technology

TreeSize, find out which folders use most space

When I need to free some spaces on my computer, I need to know which folder(s) take most space so I can prioritize removing files in these folders. TreeSize is a free program to do this. It shows you not only the space each folder takes, but also the
Xu Cui
13 sec read

Create a GIF animation image for free

I need to create a banner ad for Stork’s advanced feature (NIH grant database English/Chinese bilingual version). I wish the ad has two images showing one after the other, and repeat every 3 seconds. In the end, the image is like this: So how t
Xu Cui
19 sec read

Upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 for free

Back in August, 2013 I purchased a Dell computer (OptiPlex 9010 Minitower) which has been working very well. It has Windows 7 installed. Recently I got a notification that Windows 7 will reach End of Life (i.e. Microsoft will no longer support it) so
Xu Cui
13 sec read

How to backup your emails (GMail)

If you decide to abandon a GMail account (not just personal GMail, GSuite included), you might want to save a record of the past emails. Or maybe you simply want to backup your emails. How to do that? Google Takeout will do the work. Go to https://ta
Xu Cui
25 sec read

My blog has a new look

I started blogging in about 2008. At that time I just started to develop my first startup product, a cloud reference manager for researchers called Peaya (then PaperBox) which unfortunately (or fortunately?) failed miserably later. At that time I was
Xu Cui
48 sec read

New Mac OSX Mojave on old Mac

Back in 2009, When I got my first MacBook Pro I was excited. It had the best configuration at that time (8G memory and 250G storage – SSD!). I still use it today. As I am developing Stork’s mobile app, I need to use the latest xcode. But
Xu Cui
25 sec read

Mac on Windows?

If you need to play with Mac OSX but do not own a Mac computer, you might wish you could install Mac OSX on your Windows 10 computer as a virtual machine. Luckily I found this useful webpage with detailed instructions on how to do it. The link also p
Xu Cui
43 sec read

3 monitors

To be more “productive”, I recently upgraded my work space. I used to have 2 monitors side by side. Both of them are View Sonic but they are of different size and one is old. So I purchased two monitors (Dell U2415). Together with one ori
Xu Cui
55 sec read

How much money did I make from an app?

Undoubtedly some people are very successful in making money by developing a smartphone app. Back in 2012 I developed an app called “Handbook of Brain” which is a collected resources of brain anatomy, function and diseases. I put the app i
Xu Cui
27 sec read