Personal Free Online Math Assistant

Some online professors are concerned about the new search engine WolframAlpha and its potential to give students the answers to assignments. WolframAlpha calls itself a "computational knowledge engine" and has the ability to calculate problems and deliver solutions - even for questions that no other user has ever asked.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported:

"The latest dilemma facing professors is whether to let students turn to a Web site called WolframAlpha, which not only solves complex math problems, but also can spell out the steps leading to those solutions. In other words, it can instantly do most of the homework and test questions found in many calculus textbooks...

Unlike Google, WolframAlpha features a supercharged math engine based on the Mathematica software used by many researchers. It makes a graphing calculator look like a slide rule."

Since WolframAlpha demonstrates how math equations are solved, students could easily get around the "show your work" requirement that is often mandated to make sure a calculator isn't used.

Perhaps online professors will need to come up with a new way for students to prove that they're working on their own. Or, perhaps it's time to embrace technology and let students use the problem-solving programs that will only become more common in the future.

The website is free for personal noncommercial use with no registration. The data comes not from the web, like in the regular search engine, but from WolframAlpha's internal knowledge base. Some of the data in that knowledge base is derived from official public or private websites, but most of it is from more systematic primary sources.

For those, who are in love with browser plug-ins, there is an opportunity to get extension for FireFox and Internet Explorer, or to Windows Vista Desktop or iGoogle.

And for Webmasters, especially specializing on the math related topics, there is an easy opportunity to embed the search box in the body of the site for the visitors’ convenience.

Web site access: http://www.wolframalpha.com/

How to run Windows XP as SYSTEM User?

Every user account on a Windows XP machine is part of a local user group on that computer. A user group is a set of users who have a certain amount of control over the Windows XP computer. The four primary user groups are Administrators, Power Users, Users, and Guests. Let’s review the responsibility level for each group:

1. Guests

The Guests group grants limited access to occasional or one-time users. Once a Guest logs out, all files created by the guest is deleted.

Guests Can:

• Log in and out
• Run installed applications
• Navigate through the file system
• Shut down the system

Guests Cannot:

• Do anything else.

2. Users

Users can perform common tasks, but have little power to affect the computer outside of their own account. The Users group is the most secure environment in which to run programs, since a User cannot affect the operating system or program files.

Users Can:

• Create, modify, and delete their own data files
• Run system-wide or personally installed applications
• Change their personal settings
• Install programs for their own use only
• Access the network
• Print to local or networked printers
• Do anything a Guest can

Users Cannot:

• Modify system-wide settings, operating system files, or program files
• Affect other users' data or desktop settings
• Install applications that can be run by other users
• Add printers
• Configure the system for file sharing

3. Power Users

The Power User class can perform any task except for those reserved for Administrators. They are allowed to carry out functions that will not directly affect the operating system or risk security. All domain accounts are part of the Power Users group on public Windows XP computers.

Power Users Can:

• Create local user accounts
• Modify user accounts which they have created
• Change user permissions on users, power users, and guests
• Install and run applications that do not affect the operating system
• Customize settings and resources on the Control Panel, such as Printers, Date/Time, and Power Options
• Do anything a User can

Power Users Cannot:

• Access other users' data without permission
• Delete or modify user accounts they did not create

4. Administrators

Members of the Administrator group have total control over the computer and everything on it. The user named Administrator is the default account within this group. The domain account of each faculty or staff member with a Windows XP computer is part of the Administrator group on his or her computer.

Administrators Can:

• Create, modify, and access local user accounts
• Install new hardware and software
• Upgrade the operating system
• Back up the system and files
• Claim ownership of files that have become damaged
• Do anything a Power User can

If you think Administrator has the largest privileges onto the computer, then you are wrong. There is a user who is named SYSTEM. SYSTEM has full control of the operating system and it’s Kernel. If you open windows task manager (press Ctrl + Alt + Del) you will see that System User controls several processes, which cannot be overpowered or closed by operator with Administrator privileges.

In this tutorial we will present a way to trick Windows into running our computer as System User. So we will get higher privileges over computer.

1. Open Command Prompt. Go to Start, and then choose Run. In Run option type cmd and click OK. After this, Command Prompt will open. You can get to the same option through the Windows Menu: Start->All Programs ->Accessories->Command Prompt.

2. In Command Prompt write at 13:55 /interactive “cmd.exe” and press enter, the time is usually a minute or two ahead of your present time in the 24 hours format.

After a minute or two will appear new Command Prompt Window wit different title bar. It has changed from cmd.exe to svchost.exe.

3. End current explorer.exe process. Open Task Manager, select explorer.exe and click End Process.

4. In new Command Prompt with title svchost.exe write cd.. and press enter, then write explorer.exe and press enter.

After this you will become SYSTEM user. 

Here there is a video tutorial showing you a similar approach to reach this goal:

System User in Windows

How to Make your own Funny Error Message?

Today it is not exactly All Fools Day, but it was a nice try from one of my customers to sweeten my day with a joke. I got the service request for the system, where computer was broken, showing the error, which simple could not be produced by Windows OS, while looking absolutely authentic.

It took me some time before I realized that it is simply a practical joke. But that definitely made my business day. You can do that as well – brighten somebody’s day with funny error message. There is a handy free online error message generator, so you do not have to be computer or graphics Professional to make your own unique message in matter of seconds. You choose an icon, type text, and buttons labels. That is it. You are done. Save the result image in PNG format on your Hard Drive right away.

The service is free and does not require registration.

Website: http://atom.smasher.org/error/