Print Google Calendar

Always useful at this time of the year, here is the link to my 2009 posting  - How to Print Off Google Calendar for the coming year - link  Tells you how to print off a month to a page for how ever many months you need, 12 in my case.

Klipsch S4i Headphone Problem

I purchased a set of Klipsch S4i head/earphones from Amazon December 2010 for use with my iPod Touch. Not cheap at nearly £90, but amazing performance compared with the crap Apple earphones that came with the iPod. Apart from losing the ear plugs on a regular basis I had no problem with the phones, I eventually replaced these with some cheapo ones from another set of earphones, have not lost one since. All went well until about 3 weeks ago when the volume started having a mind of it's own going up and down without any intervention from me. Also the On/Off button stopped working. Inspection showed a crack in the rubber at the neck of the jackplug, see the photograph.

In my opinion there is a design fault in the moulding of the plug at this point. As you can see there is a indentation in the moulding which goes all the way through to the inner wire. Flexing the cable here impinges directly on the wire almost acting like a guillotine. I am sure that many users wrap the wire around the iPod when not in use. This does put a particular strain on the wire at this vulnerable point. I believe the problem could be solved by eliminating this notch from the moulding at this point thus spreading any bending effect over a larger radius and avoiding the pinching of the wire that the current design imposes.

When I checked my Amazon invoice I had purchased the phones on 7 Dec 2010. I sent off an email to Klipsch via the Amazon website. on 5th Dec 2011.  No immediate response, sent a reminder on 8th Dec and received a reply by return from the offices in Ireland saying a reply had been sent but had obviously not reached me. They asked me to send the phones back. Which I did by registered post on 9th Dec. A replacement set of phones turned up on 22nd Dec. So thanks to Amazon and Klipsch.

I have modified my replacement phones by pushing a short length of heat shrink sleeving over the jackplug to protect this weak spot.  

Brother HL-2250DM Printer - Toner Light Stays On

When I changed the toner cartridge in my  Brother HL-2250DM printer the toner light stayed on and I could not print. I was not sure if  this was because I was trying a compatible toner cartridge for the first time or because I had taken the toner cartridge out without turning the printer off first or a combination of the two! This was the 3rd time I had changed the cartridge, previously I had used  Brother cartridges and not had a problem.

A Google search for an answer, found the following procedure suggested for different Brother printers but I thought I would give it a try and BINGO (Housey Housey) it seemed to work.

1. Turn power off

2. Open front cover ie access cover to toner cartidge.

3. Hold GO button and turn power on

4. When all 3 lights are lit release and press GO twice

5. All lights should come on

6. With all lights on, press GO 5 times

7. Ready light turns red

8. Close door

NOTE: In my case the toner light stayed on but the printer worked, however after a few minutes the toner light went out.

Print a Secure PDF File or Convert to PDF

Neevia Document Converter makes it possible for anyone to instantly convert many of the file formats (doc, docx, xls, ppt..) that are used daily to PDF or Image. No need to install anything on your computer. Simply upload the file and select your delivery method.

Click link to for more info or to convert file - link

Picture Hanging Jig

You have your photograph/painting carefully framed with the cord stretched across the back. How do you locate the hook/hanger at the correct hight to ensure all your frames line up?

 You need a picture hanging jig. To locate the exact spot for the nail to hang a frame find a strip of wood longer than the distance from the cord to the top of the frame. Drive a short brad or screw into the end of the strip so the point protrudes just a bit, hang the picture on the head of the brad/screw and holding the strip manoeuvre the picture to where you want to hang it, press the strip against the wall, the point makes a mark on the wall. Use the mark as the reference point for hanging your frame.

The beauty of this technique is if you are hanging multiple frames any variation in cord tension or position of hanger on the frame will be avoided. Just align to the top, bottom or centre line of the frame.

I am grateful to www.sawdust.com for the original idea.

Snip Tool Missing in Windows 7

Having upgraded from Vista 64 bit to Windows 7 64 bit  I discovered the very useful Snip Tool had disappeared. A quick Google revealed a variety of suggestions. The simplest one was to click on the Start button, bottom left corner and in the Search box, type: - %SystemRoot%\system32\SnippingTool.exe or if you are lazy like me Copy "CtrlC" and Paste "CtrlV" . SnippingTool.exe will apear in the results, right click and select "Pin to Taskbar".

8 Cool Photoshop Tutorial Blogs

A selection of exciting tutorial blog sites for photographers and designers courtesy of the Lightstalking blog.

Worth1000

Psdtuts+

HV-Designs

Photoshop Tutorials

PS Deluxe

Tutzor

Tutorial King

Pixel77

Firefox 5.0 Page Scrolling Problem

Following an upgrade to Firefox 5.0 I found it difficult to scroll pages, particularly if they contained images. It was as if the page was taking a long time to load. A search of the forums suggested that this has been a problem with Firefox since v3 but not something I had previously experienced. However the solution for me was quite simple. Click on the menu toolbar: Tools>Options>Advanced>General>un-tick "use autoscrolling"! Bingo back to smooth scrolling.

Firefox 4 Tab Problem

A couple of days ago the facility to open a blank Tab in Firefox 4 stopped working. This particular problem related to the new tab button. Whenever I click on the plus (+) symbol to open a new tab window, nothing seems to be happening. Clicking on File and then on the New Tab option doesn’t opens the new tab. Neither do the Ctrl + T works.

A Google for "Firefox 4 tab problem" suggested that the problem was caused by "Ask Toolbar" being incompatible with Firefox 4! I was not even aware I had the "Ask Toolbar" loaded! A forum thread offered the following solution:-

These are the steps to uninstall the Ask Toolbar from Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7:-

For Windows XP:

• Make sure all the Web browsers or there processes are closed.
• Go to Start menu and Select “Control panel” and then select “Add/remove Programs”
• Search the Ask Toolbar from the list of programs installed (or the program with Ask logo)
• Click on Change/Remove to uninstall it.

Windows Vista:

• Always close all the instance of Web Browsers or related programs.
• Go to the following path Start > Control Panel.
• Under Programs icon select “uninstall a Program”
• Now Select the “Ask Toolbar” from the list and click on “Uninstall”

Windows 7:

• Go to the following path: Start > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a Program.
• Select the Ask Toolbar from the list of installed programs and right click to Uninstall.

I am pleased to report that the solution worked for me in Windows 7. I have to say when I first looked in the list of programmes I could not find Ask Toolbar. This is because it was listed as "Foxit PDF Creator Toolbar" but it was listed in the Publisher column under Ask.com.

Firefox 4 Google Toolbar Problem - Fix - Updated

UPDATE: 25th April 2011 - The problem seems to have been resolved by a recent software update.

Since I upgraded to Firefox 4 I have been unable to select from the search box drop-down list

When you attempt a search from the search box on your Google Toolbar it may not allow you to select items from your drop-down list of web history or search suggestions.

As a workaround, try using your keyboard up and down arrows to navigate the drop-down list to select your search history, press return to select.

See previous post link

Microsoft Program Stops Responding

The program stops responding when you try to open or to save a file in an Office 2002 program, in an Office 2003 program, in an Office 2007 program, or in an Office 2010 program.

You know the scenario, you are dashing to get off to college, the post is about to go or you have been typing for 2 hours and just remembered to save the doc for the first time. You open the save menu and click on a folder and the screen goes pale and you notice those dreaded words in the toolbar, (Not Responding), the program hangs. What do you do other than go and make a cup of tea? While you wait to see what happens!

I have Googled for a solution on a number of occasions but without luck. Today I found this Microsoft Support Article ID: 313937. It seems to have worked. The gist of the solution is making sure you have no "Mapped Network Drives" which are not connecting. See the article for the full story.

USB Drive Not Recognised: TestDisk

Awesome Utility: TestDisk

What do you do when your USB Memory Stick/Drive is not recognised when you try to read it. Well if it has the only copy of your dissertation the response probably lies somewhere between suicide and mucking your pants! That is what happened to a friend today, can I help, how can I not. Quick Google identified suggested the best option was a command line utility called TestDisk. Long time since I did DOS and stuff. The hard part was finding an idiot proof set of instructions how to use Testdisk! The nearest I ,managed was at SysAdminHell a post titled Awesome Utility: TestDisk. I suggest you download TestDisk and then go to the instructions at SysAdminHell.

I found placing TestDisk on another USB Drive worked best for me. After a bit of trial and nor too much error I managed to get the USB drive to boot. I looks as though the FAT32 Boot sector was corrupt. BEWARE of NOT EJECTING your USB Drives!

Photoshop CS5 - Importing Scanned Images

Following on from my previous post about image resolution. I came across this Adobe TV tutorial by Peachpit TV for Photographers, which complements that post.

The tutorial covers the basics of scanning images for retouching and then goes on to show some basic retouch techniques. One useful tip relates to the use of the History Brush, not something I have ever used but I may after watching this.

Not sure who the the young lady is who gives the tutorial be she is easy to listen to for a change.

The Myth of 72 dpi

If there is one thing guaranteed to start an argument among both computer types and photographers it is image resolution, particularly when it comes to uploading images to the web. Well rather than put my 2 penny worth into the pot I will refer you to an excellent site I came across on the web. Wayne Fulton's has a website that covers the whole subject of scanning and image resolution which he modestly calls "A Few Scanning Tips" it is a whole lot more than that.

There is so much fascinating information on this site I hardly knew where to start. So I chose the 72 dpi debate as this is the one that seems to crop up most frequently. The article you need to read is called "Say No to 72 dpi". Wayne not only talks a good talk he provides visual proof of his arguments as well.

Did you know why you should download images off the internet rather than cut and paste them? I suggest that you have a good look around Waynes site, it is a goldmine of fascinating information.

Other useful websites I came across whist looking for this information are included below.

Scanning and Printing Resolution Calculator
Image size Calculator
Fotosizer - Batch image resizing

CAPS LOCKED ON

Had one of those strange occurrences this morning whilst working on my dissertation in Word, I hit the wrong key(s) which keys I have no idea and suddenly I AM TYPING IN CAPS AND NOTHING I DID WOULD TURN IT OFF. WHICH WAS A BIT OF A BALL ACHE AS I WAS FINISHING OFF A DRAFT OF MY DISSERTATION AND ABOUT TO DASH OFF TO A TUTORIAL. Enough of that! I hastily Googled "CAPS LOCKED ON KEYBOARD" and tried the first option in the list. They suggested holding down both shift keys at the same time and count 5 - BINGO it worked!

Art Book Publishers You Should Know

Here a list of exciting publishers. They produce art books, limited artist editions, zines, comics, posters, chapbooks, original web books, freely accessible online archives, and exhibitions.

www.violetteeditions.com/
http://corrugatedpress.com/adjnoun.html
www.charnelhouse.com/
www.yyzbooks.com/
www.wsworkshop.org/
www.kudetalosangeles.com/
www.othercriteria.com/
www.philip-wilson.co.uk/
www.fantagraphics.com/
www.ammobooks.com/
www.iconoclasteditions.com/
www.philip-wilson.co.uk/
www.pictureboxinc.com/
http://primaryinformation.org/
www.silverbridge.name/
www.badlandsunlimited.com/
http://markbattypublisher.com/
www.uglyducklingpresse.org/
www.2ndcannons.com/
www.bywaterbros.com/

Firefox Background Removal

When Mozilla installed version 3.6.10 of Firefox today a very irritating background appeared! Not immediately obvious how to remove this. Apparently you need to go to:->

Tools>Add-ons>Themes click the active background to uninstall.

Who Cares Bitch

Who Cares Bitch, originally uploaded by digiphotology.

The things you see in an Oslo Sally Army shop window!

Oslo Poster

Oslo Poster, originally uploaded by digiphotology.

Torn poster heaven.

Ipod/Iphone Caps Lock

To enter my router WEP password requires numbers and CAPS to be entered. It has driven me crackers entering CAPS when the default is lower case. I discovered the following fix:-

Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Enable Caps Lock

Once this is enabled, tapping the shift key twice will turn on caps lock. When the caps lock is enabled, it will glow blue.

Brilliant

UPDATE

Not so brilliant, the caps lock will not stay locked as you toggle back and forth between alpha and numeric keyboards, bummer!

However - the simple answer is to enter your WAP password into Notes app and then when you need it cut and paste, simple really. It works for all my other network passwords as well, hooray!)

Downloading a Quicktime Movie

I normally use the Firefox plug-in DownloadHelper to rip streaming video like YouTube or embedded movies, however occasionally it does not respond to embedded Quicktime movies. Here is a solution.

This only works with Firefox. Open the webpage containing the Quicktime video. On the Firefox toolbar at the top of the screen, click "Tools". Halfway down the page click on the button that says "Page Info". In the menu that opens click on the "Media" tab. Look down the list for the movie. It is possible that the entry will be greyed out, ignore this and highlight the entry. Further down the same page, towards bottom right, click on "Save As" and save the .mov file to wherever you want to store it.

Step 1 Saving the Movie
Click on the Tools button on the top of the page, go down and click on "page info"

Step 2 Get set up to download the video
A window with tabs will pop up. Click on the Tab marked Media

Step 3 Find the Video and save it
You look through the page info box until you find the Video you want. After you have found the video you click save as, enter the name you want it saved as, and save it!

Step 4 Update
If you want to download flash games off, like addicting games or anygaming website. All you have to do is download it like if it was a video like i showed and open it with your internet browser. And the best thing is that, when ever you play it, it will be the full screen. enjoy

Quicktime Controls Invisible in Firefox 3.5.8

When using Quicktime viewer in Firefox the control bar at the bottom of the console is usually blacked out and the controls are invisible. Curiously they do show very occasionally. Anyway here is a fix.

1. Right click on the browser icon the main icon on your Desktop of in tool bar not the one at the top left of the browser window.
2. Select properties
3. Go to the compatibility tab
4. Check the box for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:"
5. Make sure it says "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)" in the drop down list.
6. Press "OK" at the bottom
7. Reload Firefox

This solution will allow you to see the normal Quicktime timeline and volume options, etc. when watching a Quicktime video.

View or Print a File Directory/Folder

Have you ever wanted to print out a list a directory/folder list of files from Windows Explorer, a bit like this:-



There is no simple way to do this in Vista, not sure about Windows 7 but I would be surprised if there was! The answer is to make a couple of tweaks to the registry, not as hard as it may sound and add a couple of files to the Windows directory/folder. There is a thread on the Vista Windows forum, which tells you how and provides the necessary files and registry tweaks, follow this link. It took me about 5 mins to work it out. The outcome will be two addition to the "Context Menu" as you will see from the screen-grab below. The option creates a text file in Notepad which you can view, edit and or print. Why don't Microsoft provide such an option? No don't answer that.

Transferring BIG files

Have you ever had a problem sending a LARGE file to someone. Many email providers have an Max file size that you can send as an attachment. Sending films, PSD files etc can be a nightmare. I came across TransferBIGfiles How does it work? Here are the FAQ answers from the site:-

FAQ's

What is TransferBigFiles?
TransferBigFiles is the easiest way to share a bunch of files with friends, family or everybody in the world. There's no registration required to use the website. You can just go to the home page and start uploading some files.

What is the storage limit for my files?
TransferBigFiles does not limit the amount of space your account can use on our servers, the only storage limit we have is that your files may not be larger then one (1) gigabyte.

For how long are my files stored?
Files are stored for up to 5 days or until the download limit of 20 downloads is reached.

Print off Google Calendar

Now is the time of year when my wife reminds me that she needs a new calendar. Being a cheapskate my normal practice is to open Outlook and print off the Outlook calendar, a month to a page, could not be easier.

But I now use Google Calendar to record my diary dates AND AMAZINGLY Google does not offer a way to print off the calendar other than 1 month at a time. Can you believe it.

There are a couple of solutions I found on the net, Wincalendar, being one, but it costs money. I found a workaround on the Google Calendar Forum it did not appear to work with my setup BUT after a bit of fiddling I managed to sort it out. So here is my solution:-

I use Firefox but I think this will work with IE as well.

Open your Google Calendar and set to show 1 month per page and set it to start at January 2010 unless you are reading this next year!

On the right hand side of the Calendar page there is a PRINT icon. When you click this you get a pop up window with a page view of the calendar. Choose the "Save As" option and click.

A further pop up appears with the options "Open With" or "Save File" choose "Save File".

Now the "Download" pop up appears, in my case this shows the calendar to have been downloaded as a PDF file. Right click on this and choose the option "Copy Download Link"

Open a text editor such as Notepad, Right Click and "Paste" you will find a link similar to the one below will appear (Don't Panic) This is the link to print off just January.

To print out the 12 months in one go you need to make a slight change to the link. Look for the numbers that I have highlighted, these are 20091228 and 20100201 you need to change the second one to read 20101231.

Select and Copy the link then paste into your Browser, in my case Firefox, and click. This will open up your default PDF software Acrobat Reader or in my case I use the Firefox PDF plugin Foxit Reader. This should display all 12 months of your calendar. You now can print off the 12 monthly pages.

"https://www.google.com/calendar/printable?ctz=Europe%2FLondon&dates=20091228%2F20100201&pgsz=letter&mode=MONTH&wkst=2&hl=en&src=YWpwZWVlQGdvb2dsZW1haWwuY29t&src=cGtobWwydDFhZTB1OGkxcGUyNXVybHJsOHNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=ZDIxZHU5Zm92NHZkN2hnajNnZ2FhcWFzcmdAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=Z2ttYjA0M2UwNTBlM3RrMHJ0OWM1ZjNnazBAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=ZXFubmswamc3NmU5MWdhbjMzbGtpcDZzMDRAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=NW41ODBoM2tjcTlucmxqb2twdjY0cWZyMHNAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=bmVhcm5pbmVAZ29vZ2xlbWFpbC5jb20&src=amVubmlmZXJtbW9uZXlAZ29vZ2xlbWFpbC5jb20&src=bDdjMjJ2YWFpb3RsYTdocnExcmszZTA3Zm9AZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&src=dWtfX2VuQGhvbGlkYXkuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ&pfs=NORMAL&po=AUTO&psdec=true&pbw=false&pjs=false&rand=1262045765365&pda=true"

Samsung NC10 Sound Problem

I have a Samsung NC10 netbook and it is brilliant. The sound however has driven me mad. The speakers are tinny but worst of all the sound was horribly distorted even with earphones. After much fiddling I eventually found the solution. I opened the Realtek Sound Effect Manager in Control Panel. Under the Sound Effect tab there is a Karaoke icon, make sure that there is no X showing in the circle. If there is click to turn off. Make sure all the equalizer sliders are on Max and the environment is set to or Padded Cell. Success sound back to normal!

Creative Photography - Transfers

If I give you all my secrets about inkjet (image) transfers I shall have to kill you so be warned!

The process of transferring an inkjet image or any similar image, photocopy, magazine picture etc using an acrylic medium has been around for a long time. If you Google any combination of those words you will find loads of stuff. I have listed a few of the links I found useful and or interesting.

I have used inkjet prints both dye and pigmented inks. After much experimentation I settled on a digital inkjet paper sold by Granthams, Blackpool. It is ColourLink Matt Inkjet Paper, single sided 100g (UPDATE - this paper is no longer available from this source, try Jessops Matt 100g). You can use almost any paper to start with. As for the transfer medium, I started off using PVA glue, BQ own brand is cheap. It works well but can be unpredictable. You can try anything which contains acrylic polymers, emulsion paint, acrylic primer/undercoat, gesso, acrylic astists paint etc. I ended up using the Rolls Royce of acrylic ploymers "Goldens Regular Gel (Matte)". It is worth a visit to Goldens website thay have lots of info about acrylic transfer.

You can see some of my transfer artwork on alistairparkerart.com go to Gallery and choose "mixed media"

Here are a few links:-

http://nonphotography.com/blog/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/forgottenpittsburgh/1414931085/
http://www.squidoo.com/inkjetimagetransfer
http://www.art-e-zine.co.uk/imagepaper.html

Gmail: Searching for Unread Mail

There is no native means of searching for Unread Mail in Gmail. There is however a workaround. Enter is:unread in the Search Box, this will find all the Unread mail in the Inbox. Simple when you know how.

What's gone wrong with AVG

I am not sure what AVG have done with the latest update to v8.1 but my XP laptop and my Vista64 Desktop will not update. Initially there was a problem with CTF files. I sorted that by deleating the currupt file. The next problem was every time there was an update the machines wanted to restart. Now I have a General Error. I have been around the forums and tried the various fixes suggest to no avail. I have installed and reinstalled again to no avail.

I have used AVG for as long as I can remember and have converted many others to the cause but along with many other, may be this is the time to change.

I am about to install Kaspersky Internet Security, available half price in W H Smiths at £23.50. Top of the pile in PC Pro tests, so here goes.

Photography a Criminal Offence

An item in Guardian 12 February 2009 warned that it will be a criminal offence to photograph police officers under anti-terrorism legislation which becomes law on Monday 16th Feb 09. Both professional and amateur photographers will be at risk of harassment under the new law. A major demonstration outside New Scotland Yard is planned for Monday by NUJ.

So I suppose the next time I take a photograph like this my feet won't touch the ground! But does he count? He is probably a civilian, in wolfs clothing!


Spotted on a surveillance job in Trafalgar Square.

Recent Post Widget

If you look to the right of this column you will see that I have a list of recent posts. This is created by a Widget designed by Blogger Buster. this widget references a JavaScript that parses your blog's feed and displays the titles of the most recent posts in a list. It overcomes the limitations of the Blogger Archive list. The Blogger Buster site has a Script Creator Form on the site so there is no messing around with cutting and pasting scripts.

This is a image of the form -


Read the instructions before you use the form, I didn't read the instructions the first time I used it and fiddled around for ages trying to get it to work! You need to leave off the http:// and the last / from your URL when you load it into the form.

Occasionally this form may not be available if the site is under pressure. If that happens come back later when things have quietened down. There will be a message to this effect.

Get the Widget here.

AVG update issue - Invalid update control CTF file

I am a great fan of AVG anti-virus but every now and again it does something stupid.This morning I was getting an error message:- "Invalid update control CTF file". A quick Google came up with all the usual crap about editing the registry etc. I thought, there has to be an easier way! Checked on the AVG site under support and at the top of the list was an item titled - "AVG update issue - Invalid update control CTF file". Which I read. I followed the instructions but the ino does not seem to apply to the FREE version. I could not find the place in the tool box which was suggested. It essentially suggested deleting all the files with ctf extension.

So I thought I will do it through Search in Windows Explorer, No ctf files. They may be hidden I thought, went into Tools> Folder Options> View and ticked Show hidden files and unticked Hide unprotected operating system files ( be sure to go back and change this when you have finished). I then searched for files with extension ctf. NOTHING drrrrr.... Then I noticed on the search menu there is an option to "Change whether hidden and system files are included" I thought I had done that all ready. However next search revealed 2 .ctf files which I duly deleted. Delighted to say next time I ran the AVG update it worked OK.

What do little old ladies do when they get these silly b***y problems? If they are anything like the little old ladies I know they ring me on a Sunday morning when I have just settled down with the paper!

Cheap Software Scam - Beware

I cam across an advert at the top of my Googlemail page today for cheap software. A quick survey of the forums suggests that a download of Adobe Photoshop CS3 for £19.50 from www.pick-go.com is a scam.

Experiences seem to vary from paying and receiving nothing to others who have received a fully working copy with updates. The general opinion is that the serial numbers are keygen generated and are probably volume licence keys which do not require registration but are eligible for updates. Interesting to note there are no contact details on the site. Further comments here.

Vista 64 bit Sound Recording Problem

My new computer runs under Vista 64 bit. Not the most user friendly operating system. Have Microsoft not heard the expression"if it ain't broke don't fix it"!

When I came to record the sound for an AV sequence using Audacity I found that it would not record either from the Internet of from the HD.

Checked all the usual things, preferences, control panel etc. I could only find two sound recording inputs, mic and line, no mixer!

Google wasn't much help, the usual, "check the drivers are up to date" rubbish. However with a bit more digging a helpful chap suggested the following solution.

Go to:- Control Panel> Sound> Recording Tab> right click on the white background and LOW AND BEHOLD a dialog box appears with the option to "Show Disabled Devices"! Which in my case was the Mixer. How bl**dy obtuse can Microsoft get? Why the hell do they not show these options in the control panel!

Anyway, problem solved, go to Audacity> Edit> Preferences> Audio I/O> Device there should noe be an option to select Mixer. Also interesting to note that when using Vista 64, in the Audacity Mixer Toolbar the device selection box is greyed out.