script to start programs
I have a four programs that I use at work which I always start up first thing at the office, so instead of running them individually every time I wanted them to start up when Windows starts up, your first reaction like mine is to put them in the startup folder, the only problem is when I use my laptop at home I hardly ever start these programs up so I would then normally shut them down, which is too much hassle for me, I know its stupid, but it’s how I roll.
So my next instinct was to write a batch file that I can run when I need the applications running, so I came up with this on my first round:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Silverlight\sllauncher.exe" 2472441663.d.seesmic.com "C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Digsby\Digsby.exe" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office Communicator\communicator.exe" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\OUTLOOK.exe"
The only problem with is is that when it started up Skype, it would always wait for Skype to close down before continuing. So on to the Google machine and it took me a while to find other ways of starting up applications, but I finally came up with this final bat file:
C: CD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Silverlight\" START sllauncher.exe 2472441663.d.seesmic.com C: CD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Skype\Phone" START Skype.exe C: CD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Digsby" START Digsby.exe C: CD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office Communicator\" START communicator.exe C: CD "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\" START OUTLOOK.exe
This version moves to each folder and uses the start command to start each exe. Now Skype doesn’t hold up my bat file.
Just a note, I have gotten a much faster start up time for each application using this script compared to manually starting the applications. Not sure why though.
Disclaimer:
Please read the disclaimer if you plan on using anything from this article.
Steve Jobs: A tribute
I have been trying to think of a topic for a post since I have posted nothing for a long time, and I had a couple of ideas, but since I heard the news, the only thing I could think of was a tribute to the man who changed the way I used technology in my life.
Steve Jobs really was a creative genius, not to mention his ability to convince anyone to believe in his idea. This is what made the man great, while he was influential in all of Apple’s products, I don’t think they would have sold as well as they did if it hadn’t been him who launched them. He had this unshakable belief in the products he was selling, not just that they were good, but that if you bought one, your life would be better off for it.
My Apple adventure began with an IPod, I bought what is now known as the IPod Classic back in 2004. I haven’t gone anywhere without it since. My whole music library is on there, including the albums I have on vinyl that’s how much a part of my life this IPod is. My IPod has kept me company on long flights and train trips to clients in the UK, riding around Johannesburg in traffic to and from work, to clients or just on a road trip around the country. My IPod has given my fiancée and I songs for so many memories it is scary!
I have an IPhone 3G, which I bought the minute it was available in South Africa, I haven’t used another phone since apart from when it has broken down, but I have always gotten it fixed cause of my love of the device, I am still using it, and it is the longest I have used any one device. My next phone will be an IPhone too, the IPhone turned me into an Apple advocate.
My most recent Apple purchase was the IPad II. If the IPod and IPhone changed my day to day life, the IPad revolutionised it. I no longer have to start my desktop or laptop up at home just to see what movies are playing at my local cinema, checking email is breeze, not to mention the ability to take movies and TV series with me when I get on a plane, which is a good thing cause I have a nasty fear of flying.
Ironically, I work with Microsoft software, I am a SharePoint consultant but Apple has made it so much easier for me, I have apps on my IPad to connect and administer SharePoint, connect to CRM to do my timesheets, view cases, projects etc. I no longer have to take a laptop to meetings to take notes, I just take my IPad and use a handwriting app. To be honest, if I had the money, I would be writing this blog post on a MacBook Pro not a Dell, I love my Dell, but would almost kill for a MacBook Pro.
I think if you spoke to any Apple fan, you would get similar stories. That is what made Jobs great, his ability to convince you that his product is the right choice, to tell you that will enhance your life, and when you did buy it, you were not disappointed. I have never had a bad Apple experience.
I could wax lyrical for hours on his influence on the world, but I think the best indication of it is the amount of emotion that his passing has brought about from people who have never met the man. Even his most fiercest rivals, Bill Gates and Samsung have admitted that his death came too early, and that he was a great man.
He has touched the world, and it is richer because of it.
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs, Speech made at Stanford, 12 June 2005.
The New York times has setup a “readers memories of Steve Jobs” tribute, it is worth the visit to read how Apple and Steve Jobs changed people’s lives: Readers Memories of Steve Jobs.
about me
I am a C#, Silverlight, K2 workflow and Sharepoint Consultant, living and working in Johannesburg, South Africa. I have a passion for teaching people anything I can in order to spread the knowledge and skills I have. You can follow me on twitter at @MrThirsty.