Shankness TechBlog

For the future generation: We need to change the look of the 'Save' button

2011-10-16T17:37:00.000+05:30

The floppy disk icon must go away.

When was the last time you used or even saw a floppy disk? Ages ago. But even though its an obsolete item, we still use them - as a symbol to represent the 'save' action in interfaces. I agree that the symbol is familiar to the user and represents the idea of 'saving' something effectively. But that's for those of us who were born in the 80s or early 90s. But what about users who were born after say 2000. Most of them would never have used or seen a floppy disk. That floppy disk icon doesn't make sense at all to them. Many interfaces have stopped using the icon and have started using simple buttons just labeled as Save. It has always been a norm to have quick action buttons which have symbols which speak for themselves. For example the marker felt pen icon for 'highlighting text'. In a similar way, it would be great to have an icon for 'Save' as well. Something new but not the 'floppy disk' should be the face of the Save button. I thought about this and came up with three solutions. All of these would make sense to at least today's kids.

Solution 1: The down arrow button:

This one symbolizes a download. Downloads and saves are fairly related to each other. Hence, this icon would make sense.

Solution 2: The Hard Disk:

Hard disks have been and will be for the years to come, our primary storage devices. It easily conveys to the user that clicking it would save data to the disk.

Solution 3: The Thumb drive:

Thumb drives are also one of the popular mediums of storage. Even though this icon suits the 'save' button, thumb drives are also headed in the direction of floppy disks. They will eventually become obsolete.

Future and beyond:
There will come a day when all kinds of software interfaces will get rid of the 'save' action. Documents will be automatically saved, without the user's intervention and stashed away in to the cloud. Google docs and apps like Simplenote already do that. Cloud will be our new primary storage place. But that's a long way to go. For now, we must get rid of the virtual floppy disk icon.

Thanks for reading and DO share this article with others.

How to: Move all your Google contacts to iCloud

2011-10-14T20:56:00.002+05:30

Right after I updated my iPhone 4 to iOS 5, I was greeted with iCloud and its syncing options. I enabled all options and thought I was good to go; before iCloud settings threw a warning that it will not merge my Exchange (google sync) contacts with icloud contacts. The problem is that I don't have any contact groups which reside natively on my phone. All my contacts reside on google's servers. Since I had now enabled syncing of contacts on both iCloud and Google sync, it got a little messy- some contacts got uploaded to iCloud and the rest were in google contacts. Here's a step-by-step procedure to move all your google as well as phone contacts to iCloud:

Delete your iCloud account from your iDevice if you have added one.
Connect your device to iTunes on PC/mac.
Under the info tab, check "sync contacts" and select Google calendar from the dropdown menu.
Now, when the sync is complete, eject your device and go to contacts app.
You will see that there is a group called "Contacts from my PC" along with an "All contacts" group.
Now in the settings app, go to Mail,contacts,calendar > your google sync/exchange account > Delete account or you can simply select to switch off contacts in the sync list.
A warning will pop up asking you whether you want to delete or keep all the contacts. Tap "Delete contacts".
Now in your contacts app, all you will be left with is one group - which is "All contacts".
Next, go to settings> icloud and sign into your iCloud account. Choose to sync whatever data you want including contacts.
Now all your contacts have been moved from Google to iCloud. A small refresh button can be found in the top left corner of the contacts app when iCloud sync is enabled.
When you decide to enable google sync later on, it will be best to turn off contacts sync and just get mail and calendar events pushed.

Thanks for reading :-)

Windows and iOS can both trump Android. Yes, its possible.

2011-09-19T00:04:00.000+05:30

After looking at the title, you must be thinking. Android is doing well, so whats this post all about? This post is all about one thing which both Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 and Apple's iOS5 have. And that could worry Google and prove to be a threat for Android. In the recent months, all we have been hearing about is is the CLOUD. yes. That's the magical word. Cloud is what is going to revolutionize the way we handle our data, settings, preferences,everything. As I have already written before, Android lacks a good ecosystem. Fragmentation is the biggest issue there. So how can windows and iOS beat Android to death? Lets look at the scenario. Lets start with Microsoft first. At the build conference last week, MS showed us how one can buy a Windows 8 tablet, PC and a Windows phone and never worry about syncing all the devices. Microsoft' s approach is fresh and simple. You have a windows phone, hook it up with your live account and there you are- all your photos, contacts, mail, and much more is synced easily without any thought. You snap a photo on your phone and its available for view immediately on your home PC. Even more, Microsoft has some very good cloud services like office 365 which can always work well with just one account. And that's your Windows live account. Surely they will also figure out a way to keep track of purchases, other accounts, settings, browser preferences etc synchronized across all Windows machines. On Apple's side its the same story again. You sign in once with your Apple ID and iCloud takes care of everything. Even iWork and some other native apps backup data to the cloud every few seconds. All your deleted apps are in the cloud for immediate download. And Apple has even gone to the extent of syncing your iMessages so that you can switch iDevices in the middle of a conversation. Everything is smooth and simple. The biggest worry for Android is not the ability to backup data to the cloud (google sync has been around for years), but the inability to sync your data across all your devices. That's what is required in the near future. Your phone and PC will no longer be independent stand-alone devices. The Personal computer is going to become even more personal. A whole lot of manufacturers produce Smartphones and tablets based on Android, and all of them use different custom layer for the OS. It will be a difficult task to keep your Android phone and Tablet in sync with each other because there will be many dissimilar aspects between both the devices. And moreover, people who own an Android phone/tablet use a PC or MAC as their desktop computer. How is the PC/MAC going to fit into the equation? Windows 8 and Mac will both be more sync-friendly towards windows and iOS devices respectively. And the answer to all this doesn't lie in the Chrome OS. Because that's a big FAIL. Both MAC and Windows PC are well established. And with their strong foothold in the smartphone market, it is only going to help them more. Windows 8 tablets are already looking promising. If Android goes kaput in the long run, it could all be because of just one reason-- 'the inability to sync across all your devices'.

One little known iOS gesture

2011-09-03T02:43:00.001+05:30

I don't know how many people know about this little gesture in iOS, but I found this accidentally while trying to mimic the iOS5 style pull down gesture for notifications .

When in a particular app, swipe down from the time on the status bar to the center title on the blue(title) bar in an app.

For example when in the settings app, if you are in Settings > General, swipe down slowly starting from the time on status bar till the point where the word General is written. The thing with this gesture is that it activates the function of the left side button. So in messages app's main screen, you would end up activating the edit function for the messages. Works across any app in iOS.

Desktops will never disappear. Here's why..

2011-06-21T03:43:00.004+05:30

Many people think that tablets are going to completely replace desktops. Before I tell why they are wrong, lets answer this question-

So Who needs a tablet?

When I ask this question, I mean who really needs it- as a primary computer. Lot of us never get tired of the number of gadgets we have. Getting to the question now, Tablets are for those who don't do extremely serious stuff on their desktop. The average internet user (6 out of 10 of us) uses the computer to check email, read some news and occasionally watch a few videos here and there. This guy is no Developer or Designer. Nor does he have his computer running 24x7, 365 days. This guy wants to do his simple activities quickly and easily. No waiting for computer to switch on, no modems and no wires. This is where tablets step in. Google and Apple saw this an opportunity and are already churning out faster tablets every year.
Tablet is also for those who want to do some desktop specific stuff on desktops and then move to their tablets for casual browsing, reading,etc. Tablets can handle many task in an intuitive way. Thats the reason why they are such a huge success. Now coming to the main point-

Why will desktops be around for the years to come?

No wonder how 'magical' those tablets are, there are a few things they cannot do. And not only that, Desktops are the grass root level of technology. This is where things start developing. Even those amazing apps for your iPhone or iPad are created on a desktop. Can you have the same experience on Photoshop on a tablet as on the desktop? Can we manage various kinds of files without any fuss on a tablet? What about all those graphics you see in movies? The answer for all these: NO. What I mean here is that extremely serious applications will always be best on a desktop. A desktop machine can be upgraded easily. You can even build your own custom windows PC. It is the platform for every other kind of technology to flourish.

Did E-mail ever go away because of the rise of social media? No. Yes, we resort to Twitter or Facebook most of the time these days for communication, but e-mail is still the go-to method of communication for all when it comes to professional communication. Desktops are like that. like email.

Conclusion:

I don't mean that Tablets aren't great. They are super cool and will eat into desktops' market share but desktops will still continue to find a place in homes and offices. Tablets will become our companions wherever we go. Notebooks, and not desktops will feel threatened by these touch screen wonders.

Firefox Dashboard concept

2011-06-11T13:36:00.000+05:30

While menus in browsers are now available under a single button, menu items are still displayed in a dropdown list. This concept of mine presents a solution where users click one button and are taken to the dashboard where all settings , history, bookmarks,addons etc are available. It also enables users to search across them. Now menus are easier to use and in one place.

The UI outside dashboard. (click to enlarge image)

Dashboard UI

Top 4 reasons iPad 2 will outsell other tablets in 2011

2011-02-19T01:37:00.000+05:30

The iPad 2 doesn't exist in the market at the time I write this. The Honeycombs tablets are already here and I must admit that the Android team has done a wonderful job for a tablet OS. I have always believed that iOS isn't as feature rich as Android is. In other words, Android is the real OS. Real multitasking, real voice control and real notifications. iOS always pretends to do what it actually doesn't. The iPad (1st gen) gets away with all its flaws because its a first. Its the first tablet which created a revolution. Just like the iPhone, the iPad is the first device of its kind. Its been a year now since its launch and things have changed. The Androids have arrived and its getting sweeter in an alphabetical order. As we talk, we are getting closer to the iPad 2's launch. Lets analyse what will make it stand out from the rest and create a splash once again.

Android is a sweet candy with a bitter coating:

As I said before, Android is an amazing OS. No second opinion about that. Coming to tablets, its not just about the OS. Its much more than that. Its about the ecosystem. Apple ensures that everything the end user gets is of ultimate quality. Be it the apps or music content or books, the user is never in the dark about anything. Everything is plain simple in Apple's world. If something is available, it works. I really mean the last two sentences I wrote. Just open up iTunes on your PC and go to the iTunes store. You search for an app, buy it and download it. You can download it to your PC if you dont have your device around and then sync it back later. Dead simple. Now go to the Android market ( http://market.android.com). One of the first things you would notice is that Google hasn't given much attention to designing the store properly. Layout is fine, but its not visually appealing. Now who is the loser here? The developer. And to an extent, the user.

Android market is confusing. The picture below will tell you why. Search for need for speed shift in the Android market. There are two results of the same app, they cost different and there is no indication whatsoever about what is what. Pure Fail.

The Hardware:

In terms of Hardware, Apple has always been late to implement a few components into their devices. The iPhone got flash for camera only in its fourth iteration. The Androids on the other hand, have a lot to boast about on their spec sheets. 3D Android tablets are already on their way as we talk now. But this difference has never hampered Apple’s success. Their approach is a step by step incremental one where they keep adding better features every year on a strictly followed schedule while others try to play catch up.
          The main advantage of such an approach is a consistent form factor over generations of devices; thus avoiding inconsistency. Android's messy approach spoils the whole ecosystem. Not all apps work on all devices. On the contrary, Apple’s ecosystem is not an unsorted mess. Apps are neatly categorized as “iPhone and iPod touch”, “iPad” and “Universal”. The one size fits all strategy works really well for them.

iPad 2 will get at least 3 major iOS updates; without fail:

    Ah, here we are talking about Fragmentation once again. Google is never going to solve this one. At present, different Android devices are running at least 4 different versions of Android. Every quarter, there is a new version of it and people are stuck with an old version of Android thus feeling completely helpless. What’s the use of such amazing hardware when you don’t get the latest software updates? Only a handful of devices are running the latest Gingerbread version while many are still using Eclair or Froyo. Again, this leads to incompatible apps, buggy experience and an unhappy user.
      Apple handles software updates in a very planned manner. There’s an iOS update every year around July and they give a preview of the upcoming OS in march. This schedule has been strictly followed since the very beginning and they have never failed to deliver the updates at the promised dates. The user is never in the dark and gets an update via iTunes without any hassles. Whereas Android users are always kept waiting for their updates.
I am pretty sure that iPad 2 will at least get iOS 5 ,6 and 7 updates till the hardware gets too old to run an iOS version.

Lots of magazines and tabloids will tie up with Apple in 2011:

The latest announcement of “The Daily” on iPad showed the rich experience of a newspaper on the tablet. Since the iPad is a more successful product, and an established one at that, many mag publishers will have more faith in Apple than anyone else. This will be just another reason why people will consider going for the iPad and not the honeycombs.

Android is growing and its becoming too difficult to manage. There are too many manufacturers jumping onto the Android bandwagon. Android is a powerful OS, but its the ecosystem and the roadmap which they don’t get right. They will eventually outsell iPads in the coming years, but there’s no denying that for the time being, iPad 2 will be a runaway hit.

The way to a clutter free desktop

2010-11-26T19:14:00.000+05:30

Have you ever wondered how much of a garbage your PC collects every time you browse the web, every time you install and uninstall a file and every time you use a file. There's a lot of errors that are generated in the registry when you uninstall a program from your PC. From time to time, such garbage and errors in the system cause your PC to slow down. Its also highly important to Defrag your hard disk as and when possible. I would like to tell you all about a software I have been using for more than three months now. Its called Win utilities(Download link). It acts like a personal maintenance manager for your system. Here are some of the features the software boasts of:

Also, there is this feature called 1-click maintenance where you can check or uncheck many common tasks and get them running with the click of a single button. The best part about Win utilities is the simple UI it offers. Its very easy to follow and even novice users will feel at home.

It also has a File undelete program. I must say that this works. It really does unlike some other programs which just show your deleted files but never let you retrieve it. Even the defragging of disks works well. With so many features, the software isn't a bloat at all and thats a good thing. Its as good as the popular CCleaner and offers many more features than that. All in all I would rate it 4/5.

Download WinUtilities from here.

[HOW TO] Add “I’m Feeling lucky” feature to the Address bar in your Browsers

2010-09-01T01:00:00.001+05:30

Web search is the first thing we do when we open our browsers. Recently, the latest crop of browsers have gone to the extent of a dedicated search bar or like chrome, which has merged both the address bar and search bar into a single text field. Many users are unaware of the fact that even in browsers like Firefox, IE and Opera, you can enter a keyword into the URL bar and that will initiate a Google search for that keyword. Ability to search the Internet using simple keywords is great and is something we have been doing for ages now.But it is always easier to find a web page we want instantly. I mean, enter a keyword, press return and boom!- the page you want opens up; without even you entering the web address! If you look at Google's homepage, there are two options after you key in your search query: First, is the standard search button. The other one is the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button. So what is this 'I'm feeling lucky'? . For example, you enter the keywords 'wiki bill gates' it directly takes you to the wikipedia article on Bill gates instead of showing search results for it. This is a huge time saver. When we enter queries in the URL bar, our browsers come up with search results from our default search engine. However, in this [How to] I will brief you about adding the 'I'm Feeling lucky' feature to your browser's address bar.

Internet Explorer 8

click on the arrow next to the search bar.

click Find more providers.

You will be navigated to the add-ons page of IE. At the bottom of the page, click create your own search provider.

Now, in the URL field, paste the following URL: http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=TEST

click Install search provider

In the dialog box that pops up, check ‘Make as my default search engine’ and click ‘ADD’

Google Chrome 5

Right click the URL bar, and click Edit search engines

In the dialog box that opens, click Add

Give the following details: Name: any name you wish Keyword: %s URL: http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=%s

Click OK and then select this search engine and click Make default

Mozilla Firefox

Type about:config in the URL bar. Click ‘i’ll be careful’.

In the Filter field, type Keyword.URL

Right click the Keyword.URL entry and click Modify.

Paste the following URL in the text box that appears. : http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=%s

Click OK and close the about:config tab.

Opera 10

click on the arrow next to the search bar.

click ‘Manage search engines’

In the dialog box that opens, click Add

Give the following details:
1. Name: any name you wish
2. Keyword: %s
3. URL: http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=%s .

Leave the Query string field empty.

Click OK and then select this search engine and check Use as Default search engine. Click OK again.

Adding iOS4 features to your iPhone 2G

2010-07-25T01:02:00.001+05:30

All the fanboys and the tech world as a whole is buzzing about the iOS4. According to this recent report by chitika, 50 % of all iPhones are running on iOS4. Recently , i posted about the devices compatible for iOS4. So ,this post is for the devices which don’t cut it. So what if Apple doesn’t allow you to share a piece of its latest pie? You can always get them by jailbreaking your iDevice (iPhone 2G and iPod touch 1G). By jailbreaking, you can get almost all the features . Sounds great, right?

Before you start, read my Guide on how to jailbreak your iPhone.

Home screen wallpaper

This is not a big feature, but then, when its an Apple device, each small feature counts. To get home screen wallpapers, head over to cydia, and search for Winterboard. Install it and your springboard will restart. Tap on the winterboard app and set wallpapers option ON. Any wallpaper you set from your Photos app will now be the home screen wallpaper.

Folders

Again, go to cydia and get categories and install it. Once you have installed, tap add and all your apps will show up. Add the ones you want and then name the folder. Boom! All your apps are now neatly tucked away into a folder. Remember, when you restore your device or update the firmware, make sure you remove all apps from the folder and move them to your springboard.

Multitasking

Go to Cydia. Go to manage>edit>add. Add the “http://booleanmagic.com/repo” repository. Search for Backgrounder or Activator and install it. Then, search for Pro switcher. Install and what you will find is a wonderful web-OS like multitasking interface.

Reflective dock

iOS 4 changes the dock’s looks. The icons are reflective now. Once again, hit cydia and search for “reflective dock”and install it. Enable Reflective dock in winterboard and see the magic.

These were some of the most useful and important features. I will keep you updated on more features as they come.

NOTE: Even though Multitasking is useful, it can drain your battery life faster. Also, move all apps from a folder to your springboard before make any changes to firmware or decide to remove “categories”.

Switch Tabs faster and search across open Tabs in Firefox

2010-06-29T23:08:00.000+05:30

Skill level of tweak: EASY

Ever wanted to manage tabs on your Firefox in a better manner? Want a preview pane for open tabs? Want to switch between tabs faster? Then this small trick will help you. The following about:config tweak will help you to view and search content across tabs and also switch between them quicker. A few posts back i wrote about a tweak on How to start firefox always in private browsing mode which also uses about:config's options. For the uninitiated, about:config is an under the hood page in the Firefox browser where you can tweak the default settings.

In the Address bar, type about:config .

In the search box on this page, type browser.ctrlTab.previews

Change the value of this option to true (default is false)

Now close the about:config page. I would recommend restarting firefox after this.

This tab preview feature works when two or more tabs are open i.e a minimum of 3 tabs must be open. Well, that makes sense since tabs are difficult to manage only when they are more in number.

After you have at least 3 tabs open, press ctrl-tab. This will bring up a new floating pane in the centre of your browser which looks strikingly similar to the windows Alt-Tab pane.

It works very much the same as your Alt-tab feature of windows. Holding the ctrl button, keep pressing the tab button to switch tabs.

Also pressing shift-ctrl-tab will open a pane showing all open tabs.Just click on a tab to go to that tab.Middle clicking on a tab closes it. And, this works even if one tab is open unlike the above said ctrl-tab option.

Another interesting option is the ability to search for keywords across tabs. This is a bit different from the Ctrl-F feature which searches for content in the current tab.

I am unable to see the reason why Firefox disabled this option by default.

Note: Even though there is a search feature in the tab preview pane, its still hit or miss. Seems like the reason why Firefox decided to disable it. The tab switching works well though.

There is also an add-on called fox tab which does the trick. But then, it is not as lite and comes with too many options which can confuse the user. The above tweak gives a simple yet useful solution.

Tweaking Windows 7 Taskbar to look like Vista/XP

2010-06-23T01:10:00.000+05:30

Windows 7 has a wonderful dock. Personally, I like it a lot as I have always envied mac users who have enjoyed a dock for many years. This new windows taskbar is a worthy competitor for the mac OS dock. But this new system has not pleased all. It can become a little uncomfortable with the default settings, for long time xp users and at those times when you have multiple instances of the same app open. There is a small tweak which will make your windows 7 taskbar look and behave a lot like vista or XP. This will make users feel at ease and they can work faster. This is how the standard windows 7 taskbar looks like:

Programs are pinned to the taskbar with large icons shown.

First of all , we need to unpin any pinned programs here. Right click and 'click unpin program from taskbar'.

Now, we are ready to add the 'quick launch' toolbar to our taskbar.

To do this, right click on the taskbar, go to Toolbars->new toolbar.

Navigate to User/Appdata/Roaming/Microsoft/Internet explorer/Quick launch . Then click Select folder after selecting Quick launch. (Pic shown below) NOTE: User is your PC name.

Next, Right click on Taskbar, and under the Taskbar buttons option in the taskbar tab, select Combine when taskbar is full and Apply.

Drag the Quick launch tool bar all the way to the left.

Right click on the Quick launch toolbar, and uncheck both show text and show title.

Now the Quick launch looks like this:

The Task bar will now look like vista/XP :

You can turn off Aero peek by Right click taskbar->Under preview aero desktop (taskbar tab)-> uncheck Aero peek to disable preview desktop feature.

You can Always get back to the usual default settings by removing the quick launch toolbar and using the Hide labels option from the taskbar properties menu.

iOS4 :compatibility for iDevices

2010-06-21T23:08:00.000+05:30

iOS4 is live. But not all iDevices are compatible right now and not all of them will get all the features.

Devices Eligible for upgrade:

* iPhone 3G (June 21st)

Not all features announced by Apple are available.Features like Multitasking will not be available for this device.

* iPhone 3GS (June 21st)

All features except facetime specific and the iMovie app will be available.

* iPad (coming this Fall)

May be just like the iPhone 3GS but iPad specific features will be seen close to the release
(currently the iPad is running on iOS 3(v 3.2)

* iPod touch 2Gen (June 21st)

Similar to the iPhone 3G(multitasking will be left out) and iPhone specific features will be unavailable.

* iPod touch 3Gen (June 21st)

Again similar to the iPhone 3GS with iPhone specific features left out.

Devices which are not eligible:

* iPhone 2G: No updates will be available this year and in the future. iOS3 (v 3.1.3) is the last update.

* iPod touch 1Gen: Similar to the iPhone 2G

* All Jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches which are otherwise actually eligible must not be updated. You might lose your jailbroken apps and your 'unlock' . Please wait till the Dev team comes up with the solution.

Use Google search as calculator and converter

2010-05-27T19:25:00.000+05:30

Windows comes with a very nice calculator but even after so many years, it hasn't matured into something which can be easy to use.And coming to converters, there are apps for download from the web but what we want at our disposal is a simple solution which could do some simple currency and unit conversions,do some simple calculations,and all this without installing any app. We use Google search for anything and everything. And if you are someone like me who keeps the browser open throughout the day, then google is your base. We use google for all our search needs. But not many know that it doubles as a very efficient calculator and converter application too. Here are few examples of how you could use google as a calculator..

In order to fire up a simple calculation just type your query and the answer is shown.

Complex calculations are also possible.

For performing conversions, you need to include the '?' symbol in order to get the result as shown in the examples below.

Any kinda conversion is possible. Not only currency.

Hope you liked this simple yet useful tip. :-)

Run TurboC in full screen mode and Play DOS games in WIndows 7 using DOSBOX

2010-05-23T20:43:00.000+05:30

Performance is not to the fullest yet in Windows 7. There have been quite a lot of compatibility issues in 7. One of the most common problem is the inability to run Turbo C compilers in full screen mode and the issues with DOS games(yes we all love some of those games still and we want them badly). There are DoS games which don't run at all in 7. With a few simple steps you can resolve these issues.

What you need:

> DOS BOX software ( Click here to Download)

Steps:

Install DOS BOX.
Download TURBO C compiler (click here to Download)
On your desktop, Right-click and navigate to new > shortcut.
In the location text box, type in or copy-paste the location of the exe file of your DOS BOX software( within double quotes).Leave a space and type in the location of the Turbo C.exe file(within double quotes) >> Example shown in the pic below (your location path can vary depending on where your files are located)

5. Give your shortcut a name and your shortcut is ready.

6. When you have opened the shortcut, DOSBOX opens the compiler for you in this case. Press Alt-Enter to toggle between Fullscreen and normal modes.

NOTE: I recommend that you download the Turbo C listed in step 2. It has all the include and lib files in a single folder.

FOR DOS GAMES

In order to run DOS games in Windows 7, repeat the above steps. Remember to enter the appropriate location of the Install folder of the DOS game as instructed in step 4.

There are a few alternative methods which can be found on the web but this is one of the easiest methods to do it.

The Best sites to follow for the Best iPhone app deals

2010-05-16T01:36:00.000+05:30

The Apple app store for iPhone and iPad apps is growing by each and everyday and a there are a plethora of applications out there. There are apps which are free and there are some which are Paid. Not all of us get Paid apps and thus settle for the free ones. Not many know that the prices of the apps in the app store keep changing. Sometimes they go free too (for a limited time). With over 100,000 apps out there, its difficult to keep track of when which app went free or cheaper. The app store only allows us to search for apps and lists the top paid and free apps and that is all. So to have a constant knowledge and feed of all the apps and their prices by following these sites.>>

APP SHOPPER

This site lists the no. of apps available and you can easily see the top 100 apps of the app store. There's a 'popular recent changes' listing on their homepage which shows recent price changes in the store. When you click an app, it shows the price history of the app too. So this shows whether you are getting the app at an all time low price or at a high price. Apps are also neatly categorized as paid and free. Not only this, you get alerted when there's a price change in any of the apps in your wish list. You can follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/appshopper

KRAPPS

Krapps is one hell of a funny site. Really.. they get some great news as well as keep us informed of the best app deals. Their site gives detailed reviews of apps with a lot of humor and more than that, they are the best to follow on twitter.Their twitter feed provides info on apps not only from their site but from various iPhone sites. So you gain a lot there. Follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/krapps

APPSAFARI

Appsafari's home page displays the newest of apps and unlike the top 100 on appshopper, they have a unique top 25 listing. This gives you a choice to choose the best of the best.Again, there are apps listed in various categories and one great thing at appsafari is the daily app giveaway. If you are lucky enough, you can win an app for free.There's a giveaway daily, so your probability of winning is increased if you follow them keenly. Follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/appsafari

148APPS

This site offers some nice reviews of the newest apps at the homepage and there's a unique top 148 apps category.Its quite interesting as some of the top apps are chosen for this category.Not only that, they have a 'top 148 apps of all times' and '148 most recent apps' category too. There are also top '148 free apps' and 'top 148 paid apps'. So that pretty much sums up why the site is named so.All the price drops and changes are neatly listed out in a categorised manner in a separate section of the website. Follow them on twitter at www.twitter.com/148apps

I hope you find this guide useful.Happy app shopping!

HOW TO: start and use FIREFOX always in Private Mode

2010-05-13T01:53:00.000+05:30

In all Browsers these days, we have the Private mode or Incognito mode for some privacy of our online activities. For some, its always necessary to be secure and safeguard their data.The Private mode is great but takes a couple or more clicks to get into it. Here's a small Hack as of how to get into the private mode each time you start Firefox. Not only that, you won't even find the label of Private Browsing on the title bar of Firefox.

1. Launch Firefox.

2. In the Address bar, type about:config

3. Ignore the warning given by firefox.

4. In the Filter text box of the about:config page, type the following:

browser.privatebrowsing.autostart

in this name, change the value to True

5. Now, restart Firefox

You can now start browsing in privacy mode right from start without any saving of history. Also, you can search your old history.

Note: In order to move back to the original settings, you can rechange the above mentioned value to False.

I will try to post a How-to for other browsers too, later.

How to: Jailbreak iPad, iPhone and iPod touch using SPIRIT

2010-05-03T15:52:00.000+05:30

This is one of the easiest jailbreaks on earth for iPhone OS 3.0. It has been in the pipeline for quite a few months now and SPIRIT is finally out. This is one of the easiest methods to jailbreak but Apple might crack down on this quite easily the next time you hit the update button. This is jailbreak only, so those who want to unlock will not find this useful. Spirit is applicable for all generations of iPhone and iPod touch and also for the iPad 3G and wifi.

To jailbreak your iDevice,

Download SPIRIT from http://spiritjb.com/

1. Open Spirit.exe

2. Connect your device. After connecting, Spirit shows the device connected.

3. Hit the Jailbreak button, and guess what! you are done...

4. Your iDevice will restart in a few moments and is now jailbroken.

Remedy for error c0000005

Some people have been getting the error c0000005 on their PC while using Spirit.

To overcome this, right click on spirit.exe and click on properties.

Click the compatibility tab and select run this program in compatibility mode for windows 98/ME

This should work.

Thanks to the spirit team for all the great work.

NOTE: Spirit is for iPhone OS 3(upto 3.2) only

How to: Adding shutdown shortcut on windows 7

2010-04-29T21:23:00.000+05:30

Since windows vista, Accessing the shutdown and restart buttons hasn't been so easy. With the new taskbar features in Windows 7, we can solve this by pinning a shortcut of shutdown to the taskbar. Here's a How-to:

On your desktop,right click and navigate to create a new shortcut. In the location text box, type the following:

shutdown.exe -s-t00

Click next and you can give the name of your choice for the shortcut.

example: Shutdown

Click OK and you are done.

On the Desktop, right click on the icon and click properties. Navigate to the shortcut tab and click on the change icon button at the bottom of dialog box.Choose from the available options and assign an icon for the shortcut.

Once again,On your desktop, right click the icon and click "pin to Taskbar"

The shutdown button now appears in the taskbar.

Click on the button anytime to shutdown your PC.

Note: The same procedure can be applied for restart as well with the following piece of command:

shutdown.exe -r-t00

Also, you can apply this trick on any windows PC(and not just windows 7) but the "pin to taskbar" feature will not be available though.

Do you have any other useful shortcuts in mind? Do share them in the comments section.

The fourth coming : iPhone OS 4.0

2010-04-05T23:47:00.000+05:30

Well, the fourth iteration is here.Hold your breath and wait for this one. OS 3.0 was awesome and we all hope that the iPhone will continue the awesomeness with 4.0 Here's a short list of what i expect from OS 4.0:
* Multitasking
* All in one mail inbox integration
* Flash (not expected)
* A better home screen
* Snappier interface
* more sharing options via Bluetooth

All in all, i cant wait for the curtains to go down on this one.So keep yourself updated with all the latest news on 8th April.Till, then, let the rumors pour in. :)

Jailbreak iPhone and iPod touch 3.1.2 using redsn0w 0.9

2010-02-01T18:50:00.000+05:30

Redsn0w 0.9 is finally out of beta. redsn0w 0.9 is applicable for devices running 3.0 and 3.1.2 only.
Redsn0w does not unlock your iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G.
It can unlock as well as jailbreak your iPhone 2G only.
iPod touch 1G , 2G and 3G can be jailbroken using redsn0w.
Note: All late model devices including iPod touch 3G, the latest 2G(8gig model) and the iPhone 3GS must undergo tethered boot.

Step1: Download redsn0w 0.9 from here
Step2: Google for the latest firmware for your device and download it.
Step3: Restore your device to the latest firmware(3.1.2 in this case).
step4: Open redsn0w and point it to the latest firmware(choose your appropriate device).
step5: For iPhone 2G(only), download the bootloaders 3.9 and 4.6 from here and
Click install cydia and then unlock.
step6: From the on screen menu, choose to install just cydia and uncheck other options.
step7: Redsn0w will now take your device into DFU mode. Just follow the onscreen instructions and you are done.
step8: for late model devices, remember to tether boot your device.

Tether boot: This means that each time your device gets reset or runs out of power, connect it to a computer and then boot it. This is applicable for late model devices only.

Great Expectations: Apple's latest Creation event

2010-01-27T18:48:00.000+05:30

The day has finally come guys. Apple is ready to present its latest creation. As a gadget geek, i dont want to see just another lame tablet. We want something special and at a special price.

What we don't want it to be:
what we don't want is a tablet with a huge screen and is difficult to carry around. Huge screen is fine but it does matter how portable it is. So we dont want just another tablet like the HP's or like the ones DELL makes.

Is it really the tablet today?:

Well, even though there hav been rumors all over that we will see a tablet today,you never know, Apple could pull out some last minute surprises. It could be a sizzling new iPhone. But i am not buying on that because an iPhone cannot be a new creation. What if apple pulls a dampener here by announcing an ordinary HD tv? nah, we dont wanna see anything like that right? All in all, I will bet for the tablet to be announced today.

What kind of a tablet?:

It should be something godly.Something like heaven has dropped a golden egg on the tech world. I expect the same oomph and wows which the iPhone extracted from us. Portability should be a major consideration since no one would like to carry a fragile piece of chunk in their hands. As far as the functionalities are concerned,it should be able to do something unique. Great features which would make you crave for it should be the biggest criteria for the device. If its not a piece of fragile chunk and is unique, the slate device is bound to create a wave among the masses. Else, Apple's plans of surprising the world and repeating an iPhone kinda show will go kaput.

What price?:

In the times of economic slowdown, no one wants to spend on a tablet. It must be priced well below 1000$ in order to click with the masses. Everybody is expecting a friendly price tag but as all of us know , Apple's products always cost a premium. So i won't be surprised if the tablet's priced even over 1000$.

One more thing:

Will apple show us the iPhone OS 4.0 today? maybe yes, maybe no. I also expect a new version of iTunes today. Let us wait and watch.

How to: Sharing paid iPhone apps with others

2010-01-15T23:26:00.000+05:30

Consider you have multiple iphones or iPod touches or many including you own an iphone or touch, you all wouldn't consider buying the same app from the iTunes store. Its always good to share your things with family and friends. There is a method (a legal one to share your paid apps with others).

* Go to applications in iTunes .

* Drag and drop the desired application onto your desktop.

* copy the file to a pen drive and transfer it to your friend's pc.

* Now double click the app to add it to ur friend's app library.

* In iTunes, click authorize computer and enter your username and password.

* Sync their iPhone and they have now got the app!

Alternative:
* Ask your friend to login to itunes store using your id and password.

* iTunes remembers that you have paid for the app before and lets your friend download the app for free this time around.

* hurray and they can now download the app and sync it to their phone.

Note: One iTunes account can work with only 5 authorized computers at a time.

How to: Backing up iPhone apps

2010-01-15T22:18:00.000+05:30

We love our ipod touch or iphone apps, don't we? But we dont like to download them over and again. You can find all your apps in the applications category of your iTunes. What if you want to uninstall itunes or u format your PC for any reason? You may lose all your apps and more than that you have to download them again. So, here's a brief "how to" on backing up your apps in case of any reasons mentoined above:

1. Before you format or uninstall iTunes, go to MyDocuments on your PC.
2. Go to MyMusic>iTunes>Mobile Applications .
3. In the Mobile Applications folder you can find all the apps which you had downloaded.
4. Select all those files and copy them onto your external hard drive or a pen drive.
5. That's it you are done.
6. After you have reinstalled iTunes and ready to go, place all the files you backed up in the same location path mentioned in step 2.

Tech 2k10: What to expect in Tech for 2010

2010-01-09T22:59:00.000+05:30

2010 is here. Technology is ever evolving and we will see more of that this year too.
2009 was a great year for tech geeks. We saw many smartphones evolving and many new mobile OSes showed up with significant updates. Android jumped to version 2.0, iPhone came up with a very major 3.0 update and also, we saw new OSes like the web OS and the bada OS being announced. 2009 also saw Nokia join the touchscreen bandwagon. Many tablets came up and many new environmentally green devices too became a trend. So, what would it be like in 2010? Will we see more mobile OSes? Will 2010 mark the birth of web 3.0? Also, there are many new products and technologies which have been in the pipeline for years and could see the light of the day this year. Here are my views on what lies in the future:

Apple's Tablet:(expected in jan):

This could be apple's entry into the netbook market. This is one of the most awaited devices this year. Rumored to be named as iSlate, many versions of specs have been circulating the web in the past one year. The announcement of such a device is itself a rumor, amusingly. Thats the best part of the rumors sorrounding apple's devices. It never exists till apple says it does.Rumored to be a 10-inch device in the form of a large iPod touch , this one may or not click with the masses. Wait till Jan 27 when Steve job comes up on stage at yerba buena center,San francisco.

Nexus One:(already announced):

Google has been stepping into every field of tech lately and mobile phone industry is no exception. There was a lot of hype and hoopla sorrounding the device and google drew everyone's attention. After the event, i felt that nexusone didn't deserve the pre launch stardom which it did. I mean come on, it doesn't have multitouch. Android 2.1 is awesome though. But you cant say that Nexus one made you feel awestruck. Actually, nexus one is not the first device which has the android+HTC+google combo.Then why the hype in this case? Well, Android 2.1 deserves a lot of appreciation and we will get to see a lot of devices supporting this OS.

Nokia's Catchup Games:

Nokia is one company which would like to forget 2009. Not all went well for them in 2k9.Nokia's share in the mobile market went down thanks to HTC, Samsung and iPhone 3GS. Nokia has promised its fans that they will upgrade symbian OS to a new level (finally) and try to bring quality smartphones into the market(5800 was the antonym of quality). They have been trying to sue Apple recently, but that won't really help them get back on track for sure.

iPhone OS 4.0:

Getting back to the cupertino giant again, its time that there is one more update to this revolutionary OS. Who knows, we could expect an announcement of the OS4.0 on jan 27 and a detailed preview in march just like it happens every year. The fourth coming of iPhone OS will also bring with itself the prospects of the fourth gen iPhone. No one knows what the fruit-named company has in mind but there are some things which we can predict. A 5.0 megapixel camera is quite common a guess. Multitasking is something i like to see happenning this time around.Apple should not cite battery life as a reason for not including the feature. Wireless syncing is something which is not on everybody's lips but its surely something significant considering the fact that how many people really hate wired syncing and on the top of that you need to bear the burden of iTunes. A 1 ghz processor would be great and would keep it in the league of nexus one and other players. Also, we can some great features from apple which we cant even think of.

Microsoft Office 2010:

The best office suite will be refreshed soon and I can't wait to get my hands on it.The beta is out for testing though. It is said to have many new features and carries ahead the trend set by office 07. I hope that they don't change the file extensions this time around(like they did in 07) and a price drop would also be great.

Bada OS:

Samsung surely made its mark in the tech industry last year and they have decided not to rest on their laurels and have developed their own mobile OS. They keep asking 'What's Next?' in their commercials and this time around they seem to have answered it themselves.Bada OS is a full fledged touch OS. They have left no stone unturned and have tried to gather developers for developing apps. The first screenshots of the OS projected the OS to be great and fresh. They have released their SDK and and developers are already working on apps. Samsung has said that there will be a device running on bada OS in the first quarter of 2010. Bada OS is not open source though unlike Android. Well lets expect a Bada device in Mobile World Congress.

I can go on with this forever but that's it for now. A lot is there to expect and the battle between tech giants will be only more intense this time. Hoping for perfect ten for Tech in 2010, i sign off. Happy new Year again!

How to: install click wheel ipod classic App for iPhone

2009-12-13T19:46:00.001+05:30

All the iPhone users: even though you have a wonderful multi touch interface, dont you ever like to own an iPod classic just because it is a classic mp3 player and is iconic in its own way.
The cydia store now has an unique app for jailbroken users which allows u have a click whell enabled interface where you can browse your music in an ipod classic way. The best part is that this one runs in the background just like your native music app.
Here's a how to regrading the download and install of this nice little app:
Step1: You must have iPhone OS 3.1.2 running on your device in order to use this. So make sure you first do that.

Click on the cydia icon.

Under manage, click on sources

Click on edit and then click add to enter a source

In the text box that appears, add the following source: repo.beyouriphone.com

Now browse the newly added repository for the iClassic app.
Click install and add the app to your device.
Here's how the app looks like.(The app is added to one of your home screens)

Enjoy!

Total Video Converter

2009-12-12T01:21:00.000+05:30

E.M. Total Video Converter is a piece of extremely powerful and full-featured converter software that supports almost all video and audio formats. The software is designed to convert video for your mobile video player as 3gp, mp4, PSP, PS3, iPod, iPhone etc and also VCD or DVD player, XBOX360.

New Total Video Converter 3.50 let you experience Unparalleled High-Definition movie. It is the best and unique software today with incomparable support for converting and burning video to AVCHD disc which can work on PS3 and Blu-ray player. Meanwhile, it supports for converting and burning video to HD formats like H.264 TS, Mpeg-2 TS, WMV-HD, MKV-HD, DivX-HD, Divx-HD, MOV-HD, FLV-HD and MP4-HD.

E.M. Total Video Converter V3.50 New Features:

1 Convert and burn video to AVCHD which can work on PS3 and Blu-ray player. What's more, the HD videos of AVCHD (*.mts, *.m2ts, *.ts) can been converted to any other video formats.
2 Convert video to HD formats like H.264 TS, Mpeg-2 TS, WMV-HD, MKV-HD, DivX-HD, Xvid-HD, MOV-HD, FLA-HD and MP4-HD
3 Convert and burn WMV-HD video to DVD. Meanwhile, it can work on XBOX360.
4 Convert and burn common video to DivX-DVD. More importantly, it can work on DVD player with DivX capability.
5 Integrate a free tool for capturing game video.

E.M. Total Video Converter V3.2 New Features:

1 Multi-language GUI.
2 Integrate a free tool for capturing desktop to any formats video.
3 Support mpeg, h264, wmv multi-thread decoding and endcoding for Multi-core CPU;
4 Support watermark through Plugin while making conversion;
5 Support VirtualDub video filter plugin;

Main Features of Total Video Converter:

* Convert all kinds of videos to mobile videos or audios (mp4, 3gp, xvid, divx mpeg4 avi, amr audio) which are used by cell-phone, PDA, PSP, iPod, iPhone, Xbox360, PS3 etc.;
* Photos slide show combines multi-photos and musics with more than 300 photos fantasy transition effect;
* High compatibility and high efficiency for Importing RMVB or RM video/audio;
* Convert various videos to MPEG videos compatible with standard DVD/SVCD/VCD;
* Burn the converted videos to DVD/SVCD/VCD;
* Rip DVD to popular videos of all sorts;
* Extract audio from various of videos and convert which to all kinds of audios (mp3, ac3, ogg, wav, aac);
* RIP CD to audios of all sorts directly;
* Support using with command line;
* Combine several video and audio files to one video file;
* Demultiplex or extract video and audio;
* Multiplex video and audio to one file

Declutter your desktop mess with Fences

2009-12-06T18:22:00.000+05:30

This is one of the most wonderful desktop utilities i have ever come across. If you have a headache with your desktop mess, then fences is the right choice for you. Users having large number of icons on their desktop will find Fences very useful. Its highly customisable and provides all the controls to the user to change and modify his desktop the way he wants. Even more, you can drag and drop any of the icons into any category or "fence". Just try it and you will go WOW(Microsoft promised the wow factor with vista,but trust me,Fences is not developed by microsoft ;)).

download courtesy: Download.com

Crustal video dubber

2009-12-05T20:43:00.000+05:30

do you want to add your own voice into video files? crystal video dubber is an easy-using tool for dubbing video files. you can add your voice into one certain segment of the video file by the microphone or add an audio files into a video file. its easy usage enables you to dub without learning. use it, your work will be much easier!

All in one utility studio

2009-12-05T20:37:00.000+05:30

This is the blockbuster of all the converters and editors. its got everything which is required from a converter and audio video editor. The best part is that this is free.
Description

Free Studio is a single package which bundles all free software from DVDVideoSoft to work with DVD, video and audio files!

With this free software you can convert video and audio files between different formats and to iPod, PSP, iPhone, BlackBerry and other portable devices; burn and rip DVDs and audio CDs; upload and download videos and music to your computer, iPod, PSP, iPhone and BlackBerry; perform basic editing of audio and video files.
Free YouTube Download
Free YouTube to MP3 Converter
Free YouTube to iPod and PSP Converter
Free YouTube to iPhone Converter
Free YouTube Uploader

Free DVD Video Converter
Free Video to DVD Converter
Free Video to Flash Converter
Free 3GP Video converter
Free Video to iPod and PSP Converter
Free Video to iPhone Converter
Free Video to MP3 Converter
Free Video to JPG Converter
Free Audio Converter
Free Audio to Flash Converter

Free DVD Video Burner
Free Disc Burner
Free Audio CD Burner
Free DVD Decrypter
Free Audio CD to MP3 Converter

Free Video Dub
Free Audio Dub
Free Video Flip and Rotate

How to : Run multiple instances Yahoo! messenger on PC

2009-12-01T19:29:00.001+05:30

Wouldn't it be great to share the same PC with your friend and also login into your respective yahoo accounts at the same time? Thats Ulta cool in my P.O.V. check this out:
1. Go to Start >> Run. Type ‘Regedit’ and press Enter. This opens the Registry editor.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Yahoo\Pager\Test
3. Right-Click on any blank space in the right panel and select New >> DWORD value. Rename this newly create DWORD key as Plural.
4. Double-Click it and change its value data to 1. Click OK.
You can now run multiple instances of YM and just invoke messenger from the desktop shortcut.

Tame the fox: simple firefox shortcuts that are good to know

2009-11-27T22:47:00.000+05:30

ctrl-W

closes the active tab

ctrl-shift-P

Afraid of someone tiptoeing into your browser history while u are away?... The privacy mode is just to escape that. no history, no traces

ctrl-L

select the address bar directly

ctrl-T

opens a new tab

ctrl-pageup/pagedown

scroll between multiple open tabs

ctrl-D

Bookmark current tab

ctrl-shift-D

bookmark all open tabs

ctrl-U

view source of current page

ctrl-F

search for a keyword/phrase in the current tab

ctrl-shift-W

close all open tabs and quit firefox

Finger tips: 10 winkey commands that make your life easy

2009-11-19T21:40:00.000+05:30

winkey + D
Shows the desktop no matter where you are and what app you are working on.
winkey+ tab
somewhat similar to the alt-tab. but this is the combination which is the origin of the famous win+tab aero feature of vista. this one allows you to toggle the selection between the different tasks on your taskbar.press enter to maximize the one you selected
winkey +M
Quite similar to the winkey + D option. Minimizes all open windows .
winkey +shift+M restores all your minimized windows
winkey + R
Opens the run command dialog box
winkey + Y
This is for the Yahoo messenger lovers! this key combo opens the yahoo messenger and start typing your buddy's name and press enter. Wala ! you are good to go..
winkey then U then U
press the winkey and then press U twice to shut down your PC
winkey + E
Opens the windows explorer
winkey + U
The utility manager opens up and the microsoft narrator wizard starts
winkey + F
Opens the search box of your PC
winkey + L
Log off from your PC.

Adobe dreamweaver CS4

2009-11-04T15:24:00.000+05:30

Make your vision a Reality with one of the industry's leading web authoring tools
, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 software. Design exceptional websites faster than ever before with the new Live view and Adobe Photoshop Smart Object features. Work smarter thanks to enhanced integration with other Adobe tools, including Adobe Photoshop CS4, Fireworks® CS4, and Flash CS4 Professional software and the Adobe AIR runtime. you can free download Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 now.

**Read the installation.txt file before proceeding with the installation**

File courtesy**blaze 69**

Magix xtreme print studio

2009-10-26T23:15:00.000+05:30

With this software, you can quickly design and print unique CD/DVD cases for music CDs, movies, opening slides for video or slideshow DVDs or labels for backup copies. Use created, scanned-in, or downloaded images and graphics as personal covers. Especially useful for quickly creating, designing and printing personalized CD covers and labels, including track lists.

Convert powerpoint files to flash

2009-10-23T22:56:00.000+05:30

Free PowerPoint to Flash converter promptly creates web-friendly Flash (.SWF) movies from your PowerPoint content (.PPT, .PPS, .PPTX, .PPSX) keeping its visual parameters, animation effects and slide transitions, audio narrations, video and Flash objects after conversion.

iSpring Free works within PowerPoint, transforming it into a fast and easy Flash authoring tool. It is compatible with any PowerPoint version 2000/XP/2003/2007 installed on a Windows machine. To create Flash files viewable on any device from your PowerPoint presentations, just install iSpring Free, open your PowerPoint presentation, click Quick Publish and get Flash slideshows from your PPT presentations in just a few seconds.

Tweet Tools : Twhirl and echofon

2009-10-23T22:39:00.000+05:30

Tweet right from your desktop:
Twhirl is an awesome desktop client which allows you to tweet right from ur desktop.
you can upload images, sign into multiple accounts and also share videos. And for those afraid of typos , there's a spell check too.

ECHOFON
echofon is a nice tool for twitter. Currently, they offer service on three platforms.

* mac osX
*iPhone os
*firefox(as a plug in)

I suggest u visit their site and install the firefox plugin. This really shows how firefox is turning out to be a platform on its own. Echofon is a simple to use and a powerful twitter client.
Happy tweeting folks!

The best Touchscreen UI's

2009-09-25T20:46:00.000+05:30

There's a ton of touchscreen mobile phones available in the market these days. Thanks to iPhone, a whole touch screen revolution sparked off in the industry. Even though there are many touchscreen devices available in available in the market, only a handful of these have some gorgeous UI. Others, have an OS running just like the ones on non-touchscreen devices, and have a touch interface just because they want to be in the touchscreen category.Here are few picks which have the best interface combined with some stellar performance.
Note: the order in which the devices have been listed doesnt signify their ranking or any other kind of a priority.

Palm Pre:
USP: Cards and Synergy along with some touch gestures, Multitasking
OS: Web OS
The palm pre was launched in the CES 2009. This phone , according to me, has one of the best touch interfaces . The cards concept is simply amazing and its amazingly droolworthy interface is simple and easy to navigate. The contacts app of this device also fantastic as it works based on synergy where we have all the accounts of a person synced into a single contact. Also, there are some really unique gestures in the palm web OS which are simply awesome.

iPhone/iPod touch:
USP: easy to navigate interface with multitouch and multiple home screens and some good graphics.
OS: mac OS/iPhone os 3.1(current)
The iPhone was the first to do it all and has some wonderful multi touch interface. The ease of use is what makes it one of the top selling devices in the world.With the flick of a finger , you can navigate through multiple home screens. Also, The shake to shuffle is worth mentioning. The coverflow mode is just one of the many eye candies present in the iPhone OS. just one word to describe the iPhone OS: Superb!

HTC Hero:
USP: Android OS with HTC's very own Touch UI. This one is packed with features and is here to perform.
OS: Android(it Rocks!)
The name is apt and This device is truly a Hero in its own right. The interface is simply amazing. Its the best android device till date and has the power of both android and HTC's touch UI for the home screen. Also, it has a synergy kinda feature similar to the Pre.Hero is packed with features and also brings to fore some solid performance. The touchscreen is amazingly responsive and there aren.t any glitches too. All in all, this one is action packed boy!

Zune HD:
USP: Fantastic and fresh UI out of the box which can make you drool over. Not to mention HD radio and the OLED screen.
OS: based on windows CE mob/Zune software v 4
An UI which is simply out of the box is the zune HD's. The menu has some big letters covering your screen with album art floating in the background. Screensavers are like omg it makes me faint and the multi touch interface doesn't let you take your fingers off it. The OLED screen is really beautiful and this results in some wonderful screen resolution. Images look great on the zune HD. Battery life is also amazing. Over all, the sound and video quality also rocks. Somehow, this time around the zune has got the tune right!

The phones which radiate the most: A Report

2009-09-22T10:35:00.000+05:30

The Environmental Working Group has done research on the phones which radiate the most and has come out with a report. Scientists are yet to find out as of to what extent they can affect the users. There are many smarthones in the market and each one has a different radiation level. This is what EWG had to say on this report.
"We at Environmental Working Group are still using our cell phones, but we also
believe that until scientists know much more about cell phone radiation, it’s
smart for consumers to buy phones with the lowest emissions. The U.S.
government ought to require cell phone companies to label their products’
radiation output so that consumers can do the numbers at the point of sale. It
doesn’t, so EWG has created this user-friendly interactive online guide to cell
phone emissions, covering over 1,000 phones currently on the market."

Here's a list of the top ten most radiating smartphones:
The 10 smartphones with the highest radiation
1. T-Mobile MyTouch 3G (1.55 W/kg)
2. Blackberry Curve 8330 (1.54 W/kg)
3. Palm Treo 600 (1.53 W/kg)
4. T-Mobile Shadow (1.53 W/kg)
5. Palm Treo 650 (1.51 W/kg)
6. Blackberry Curve 8300 (1.51 W/kg)
7. Blackberry Bold 9000 (1.51 W/kg)
8. Sony Ericsson P910a (1.50 W/kg)
9. HTC SMT 5800 (1.49 W/kg)
10. BlackBerry Pearl 8120/8130 (1.48 W/kg)
The T-Mobile Mytouch 3G from HTC tops the above list and suprisingly this phone has one of the top selling phones of the season for HTC. Also, the alltime best selling business phones like the blackberry's and treo's too top the charts in this category.

Also, is a list of the smart guys who radiate the least:
1. Nokia 9300i (0.21 W/kg)
2. Nokia 7710 (0.22 W/kg)
3. T-Mobile MDA Wiza200 (0.28 W/kg)
4. Samsung Impression SGH-a877 (0.35 W/kg)
5. Nokia 9300 (0.44 W/kg)
6. Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627 (0.47 W/kg)
7. Samsung Gravity SGH-t459 (0.49 W/kg)
8. BlackBerry Storm 9530 (0.57 W/kg)
9. Nokia E90 (0.59 W/kg)
10. Nokia N96 (0.68 W/kg)
I appreciate Nokia for being on the top in this category. These phones radiate less and consequently are less harmful too. Surprisingly enough, none of the models of the above manufacturers radiated much. So, the company must get some credit for that.
Heres's another list of smart phones which radiate in the mid range level
• HTC Touch Pro (0.91 W/kg)
• Palm Pre (0.92 W/kg)
• iPhone (0.97 W/kg)
• Samsung JACK i637 (1.04 W/kg)
• T-Mobile’s Google G1 (1.11 W/kg)
• Blackberry Pearl Flip 8220 (1.14 W/kg)
• iPhone 3GS (1.19 W/kg)
• Samsung BlackJack II SGH-i617 (1.20 W/kg)
• Motorola MOTO Q 9m (1.30 W/kg)
• iPhone 3G (1.39 W/kg)
• BlackBerry Tour 9630 (unknown)

As part of the report, the EWG also provided eight safety tips for cellphone users who are concerned about radiation. Here is a quick list of the tips.
1. Buy a low-radiation phone
2. Use a headset or speaker
3. Listen more, talk less
4. Hold phone away from your body
5. Choose texting over talking
6. Poor signal? Stay off the phone
7. Limit children’s phone use
8. Skip the “radiation shield”
In an age where we look for overperforming smartphones, we often forget the ahrm these smart toys can cause. Its on our part to play it safe and ensure that we know how harmful our smartphones are.

Apple only rock and roll roundup:worst ipod refresh ever,best iTunes ever and classic hangs on..

2009-09-10T21:45:00.000+05:30

After all the wait, the apple music event finally happened. This event was mainly expected to showcase a whole new line of iPods. And i am sad to admit that our expectations weren't met.
THE RETURN OF JOBS:
Steve jobs returned to the stage with this event after a long gap of six months. he received a standing ovation from the audience and sounded healthier than before.
THE BEST THING: iTunes 9
Let me get to the best part of the event first. And this is the only best thing announced in the event. Apple announced the latest version of its jukebox; iTunes9. This is the best iTunes i have ever seen. It is snappier, feature rich and is much better than the old versions. iTunes LP has been introduced into the iTunes store. The store has been revamped with a new interface. There's a new feature called the genius mixes, which is your built in DJ for your library. It can make mixes of songs in your library which go great together as steve jobs said.Also available is a feature called Home sharing. This feature allows you to share your library and other details like contacts, podcasts etc between different computers on your home network which share the same iTunes account. Finally, for iphone and iPod touch users, there is a better way to manage apps in iTunes itself. This is the best way a user can manage his apps on the ipod or iphone. That's all with iTunes.
NEW iPODS?NO, THERE AREN'T ANY:
Apple played a marketing gimmick yesterday to keep the iPod momentum going.
iPod touch:
Well, we expected a camera, a built in mic and some other features for the touch. unfortunately, the iPod touch didn't get any of these. Just an introduction of a higher capacity iPod touch was all that was an upgrade. A new 64 GB iPod touch has been introduced which is snappier and uses OPEN CL 2.0 platform. Also , there is a 32 gig version which is available and runs on the same platform. There is an 8 gig itouch which runs on the old processor. Only god knows why, but i cannot understand the reason for the availability of an 8 gig iTouch with an old processor. Sorry Apple, but this is a poor move. other than the above said updates, there is no other charm added for the iTouch which could force people to upgrade to new ipod touch. Oh yeah, the new (?) iPod touches ship with the 3.1 software.
iPod CLASSIC STAYS:
I don't know whether this was a sentimental move or not, but i sure know that this is one of the most foolish moves apple made. The iPod classic stays on, and all apple has done to keep it alive is by reintroducing the 160 GB capacity. I dont find the point here. First they had an 80 and 160 gig version, then there was a 120 gig version and now there's a single 160 gig version. All in all, the classic hasn't been upgraded since the last three years. The lack of any new feature will mean that there will be very few classics sold this year. BOO!
The NEW NANO: some icing added to the old cake!
The new nano has a video camera! Are u excited? i am sure, you arent.. An ultra cheap VGA camera has been added to the iPod nano for shooting videos. Oh yeah, as if this is the update we have been longing for! The placing of the camera in the nano is also not proper since you might end up blocking the cam with your fingers if you are right handed. I dont know what apple is trying to prove by adding a video camera to the nano and not to the touch. The nano can't even do still photography. All in all this video camera thing doesn't seem to be all that useful as of now even though the video quality seems to be pretty decent.
The next new feature added to the nano is FM radio. This is a welcome feature actually. It is the first time ever that an iPod is sporting an FM radio. Also, there's an in built speaker and mic too for the iPod nano. The voice over feature from shuffle is now available on nano. Compared to the other iPods , this is the only iPod which has got something we can cheer about.
WHAT THE NEW iPods SHOULD HAVE BEEN AND WHAT WE EXPECTED:
Apple has made a big mistake by not refreshing the classic. Perhaps, they could have added an FM radio just like the nano. A built in speaker would have been just great for the classic. And, if the nano could get fm radio and video camera, why couldn't the touch be bestowed with a 3.2 mp camera and fm? And talking about the nano itself, why is there an ultra cheap vga camera which cant even do still photo in the first place? urggh! There wasn't any need at all to hold a media event to just announce few games and price refreshes.Perhaps Apple wants to keep the iPod momentum going.And talking about the touch, i think Apple doesn't want the iPhone sales to get affected by giving more powers to its younger brother. Seems like a lame reason though, but its true that this is all for this year's iPod line up. only time can tell whether there will be a decline in sales or a boost in sales for the iPod line up this year. If i were to be asked, i would prefer the first option; most of us would.

Corel Draw X4 graphics suite

2009-09-05T11:54:00.000+05:30

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 delivers all the essential tools for today's busy designer. Create powerful designs using intuitive vector illustration and page layout tools. Retouch and enhance photos with professional photo-editing software. And easily convert bitmap images to editable and scalable vector files. Whatever your project, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X4 will streamline your workflow and inspire you with new creative possibilities.

Create illustrations, logos, brochures, newsletters, flyers, signs, Web images and more.
<<*** Read the readme.txt file before installation**>>

Rock and roll on sep9: Apple event is on the way

2009-09-04T22:41:00.000+05:30

September is here and its time for another refresh for the iPod line. That's been the and trend and this year will be no trend breaker. Apple has sent out invitations to the media in the U.S for a rock and roll event. So, what can we expect from this event? No prize for guesses, surely we are gonna see new iPods for this holiday season. What can we expect actually? If the rumors turn out to be true, we can see an iPod touch 3rd gen with a 3.2 megapixel camera and voice recording features.Also, this could be shipped with the much awaited(?!?) 3.1 software update. Also, we could see a smarter iPod nano with a wider screen and this time nano could sport a camera too. We havent seen any huge changes in the ipod line up last year, so a camera does make some sense. As far as the iPod classic is concerned, it will either be upgraded or declared dead. The rock and roll event is on sep 9, at san francisco.Strangely, this time the event is being held on a wednesday. Anyways, that shouldn't bother any of us. Well, lets wait and watch what apple has up its sleeve this year.

Zune HD- the latest touchscreen PMP

2009-08-23T00:46:00.000+05:30

The Zune HD is coming! Finally. This is one more addition to Microsoft's line up if mp3 players. While it's just not that,it's also a competitor to the iPod touch. The zune was pitted against the iPod classic a few years ago and now the touch. The zune couldn't compete well with the classic though for many reasons than one. But past is past. This time around, the zune is back with a bang. Multi touch touchscreen and a new feature for HD tv output are a some if the few features which make it a worthy candidate in the pmp market. As usual, the zune sports wifi capabilities and has got a full HTML browser this time around. IE yes, but that's fine. Microsoft has also designed a cool interface for the zune HD . This one has one of the coolest UI one could have ever seen on a touch screen pmp. The zune HD will be available in. 32 gig model coming fall. September 15th s the date and will be available for 249$. The pricing is quite aggresive.
Some of the most hushed about features is the digital radio . this one offers dire t over the air radio without the necessity of connecting any external transmitter. That's gonna be awesome. I hope microsof gets it right this time. They have promised a powerful battery life too. But still, the iPod touch holds the edge in this clash coz of the apps and the brand dominance if apple prevails as far as this particular pmp amarket is concerned. Zune can still pose a few challenges by offering some great quality to customers and Who knows! Maybe there is a Microsoft app store under the wraps . One must admit that zune has the Oled screen and digital radio plus the UI going in favour for it to stall talll and compete against any pmp in the market. Watch this exclusive hands on demo of the zune HD from you tube:

Calibre Ebook library

2009-08-17T00:32:00.000+05:30

Just like we have a real library for our books,we can also have a virtual library for our e-books too. Calibre performs amazingly well and you can also convert your e-books into various formats. You can also add book covers to your ebook files.All in all, calibre is a one stop solution to all your e-book needs. It is free, open source and cross-platform in design and works well on Linux, OS X and Windows. calibre is meant to be a complete e-library solution and thus includes library management, format conversion, news feeds to ebook conversion, as well as e-book reader sync features and an integrated e-book viewer.

Who wants a Netbook?

2009-08-16T13:42:00.000+05:30

All of us access the internet. All of us like to access internet on the go and like to access our data on the road. While we have seen a lot of portable devices over the years, the netbook is just another portable device which is very easy to carry. What does it do? Browse the net and every other usual tasks every other portable device does. The question which arises here is, who requires a netbook in the first place? Does it have the market? Is there any demand for the netbook?

PDA or Notebook?(image courtesy:gizmodo)

Well, according to me, the netbooks lie somewhere between a PDA and a low end notebook. they do a little more than a pda, and a little less than a notebook. Incomplete here and incomplete there. Somehow, i have never been able to digest this whole concept of netbooks. Suppose i have a PDa and a notebook at home, where's the need of such a device which is somewhere between these two. I mean its uncomfortable for me to carry around a 10-inch screen device which is of no great use. I can browse the web on my mobile, i can check my mail, and a lot more. I understand that the netbook too can do all this but i need to carry a much bigger device. A notebook is portable, a netbook is very much portable and a PDA is ultra portable. Maybe, a few students in the pre teen age can make use of it because its cheaper and easy to use. Moreover, young school students who do not own a PDA type device can have a go at it.
A netbook is a device which is priced in the sub $800 segment. Shell out a couple of hundred bucks more, and you get a decent notebook. An iPhone/iPod touch or any device like a 5800 XM and many other touchscreen phones out there, can do all a netbook does and much more. Please drop in your comments and views on the same.

Desktops sans the mess

2009-08-13T18:56:00.000+05:30

Clutter and mess! these are the two words that come to my mind whenever i think about desktops. Thousands of wires run across your workspace and you can never know which one is going where. Spiders find a good home behind your desktop. However, there are a few desktops that do not know how to be messy. These are some of the best All-in-one desktops offered by some of the top companies in the industry.

Dell Vostro:

Powerful, space saving.

The new Dell vostro is a power performer and comes feature packed.Dell is one of the leading names in desktops and laptop arena. It has built in wifi and a firewire port too.Here are the tech specs:
Processor
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core and Intel Core™2 Duo
Operating Systems
Genuine Windows Vista® Business 32-Bit
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic 32-Bit
Chipset
Intel® G41 + ICH 7
Memory
Up to 4GB8 800MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
Primary Storage
1 X hard drives 3.5", 7200 RPM
Sizes include: 160GB9 , 250GB9 (on select models)
Optical Drives
Slim Tray loaded DVD R/W (Combo) - 8X

Graphics
Intel® GMA X4500, Integrated on board graphics
Connectivity
Integrated:
10/100/1000 Ethernet (Standard feature)
Dell Wireless 1397 Half Mini-Card (Optional on selected models)
Fire Wire IEEE 1394a (Optional on select models)

Standard I/O Ports
USB 2.0: 6 externally accessible USB Ports (3 side, 3 back)
Audio: 1 headphone Jack on the side I/O, 1 microphone Jack on the side I/O, line-out, 1 audio Out Jack on the rear I/O
Other: 1 Serial, 1 Parallel, 2 PS/2 for Keyboard and Mouse, 1 RJ-45 10/100/1000, IEEE 1394a connector available on the side I/O
Multi-Media
Integrated 2 X 2W Stereo High Definition Audio
Security
McAfee® Total Protection for Small Business 30 day Trial
Environmental and Power Management
Dell Energy Smart setting
EuP
Energy Star 5.0
Chassis
Weight & Dimensions:
Height: 15.21" (386.39mm)
Width: 18.79" (477.39mm)
Depth: 4.09" (103.98mm)
Weight: 14.3~17.6 lbs (6.5 to 8 kg)
Power
Power Supply:
130W, 100~240VAC 50~60Hz

HP Touchsmart SERIES

The Hp touchsmart PC is a charm. Its multi touch technology is flawless and also, its an all-in-one desktop.It comes with two display variants:22' and 25'. Also, HP is giving a free upgrade to windows 7 to all those who purchase these now.

Multi-touch 22" display:

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 7
Intel Core 2 Duo T5800 processor
4GB DDR2 memory
320GB hard drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
5-in-1 memory card reader
802.11n Wireless LAN
ENERGY STAR® qualified

Multi-touch 25" display:

Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 7
Intel Core 2 Duo T6500 processor
4GB DDR2 memory
500GB hard drive
256MB Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS HD graphics card
5-in-1 memory card reader
802.11n Wireless LAN
TV tuner, ATSC & NTSC with PVR, remote
Pocket media drive bay
ENERGY STAR® qualified

Apple iMac

Elegant , stylish and powerful.

Apple's groundbreaking design combines with powerful performance in this all-in-one. The iMac has built-in wi-fi, a web cam, and bluetooth integrated in one elegant piece. There are two display variants: 20' and 24' displays.Here are the specs for the 24' i-mac:
Apple iMac (24-inch, 2.8GHz, 2008 model)
Apple OS X 10.5.2;
2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo;
2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM;
256MB ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro graphics chip
320GB 7,200rpm hard drive
802.11b/n wifi

The iPod that was and the future iPods

2009-08-05T16:26:00.000+05:30

Almost every one of us owns an ipod. Whether it be shuffle or nano, classic or touch; we love our ipods. As time went by, the ipods evolved in design and quality. But the basic design of the ipods remained same. For example, the click wheel has been there for quite some time now. But now, we have reached a threshold point for the ipods. The click wheel no longer amuses us and also, the split screen menu of the nano and classic has become a bore. Apple is a company which depends a lot on its revenue from its iPod line. But recently, i suppose they have been running out of ideas. The evidence being the reintroduction of the lengthy form factor of the iPod nano. The iPod classic hasn't evolved much in design or in terms of features in the past three years. The classic has just undergone some changes in storage capacities and that's it! Not to talk about the iPod shuffle, it has never evolved and according to me its the weakest link in the iPod family.No wonder why Apple inc. has showed a drop in iPod sales in the year 2008-09. From a figure of 11.2 million iPods sold in 2007-08, it dropped to 10.2 million iPods sold in 2008-09. A sales drop by 1 million! This is an alarming figure keeping in mind the popularity of iPods.The only lotus in the pond has been the iPod touch which has been quite successful, and has shared the limelight with the iPhone ever since its introduction.The app store has also been a key of success in the scheme of things for the iPhone and the iPod touch.

Rumors and the future iPods:
Rumor has it that the third generation iPod touch and the fifth Generation iPod nano will sport a camera. The 3rd gen iPod touch is also rumored to have a built-in mic. This will be a refreshing development for the touch if the rumors turn out to be true. So what can we expect from this year's iPod line? Will it be the end of the classic? will we see the removal of the click wheel from iPods? Will there be radio?
..... And, i would also like to see all the ipods with wifi connectivity. Also, all iPods must be able to get games from the existing app store and this will close the gap between the iPod touch and the other iPods in the family.Something revolutionary must happen for the iPod family else i wont be surprised if there is a drop of sales by another 2 million this financial year. Waiting for a jaw dropping announcement from Jobs on a tuesday in the month of september 2009 at 10 am (US time).

Flashget v1.9.6

2009-08-05T16:11:00.000+05:30

Looking for a clean , fast and easy to use download manager and torrent client? Then look no ahead than the Flash get software.FlashGet is a leading download manager and has the highest amount of users on the internet. It uses MHT(Multi-server Hyper-threading Transportation) technique, supports various protocols and has excellent document management features. FlashGet is a freeware without any adware or spyware.

ESET nod 32 v4

2009-07-28T21:08:00.000+05:30

************************************************************************************** Credit for this ESET fix goes to "box and mara". *
* Credits: www.nsanedown.com *
*************************************************************************************
Using advanced ThreatSense® technology, ESET NOD32 Antivirus proactively protects you from new attacks, even during the critical first hours when other vendors' products aren't aware the attack even exists. ESET NOD32 Antivirus detects and disables both known and unknown viruses, trojans, worms, adware, spyware, rootkits and other Internet threats.

ESET NOD32 Antivirus is also one of the fastest antivirus solutions, so fast you won't even notice it running. And it's both incredibly easy to use yet simple to tailor for your specific needs.
Key Benefits

Protection from the Unknown — Award-winning ThreatSense technology uses multiple layers of threat detection to deliver the most effective protection possible against new attacks. And ThreatSense is smart; it raises far fewer annoying "false alarms" than any other products that use heuristics.

Finds Malware Other AV Companies Missed — Typically when a new copy of ESET NOD32 replaces another antivirus product on a home computer the average user finds viruses or malware resident on the machine that were undetected by their previous antivirus product.

Built for Speed — ESET NOD32 Antivirus is lightning fast, so fast you won't even notice it's there. Even disk-intensive operations like performing a "full disk scan" to run smoothly in the background while you work or play.

Easy on Your System — ESET NOD32 Antivirus is "lean and mean," typically using just 44 MB of memory, a fraction of what other products consume. Because it's fast and "light," upgrading your existing antivirus protection to ESET NOD32 Antivirus can literally be like buying a new computer. And laptop users can rejoice in the new automatic energy-sipping battery mode.
Version 4 Features

Smarter Scanner — Threats don't always enter your network in ways you expect. ESET NOD32 Antivirus inspects SSL-encrypted communication channels like HTTPS and POP3S and intelligently scans compressed files to find hidden threats other products miss. Proactive protection begins at the earliest point in system startup to ensure your computer is always secure.

Clean and Safe Email — Email scanning for Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail, Windows Mail, and other POP3/IMAP mail clients, ensuring your email is free of viruses and other threats.

Removable Media Security — Threats can enter your PC from removable media such as USB thumb drives. For self-running media, ESET NOD32 Antivirus scans autorun.inf and associated files when the medium is inserted, in addition to scanning any file on any removable device when it is accessed, or during a full-scan of the media. Power users can adjust ESET NOD32 Antivirus to perform additional levels of scanning on removable media.

System Tools — ESET SysInspector and ESET SysRescue simplify diagnosing and cleaning of infected systems by allowing deep scans of system processes to find hidden threats, and creating bootable rescue CD/DVD or USB drives to help you repair an infected computer.

Self Defense — ESET NOD32 Antivirus has built-in technology to prevent malicious software from corrupting or disabling it, so you can rest assured your system is always protected.

Many Usability Improvements — ESET NOD32 Antivirus has numerous speed, security and usability upgrades.

************************************************************************************** Credit for this ESET fix goes to "box and mara". *
* Credits: www.nsanedown.com *
*************************************************************************************

Who's iTunes is it by the way? Pre syncs with iTunes again...

2009-07-27T00:06:00.000+05:30

Ever since the palm pre was announced, there was a lot of speculation as of how the device would fare in the market. When it launched, it sold like hot cakes. The palm-apple war had begun. But one never thought that it could get as dirty as this. Palm integrated iTunes synchronization in to the pre.well, apple felt like pre was laughing at them and at the same time took a bite of their fruit too.apple sorted this out with an iTunes update.no sooner than the update came, palm too released an update for the pre which re enabled iTunes sychronization. Now this is ridiculous -two companies fighting over iTunes synchronization?these are two big companies.No, we are not talking about two kids fighting ovr a piece of chocolate. Come on pre, I don't think your customers wanna use iTunes so badly. I hope this time around, palm itself pulls itself out of this before the Cupertino giant intervenes. Wishing a healthy rivalry between the two companies, I sign off.

Jailbreaking the iPod touch/iPhone running on OS 3.0

2009-07-26T17:24:00.000+05:30

What You Need:
*An iPod touch 1G/2G/iPhone2G/iPhone3G/iPhone3GS
*The iPhone OS 3.0 firmware(please google for the firmware of the corresponding device)
*Redsnow jailbreak tool for OS 3.0(download from here)

MIGRATING FROM 2.X TO 3.0

1. Download the latest firmware (os 3.0).
If you had a jailbroken 2.x device proceed to step 2.Else, proceed to step 5.
2. Restore ipod to factory settings first.If there be any problems in restoring,enter your iPod into recovery or DFU mode.
3. To do so,Connect your device to your pc/mac. hold down the power and home buttons together for 10 seconds until the red turn off slider appears.Turn off and release the power button but keep holding the home button.

4. Release the home button when you see the following message on your screen "iTunes has detected an iPod/iPhone in recovery mode".

5. Open iTunes (version 8.1 or later preferred)
6. Under devices tab in itunes, select your device and hold shift and click restore. this will open a dialog box.
7. Browse for the .ipsw firmware file and wait for itunes install the firmware for you.

USING THE JAILBREAKING TOOL:
Follow the instructions in this picture slideshow to Jailbreak.

Note: iPhone users must first check whether the redsnow tool is ready for their version of device.
* Jailbreaking your iPod touch or iPhone might end your one year warranty with Apple.
* Jailbreaking is done at your own risk. If anything goes wrong, please restore your iPod or iPhone to factory settings.
* iPhone users must remember that jailbreaking is completely different from unlocking. Please do not get confused over this.
* iPhone or iPod touch users especially iPhone users must not update directly via iTunes.This will Brick your device.
* Happy jailbreaking!

Windows startup utility pack

2009-05-03T15:06:00.000+05:30

Reformatted your system? or, Are you on a new PC? This startup utility pack is a bundle of the softwares you need to start with. Its a bundle of browsers, media players, messengers, burners and anti virus and a couple of plug-ins. This pack contains:
* Mozilla firefox
* Yahoo messenger
* Google talk
* Skype
* Vlc media player
* Real player
* Deep burner
* Avast anti-virus
* Microsoft net2 framework
* Adobe Flash player Plug-in

SongBird-the open source media player

2009-04-24T21:48:00.000+05:30

Song bird is mozilla's offering in the media player category. In other words, it is the musical cousin of Firefox. It has an interface similar to that of iTunes but it does its job pretty neatly and has its own charm and unlike iTunes, it is open source.
Here's a tech sheet of what this media player has to offer:

*
Media Importing

Add media to Songbird by importing from your file system or iTunes.
*
Media Playback

Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA and WMA DRM on Windows; and AAC and Fairplay on Windows and Mac.
*
GStreamer

Songbird uses GStreamer as the main media playback system, across all platforms.

*
Gapless Playback & Replay Gain

Skips padding data due to encoding and chains files for gapless playback experience. Adjusts the playback gain appropriately if a track's metadata contains replay gain information.
*
Album Artwork

Display the currently playing track's album art and write new artwork back to the file. Automatically fetch missing album art from the web.
*
Watch Folders

Automatically import media from a defined folder.

*
Smart Playlists

Create dynamic playlists that automatically update based on criteria you set.
*
Web Browser

Songbird includes an integrated web browser with features like bookmarking, tabbed browsing, and more.
*
Cross Platform

Songbird runs on Windows, Linux and Mac.

*
Multi-language Support

Over 25 completed, community-contributed localizations and growing!
*
Automatic Updates

Always stay up to date using Songbird's built-in automatic updates.
*
Setup Assistant

Quickly setup Songbird for the first time.

*
Custom UI

Make Songbird your own by choosing from dozens of different skins feathers.
*
Library Management

Browse, organize, sort and search your media.
*
Developer Support

Songbird is getting better everyday thanks to its open platform and growing developer community.

In Progress

*
Device Support

Songbird's device support is limited. The Device Support wiki has additional details about what's supported. Apple iPhones, iPod Touch and Microsoft Zune devices are not yet supported.
*
Metadata Management

Songbird supports reading from and writing metadata to many music file formats. We still need to support the ability to fetch additional metadata from popular lookup services.
*
Subscriptions

Subscribe to music blogs and download music directly to your library. We're working on ways to improve this feature.

*
Performance & Stability

Improving the performance and stability of Songbird is an ongoing focus. Each release we set aside dedicated cycles to ensure we're making progress.

Coming Soon

*
CD Rip

CD Rip and encoding are forthcoming.
* Video

On the Way but still not home :(
On the whole, its no Cowon jet audio or an iTunes but it does what it boasts of like a pro. More hits and few misses from songbird for now but i expect more soon!

View Old websites with Web Archives

2009-04-23T12:03:00.001+05:30

Turn back time to visit those old webpages on the internet with this very simple online service called WAYBACKMACHINE on www.archive.org. This website lists all the old webpages which are now not available because the sites might have been updated. It works just like those magazine archives in a library. You can view the pages datewise and each significant update on a website in history is marked by a '*'. So revisit those webpages and bring back a few nostalgic memories. And, I hope that even the cyber cops would find this useful.

Allok Video to iPod converter

2009-04-23T11:53:00.000+05:30

Allok Video to iPod Converter is a powerful and handy video converter for Apple iPod Movie and Apple TV Video.

It can convert almost all video format, e.g. DivX, XviD, AVI, WMV, MPG, MPEG, MP4, M4V, FLV, 3GP, ASF, RM, RMVB, MOV, MOD, ASX, MKV, OGM, SVCD, VCD, VOB to iPod Movie /Apple TV Video format.

Integrated H264/MPEG-4 encoder which has super fast conversion speed with high quality plus advanced video editing features give you everything you need to turn iPod into a portable media center.

And the output iPod movie/video supports iPod screen, you can enjoy your favorite movie on your iPod as a MPEG-4 Player. Now you can watch TVs, movies, home videos on the go, using the iPod Video converter.

Win AVI video Converter 9.0

2009-04-23T11:37:00.000+05:30

Have you ever been limited to the videotape format? Especially when you really wanted to share films with your family and friends.
WinAVI Video Converter can help you solve your problems!
It is a software program for converting video formats at fast speeds and high quality.
WinAVI Video Converter supports almost all formats of video including :
AVI, MPEG1/2/4, VCD/SVCD/DVD,
DivX, XVid, ASF, WMV,RM,
QuickTime MOV, and flash SWF.

Features

WinAVI Video Converter is software for video conversion. By using our product, users are released from the limitations and difficulties of video formats. It can support almost all formats of video including AVI, MPEG1/2/4, VCD/SVCD/DVD, DivX, XVid, ASF, WMV, RM, QuickTime MOV, Flash SWF. Also, it allows you to burn to VCD/SVCD/DVD. A powerful AV compress engine can complete a whole AVI movie conversion and burn it to DVD just in 1 hour. You can enjoy the film with your home & PC DVD Player.

* AVI to DVD
* AVI to MPEG
* AVI to VCD
* AVI to MPG
* Flash SWF conversion
* It can convert all formats to MPEG1/2, VCD, SVCD, and DVD and burn to VCD, SVCD, or DVD disc.
* It can convert all video formats to AVI/WMV/RM/ASF/Divx/Xvid
* QuickTime MOV conversion.
* Real DVD Navigator encoder included.
* DirectAC3 technology supports AC3 5.1, which is state of the art technology. It is up to 20% faster with AVI files including AC3 audio.
* Real Dolby AC3 audio encoder included.
* Burning VCD/SVCD/DVD at a great speed.
* Stunning video and audio quality.
* User-friendly interface that is easy to use.
* Has the option to preview the video in real-time.
* Has the option to automatically shutdown your computer when the conversion has been completed.

Allok AVI to DVD SVCD VCD converter

2009-04-23T11:16:00.000+05:30

Allok AVI to DVD SVCD VCD Converter is a powerful tool to convert AVI, DivX, XviD, MPEG, VOB, DAT, WMV, ASF to DVD, SVCD, VCD formats that can be played on your VCD/DVD player.

Integrated High-speed MPEG encoder which let you make DVD-Video files(VIDEO_TS, AUDIO_TS) and VCD/SVCD image(*.bin,*.cue), so you can burn VCD/SVCD/DVD disc easily by using third-party burning tools.

The main features include: add subtitle onto your output movie, adjust 4:3 or 16:9 video aspect, adjust output video quality, all encoders/codec are built-in and any supported conversion can be done once you downloading the software .

It's very easy to use and fast with high quality.

Advanced windows Vista optimizer

2009-04-10T21:31:00.000+05:30

Advanced Vista Optimizer is a comprehensive set of 25+ tools to boost up your system's performance. Its powerful optimizing features like Disk Defragment and Memory Optimizer make your computer always perform like new. The security tools like Privacy Protector and File Encryptor ensure that your private data is always safe. Advanced Vista Optimizer gives you access to 35+ tweaks and tuning options, in one program, so that you can customize your copy of Windows Vista to be your personal copy. It can be scheduled to automatically maintain your system in perfect health by running the optimizing tools without regular user action.

Desks and Walls!----Bump top

2009-04-10T20:56:00.000+05:30

BumpTop is a fun, intuitive, 3D desktop that keeps you organized and makes you more productive. It combines the look and feel of a real desk with the power of your PC. You can pile your files, flip through websites and toss your photos up to Twitter or Facebook quickly and easily, right from your desktop. Advanced search and sort capabilities make sure you can find your files when you need them. Personalize your desktop with custom themes, sticky notes and photo slideshows and turn your desktop into a useful, fun space instead of a graveyard of lost or forgotten files. An upgrade to Pro version will add such features as unlimited sticky notes and enhanced productivity and piling features.

Trend setters in the Tech World

2009-04-01T00:42:00.000+05:30

There are firsts in every walk of life. They set an example, are revolutionary and they set a new trend. In the tech world too, there are some examples which have been trend setters. They have been revolutionary. Here are my favorite picks.

YAHOO! MESSENGER

When you think of instant messaging, the first thing that flashes across your mind is the yellow smiley with an exclamatory mark. I am a big fan of this messenger. Yahoo redefined instant messaging with its messenger service. The concept of IMvironments was awesome. It meant that users could now do instant messaging in customised environments. Also, yahoo messenger had chat rooms, online games on the go, and many other innovative features like staying online in invisible mode. The invisible mode feature is something which is still not available in many IM clients. And the smallest yet the most useful feature in the yahoo messenger is the "Buzz!!" button. Its the best way to get the attention of some sleepyheads on the other side of the conversation.Also,the audibles are always funny. This is the best messenger one can have. Three cheers for YM and we hope to see more soon.

MOZILLA FIREFOX
This browser reminded us why internet explorer sucked and showed how a browser should be. It was one of the first successful open source browsers. Firefox introduced the concept of tabbed browsing and this revolutionized the way we browsed the net. Whether it was the feature of using add-ons and plug-ins or the feature of multiple search engines in a single browser , Firefox had it all. Needless to say, just a few days after its launch, people knew that this was the most secure browser on earth. For many, its like "we love the internet because we love firefox" kinda thing. With every update, Firefox leaped to higher levels and went onto become a very stable browser after every release. Its a must have browser in every computer. As a matter of fact, i would like to point out that even though IE still holds 70% of the share in browser market, it has still not gained the status it enjoyed in the pre-Firefox era. KUDOS to FF!

YOU TUBE:
Videos, videos and more videos. There is no other possible way to define this online video site. This online service solved the problem for those who didn't have enough space on their hard disk, but still wanted to watch videos. You tube offers some quality videos. It also allows copying of video codes to be embedded in various websites. You tube offers a plethora of videos in very category imaginable. You tube now even offers HD videos. Truly, Youtube has redefined our online video viewing experience. What more, You tube is in talks with sony entertainment to bring full length movies online in high quality!

ORKUT:
Social networking = Orkut = Social networking. There's no space for argument in this equation. Orkut disproved those who said that people who are online do not interact with friends and their dear ones. What could be a better possible way to express your thoughts for your friends than writing them a testimonial. And, your profile is the best space to express yourself and make others aware of your interests. It allows people to stay connected to each other. Remember those good old slam books? Orkut brings in the joy of all that and more. Orkut gets updated pretty frequently with new and innovative ideas, and has grown as the #1 social networking site on the net now. So, keep orkutting friends!

iPhone:
Does anyone know the reason why there are so many touch screen phones in the market these days? Well, there aren't many "million button" phones in the market these days. A whole new generation of mobile phones has born: The Touchscreen Generation. iPhone is the father of all the touchscreen phones available in the market today. It sparked off the competition between mobile phone companies to roll out a whole new array of touch phones. iPhone revolutionized the mobile phone industry with its state of the art, first of its kind technology on a portable device. Multi touch, Accelerometer, intelligent sensors, ...gawd! this has to be the portable device of the decade. Of course, it does lack some of the basic features other phones do, but come on, it does have something out of the box. The interface is awesome and its performance is perfect. Whatever features it offers, it does them perfectly. It has been known for its ease of use ever since its launch. The touch sensitivity is better than and not mastered by any other touch phone in the market(is Nokia listening?). With Apple trying to iron out some drawbacks in the iPhone with the release of its OS 3.0, the competition seems to be ever growing.

Photoscape

2009-03-28T23:08:00.000+05:30

Photoscape is the fun and easy photo editing software that enables you to fix and enhance photos.

Key Features

* Viewer: View your folders photos, slideshow
* Editor: resizing, brightness and color adjustment, white balance, backlight correction, frames, balloons, mosaic mode, adding text, drawing pictures, cropping, filters, red eye removal, blooming
* Batch editor: Batch editing multiple photos
* Page: Make one photo by merging multiple photos at the page frame
* Combine: Make one photo by attaching multiple photos vertically or horizontally
* Animated GIF: Make one animation photo with multiple photos
* Print: Print portrait shot, carte de visite, passport photo
* Splitter: Divide a photo into multiple parts
* Screen Capture: Capture your screenshot and save it
* Color Picker: Zoom in screen on images, search and pick the color
* Rename: Change photo file names in batch mode
* Raw Converter: Convert RAW to JPG

Palm Pre - a detailed preview

2009-03-24T22:34:00.000+05:30

Info Courtesy: CNET, Tech2
For starters, Palm pre is the upcoming touchscreen mobile device from Palm, based on the Palm OS. It is a device which is being rolled out to compete against the other touchscreen phones in the market. Let's see what are the features it offers and what are the company's plan for the future.
User interface and OS
To me, the real highlight of the Pre is the user interface and OS. The UI reminded me a little of HTC's TouchFlo interface, with the various swiping gestures and cool animated motions, but Palm certainly put a fresh take on it. It's beautiful and smooth, and just plain cool. It's pretty evident that Palm put a lot of thought into the UI, as everything seamlessly works together to give you the best user experience and making the smartphone a really useful tool in your daily life.
The smartphone makes multitasking easy with the Deck of Cards feature that lets you scroll through various applications and toggle between them without having to open and close windows. It's slick, but most importantly, it's easy. I also think Synergy is a huge player, since it brings all your e-mail accounts and contact and calendar information from various sources into one place. Again, it's about simplicity and whether you're a consumer or business user, you have to love that.

Design
To facilitate all this is a best-of-breed design. First, you've got a multitouch screen that's absolutely sharp and brilliant in color with its half-VGA (320x480) resolution. Not only can you use the screen to navigate, there's a gesture area right below the display where you can use finger swipes and touches to launch menus, toolbars, applications, go back, or advance. Of course, my favorite part might be the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard. I've made it no secret that I'm a huge texter and need physical buttons, so I was more than delighted when I saw that the smartphone had a keyboard. The Pre's keyboard is similar to that of the Palm Treo Pro; the buttons are a little on the smaller side, but there is a good amount of space between them to reduce any problems.

Again, looking at the design of the phone, I could tell time and thought was spent on the device. The hardware feels solid and not as plasticky as the Palm Centro. When you slide open the Pre, it has a slight curve that makes it comfortable to hold against your cheek when talking on the phone or even when typing out messages. Also, going back to the touch screen, it felt responsive and--hooray!--on Web pages, you can pinch the screen like the iPhone to easily zoom in and out of pages.

Web
Speaking of the Web, the Pre's browser is pretty outstanding. It renders sites onscreen as you would see on your desktop, and quickly at that. When asked about Flash, Palm said they were not commenting on that at this point. We do know that there will be an app store, and Palm will release an SDK to developers. The company reiterated throughout the press conference that the Palm Web OS was built with developers in mind and based on HTML, CSS, and Javascript, so that's all one really needs to know to develop apps for the Pre and other Web OS devices.

Multimedia
As far as multimedia, the Palm Pre offers a 3-megapixel camera. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to snap any photos, but early reports say that the quality is pretty good. Disappointingly, the camera won't have video recording capabilities at this time, but those could be added in the future. In terms of music, like the T-Mobile G1, Palm has partnered with the Amazon Music Store, so you will be able to purchase songs over the air from your Pre.

What else?
The Palm Pre offers so much that I could write on it forever, but I'll save some for when we actually get the unit in review. (By the way, I'm not sure when that will be, but I don't expect it to be anytime soon. I know. I'm sad, too.) Just to cover some quick specs: the Pre offers integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 (with support for stereo Bluetooth), EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS. There's 8GB of storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and high-speed USB 2.0.

Its impact on the Mobile phone industry
The Palm Pre and Palm Web OS isn't necessarily going to revolutionize the smartphone market, in that it doesn't offer any crazy, new features, but it definitely brings a fresh look into the way you interact with a device and how it organizes information. It also brings innovation and life back to the struggling company and has certainly set the tech world abuzz. Palm's undeniably taken a beating from the media and general public, so it's good to see the company respond and take action.

As much as the Pre is important to Palm, the smartphone will also be a key player for Sprint. It needs an iconic phone to compete with the likes o AT&T and the iPhone and Verizon Wireless and the BlackBerry Storm, and Pre could certainly be the one to do this for Sprint. Pricing will be key of course, but I suspect the Pre will be priced competitively with the iPhone and Storm. I also think its chances of overtaking the Storm are pretty high. It offers a better user experience and has more consumer appeal. There are still some unanswered questions about everything that will be offered with the Pre; in my opinion, and I know these words are thrown around a lot, but I think the Palm Pre could truly be the stiffest competition for the iPhone.
Here's a comparison of the Palm OS with some upcoming mobile OS' in the market(click on photo for enlarged view)

iPhone OS 3.0 is here!

2009-03-22T11:10:00.000+05:30

As promised, Apple just debuted its upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. Much of the news seemed developer-centric, but there are certainly plenty of consumer implications down the road, along with long-awaited functions like copy and paste, A2DP, MMS and universal Spotlight search. Improvements include:

App and developer functionality

* Peer-to-peer connectivity over Bluetooth for gaming and other info-swapping.
* Paid apps will have the potential to be subscription fee-based, and can include optional paid content that can be bought from right inside the app.
* Developers can now build apps that call out to Google Maps, and can also finally bring Apple-blessed turn-by-turn to the phone.
* Devs can also connect with hardware accessories over in their apps now, such as a blood pressure monitor -- or perhaps a keyboard? Connectivity works through the dock connector or over Bluetooth.
* Long-promised push functionality will at last be included, but apps won't run in the background.
* Developers can add streaming video and audio to their apps, along with in-game voice use.

General functionality

* Cut, copy and paste. At last! You can shake the phone to undo and redo the action, and it works with both text and photos, allowing Mail to send multiple photos at a time.
* MMS, along with forward and delete for multiple messages.
* A2DP stereo Bluetooth.
* Unlocked Bluetooth functionality on 2G iPod touch.
* Spotlight has been added to a new home screen page to the left of existing pages, allowing for universal search on the phone.
* Tethering is built into 3.0, and Apple will work with carriers on that -- who will have the last say on its implementation, most likely.
* App Store will be available in 77 countries.
* Parental controls for TV shows, movies and App Store apps.
* Auto-login for WiFi hotspots.

Apple apps

* A new app called Voice Memos which lets you record notes and reminders.
* A revised Stocks app, with news stories and a landscape view.
* Landscape view available for Mail, Text and Notes.
* CalDAV support has been added to Calendar, along with subscriptions support in the .ics format.
* Apple's major apps have all been expanded with search functionality.
* Note syncing to Mac and PC.
* YouTube account support.
* Form auto-fill.
* Phishing protection.
* Shake the shuffle iPod playback.

A developer beta of OS 3.0 is available today, and the 3.0 update will be coming to consumers this summer as a free update to all iPhone 3G customers. It'll also work for 1st gen iPhone owners, though they won't receive A2DP or MMS due to hardware limitations. iPod touch owners will be able to update for $9.95, just like last time.
Here's a small video to show how it works:

courtesy : Engadget

PFCONFIG 1.0.144

2009-01-13T00:15:00.000+05:30

Port Forward , the easy way!
This is a very useful tool for those who want to bypass the port test in utorrent. In crease ur torrent download speeds using port forwarding. very easy to use, this software will make ur torrents scream. click the download button and port forward now!

Internet Download Manager v5.17 Precracked

2009-01-08T00:23:00.001+05:30

Worked up with poor download speeds? well, IDM(internet download manager) is here. Do not get carried away by the simplicity in the name. It does its job really well.
With IDM,
* Get 20% faster downloads
* Pause and Resume downloads
* Schedule your downloads
* Tons of other customisable options
Crack Credit:CrYs18 DL4ALL.com
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. This is a silent install precracked version. Do Not be surprised if the installation skips steps and installs in a jiffy.
2. Just double click the install file and you are good to go.

Download Accelerator Plus premium

2008-12-16T21:35:00.000+05:30

Do u want to speed up your downloads by boosting the download rates? well, Download accelerator plus is here . It can speed up your download rates by over 200%. It goes without saying that comes with loads of other features other than just better download rates. so step on the gas and speed up your downloads.
download here:

Yahoo! messenger 9 (offline installer)

2008-11-01T22:36:00.000+05:30

Connect with all your friends:
Instant message friends on Yahoo! and Windows Live™ Messenger. See which friends also use Yahoo! Messenger
Stay in control...24/7:
Decide who sees you online with stealth settings
Share away:
Swap photos and monster files (up to 2GB) in real-time. Plus enjoy voice calls and webcam video

Mobile photo enhancer

2008-10-30T23:03:00.000+05:30

sometimes pictures taken using mobile phones are not satisfying or pleasing to the eyes........

Mobile Photo Enhancer is a handy and powerful tool capable of fixing all these problems with just a few clicks. It provides a quick and easy way to improve the quality of your images reducing artifacts and digital noise, correcting poor sharpness, contrast and color reproduction and fixing the "dark corners" problem. With its powerful filtering, the program converts images with pronounced defects into very usable photos.

Still another advantage of the product is that Mobile Photo Enhancer is a two-in-one software package: it contains tools for processing images one at a time as well as for simultaneous processing of whole collections of images.

stream all google results in one page and much more.....

2008-10-24T20:31:00.000+05:30

CUSTOMIZE GOOGLE add-on for firefox:

stream all google results in one page and there will be no need to click that next button in ur resuls page the next time around....CustomizeGoogle is a Firefox extension that enhance Google search results by adding extra information (like links to Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN etc) and removing unwanted information (like ads and spam). All features are optional and easily configured.
get it now for firefox>>>>> CLICK HERE

REMOTE PC2 software for sony ericsson w830i mobile

2008-10-22T22:50:00.000+05:30

this software allows you to control your pc using ur sony ericsson w830i mobile. (efficient tv remote control software not found yet...will try to post if found).here is the link....
http://www.getjar.com/products/5700/RemotePC2

posted on request

one click app killer

2008-10-21T20:26:00.000+05:30

is ur computer stuck? dont worry. this utility called one click app killer will solve ur problems. just one click and a stuck up program is gone. try it, u will like it.

TONE THIS-- free mp3 ringtones for ur mobile!!!

2008-10-20T19:48:00.000+05:30

Free MP3 Ringtones, Wallpapers and Videos
Personalize your music, images and videos into content for your phone

Free Games and Content
Download free mobile games and 1000s of free independent music, images and videos

Send the Web to your Phone
Send music, images and even Flash videos from your favorite websites to your phone

FLOCK BROWSER 2.0

2008-10-16T22:22:00.000+05:30

let me introduce you to the younger cousin of mozilla firefox. Flock is a no fuss, no hype, quick and fast browser which just does its work and delivers the goods. Its open source and is built on the firefox engine. lets flock through the internet!

GOM PLAYER

2008-10-15T21:03:00.000+05:30

GOM Media Player Features
Codec Finder

GOM Player includes many codecs (XviD, DivX, FLV1, AC3, OGG, MP4, H263 and more) so you won't need to install separate codecs for most videos. For those videos that require a separate codec, GOM Player will find one and direct you to a place where you can download open source version of the codec. That way, you won't get stuck with unnecessary codecs on your system.
Play Broken AVI Files (Patented)

AVI files can't be played if the index is broken, or the file isn't completely downloaded. This is because index is located at the end of the file. GOM Player's patented technology enables users to view files with broken index or that are still being downloaded.
Powerful Subtitle Support

GOM Player supports SMI, SRT, RT, SUB(with IDX) files for subtitle. You can specify margin, location, size, resolution, font and others. You can also enable shadow, view ASF files with subtitle, karaoke subtitle mode. You can even synchronize subtitle and video if there's any mismatch.
Convenient Playlist

GOM Player supports playlist formats such as M3U, PLS, ASX. You can include different media types on a playlist. Also, it also lets you edit playlists for different media types. It's easy to create and edit your own multimedia playlist with GOM Player.
Support Different Media Types

Along with different media format such as AVI, MPG, MPEG and DAT, GOM Player also supports streaming Windows media format (WMV, ASF, ASX). You can also watch DVD-quality videos with 5.1 channel audio output.
Screen Capture

Screen capture allows you to take a screenshot of your video directly from GOM Player. Using the Burst Capture feature, you can take continuous screenshots upto 999 shots.
Advanced Features

There are other endless number of advanced features. Customize brightness, contrast and saturation. Sharpen and add noise to your video. Try audio equalizer. Repeat a section of your video with our A-B Repeat feature. Fast forward/rewind a few seconds using left/right keys. There are even more for you to discover!

WinAVI 3GP/MP4/PSP/iPod Video Converter

2008-10-12T20:33:00.000+05:30

WinAVI iPod/PSP/3GP/MP4 Video Converter is software for MP4/3GP file conversion of portable video device such as iPod/PSP, It can convert almost all video formats, for e.g., DivX, XviD, MOV, rm, rmvb, MPEG, VOB, DVD, WMV, AVI to iPod/PSP or other portable video device, MP4 player or smart phone. It has an unmatchable speed and high quality. And it supports transport your video files to your iPod/PSP directly.

WinAVI iPod/PSP/3GP/MP4 Video Converter let you enjoy the film with your iPod/PSP. It is a must-have for anyone who wants to see video on iPod/PSP or other portable video devices.

*. Converts all formats to Apple iPod Video.
*. Converts all formats to Sony PSP.
*. Converts all formats to MP4 format that can be played on general portable video device such as MP4 player.
*. World's fastest video conversion speed.
*. User-friendly interface that is easy to use.
*. Transport video files to iPod/PSP directly. No need to install iTunes or other softwares.
*. Supports batch conversion.
*. Stunning video and audio quality.
*. Supports clip/zoom/soften the video.
*. Supports adjust many video/audio options for MP4 files. For example, video/audio sample rate, bit rate, video size...
*. Has the option to preview the video in real-time.
*. Has the option to automatically shutdown your computer when the conversion has been completed.
I HAVE POSTED THE MEGAUPLOAD LINK HERE>>>

VLC media player v1

2008-10-08T00:00:00.000+05:30

VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
It doesn't need any external codec or program to work.

FORMAT FACTORY

2008-10-06T20:26:00.000+05:30

FormatFactory is a multifunctional media converter.THERE CANT BE A BETTER FORMAT CONVERTER IN THIS MAD WORLD!
Provides functions below:
All to MP4/3GP/MPG/AVI/WMV/FLV/SWF.
All to MP3//WMA/MMF/AMR/OGG/M4A/WAV.
All to JPG/BMP/PNG/TIF/ICO/....
Rip DVD to video file.
MP4 files support iPod/iPhone/PSP/BlackBerry format.
Source files support RMVB.

FormatFactory's Feature:
1 support converting all popular video,audio,picture formats to others.
2 Repair damaged video and audio file.
3 Reducing Multimedia file size.
4 Support iphone,ipod multimedia file formats.
5 Picture converting supports Zoom,Rotate/Flip,tags.
6 DVD Ripper.
7 Supports 30 languages

PIDGIN all in one MESSENGER

2008-10-05T19:26:00.000+05:30

pidgin is an all in one messenger which has all the chat clients: yahoo, gtalk, MSN , AOL, ICQ, IRC, jabber, etc. so, u need not worry about slowing ur computer down with multiple messengers running in different windows. In pidgin, they are all under the same roof.

How touchscreens work...

2008-10-03T20:03:00.000+05:30

Touchscreens. They're everywhere, as if electronics makers aren't cool unless their phones or media players have them, and soon that will be true for laptops as well. Touchscreens aren't going to completely replace the mouse and keyboard in the next year or two, but we're hurtling toward a future where they're the dominant way we interact with devices. The catch is that "touchscreen" can describe a few very different technologies that all perform a similar function. Here's a breakdown of the most popular techniques for making touchscreen magic happen—and the crazy new techniques that will succumb to your caresses in years to come.

At a basic level, they all perform the same function—sensing a disturbance in the force when your finger or stylus or whatever pointy object you've got touches the screen, and then extrapolating that into knowing where you're touching it and relaying that to the software. The differences lie in how each screen detects a touch.

RESISTIVE TOUCH SCREENS
Resistive touchscreens are the ones you've probably put your greasy fingers on more than any other kind, mostly because they're the cheapest and oldest. They're in most touchscreen cellphones, many tablets and the Nintendo DS, to name a very few.

How it works: On the bottom you've got a layer of glass, and on top of that, you've got two more: a conductive and a resistive layer. They've got a sliver of space between them. And on top of that you've got one more layer, which is the one you touch. So, when you push down on the screen, the conductive and resistive layer touch each other, which changes the electrical current running through 'em, and the device can tell from that where your finger or stylus is touching.

Good and bad: While resistive is a good deal cheaper to manufacture at the moment, one downside is that it's hard to do multitouch, because of the constraints and shortcomings of a pressure-based system. Another problem is that the multiple layers of touch technology on top of the LCD block an awful lot of light—think of how much dimmer the DS's bottom screen is than the top one.

CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREENS
Capacitive touchscreens are a bit fancier. They used to be really expensive, but the costs are coming down, so you're seeing them in more stuff, like this touchscreen phone from Apple you might have read about, or Dell's Latitude XT tablet.

How it works: At its most basic level, you've got a layer on top of the actual display panel that has an electrical charge running through it. Since you've got your own electrical mojo going on, when you touch the screen (presumably with your finger), it registers an electrical change. By measuring how much you're mucking up the electrical field and where the biggest disturbances are, the device can determine where you're touching it.

Good and bad: It's far easier to do multitouch with capacitive, and fewer added layers mean more light comes through for a brighter display. Still, because it's all about electrical fields interacting and conductivity and stuff, a hand with a mitten on it will have a hard time making stuff happen, and if you wanna use a stylus, you'll need a special one.

INFRARED TOUCHSCREENS
Infrared touch sensing, currently most famously used by Microsoft's Surface table, takes a slightly different approach. Because it works well with larger products, you might end up seeing this one quite a bit, especially from Microsoft.

How it works: Basically, the image on the surface is projected from underneath it, along with infrared light. Also underneath are infrared cameras that can see when the light is reflected by objects (like your fingers or cellphones or whatever), and those images are processed and translated as you move and gesture with pictures and virtual objects.

Good and bad: The good thing about this is that it uses existing technologies that come very cheap; the bad news is that the apparatus itself can be bulky, hence the need for Surface to be hidden inside a table, or at least a large globe. Also, it's sensitive to light, so flash photography or strong sunlight can throw off its game.

More, more, more!! There are some \way more advanced touchscreen technologies that aren't yet in wide use. The surface wave acoustic system uses tranducers and reflectors that detect if the ultrasonic waves being sent between them are disturbed (absorbed, actually), meaning something is touching it. Upside is that no metal crap in the panel means 100 percent brightness and awesome clarity. But apparently dust and crud can affect it, so not good for anywhere dirty.

Sharp and others have released prototype touchscreens with optical sensing tech built directly into the display. They are sensitive enough to detect your finger rubs right down to the pixel. Besides making multitouch easy, it can also double as a scanner because of the whole optical deal. Right now it's for small screens like phones—it can scale to notebook size, but not any larger. Of course, they, like infrared, can be affected by undesired light fluxuations.

Mary Lou Jepsen—the engineering honcho behind OLPC's original XO Laptop and founder of the Pixel Qi LCD development firm—told us recently she is pushing for in-cell touchscreen tech, which would make touchscreens cost the same as regular LCDs and be the same thickness, since touch sensitivity would be part of the LCD's own matrix. The issue is that it'll only work with devices specifically coded to use it; it's not a plug-and-play touchscreen like you could order online for your home DIY fake iPhone. If you're wagering that this secret sauce will help achieve the impossibly low pricetag on OLPC's next baby, the XO-2, you win a cookie.

And that's just about everything you need to know about touchscreens to get by. Resistive and capacitive are the major two to know for now, though you might start hearing a lot more about the other ones soon enough.

courtesy: gizmodo

MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 BLUE EDITION

2008-10-03T10:17:00.000+05:30

MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 is the big daddy of all the office suites available on earth. There is a special edition of gates' office suite which does not require any kind of key or activation...and...this is the one i am talking about, the blue edition of office 2007! so, go ahead and throw ur hands at them.
JUST RUN THE SETUP.EXE FILE INCLUDED IN THE FOLDER. NO CRACK OR CD KEY REQUIRED!
MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 BLUE EDITION

spin your desktop...the 360* way!

2008-10-02T14:07:00.000+05:30

360 DESKTOP

bored with the standard desktop u hav ? well, why not change the way we look at our desktop? so, here's 360 desktop, it transforms your standard desktop into a panaromic workspace...what else , u can rotate ur desktop 360 degrees and also add tons of widgets. i have added two extra themes other than the ones which are already provided with the software. the good thing about 360 is that it doesnt really slow down your computer...try it, its awesome!

LAVASOFT ADAWARE SE PERSONAL

2008-09-30T23:47:00.000+05:30

AD AWARE IS a simple software which allows you to QUICK scan your computer manually in a thorough manner, and then quarantine the infected files..this way it is very easy to remove any kind of suspicious data or virus from your computer. In simple words, adaware se personal is a scanner of sorts, which deep scans your computer and does the needful.

********CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD********

shanky

KASPERSKY INTERNET SECURITY 7 INCLUDING PATCH100% WORKING

2008-09-29T23:28:00.000+05:30

WHILE MOST OF US ARE WORRIED ABT VARIOUS ISSUES IN OUR LIFE, PC SECURITY IS ONE OF THOSE ISSUES....AND KASPERSKY TAKES CARE OF OUR PC VOWS. SO, HERE I PRESENT THE KASPERSKY INTERNET SECURITY 7, ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT ANTI VIRUS AND ANTI-SPYWARE SOFTWARE AVAILABLE. IT DOES WHAT IT IS REQUIRED TO :PROTECT UR PC...
I am posting a rar file here, it contains the usual installation 'msi' file and A PATCH which CONVERTS the BLACKLISTED KEYS INTO WORKING keys....without wasting any more time, i will go to the instructions and the RS link.....PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW!!!!

INSTRUCTIONS:(U MUST READ THIS)
* AS said above, the rar file contains the kaspersky install file and a patch file....
* click the kaspersky install file and install kaspersky, IN THE ACTIVATION WIZARD, PLEASE SELECT ACTIVATE LATER....ANd continue the installation..now u r done with the installation
* go to SETTINGS-->SERVICE-->DESELECT ENABLE SELF-DEFENSE and click APPLY and then OK.
*now exit kaspersky...pLEASE DO CLOSE ur INTERNET CONNECTION ALSO IF POSSIBLE...exit kaspersky so that it is not visible in the system tray
*now go to the rar file and click the patch file and open it.
* dont be alarmed by the look of the patch file(it is weird i know!)
* the patch window consists of a button, KEY KAV+KIS(on the top left hand corner).....this button is to extract the key files included in the patch
*to extract the keys click browse and extract them to preferably desktop...click install...done...
* now in the patch window, click the #patch kaspersky internet security#....button at the bottom......"please click it twice!"
* now click the clean button at the top......
*click exit and exit the patch...
* now invoke KASPERSKY internet security 7 and go to activation and click install key...now in the ACTIVATION WIZARD, click activate using existing license key, and select the key which was extracted using the patch... select the KIS(kaspersky internet security) FOLDER while browsing for the key...
*there are three keys available, select the 2009 or 2010 key, and apply, and u r done!
* install the key and ur kaspersky will b activated....
* now go to settings as before and enable self-defense.
*kaspersky will now protect ur computer :)

NOTE: AS WE CONVERT THE BLACKLISTED KEYS INTO WORKING ONES, AT TIMES (NOT ALWAYS) KASPERSKY MIGHT WARN U ABT THE KEYS BEING BLACKLISTED OR THE KEYS BEING USED MORE THAN THE SPECIFIED NO. OF TIMES, DO NOT PANIC! RESTART OF UR COMPUTER OR A REINSTALL OF KASPERSKY WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM...

FAST stone image resizer

2008-09-29T23:16:00.000+05:30

If you're looking for a fast, reliable, and free way to convert many images at once, look no further than FastStone Photo Resizer. The program outputs files in the most popular formats, including TIFF, GIF, JPEG, and BMP. Besides its batch-conversion skills, the application also can rename pictures in bulk. This program lacks any sort of fancy image effects, but you can make basic tweaks, including cropping, rotating, resizing, and adjusting certain aspects of an image's color. You'll even find a tool for stamping shots with a watermark.

DOWNLOAD HERE

DOWNLOADING FILES FROM YOUTUBE

2008-09-29T10:53:00.000+05:30

while most of us watch videos on the you tube,there is always a desire to store them on our hard disk for later view. this is a round up of some of the sites with which u can directly download you tube videos:(click on the site name to go to that site)

1. KEEPVID.COM
this site offers youtube videos in a jiffy. just paste the url of the youtube video and click the download button. however this site offers videos only in the low quality flv format.

2. VIXY.NET
The you tube videos are generally in the flash video format (FLV). so, this site ropes in an online flv converter. numerous formats are available. however , the conversion process doesnt start sometimes...in such cases you can click the DOWNLOAD VIDEO AS H264 on the top right hand corner of the screen.

3. FILE2HD.COM
THIS is one of my favorites. you tube videos in high quality is best defined by this site. just copy and paste the url, agree to the terms and in the filter, dont forget to click movies..wala!! and u r ready with the download link....for most of u WHO WANT YOU TUBE VIDEOS IN HIGH QUALITY, I GIVE THIS SITE A HIGH RECOMMENDATION

shanky

Mlyrics

2008-09-28T23:49:00.000+05:30

sing along!!!......Follow along with your favorite music with MiniLyrics, a shareware tool that works with Winamp, iTunes, Windows Media Player, and other popular music players. As songs play, the lyrics scroll in sync in a separate window and can also float on the screen. this software automatically searches for the lyrics u want..
DOWNLOAD HERE

remix ur own way with VIRTUAL DJ

2008-09-28T23:23:00.000+05:30

VIRTUAL DJ is amazing...it lets u b a dj too... what r u waiting for, create ur own remixes with this funky software
INSTRUCTIONS
* download the rar file
*CRACK included in rar file
* click the rar file and install the program..click the crack folder and copy the serial
DOWNLOAD LINK>>>

google chrome offline installer

2008-09-28T23:06:00.000+05:30

google chrome is one of the fastest browsers available today...but google offers only a stub installer while download(a stub installer connects to the internet each time u install and dnlds the whole thing again) ....many (including me ) are annoyed with this..so y not hav a conventional installer for google chrome?
here it is....CHROME OFFLINE INSTALLER (click here)

CD BURNERxp

2008-09-28T22:07:00.000+05:30

another one of those easy to use, quick fix burners
http://rapidshare.com/files/149139609/cdbxp_setup_4.1.2.678.exe.html

Deep Burner

2008-09-28T21:51:00.000+05:30

u may ask, y another burner, when there are some big burners like nero....coz ease of use is what we look for at the end of the day....this burner is for those who dont want the lavish features nero provides and just want to get the job done quickly, this is the one for u...
DEEP BURNER MEGAUPLOAD LINK

Nero 8

2008-09-28T21:14:00.000+05:30

Welcome to your digital life
Nero 8 brings a world of digital opportunities to your PC. The award-winning suite lets you organize your multimedia projects easily, helping you get the most from your digital content!

*Direct access to all features from the project launcher
*High Definition format support
*Data restoration on damaged discs
*Xbox 360™ and PlayStation® 3 streaming features
*Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD burning support
*SecurDisc data protection support
*Copy a disc with just one click
*Graphics optimized for Windows Vista®
*Continual free updates

NERO 8 PROVIDES SOME OF THE VERY BEST FEATURES,ACTUALLY IT IS A VERSATILE BURNING AND MULTIMEDIA SOFTWARE. YOU CAN FIRST DOWNLOAD THE TRIAL VERSION FROM HERE,AND THEN APPLY THE KEY IN THE KEYGEN
NERO 8 TRIAL
****PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE KEYGEN USING THE MU LINK BELOW****
KEYGEN

hi all

2008-09-28T20:43:00.000+05:30

hii all, this is shanky. welcome to ma blog, come here, download and give me some feedback...feel free to comment and one more thing...........njoy!