What the internet is HIDING from you

The internet is, without a doubt, one of the most far-reaching inventions in human history. Its potential for education and swift communication - and organisation - is immense. In fact, it has already become the number one tool of education for many around the world. (The fact that Wikipedia, followed by its many minor clones, seems to be the number one source of said "education" is less than commendable, but more on that on some other occasion.)

The goal of the internet was to expand an individual's world far beyond local boundaries. 
And it did... for a long time.

And then came December 4th, 2009.

If you don't know what happened on that date, chances are that you also still believe that the internet is showing you anything you want it to show.

It is not.

Thanks (mostly) to Google - which now could justly be called infamous - your world is narrowing, not expanding. And the worst part of it is precisely that you may not be aware of it.

Read this book.

Or at least read this interview. You'll thank us for it.

What the internet is hiding from you

And by the way, there are ways around Google. Our favourite search machine is DogPile, a meta-search machine that gathers results from other search machines, showing you what is to be found where.

So, if you want to make a dent, however small, into Google's monopoly and its claims over your life and your thought, choose results from other search machines, whenever possible. That's what we do.

How to disable autorun in Win XP

Can't disable that uber-annoying autorun that starts every time you run a program? You'll have to edit the Group Policy (never knew you had one, huh?).
 
Click START and then RUN. Type GPedit.msc and press ENTER.

... ... ...
 
Nothing happened, right?
Of course not. The Wicked Witch of Microsoft made sure it could not.
There's nothing wrong with your computer, nor are the necessary files (GPedit.msc & Co.) corrupt or anything like that. It's just that certain Windows editions do not include them (XP Home being one of them).
 
So, for the privilege to run your own computer the way you want it, you have to be either nostradamically endowed to foresee whether the Windows edition you're buying includes the files (that nobody EVER told you about) necessary to disable the autorun feature - or you simply go here and download them.
 
After you've done that, unzip them and click the InstallGPEdit.bat.
This will install the files in the proper directory (System32).
 
After you've done that, open the System32 folder (you'll find it in the Windows folder) and create a new folder and name it GroupPolicy.
 
Open this (still empty) folder and create another folder within it; name it ADM.
 
Find the following files and copy them into the ADM folder that you just created:

system.adm
inetres.adm
conf.adm
 
Now click START again, select RUN and run these commands (one by one, obviously):

regsvr32 gpedit.dll
regsvr32 fde.dll
regsvr32 gptext.dll
regsvr32 appmgr.dll
regsvr32 fdeploy.dll 


This will register the files you just copied into your OS.
A window should pop up informing you that "registration succeeded" or something to that effect.
 
Finally, click START and then RUN. Type GPedit.msc and press ENTER.
Now it should work like a charm.

Do not thank me. Thank these guys.  
I did.
 
Now you can finally edit your Group Policy. To do that, you will have to hack the registry. But before we go on...

IMPORTANT:

Please, make sure you have a a backup copy of your registry and a system restore point.

I do not anticipate you will need it IF you repeat the following steps exactly as they are presented, but just in case - please, do not blame us if anything goes awry. You have been warned.

As long as that is clear, we can continue. 
Click START, then RUN, type regedit and press ENTER.

Now click HKEY_CURRENT USER.
Click Software.
Click Microsoft.
Click Windows.
Click Current Version.
Click Policies.
Click Explorer.
 
Now that you've arrived in the Explorer folder, look at the right pane.
Highlight NoDriveTypeAutorun and select MODIFY in the drop-down menu.
The value shown should be hexadecimal; if it is not, select hexadecimal.
 
Type 95 and click OK.

This will disable autorun on removable/USB drive, but still allow it on CD-ROMs. To disable the autorun function on both types of drive, do not write 95 - type b5 instead.
 
Reboot your computer for the registry changes to take effect.
 
Again, do not thank me. Thank this guy... sorry, gal. :)
 
And good luck being the captain of the ship that you bought and is rightfully yours.

Monsieur Proust's opal

There probably isn't a single soul in the world who has not lost something, perhaps inexplicably, and then found it again, perhaps equally inexplicably.
To find the object, many people resort to St. Anthony of Padua, or to St. Francis of Assisi, or to some other method.
You can read more about it here, in our sister blog. This posting is no speculation on the mysterious ways of wayward objects. It is simply a re-posting of a beautiful little event, told by Celeste Albaret, Marcel Proust's housekeeper, at the very end of her unforgettably beautiful book.

One night when I was with M. Proust at boulevard Haussman he was showing me some things he'd asked me to fetch from the chest, including some pretty pendant earrings made of coral which used to belong to his mother.

"I think they would suit my niece Suzy," he said. "Put them away, Celeste."
Then, when I came back: "Ah, here is my opal tie pin. Unfortunately I stepped on it and broke it. A pity. But the opal is all right and very pretty. Would you like it? Take it."

I had it mounted as a ring, and it never left my finger. Later, much later, I wanted to give it to Odile, but she was afraid that she might lose it and, knowing how fond I was of it, preferred I keep it. I wore it night and day. Then one day I lost it. In despair I did what my mother used to do and prayed to St. Anthony. Mother used to say he always helped her find things. But nothing happened.

 
That same day my daughter had brought in some greens which I picked over and washed, cooked and chopped up. While we were at the table - Odile, my sister Marie, and I - Odile suddenly stopped eating.
"What's the matter?" I asked. "Did you break a tooth?"
It was M. Proust's opal.
He hadn't forgotten me any more than I could forget him.
 

Translated by Barbara Bray