"Andy" android emulator - Avoid it like the plague.

If you were thinking of installing the "Andy" android emulator on your PC, think again.  Here is my experience with it:

1. The installable file (Andy_46.2_207_x64bit.exe) is 431 MB, so it took a really long time to download.
2. It installed VMware without asking me, so the installation took a really long time.
3. It installed some "Bonjour Service" by Apple, Inc. without asking me.
4. It replaced all my .apk icons with its own icon without asking me. (I am using apk shell extension and I much prefer it that way.)
5. During installation, there were 15 attempts to call home by "Andy" and/or by other crapware that it installed.  (I have a firewall, so I didn't let any of that happen.)
6. At the end of the installation, it popped up a message box saying that the installation failed because it could not detect my internet connection, and that it requires internet access in order to install.
7. Despite the failed installation message, "Andy" was found under "installed programs" so I uninstalled it.
8. During uninstallation there were a couple of more attempts to call home.
9. After uninstallation it left "Bonjour Service" installed, so I had to go find it and uninstall it too.
10. After uninstallation it left an "Andy" folder on the root of my user folder, which I had to delete.

What a piece of crapware!

Solved: “something went wrong” trying to create new user account on Windows 10

So, while trying to create a new user account on my Windows 10 computer, I get this:

The solution:

1. Start a command prompt as administrator.

2. Type the following command:
     net user <username> <password> /add

Voila, the user has been created. 

What in fact went wrong is that Microsoft completely broke Windows after Windows 7. 

Rooting my Samsung Galaxy S2 mobile phone

So, I bought a brand new Samsung Android phone, and it was a huge disappointment due to all the distracting, annoying, and completely useless crapware from Google, Samsung, Vodafone, and even Yahoo, which came pre-loaded with the phone and which I am not allowed to uninstall.  I mean, never mind that a certain application is useless; suppose it is in fact very useful; and yet, suppose that despite it being so awesomely useful, I for some reason still want to uninstall it.  It is my phone, I should be able to do it, right?  But no, the powers that be have decided that I am not allowed to uninstall apps from my own phone. Even when they are not only useless, but actually harmful, since some of them are always running, thus consuming memory, CPU cycles, battery, and communications bandwidth. Some apps can be uninstalled, but many others cannot be uninstalled.  They have to stay on the phone.  Whether I like them or not.

After this horrible experience I am very seriously considering the possibility that next time I buy a phone it will be an iPhone.  But for now, I am stuck with Android, so I am now learning how to root my phone so that I can be somewhat in control of the situation.  I am experimenting with my old phone first, a Samsung Galaxy S2.  Here are my notes.

Solved: Brightness control keys do not work on Asus Laptop

So, the brightness keys on my Asus Laptop do not work anymore.  All other Fn keys still work, but the Fn+F5 and Fn+F6 keys which control brightness do not work anymore.

The way to solve this problem is as follows:

Initiate an update of the driver of your monitor. This can be accomplished in many ways, for example:

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Select "Display settings", then
3. Select "Advanced display settings"
4. Select "Display adapter properties"
5. Switch to the "Monitor" tab
6. Click on "Properties" for the monitor
7. Switch to the "Driver" tab
8. Click "Update driver".

Alternatively, you can:

1. Hit Win+Pause to open the "System" window
2. Click "Device Manager"
3. Find your monitor under "Monitors"
4. Right-click on the monitor and select "Update Driver".

Once the "Update Driver Software" dialog is up:

1. In the wizard which prompts you whether you want to search automatically or browse your computer, lie and say that you want to browse your computer.  (Windows is so messed up that you have to lie to it to coax it to work.)
2. On the next screen, do not browse anything, select "let me pick from a list of drivers on my computer".
3. On the next screen, select "Generic PnP Monitor" and click "Next".
4. You are done.

Source:
http://visihow.com/Restore_Lost_Brightness_Control_app_in_ASUS_Laptops_After_Updating