Progress of computing power: time to recalculate in Excel

F9 is used to manually recalculate the sheet in Microsoft Excel.

A little anachronistic though, no?
I was a junior analyst 25 years ago with not one but two PCs.
Compile excel report on PC 1 and hit F9. Start working on different report on PC 2 while PC1 slowly counts down.

Can’t remember the last time I hit F9 – Oliver Thornton @ Financial Director

Shows how big the improvements in the processing power of the computers used now and systems used then. Now, I don’t have to press F9 to manually recalculate and wait for the results at any time. It is all instantaneous. There may be still use cases for this option when doing big modelling tasks that have great quantum of variables and functions and formulas that are complex; but for most users waiting for Excel to finish running a calculation is over.

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Enter key not working: How to remap keyboard

Key Tweak Keyboard Remapper

SharpKeys

Today, my friend scrapped me (in Orkut) that his [Enter] key (or return key) is broken and it is not working. So he is unable to chat and whether I know of any alternatives.

Hmm.. then I did some binging/googling, and this is what I was able to come up with.

You can map the keys to something different. Many people like to remap the [Caps Lock] because when the type there is a tendency to accidently slam on it and type in all caps, which is very annoying (In MS Word, Excel etc, you can use [Shift]+[F3] for converting lovercase to upper case and vice-versa).

Okay, coming back to the point. The best way to do this is using third party tools, which are freely available.  Otherwise you’ll have to edit the registry, which is no fun thing at all! So, we’ll go the software way.

Sharpkeys

It is a free software to map one  key to another on your keyboard. It is free, you need to have .NET runtime environment running to install it.

You can download it from [sharpkeys.codeplex.com] and [RandyRants]

Key Tweak Keyboard Remapper

It is also a free program to do the remapping of the keys, you can get it from: http://webpages.charter.net/krumsick/

Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator 1.4

It is another tool to do the same thing. By Microsoft itself. But you’ll have to go through the validation procedures etc.  [Download Microsoft Keyboard Layout Tweaker]

Windows On-Screen Keyboard

Other simple thing you can do is to use the On-screen Keyboard(OSD) But this is not really an easy way to solve the problem. Say, as in my friends case you want to use it to replace the enter key, while chatting it is not really very helpful, is it?

References

1. How to change your Keyboard Keys, NoteBookForums.com

2. Shortcut for the return key, Digitalspy.co.uk

3. Remapping the Keyboard in Windows, Computer Education

4. KeyTweak Keyboard Remapper [Software]

5. SharpKeys [Software]

6. How To Toggle the NUM LOCK, CAPS LOCK, and SCROLL LOCK Keys, Microsoft Knowledge Base

7. Scan Code Mapper for Windows, WHDC Archives

8. Remap the F12 Key, CapsLock Key or any Key in Windows XP, 2000, Vista and 2003, US Netizen

Run your Cell Phone using water

This is cool. Samsung is planning to introduce cell-phones that is powered by water. Yes, you got it right, it is water. Samsung always got something interesting research going on in their labs. But the best part is that you may be able to get your hands on one in 2010. So, instead of finding recharging socket, you can just use water.

It will  basically be a fuel-cell powered device. In the case of other fuel cells they required methanol, but the new Samsung technology will do it with water

When the handset is turned on, metal and water in the phone react to produce hydrogen gas. The gas is then supplied to the fuel cell where it reacts with oxygen in the air to generate power. Other fuel cells need methanol to produce hydrogen, while Samsung’s needs only water. [- sem.samsung -]

References and Links

1. Get Ready for Water powered Cell phones
2. Samsung: Water powered Cell Phones by 2010

Computer Speakers: Bose in the Market

Bose is making a high end offering for computer users: “FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) – Bose Corp. introduced new US$399 speakers on Tuesday designed to provide top-quality sound from a desktop and capitalize on the emergence of the computer as a home music centre.” link: Bose Corp. offers desktop speakers for computer users seeking high-end sound At that price point, the value of the speakers may far exceed the value of some of the aging computer systems. So this is another item to add to the list of the ideal system… Catherine

Nvidia to launch 6100 for cellphones

NVIDIA is making its foray into the mobile world and recently unveiled the NVIDIA GoForce 6100. The NVIDIA GoForce 6100 is the first application processor designed exclusively for mobile handsets and mobile device. According  to the folks at NVIDIA the GoForce 6100 is a “highly integrated and optimized multimedia solution” and consumes “less than half the power of any applications processor available on the market today.”

Cell processor price cut soon…

Sony’s PS3 is generally considered as an expensive console.Comparing it with it’s competition it is very true.Sony’s response to this was that the blu-ray and cell processor are costing very high amounts, but considering the power it is worth it.

All Sony fans enjoy because, the powerful Cell processor that is used in Sony’s PlayStation 3 console could experience a price cut in the future, as Sony aims to improve the chip’s profitability by moving on to the 45 nanometer process in favor of current 90- and 65-nanometer circuitry. Commercial production of this 45-nanometer Cell is slated for an early 2009 release, but will it be too late by that time for a price cut to boost Sony’s flagging console? After all, a smaller chip will result in the need for less cooling, which will ultimately slim down the console on the whole, very much like how the slim profile PS2 was released a couple of years ago.

At the same time betanews is reporting that :

One of Sony’s™ senior executives, Executive Deputy President Yutaka Nakagawa, is quoted by several US and Asian press sources as saying that, in the interest of finding cost savings, his company is considering exiting the production end of the Cell processor business. Cell processors are produced by an alliance between Sony, IBM, and Toshiba