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15 Things You Didn’t Know About Steve Jobs

2011-02-16T01:54:00.000-08:00

The story of charity: water - The 2009 September Campaign Trailer

2011-02-16T01:53:00.000-08:00

The Growth of Mobile: Stats and figures that will shock you!

2011-02-16T01:50:00.002-08:00

Google Vs Apple: The Same, But Different.

2011-02-16T01:47:00.000-08:00

How Does A Touch Screen Phone Work?

2011-02-16T01:20:00.001-08:00

A Quick Guide To Developing Android Apps With Google App Inventor

2011-02-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

Ever since I first received my Droid, I’ve been very curious about how people produce some of those amazing applications on and off the Android market. I’m a programmer, but not a gifted hacker by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve mastered Visual Basic and Coldfusion, but when it comes to writing an application from scratch that would work on a mobile device, I was certain that was well beyond the scope of my abilities.

When it comes to writing mobile apps, the closest we’ve come at MUO is Beth’s article on how to develop an iPhone app. Even with the iPhone approach, you need to learn Objective-C. In other words – you’ve got to learn how to become a coder. Well, for those of you that appreciate visual-based programming like me, then you will be very happy to learn that Android has made it possible for anyone with even the most basic programming experience to create their very own high-quality and highly functional Android applications. The secret weapon to developing Android apps? It’s called the Google App Inventor and it’s offered at Google Labs.

Setting Up Google App Inventor

The App Inventor consists of three parts. There’s the design tool, the blocks editor, and finally configuring your phone.

The first thing you have to do is set up your phone. Go into Settings -> Applications and make sure that “Unknown sources” is selected. This allows the Blocks Editor to install itself and communicate with your phone for testing purposes.

Then, click on “Development” and make sure that you’ve enabled both “USB debugging” and “Stay awake.”

Guess what – that’s all you have to do to configure your phone to work with the programming tools.

When you first sign up to use the App Inventor, you’re going to need to install the Block Editor as one of the steps. This is a Java application that installs onto your computer, and it gives you the ability to modify the behavior of the “blocks” that you’ve created in design mode, and it communicates directly with your phone.

Once you’ve signed up and you’re in the design tool, just select “New” and name your first project. In this example, I’m going to get started on a matching game for my kids where they need to match images of cats on a 3 x 4 grid.

The design tool is set up a lot like Visual Basic and Visual C++, where the objects that you can use are on the left, and the design area, or “form” is in the center. In this case the form is the individual screen, and you can have multiple screens per app (just remember to include navigation).

Once you click and drag a component onto the screen, it shows up on the right side of the design app under Components. Under “Properties” you can view and modify the initial display properties of that component.

Now below I’ve basically created a screen with a 3×4 table (you can find this under “Screen Arrangement“) and then I added 12 buttons with individual cat images for each “image” property of the buttons.

Once you start using the Blocks editor, all of these design properties can be modified. As you can see below, I defined the image of button 1 as a blank image (which I loaded in design mode as a grey image called “Image1″).

As you can see, everything is visual – there’s no coding here. Under “My Blocks” I chose the “Screen1″ component and dragged the “Initialize” event to the center program area. You need to tell an event what to do when it takes place, so I dragged the Button1.Image property into the box, and then told it to make that property use “Image1″.

After about an hour of playing around – I finished programming the initialization of all of the buttons when my app first loads, as well as what to do when the user clicks on the first button.

As you can see, even an application like a matching game can require that you carefully consider every possibility. You can program for all possibilities by defining and programming component events. The example above can get complicated, so if you’re just getting started, stick with something simple like the example Google provides when you first sign up. You can graduate from there when you’re comfortable with the programming and testing process.

As you can see in the left navbar in the design tool, you have access to just about everything your Android can do – sensors, contact list, video players and much more.

So – here’s my work of art, programmed, tested and then finally installed onto my phone in about an hour. I still need to program the rest of the buttons as well.

Needless to say, the fact that I could even get anything to run on my phone with about an hour’s worth of effort is impressive. I thought it would be nearly impossible.

So, sign up to become a developer and try out the Google App Developer yourself. You may be surprised, you may find yourself creating some of the coolest applications imaginable. All it takes is a little bit of patience and some time to play around with the development tools.

The Various Forms Of Website Hosting Explained [Technology Explained

2011-02-16T01:14:00.001-08:00

Every website on the Internet needs to be stored somewhere, and that’s what we refer to as “hosting” – but what exactly does that mean? With so many different ways of hosting your site, it’s easy to get lost in the internet tubes. Let me guide you through some of the many ways you can host your own website, as well as how much it’s likely to cost (if anything), and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

If you’ve been meaning to start a blog, but find the choices overwhelming and the jargon mind-boggling – or maybe you just want to satisfy your technological curiosity about how the Internet works – then read on.

What Is Web Hosting Anyway?

A website host is really just a computer that is on all the time and connected to the Internet. When you visit a website, you’re downloading some files from the machine that stores that particular website. The truth is that any computer can be used to host a website, even the one you are using now – but the computers used by professional hosting companies are incredibly powerful with lots of hard disks and memory, highly optimized to deliver the website files to thousands of readers simultaneously. The machines are stacked up high, and there are no keyboards, mice or monitors to be seen.

So – You Need A Website Host?

There are various ways of hosting your website, so let’s take a look.

Hosted Services

The first and simplest kind of hosting is creating a sub-website within a larger site, usually for a specific application like a blog. There are so many hosted services on the Internet, but here are some specific blog examples, all free:

WordPress.com – Free, but your blog will be hosted at a URL such as myblog.wordpress.com(unless you pay a premium for your own domain). You will get to choose from a restricted set of blog themes and plugins, and generally can’t do anything beyond the basic setup.

Blogger.com – owned by Google, Blogger gives you a little more flexibility with regards to writing your own theme code, but the plugin selection is limited and the Blogger branding is everywhere. Frankly, there is a reason WordPress is top – but it’s good to have a choice anyway.

Advantages:

Simple to set up and get started.
Generally good speeds as the company is specialised and good at what they do.

Disadvantages:

Very little control over the technical side of things. Non-approved plugins not supported, although Blogger is a little more flexible.
Portability: If your blog does get popular and you have a subdomain from a free hosted service, then moving to your own host later becomes difficult and you’re liable to lose some of the fans you’ve built up when the domain changes.

Self-Hosted

If you want to go the DIY free route, then it is in fact entirely possible to host your own website at home, on your own Internet connection – but you should be aware that most ISPs don’t approve of this and it may be in violation of your terms of service, so do check first.

We’ve written a few guides before on how to self host a website on a spare computer, or even within Windows on your main computer.

Advantages:

As much computing power as you have to throw at it.
The ultimate in freedom to do whatever you want with your site.
Free.

Disadvantages:

A fairly high level of technical knowledge, or the patience to learn.
The speed of your website will depend upon the upload speed of your internet connection, which is both slow and very limited. Bear in mind that any upload traffic you use to host your site will also count toward your ISP’s monthly quota, if they have one.

Shared Hosting:

So called because you share a hosting server with thousands of other websites that are also stored on the same computer. Shared hosting is the budget option – prices and packages vary greatly – most will come will a free domain name registration and so called “unlimited bandwidth and storage”, but don’t be fooled. Shared hosts rarely allow anything other than basic web files – so you can’t use that unlimited storage to backup your computer, for instance.

Perhaps the most famous budget shared host is GoDaddy, with plans starting at $3 a month. There are also lots of free shared webhosts, but you really do get what you pay for.

Advantages:

Budget, and a great way to start out with your own custom domain.
Easy install options for popular blogging and forum web apps that mean you don’t need a lot of technical knowledge.

Disadvantages:

Incredibly slow.
Anything beyond a basic blog will get warnings from your host regarding CPU and memory overusage.

Virtual Private Server & Dedicated Servers:

These are the top 2 levels of website hosting, and mean you get the whole server to yourself. The difference between Virtual Private Server (VPS) and Dedicated Server is that a Dedicated Server is a single, physical system which you essentially “rent” inside of a data center. A VPS is a single, virtual machine – similar to the way you can use Parallels to run a virtual machine inside of your OSX install. MakeUseOf is hosted on a dedicated server.

My personal recommendation for a VPS or Dedicated server is Media Temple. Their VPS starts from $50 a month, while dedicated servers start at $750 (yes, you did just read that right).

Advantages:

(Nearly) Unlimited domain hosting.
The fastest hosting available (just to illustrate, I recently moved my iPadBoardGames site from shared hosting to a VPS, and the page load time dropped from an appalling 10 seconds to under 2.5 seconds).

Disadvantages:

High level of technical knowledge required.
Expensive.

Starting Out

If you’re serious about starting a blog, I really suggest you skip the free route and head straight to a shared hosting account. Yes, it may cost a little, but it will save you so many headaches down the line – and there is a psychological effect that if you’re actually paying for it, you’re going to put more effort in. When the time comes to upgrade – then you can easily migrate to more a more professional solution. The learning process is one hell of a ride, so what are you waiting for?

28 Time-Saving Tricks for Google, Facebook, and More

2010-05-03T10:26:00.000-07:00

Think you know all of the tricks at your favorite Internet sites? Think again.
Even if you're on Google, Facebook, and YouTube every day, you might not be tapping those sites' full potential. Read on to speed up your Internet abilities, unlock new features, and find a new favorite tip or two.

Google Gimmicks

Search within a site: Narrow down your search results to a single site. Type (search query) site:(domain); an example would be entering: video card tips site:pcworld.com to find pages only at that location. You can even limit results to within sections of a site, as in this example: twitter site:pcworld.com/businesscenter.
Search for file types:Maybe you want to track down a certain document that's a PDF. Enter your usual search string plusfiletype:pdf to find only those pages. This method also works with PostScript (ps), Office docs (doc,ppt, xls), Rich Text (rtf), Plain Text (txt), and more. You can find a list of searchable file types here.
Exclude results: Include a minus sign to exclude certain results. Suppose you want to find news about Apple unrelated to the iPad. Type Apple -iPad. You can also combine the previous tips, such as Apple -iPad -site:apple.com and Apple -iPad -PDF.
Get local details: Forget manual time conversion; just enter time [city] (as in Time Tokyo) to get the current local time. Or try weather [city] for a forecast. For more local details, try [city] map, movies [city or ZIP code], and [restaurant name or cuisine] [city or ZIP code]. This works for a few other regular search strings, like Weather [city], stock quotes, and more--check out Google's full list.
Make conversions: Swap units of measure, such as measurements of volume or distance; this works for converting different currencies, too. Try [number and unit] in [new unit] such as 7 inches in cm or 30 Euros in USD.

Bing Bonanza

Find links to files: Find pages that host or lead to certain file types, such as music. Enter [search term] contains:[file type]such as Wilco contains:MP3 to find MP3s from the band Wilco. Try this kind of search with many other file types, such as WMA, PDF, AAC, DOC, and nearly anything else.
Remove the background image: Bing sure is cute, but its big photos can be distracting. Visithttp://www.bing.com/?rb=0 for a plain, gray version of the site.
Save searches as RSS feeds: If you want to stay on top of hits to a search query, turn it into an RSS feed. After loading your results, append&format=rss to the end of the new URL, and view it in your favorite RSS reader.

Fix Your Facebook

Hide application notices: Are you sick of Farmville, Mafia Wars, and other Facebook apps cluttering your feed? Mouse over the entry, and click Hide. You'll block those alerts from your wall.
Invite a list of friends to an event: You don't have to manually click a bunch of friends to send event invitations. Instead, create a list first. Click Friends in the left column, and use Create a List on top to pick certain friends. When making an event invitation, click the Filter Friends tab to show only the list. Click Select All.
Hide content from certain contacts: Keep your mom and work acquaintances from seeing messages intended for your inner circle. Click the lock privacy icon, and choose Customize.
From there, you can hide the post from specific people, or show it only to your entourage. For more on Facebook's privacy settings, read "Protect Your Privacy With the New Facebook Settings."
Cut to the core: The Lite version of Facebook strips away most of the clutter in the main design. It's great if you're on a slow Internet connection, browsing on a netbook, or just want to avoid the usual mess.
Browse to lite.facebook.com to give it a try, and click the link at the top of the page to toggle back to the full site.

Twitter Tweaks

Schedule tweets: You can set up a schedule for your Twitter account, so posts can go up while you are asleep, or--heaven forbid--are away from your gadgets.
This way, you'll be able to tweet across time zones (so your international followers won't have to scroll all the way down to hear from you, perhaps), and keep your Twitter account active when you need to focus on a project.
Many sites offer this feature, including HootSuite,SocialOomph, and Twuffer. I like Twuffer for its simplicity, although the others have additional features, such as Facebook support.
Get deals by following companies: Some of your favorite companies might post deals to Twitter. You'll have to sort away businesses that spam followers too often, but I like following @amazonmp3,@amazongames, and @woot.
If you really want to step up your hustle, make a new Twitter account specifically for landing freebies so the spam won't get to your real one. Keep it all straight with a twitter client that manages multiple accounts, such asTweetdeck. Also, check out "How to Win Prizes on Twitter" for more tips.
Learn about current events: Look for your localHappen.in feed, which charts Twitter chatter based on your location.
If a bunch of people in the same area post "bridge out," Happen.in will repost the details so that you keep on track of regional events and trends. The Twitter Website includes similar functionality in the right-hand column. Adjust those Trending settings to set it for your area.
Expand URLs:Shortened links could send you to a funny YouTube clip, a popular article in the New York Times, or a site designed to riddle your PC with malware. Use aGreasemonkey script (a Firefox add-on) and just hover your mouse over the cryptic URL to see the full version at the bottom of the window.
If you're in a different browser, try pbtweet or read How to Use Greasemonkey Scripts in IE, Chrome, and Safarifor more details.

Texting Tips and Smartphone Secrets

Toggle mobile formatting: Many Websites detect your mobile browser and offer up a mobile version of themselves with bigger fonts and simpler formatting. If a site doesn't do this automatically, try putting m. or mobile. at the front of the Web address (URL), as inhttp://mobile.pcworld.com.
If you want to swap a mobile site into its full, PC design, look for a link at the top or bottom of the page.
Get e-mail as texts: You can have email messages sent to your phone as texts, which can be convenient. Maybe your RSS reader can forward content as e-mail, and you want to be alerted to updates in a rarely used feed.
Enter your 10-digit mobile phone number prefix and carrier suffix, such as 2223334444@txt.att.net. Here's a list of other carriers. Also, read "10 Killer Texting Tricks" for more SMS goodness.
Send text messages from AIM: Your PC can send texts to a mobile phone for free. Within an AIM client, send a text to the number with + and the country code prefix. For example, a San Francisco message might be directed to +14151112222.

eBay and Craigslist

Mind your eBay reserve: Tiptoe through starting prices when auctioning off an item to save money. If you're pricing something near eBay's thresholds of $1, $10, $25, $50, and $200, cut back by just a cent to save yourself a little cash, which can add up for high-volume sales.
If you list something at $199.99 for example, eBay charges $1. For a $200 starting price, eBay charges $2. For more information, check out the eBay Feespage.
Spell poorly: If you're buying hard-to-spell product, try searching for misspelling or common typos ("playstaion"), or enter * as a text wildcard such as "playst*". (eBay will find hits for one or more additional characters.)
You might stumble over auctions that others haven't found--which means less bidding competition. If selling, enter a few of those errors into your listing to snare misspelled searches (though probably not in the title--you don't want to disappear from the correctly-spelled search results).
Search Craigslist with RSS: Keeping an eye out for a free leather couch on Craigslist? Save yourself from searching every 10 minutes by setting up an RSS feed for the search results by entering your search within Craigslist and clicking the RSS button in the lower-right to add it to your RSS reader of choice.

Entertainment Extras: YouTube, Hulu, Flickr, iTunes, and Xbox Live

Download YouTube and Hulu: Watch online videos away from the Internet by downloading them to your PC. The simplest methods usually work best for noncommercial video, such as random YouTube home movies. But at press time, I got StreamTransport to save videos even from Hulu. Play clips back with VLC.
Watch high-quality YouTube: Bump up the resolution in supported clips. Just click the number and arrow in the play bar; it's likely 360p by default. Pick a higher number for the best quality.
Link straight to part of a YouTube clip: Instead of sending people to the beginning of a clip, you can create a link that plays from a spot in the middle that you choose. Just add #t=[number]m[number]s to the end of the URL, such ashttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf6IQgFxpIA#t=00m11s to begin 11 seconds in.
Initiate console game downloads: Microsoft's Xbox Live site might seem superfluous on a PC. However, you can queue up downloads and activate purchases through your computer, and when you log in back on the console, they'll transfer automatically.
Upload to Flickr through e-mail: Instead of manually uploading photos, you can send them through e-mail. This can work well from an old mobile phone to quickly send pictures from a PC. In the Emails & Notificationstab of the Account options, click Create an upload-to-flickr email address to configure the feature.
Search and link to iTunes content in a browser: The iTunes store lives in its own application, but you can access specific apps, songs, searches, or anything else with a URL. To search, try http://itunes.com/[search term] such ashttp://itunes.com/evernote. If your search comes up with a single result (as in this example), you'll jump to that page within iTunes. To copy a direct URL to an iTunes store page, right-click an item within iTunes, and choose Copy Link.

Maximum Security: 2010 Internet Security Suites

2010-05-03T10:23:00.001-07:00

The year 2009 was a bad one for PC security: Online attackers created more malware last year than in the previous 20 years combined. Clearly, this means that in the realm of computer security, the rules have changed, and you can no longer rely solely on traditional definition-based antivirus software and firewalls to protect your PC. Instead, to meet this new breed of threats, you need a new breed of security.
Over the past few years, security suites have been improving, thanks both to the enhancement of traditional detection methods and to the addition of behavioral analysis. The latter technology detects malware based exclusively on how it acts on your PC--a good way of catching threats so new that security vendors haven't yet made definitions to identify them.
And many suites now have cloud-computing features that compare questionable programs and files against online databases to better identify the latest threats. With these cloud features working alongside behavioral analyses, suites can better detect malware they've never seen before.
Almost all the security suites we tested this year also in clude some form of antirootkit technology. (Rootkits--a kind of stealth malware used to hide infections--were once the concern only of big businesses, but they have gradually become more commonplace.)
All these changes mean that security suites are detecting and blocking malware faster than ever.
Nonetheless, we found some significant differences in just how well security suites protect your PC. We tested 13 suites in all. Norton Internet Security 2010 took the top ranking, owing to its strong overall malware detection. Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 was a close second. AVG Internet Security 9.0 placed third for its malware detection and speedy system performance. Closely following the top picks was a com petitive middle tier of suites from Avast, BitDefender, McAfee, Panda, PC Tools, Trend Micro, and Webroot. The suites from Eset, F-Secure, and ZoneAlarm lagged, due to acceptable, but not great, malware protection.
For antimalware testing, PCWorld contracted the services of AV-Test.org, a respected security testing company. We looked not only at traditional signature-based detection but also at how well the suites cleaned infections, removed rootkits, and detected malware based on behavioral analysis.
But what if the suite slows your system performance to a crawl? This year we added a battery of tests to measure such drag: changes in boot times, application launch times, and the time to create or open a batch of documents, among other tests, both with and without the security suites running (see "The Performance Hit" below).
All the suites we reviewed had anti virus, antispyware, and antispam components, plus a firewall. Some, such as Eset Smart Security 4 and PC Tools Internet Security 2010, had little beyond those core functions. The rest offered extra capabilities, such as parental controls, online backup, and Internet browser protection.
Here's our list of the suites, in order of rating, plus our Top 10 chart. Click on any name to see the full review.
Norton Internet Security 2010
Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
AVG Internet Security 9.0
PC Tools Internet Security 2010
BitDefender Internet Security 2010
Avast 5.0 Internet Security
McAfee Internet Security 2010
Panda Internet Security 2010
Webroot Internet Security Essentials
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro 2010
F-Secure Internet Security 2010
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite
Eset Smart Security 4
Top 10 Internet Security Suites of 2010

The Performance Hit

Every time we run our annual security suites showdown, we get plenty of feedback from readers. (You can add your own comments at the bottom of this article.) The most common question: How much will a security suite slow down my PC?
For this year's roundup, we included a battery of tests to evaluate how security suites affect your PC's speed. Our testing, conducted by German security lab AV-Test, measured 11 key aspects of a suite's im pact on PC performance: boot time, application launch time, file copy operations, application installation time, and more. We also looked at how quickly a suite will scan your PC for viruses and other malware.
Alwil's Avast Internet Security had the least impact on system performance, with faster-than-average scores in all tests, and very good scan speeds.
While top-ranking Norton In ternet Security didn't have quite as light an impact on system performance as Avast, it put up very good scores overall, though performance dragged a little more than average in a couple of tests. Norton also had faster-than-average scanning speeds.
Another big name, though--McAfee Internet Security--was one of the weaker performers here. It had a heavier-than-average impact on PC performance in most tests, and its on-access scan speed (which simulates how well a suite can scan for malware when files are opened or saved to disk) was the slowest of all the suites we tested.

YouTube Adds "Bollywood" Movies : Watch Hindi Movies on YouTube Online

2010-02-02T03:37:00.000-08:00

Previously some time back I wrote about watching full-length movies on YouTube. Now, YouTube has recently added new section which will allow every body to watch some of hindi bollywood movies online. You can watch the full movie provided you have an good internet plan.

Tip : Google.com/movies : Find Schedule of Movie Theatres Near You

Watch Full Hindi Movies on YouTube

Watching movies online on YouTube would be great but you can also download them full (25+ Ways to Download Youtube Videos)
Go to http://www.youtube.com/movies to watch movies online.
Not only movies but you can also watch popular TV shows on youtube, like "Mythbusters – link" and "GameTrailers – link"

Youngistan Forum – Be the Change You Dream Of !!

2010-01-27T02:50:00.001-08:00

A team of students from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras have launched anonline forum for all youngistans. The forum is meant for discussing about problems India is facing, how the system is worsening by the day, disinterest of government, etc.

A wonderful initiative by these students because I think the interested youths of the country should together online under a forum where they can gossip , discuss or debate about the current affairs of the country. And probably new and innovative ideas for the welfare of our country will come up from here.

> Go to youngistanforum.com

For people who are really passionate about these issues, people who want to make an impact, this forum will be a one stop destination. Here you will be able to interact with like minded people and ponder over issues facing our beloved Nation.

The main aim of the forum is to attract Indians all across the country and the world and have a discussions & debates on the topics which concern India. Also discuss how this can be remedied. The website is still in its infant stage and they want all you people who are passionate about INDIA and feel strongly for it to join this revolution.

You can also Join on Facebook : Link
Follow on Twitter : Click Here
Join at Orkut Community : Link

Please do send your feedback and any suggestions about the website. Like they say – "Let’s Be the Change You Dream Of"

Replace "Y" with "3" In Youtube URL to Download It Directly

2010-01-27T02:49:00.000-08:00

Just yesterday I posted 25+ Ways to Download Youtube Videos, and

Here’s another "the simplest" url change method to download youtube videos. Generally I use abcyoutube’s url change for downloading my youtube videos but this is a better one for me.

Step 1:

Step 2: Replace Y with 3 in the Youtube url and press Enter.

Step 3: Download the youtube video in your desired format

Hope you like this one…. I find it very useful

How To Set Up Email On A Basic Cell Phone

2010-01-27T02:45:00.001-08:00

Despite IM, video conferencing and even the much talked about Google Wave, email is still the main method of communication on the web today. Without an email account you’d be nothing but a spectator to the web; unable to join any networks, use any services or even communicate with fellow web users.

I guess back in its heyday, receiving an email was like receiving your school report card when you were a kid: utter excitement at having receiving something in the post then utter disappointment upon its opening. Now, we receive dozens of emails per day with some being more crucial than others.

As I mentioned before in other articles I don’t own a hi-tech smart phone. Rather, I bring along a low-budget cell phone. Yet checking my email is one of its primary uses. Without email on my cell phone, I would be unable to tweet photos, send notes to Evernote and reply to urgent emails while on the move. So here’s how to set up email on your cell phone to check your messages comfortably.

Using the Web

I won’t go into this too much as it’s the most primitive way of using email on a cell phone and should only be used by those who rarely check their emails. Basically, using your mobile’s web browser to navigate to your email provider’s website (such as GMail, Yahoo or Hotmail) and log-in using your credentials.

This can normally be done by placing an ‘m.’ before the usual URL such as m.yahoo.com. Most of the basic options are available such as compose, send, receive and delete.

Setting up Your email Program

The best way to use email on your cell phone is to use the phone’s function to do so. Normally, this can be found under the messaging icon where you send SMS messages from. Just look around until you find email. It’s exact location will differ slightly depending on your phone.

Then, using ‘Options’ create a new account. Enter you name and other information asked. When it comes to entering in the incoming and outgoing severs (ensuring you have POP3 selected) you’ll have to find the server addresses for your email provider.

This can be done by Googling the following: ‘Service Name email server addresses’. Here are a few popular ones:

Yahoo!:
- Incoming - pop.mail.yahoo.com using SSL with port 110
- Outgoing – smtp.mail.yahoo.com using SSL with port 25
Yahoo Plus:
- Incoming – plus.pop.mail.yahoo.com using SSL with port 995
- Outgoing – plus.smtp.mail.yahoo.com using SSL with port 465, use authentication
Gmail:
- Incoming – pop.gmail.com using SSL with port 995
- Outgoing – smtp.gmail.com using SSL with port 465
Hotmail:
- Incoming – pop3.live.com using SPA with port 995
- Outgoing – smtp.live.com using SSL with port 25

This is basically the same procedure as setting up an email account to run on your PC with Outlook or another email program.

Then enter in your username and password as you would when logging in on your computer. Once the email account is created you should be able to send/receive emails. If you still cannot, ensure you have your GPRS set up properly (contact your network for settings although it’s normally set up when you buy the phone) or double-check the settings you entered.

Lastly, make sure that POP3 is enabled in your email’s settings by using the web interface.

Setting Up Auto-Polling

Auto-Polling, in terms of email, is the automatic checking and retrieving of emails at regular time intervals set by the user. For example, I currently have my phone set up to check emails every thirty minutes. Normally a setting for this can be found under the account options in the email program on your phone. Look out for ‘Retrieve Interval’, ‘Polling Settings’ and other such phrases.

When you have set it up on your phone it should be able to retrieve emails automatically. One problem I had with this in the past was with my email account and not the phone. By default, it was set to not allow automatic retrieval for security reasons. If your phone can’t retrieve the emails, look at your email account’s settings to see if this option is turned off.

Obviously, using a basic cell phone for this task does have its drawbacks. GPRS charges can be expensive depending on what country you live in so watch out. Contact your network provider to see if there is a package with cheaper or free data allowances. That said, most phones will only download the email’s contact info (i.e. who it was from) and the subject leaving you to decide whether to download the full email, thus saving you money on data charges.

Having something as basic as email set up on your phone will vastly increase its usefulness and your productivity. Given the fact that most online services such as Twitpic, Evernote, Blogger and Wordpress allow you to use their services via email, you’d be mad not to!

How To Back Up Data From Computer That Won’t Boot

2010-01-27T02:44:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been on a spree of fixing unbootable OS’s for friends and family. A surprising fact that I discovered was that many of them were ready to reformat and perform a fresh Windows install, if only they could just backup their music, photos and the likes.

So here I am with a piece on how to back up hard drive data on your computer when the operating system won’t boot. The easiest most hassle-free way to achieve our objective is to use a Live CD. Period. Forget about all other ways and all the advice you get. If you have a functional CD drive and a Live CD or can arrange one then this is the way to go bro. You won’t regret it.

A Live CD, if you don’t already know, allows you to run an Operating System from your CD drive. There are lot’s of Live CD’s available on the Internet. A large number of Linux distributions are available as Live CD’s. Just pop them in, make a few choices and you get a complete OS on the fly with no changes to your data on the hard disk. You can do pretty much anything from there in, even update a status or two on Twitter/Facebook while waiting for the file transfers to finish. Here are a few Live CD suggestions if you care for one:

Knoppix
Damn Small Linux (DSL)
Ubuntu
A Windows Live CD – requires some effort.

How would you burn a disc when the freaking operating system won’t boot? My apologies if you are reading this after the problem has occurred. I am afraid you would have to ask a friend to create a Live CD for you or you can use another computer if you have access to one. That being said, it is always a nice thing to prepare a couple of them beforehand for the rainy day. I say a couple of them because 1) most of them are free and 2) you never know if one of them decides it doesn’t like your video adapter (for example) and refuses to boot.

The links listed above will let you download an ISO file. Next step is to burn the ISO file to a disc. Here is a list of our favorite disc burning software to help you along.

Download the one you like and run it. Look for an option that burns an image file or ISO file to a disc.

Choose the said option, let the software know where the ISO file is that you want to burn.

Pop in a blank CD and the software should do the rest. When the burn process completes you should have a Live CD in your hands.

What If The CD Drive Is Broken Or Not Available?

A very valid scenario indeed, specially with the ultra thin laptops and netbooks these days. In such a case you can either use a USB CD drive or what we would call a Live USB stick. We have written about how you can create a Live USB from an ISO file or even from an installer CD. One thing to keep in mind is that some old computers just cannot boot from the USB drive.

Set The Boot Device Priority

Before your computer can boot from either a CD or a Live USB drive you might have to change the boot device priority from the computer’s BIOS settings. This is not as scary as it sounds. Follow along:

Power on the computer. Most computers will display a graphic depicting the processor or the manufacturer or some general information. If you look around you will also see that the computer prompts you with a Key combination that you can use to enter the BIOS settings page. Generally it is the F2 key but it can vary.
Hit the desired key (F2 if it is) and you are in. Now look for an option that lets you change the boot device. Different BIOS have it named differently and under different menus, but if you look around it should not be too difficult. The setting will list devices like CD drive, external drive, first hard disk drive and the likes.
You can move these devices up and down in the list. Make sure that CD drive (or external drive if you are using a USB key) is listed before the hard disk. You can change this back once have a functional Operating System. Save and exit.

We Are Set

Now restart the computer with the Live CD inside the tray and the computer should pick up the contents of the CD and load the contained operating system. You will get a fully functional system once the OS boots up. The Live OS should automatically detect your hard disk and list the various partitions as drives. From here on you can use the computer just as you would use it normally and you can easily back up the required files.

You would of course need an external media like an external USB disk or a USB flash drive depending upon the amount of data that you want to back up. Just copy the required files to the destination as usual. When you are done, just shut down the computer, take out the hard disk and now you are ready to format the computer or attempt any other fixes without worrying about the precious data on the hard drive.

Have you been in a similar situation before? How did you recover your important files and restore the system? We would love to hear and learn from your experiences.

25+ Ways to Download Youtube Videos Easily

2010-01-27T02:32:00.001-08:00

Youtube one of Biggest and Best video files sharing website which has giant collection of videos library. So you can get almost any song, music video or even movies to watch or better, download.

Tip : Convert, Download Videos off Facebook

Web Services / Bookmarklets for Downloading Youtube Videos

SaveVid: with this service online, download videos from YouTube is a real snap. You type the address of the movie to download, you click on the "Download" button and you’re done. Can also be used via bookmarklet (a bookmark special) and allows you to download the video in HD.
KeepVid : Download and save videos directly from Youtube, Google, Metacafe, Putfile and more. Simply copy and paste.
KeepHD.Com to Download High Definition Videos from Youtube.
Vixy: Another very practical service on the Web that lets you download videos from YouTube and convert on the fly them. It can create AVI with audio to mp3, mov for Mac, MP4 for portable players and 3GP cell phones.
Kick YouTube: here you can search and download YouTube videos in various formats, audio / video. Also works by simply adding the prefix "kick" before "youtube" in the URL of the video you want to download.
AbcYoutube : Free and very easy to use online YouTube downloader that literally makes YouTube video conversion and download as easy as abc. You simply need to enter “abc” in front of the URL of any YouTube video
All-in-one video Bookmarklet: you drag it into your browser bookmarks bar, select it while watching the movie to download and you’re done.
Zamzar is an online file format conversion site which can do a lot more than just converting YouTube videos to another format and downloading them to your hard drive thus doing a great job so, highly recommended.

Check out the full list of sites to download youtube videos.

Youtube Video Download Applications (Windows)

Orbit Downloader: popular download manager for free. Among its many features is also the one that lets you download videos from YouTube with just one click. It performs its job very well and integrates with all major browsers.
Real Player: the historian multimedia player in the latest versions can also download videos from YouTube quickly and easily, directly from your browser.
Keepv is a desktop downloader as well as a converter, which can convert the downloaded videos from flv to avi, mov, mp4, or 3gp formats.
VideoSlurp: very practical program with built-in browser that allows you to download movies from YouTube with just one click.
VideoGet boasts being able to download video clips from more than 100 video sharing websites. We haven’t tested all of them, so we’re just going to take their word for it. It’s a deskop application with a nice, simple interface, and a solid number of options.
Tube Sucker lets you batch download 1000’s of videos of your favorite artist from youtube.com. It also includes a batch converter to convert files to the format of your choice.

Firefox Addon Extensions to Download Videos from Youtube

Video Download Helper: a must-have. Not only allows you to download videos from YouTube but also to convert them to flight and to download any media item on the webpage you visit.
1-Click YouTube Video Download: The name is eloquent enough, no?
Fast downloads YouTube: very practical for downloading videos from YouTube, including by the results of research and when videos are embedded on other sites.
Easy YouTube Video Downloader: brings up a couple of extra buttons in the view page of the YouTube video so you can download them with one single click.
NetVideoHunter – Download videos and music from almost any Youtube-like video sharing site.

Youtube Downloader Extensions for Chrome

Three best chrome extensions with the same functionality. They allow you to download YouTube videos in various formats, including HD.

UserScript (Greasemonkey) for Downloading From Youtube

YouTube Enhancer: script that allows you to not only download videos from youtube, but also to change the size of the player online, to disable the Autoplay and very Grim.
YouTube Video Download: script in Italian, as its official description says, will get any videos from YouTube.com, including people with 1080p (high quality ‘) and is designed to be lightweight and unobtrusive. It works without contacting any external site.
YouTube Video Download: allows you to download videos from youtube in various qualities, up to HD (when available), with a single click.

How To Convert Your VHS Video Cassettes To DVD’s

2009-12-28T21:27:00.001-08:00

It’s the holiday season and the family is coming around to visit as usual. And as usual the technology requests are in. This year I have been tasked with converting VHS videos to DVD. I did not want to spend a fortune on conversion software and as the story goes I wanted FREE software so I could also write about my experience on MakeUseOf.

And sure enough I found it. It is a little free application called Golden VHS to DVD converter located here.

You will also need a capture device to connect your VCR to your computer. If you have video inputs on your machine you are one step ahead of me. I needed to buy a cheap video converter for about $13.00.

Mine actually cost $12.43. All I did was google Video Capture Device and then clicked shopping. They look something like this.

Once you have that all set up you can start using your software to capture the video from the VCR. Install the application we downloaded. You will only really need one component of it, so on this screen only check the first box.

After installing Debut Video Capture Software it will launch.

Once the splash screen is gone you will see the main programs interface like so:

Click on New Recording to get started.

You will then see this screen:

Click next to select your converting device. On the system I am writing this article on, I do not have the device connected. But you would pull down this drop down menu at the top and choose your device:

You can leave the sound recording device as the default unless you have a secondary device in your machine. You can work with the sound levels and even choose to not capture sound by unchecking the capture sound check box. Next start the VCR playing. If you see the preview of the screen under your video device selection we are good to go.

Just hit the next button to continue. On the conversion screen you will see the following options:

Restart

Push this button if you want to start the new recording immediately.

Record

Push this button to start the recording.

Stop

Push this button to stop the recording.

Record Volume Level

Indicates the input volume level.

Mute preview

Select this checkbox if you don’t want to hear the sound which is being captured at the moment.

Recording time:

Indicates the total length of the recording so far.

Size of the recording:

Indicates the size on disk which is being taken by the recording.

Estimated time left on HDD:

Indicates the approximate time you are able to record to your hard disk drive.

Frames per second:

Shows you the number of frames received from the capture during the last second. It should be approximately 24-25 for PAL and 29-30 for NTSC.

Buffer overflow warnings:

Indicates the number of situations occurred when Golden Videos waited for the data to be written to hard drive disk. This usually means that you’re either using a slow hard drive, your hard drive is highly fragmented, your PC does not meet the minimum requirements for this application or you’re running some other applications which use the CPU and HDD extensively. Try closing all other applications except Golden Videos while capturing.

Shut down the computer when finished

Select this checkbox if you would like to shut down your PC when the wizard finishes.

Play sound when finished

Select this checkbox if you want Golden Videos to play a sound when the wizard finishes.

Open output file containing folder

Select this checkbox if you want Golden Videos to open directory that contains the output file when the wizard finishes.

That’s it! Check the check box to open the folder containing your file when the wizard is complete and when you are done you will have a MPEG4 file that you can then convert to DVD or what have you. You can also install the other tools from the first step if you do not have a converter or burning software installed on your machine.

When you are finished with this you will have your memories saved on a DVD that anyone can watch! Happy holidays guys!

Most Awaited, Popular Upcoming PC Games for 2010

2009-12-18T21:13:00.001-08:00

Now that Windows 7 has officially been launched, Direct X 11 games aren’t far behind. In fact there are already a few DX 11 compliant games available in the market today and the coming months will see many more. Today we’ll check out some of the more interesting upcoming DX11 games.

Source : Tech2.in.com

The Best PC Games to be Released in 2010

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was all about immersion and whether you were roaming the Zone searching for loot in broad daylight or exploring some creepy old military base at night not knowing what lurked around the next corner, the feeling of dread was palpable. And now with the power of DX11 backing them developer GSC Gameworld can dial up the intensity to 11 to deliver an even more immersive experience for the sequel. The game’s already been released in Russia with the English version slated for a worldwide release this month.

Crysis 2

Not much is known about Crysis 2 at this point but if you’ve seen what the CryEngine 3 is capable of in some of the Tech demos floating around the net you know you’re in for one insanely good looking game. Since Crysis pushed the boundaries of PC gaming back in the day, I can only imagine the kind of hardware required to play this game in all its graphical glory.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2

The boys from B Company are back and this time they’re really gonna tear things down as DICE has promised even more destruction courtesy of a heavily modified Frostbite engine. While details regarding the single player are still scarce I am mighty impressed with the way the game’s online component’s turning out. PS3 owners will get a chance to sample the action via a beta that’ll be available by the end of this month while PC gamers sadly have to wait till December for a piece of the pie.

Lost Planet 2

Now this is pure speculation on my part since the game’s not even been “officially” announced for the PC but since Lost Planet came out for the PC a few months later, I’m guessing Capcom will dish out similar treatment to Lost Planet 2. And since Lost Planet was launched as a DX10 title, I think it’s fair to assume that Lost Planet 2 will ship with DX11 compatibility.

Alan Wake

Yes I know the PC version of the game is nowhere on the horizon but developer Remedy has always been faithful to PC gamers and I know (and seriously hope) that sometime in the future they will release this game on the PC. And when they do, you know it’s going to be DX11 all the way.

Aliens vs. Predator

When two iconic characters cross each other’s paths you know it’s gonna hit the fan. Throw in highly armed testosterone charged marines and you’re looking at some awesome three way action. The game’s being developed by Rebellion games, creators of the very first AVP game and will allow players to play as all three races through the course of the single and multiplayer campaign.

DIRT2

Dirt 2 released for the Xbox360 and the PS3 in September but the PC version was pushed back to December so that the game could take advantage of DX11 allowing Codemasters to present us with ‘the best-looking racing game that has ever existed’.

Things To know About Cofee

2009-12-18T21:02:00.001-08:00

Adobe Reader Under Zero-Day Attack

2009-12-18T20:59:00.001-08:00

Symantec yesterday confirmed that a new zero-day vulnerability, which means there is not yet any patch available to fix the flaw, in both Adobe Acrobat and Readerunder is under active assault.
An Adobe post says the company is currently investigating. Per Symantec, the current attacks install a Trojan named Trojan.Pidief.H. The infection rate is "extremely limited," according to Symantec, and its risk assessment level is very low, which suggests the threat is for now restricted to targeted attacks.
Combining a targeted attack with a zero-day vulnerability can deliver a one-two knock-out punch. A targeted attack against a specific company or person is usually personalized, often with the recipient's real name, and better crafted than the usual mistake-ridden scam e-mail. So the e-mail stands a much better chance of evading a person's natural suspicions.
Then, if you're successfully tricked into opening an e-mail attachment that delivers a zero-day attack, it's guaranteed to find the software hole it goes after, as long as the relevant software is installed. Potential victims can only hope their antivirus product detects the attack, but security software typically has a much lower detection rate for small-scale targeted attacks.
The only good thing about targeted attacks is that there aren't many of them, compared to the slew of non-personalized attacks and scams. But be extra wary of e-mailed .pdf files all the same, and keep an eye out for a patch from Adobe. You can also upload any .pdf (or other file) to Virustotal.com for a second-opinion malware scan, but again, many antivirus programs will miss new targeted attacks.

Convert Torrent Hash Links into Direct Download Http Links

2009-12-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you get blocked by the firewall, sometimes you just can’t get the appropriate downloading speed, sometimes you need a rating to download the file and the most annoying thing is when the seeder leaves you with a 95.00% completed file.

Tip : Download Files Using Proxies Bypassing Firewall Restrictions ?

Get Direct Download Links Using Torrent Hash

It is very annoying that even if you have a broadband you still have some downloading problems with torrents. This turns the promising world of file exchange into a nightmare, but httpTorrents has a solution.

They’ll turn the torrent file that you need into an easy downloadable http-link.

You get :

Guaranteed fast speed
Guaranteed 100% download

You don’t have to worry about :

No uploading
No blocking
No ratings
No wait

If you are getting too hard with torrents – httpTorrents will make it easy for you ! No more problems if a seeder leaves you.

Oh, so if you haven’t "figured out how to use BitTorrent" (whatever that means), all you have to do is find the hash. It may sound simple but to a user that can’t use bittorrent, this might as well be impossible. [BTW:A tip Automatically Download from Rapidshare without Waiting]

> Go to httptorrent : Link

Note : Only a small percentage of the most popular torrents have been added for direct download, trying to download a torrent that httpTorrents doesn’t have will put it on their list to be added.

Also Read : Top 10 Torrent Sites – Best Pirate Bay Alternatives

How to Watch TV online in India – See Indian channels on the Internet

2009-12-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

One thing that I miss while being away from home, is watching some of my TV shows, and the television packages available in my college Hostel is not the one I like. So I miss quite a lot of my favourite Programs. But not anymore coz I can watch them Online…

However like watching movies online and playing games online, there are quite a few options to watch Indian TV channels online, like always I settle for nothing but the best, and for watching Indian television channels and news online I use couple of website called iDesiTV and FOMNY TV.

iDesiTV and FOMNY TV provide users with streaming of popular mainstream Indian television channels along with providing streaming for several regional channels. The quality of the streaming is excellent, and people with a decent internet connection should be able to view the TV channels without buffering.

Both these sites have a big range of TV channels you can watch online which include:

Popular Indian News Channels like CNN IBN, CNBC TV 18, NDTV, DD News, Times Now, IBN7 and Star News.

Popular Indian Entertainment Channels like Star Plus, Star Utsav, Zee TV USA, Sony, Star One, ZOOM and ETC.

Popular Indian Movie Channels like Zee Cinema, Star Gold, Set Max and B4U Movies

Popular Indian Music Channels like B4U Music, MTV Music India, Smash Hits and Indian Music.

Popular Indian Regional Channels like Raj TV, Sun TV, Zee Marathi, Zee Gujarati, Star Vijay and Zee Telugu.

Overall these sites provide you with enough option to keep you entertained with local Indian programs. In addition to Indian channels FOMNY TV also provides users a option to view television channels from several other countries like Pakistan, Brazil, Canada, France, China etc.

Do you use any other service to watch Indian television entertainment and news channels online ? Do let me know about them through your comments.

Links : iDesiTV and FOMNY TV

via Techie Buzz

Also Read : What Can One Actually Do with their Mobile Phones – 25 Amazing Stuff

MonitorOff – Software to Switch Off Your Monitor & Save Energy

2009-11-26T21:51:00.000-08:00

What if somebody gave you a little 420KB free Windows software and said that it could not only lengthen the life of your monitor but also shorten your electricity bill? Would you consider it a must-have?

I can’t give you the figures right here that will show the power saving effects when you switch off your monitor when you aren’t using it. But it must be something when you consider that a LCD monitor consumes 20 -30 Watts and a CRT glows with 70 – 80 Watts.

When computers sleep or are on standby, there is some minimal energy consumption but it is far lower than when they running in all their glory. Putting our computers on standby is a wonderful habit to develop. Shutting off the monitor is a first step towards lesser power consumption.

The benefit is not related to eco-consciousness alone but also to our wallets. Energy savings means lower bills. Lesser monitor usage means better battery life of laptops. That again lowers the running cost of a computer.

If I have managed to wake up your interest then let’s look at that 420Kb sized freeware we were speaking about. Rather aptly, it’s called Monitor Off.

Monitor Off just asks you for a few settings and makes you and your monitor an energy saver. Computers have their own power saving schemes and you set it to turn off the monitors after a predetermined interval or start a screensaver (please note that screensavers usually do not save power). Monitor Off gives the user more hands on control over the power options of a monitor.

Monitor Off can be downloaded and installed or can be run as a standalone program (i.e. without an installation). Either way, it runs minimized in the background. Here are the three things you can make it do :

Setup Monitor Off To Switch Off Display Or Start The Screensaver

For energy saving with a keystroke you can enable hot keys.

Also, activate the screensaver with another set of hot keys.

Alternatively, you can use the right click on the system tray icon as a toggle switch to turn off the display or start the screensaver. Another option is to set the tray icon to take a double click as a switch off command.

Setup Monitor Switch Off Delay

You can set the number of seconds the program delays switching off the monitors after monitor power off action. The default is 10 seconds. During this delay interval, the operation can be aborted.

Setup Monitor Off To Lock The Computer Before Switching Off

This combines a power saving with a bit of security, especially in an office environment. Thinking of going to the water cooler? Set this option and the computer display will power down and lock the display. The program supports multiple displays. Though, I couldn’t test this aspect – going by the words on the website, it should be able to handle double display workstations.

The energy saving freeware is a no hassle piece of software and the best thing about it is that it’s portable too. Monitor Off (v1.0) is supported on Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista and requires NET Framework 2.0 or later.

Do you use a specific energy management app? Or do you leave the energy saving to Windows default settings? But before you comment, do read our posts on how computers can be used to save the world.

Download: Monitor Off

Find A Song Title Just by Humming The Lyrics

2009-11-26T21:47:00.001-08:00

Have you ever found yourself having one of those mind-numbing moments when you’ve fallen in love with a new song that played on the radio a few times, but you can’t remember the title or the lyrics?

Here at MakeUseOf, we’ve focused on a number of websites and tools that you can use to find a song by its lyrics, such as Brad’s article on the top 5 sites to find song lyrics online or David’s article on how to find song titles with just a few lyrics you do know. Today, I’d like to cover a very new solution that’s available for the most common scenerio – when you don’t know the title of the song or any of the lyrics, but you can hum or whistle the song just fine!

Voice Recognition Technology Saves The Day

There are a number of cutting edge computer technologies that have always fascinated me, mostly because they represent areas where computers are finally entering into the realm ofartificial intelligence. Two of those include image recognition and voice recognition.

While I’ve not followed the state of the art of each field, I’ve always been under the impression that both areas of computer intelligence have a very long way to go. However, what would you say if I told you that I’ve discovered a computer program, an online application to be exact, that you could sing, hum or whistle a tune to and it could accurately guess the title of the song. Images of science fiction movies, where starship crew members seek the help of the ship’s AI computer system come to mind. Well, it’s no longer science fiction – this technology is now a reality at Modomi.

Midomi itself isn’t exactly a very special or unique website. Just like every other website where you can search for and purchase music online, Midomi lets you research music, bands and more. You can watch music videos, listen to music clips or even join the Midomi fan club for any particular music group. However, the true heart of Midomi becomes apparent (and the site absolutely comes alive) when you start becoming “fans” of particular groups. As you enter fan pages, you’ll become aware of a Facebook-like social network of music lovers. As I was browsing through this site, I noticed something rather unique compared to most other music websites. Midomi once again takes advantage of interactive audio by allowing fans to make and upload their own recordings of the music that they’re fans of.

As a fan, you can listen to any of these uploaded recordings. I joined the Green Day fan club and immediately saw user dude34bja’s recording of When I Come Around at the top as the most listened to recording. I clicked on it and was blown away by her fantastic acoustic rendition of the song. You too can record your own version of any of your favorite songs if you click on the “Studio” menu option at the top of the Midomi page.

Record your songs, and if your good enough you’ll very likely develop your own fan base right within the Midomi online community. Get enough votes and you actually appear as a “Midomi star.” In addition to recording music, the Midomi site is just completely integrated with audio at every turn. You can even upload audio comments at the site instead of typing them.

Now, all of this is very cool – but what about the whole reason we came to the site? That little box at the top of the first page that reads, “Click and Sing or Hum.” Does it really work? I decided to test the accuracy of this online application by humming Losing My Religion, by R.E.M. After clicking the text box, the recording began.

I hummed the first 16 seconds or so of part of the song – no words whatsoever – just straight humming. I was absolutely convinced there was no way that this application would be able to recognize the song without a single line of lyrics. When I was done I clicked on “Click to Stop” and waited for the results. This is what came up.

The top “guess” was a perfect match. Unbelievable. I figured it was a fluke – a completely lucky guess, so decided to try it again with a more difficult tune that wasn’t so modern – I went back and hummed the first 15 seconds of “Over the Rainbow,” sung by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. I chose this song because there is absolutely no way I can hum it perfectly in tune. After 15 seconds of forcing the recorder to suffer through my cracking and screeching as I attempted to hum some of the tune, I clicked stop and grinned. No way it’s going to know what that horrid noise was. The following were the results.

I have to say, if anything convinced me – this did. As far as I can tell, you only need to know the general tune of a song – no title and no lyrics required. This amazing little Midomi web app will remind you of the title after just a few seconds of humming. Even better – you can download the app to your iPhone and carry around this little song-title-reminder app with you everywhere. Hard to believe? Visit the site and give it a shot – and let us know in the comments section below whether it blew you away. I know it did for me. Have fun!

How to send Your Gmail to Your cell phone[via SMS]

2009-11-26T21:44:00.001-08:00

The TUT covers how to forward Gmail to your phone. Mail forwarding
is a common function of Gmail service.

STEP 1.For Starting This YOu Need an ID(ex. 91XXXXXXXXXX@m3m.in).If u already have such ID then move on to step 2 else read my last article to get your free ID.

STEP 2.LOGIN to your GMAIL account.

STEP 3. Navigate your way through. SETTINGS then FORWARDING and POP/IMAP

STEP 4.TICK forward a copy incoming email to.option.
Enter the ID obtained in STEP 1. and click save changes.

STEP 5.NOW U will recive your emails directly on your cell phone

Shutdown Computer with a Cell Phone

2009-11-26T21:42:00.001-08:00

Using this method, a user can shutdown, restart, hibernate, etc. his or her computer, just by sending an email from his or her phone.

To do this, all you will need is Microsoft Outlook which should come with Microsoft Office, which most people have. This will need to be on the computer wish you wish to shutdown.

So, this is how you do this:

1. First, you need the batch files to perform the Shutdown, Hibernate etc. You can write them down yourselves

2. open your note pad

and write lik this...

c:\windows\system32\shutdown -s -f -t 00

and save it as shutdown.bat

3. Open up Microsoft Outlook. Make sure that you have already configured it for your email.Now we will need to make it so that Outlook checks your inbox about every minute (1 minute for testing time can be increased if a delayed shutdown is desired). You can do this by going to Tools: Options.

4. Then click the Mail Setup tab, and afterwards, the Send/Receive button.

5. Make sure that the Schedule an automatic send/receive every... box is checked, and set the number of minutes to 1. Now you may close all of these dialog boxes.

6. Now go to Tools: Rules and Alerts... Next click the options button in the upper right hand corner and press the Import Rules button.

7. Now select the shutdown.bat file ...whi u hv created ...

8. Now, when you send a message from your phone to your e-mail address with the subject shutdown or smsshutdown%%, your computer will shutdown.

Why Google Chrome OS and MS Office are "Most Wanted" in 2010

2009-11-26T04:45:00.000-08:00

If there are two releases planned for 2010 that all users should look more closely, are the Microsoft Office 2010 and Google Chrome OS. No resemblance, but both will keep you busy looking over pictures and demos. But because there are many good news about these two projects, some video and image material enough to share why these are the most wanted in 2010.

# MICROSOFT OFFICE 2010

After the changes the company made the jump from the 2003 version to the new Office 2007 suite experienced many improvements compared to the older Word and Excel we all knew when we were kids and learned computers using them.

See : Office 2010 Trailer Movie… Will Rock…

Screen Post Installation of Office 2010

One of the things that most liked in this beta of Office 2010 is the speed that has the booting and simplicity of its structure, beyond that Office 2003 was extremely minimal.

The fact of using toolboxes for each of the options and alternatives with different tabs that are above, makes the new Office takes up less space to use more options and greater maneuverability for the common user.

Following the same point in the top right corner is an option to use these panels in a more minimalist yet. What makes the little arrow beside the question mark is getting all the panels at a time, so we only choose what to redeploy from the tabs.

If the date is hard to find, two clicks also will. That is, each of the options within the tabs (Insert, Reference, Mail, among others) are able to fold or unfold once we double click over them.

File menu in Microsoft Office 2010

In addition, the File menu is much more graphic than in older versions of the suite. Inside we find several options, among which the Recent submenu to see the latest opened files, the permissions section to protect the document when you save and the information screen provided to us before saving a Word file.

Microsoft Office 2010, Word in particular, we will also make a bridge between various blog editors. Among the list includes some known as Wordpress, Blogger and Windows Live Spaces.

# GOOGLE CHROME OS

Google’s operating system had been developed earlier this year, information that flooded the Internet for several days and fulfilled the expectations of many of us who use services from Google every day, such as GTalk, Gmail and GMaps. I guess everyone almost…

Chrome boot OS (7 seconds)

A few days back news of the launch scheduled for next year and also the novelty of the event organized by Google to give some details about gOS, demos and let us show some new images.

It was found that Chrome OS starts in about 7 seconds because the PC does not need to start with processes, one behind the other, as with Windows machines that must endure.

Furthermore, gOS will be completely free, with updates throughout the system and the opportunity to unlock the system by ensuring that all the data stored will be stored online. In addition, we have a range of applications gDocs style, Youtube or gTalk integrated with our browser, Chrome.

GOS Applications Menu

Another positive point is that Chrome OS is a system that does not rely on any application that we have pre-installed, so for safety not to trust anyone and thus maintain our stability as possible.

The bad news is that gOS is an operating system that is downloaded like any other and installed. Quite contrary, at the time of its release, gOS will run on laptops that are manufactured exclusively for it. Most people will get discouraged, but I am sure that the Laptops or netbooks will cost much less than with Windows 7.

Beware of these 14 cyber threats!

2009-11-26T04:35:00.000-08:00

Cyber threats continue to haunt Internet users across the world. The bad news is that this will continue to wreak havoc taking new forms and approaches.

As long as humans are programming computer code, flaws will be introduced, no matter how thorough pre-release testing is. Microsoft's new operating system is no exception, and as Windows 7 hits the pavement and gains traction in 2010, attackers will undoubtedly find ways to exploit its users, says a Symantec report.

Security software scammers can take their efforts to the next level, by even hijacking users' computers and rendering them useless. "Cyber terrorism is the next big threat for India. Pakistani cyber criminals are able to deface 50 to 60 Indian websites a day. Though, India leads in IT services, it is lags behind as far as cyber security is concerned," ethical hacker Ankit Fadia said in an interview to Business Standard.

The most popular instant messaging will largely be comprised of unsolicited spam messages containing malicious links, especially attacks aimed at compromising legitimate IM accounts. By the end of 2010, Symantec predicts that one in 300 IM messages will contain a URL.

Symantec Corp has released its 2010 Security Predictions report. The reports states that malicious programs are actually being created at a higher rate than good programs.

Here are 14 threats that you must be aware of. . .

1. Anti-virus is not enough

With the rise of polymorphic threats and the explosion of unique malware variants in 2009, the industry is quickly realizing that traditional approaches to antivirus, both file signatures and heuristic/behavioural capabilities, are not enough to protect against today's threats.

We have reached an inflection point where new malicious programs are actually being created at a higher rate than good programs. As such, we have also reached a point where it no longer makes sense to focus solely on analyzing malware. Instead, approaches to security that look to ways to include all software files, such as reputation-based security, will become key in 2010.

2. Social engineering as the primary attack vector

More attackers are going directly after the end user and attempting to trick them into downloading malware or divulging sensitive information under the auspice that they are doing something perfectly innocent.

Social engineering's popularity is at least in part spurred by the fact that what operating system and Web browser rests on a user's computer is largely irrelevant, as it is the actual user being targeted, not necessarily vulnerabilities on the machine.

Social engineering is already one of the primary attack vectors being used today, and Symantec estimates that the number of attempted attacks using social engineering techniques will increase in 2010.

3. Rogue security software vendors escalate their efforts

In 2010, expect to see the propagators of rogue security software scams take their efforts to the next level, even by hijacking users' computers, rendering them useless and holding them for ransom. A less drastic next step, however, would be software that is not explicitly malicious, but dubious at best.

For example, Symantec has already observed some rogue antivirus vendors selling rebranded copies of free third-party antivirus software as their own offerings. In these cases, users are technically getting the antivirus software that they pay for, but the reality is that this same software can actually be downloaded for free elsewhere.

4. Social networking third-party applications will be the target of fraud

With the popularity of social networking sites poised for another year of unprecedented growth, there will be more frauds being leveraged against site users to grow. In the same vein, expect owners of these sites to create more proactive measures to address these threats.

As this occurs, and as these sites more readily provide third-party developer access to their APIs, attackers will likely turn to vulnerabilities in third-party applications for users' social networking accounts, just as we have seen attackers leverage browser plug-ins more as Web browsers themselves become more secure.

5. Windows 7 will come into the cross-hairs of attackers

Microsoft has already released the first security patches for the new operating system. As long as humans are programming computer code, flaws will be introduced, no matter how thorough pre-release testing is, and the more complex the code, the more likely that undiscovered vulnerabilities exist.

Microsoft's new operating system is no exception, and as Windows 7 hits the pavement and gains traction in 2010, attackers will undoubtedly find ways to exploit its users.

6. Fast Flux Botnets increase

Fast flux is a technique used by some botnets, such as the Storm botnet, to hide phishing and malicious web sites behind an ever-changing network of compromised hosts acting as proxies.

Using a combination of peer-to-peer networking, distributed command and control, web-based load balancing and proxy redirection, it makes it difficult to trace the botnets' original geo-location. As industry counter measures continue to reduce the effectiveness of traditional botnets, expect to see more using this technique being used to carry out attacks.

7.URL shortening services become the phisher's best friend

Phishers are able to disguise links that the average security conscious user might think twice about clicking on, because users often have no idea where a shortened URL is actually sending them, .

Symantec is already seeing a trend toward using this tactic to distribute misleading applications and we expect much more to come. Also, in an attempt to evade antispam filters through obfuscation, expect spammers to leverage shortened URLs shorteners to carry out their own evil deeds.

8. Mac and mobile malware will increase

The number of attacks designed to exploit a certain operating system or platform is directly related to that platform's market share, as malware authors are out to make money and always want the biggest bang for their buck.

In 2009, Macs and smartphones targeted more by malware authors, for example the Sexy Space botnet aimed at the Symbian mobile device operating system and the OSX. Iservice Trojan targeting Mac users.

As Mac and smartphones continue to increase in popularity in 2010, more attackers will devote time to creating malware to exploit these devices.

9. Spammers breaking the rules

As the economy continues to suffer and more people seek to take advantage of the loose restrictions of the Can Spam Act, we'll see more organisations selling unauthorised e-mail address lists and more less-than-legitimate marketers spamming those lists.

10. Spam volumes will fluctuate

Since 2007, spam has increased on average by 15 percent. While this significant growth in spam e-mail may not be sustainable in the long term, it is clear that spammers are not yet willing to give up as long an economic motive is present.

Spam volumes will continue to fluctuate in 2010 as spammers continue to adapt to the sophistication of security software, the intervention of responsible ISPs and government agencies across the globe.

11. Specialised malware

Highly specialised malware was uncovered in 2009 that was aimed at exploiting certain ATMs, indicating a degree of insider knowledge about their operation and how they could be exploited.

Expect this trend to continue in 2010, including the possibility of malware targeting electronic voting systems, both those used in political elections and public telephone voting, such as that connected with reality television shows and competitions.

12. CAPTCHA Technology will improve

As this happens and spammers have a more difficult time breaking CAPTCHA codes through automated processes, spammers in emerging economies will devise a means to use real people to manually generate new accounts for spamming, thereby attempting to bypass the improved technology.

Symantec estimates that the individuals employed to manually create these accounts will be paid less than 10 percent of the cost to the spammers, with the account-farmers charging $30-40 per 1,000 accounts.

13. Instant messaging spam

As cyber criminals exploit new ways to bypass CAPTCHA technologies, instant messenger (IM) attacks will grow in popularity. IM threats will largely be comprised of unsolicited spam messages containing malicious links, especially attacks aimed at compromising legitimate IM accounts.

By the end of 2010, Symantec predicts that one in 300 IM messages will contain a URL. Also, in 2010, Symantec predicts that overall, one in 12 hyperlinks will be linked to a domain known to be used for hosting malware.

Thus, one in 12 hyperlinks appearing in IM messages will contain a domain that has been considered suspicious or malicious. In mid 2009, that level was 1 in 78 hyperlinks.

14. Non-English spam will increase

As broadband connection penetration continues to grow across the globe, particularly in developing economies, spam in non-English speaking countries will increase. In some parts of Europe, Symantec estimates the levels of localised spam will exceed 50 percent of all spam.

The Fake 32 GBs

2009-11-21T08:07:00.001-08:00

This blog has been created to help people who bought the Fake 32 GB Kingston pendrive at throwaway prices.

Especially in and around Mumbai. Their main target is call centres employees and IT companies. Their packing and modus operandii is very professional and real.

Its time we learn a lesson and pay sales tax and buy genuine goods. The government will only help us if we follow the white route.

We bought this pendrive to conduct test as to who is responsible,, and we may have found out but we donot want to implicate any one.

The circuitory looks original and even the ICs and LEDs are of good make.

The pendrives are actually 1 gb or 2gb pendrives from a third party manufacturer. The storage chip is from Samsung and the controller is from another microchip giant Alcor Micro.

What they have done is assembled the controller and memory chip and have created a firmware which shows non-existent sectors .

Every time you paste something larger than the actual capacity the data is written into these virtual sectors and is lost.

Now that you have already paid the money for it and there is no way you can get that back because we assume you have not taken a bill for that and neither is Kingston gonna take moral responsibility.

The only way to redeem some of the value is to actually use it as a 1gbfunctional pendrive.

That is where we step in.

We have devised a method to erase those virtual sectors and give you actually what they sold you.So that the data that you copy does not get corrupted.

WARNING::

Following these steps will make you Fake 32 GB Pendrive to a 1 GB-2 GBPendrive.These steps are specifically for the current 32GB Kingston Pendrive scam only. As each controller chip has a different make and firmware.

DISCLAIMER.

We are not responsible for any damages that might occur to the pendrive. This is a FREE Public service. We will also not accept any other liability either. We do not work for either Transcend Kingston,Alcor Micro,Samsungwho use similar parts. We are freelance computer technicians.

THE STEPS

****For Information about any USB Drive Use this softwarehttp://host.hackerbox.org/download.php?file=b90b1e80d3868f8c70a1ef6d394482ec ***

1) Go to this website and download this filehttp://host.hackerbox.org/download.php?file=2e46c99b2b179e9bed1ea8687e87529a

2) Then unzip the RAR file using WINRAR (for newbies who do not havewinrar go here http://www.rarlab.com/download.htm)

3) Open the extracted folder and open the file alcorMP.exe (you need administrator rights of the computer that you are using).

and Insert the FAKE 32 GB Pendrive.

The console shows at no 1 the pendrive that you have inserted (make sure there are no other flash drives.)

4) Click on SETUP--

a password dialog box will appear,, you can click on OK. Do not enter any password.

5)The setup window opens

Donot mess with anything here...just go to 'other' tab.

Now this is the only difficult thing in the process, Select Spec FlashID and type in the flash ID from the main screen make sure the two are same.

If there is nothing in the last octet then you can enter 00 on the Spec Flash ID in the corresponding octet.

And Click OK.

Now you are redirected to the main screen.

Click on the Start option on the Left side. And Pray.

It will first Erase the Data and then it will delete the virtual sectors and then it will format the drive.

And Viola!!!!!! you'll have a expensive 1gb pendrive at least, in our case it was a 1 GB pendrive hope you people get something more.

JustDial: Call in your search query

2009-11-15T06:10:00.000-08:00

Most people who use search engines often use it for looking up local information. Google Search is quite handy to look up phone numbers for restaurants, hospitals and other important details you might require.

But what if I did not have access to the internet. Well I can always call up a friend and request him to search for an address or phone number. A few days ago I needed to find some phone numbers to all the hospitals in the locality I live in. I called this service JustDialand got all the information I needed. They sent me the address via email and also sent me the address and contact numbers through SMS. This was quite handy to look up locally listed businesses or services on the go.

Just Dial on Internet

Using Just Dial website I could look up all the hospitals in my locality. It apparently covers over 250 cities in India and is probably the best way to search for local information in India.
You can order flowers to someone, check out places of interest like restaurants andhotels by specifying the locality in which you are searching within the city, so that narrows down your search results. For instance I looked up hospitals only in my locality and not the whole city.
There are many other specialized local listings, like a section on movies which allows you to select a movie and location you are in. It shows up a list of theaters the movie might be playing in.

Just Dial on Phone

As I wrote before you do not need to be online to use JustDial. All you have to do is call Just Dial which is a local call from any city in India where the service is available.
Their number is 6999 9999 and someone on the other end of the call does the searching for you. Then you can give your mobile number and ask for the relevant details to be sent through a text message.

I have used this service a few times, it is a great help during emergencies. Not everyone has internet access over a cell phone. People who are not really into using internet website can also use this service with a simple call from any land-line.

So what do you think? Is it the best local search engine for India as they claim. I definitely think their boast is accurate.

Google SMS: Power of Google Search on Mobile!

2009-11-15T06:08:00.001-08:00

SMS team at Google has come up with Google SMS Search. Now you can send all your queries to 9-77-33-00000 without paying any premium charges! SMS Search offers an easy-to-use way to type in free-form searches. No longer will your questions require complicated prefixes or a tight syntax. You can learn about the interesting features and try our interactive demo at http://www.google.co.in/sms.

For details go to the Google Mobile website or check their help center for more details.

The Google blog says that you only need to pay the standard SMS text charges for sending the SMS query to Google – there’s no fee for the incoming messages from Google. The service is available for all popular cellular networks including Airtel, BSNL, Idea, Reliance, Spice, Tata Indicom and Vodafone.

This service is available across all operators on both GSM and CDMA mobile phones. Give it a try by SMSing “help” to 9-77-33-00000 and don’t forget to save the number of your newly found friend (Google SMS) in your phone book!

Google SMS can be used for Live Cricket Scores, Railways PNR Status, Train schedule,Stock Quotes, Horoscopes, News, Movies, Flight status, Translation, Currency Conversion, etc.

10 Wrong Beliefs about Acne – Acne Common Myths

2009-11-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

If you are suffering from acne then probably the common things you have heard from every one are some acne removal tips which are nothing but acne myths. These are some misconceptions which we thought were right. Have a look to see which acne myth you actually believed in ?

10 Myths & Misconceptions about Acne Causes

What we think we know about acne is steadily being replaced by what scientists are learning. Meanwhile, many myths continue to circulate and endure. Clearing up some of the misunderstandings about acne is what this article is about.

#1: Acne only affects Appearance

Acne can also cause deep psychological distress. Severe acne can lead to low self-image and feeling depressed. There is a strong link between severe acne and social withdrawal.

#2: Acne is caused by Poor Hygiene

While skin infections are associated with acne, lack of cleanliness is not the reason for acne outbreaks. The combination of oil and dead cells which produce acne is located beneath the skin’s surface where it is impossible to clean it away. Gentle cleansing with soap and water once or twice daily will keep your skin as healthy as possible. Scrubbing too hard may worsen acne.

#3: Acne is caused by Specific Foods

Chocolate has long had a reputation as a pimple producer. Studies have shown no scientific evidence that this is true. The same holds true for potato chips and sugar. There are some foods that do seem to aggravate (not cause) the condition: milk and foods high in iodine, such as seafood.

#4: Acne has to run its Course

There are many acne treatments available both over-the-counter and stronger medicines from a dermatologist.

#5: The more Acne Medicine the better

Some people believe that if their acne gets worse they should just use more medicine. That’s a bad idea because medicines can be dangerous when taken in large quantities. Excess use of acne ointments may just irritate the skin further.

#6: Sunbathing is good for Acne

Exposure to the sun dries out excess oils, so it does improve acne short-term. However, long-term the skin adapts and the acne is unfazed. Worse, there is scientific evidence that sun exposure damages the skin and increases the chance of skin cancer.

#7: Makeup causes Acne

Some makeup products can clog the pores, which is bad for the health of your skin. Cosmetics that are labeled “noncomedogenic” or “nonacnegenic” are safe to use. Some brands are made with ingredients that actually treat acne.

#8: Acne is only a Teenage Condition

While most teens have acne, so do many adults. Acne generally clears up by the early 20s. But some people experience acne for the first time as late as their 40s. And for the most unfortunate of all, some people endure acne flare-ups their entire lives.

#9: Acne is related to S ex

We’ve probably all heard that either celibacy or too much s ex causes pimples. There is no evidence for this. There is a link between s exual activity and hormone production, but the relationship between s ex and the production of sebum (the oily substance which combines with dead skin cells to cause acne) is not known. Stress and anger also affect hormone levels.

PC Tip : Block Adult Websites & Porn Sites on your Computer

#10: Popping Pimples is the best way to get rid of them

The fact is popping pimples may worsen acne by spreading the bacteria that is causing it. Popping can also lead to eventual scarring, which in severe cases can be permanent.

How to Use Airtel's New Twitter via SMS Service in India

2009-11-04T08:31:00.001-08:00

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets.

Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to the author’s subscribers who are known as followers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow open access.

Previously Airtel had launched its airtel broadband account management for their customers and now they are back with a bang. Airtel become the first company to launch Twitter’s SMS based Service in India.

Tip : How to Stop Advertisement Calls & SMS on Airtel

What’s new with Twitter via SMS @ Airtel ?

Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or external applications. The service today in India works only on a web or a WAP site (basically needing the consumer to be internet ready).

Finally Twitter will be available in India on SMS only on the Airtel network. There is exclusive period, in which only Airtel consumers will be able to use the service on SMS across the nation.

How to register for Twitter from your Airtel Mobile ?

New User

SMS Signup to 53000 @ Re 1 per SMS
Follow instructions to go ahead and complete the registration

Existing User – Wanting to link their mobile to the Twitter A/c

SMS Start to 53000 @ Re 1 per SMS
Follow instructions to complete linking your Airtel phone to your Twitter A/c

General Guidelines & Keywords to Twitter Use : Link

Additional Details before using Twitter for the First Time :

New User – SMS Signup to 53000
Existing User with only a Twitter id but having linked the mobile phone to the Twitter account – SMS Signup to 53000
Existing User with a Twitter id and having linked the Mobile number to the id – The consumer will be directly active on the service. There will be nothing that the consumer will have to do.

Twitter Text Commands for using Twitter SMS In India – Link

Well, this is an excellent marketing strategy by Airtel because there are millions of twitter users in India. And using twitter from the mobile device become only a bit easier. Though Airtel is going to charge you for every SMS tweet, but still there are some comforts of using the best microblogging service from a hand held device.

Mobile Tip : Send Free SMS with more than160 Characters to any Mobile in India

So Will you be Using this Twitter SMS Service of Airtel ? What you Liked & Didn’t Like … let us know via Comments

Also Read : Best Online Twitter Tools to Improve your Twittering

New Interface of Orkut Looks Promising : Faster, Simpler

2009-11-04T08:29:00.000-08:00

There is a Great News for Orkut Lovers. They have rolled out a new interface for orkut. According to the reviews, it seems that they have focused primarily on a clean simple interface, fewer pages, faster browsing and greater personalization.

Tip : Did you know you could show twitter updates on orkut.

A Look at the New Interface of Orkut

Click On the Pic for Larger Image

Features on the New Orkut Interface Look

Better "What are you up to ?" : If you are eating pancakes or watching tv, you can let all your friend know about it.
Fewer pages, faster browsing : Making the homepage a one-stop-shop for nearly everything that you’d like to do.
A clean, simple interface : Reorganized the most important activities on orkut so that they are easy to find and even easier to use.
Greater personalization : Make your orkut profile and homepage truly your own by choosing the color that best fits your style.
Video chat : In case if you are bored with text based chatting, video chat is now possible without any software.

Excited about the new version of the site? Then you’ll also be excited to know that they’re returning to orkut’s roots and granting access to it via invitations.

Recent Tip : Disable Friend Suggestions by Orkut on Homepage

How to Get Invites for the New Orkut Interface ?

Starting today, there are 3 ways to get invites:

Join Poppy and Shashi on the official community (www.orkut.co.in/neworkut) for insights into the new version of orkut and participate in one of the many activities that will be taking place there. Be sure to check back often as the owners will be regularly announcing new ways to get access.
Find a friend who’s already using the new version of orkut and ask for an invite. You can see who’s already gotten access via your activity stream or by this icon that will appear on your friends’ profile pages, next to their names.
Gaurav Dua of OrkutPlus will be giving away 10 Invites (Check Here).

I’d like to think of this as the beginning of a new evolution for orkut though the updates make it look just like facebook. I like the older orkut though… what do you think ?

Also Read : 10 Most Popular Indian Communities on Orkut

What Makes Web 2.0 Different From Web 1.0 ?

2009-11-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

The two permanent things in life are ‘change’ and ‘evolution’. Almost all living beings and things experience these and the recent change that has evolved in the electronic instruments has been mind blowing. For instance, the stereo typical heavy mobile phones that were primarily used only for making calls have now been transformed into light-weight designer handsets with multi-functions.

How is Web 2.0 Different than Web 1.0 ?

So is the case with the internet too. The new Web 2.0 version is much better to the Web 1.0 in respect to several aspects. In common parlance, Web 2.0 refers to the way we use the internet presently.

The internet has now become the staple in the everyday life of the people, all of us heavily depend on it for staying in touch with friends, family, clients, customers and so on.

The internet has now evolved into a much more interactive platform of communication and learning rather than a static platform that it was in the past. With the advent of the Web 2.0, the social networking giants such as Facebook, Twitter etc have come up and made lot many impossible things possible. The keywords that are used to describe the Web 2.0 are community, collaboration, user driven and several others.

Tip : Top 5 Myths, Rumors & Misconceptions about Google

In the past, Web 1.0 used to simply read passively but Web 2.0 websites invite participation from the visitors in terms of rating, commenting, submitting new posts. For instance, Amazon.com was popular for online purchasing by the year 2000 but the visitors could not participate in selling their products on it. However, after Web 2.0 the visitors can sell their own new books or used book on Amazon itself. Not only this, but the visitor also can write reviews on the various products, edit articles in Wikipedia and much more.

Hence, the most crucial point that differentiates Web 2.0 is that it is highly dynamic and pacing up with the modern lifestyle of the people. Several other significant points of difference between Web 2.0 and Web 1.0 are given on web design services page for your reference.

Fake Facebook Login Pages are Used to Hack Facebook

2009-11-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

Today I received a mail from a reader asking me how people hack Facebook accounts. So this post is actually an answer to that question. The most used hack or exploit that is used to hack Facebook profiles is by using fake Facebook login pages.

Generally, a person goes to a fake facebook login page where the used logs in with the ID & Password, and that fake login page forwards to login details to the hacker.

Tip : Automatically Submit New Blog Posts to Facebook Wall

What are Fake Facebook Login Pages / Phishing Pages ?

Fake facebook login pages are very easy to make. Its actually the index page of the website. Just go to facebook.com and save the login page using Ctrl+S in any Browser.

Then Hackers implement an additional script in the login fields which forwards the input details of the UID & Password to his email or stored in a text file in case .php functions are implemented.

How to Know if Its a Fake Facebook Login Page ?

#1 – The Easiest way is to look at the URL of the Page.

The Real Face book Login Page

The Fake Facebook Login Page

By comparing the above example you can easily identify a proper facebook page by looking at the root domain. Any page containing facebook.com as root domain can be trusted.

#2 – Don’t Fall for Phishing Scams which compromise your Facebook Account

Looking at the screenshot below will give you enough idea to understand what’s going on.

#3 – Sometimes the Evil Might be Inside the System

Sometime there are emails like the above which seems to be from the facebook team telling you about some update or feature they have done and ant you to login and check it out. Remember Any Official release of any new service will always be announced at the facebook blog. Be sure to check it out to confirm. Other wise you may be the prey of some phishing scams.

Tip : Stay Safe,Protected from Strangers on Social Sites

For eg, Recently a application known as the Facebook Fan Check came in the light as it was suspected of being embedded with a virus which stole of your information in your facebook account including login details.

Read the Rest of the story >> Facebook Fan Check Virus Alert

Till now this is what I know about Fake Facebook Login Pages and Phishing Pages … I will be updating this page after I come to know of other methods of hacking facebook accounts.

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Also Read : How to Disable / Remove Facebook Ads ?