Disable shutdown event tracker in Windows Server 2003

1. Open the local group policy editor by typing gpedit.msc in the run prompt. (applicable to non-domain computer)

2. Expand the left menu tree. Computer Configuration => Administrative Templates => System (if the System container if not there, right click on Administrative Templates and add the container)

3. Double click on the "Display Shutdown Event Tracker" item

4. Select Disabled

5. Click OK and close the dialogs.

6. To ensure the change is in effect immediately, type "gpupdate /force" in a command prompt.

My first game on iPad 2: Tiny Tower

I've just recently bought an iPad 2. I thought about playing a game or two on this platform. And with the help from app store feature marketing, I downloaded this game called Tiny Tower. It turns out to be quite a nice and addictive game. The concept of the game is simple in that the object is to build more floors to the "tiny" tower you own. Each floor allows a different usage from residential use to retail. To be exact, there are six types in all: residential, food, recreation, service, retail and creative.

Each residential floor or apartment can house up to 5 people. You get to collect a rent $100 per person per day. These people like real life for the most part, need to get a job. They can be hired from a floor that caters food, e.g. sky burger, with each floor hiring a maximum of 3 people. Ideally, they should be placed in their dream jobs if possible, so to make them most happy and productive. The lift or elevator is the key to the game. Every now and then, a guy or gal comes to the lobby and indicates a floor to go to. By using the arrow up/down buttons, you can ship them to the desired floor and get 2*floor-level money. On the occasion, they may tip you a tower bux, which can be turned into more money or used for speeding up construction or restocking the business floor with items. VIP may also come and visit your tower occasionally. Depending on the type of VIP, they can help reduce the construction time, buy out an entire product from a floor, boost customer number to a floor, reduce restocking time, or bring in a floor of new bitizens (residents).

After playing the game for a while, you will start to get a feeling of how to best optimize the income or sales per minute so to help build the tiny tower to an ever taller tower! For me, the result is a 17-floor tower after playing the game for 3 days. Have fun and enjoy the mspaint-like graphics! :)

[9/4/2011: Just realized it's one of the best games as recommended by gamepro.]

My 17-floor tower

With the lobby view

VIP is coming to tower

Sky burger (favorite store)

More stores

Fun stores

18th floor? Maybe next time.

How to turn off the annoying beep sound in Windows Server 2003

The below commands in a prompt with administrative rights work for all windows platform 2000 or above.

To turn off the beep sound:

net stop beep

To turn off the beep sound for good even when after a system restart:

sc config beep start= disabled

(note that the space is needed before "disabled")


After typing these commands, the noisy beeps on error should be no more!

For more info, visit here.

Just out of some nothing-to-do-ness, I wrote a small program that will clear the IE explorer and Firefox Internet caches.

This is version 0.1. My hope is that it will grow into a bigger project in the near future! Stay tune :-)

DiskCleanup2 program