How to keep your laptop kinda cool (at no cost)

Yes, there are fancy fans that you may get, which run on power supplied by your machine via USB plugs. But there's a cheaper option.

Simply by placing two equally sized objects under the back of your laptop.

This leaves space under your laptop, which provides better ventilation around your laptop, therefore allows your laptop's cooling system to work more efficiently.

For me personally, this has saved my laptop reaching uncomfortably hot temperatures for my hands. And also raises my keyboard, which makes my computing experience more comfortable.

How to call (or execute) a python file from another

Simply type in the following 2 lines of code in your python file (e.g. main.py), to call another python file (e.g test.py).

#Specify the path of the file you want to execute. E.g:

file_path = 'C:\\test.py'

#Execute the file using execfile

execfile(file_path)

Copied from:

http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/How_to_execute_another_script_from_a_script

How to Install VTK for use with Python

I am installing VTK, which I will need to incorporate 3D visualisation in my GUI. I am designing my GUI in Qt, and programming with Python. (Hence, PyQt). To make VTK work with Python, you need to install from binaries, instead of downloading with the windows installer. Feel free to make comments, or ask questions. (I'm not an expert. I am actually a beginner, but I want to document my problems and solutions so that others can be benefited. So feel free to talk here, as it might help others too.)

Download and install:
Cmake(http://www.cmake.org/cmake/resources/software.html)
Python(http://www.python.org/download/releases/)

Download and unzip into a file (we will call this the source file):
VTK(http://www.vtk.org/VTK/resources/software.html): Source: vtk-5.4.2.zip (Don't use the windows installer, because then you can't use Python.)

Then follow these steps:

1. Open the Cmake 2.6 GUI, and type in the path for the source file, and also where you would like to store the binary files.
Source: C:/Qt/vtk-5.4.2 (I have unzipped the source file into this directory called vtk-5.4.2, which is in my 'Qt' folder. Type in the path for your source file.)
Binary: C:/Qt/VTKbin7 (This is an empty folder, into which Cmake will put binaries.)
>Configure
>Choose Visual Studio 8 2005 as generator
>Turn on these (in the red lines): BUILD_SHARED_LIBS and VTK_WRAP_PYTHON
>Configure
>Generate

2. Open Visual Studio;
Open File;
Find the folder where Cmake has put your binaries. E.g. C:/Qt/VTKbin7
Open VTK.sln

3. >Build >Configuration Manager >Active solution configuration
>Choose ‘Release’
>Ok

4. >Build
>Build Solution
This will take more than an hour.

5. Now you should be able to find ‘vtkpython.exe’ in your bin/release file. E.g. C:/Qt/VTKbin7/bin/release

Now go to Embedding VTK into a PyQt GUI