TechnoPark

How to add additional Google account in Android phones

2010-10-22T08:58:00.006+05:30

This is strange. There is no direct method to add additional Google accounts (though they say up to 5 accounts can be added) in Android based phones. If you want to integrate, say both your personal and work Gmail IDs in the Android phone, there is no default method. In fact, there is one, but it does not work. When we try to add an additional account by touching 'Add account', it gives this error: "Can't establish a reliable data connection to the server". May be they will fix this in version. 2.2

Ok. Cant wait till that. Here is a simple work around to Fix this issue:

Create an account in Youtube with a Gmail ID you want to add to your phone. Do this from computer. That's easier.

Now, take your Android phone. Open Youtube app. Add this newly created ID.

Surprisingly, thats the end of the trick, hack, work around or whatever you call it.

That particular Google ID is automatically added to the 'accounts' list.

Now you can use it for Gmail, Calendar, Document, etc.

Simple.

SPONSOR POST: Toshiba Life - Make the most of your Toshiba Product

2009-04-06T20:40:00.000+05:30

Toshiba Life is the all new website from Toshiba. Whether or not you own a Toshiba product, ToshibaLife gives everyone as place to learn more about the latest news, technology and exciting announcements from Toshiba.

Get involved and join in the Toshiba Life community, add your own comments and views. Thinking of buying a new laptop, video camera or DVD player? Toshiba Life gives you an insight into whats available, how to chose and what to look for. It's not just Toshiba products we discuss. Toshiba Life is all about helping you make the most from technology.

Take a look at Toshiba Life today.

How to add Emoticons in Gmail

2007-09-21T19:19:00.000+05:30

I still don't understand why Gmail has no emoticon feature, still!! Gmail stands high among its peers in many ways. But Yahoo looks colorful for its set of emoticons and this particular feature grabs and retains many users. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to search for any third party tools to power this feature into Gmail system.

I found an awesome tool to achieve this. A Greasemonkey script. Yes, as you would have guessed by now, it works only with Firefox. Never mind. Cheer up Firefox fans. One more reason to vote for our favorite browser!

Here is the screenshot of available emoticons:

There are two methods to add emoticons into the mail.

1. Drag and Drop.
2. Copy and Paste.

Both are easy methods. Self Explanatory.

Enjoy!!

Here is the script.

Update Firefox for better security

2007-09-21T18:41:00.000+05:30

Our favorite browser Firefox has a new version 2.0.0.7 now. Even though it is a small update, it is very much advisable to update the browser for better security and stability.

Download Firefox 2.0.0.7

Are you annoyed with Adobe Acrobat Reader? Read PDFs with Foxit

2007-08-30T18:18:00.000+05:30

Most of us have installed Adobe Acrobat Reader to read PDF files. Just to READ. Nothing else. Rarely people use those additional features in Acrobat Reader. But for this simple reading requirement, we are forced to install such a huge software that which eats heavy memory.

Comparison on a 55 KB PDF file on a P4 system with 512 MB RAM:

You can see the huge Blue Bar that represents Adobe reader's Memory eating nature. If you just need to read a PDF, Foxit is best.

Foxit has many tools too but most of the users will not need all that. One notable feature is the ability to convert the PDF file into full Text file.

Download Link:

Foxit

iPhone hack no 2. This time, by a teen!

2007-08-28T21:09:00.000+05:30

We had written about the iPhone hack last month. In one months time, the iPhone has been hacked for the second time. This time the hacker is a 17 year old teen. Welcome to the club mate!

Here is a full report by CBS News:

iPhone's Network Lock Hacked By Teen

Highlights of the hack:

The hack lets you use the iPhone with carriers other than AT & T.
That includes overseas operators too! Woww.. what a hack :)
The hacks needs both software and hardware skills. Means, soldering and software alterations.
The hacker has put the new version (!?) on ebay for sale. The bid was more than $2000 on friday.

Apple may introduce an invulnerable version when it introduces iPhone to European market.

Top 8 sites to waste your time

2007-08-24T19:11:00.000+05:30

The most popular sites in the world are simply time wasters. Where there are millions of visitors, the site seems to be eating ones time. Let us list the top 8 time wasters.

8. StumbleUpon

If you are not sure what site to browse, SU is the place for you. Millions of pages indexed. You are sure to bump on one of it. Can customize categories. Can browse videos, images, autios and many more.

7. Myspace

Keep on browsing profiles. You will not realize that you have spent hours on it. The site doesn't need introduction. More often, people browse through profiles just to see photos. Such an useless time killer. Tell me honestly, how many users browse this site just to get connected to people? It is spoiling youth by letting people create obscene profiles.

6. Google Earth

If you start searching your home in google earth, you will not end up doing only that. Will start searching for all known placed in your area. The pleasure you get when you identify known places, it feels like magic. It feels like you are driving physically on the roads.

5. Miniclip

It has 1000s of games. Covers all categories. Fun is never ending. So do the Ads. Shit loads of ads all around! Just like a fish market All flash based mini games. Easy playing but yet so addictive.

4. Yahoo Games

If you are the one that likes to get challenged by human players, this is the place for you. Interactive games at its best. Pool game is so addictive. So realistic. I have played it all night, many nights. :)

3. Flickr

This is a photo supermarket. Millions of photos. Wide variety of cultures. People from all over the world have photos uploaded there. From all continents. Great photographs. The human nature of getting interested in what happens in next door makes this site one of the most visited.

2. Youtube

Addiction at its peak. It is like drug. Can find anything in video format there in Youtube. Again, one can spend hours and hours in youtube. I was seeing Mr Bean clips for 6 hours non stop! Piracy is freely supported in Youtube. They dont seem to worry about this growing problem. 70% of the videos uploaded here are pirated. They simply dont want to stop it. Can anyone deny it?

1. Orkut

The king of useless sites. Orkut is becoming the most popular and dangerous site in the world. People are becoming addicts to Orkut. The main reason why Orkut is the most popular dating site (though the creators don't like it to be called a dating site, it IS, OF COURSE a dating site) is that it is kept FREE till date. Unlike other dating sites, there is no premium membership. Lots and lots of complaints are being made against Orkut. Particularly from India. The creators have to do something to stop Orkut being misused.

Dekhona, An Indian attempt to mock Youtube

2007-08-23T16:57:00.000+05:30

The immense popularity of youtube is tempting many entrepreneurs to mock (i dont want to use the word 'copy' here) it. We have seen various small video sharing sites popping up regularly.

Dekhona is one such thing but targeted for India. Indian clips are uploaded. Or at least that is what the creators thought would happen. When I browsed through the videos, I could see many non-indian videos that are available anywhere else. So the purpose is not served, as far as I am concerned.

Most of the clips are adult oriented. The admin team needs to work around to bring in many more visitors and uploaders of all ages. They need to control the videos that are featured in the home page.

The site is totally free.

Technorati tags: dekhona

Google Earth offers Sky now. Explore the Sky from your Bedroom!

2007-08-23T09:53:00.000+05:30

The super hit product of Google, Google Earth is now presenting a live view of the Sky.

Now exploring universe is simple and easy from the comfort of our home. Millions of galaxies are waiting to be explored and discovered.

These are the possibilities:

1. Zoom
2. Explore
3. See the planet in motion
4. Mark the space
5. Possibilities are endless.

Technical Aspect:

You need to download the latest version of Google Earth. Click on the new Sky button on the toolbar at the top of the screen, and navigate the skies!

Here is the official post: Sky: The final frontier

Some official examples: Google Earth Gallery

Technorati Tags: Google Earth, Sky

Play Station 3 with massive 80GB Storage is out in market

2007-08-07T17:46:00.000+05:30

Market leader in the Gaming Console industry Sony has started to ship its new version of Play Station 3. The news: It has 80GB storage!!

It comes with an online playable off-road racing game, MotorStorm.

The price is set to $499 in US.

The 80GB model joins the existing 60GB PS3 that has been available at retail since its launch last November.

Technorati Tags: Playstation

New form of Image verification is coming soon

2007-08-06T10:52:00.000+05:30

Image verification process is not new to netters. The irritating, ugly distorted texts may be history soon. Microsoft is researching on the Image verification technology (also called 'Human Interactive Proofs'). The problem with the existing technology is that, it is getting old and hackers are starting to tweak their codes to fool the HIPs.

So, how the future HIP may look? May be like this:

Yes, you may be asked to identify the object. Cats and dogs will be appearing in online registration forms soon.

Again, hackers may soon find a way to by-pass this kitten technique (!?!) if the system doesn't have enough number of images to rotate (may be a million)

The research is not going to end there. They may be showing us small video clips as HIP!

Source: Kittens Could Solve Spam

Online Backup - These two tools make a great combination.

2007-07-26T18:06:00.000+05:30

The traditional custom of believing Hard Disk for storing important files has been proved insecure. The habit of storing files online has grown drastically from the last 2, 3 years. There are tons of sites and tools available for this task. Choosing a best site is a tricky job.

The first thing that come in our mind is the reliability of the site we use. After testing many sites and tools all these years, we at TechnoPark, are using two tools constantly. Let us explain it.

1. GDrive.

This is a shell extension for windows. This tool helps us use the massive storage offered by GMail. We have earlier reported about this tool. Read here:

How to use Gmail space as Hard Disk Space

For practical usage, it is awesome. It is smooth and seamless. Works like an angel.

2. DriveHQ

DriveHQ.com is a great service for online storage. It offers 1 GB free space for every user. That is more than enough for many real time users. Registration is free. What makes this service worth is the File Manager tool they offer for free. It is an amazing tool. Everything about the tool is so good. Take a look at the screenshots:

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

Both these tools are added in the context menu of Windows. It makes life easier. Just a right click. That is all you need to do. You will have a backup seamlessly in two reliable, online services.

Download links:

GMail Drive Shell Extension

DriveHQ

Technorati Tags: Gmail Drive, Gmail, DriveHQ, Online Backup

The inevitable happened. iPhone Hacked.

2007-07-24T17:29:00.000+05:30

New York Times has reported that a team of computer experts have hacked iPhone. The experts say they could hack the iPhone in 2 ways.

1. Through a WiFi connection

2. By tricking the users to visit a site with malicious code in it.

They say, once the hole is found, they were able to have total control over the phone.

The hack, the first reported, allowed them to tap the wealth of personal information the phones contain.

New York Times adds:

Dr. Miller, a former employee of the National Security Agency who has a doctorate in computer science, demonstrated the hack to a reporter by using his iPhone’s Web browser to visit a Web site of his own design.

Once he was there, the site injected a bit of code into the iPhone that then took over the phone. The phone promptly followed instructions to transmit a set of files to the attacking computer that included recent text messages — including one that had been sent to the reporter’s cellphone moments before — as well as telephone contacts and e-mail addresses.

This is the first of many many more iPhone hack to be followed!!

Technorati Tags: iPhone

Whats new in Opera new version? Review

2007-07-23T16:57:00.000+05:30

Good news. Opera has released a new version 9.22. When Firefox new version was released last week, many predicted that Opera will come up with much awaited new version.

What are all has been modified?

User Interface

Fix to allow toolbars to use bold fonts again.
Tabs can be dragged between windows using the Windows panel again.
Info panel title now correctly displays Web page title and mail subjects that contain HTML.

Miscellaneous

Scripting and display fixes for the Silverlight plug-in.
Multiple stability fixes.
Improved stability and performance of BitTorrent.

Security

Fixed an issue that could occur when removing a specially prepared torrent transfer, as reported by iDefense. See the advisory.
Prevented an issue where data URLs could be used to display the wrong address in the address bar. See the advisory.
Improved the display of long domain names in authentication dialogs. Long domain names will now scroll instead of using ellipsis. See the advisory.
Added Trustcenter class 3 G2 root certificate.

Windows specific

Fix for accessing certain Web sites using Windows Vista.

Zoom images with this addon in Firefox

2007-07-19T14:28:00.000+05:30

One of the very useful feature of Opera browser is the ability Zoom in and Zoom out images and pages. Just the press of '+' and '-' keys will Zoom in and Zoom out. Firefox lacks this feature by default. The 'Image Zoom 0.3' addon does exactly that. Zoom in, Zoom out, Fit image to screen, etc. Very handy.

Here is the download:

Image Zoom 0.3

Page Zoom - Zoom all images on a web page with a single command or make all images on a page zoom with the browsers text zoom feature .

How to download multiple files with one click for dummies

2007-07-16T18:53:00.000+05:30

This is probably a well known task for the real techy geeks. This tutorial is aimed at Newbies that want to download a series of 'pictures' (in most cases) in one single click.

I am going to tell you guys how to download multiple files with my favorite download manager - Flashget. It is the fastest download manager as far as i know. Very easy to use.

Download Instructions

Flashget Latest Version or Flashget Classic Version

Install whichever version you like.

Steps to download batch files:

Step 1:

Find out the server address where the images are located. I take this for example:

http://www.dinakaran.com/kungumam/2007/july/12/[image name here]

Step 2:

Make sure that the images are named in some order. Say, 1.jpg, 2.jpg, like that or usa10.jpg, usa11.jpg etc.

Step 3:

Open Flashget. Click on 'Jobs' and select 'Add batch download'

Step 4:

Add URL like the following format:

URL http://www.dinakaran.com/kungumam/2007/july/12/(*).jpg

In the 'from' box, there are two options. One for numeric and another for alphabets. If the image names (of any file type) have numbers, type the starting number and ending number in the column. EX: 1 and 40 means, img1.jpg, img2.jpg.... img40.jpg.

Just click OK.

Step 5:

Select destination folder. Thats all. It will start downloading all the files one after another.

High Alert!! - New PayPal Scam. A fraudulent mail, claims to be from PayPal. GMail can't find it.

2007-07-12T10:55:00.000+05:30

I am stunned this morning when I opened my GMail. There is a mail from 'service@paypal.com'. The subject line reads 'Paypal Account Security Measures'.

Normally, GMail will alert us when there is a fraudulent mail that claims to be from Paypal. This time, this new scam beats GMail too. The mail looks absolutely stunning. Here is the screenshot:

click to enlarge

When I click the link, it took me to a paypay look-a-like site. It was my mistake not to watch out for the URL in the address. The trap has been very well planned not to trigger any doubt on the users. This is how the screen looked:

click to enlarge

The home page of 'http://www.news-play.com/' greets us with joomla open source softwares. Here is the screenshot of the homepage of the site:

click to enlarge

I entered the user ID and password of my Paypal account. And within seconds, I realized that I was trapped. I immediately logged in to the PayPal site and changed the password.

How I could find the trap?

1. I always use Firefox for secured sites. The NoScript plugin showed me 'blocked' symbol. Normally, for paypal.com it shows 'scrips open' icon, as I have already opened Scripts for paypal site.

2. The site advisor showed 'gray' which means site 'not rated'. It will obviously show 'green' for paypal as it is a well known site.

These two great tools helped me realize.

I have reported to the Gmail team and to the PhishTank team. Hope the site gets banned soon.

Please help us spread this alert to everyone. Please digg it, reddit or share it wherever you can.

Digg it.

Thanks.

iPhone specific Digg Beta is ready.

2007-07-11T11:20:00.000+05:30

Digg founder Kevin Rose has announced that Digg is available for iPhone. In his blog, he writes:

"Last weekend Joe Stump, Daniel Burka, and I sat down and white-boarded the Digg iPhone app. I told Joe if he coded it in 48hrs, I’d buy him an iPhone. Needless to say, he got it done (nice work, Joe)"

Point your Safari browser in iPhone to digg.com/iphone

These are some of the features currently available:

* Native iPhone-like story scrolling
* Mini permalink pages with top 5 comments
* Login and Digging
* Pagination
* Jump to any topic

Features Coming:

* Top Stories (24 hours/7 days)

The thing one must understand is that the normal Digg.com site can be accessed from iPhone without any hassle. But this special version is lite and easy to use with iPhone.

Feedburner is free now.

2007-07-04T18:40:00.000+05:30

When Google acquired Feedburner a few months back, most of the marketing pundits wrote that google would make Feedburner free. And it has happened at last.

Feedburner is totally free now. To be more precise, two things have been made free. Stats Pro and MyBrand.

This is what their blog has to say about those two things:

1. Stats Pro

PRO is feed analytics taken to the next level. You will now have access to the number of people who have viewed or clicked individual content items in your feed and “Reach,” which estimates the daily number of subscribers who interacted with your feed content. You can turn this on by signing in to your account, navigating to the Analyze tab and heading to the FeedBurner Stats PRO section. Click the “Item Views” checkbox to activate these PRO features.

2. MyBrand

The MyBrand service (also PRO-level) is located under the "My Account" tab after you've signed in. MyBrand lets you maintain consistency between your feed address and your hosted website's domain, if matchy-matchy is your thing. For example, rather than using feeds.feedburner.com/MyFeedName, your MyBrand-ed feed address can be feeds.myexcellentdomain.net/MyFeedName. To get started with MyBrand, sign into FeedBurner, click the "My Account" link in the upper left-hand corner, and then click "MyBrand". Nota Bene: You must be comfortable playing around with DNS entries and own the rights to the domain whose DNS entries you'll be playing around with in order to successfully activate MyBrand.

The Stats Pro is a very good tool and most of the bloggers will feel happy to see it available for free. The MyBrand stuff is a little tricky. I personally would like to keep my feed address in the Feedburner domain itself. It looks grand and rich than an address like feeds.yoursite.com/feed.

How to search original science videos? Use ScienceHack

2007-07-02T18:21:00.000+05:30

ScienceHack is a new search engine dedicated to science videos. It is still in alpha phase. But it is out for general public.

What makes this search engine unique?

Every video is screened by a scientist or an engineer to verify the video's accuracy and quality. Well, a huge problem with mainstream videos like YouTube, Google videos or Yahoo videos is that the videos are not authenticated.

What ScienceHack actually does is, it aggregates videos from other video sites and get it verified by the experts. This way, the authenticity of the video is somewhat fulfilled. But still, I would have been happier if they provide information about the expert who verified the video. So that we can communicate with him for further clarification.

Some of the interesting videos i liked:

A full-scale earthquake experiment

The Size Of Planets and Stars to Scale

Chill A Drink In 2 Minutes!

Users can submit videos they find interesting and scientific. Currently they have not indexed much videos.

Over all, this search engine has the potential to become the preferred spot for science enthusiasts.

ScienceHack

Technorati Tags: ScienceHack

You know what... iPhone does NOT support 64 bit Windows

2007-07-01T20:35:00.000+05:30

Ridiculous. What else can we call it? Apple released videos, documents and all possible presentation ways to publicize their smooth, seamless sync abilities with windows systems. But they have intentionally put this piece of important info in shadow.

When users tried to work around their iPhones in Vista, they got a message that only Steve Jobs can interpret. The point they want their customers to understand partially is that, iPhone will not work with 64 bit Windows systems.

After the huge no. of complaints, Apple made a point that, it has been mentioned in the document. I tried to find out where it was. I needed a magnifying glass to find it. Here is the screenshot of the documentation:

click to enlarge

My Apple friend asked me this:

Does iPhone has 'Made for Vista' logo?

Well, This is a question that should be shot at MS. :)

What you say?

Technorati Tags: iPhone

Have you ever seen a filthy rich idiot like this guy? Watch this Video

2007-07-01T18:31:00.000+05:30

When there are people who stand in long queues to get a hand on the much hyped gadget of the year iPhone, one guy has uploaded a filthy arrogant video (i have no better word to describe his action). In this video, he demonstrates what happens to iPhone when it is hit into pieces with hammer.

He states that he bought 8 iPhones so he could experiment. What a loser.

What could be the reason for this idiotic action? My guesses:

1. He is a lunatic.
2. He is fame mad.
3. It is a toy.
4. He is a Apple guy, himself.
5. He is driving mileage to his youtube profile (my god... i am thinking too much!)

What is your guess?

Related Stories:

Are you planning to buy iPhone as soon as possible? Check out this comparison before proceeding.

iPhone Keyboard explained. Official video released.

iPhone FAQ. Some basic questions answered.

iPhone D-Day tomorrow. AT & T Plan rates announced.

Technorati Tags: iPhone

Are you planning to buy iPhone as soon as possible? Check out this comparison before proceeding.

2007-06-29T19:19:00.000+05:30

Even before the release, iPhone is challenged by Ocean from Helio. Ocean is a fantastic smart device that innovated the world's first dual slide model. It is probably underrated and flooded away by Nokia and iPhone strom. This is slider one:

This is slider two:

Note that it is a QWERTY keyboard.

Ocean is a mobile machine as they claim. It is true. Ocean has almost everything you would imagine. It is a rocking phone, I would say.

On the eve of of the iPhone release, Helio has released a comparison chart of iPhone and Ocean. And the chart is a big speed breaker for my friends in US from buying iPhone.

The biggest difference is the price. iPhone comes at $499 (for 4 GB memory) and Ocean could be yours for $295.

And on the positive side for iPhone, the unbeatable touch screen system.

Ok, here is the chart for you.

This is the right time to think before we spend huge bucks on iPhone. There is a lot missing in iPhone.

Is the hype worth?

Technorati Tags: iPhone, ocean, helio

iPhone Keyboard explained. Official video released.

2007-06-29T11:28:00.000+05:30

One of the ultimate features of iPhone is the keypad less keyboard functionality. Its touch screen magic makes it unique. Apple has released a video tutorial of the keyboard usage. The video itself is brilliant.

The keyboard less phone has brilliant built in typing tools that will surprise users that are not familiar with iPod.

One of the features that grabbed our attention is the method of moving the cursor. Just slightly press the cursor and move left or right and a magnifying glass appears to assist. Look at this:

iPhone knows exactly which keyboard is required for which application. It changes accordingly. For example, when we need to type in an Email address in the To: field, the keyboard layout will not have the space bar, as there will not be any space in email address. Instead a button named '.com' will appear.

The iPhone has a full fledged built in dictionary and it corrects all your typing errors in great fashion. See the video for yourself to know more about the exciting features. The video comes in 3 sizes. The large video is about 68 MB.

Here is the link: iPhone Keyboard

Technorati Tags: iPhone, iPhone Keyboard

iPhone FAQ. Some basic questions answered

2007-06-29T10:17:00.000+05:30

Few FAQ about iPhone have been answered by Apple in Questions and Answers section. Let us analyze a few key points.

Will iPhone work with my PC and Microsoft Windows?

Yes. iPhone works with Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2), and Windows Vista.

[That means, there is no support for Windows 98, Windows ME or Windows NT. There is no official wordings about Linux support.]

What email systems does iPhone support?

iPhone supports the most popular email standards — IMAP and POP3. Check with your email provider to make sure the provider uses these standards. iPhone works with most popular email services, including Yahoo! Mail, Google Gmail, AOL, and .Mac Mail. Yahoo! Mail supports “push” email and can automatically deliver new email messages to your iPhone.

[Microsoft Live mail is intentionally left in the list. Do not worry. Any web mail system will work in iPhone as you can surf any web site as you do in your PC or Mac.]

What kind of security features does iPhone offer?

You can protect your iPhone with a four-digit password, which is then required whenever iPhone is turned on or wakes from sleep.

[What if I forgot my password? Is the procedure to recover the password simple? Is there a PUK available as in other GSM phones?]

Can I transfer my mobile phone number to my new iPhone?

Yes, you can transfer most current mobile numbers to a new iPhone.

[That is cool buddy.]

Can I transfer contacts from my current mobile phone to my new iPhone?

Yes. You should first transfer all your contact information to Microsoft Outlook on a PC or Address Book or Entourage on a Mac. Then you can sync your iPhone with your computer to put your contacts into your iPhone.

Can I use the SIM card from my current mobile phone?

You should use the SIM card that came preinstalled in the iPhone.

Can I view regular websites on iPhone or just mobile websites?

With the Safari web browser on iPhone, you can surf websites just as you do on your personal computer. You’re not limited to mobile WAP sites.

[You can surf without the fear of being billed for your usage as AT & T offers unlimited data calls on all plans]

Can I surf the web on iPhone without a Wi-Fi connection?

Yes. When a Wi-Fi connection is not available, you can access the Internet using AT&T’s EDGE data network.

AT & T is the exclusive wireless carrier for the United States. Vodafone is rumored to be the partner in Europe.

All Indians are baiting their nails. Is it going to be Hutch or Airtel? Will we get unlimited data calls?

Let us wait and see.

Technorati Tags: iPhone

First set of pictures of iPhone docks and headets.

2007-06-29T10:07:00.000+05:30

Apple is playing hide and seek with the iPhone. It has released first set of official photographs of the iPhone docks and bluetooth headset. Take a look at it:

You may notice the cool charger for bluetooth headset.

By releasing information slowly, Apple makes sure that it keeps us insane to the core.

Technorati Tags: iPhone

iPhone D-Day tomorrow. AT & T Plan rates announced.

2007-06-28T16:10:00.000+05:30

The much hyped iPhone release date has finally arrived. Just one more day to go. The expectation is not a bit less than for Spiderman or Harry Potter. Everybody talks and writes about it.

If you are not aware already, iPhone partners with AT & T in US. Today AT & T has released the plan rates. Here is the chart:

The unlimited data transfer is a sweet surprise. After all the iPhone is a more web device than a simple mobile phone.

SMS limitation is bad. Than can make it free. May be after a few months of huge profit, they may reduce. There is a pack of $20 a month that offers free SMS.

Watch out for more iPhone news!

Technorati Tags: iPhone, AT&T

Auto Fill Forms - Great Firefox Extension. No need of third party software.

2007-06-27T17:28:00.000+05:30

A long awaited feature for Firefox has been released by Developer Sebastian Tschan. The little tool saves our life enormously. There are many third party softwares like Roboforms available for free for all browsers. But the problem with these softwares is that they eat up a considerable amount of memory. Another alternative is to use Google auto form filler available with Google Tool Bar for Firefox. Again, The problem with Google tool is, it doesn't have many fields or it doesn't let us add new fields.

So, this Tool helps us in all way. It has a simple interface. Easy to understand and use.

All Self Explanatory.

The developed has made the tool grand by letting us to customize every aspect of it. So good.

Install:

Auto Fill Forms

Technorati Tags: Auto Fill Forms

One of the finest simulations ever. Jet colliding with World Trade Center.

2007-06-21T17:06:00.000+05:30

Scientists at Purdue University have developed an excellent simulation of the Jet colliding with the World Trade Center twin towers on 9 /11 / 2001. This computer simulation supports the findings of a federal agency that the impact of the crash defied the power of the crucial fireproofing material, which initiated the fire and that the weakened towers collapsed under their own weight.

The animation should help builders to build safer building. Fireproofing must be made stronger than now. Will lessons be learned?

Technorati Tags: World Trade Center, Simulation

HOW TO PASSWORD PROTECT YOUR FILES IN WINDOWS XP

2007-06-19T17:53:00.000+05:30

Working in a shared computer has a big problem. Privacy. You would like to store your private documents and photos in a protected folder. By default, Windows XP doesn't have a strong protection system.

Anyway, there is a protection method available. This method has one condition. The drive of the folder should be in NTFS format. You can not make a folder private if it is in FAT 32 system. Here is how you do it:

Step 1

Right click the folder you want to make private and click 'properties'

Step 2

Click on the 'sharing' tab on the properties window.

Step 3

If the drive is formatted in NTFS, you will see the 'make this folder private' enabled. Like this:

Check that option and supply a password. That is all. If the drive is not formatted in NTFS format, the 'Make this folder private' option will be disabled.

If you want to protect your My documents folder with a password but do not want to re-format your Operating System drive, there is another option.

Just change the path of the 'My document' folder by right clicking and selecting 'properties'. See the screenshot:

This way, you need not format your Windows drive.

Can you identify this person? We all must.

2007-06-15T11:03:00.000+05:30

Without this person, we would not be able to meet online as we are now. Tim Berners Lee. The founder of Internet. He founded the Internet in 1991. Started as a small communication medium, Internet now rules the world. Some of the few activities of our daily life: Email, Browsing, Messenger, Chatting, Blogging, Newspaper reading, Magazine reading, Interactive Games, Live TV, Live Radio, Videos, Earning, Matrimonial, Ticket bookings, Education, Love, Dating, Conference, Free voice calls, Business, Finance, Share trading and the list goes on and on and on...

oh my god.....

Can we live without Internet?

The News:

Sir Tim Berners-Lee joins an elite group who have received the honour from the Queen for exceptional contributions in arts, sciences and other areas.

Let us salute Sir Tim.

Technorati Tags: Tim Berners Lee

Enhance Gmail experience with 'Better Gmail' addon for Firefox.

2007-06-13T16:43:00.000+05:30

Folks at LifeHacker have created a Firefox extension called 'Better Gmail'. 'Better Gmail' is a firefox plugin that has 25 Gmail enhancement scripts. This plugin makes Gmail with Firefox an ultimate experience. These scripts need Greasemonkey to be installed in Firefox.

It has a collection of 25 small scripts to enhance Gmail utility. Some of these scripts are absolutely useful. Let us review few of the best tools.

Filter assistant

It adds a 'filter assistant' button on the individual mail page. By clicking the button, the filtering options window is displayed with the from address is filled by default. See the screenshot:

Click to enlarge

Mailto: links compose in Gmail

I love this one. It adds a small Gmail icon wherever there is an Email link. The icon means, when we click the email link, it will open Gmail compose box, instead of default mail clients like Outlook or ThunderBird.

Attachment Reminder

This reminds you to attach a file to your Gmail if it appears that you have not, based on whether you have the word attach(ed, ment, etc) in the body. Brilliant Idea!

Attachment icons

Shows relevent icons in mails with attachments. See screenshot:

Note the zip icon and jpg icon. This is cool. The old pin icon is boring.

Conversation Preview

This is one of the the very useful tools. Right click any conversation to see the preview in bubbling window. This tool saves us time that we spend clicking the mail and clicking inbox or back button to return to inbox again. Simply superb. Look at the screenshot:

There are many other features like adding Google calendar or Reader in the sidebar, many skins, etc.

Overall its a good work by lifehacker folks.

How to make 'Better Gmail' work? Installation guide for dummies.

Step 1:

Install Greasemonkey if not already installed.

Step 2:

Install Better Gmail.

Step 3:

Restart Firefox.

Step 4:

Click on 'Tools' and then 'Addons' in Firefox menu.

Step 5:

Click on 'options' on Better Gmail entry in Addons list.

Step 6:

Customize it the way you want.

Step 7:

Refresh Gmail to see the changes.

Thats it.

Technorati Tags: Gmail

Smorty - Another great way to earn for bloggers

2007-06-10T12:01:00.001+05:30

Good news for all bloggers. Another great way to get paid to blog. Sounds great to me. I hope it does to you as well.

Smorty is a new way to earn for bloggers. The basic idea of Smorty is to connect advertisers and bloggers to create a win-win situation. There are many advertisers that advertise on blogs to promote their products. Advertisers announce their needs and bloggers can choose opportunities from the list. Advertisers pay bloggers for writing their opinion about them. The opinions are purely of the bloggers. The advertising companies, in no way influence the thoughts of the bloggers.

As far as we have tested them, they are very professional. They pay promptly. Till date we have not had any complaints about late payment or anything of that sort.

Blogging itself is a pleasure. And to blog for money is always double pleasure.

Technorati Tags: Smorty

Do you like to watch news? Do you like to GET PAID for that as well? Wowww.. Read on.

2007-06-07T19:54:00.000+05:30

Well, I love to watch news. Who doesn't? OK, straight to the point. Do you have a website or a blog? Are you looking out for ways to monetize it? There is a good news for you.

TheNewsRoom is a site that has thousands of legal news feeds from all over the world. They run an Advertisement based business model. They have decided to share their revenue with bloggers and website owners. The idea is simple. Just place their embedded video player in your blog or site and get paid when people see it.

Look at the screenshot below to know how the video player looks:

The good news about this service is that, you get paid on a CPM basis against 'CTR' (leave a comment if you are confused about CTR and CPM). The CPM starts at $1

What are the Advantages?

1. You can put relevent news, that matches your niche on your site / blog. You have 1000 + news feeds to select from. Fully customizable.

3. Work around is very easy and simple. Just paste the code.

4. All the feeds are licensed. All fees are from industry leaders like AP, Reuters, AFP among others.

How do you earn?

As I said earlier, TheNewsRoom earns by Advertisements shown on the video. They are sharing the Advertisement revenue with bloggers and website owners. This viral payment model can earn you upto $4 per thousand impression. (Payment Chart can be found here: http://thenewsroom.com/get_paid) Wait. This is not it. There is another way to earn. When someone clicks (they call it mashing) from your site and if that is viewed by people, you earn. We have seen many affiliate programs like this one. But they all stick to $0.15 to the maximum. Top of all these, all registrants have chance to win prizes ranging from Digital Cameras to Laptops to Cars!!

Click here to start:

The News Room

Technorati Tags: The News Room

Change the style of any web page you visit in Firefox

2007-06-06T20:29:00.000+05:30

A Firefox Addon called Stylish enables this. To make long story short, Stylish is to CSS what Greasemonkey is to JavaScript. As simple as that. Ok, for people who are not familiar with all these techy words, let me explain visually:

This is before applying 'stylish':

This is after:

Huh, cool... isn't it?

Ok, now the question is, why do we need this tool? what are the real benefits?

If you ask me if there is any benefit that directly relates to productivity, well, the answer, I am afraid is 'no'. There are other funny aspects for this tool. When you are forced to visit an ugly site (because of its content, may be) regularly, you may think that how good it would be if the style (or CSS, technically) is eye catchy. This tool is a gift for that problem.

How does it work?This wonderful Web 2.0 idea should be appreciated for its pure transparency of the code and coders involved. This works like this:

1. People create scripts for specific sites or for all sites (called 'global scripts')

2. They upload the scripts to http://userstyles.org

3. Once the addon is installed, you will have a short menu in the status bar of Firefox. By clicking that icon, you will be redirected to the list of styles available. Then simply install it. Thats it.

Neat!

Download the Stylish addon.

Technorati Tags: Stylish

Review - Google Gears

2007-06-05T12:10:00.000+05:30

After one week since it started floating live, Google Gears is getting more positive reviews. Google Gear is a surprise product from Google we must say. From day one, Google is developing applications that work online. Probably, this is the first product that is created to work offilne.

What is Google Gears?

Google Gears is an application (or simply a plugin) that enables users to read feeds in offline mode. Once installed, Google Gears can download 2000 recent unread items into user's local drive to make them available for users even when not connected to the internet.

What are the benefits?

1. Can read feeds even when not connected to the internet.

2. Even when connected to the internet, using Gears eliminates the need to share the
internet bandwidth to Google Reader. This lets other internet applications to work faster.

3. As feeds are fetched from local drive (against fetching from Google server in
Online Reader), feeds load much faster. Evidentially faster.

4. It comes with 3 simple APIs for JavaScript. This enables web developers to create
creative interfaces

5. Being a small plugin for both Firefox and IE, it avoids the need of a big application
installation.

What are the Drawbacks?

1. Images and other multimedia elements are not cached, so while reading feeds
offline, it irritates when we are forced to open the site (we need to be online,shit!)
just to see the images or videos.

2. Only 2000 entries are downloaded. As the feed reading habit is rapidly growing,
2000 will be very small a number.

3. The plugin is not available for Safari (for MAC) and Opera.

I personally don't like to work offline. I may use it when my net connection sucks (normally it doesn't happen with Airtel) !

Technorati Tags: Google Gears

Review - MasterSeek Business Search Engine

2007-06-02T10:38:00.000+05:30

MasterSeek is a new business search engine. It is the most largest B2B search engine in the world. The whole idea of this new search engine is to create contact between the customers and the buyers. MasterSeek gives data such as contact information, locality, description of products among others for FREE. As on September 2006, the engine had indexed more than 45 million companies from 75 countries. That is awesome.

How is the performance?

When we tested its performance by searching a specific term, it produced good no. of results. But still, there is scope for improvement.

We contacted 3 random companies from the search results. Data of all the three companies were accurate. We tested by calling their phone and sending email. So, data accuracy is good.

What will make them no. 1?

Having indexed millions of companies, the real challenge for them is to update the data regularly. The phone no. and email are ever changing. Let us see how this search shines in the long run.

masterseek

Verdict: Good.

This is a sponsored post. But the opinions are of the author. The sponsoring company or MasterSeek have not, in anyway, influenced the opinions of the author.

Technorati Tags: MasterSeek

A Hilarious way of online cheating

2007-05-31T18:20:00.000+05:30

When I was browsing a site that relates to travel and recreation last night, I was redirected to a site called usafis.org

I followed that link and first thing that caught my eyes is the RED warning message from SiteAdvisor in my FireFox browser.

Though it is normal for SiteAdvisor to flag bad sites, I was surprised to see this 'org' site being flagged. I was curious to know what was bad about this site. When I saw what SiteAdvisor had to say about this site, I couldn't stop laughing. The reason, SiteAdvisor tells to flag this site bad is really funny. I am not saying SiteAdvisor is reporting wrongly. What made me laugh is the ways people find to cheat online!!

Now, see what SiteAdvisor says about the site:

Goodness Gracious me!!! "Trying to sell you something which is free!!!"

I am using SiteAdvisor for quite sometime now and found it to be pretty accurate.

I wonder if anybody paid for something that is available for free. Be careful folks. We may be buying our own house, car, etc soon!

Technorati Tags: usafis.org, SiteAdvisor

PayPerPost has come up with another great program - PPP Direct

2007-05-28T18:25:00.000+05:30

TechnoPark has been a good friend of PayPerPost for a long time. We are closely following them for quite sometime now. They are very professional in dealing with sponsored posts niche.

Now, the big news is that PayPerPost has introduced direct sponsor review program called 'PPP Direct'. It has made blogging an easy outing.

What is it?

It is a program that enables Advertisers to contact the Blog. The great thing about PPP Direct is that, when compared to what their peers charge for similar services, PPP charge peanuts for the service!! The service charge for PPP Direct is just 10%. You know what? 5% of it goes for the paypal processing.

This is great news for all bloggers who are looking for ways to earn some decent cash by writing decent and honest reviews. You need to simply add a badge in your blog or site. Advertisers will look at the site and if impressed, they will directly contact you for writing reviews about them on your blog.

How do they manage to give us more % than their competitors? Is there a catch? NO. That is the right answer for the question. They do not have any catch. The secret is simple. They simply avoid the middleman between the bloggers and the advertisers so the commission for the middlemen is eradicated and the money is redirected to bloggers.

Now, bloggers have the option of writing great articles with an escrow like payment system that safeguards their work.

Technorati Tags: PayPerPost

The most brain teasing game ever - Sudoku. Review of great online Sudoku game sites.

2007-05-25T10:38:00.000+05:30

I am a die hard fan of Sudoku. In 2005, Sudoku stormed into the world and made millions of fans instantly. It is viral. Big addiction. I play sudoku for hours together. This is the definition of sudoku in Wikipedia:

"Sudoku is a logic-based number placement puzzle. The objective is to fill a 9x9 grid so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3x3 boxes contains the digits from 1 to 9. The puzzle setter provides a partially completed grid."

Here is the sample puzzle:

Here is a sample solution marked in Red:

Here is the list of best sudoku game sites:

WebSudoku - The most popular sudoku site.

Online-Sudoku is cool free site for sudoku. It has a simple interface that makes it unique. It has thousands of sudoku games that rotate randomly.

Sudoku - Offers online and offline versions.

SudokuWeb - Offers Games in variety of levels. Shows % of completion.

DailySudoku - It has rich set of options. Good for advanced players. Not recommended for beginners.

MiniClip - Beautiful interface in Flash. Recommended.

SudokuFun - Interactive and Ranking system. Good site.

JigSawDoku - Another Flash based game. Kids love it.

How to solve sudoku? Here is a great resource by Sourendu Gupta.

Technorati Tags: Sudoku

Google is acquiring Feedburner

2007-05-24T20:39:00.000+05:30

Google is going to burn the feeds from now on. Yes. Yet another acquisition is on the cards. ZDnet reports that Google is acquiring Feedburner for $100 Million. Though not yet confirmed by Google or Feedburner officially, sources close to the companies confirmed it, says ZDnet.

This is a major acquisition by Google after the mega budget YouTube deal. Just to remind you, Google bought Youtube for $1 billion.

This is a very smart move by Google. Feedburner has been the king of RSS and by acquiring it, Google will have the power to control millons of feeds without any serious competition. The real benefit is for the Google Blog Search tool. New blog posts will reflect in Google blog search in no time from now on. Moreover, Google will have accurate details about the feed readers and the no. of users. This will help Google to have a strong eye on the main competitors of Google Reader - Bloglines, Yahoo, Newsgator and co.

The more Google spends, the more it earns!

TechnoPark will follow this story and will update regularly.

Techtorati Tags: Google, Feedburner

Does your photo frame look old for you? Replace it with Digital Photo Frame

2007-05-24T16:43:00.000+05:30

We are living in digital era. Truly. Here is one amazing new digital innovation, Digital Photo Frame. This Excellent device can play slide shows or movies. Simply shoot photos or videos from any device including but not limited to Mobile phones, Digital Cameras and Camcorders.

DigitalFramez.com is an online store specializing in LCD Digital Photo Frames. Their products are brilliant. They are offering Frames in different sizes, 7, 8, 9 and 10". There are many super features available in the products. Though it is called 'photo frames', what makes it a brilliant product is the ability to play movies with sound, DivX, MPEG, Xvid and MP3s

Operating this product is very easy. Just transfer your memory card from any device and start enjoying. Its 5 in 1 card reader can read CF/XD/MS/SD/MMC cards. It comes with a remote control unit to make life easier. To make things even better, it has USB 2.0 port as well. It has a built in timer that enables us to rotate photos at a specific time and/or intervals.

Last but not the least: This Digital Photo Frame comes with 128 MB memory card for FREE!

What else do you want?

Technorati Tags: Digital Photo Frames

Attach files upto 20 MB with Gmails now

2007-05-24T11:23:00.000+05:30

Gmail has got a news for us. They let us attach files upto 20 MB with mails sent from Gmail. Earlier it was 10 MB. This is an expected move from Gmail as the competition grows thick and fast. Earlier, Yahoo cut off its limitation on email storage and made it unlimited. Windows live mail, which was adamant in offering only 2 MB storage per email account for a long time is offering 2 GB now. AOL is revamping its mail and now is offering 2 GB. Only Lycos seems to be having no limitation on storage or attachment in its mail system.

The war is on now.

Windows Live Mail says India's biggest e-commerce site, IRCTC is 'phishing'

2007-05-18T10:21:00.000+05:30

IRCTC.co.in is the biggest E-Commerce site in India. It is the online ticket booking site of world's biggest Railway Network, the Indian Railways. More than 30000 tickets are booked through IRCTC site in a day. Users need to have an email id to book tickets. Those who register in the site with Windows Live mail (or hotmail) are in for a surprise. Windows Live mail system flags mails from IRCTC as Phishing!! Look at the screenshot:

Click to enlarge

This is happening for a long time. The IRCTC site is very popular in India. It has PR 6 from Google. Ranked in top 2500 sites by Alexa. And it is a well known Govt of India site.

This is ridiculous. This is a big insult for the Indian Govt. This shows the working pattern of the guys behind IRCTC and and Railways. I dont know if they had communicated to the Microsoft team. This issue can be seen in another angle too. It raises a question about the reliability of the site. When Live mail blocks something, there should be something questionable in it.

As a regular user, I have mailed both the parties about the issue. Lets see how far it goes.

Technorati Tags: IRCTC, Live Mail

Finally Yahoo made the inevitable... Unlimited Storage.

2007-05-17T19:47:00.000+05:30

Yahoo Email offers Unlimited storage now. The long awaited move has been made at last. Yahoo leads the Email war now. With Google and Live mail have limitations (2 GB), Yahoo is the first one to erase the limitation. Even though it is unlimited, the limitation for attachments is still there.

The unlimited storage will be rolled out in phases. One easy way to know if your account have been updated is to watch the storage meter. If it is not present in your inbox, then it means that you have unlimited storage now.

Now, it is just a matter of time before Google, AOL, Live and other popular emails systems to offer unlimited space.

Stylish inline commenting with LineBuzz

2007-05-17T10:23:00.000+05:30

Comments in blogs is becoming the most desirable ways to communicate and debate with the author and other readers. In this web 2.0 era, there are many sites that takes comments seriously. Recently, we wrote about commentful, a tool to get noticed when somebody replies to your comments in blogs.

LineBuzz is a new web tool that enables the users to comment 'inline' in any blog. Yesterday we integrated their script into our blog to test it. It didn't work at the first go. Today morning, we had a virtual chatting session (that is, talking over inline commenting in linebuzz blog) with Mark of linebuzz. He is a super active guy and he replied to our queries super fast and helped us fix the problem. Thanks Mark.

What is linebuzz?

It is a tool to comment inline on any blog and in any browser. To enable the inline commenting, Blog owners and web publishers need to install a small javascript into their template.

How does it work?

Readers can select (highlight) part of an article and post comments for it. When you highlight a piece of text, you will get a new small window that gives you option to comment on that particular text you highlighted. Users can reply to that comment and practically, it will become like a instant forum. It has a capcha included in it, so spammers are blinded. This is so cool. You can test it here in TechnoPark itself.

Benefits:

Can be used to point mistakes on a specific part of a big post. Can be used to annotate. Can be used to explain a particular phrase by the author himself.

Drawbacks:

Can become messy when comments pour in. It may take time to load when more comments are there. As far as I know, the author has no control over comments placed. It should have been there.

Verdict: Good service. Scope for improvements.

Technorati Tags: linebuzz, commenting

Best FreeTCP setting tweaker

2007-05-14T16:36:00.000+05:30

When we were searching for solid ways to tweak our Modem performance, we came across a brilliant TCP tweaker program. Its name is TCPOptimizer. It is a product of SpeedGuide.net. The best thing about this product is that it is FREE.

Normally, we need to tweak one of the TCP settings called MaxMTU. Tweaking it manually is a cumbersome process. TCPOptimizer makes life easier by tweaking it automatically.

This is how the product has been introduced by SpeedGuide:

The program can aid both the novice and the advanced user in tweaking related TCP/IP parameters in the Windows Registry, making it easy to tune your system to the type of Internet connection used. The tool uses advanced algorithms, and the bandwidth*delay product to find the best TCP Window for your specific connection speed. It provides for easy tuning of all related TCP/IP parameters, such as MTU, RWIN, and even advanced ones like QoS and ToS/Diffserv prioritization. The program works with all current versions of Windows, and includes additional tools, such as testing average latency over multiple hosts, and finding the largest possible packet size (MTU).

Here is a screenshot:

Click here to download.

"Battery is full, please unplug the charger" -Nokia

2007-05-11T21:34:00.000+05:30

Now, our beloved Nokia mobiles will alert you when the Battery is full. It will stress you to unplug the charger from the wall socket once the battery is full.

These alerts are available in Nokia 1200, 1208 and 1650 models. It will be rolled out in all models soon.

There is a surprising news not many of us would already have known:

"Around two-thirds of the energy used by a mobile phone is lost when it is unplugged after charging, but the charger itself is left in a live socket."

said by Kirsi Sormunen, Vice President of Environmental Affairs, Nokia.

In the report, Techtree says that it is learnt that, this is an environmental initiative by mobile manufacturers, led by Nokia. And obviously, Nokia is the first company to implement it.

Via Techtree
Picture courtesy: Nokia.com

Technorati Tags: Nokia

Top 5 browsing tips for safe online life.

2007-05-10T12:13:00.000+05:30

"hey man, I was waiting for you in Yahoo"

"sorry, i forgot to login as I was occupied in MySpace"

"Why didn't you GTalk? or MSN"

"I was in Orkut and was watching a Youtube video that james had sent me in AOL"

This type of conversations would have been considered 'lunatic' some 7 or 8 years back. Today, things are totally different. If you don't know what MySpace or Youtube is, you are considered 'backward'. Internet has become the undisputed king of technology inventions.

As with any other inventions, internet is also bound to have its own share of evil. It is not a safer place if it is treated with caution. How to browse safely? This article lists out the top 5 browsing habits for safer web experience.

Top 5
Stop Cookies.

Cookies are nothing but a piece of information about you and your system, stored in your computer by the websites you visit. These cookies from most of the sites are not useful to us in anyway. But it can not be avoided when login is required in a site. So, allow cookies for site like Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, MySpace, Digg, etc. where you need to login. Block cookies from other sites that you casually browse.

Quick tip: Blocking cookies: Firefox [Tools - Options - Privacy] IE: [Tools - Delete browsing history]

Top 4
Be cautious with JavaScript and ActiveX

JavaScript and ActiveX are the main reason for the interactive nature of web. At the same time, these two little brothers can destroy and demolish your system in no time. ActiveX is almost eliminated. Only IE can run ActiveX scripts. So, IE users are requested to disable ActiveX scripting. As far as JavaScript is concerned, Almost 80% sites use it. Avoiding JavaScript is impractical in many cases. The solution is to have control over the script. You must decide whether to allow JavaScript from a particular site or not. Obviously, you can allow it to run when it comes from well known sites. You can control JavaScript in Firefox with the extension called NoScript. Use McAfee SiteAdvisor Extension for both FireFox and IE to know about a site.

Top 3
Control applications that access net

You must be aware that many applications in your system access internet with or without your knowledge. Actually, there is no real reason for these applications to access net. For example, a small free tetris game that you installed from a lesser known site may be accessing the internet without your knowledge. The worst case is, there may be invisible applications that may be accessing net to send information about you and your system. How to avoid this? You can have 100% control over which applications should access net and which should not by setting up your firewall correctly. This activity prevents most of the security threats. I personally use ZoneAlarm and McAfee firewalls for this purpose.

Top 2
Use Antivirus and Antispyware

This is a well know point in computer security. Using Antivirus and Antispyware products is a must, if you want a peaceful online life. Updating them regularly is another important thing. There are free as well as premium products available in the market. There are best free products that work on par with the paid ones. I recommend these:

AntiVirus: ZoneAlarm, McAfee, Bitdefender
Antispware: AdAware, Windows Defender.

Top 1
Don't visit bad sites.

Yes, I meant it. You may be surprised to see this as top ranking habit. But, this is a fact. To prevent your private information from stolen and to prevent your system from malware attack, it is advisable not to visit any bad site. What do we mean by 'bad' site here? Any site that tries to act as another popular site (this is called phishing) or any site that downloads scripts and executables without your permission is considered to be bad. Generally people visit these sites to / for :

Download movies, softwares or music illegally.
Get 'serial keys' or 'activation codes' illegally for licensed softwares.
Pornography.
Money making, Gambling, etc.

All the above mentioned areas of web is bundled with spywares and viruses. These are traps. Don't fall for it. I hope everybody will agree with me.

We are proud announce that, this article is a part of the 'Group Writing Project' at Problogger.net

Technorati Tags: Problogger, Group Writing Project

JavaFX, Full stop to AJAX

2007-05-09T19:40:00.000+05:30

This is a bad news for AJAX Developers, who is sweating in fighting with AJAX code to make it work both in FireFox and IE.

All the AJAX code will be going to dust bin soon.

Sun Microsystems has introduced a new scripting language called JavaFX. JavaFX is a new extension to the Java family.

What does the language offer?

JavaFX is a blend of Animation, Interactivity and programming interface that works with Adobe Flash and Microsoft's new Silverlight technology. The difference is that, it uses the Java Runtime instead of JavaScript.

In the press conference, James Gosling of Sun said "Most scripting languages are oriented at banging out Web pages. This is oriented around interfaces that are highly animated,"

JavaFX is secured. How?

At present, AJAX uses constant connection with JavaScript to function. On the other hand, JavaFX is designed in such a way that it uses desktop integration of over-the-wire applications with Java. What does it mean? It means, JavaFX need not use a large amount of JavaScripts that is sent over the network. Instead it works well by using the locally installed Java SE files.

This design, eventually eliminates a big security threat posed by AJAX by send or receiving JavaScripts with malicious code embedded in it.

Another advantage JavaFX has over AJAX is that, unlike AJAX, it doesn't demand content creators to be programmers. The goal is to make it easy, so people never have to see code.

Sun is coming back strongly. Remember their decade old mantra? "Write Once, Run Anywhere". They are making us rememer it after a long time!

Does JavaFX signal the end of the road for AJAX?

Technorati Tags: JavaFX, AJAX, Sun Microsystems, JavaScript, Silverlight, Flash

What is Gmail Child Email

2007-05-08T17:25:00.000+05:30

There are times when you need to create a child email account within a parent email ID. The best example is the real meaning of the 'child' account. Suppose your child wants an email ID. It is pretty obvious that you don't want him or her to get distracted by the very bad nature of the internet and the spam culture. Now what is the solution?

Do not worry. Gmail lets you create a child email account within your existing Gmail account. There are two options. One is to use your same Gmail ID with a '+' symbol followed by child name. For example, if your gmail id is johnny@gmail.com, then your child id can be like jhonny+peter@gmail.com. The other option is to add another email id (other than the Gmail ID you are adding now). For example petermario@yahoo.ocm

Here are the steps:

1. Click on settings

2. Click on 'Accounts Tab and then Click on 'Add another email address' link.

3. Type name of the child (or anybody in that case!) and the email id.

4. Now, your Accounts setting page should look like this. You have two options for reply to choose from. Look at the self explanatory screenshot below.

5. Try composing a mail now. You will have a drop down menu in the 'from' field. Look at the screenshot below.

This is an useful feature in more ways than the one mentioned here. Limited only by your imagination.

Technorati Tags: Gmail

A small fix for FireFox memory leak problem

2007-05-07T19:04:00.000+05:30

FireFox users are familiar with the memory leak problem. FireFox keeps on eating memory. At times, it crosses 250 MB too. We came across a cool fix. It is not an official fix, but it works for many.

Ryan, who found this cool fix says that FireFox stops consuming memory when minimized. For example, he adds, Firefox was at 180MB of memory usage and then he minimized it and after a few seconds he maximized it. After maximizing it and continuing on his other works it appeared to only have gone up to 60MB.

Nice to hear.

Here is what you have to do to tweak:

Open Firefox and go to the Address Bar. Type in about:config and then press Enter.
Right Click in the page and select New -> Boolean.
In the box that pops up enter config.trim_on_minimize. Press Enter.
Now select True and then press Enter.
Restart Firefox.

Here is the original article. Picture taken from the same article.

Thanks to Ryan.

System requirements for Vista - An expert analysis from an expert company, Fast-teks Inc.

2007-05-03T20:06:00.000+05:30

Fast-teks is an on-site computer service company in the U.S. They have offered free system requirements checking for Vista to run, on the service visits.

In an interview to ITNewsOnline.com, Cari Diaz, director of franchise support at Fast-teks has listed out the 'must have' things for each systems for Vista to run.

Here is the list:

1. Download and run Windows Upgrade Advisor

The Upgrade Advisor examines the system and lists out the available Vista versions for that system. You need to have the following things in order to run Upgrade Advisor:

* Administrator privileges
* .NET 2.0*
* MSXML6*
* 20 MB of free hard disk space
* An internet connection

* While installing the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, it will detect if these components are present. If not, it will provide a link to where they can be downloaded. They are required to complete installation.

2. Check your CPU

Do you have a CPU that runs below 800 Mhtz? You have two choices. One: Upgrade it. Two: Forget Vista.

3. RAM

512 MB is the minimum requirement. 1 GB will make your life easier with Vista.

4. Hard Disk

Man, Vista is space hungry! 40 GB is minimum. Dont get shocked if I say you need to have 15 GB free space in it!

5. Graphics adapter

A major portion of Vista requirement, says Cari, is the Graphics adapter. So, spend some serious bucks in a good Graphics adapter, if you don't have one.

6. DVD drive

This is crazy... eeeeks.. DVD drive is a must. Don't have DVD drive? forget Vista, once again.

Though Vista looks expensive, like any other Windows OS, this is a beautiful software. Right blend of style and productivity.

Warning: Never use pirated version of Vista. Many systems were crashed by lack of security patches in pirated versions.

Technorati Tags: Vista, Cari Diaz, Fast-teks

Greatest Illusion ever!!

2007-05-03T17:15:00.000+05:30

This is an amazing illusion. The best I have ever seen. You can't believe your eyes.

Follow the instructions:

1. Relax and concentrate on the 4 small dots in the middle of the picture for about 30 - 40 seconds.

2. Then, take a look at a wall near you (any smooth single colored surface will do).

3. You will see a circle of light developing.

4. Start blinking your eyes a couple of times and you will see a figure emerging....

5. What do you see? Who do you see?

Ecstasy!!!

Disclaimer: We did not develop this graphics. We got it through mail from one of our readers, Andrew. Thanks Andrew.

Technorati Tags: Illusion

Google personalized homepage is now called 'iGoogle'

2007-05-02T12:24:00.000+05:30

No, this is not an Apple-Google venture!! It has nothing to do with iPod and iPhone!! Google has renamed their personalized home page to 'iGoogle'. What is 'i'? Internet? Idea? Information? No. 'I' means I. I Google. Sounds a little good for me. The small letter 'i' reminds all of us of iPod and iPhone, doesn't it? I hope there is no conspiracy behind the naming.

OK, lets looks at some of the new features of this newly named product (or feature, as googlers call it).

Themes

All the existing themes are now available to all (earlier it was available in US only). Few great looking new themes have been introduced.

Gadgets

iGoogle lets us build new Gadgets easily. The catch is that you dont need to be a programmer to build. I like these gadgets: Calendar, ToDo list, Gmail, Notes, Calculator, Translator, Imagehosting, Currency converter, etc. I have it all in one single page. Very much productive. Loads of new gadgets are on the way.

Overall, this step of google is another attempt to make the users spend more time at google. It is an one stop site now.

Technorati Tags: iGoogle

TechnoPark is now a 'ReviewMe' member

2007-05-02T09:57:00.000+05:30

I am happy to announce that TechnoPark is a member of ReviewMe now. The initial price has been set to $60 to get reviewd by this site. The reviews will be neutral. The review posts will be clearly tagged as 'Paid Reviews'. Opinions will be of our own.

I take this moment to thank all our readers and supporters to have made this blog a reality. I also thank my blogging friends Asish of Technospot.net, Garry at GarryConn, Antony at CrystalCoastTech, Thilak at Tech-Buzz, Madhur of WhoIsMadhur and Abhishek from Technixupdate among others.

Special Thanks to Baajhan, my childhood friend who pushed me to this blog world.

Are you FAT? or becoming FAT? FatSecret helps you.

2007-04-30T15:51:00.000+05:30

Are you interested in diets and related stuff? Then, FatSecret is a right place for you. FatSecret is a new Web 2.0 site that gives us a platform to share our knowledge in dieting and weight losing. One has to register for free to access the features. The main feature of this web 2.0 site is to monitor the weight by stating the current weight and goal weight. The site lets us know various diet programs (very clever ads, in fact.. lol). The diets are analyzed and ranked by the users.

One of the nice features is the graph they present for the updated daily weights of the users and the graph is shown on the profile page. This is very useful in controlling out junk eatings :)

How? haha... When you see the graph grow negative from the 'goal weight' point, an alarm rings in your brain, doesn't it? ;)

Another nice thing to note is the 'recipe' section. Users are allowed to upload their own recipes and FatSecret tells you the nutritional value by analyzing the amount and types of ingredients.

Verdict: Excellent Startup with scope for improvements.

Technorati Tags: fatsecrets

Update: Middio creator responded

2007-04-25T09:55:00.000+05:30

We had written about Middio three days back. We had accused them and TechCrunch for promoting piracy. Jake Jarvis, creator of Middio has responded saying that they index only legal videos uploaded by music companies. This is what he had to say:

"I created Middio, so I just wanted to clear this up: Middio only indexes music videos lawfully uploaded to YouTube by recording companies like UMG, Sony BMG, Interscope, etc. Not one video included in our database was uploaded unauthorized."

Thanks Jake. Lets see how it works. All the best.

Update 2: 25th April Evening India Time:

Jake had been super fast to send me an invitation to Middio as I requested him. As he had claimed, the site has been indexing only legal songs, as far as I browsed. It seems to be a cool site to hang hangout.

We will review it again once the interface becomes rich and it becomes available for public access.

Lots of interesting WebCam shows at EarthCam

2007-04-24T18:21:00.000+05:30

Watching webcam shows is always great. Lots of very interesting and eye catching Cam showing Animals, Nature, Traffic, Highways and many more.

EarthCam is a WebCam search engine. It has so many cam feeds from allover the world. I love watching Gorillas and Pandas live. Its amazing to see those gorgeous darlings play with with each other innocently.

Many feeds available at the site have zooming and moving facilities. You can control the cameras.

Watch this amazing crystal clear elephant cam here

I am searching for a live cam that shows rain or snow rain.

Are we really fighting against piracy?

2007-04-23T09:19:00.000+05:30

I don't think so. Top companies like Yahoo! and google have been accused for plagiarism. Top bloggers commonly copy contents and images without giving any credit to the original author.

Why am I talking about this now?

Today morning I read an article in TechCrunch about a new web startup called Middio. Middio is all about collecting unauthorized music videos uploaded by users on Youtube. In addition to collecting the unauthorized music videos, Middio adds tags the videos for easy search. Piracy at its peak. What is more disturbing in this story is that, a mega popular technology blog like TechCrunch, which has more than 350k subscribers is promoting this venture.

Already, there are many cases pending against Youtube for having unauthorized videos on its site. Dont we have the responsibility to eradicate piracy in all forms? Doesn't TechCrunch have the responsibility?

Technorati Tags: Techcrunch, Middio, Piracy

Follow any web page updates easily with notifyr

2007-04-19T19:28:00.000+05:30

Are you keep on visiting a site just to see if it has an update that you are looking for? I do it. Let me explain the scenario. I am waiting for an University to open up its engineering admissions for this season. I keep on visiting the site and the specific page of the course daily to see if the admission is open or not. I see the phrase "Admission is yet to be opened". It will be nice if somebody notifies me if the phrase changes as the University site does not offer any notification service for admissions.

notifyr does exactly that. Just supply notifyr the URL of the page and the phrase you want to monitor and provide an email id. Thats it. it will notify you if the phrase disappears or appears. See this screenshot:
It is as simple as that.

Technology is a gift. It is all about ideas that improve our quality of living.

Technorati Tags: notifyr

It is official now. Firefox can work with Windows media player.

2007-04-18T17:31:00.000+05:30

Now we have got the official Windows Media Player plug-in for Firefox released by Microsoft. This plug-in lets us play WMV video, WMA Audio and any other streaming videos seamlessly.

The good thing about this plugin is that it supports from Windows Media Player version 6.4 and and later. Installation process is very simple. Just 3 or 4 clicks.

Now it will be easy to watch live TVs from various sites like IDesiTV.com and many other in Firefox too.

Download Firefox Windows Media Player Plugin

Easy way to follow comments on blog posts

2007-04-16T18:09:00.000+05:30

We read many blogs and leave comments at large numbers. Following all the comments is a hectic task. Of course there are few sites that offer RSS feeds for comments, but not all sites do it.

Commentful is a new Web 2.0 service that helps us follow the comments very easily and effectively. It is a product of Blogflux, a well known site among bloggers.

It works very smoothly. It needs a free registration. You can login with the Blogflux ID if you have already registered in blogflux.com. After logging in, simply add the url of the comment and Commentful will do the rest.

3 ways of Adding comment pages to track:

1. The good thing about this service is that it comes with the Firefox extension. This extension makes life much easier. Whenever you want to track a page, just right click it and select 'Add to commentful'. That really is it!! Fantastic. Works like charm. Click here to install the Comentful Extension for FireFox

2. Use the bookmarket. Drag this link to the toolbar: Add To Commentful. Whenever you want to track a page for comments, just click the link in your toolbar.

3. After logging in, Just visit the 'Watchlist' page.

Getting Notified of New Comments:

1. Install the FireFox extension. It will place a small 'bulb' in your status bar. Yellow = no new comments to read, Green = new comments to read. Just click the bulb to have your Watchlist page open.

2. Subscribe to your Watchlist RSS feed. Visit your Watchlist - there is an RSS link at the top, left of 'mark all as read'

3. Visit your Watchlist in your browser.

Technopark Verdict: Very Good.

Technorati Tags: Commentful

Review of Online Image editing tool Fauxto

2007-04-12T19:26:00.000+05:30

Image editing is a process of changing and manipulating photographs and other graphics, usually performed electronically using software applications such as Adobe Photoshop. Installing a software like Photoshop has two problems. Firstly, it eats hell lot of memory and affects the system performance considerably. The second problem is obvious. Yes, it is not free! You need to spend much for it.

If you are not into serious image editing, then it is advisable to give online image editing tools a shot. This article discusses about an online image editing tool called fauxto.

Fauxto has all the basic features that image editing tools are supposed to have. Cropping, Rotating, Resizing, Pencil, Brush, Smudge, Text and many more. It has a rich set of filtering optins. See the screenshot:

Surprisingly, it has the 'layer' feature. For a small online tool like this, a layer feature is awesome.

A free registration is required to use Fauxto. Fauxto has online album and thousands of photos uploaded by users. We can edit photos from our computer, web or our fauxto album.

Overall, it is a great free tool for good image editing work.

Technorati Tags: Fauxto, Image editing tool

Google plays cricket

2007-04-10T20:21:00.000+05:30

It is nice to see Google showing interest in Cricket. I am thrilled to see this URL: http://www.google.co.in/cricket. This Cricket dedicated page has many good gadgets. See the screenshots:

There is a blogging contest going on here. If you blog about Cricket, then you may like to participate. Nice to see former India captain Krish Srikanth blog in blogspot.

Overall, this place is a cool hangout for cricket maniacs.

Technorati Tags: Cricket, Google, Krish Srikanth

Useful Addons for IE 7 (Part 2)

2007-04-07T19:07:00.000+05:30

The article continues here..

4. YouTube downloader and converter

We have seen many tools to download YouTube videos in FireFox. This is a great tool for IE 7 that has an edge over its counterpart in FireFox. This tool has a converter that converts the downloaded FLV format to AVI, MOV(MAC), MP4 (IPOD, PSP), 3GP(Mobile), mp3 (Audio only). Get it here.

5. SmartMouse

Those who have worked in Opera knows very well about the Mouse Gesture functionality. Its great. Now, this tool SmartMouse is trying to fill that gap in IE. It works well too. We cant give it a five star rating because it doesn't have a customizable mouse gesture option. Download from here.

6. AutoRefresher

Another feature that Opera has and other two browsers don't is the Auto Refreshing of pages. This tool does exactly that. You can set time intervals for different page window. Istaller/uninstaller are included with this package. Get it here.

7. IE7 Open Last Closed Tab

Its a simple tool but very effective. It does well what it says it does well. 'Alt+X' reopens the last closed tab. It has another great feature. Hit 'Alt+q' and you will get thumbnail view of all closed windows. Good tool. Download from here.

8. Nutshell Toolbar

Multiple search engine integration tool. Select the word or phrase and right click to get list of Search engines including Google, Yahoo, Live, IMDB and many more. No need to navigate to these sites and type in the query. Nice tool. It is available here.

There are many more Addons available. Windows Marketplace is a Microsoft site, so you can trust it. While installing Addons from other sites, be careful of the source site.

If you come across a good Addon, Share it with us.

Technorati Tags: IE, IE7, Addons, WindowsMarketPlace

Useful Addons for IE 7

2007-04-06T20:08:00.000+05:30

IE 7 lacks many features of Firefox 2 and Opera 9. Adblock, Permatab, NoScript, GreaseMonkey and many great features are missing in IE. Here are a few Addons that try to make IE look more dynamic.

1. Inline Search by Core Systems

Though it doesn't match the "Find while you type" feature in firefox, its a good inline search tool. It has to be raised by pressing Ctrl + F. Download from here.

2. Spell checker

Simple extension to check spellings for the forms and input text boxes. It looks fast and accurate. Accessible from Right click menu. As with any other spell checker, this allows us to add words in the dictionary. The negatives are that it doesn't check for errors as you type and it can't correct punctuation errors. Here is the download page.

3. WordClick

This is a tool to search the web in one click (click, double click or alt+click.... you can set it). Click on any word in a page and get results from your desired search engine. A good thing about this tool is that it allows us to set the speed for how long to hover over a word before the it becomes an active link. Nice tool. Get it from here.

(To be continued...)

See What Is Inside Google Office

2007-04-05T10:38:00.000+05:30

Recently I came across a video posted in Youtube that shows how heavenly it feels to work with Google. This is Googleplex headquarters located in Mountain View, California.

They get 3000 applications a day!! No wonder. Googlers are allowed to take their pets inside. Huh, What else you want from your employer?

This lifestyle, or work style rather, doesn't affect Google's profit margin. In last 2 years, the profit margin is skyrocketing!!

Technorati Tags: Google, Google Office

Boost your site traffic and Search Engine position with the help of EVisibility

2007-04-02T10:29:00.000+05:30

There is a common thing that all the Webmasters want. Traffic. Traffic is the key to success in any online venture. Search Engine Optimization helps us to get organic visitors.

When we hunted for a great site that can assist us in SEO and Traffic Building. We filtered many sites and final list was prepared with 5 sites in hand. We made careful evaluation of those sites and concluded with one. The site is evisibility.com. They are in the market quite a few years now.

Before any feature review, first lets see how they can help you:

Get More Traffic to your website
Launch a Product
Build or Manage your CPC campaign
Target Customer Locally
Increase conversions on your site

Why did we select it? Read on for the reasons. They are so very experienced in Search Engine Marketing and Organic Search Engine Optimization listings. Around 10 years. They have technology to manage both large and small cost-per-click campaigns.

They have something very special in the name of 'Client Dashboard'. They are many useful items displayed in the dashboard like Keyword reports, Analysis Report, Placement Report and many more. The 'Competitive Analysis' they offer is a great tool.

eVisibility keeps you informed with a competitive analysis of all of the following:

1. Web traffic
2. Traffic trends
3. Website saturation (the number of pages you have indexed)
4. Page rank scores
5. Page rank flow
6. Inbound links
7. Link popularity
8. Keyword Ranking
9. Website position in search engine results pages

'Website usability testing' is another good feature. It allows you to understand your customer's preferences and expectations.

Overall, this site is a must for webmasters.

New Innovative Web Directory - BigWebLinks

2007-03-31T11:30:00.000+05:30

We have seen many Web Directories that list many links in many categories. Most of the directories sort the listings by popularity, Page Rank, or alphabetically. The Big Web Links Bid Directory differs here. It sort the listings by the contribution amount. How does it benefit the site owners? I will tell you. This style of sorting of the listings gives webmasters greater control over where their site is listed in the directory. Say, I want my site to appear in the top page. I can do it by adjusting the dollar amount to the amount needed to make it appear on the top page. The more you bid, the top you go.

Added to this, the top 10 listers are shown on the home page and top 20 listers are displayed on the top link page. This is not it. More to come. There is a page dedicated for each category.

Adding all, there are 4 links possible in the directory!! Awesome.

They are promoting the directory massively. I am damn sure they are going to get a decent Google PR.

Download Vista Drivers For Free at RadarSync

2007-03-30T16:24:00.000+05:30

Get all the Vista drivers here at RadarSync. They have Drivers for Creative, Crystal, Dell, Intel, Logitech, RealTek, Yamaha, Marvell, HP, D-Link and many more. They are updating it regularly. So, before you search anywhere else for Vista Drivers, Try at RadarSync. They have got a tool that finds the best drivers for your Vista. You can get it from their home page.

Technorati Tags: Vista, Vista Drivers, RadarSync

Search stylishly with previews of results with Snap.com. Finally a real competitor for google?

2007-03-30T10:25:00.000+05:30

Snap.com is a great new way to search web sites and images. What makes it differ from the existing search engines? Well, in simple words, it offers preview of the resulting web pages even before you visit them. Look at the screenshot below for better understanding:

The Outlook like interface makes life easier. Saves time considerably. The image search is pretty useful. It pre-loads the images while we browse the results. It makes us browse the resulting images seamlessly. I love it.

It has a webmaster tool that enables the site owners to offer their users to get a preview on mouse hover of the external links on the pages. Many bloggers and site owners use it. It has a Firefox and Internet Explorer plugins as well to search from the search bar.

As far as speed of searching is concerned, it obviously is not as speed as Google. But considering the other cool features it has, the speed can be compromised.

Technorati Tags: Snap, Snap.com, Search Engine

Scrap Ease Beta launched

2007-03-29T10:03:00.000+05:30

Another Web 2.0 site. Scrap Ease is a cool scrapbooking site. Scrap Ease is a blend of Online Photo sharing and Image editing. Users add photos and then edit it like cropping, rotating, etc and share digital scrapbooks online. ScrapEase offers the ability to browse kits of coordinating embellishments and papers. Returning to your favorite papers and embellishments is easy with your Ideabox, a personal collection of favorites. If you find a particular album or layout inspiring, you can also add those to your Ideabox, too.

The notable feature of this site is its interface. Very neat and eye catchy. The fonts and styles are carefully chosen to make the users feel at home. Kids will be attracted by the look and feel.

As all other web 2.0 sites, this one is also using a software that works on web browser. The advantage of Web 2.0 softwares is that, the users need not download or install anything on their system. This is not like ActiveX too. So, no so security threat.

The site requires a free registration to use the service. When we tested it, it worked fast. No complaints whatsoever. It has a very good tutorial at the beginning that will help users understand the concept.

Its has many cool features that other popular sites like MySpace, Flickr, Facebook and Digg among others.

Verdict: For the look, ScrapEase looks awesome. Lets see how far it performs in the long run. Lets wish them all the best.

Technorati Tags: ScrapEase, Web 2.0

Some Interesting Google Facts

2007-03-27T19:08:00.000+05:30

Interesting facts about the search engine giant:

It would take 5,707 years to do a manual search of Google's 3 billion Web pages, at one minute a page.
How long it usually takes Google to search its database? Just 0.5 seconds.
The prime reason the Google home page is so bare is due to the fact that the founders didn’t know HTML and just wanted a quick interface. In fact it was noted that the submit button was a long time coming and hitting the RETURN key was the only way to burst Google into life.
Due to the plain nature of the homepage, in early user tests the testers noticed people just sitting looking at the screen. After a minute of nothingness, the tester intervened and asked ‘What is happening?’ to which they replied “We are waiting for the rest of it”. To solve that particular problem the Google Copyright message was inserted to announce the end of the page.
The infamous "I feel lucky" is nearly never used. However, in trials it was found that removing it would somehow reduce the Google experience. Users wanted it kept. It was a comfort button.
Orkut is very popular in Brazil. Orkut was the brainchild of a very intelligent Google engineer who was pretty much given free reign to run with it, without having to go through the normal Google UI procedures, hence the reason it doesn't look or feel like a Google application. They are looking at improving Orkut to cope with the loads it places on the system.
The name 'Google' was an accident. A spelling mistake made by the original founders who thought they were going for 'Googol'
Gmail was used internally for nearly 2years prior to launch to the public. They discovered there was approximately 6 types of email users, and Gmail has been designed to accommodate these 6.

Source: An evening with Google's Marissa Mayer

Technorati Tags: Google, Interesting Facts

Like in Opera, How to Auto Reload web pages in Firefox

2007-03-26T16:42:00.000+05:30

One of the useful features Opera has is its Auto reloading ability. You can set a specific time in which you want the web page to be reloaded. By default, Firefox lacks this ability.

There is an Extension in Firefox that does just that. Its called 'ReloadEvery'. It enables us to set specific time intervals in which the web page to be reloaded. Simple but effective. The functionality is available from the context menu as in Opera or via a drop down menu on the reload button.

It supports Firefox: 1.5 – 2.0.0.*

Here is the home page.

Download ReloadEvery from here.

Technoreati Tags: Firefox, ReloadEvery

4 Strong Reasons Why We Should Not Buy Vista

2007-03-23T16:44:00.000+05:30

Microsoft says "The WOW begins now". Apple says "The wow started 5 years back". Do we really need the wow? Is it worth spending for the wow? When we tested it in TechnoPark, we found a few reasons for not switching from XP. Here are the reasons:

1. Extraordinary Resource Requirement:

Vista demands very high system resource requirement. It requires 1 GB RAM and 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor for business users. This is pretty high. There is no justification for this huge requirement given from Microsoft. In the Hardware front, you just need to have latest systems. Your old laptops and desktops are going to work well with Vista.

2. Cost of Migration:

The cost of migration is more than the price of the Operation System itself. What we mean by migration is Installation, testing, software and hardware upgrades. The effort of the entire installation process is not justified.

3. Backward Compatibility:

Microsoft is well known for its Compatibility problems. Vista is not exception for that. It is worse than its senior OS brothers. Business houses are worst hit. Backward compatibility is not well addressed. Device drivers and low level utilities are at the receiving end. Testing is vital before any serious usage.

4. Graphical User Interface:

We are largely used to some of the GUI features of XP. Even though Vista has some cool UI changes, these changes make no sense to us. It looks like the changes in UI have been made for the sake of doing it. Some of the default sizes of the fonts in the Vista themes are undersized. You may need a power glass to read it.

Verdict:

Overall, even though Vista has notable cool features, it is not worth for the price tag. There is no one productivity reason that compels one to buy it. Looks like a Costly Gimmicks.

Technorati Tags: Vista, XP

Lots of HP secrets. Revealed by a former employee

2007-03-22T15:22:00.000+05:30

A former employee of the Hewlett Packard has revealed many secrets about HP printers. The reason for his disclosure is unknown. The reliability need not questioned because all the secrets are practical and can be tested. Her are a few interesting of those secrets:

Many HP Printers, like their laser printers, have a built-in page-count after which they won't work.
To get past the voice prompt system, repeatedly say "Agent."
If a set of cartridges cost more than the printer, don't buy the printer. - Very interesting. He writes that HP service engineers are told not to spend more than 30 minutes on those printers as at that point, we are wasting HP money.
Any HP printer that has been on the market for 6 months has its tech support outsourced. - As expected, India plays a major role here.
Just because the sales people say that your HP printer can use 120lbs paper doesn't mean it actually can.
If you threaten a lawsuit, HP CSRs are told to stop the call immediately and hang up.
HP considers countries like Canada to be not worth the time or effort to market to.
Often heard from US customers: "Thank god you speak American! You're not someone from Inja(India)!" Even CSRs hate dealing the HP outsource center in India. I wasn't joking about speaking a "variant of American." Yes, I speak English.

No matter how big the Company is. As a customer we are bound to be screwed up anyway. What you buy doesn' matter. Printer or Pizza, All are same!

Source: 14 Hewlett-Packard Company Secrets From A Former Employee

Technorati Tags: HP, HP printers, HP secrets, Secrets

Cooliris Previews - To see and send links instantly

2007-03-21T21:46:00.000+05:30

Ever wanted to have a tool that gives you the power to share a link with your friend instantly? Do you like to have a smarter way to search within a click?

Cooliris Previews is there for you. The real power of Cooliris is that it gives a preview of links. This facility avoids us from clicking over the link and see where that link leads. Another advantage of this is that you can even interact with the preview window (which is not possible with SNAP). Very efficient.

These are the features listed by the author:

Simply mouse over the Cooliris link icon, and a preview window will instantly appear to show you the underlying content. No more clicking back and both, or leaving your current page.
To email a link instantly, just right-click on any web page.
Right-click on any phrase to have Cooliris automatically do a subsearch in Google, Wikipedia, or a dictionary.
Customize how and when you want the preview window to appear.

Install from here

What are the softwares you are using

2007-03-20T17:21:00.000+05:30

Out of sheer curiosity, we ask our readers and friends what are the softwares they use for various tasks. This habit started long long back and still continues. Now we are going to tell you what are all the softwares we use for some general tasks in Windows platform. At the end of this post, we will tag 5 of our blogging friends to let them share what they use. Let this chain move on and on.

Here are our list (mostly used is left most)

Browser	Firefox, IE, Opera
Messenger	Yahoo, GTalk
Music Player	Windows Media Player
Video Player	VLC, Windows Media Player
Image Viewing	IrfanView
Screen Capture	FastStone
HTML Editor	Nvu
Firewall	ZoneAlarm, McAfee
AntiVirus	McAfee, Zonealarm, Bitdefender, Clamwin
AntiSpware	AdAware, Zonealarm, Live OneCare

Firefox is ultimate, but IE is unavoidable for some sites. Opera is very useful sometimes.

As far as audio players are concerned, Windows Media Player 11 is awesome. It forced us to stop using Winamp, which takes hell lot of memory.

VLC player can handle most of the file types. Easy to Use.

IrfanView is a known champion in image viewing. I hope nobody argues against it.

In Security department, we are a big fan of ZoneAlarm. Its a great product. Here at TechnoPark, we cant live without ZoneAlarm. Probably this is the only paid software we are using.

OK, Now let us tag 5 of our blogging friends:

Ashish Mohta of Technospot.net.
Thilak of Tech-Buzz
Abhishek Bhatnagar of TechnixUpdate.
Rishi of RishiRaj
Himanshu of ThoughtsPrevail

Lets discover what softwares our friends use. Do visit these blogs. All are great tech blogs.

DatePad - power of a calendar with the ease of a text editor

2007-03-16T15:19:00.000+05:30

We have seen many sticky notes and calendar applications. How about an easy sticky note software that has the power of a calendar application? That is DatePad. DatePad can be used in a large number of ways. It’s main function is to store text which is specific to a certain date. You can also store text specific for certain times. It is the perfect way to keep track of whatever you are interested in of your own history. Use DatePad to keep a diary, use it to manage a project, write down your thoughts, keep a record of your dreams.. and for sure there are a lot more possibilities.

The author has created a clear document at his site.

Here is the link: DatePad

Watch Desi Channels online at iDesiTV

2007-03-13T18:19:00.000+05:30

We had written about an online TV software called TVUPlayer sometime back. We received many emails from our readers asking if there is any site that offers desi (Indian language) channels. We did a comparison analysis of a few desi channel sites and decided that iDesiTV is the best one.

It has channels like Star Plus, Sony, Zee, Set Max, Star One, DD News, etc.

The site requires a free registration to watch channels. When we tested it, it didnt perform well in Firefox. It works fine in Internet Explorer. It works excellent with 512 kbps net speed and works good at 256 kbps. Crystal clear sound and picture quality.

Technorati Tags: iDesiTV

Email trick: How to see Unread mails easily in Gmail

2007-03-09T20:07:00.000+05:30

This is the first of the Email Trick Series.

In yahoo mail, there is an easy way to list all unread mails with one click. In Gmail, its a little bit tricky. Here are two small tricks to list unread mails:

1. In mail search box, type label:unread. It will show all Unread mails.

2. Another method

a. If you feel the first method a little boring, then follow this method. Create a label with whatever
name your like except system specific names like unread, read, inbox, etc.

b. Now, Mark all Unread mails by clicking Unread

c. Click 'More actions' and apply the label you just created.

Note: if you have unread mails in the next pages too, you need to do the same procedure for all the pages. Hint: Keep number of mails per page to 100 to make things easier.

I will be writing more Email tricks regularly.

Technorati Tags: Gmail, Gmail Tricks

Find the missing people in this picture.

2007-03-07T10:30:00.000+05:30

There are nine faces in this picture including a dog. Its an amazing puzzle. We could find all the images in 35 minutes. Give it a shot. Tell us how fast you could get all the faces and where they are.

Source: Grand Illusions

Technorati tags: Puzzles, Puzzle

Microsoft Live OneCare flags a Microsoft promotion site! It cant be more embarrassing than this.

2007-03-07T09:36:00.000+05:30

This is a tough time for Microsoft. It is facing a stiff competition from Google from every direction. Microsoft search engine is performing bad, experts say Vista is no more than a costly toy, IE is pathetic with security concerns and list goes on and on. Now, an embarrassing news for Microsoft.

Their security software 'Windows Live OneCare' flags a Microsoft promotion site with 'potential phishing scam'. Earlier Microsoft had announced that they were giving their Office Ultimate 2007 suite to Australian university students for just $75. They offer a 95% discount on a license that lasts for lifetime for Office Ultimate 2007 through the site www.itsnotcheating.com.au

When entering the site, some users have reported receiving a warning from Windows Live OneCare advising that the www.itsnotcheating.com.au site is a suspicious website. The warning reads: "Phishing filter has determined this might be a phishing website. We recommend that you do not give any of your information to such websites. Phishing websites impersonate trustworthy websites for the purpose of obtaining your personal or financial information."

This is a serious fun!

Technorati Tags: Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft Office, Australia

How to remember Passwords. Tips and Tricks

2007-03-05T18:56:00.000+05:30

Passwords have become unavoidable in day to day life. Programs that need passwords include Emails, Instant Messengers, Websites, Online banking, ATM Card, Credit Card, and the list grows long. Not to forget system Administrator password and Network access password. Remembering these passwords is real difficult. To remember passwords, there are password managers to help you. At the other end, if you forget passwords, there are many password recovery tools available.

Ok, the idea of this post is to help you to remember passwords by some tips and tricks.

Trick 1: The personal reference method

In this method people create passwords with personal significance. For instance, a four digit password can be a birth year or street address or phone number. It is not advisable to use present data.

Trick 2: The 'phrase it' method

To remember a random alphanumeric password, just try to make a phrase of it. For example, if the password is SGM56D, you can make phrase like 'Sam Gave Me 56 Dollars' or 'Sunil Gavaskar Made 56 Ducks' or anything that comes to your mind. If its a complete sentence, its easy to remember. It need not have a meaning.

Trick 3: The 'Song' method

Take the first letters of every word of a phrase of a song you know. Don't understand? See this example: "Every Night In My Dreams I See You I Feel You" is the song, and ENIMDISYIFY is the password. Got it? Make some letters caps. That will make it a more stronger password

Trick 4: The 'Sports' method

Are you a sports fanatic? Cricket? Football? Tennis? Then, this method will be your favorite. If you have an unforgettable game and its scores, make a password from it. For example, the famous 'headbutt' final of 2006 World Cup, in which Italy won 5-3 against France. I made a password like this: "5itance3fraly"Explanation: 5itance3fraly

Its all about creativity with a known reference. Do you remember your passwords in your own way? Share it with us. Leave us a comment.

Technorati Tags: Passwords, Password, Remembering Passwords

PayPerPost Rocks. Make the most out of it.

2007-03-02T16:34:00.000+05:30

Of late, PayPerPost (or PPP, as its been affectionately called) started to get attention from senior bloggers to newbies. Recently, I had written about their new review my blog program and how effective it is to bloggers and advertisers. After exploring so much about PPP, I found many more new features that actually is more than just Pay Per Post.

They have added top class features and the best part is that they are keep on adding many that surely are going to rock. Its going to be a real tool for blog marketing. One feature that attracts everyone is the new segmentation system that awards bloggers with high traffic blogs! The limit for a maximum price that would be paid for a single post has been increased multi folded to a whopping $1000. No, I didnt add an extra Zero by mistake. Its Thousand Dollars!! We can get more high paying opportunities very often with PPP.

One thing I like about PPP is that it treats small and big blogs in a similar fashion. By 'big' blog, I meant blogs with high traffic.

The special feature that catches our eyes very fast is, PPP only charges 35% fee. This makes me compare with ReviewMe that charges 100% markup. What does it mean to bloggers? It means, They are taking half of your money for every post that you write.

There are many ways to earn serious bucks with PPP without loosing the quality of our blog. I strongly recommend this awesome program.

Technorati Tags: PPP, PayPerPost

20-20-20 tip to take care of your Eyes. Useful for computer addicts.

2007-02-28T16:32:00.000+05:30

During a recent visit to an optician, one of my friends was told of an exercise for the eyes by a specialist doctor in the US that he termed as 20-20-20." It is apt for all of us, who spend long hours at our desks, looking at the computer screen. I Thought I'd share it with you.

Step 1

After every 20 minutes of looking into the computer screen, turn your head and try to look at any object placed at least 20 feet away. This changes the focal length of your eyes, a must-do for the tired eyes.

Step 2
Try and blink your eyes for 20 times in succession, to moisten them.

Step 3

Time permitting of course, one should walk 20 paces after every 20 minutes of sitting in one particular posture. Helps blood circulation for the entire body.

Share this post among your friends if you care for them and their eyes. They say that your eyes are mirror of your soul, so do take care of them, they are priceless.

Otherwise our eye would be like this.....

Technorati Tags: Eye care, 20-20-20

An overview of Google Executives

2007-02-26T17:04:00.000+05:30

Google is the backbone for revenue generating streams for many bloggers and site owners. I have always wondered how the ambiance and team would be at Google. Just browsed through the google executives list. Just wanted to share the data of some of the top executives...

Dr. Eric Schmidt
Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Executive Officer

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin recruited Eric Schmidt from Novell, where he led that company's strategic planning, management and technology development as chairman and CEO. Since coming to Google, Eric has focused on building the corporate infrastructure needed to maintain Google's rapid growth as a company and on ensuring that quality remains high while product development cycle times are kept to a minimum. Along with Larry and Sergey, Eric shares responsibility for Google's day-to-day operations.

Larry Page
Co-Founder & President, Products

Larry Page was Google's founding CEO and grew the company to more than 200 employees and profitability before moving into his role as President, Products in April 2001. He continues to share responsibility for Google's day-to-day operations with Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin.

The son of Michigan State University computer science professor Dr. Carl Victor Page, Larry's love of computers began at age six. While following in his father's footsteps in academics, he became an honors graduate from the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering, with a concentration on computer engineering. During his time in Ann Arbor, Larry built an inkjet printer out of Lego™ bricks.

While in the Ph.D. program in computer science at Stanford University, Larry met Sergey Brin and together they developed and ran Google, which began operating in 1998. Larry went on leave from Stanford after earning his master's degree.

Sergey Brin
Co-Founder & President, Technology

Sergey Brin, a native of Moscow, received a bachelor of science degree with honors in mathematics and computer science from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is currently on leave from the Ph.D. program in computer science at Stanford University, where he received his master's degree. Sergey is a recipient of a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship as well as an honorary MBA from Instituto de Empresa. It was at Stanford where he met Larry Page and worked on the project that became Google. Together they founded Google Inc. in 1998, and Sergey continues to share responsibility for day-to-day operations with Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.

Sergey's research interests include search engines, information extraction from unstructured sources, and data mining of large text collections and scientific data. He has published more than a dozen academic papers, including Extracting Patterns and Relations from the World Wide Web; Dynamic Data Mining: A New Architecture for Data with High Dimensionality, which he published with Larry Page; Scalable Techniques for Mining Casual Structures; Dynamic Itemset Counting and Implication Rules for Market Basket Data; and Beyond Market Baskets: Generalizing Association Rules to Correlations.

Alan Eustace Senior
Vice President, Engineering & Research

Alan Eustace is Google's VP of Engineering where he is responsible for all aspects of the company's product research and development activities. He joined Google in the summer of 2002. Prior to Google, Alan spent 15 years at Digital/Compaq/HP's Western Research Laboratory where he worked on a variety of chip design and architecture projects, including the MicroTitan Floating Point unit, BIPS – the fastest microprocessor of its era. Alan also worked with Amitabh Srivastava on ATOM, a binary code instrumentation system that forms the basis for a wide variety of program analysis and computer architecture analysis tools. These tools had a profound influence on the design of the EV5, EV6, and EV7 chip designs. Alan was promoted to Director of the Western Research Laboratory in 1999. WRL had active projects in pocket computing, chip multi-processors, power and energy management, internet performance, and frequency and voltage scaling.

Jeff Huber
Vice President, Engineering

Jeff Huber joined Google in 2003 and is the company's VP of Engineering. In this role, Jeff leads the technology development and innovation efforts for Google's advertising and monetization systems, including Google's AdWords and AdSense programs.

Nikesh Arora
Vice President, European Operations

As Vice President of European Operations, Nikesh Arora manages and develops Google's operations in the European market. He is responsible for creating and expanding strategic partnerships in Europe for the benefit of Google's growing number of users and advertisers.

In 1989, Nikesh graduated from the Institute of Technology in Varanasi, India with a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy
Vice President, Asia-Pacific & Latin America Operations

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy is Google's Vice President for Asia-Pacific & Latin America Operations. In this role, she is responsible for all of Google's sales operations in these regions. Sukhinder also oversees the company's local search and channel initiatives globally.

Prior to joining Google, Sukhinder was Co-founder and Senior Vice President of Business Development for Yodlee.com Inc., a leading solutions provider to the global financial services industry. From 1999 to 2003, she was responsible for building Yodlee's client base and revenues, signing agreements with companies such as Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Bank of America, Wachovia, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL. For her work at Yodlee and in the industry, Sukhinder has been profiled in publications including Business Week Online, Canada Post, and Innovation Nation, a book profiling Canadian business leaders (Jossey-Bass, 2002).

Prior to joining Yodlee, Sukhinder worked in strategy and business development in Silicon Valley for leading e-commerce providers Amazon.com, and Junglee Corporation, and in New York and London with investment bank Merrill Lynch as well as pay television provider British Sky Broadcasting.

Marissa Mayer
Vice President, Search Products & User Experience

Marissa leads the product management efforts on Google's search products – web search, images, groups, news, Froogle, the Google Toolbar, Google Desktop, Google Labs, and more. She joined Google in 1999 as Google's first female engineer and led the user interface and webserver teams at that time. Her efforts have included designing and developing Google's search interface, internationalizing the site to more than 100 languages, defining Google News, Gmail, and Orkut, and launching more than 100 features and products on Google.com. Several patents have been filed on her work in artificial intelligence and interface design. In her spare time, Marissa also organizes Google Movies – outings a few times a year to see the latest blockbusters – for 6,000+ people (employees plus family members and friends).

Concurrently with her full-time work at Google, Marissa has taught introductory computer programming classes at Stanford to over 3,000 students. Stanford has recognized her with the Centennial Teaching Award and the Forsythe Award for her outstanding contribution to undergraduate education.

Disclaimer:

This article is almost a reproduction of the article here at Google.

Technorati Tags: Google, Google Executives

Apple and Cisco Reach an agreement on iPhone name use.

2007-02-23T12:13:00.000+05:30

Finally, Cisco and Apple have put an end to the iPhone name dispute. They have finished the matter without the intervention of the court.

Earlier Cisco was threatening to sue Apple for using the brand name 'iPhone' on its new mobile product. Now, the companies will share the "iPhone" name on both of their products (Apple's cellular and Cisco's Linksys-branded VoIP phone) throughout the world. Cisco wanted Apple to share the profit it gets from iPhone. This would have been the last thing Apple would have wanted to do.

Apple is known for its quality. Does the name matter so much to them? People buy their product for their quality, not for the name.

This is something confusing. We all know how intelligent Steve Jobs is. If the brand name is already in use, why would he and his company want to use it. This is ABC of business not to use a product name that is in use. Is this sort of a conspiracy?

Technorati Tags: iPhone, Apple, Cisco

How to avoid your computer getting affected from Daylight Saving Time this year

2007-02-22T16:18:00.000+05:30

As many of you would have already known by this time, the DST is going to be huge this year. Yes, really huge. It starts on March 11, 2007 and extend through November 4, 2007.

Wikipedia definition for DST:

"Daylight saving time (DST), also known as summer time in British English, is the convention of advancing clocks so that evenings have more daylight and mornings have less. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour in late winter or early spring and are adjusted backward in autumn."

Ok, now the question is, will the time change affect our computer? I can't say no. There are possibilities of a couple of things that could happen when the time change occurs. Our computer's time zone will be in wrong target during the period. Result of this, some of the softwares that largely depend on time may get to malfunction. Having said that, I must also say that there is no guarantee that this problem will boom when March 11th comes. This is just a precautionary measure.

Microsoft advises its Windows users to update the Operating System and any Calendar related programs. To the benefit of its customers, Microsoft has done a good job by publishing a Daylight Savings Time Update Guide, that helps us getting all updates we need for a smooth run. All you have to do is answer a few questions and then run a quick download of the Update Guide. It will run exactly for the type of system you have, which will allow you to fight any problems in the future.

To use the Update guide, you must have Java Script enabled in your system. If you don't know how to do it, follow the steps: (otherwise skip it)

in Internet Explorer:

1. Go to Tools --> Internet Options
2. Select Security tab
3. Click 'Custom Level' button
4. Scroll down to the Scirpting section
5. For JavaScript, click Enable under "Active Scripting."
6. Click OK in both screens.

in Firefox:

1. Go to Tools --> Options
2. Select Content tab
3. Tick 'Enable Jave Script' check box.

Note: if you are using NoScript Addon, You must allow Microsoft site to use JavaScript.

Done.

Having enabled JavaScript, Go to the update guide page by clicking here

Follow the easy to use self-explanatory guide.

Note: Vista users may not to follow these steps, as they may have already got the patch with the OS.

Technorati Tags: DST, Daylight Saving Time

Get up to date weather forcast in Firefox with ForecastFox

2007-02-21T19:47:00.000+05:30

ForecastFox is a Firefox extension that brings weather forecasts from all over the world in the browser. It installs itself in the status bar and works silently. It gets the data from Accuweather.com

The ForeCastFox is a great toolfor those who cares to stay up-to-date about the weather forecast. As with any other Firefox addons, this is easy to install or personalize. Painless.

It lets you see radar image without leaving the page that you are currently viewing, but sometimes the radar image doesn't show up.

There is a tool from Accuweather that does the same thing in Internet Explorer. I haven't used it personally though.

Dowload link: Forecastfox

Technorati Tags: ForecastFox, Firefox, Accuweather

Review any blog and get paid.. Cool idea from PayPerPost

2007-02-19T16:30:00.000+05:30

PayPerPost.com has come with a new idea of giving away some bucks for those who review blogs. We always read many many blogs and talk to ourselves about the plus and minus of the blogs. If you think deeply, you will understand that you are missing some serious bucks. There are people who are ready to pay for opinions. PayPerPost has created this tool just for that. I love it. You just need to click the button below that says 'Review my Blog'. You are gonna be paid!!

Eventually, as more people writes review about your post on their blogs, it helps build blog traffic

This program is available to all the bloggers. This is great for those who do not like the idea of sponsored posts. The best part about this new program is that it does not force to write a review in positive tone only. You can write neutral reviews. That means, if you dont like a particular aspect of a blog, be it bad template, bad alignment, typo errors, wrong information or anything, you can express your views point blank.

How to use it:

Click "Affiliate Tools" in your blogger interface then, select review my post for details. You need to be a registered user of PayPerPost.

Technorati Tags: PayPerPost, Sponsored posts, Review my post

Gmail is open to all

2007-02-16T17:56:00.000+05:30

At last it happened. Yes, Gmail is open to all. All means all. A few days back it was opened for for some countries and regions. Now, It is available all over the world. As you may know already, it was available only by invitation.

Notes, Reminders, Todo's and many more within Instant Messengers with IMified

2007-02-15T18:12:00.000+05:30

Opening a browser window for our simple online tasks is annoying at times. For regular surfing it is unavoidable to open browser window. For some of the web services like Notes, reminders and todo lists, we have alternate options now. IMified is a new web 2.0 service that offers these services within the IM networks. The IM networks that you can use this service includes GTalk, Yahoo, MSN and AIM.

[Note: MSN association is temporarily down at the time of this writing.]

It offers more than the three above mentioned services. It helps us post entries in Blogger, Wordpress, Typepad and LiveJournal blogs. Another service that many may find useful is the ability to access Google Calendar from IM window.

I personally don't like to give my login credentials to IMified folks (or to any other third party site for that matter). It is up to you to decide.

OK, here is how it works:

Just add 'imified' in your IM network. As you may know already, you may need to suffix '@gmail.com' for GTalk.

After adding the ID, just send a message to it. It will reply with the options. Here is a sample screenshot in GTalk:

Its self-explanatory. Easy to work with.

Some of the notable points:

Multiple account integration is not possible yet.
Signing up to this service may be the simplest sign up methods available till date. Just add the ID to your IM network. Thats it.
The folks at IMified are very friendly. Catch all the development actions at their blog here
Shortcuts are great way to simplify our regular tasks. For example, you can set a shortcut like '/vn' to view notes which you otherwise would have reached by pressing 'M', 'Enter', '1', 'Enter', '2' and 'Enter'.

I am using it regularly now.

Update [15th Feb 2007]:

MSN will not be associated with IMefied. This is what the blog post says:

This one is killing us. After a week of back and forth emails with Microsoft trying to get our screen name to appear online to more than 1000 users at a time, we’ve been told no. The limit with MSN occurs when over 1000 screen names request presence for our screen name at any given time, meaning that if your not one of the lucky 1000, our screen name will appear offline to existing users and new users cannot be added to our buddy list.

Now, we certainly understand that MSN has policies in place that need to be adhered to, but AOL contacted us on day one to proactively offer a solution for a possible issue on their network and things have been running fine on AIM as well as Yahoo and Gtalk. The only option we were given was to build our service on their SDK and then and only then would they lift the limit on our screen name.

So, unfortunately there are a lot of MSN users out there who will not be able to access IMified. We regret this but tried to do everything we could to rectify the situation. If you think this sucks as much as we do, send an email over to: bizdesk@microsoft.com and tell them you want your IMified.

Lets mail MSN folks and get our IMified a lift.

Technorati Tags: IMified, Instant Messenger

What is a Plasma TV. An Introduction.

2007-02-13T17:06:00.000+05:30

Within a span of 4 to 5 years the TV technology has grown enormously. So many technologies that flooded the market. So many varieties to choose from.

The most impressive of the lot is the Plasma TV. Sleek, slender and ultimate picture quality.

What is Plasma?

Plasma is often called the "Fourth State of Matter", the other three being solid, liquid and gas. A plasma is a distinct state of matter containing a significant number of electrically charged particles, a number sufficient to affect its electrical properties and behavior. In addition to being important in many aspects of our daily lives, plasmas are estimated to constitute more than 99 percent of the visible universe.

What is a Plasma TV

Plasma television is a flat, lightweight surface covered with millions of tiny glass bubbles. Each bubble contains a gas-like substance, the plasma, and has a phosphor coating. Think of the bubbles as the pixels. Essentially millions of Neon signs. Now, think of each pixel-bubble as having three sub-pixels - one red, one green, one blue. When it is time to display an image signal (RGB or video), a digitally controlled electric current flows through the flat screen, causing the plasma inside designated bubbles to give off ultraviolet rays. This light in turn causes the phosphor coatings to glow the appropriate color making your Plasma TV provide the best video image anywhere. Millions of RGB bubbles glowing and dimming to make a rich, vivid image.

Is it same as LCD?

No, they are not the same as an LCD screen. An LCD screen uses back lighting for its illumination but plasma displays are self-lit, which produces a far brighter picture. Nor should the "flat panel TV's" you may see in stores be confused with a plasma display. These flat panel TV's, like plasma displays, do have a flat screen, so they don't have the edge distortions of a conventional curved screen. But they use CRT's and that means it is biger in size.

Advantages Of Plasma Displays Over Regular TV's

* 4" thick, and can be hung on a wall
* Much larger picture
* Higher color accuracy
* Brighter images ( 3 to 4 times brighter)
* Better resolution
* High-definition capability
* 16:9 aspect ratio vs. standard 4:3
* Can be used as a monitor for a PC or Mac
* Images don't bend at the edge of the screen
* Reflections from windows or lights are minimized
* Wider viewing angles
* not effected by magnetic fields

Consider these things before you buy your plasma or flat screen TV

Determine the right screen size

Plasma monitors are measured diagonally across the screen, just like any other television set. You can typically choose from the following sizes: 32", 40", 42", 46", 50", 61", or 63". Sitting too close to the TV-that it's no good for your eyes. For the optimal viewing experience, you need to maintain the right distance between your viewing area and your television screen.

The right distance depends on the size of your TV:

* For 32 to 37-inch TVs, you should sit back 6 to 10 feet from the screen itself.
* For 42 to 46-inch TVs, you'll need 10 to 14 feet between you and the screen.
* 50-inch plasma displays look best when viewed from 12 to 16 feet away.
* You'll need at least 15 feet of space between you and a plasma screen that's larger than
60 inches.

Audio options.

At this time, Philips and Sony are the only manufacturers that incorporate speakers into the frame structure of plasma televisions. Other manufacturers offer optional speakers that can be attached to the side of the display unit. Of course, you might also choose to use your own bookshelf or satellite speakers, in which case they'll need to be hooked up to an external amplifier/receiver component.

Placement options.

Placing a Plasma TV at the right place and right direction is so very important to get the most out of it. You may like to hang it on the wall or place it over a Table Stand.

Technorati Tags: Plasma TV

Teachers finding it hard to crack IM lingo slang of teens

2007-02-10T18:22:00.000+05:30

Teachers start to find new creep of errors from pupils all over the world. I am talking about the IM(instant messaging) language of the teens. The IM started way back a decade ago. Now its the official language style for the teens. Now, not only in IMs but in mobile messaging too.

One could see an increase in the number of classwork submissions containing "b4," "ur," "2" and "wata" -- words that may confuse adults but are part of the teens' everyday lives.

Teachers worldwide say they see a troubling trend: The words have become so commonplace in children's everyday lives that the tech spellings are finding their way into essays and other writing assignments. It looks viral.

"The IM-speak is so prevalent now," said Austin, a language arts teacher at Stonewall Jackson Middle School in Orlando. "I'm always having to instruct my students against using it."

Some educators, like David Warlick from North Carolina, see the young burgeoning band of instant messengers as a phenomenon that should be celebrated and encouraged. Teachers should credit their students with inventing a new language ideal for communicating in a high-tech world, said Warlick, who has authored three books on technology in the classroom.

But the good thing about it is:

Most of them avoid those pitfalls once they enter college, said Larry Beason, director of freshman composition at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama.

"Some of the same kids that I teach now were probably guilty of techno spellings in high school," Beason said. "But most students realize that they need to put their adolescent spellings behind them by the time they get to college."

Some of the IM codes:

lol	laughing out loud
brb	be right back
btw	by the way
bbiab	be back in a bit
bbl	be back later
thx	thanks
sup	What's up
l8r	later
ttyl	talk to you later
ttfn	ta ta for now
gmta	great minds think alike
imho	in my humble opinion
np	no problem
gtg	got to go

I hope u enjoyed da post. c u guys. gtg now. tc. (thats IM fever)

Technorati Tags: IM lingo, IM slang

Throw tomatoes at the site you hate. Fun with NetDisaster

2007-02-08T17:15:00.000+05:30

Sometimes we feel like throwing tomatoes and rotten eggs at guys we hate, don't we? How would you feel if you get a chance to throw tomatoes or even shoot at site that you hate? Want a visual effect? See this example:

Click the image for live visual effect.

Ha Ha.. This is just example. I didn't throw it!!

You can do this at NetDisaster.com

Ok, a reverse action now. Let us show our support to great sites by pouring it with flowers like this:

Click the image for live visual effect.

I feel happy when I see flowers pouring live on Technopark!!

We have more option like shooting with gun, pixel shaver and many more.

This is my favorite: dinosaur (Extremely beautiful graphics)

John Chow is one of my favorite bloggers. I adore him very much. I want to dedicate a special graphics for him.

John, This is for you: :-)

Click the image for live visual effect.

John, You Rock!!

Technorati Tags: Netdisaster, JohnChow

Make your PC healthy with Windows Live OneCare,A free online scanner

2007-02-06T12:47:00.000+05:30

We have written a few posts about system security using ZoneAlarm, McAfee and other antispyware products and how trojans hack your system. This time we are going to explore an online scanner called Live OneCare that works like a breeze. In our tests, it performed extremely well.

Though it has many top class features, two things make this product stand top among its competitors. Those are:

1. It is from Microsoft.
2. It is FREE.

An online scanner is a tool to clean your system from many evil elements. It works from the browser itself. You need not download anything.

One bad thing about this product is that it doesn't work Firefox or Opera. It works only with Internet Explorer. The reason is pretty obvious - ActiveX.

Let us take a deeper look at the product's feature.

Get a free PC safety scan

Windows Live OneCare safety scanner is a free service designed to help ensure the health of your PC. It does the following:

Checks and removes viruses
Gets rid of junk on your hard disk
Improves your PC's performance

Special note: Windows Vista users, try the beta edition of the scanner, just for Windows Vista.

It has two options. Use the full service scan to check everything or to help fix particular problems on your PC, turn to the individual scanners. The individual scanners available are Protection, Clean Up and Tune Up. Let me explain all the three in detail.

Protection:

The protection scanner checks your computer for and helps remove viruses, spyware, adware and other malicious software (also called malware). It also checks your computer for common open ports that might make your PC more vulnerable to online threats and hackers. It will automatically attempt to clean any infected files it finds on your computer, make recommendations for any it couldn’t clean, and identify any open ports.

When the scan is done, you’ll see a report detailing the number of files scanned, the number of infected files found (if any), the type of infection and virus name (if any), whether or not the scanner removed or cleaned the infected files (if any), and the number of common open ports.

Clean Up:

The clean up scanner will find obsolete temporary and registry files and tell you if it’s time for you to clean up your hard disk. Removing these files not only clears up clutter on your PC, it can also help improve your computer’s performance. You can choose to follow the recommendations or customize the clean up.

Tune Up:

The tune up scanner will look at your hard disk drive and tell you if it’s time to defragment it. Regularly defragmenting your hard disk can help optimize your computer’s performance and help it run faster. If your PC's hard disk is more than 10% fragmented, the tune up scanner will recommend that you defragment it. You can then choose to follow the recommendation or not.

Keep in mind that defragmentation can take a while, especially the first time you do it. You may want to do this when you don’t need to be using your computer.

There is one more option called Quick Scan. The quick scan checks the most commonly infected areas of your computer's memory for viruses, spywares, Trojans, and worms. It will not evaluate other clean-up or tune-up issues on your computer.

Choose the quick scan if:

* You've run a complete scan on your computer recently.
* You're concerned your computer might have a virus.

Step by step instructions for full service scan for IE users

Step 1:

Click on the 'full service scan'.

Step 2:

Click the 'Install Now' button from the next screen.

Step 3:

You will get a security warning message box like this:

Click 'Install'.

Step 4:

Click 'Launch Scanner' from the next screen.

Step 5:

Here is where you select 'Complete Scan' or 'Quick Scan'. Click 'Next' after selecting your choice.

Obviously, the Full System Scan takes more time than the Quick Scan. Next, it will start downloading the required files. You need not do anything. Just watch the progress. Screenshot:

After downloading, it will automatically start scanning. This is the screenshot:

Thats it. Restart the system if it asks you to.

NOTE: It is not recommended to work on the system when it is being scanned.

Click here to Visit the Home Page of Live OneCare

Related Posts:

How to keep your system clean from Spywares, Adwares and Malwares
Two best Firewalls that i use

Technorati Tags: Windows Live OneCare, Live OneCare, Online scanner, System security, System safety

Learn things step-by-step at Instructables

2007-02-05T11:59:00.000+05:30

Learning things in a step by step manner is always great. This site has a big repository of instructables. The best part of it is that, every instructable is given with images. That makes it easy to understand.

Registration is not mandatory to get avail of the instructables, but it is recommended.

You have the option to see all the steps in one page or one step per page. You can rate the presentation. You can see how many people liked it. I like the way the users share their knowledge in developing something.

One of my favorite instructables:

As you can see, the author explained it very well. Easy to understand.

Now see a few replies to this:

Wow..this gentleman has showed his version.. amazing. See next few replies:

Great collaborative work. When properly used, web can do wonders. This site and the idea are best examples for what collaborative human power is.

Many topics are available. Make use of it. Share if you have a good instructable. Enjoy.

Technorati Tags: instructables.com instructables

The argument and debate continue.. at Convinceme.Net

2007-02-05T10:48:00.000+05:30

Do you love to debate? Do you love to argue? Then ConvinceMe is a right place for you. This is a new Site that looks very promising. Its a great place for debates. It is not just a place for debates. Is is not like forums. It is more than that.

You can create any number of challenges, and compete in any number of debates that other users create as challenges.

Benefits of participating:

Compete for votes, a winning record, and points. It's your chance to convince the world that you are right! It is a great feeling when the rest of the world gets convinced by your powerful argument.

If you get a certain number of points, and have a winning record, you can also have the chance of competing in our Debate Playoffs, with a chance to win a grand prize in the Super Bowl of debating!

If you want just fun, and are just interested in debating your opinion along with others, you can create open debates. These have no winners, losers, or points but the general public can still vote on the subject. Just fun.

The best thing about this debating platform is that it is FREE.

It has many open debates going on. See the list of popular debates at the time of this write up:

There are many more interesting debates available. Create one if you want to.

Technorati tags: Convinceme.net convinceme