears on portable devices such as laptops).
- You should be presented with a screen like below. Notice as Quickset is installed, a few extra options have appeared at the bottom of the window.
If you do not see the Customized section by Dell, download Quickset from the Support and Drivers section of the Dell website.
- While the ‘Keyboard Brightness’ panel only shows a slider bar, notice the small Laptop & Keyboard icon just above the slider is pressable (focused in the screenshot above).
Clicking this will open a new dialog box like the screenshot below, with more customization options for the keyboard back-lighting.
- You can now adjust the time-out for the keyboard lighting in-activity fade out. Adjust the time interval by selecting it from the drop down menu, or specify “Never Off” to set an infinite timeout period.
- Let us know if this works for your Dell laptop.
Although it has been around since the conception of this site, the Shadow Productions: Game Photo Album hasn’t really had much ‘show’ on the main Shadow Productions website apart from a sly link on the sidebar. Now, it is displayed more prominently on the main page, with both a random sample of pictures as well as some of the top rated pictures. Further, a ‘View more…‘ link for those interested.
The albums on the photo gallery are made up of screenshots taken while playing various games including Team Fortress 2, Garry’s Mod, Half-Life 2 and Goldeneye: Source. All the photos are managed using Coppermine Gallery which allows for easy management of my photos and utilities for ratings and comments on a per-photo basis.
The photo album can be found at http://photos.shadowsplace.net. Enjoy! 
