May 2014 – Tom Fosdick

Using Process Explorer to Clobber Phantom Windows

2014-05-08 by Tom Fosdick

Reading Time: 2 minutes

I’ve noticed a lot, particularly in Windows 8, that I get phantom windows. Perhaps the application wanted to create an invisible window but for some reason it gets displayed. This is very annoying, especially when it sits permanently on top of other windows like this little example here.

Thankfully there’s a quick and easy way to get rid of them using the rather handy Process Explorer from TechNet.
At the top of the app are several buttons, one of them looks a bit like a targeting system and is labelled "Find Window’s Process"

Simply drag that button onto the offending window and drop. Process Explorer will then highlight the process responsible, which you can deal with.

In this case it was Outlook and simply restarting the application fixed the problem.

Using IP Webcam to Boil Eggs

2018-01-022014-05-07 by Tom Fosdick

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I end up using the IP Webcam Android application for all sorts of things. It’s really easy to prop or jam an Android device pointing at something you need to keep an eye on or even push the device somewhere where you just can’t get your head. Then fire up a web browser and monitor the output stream.
Today’s issue was that I forgot to boil some eggs for lunch, so I propped my Wildfire S against a spare pan and went back to the office. There I monitored the webcam and started the timer when I saw the eggs boiling. They were ready in perfect time.