tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60406398659859571052024-03-13T21:30:44.834+05:30Tech-GyaanHere you'll find several tips, tweaks and tutorials on matters I find interesting (and possibly you will too) regarding the web and other techy stuff.
Look around and you'll surely find something that you find useful.TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-3538960019948086902010-04-18T20:19:00.017+05:302010-04-20T20:26:24.108+05:3013 Absolutely Essential Free Windows Apps!<div style="text-align: left;">So you've just made a fresh Windows installation and now you've got to install all of your utilities on the system. Well, with the huge variety of apps available on the internet these days it's difficult to make a well calculated choice. Then there also is the issue about free/trial version apps and large/bloated softwares that roam the internet. I'll try and help you out here by mentioning the apps that I install on any system that I work on as soon as I make any fresh Windows installation.</div><div>The best part about these apps is that they're all free and most of them are absolutely light-weight.</div><div><br /></div><div>The utility of these apps range from security and system-maintenance to apps that enable you to work faster and smarter on your PC, enabling you to get the most juice out of your Windows box.</div><div><br /></div><div>So let's go!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSmd_Q3xnIAyQAFo8zxO5IVtWpBJQCu9Yrxuq8xWPWvqw2leFEtO5oyv_o7zL4lB4kObHmJVeyMNo4T1WR92KNNPSaHuJc3n0VL5ka6g9fYKQo4rYAr-JhN3TkiF4HK0AkTW9szPWV1kc/s200/CCleaner_Logo.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462222157792204722" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>1. Ccleaner</div><div>Ccleaner is one software I absolutely always install right after I've installed Windows on any machine. It's a system-maintenance software and it provides you with options like registry-cleaning and it also does a neat job of clearing your internet history and other redundant files thus saving space on your disk and optimizing your PC.</div><div>It comes along with a start-up manager, an un-installation tool and a host of other neat features. Absolutely essential!</div><div><a href="http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner">www.piriform.com/ccleaner</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRcF5V6nGnX6MSkP2Z7xt6YzucLqAD8G49rkny1c8QibJ2vYDz5XsiGyx306JeOKL4ksuNTMBsctYHJyyJ1cC-ryojFd1VWIwl89DN6Gid-7F8Z6Msx8YNLYKVQbFCAU74gvqHNdCuRrI/s1600/Google_Chrome_Icon.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRcF5V6nGnX6MSkP2Z7xt6YzucLqAD8G49rkny1c8QibJ2vYDz5XsiGyx306JeOKL4ksuNTMBsctYHJyyJ1cC-ryojFd1VWIwl89DN6Gid-7F8Z6Msx8YNLYKVQbFCAU74gvqHNdCuRrI/s200/Google_Chrome_Icon.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462222173712556546" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></a></div><div>2. Chrome/Firefox</div><div>www.urbandictionary.com defines Internet Explorer as "An efficient tool which lets you browse to www.mozilla.com and download Firefox"! IE has always had plenty of pitfalls and I've been a Firefox loyalist most of my life until Chrome came along. However, between the two, it may just be a matter of your choice. Both these free browsers offer excellent features like tabbed browsing, better security, private browsing, extensions and gazillions of other goodies. Do yourself a favor and dump IE for good.</div><div>PS: Internet Explorer 8 has been a major improvement on it's earlier versions. But to hell with it! I'm a Google fanboy, so Chrome ftw!!</div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/chrome">www.google.com/chrome</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRv8HG2DMwFxSMvDKx_a_BA-0o2z4T33ccD6qPgoYFofw3uYXOsFMlx9jdOdCVDnWqpgkOyP4_UPRzuhd1U630fN3v_LP6_97IZ_2KgS0jWJRdMhhzZ_ue9ckHBlmIFOiofyVHKFQnb5M/s200/vlc_icon_final.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462224142921401090" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>3. VLC</div><div>VLC, your one stop shop for all your video playback requirements. No hassles with downloading codecs or different players for different file formats. It's free. It's light-weight. It's an absolute must on any PC.</div><div><a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">www.videolan.org/vlc/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLbRu02fGeLl5A9ZVsvcPTZMz5bRypDvwJcYfFNKVLsPBvisyvBZayZNMviwxyEhZxgJSBMSRTN3tnN1DjvOnDjl-2ILo8hWgcrLwltr5hUjwsbh6iMYSdaPsZphqqDOY1tkIlA55cwao/s200/avira_by_faton.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462222146792920194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 150px; " /></span></div><div>4. Avira</div><div>Avira/AVG/Avast. Either of these free anti viruses should do good. However, I've been using Avira for the past couple of years and have never had any major virus problems on my PC at all.</div><div>All you've got to do is keep updating your virus definitions, run regular scans and you can be rest assured of a virus-free PC.</div><div><a href="http://www.free-av.com/">www.free-av.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE37nWw94OKEjyUljEpCq1qWoNwpNul9De8oNT-_4tntamr3ldh5tw551vUjrPGbZPi4RZA1c0C-IGtftnXW20D6vddmMgS1HWq1x7ZTlyxyyed3DqIyVsjqXHtgv225_0ppxo0QZqLm4/s200/PowerISO+v4.0-791821.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462223069835992882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 195px; " /></span></div><div>5. Power ISO</div><div>For all of my burning/virtual CD requirements, I use Power ISO. It provides with easy mounting of images to multiple virtual drives and also serves as an efficient CD burner for all your regular needs. You'll find no need for any additional bloat-ware in Nero or any other CD burning tool.</div><div><a href="http://www.poweriso.com/download.htm">www.poweriso.com/download.htm</a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOsF_0P47lf0Pj5FaZHL3SCkT_Ix-KBpTF4B0BzwmFKzPYsocFyvmqK9j61zw7sXGo1hngSUb0tHvn0ho2D0jaOPczLvHFh4Bkor8USC2EOgY-YOHeHB7sUkAmo_5i7N-mOCjDuNuGTrc/s200/SUPER_converter_icon_by_FNitrox.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462224123067187394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>6. SUPER (media converter)</div><div>Truly living up to it's name, this free media converter converts absolutely any file format to any desired format under the sun in three easy steps! Convert images, audio files and even full length movie videos to any format you need using this superb bit of software.</div><div><a href="http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html">www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZec1qcLMMtFTpkSxJkxK-3wuigN_UR29WJ25qaGE1SnYQ-E_RwL8zhb-1UqvqwR-xbth9IDMLdqZd6It67-k0UHSZUbuUlsRRoO5wneiqM8WFW8nCpOFyEUkFMsNdlcXhA_Xw7yGJ_Y/s200/img-icons-a-png-foxit-pdf-reader-magellan456-742.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462222183961655922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>7. Foxit PDF reader</div><div>I'm sure you must've been frustrated at times waiting for your default PDF reader, Adobe Acrobat, to fire up whenever you tried opening a pdf file. Well here's Foxit PDF reader to your rescue! This free software is absolutely light-weight and comes bundled with a wide array of essential features for all your ebook reading requirements.</div><div>A special mention to Sumatra PDF reader that comes a close second in this category which is another great adobe-acrobat-alternative.</div><div><a href="http://www.foxitsoftware.com/">www.foxitsoftware.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp-E0hc_NXMMhah28CeFjj5XvqMz7fzuFvokjqiGMVLvjsYxKCXkTn1vqUnIGxBpwtQbCWhU-Xl3SHJ2SNg8Wo5tfswXztq42W-2qB6bLaD-UyPs6UTabszX-Hu67aNFjq49RJ0kBQYk4/s200/winrar+icon.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462224146777845122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>8. WinRAR</div><div>Zip, Rar, 7z, .part, .cab. Throw anything at it and this neat software will extract the files in a jiffy. It also provides for efficient archiving allowing you to split large files into volumes or even password protected archives.</div><div><a href="http://www.win-rar.com/download.html">www.win-rar.com/download.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FLZFbEAM_Z5L2hrmPGkXMtrj8dvIcLMpG8uOEx0SBDjGJ0WSsgVtVZSxV5qi9pH98kPVFFpqOYk2k8Tj7PK-XAMEsT3tDyIz81Aszz9-uCf7_kKDkPXsNGrYg4cFBL7-2cEiTFySyaQ/s200/notepadpp.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462223047962434242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>9. Notepad++</div><div>Notepad++ is an excellent alternative to the featureless default Notepad that comes with Windows. It is freeware, light and comes bundled with tons of features like macro recording, code expansion/highlighting, tabbed windows etc. With Notepad++ installed on your system, you'll never find the need for any additional code-editor tools like Edit++ or Komodo.</div><div><a href="http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm">notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhhX6_4f1yJSLstuGoTHeMTpOQLOJ9nyJVUayoWHomtOY-5V38afdj6gBACV2_AYkwtKHnZvTFryACKxpAy6_rMNQeHLZzQ4SxgfF5Jt2Rte0BO9nlwbljra4nSFhR05Wac7z8s5WQTc/s1600/defraggler-logo.gif"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFhhX6_4f1yJSLstuGoTHeMTpOQLOJ9nyJVUayoWHomtOY-5V38afdj6gBACV2_AYkwtKHnZvTFryACKxpAy6_rMNQeHLZzQ4SxgfF5Jt2Rte0BO9nlwbljra4nSFhR05Wac7z8s5WQTc/s200/defraggler-logo.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462222165969596258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 155px; " /></a></div><div>10. Defraggler</div><div>Defraggler is another system maintenance tool from the makers of Ccleaner. Basically, it defrags your HDDs just like Windows' Disk Defragmenter does. However it provides a way simpler UI and allows you to analyze each disk to check for the amount of degragmentation etc.</div><div>Run this app once every month or so and your machine should be running smooth as always.</div><div><a href="http://www.piriform.com/defraggler">www.piriform.com/defraggler</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQbZyTSlvh72UhxGjxkVj5-pnk1vkVOLn4RdZbQxxuQJ3ktFmAtwYYGZfkvA4Pigbx4AF_AYoPXJhramUxhGQR4GX_1O4TcVQOe2bod6d_30jJBsJAiowrxA5XeqUc_bDDK5ksAwJauLE/s200/everything-file-search-tool.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462225403030194482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 181px; " /></span></div><div>11. Everything</div><div>"Everything" is an administrative tool that locates files and folders by filename instantly for Windows. Unlike Windows search "Everything" initially displays every file and folder on your computer (hence the name "Everything").</div>You type in a search filter to limit what files and folders are displayed.<div><a href="http://www.voidtools.com/">www.voidtools.com/</a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTkzO9BLm5eMFj4HLtcRbzwOQvGLbtM4AqRtwwfSn9FbYWSFTb1SpxAo3ql3D8XuQ9_fZgEMPtpV1Cs7ipVJxf52bzg31jUhVGp_IAfZ4l99w-eKQ1f9kPzekuUIAvxYD5ilVxTMO1WM/s200/pidgin.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462223060987474594" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 97px; height: 200px; " /></span></div><div>12. Pidgin</div><div>Pidgin is a free chat program that allows you to login to Yahoo, AOL, Facebook, Gtalk and several other chat networks simultaneously. You no longer will have to download Yahoo Messenger, Gtalk or any other separate client for each of your chatting accounts. All your contacts appear in the single Pidgin window and you can chat with all your contacts via different accounts simultaneously.</div><div><a href="http://www.pidgin.im/">www.pidgin.im/</a></div><div>PS: Meebo is an online web application that does just the same and can be using right inside your browser without even downloading or installing any application at all!</div><div><a href="http://www.meebo.com/">www.meebo.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Other honorary mentions.</u></div><div>Following are some more applications that I usually install on my comp which I think are worth a mention here if not in the top-13 list.</div><div><br /></div><div><u>Panda USB Vaccine</u></div><div>It's a free anti-malware tool that prevents computers from being infected by autorun.inf based viruses. It automatically replaces the autorun file on your pen-drive with a dummy one so as to avoid the infection onto your PC. And it does this as soon as any disk is attached to your USB ports! Very useful!</div><div><a href="http://www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/">www.pandasecurity.com/homeusers/downloads/usbvaccine/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Utorrent</u></div><div>If you download stuff from the internet using torrents, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be using utorrent. Enough said.</div><div><a href="http://www.utorrent.com/">www.utorrent.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div><u>Spybot Search & Destroy</u></div><div>Sypbot S&D is an anti-spyware/malware tool that does an excellent job of searching and destroying any spyware or malware on your computer.</div><div><a href="http://www.safer-networking.org/index2.html">www.safer-networking.org/index2.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><u>iTunes/WMP12</u></div><div>I know there are several softwares out there on the net which are way more effective at managing your music than iTunes is. But then, iTunes syncs without any hassles with my iPods and also organizes the music on my desktop pretty easily.</div><div>Besides, I've recently installed Windows 7 on my computer and the Windows Media Player 12 that comes bundled with it is simply awesome. A huge makeover from it's previous versions and it integrates with 7 really very well.</div><div><a href="http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/">www.apple.com/itunes/download/</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07136443776884073280noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-6882834722108675872009-11-26T10:00:00.003+05:302009-11-26T10:14:42.549+05:30Add network activity indicator to Windows 7/Vista<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5N1UMvRPkK4gbw6-6wsWRgBi6o3sLwtBWj7W7xm2FBaaofb32TyLLUgzYPyR_Y1Lv-LYvp-LJIaZzDyxzPiWMw_fVuxhyB1Strr00_GOsw45v-NxD4sF8x_7gT0PhwDV1XN02eAzBq7MH/s1600/network-activity-indicator.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5N1UMvRPkK4gbw6-6wsWRgBi6o3sLwtBWj7W7xm2FBaaofb32TyLLUgzYPyR_Y1Lv-LYvp-LJIaZzDyxzPiWMw_fVuxhyB1Strr00_GOsw45v-NxD4sF8x_7gT0PhwDV1XN02eAzBq7MH/s320/network-activity-indicator.png" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The new network activity icon in the system tray for Windows 7/Vista only shows the list of network connections and doesn't work like how it used to in XP.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The 2 tiny monitors, constantly blinking would let us know when our router had crashed or wasn't responding. Also, it would blink whenever there was any network activity on your machine thereby letting you know of the same.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I badly missed this feature in Windows 7 since ever so often some update program would launch itself in the background and start downloading updates without my notice. Atleast if I had those blinking monitors I'd know about the activity.<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Anyway, so if you're missing the network activity indicator as much as I do (or even if you don't) try out <a href="http://itsamples.com/network-activity-indicator.html">this ultra-tiny 57kb app!</a><br />
</div>Simply download from <a href="http://itsamples.com/downloads/network-activity-indicator.zip">here</a>. Unzip it to any folder and run the NetworkIndicator.exe file.<br />
You should have the 2 blinky computers on your system tray right away!<br />
To have the app load up at startup each time, simply right click the tray-icon, click Settings, and check the box that says 'Load on startup' and you're golden! :)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/24/how-to-add-network-activity-lights-to-your-system-tray-in-window/">via DownloadSquad</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-30762854680122408842009-11-25T11:22:00.005+05:302009-11-25T13:31:15.953+05:30Watch TV (especially the Champions League matches that you miss) on your computer using Sopcast!<div>So I wanted to watch Arsenal's Champion's League match against Standard Liege yesterday however Zee Sports and Ten Sports (who usually telecast the CL matches where I live) were telecasting other matches and the Arsenal match was scheduled for a late-telecast.</div><div>And late-telecasts aren't fun, I wanted it live! And live I watched it, on my computer using live-streaming of the match via SopCast.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you're a football fan, you may have watched matches online inside your browser itself using links like <a href="http://www.justin.tv/">www.justin.tv/</a> etc. However, the problem with these links is that as the number of viewers increase, the quality of the live-stream-video decreases, i.e. it will start stuttering and lagging. Eventually the link may shut down all together due to an overload of viewers on the same link!</div><div><br /></div><div>P2PTV (peer-to-peer-television) however allows several users to watch the same link without any such problem! Infact, with an increase in the number of users, usually the live-streaming gets smoother!</div><div>And to use P2PTV you could use a software like SopCast!</div><div><br /></div>Sopcast is P2PTV! It works very much like how torrents do. While streaming a channel, you download a bit of the video and at the same time you upload it so that others can stream the same on their computer and thus the availability of that live-stream is increased!<div><br /></div><div>Now that you know what SopCast and P2PTV is, lets get to HOW do we use it to enjoy Champions League football!</div><div><br /></div><div>First, <a href="http://www.sopcast.com/download/">download SopCast from here</a> and unzip the contents to a directory of your choice.</div><div>Run the SopCast setup (.exe file) and install it to your computer.</div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCH4VNWFIgiTGGX6r7ej5sct3eMU0Fb1xkP2LXNC8oB9TrpYqWkhojjrre8TpEICPLmH3OdDrsqdJyk18GjxIwPSswNBpgJEo66H6-m-Dz3SGSjqDcsL5HRs1LCY4E7ydzjShoOx2OJtwm/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCH4VNWFIgiTGGX6r7ej5sct3eMU0Fb1xkP2LXNC8oB9TrpYqWkhojjrre8TpEICPLmH3OdDrsqdJyk18GjxIwPSswNBpgJEo66H6-m-Dz3SGSjqDcsL5HRs1LCY4E7ydzjShoOx2OJtwm/s400/1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407946259847034290" /></a><br /><div>Now fire up SopCast and check the radio button that says: Login as anonymous.</div><div>Also check the checkbox 'Autologin on this computer' so that you don't have to perform this step every time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now click the 'Live Channels' tab and you can view a list of channels that are currently available for viewing categorized according to 'Sports', 'News', 'Education' etc.</div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2JLVGzmfPhvChc5cJyGV1Iqx41wUG8RUbAfbr_-sRQZDPwgYsC0y60wijJkGKhAQEKmNXtZy04vRmZ9KOul1MlAP01aUXtQGUTvu-hp4Mrwa2Mf41q6n5inrqL5_E3WIGQ8hV9ryuVog/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 238px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2JLVGzmfPhvChc5cJyGV1Iqx41wUG8RUbAfbr_-sRQZDPwgYsC0y60wijJkGKhAQEKmNXtZy04vRmZ9KOul1MlAP01aUXtQGUTvu-hp4Mrwa2Mf41q6n5inrqL5_E3WIGQ8hV9ryuVog/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407946616207625922" /></a><div><br /></div><div>The CL match that you wish to watch may not always be available under the Sports section, so you may have to search for your channel on the net first.</div><div><br /></div><div>Head over to <a href="http://live-football.cn/">Live-Football</a>, a site dedicated to posting live-stream links to all football matches around the world!</div><div>Click the 'Champions link' to head over to the <a href="http://www.live-football.cn/cl/">page listing all of the upcoming CL fixtures</a>.</div><div>Now select the match you wish to watch and click the link.</div><div>And there you will see a list of channels that are available to be viewed on SopCast! (Note that some of the channels may not work only until kickoff)</div><div><br /></div><div>Just click the live-stream link that has 'SopCast' written next to it (which means that the particular link is a SopCast channel).</div><div>SopCast will automatically start and begin playing the given channel.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another method is, you acquire the SopCast channel no. and simply enter it into the Address field in Sopcast. For e.g.: "Channel - 30931"</div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1vQ7VQ1L7X__Kz_Sq4aYLIVey8gKdAqJQAZwTnOVjSOV8mtif83bjxztwDBenC8UbILSF2_22JbqBRZgDszSOYO2We8sQWN45oXdhxoD1nRn-Elw9CcQfYK1vkokslRP5HyaihcrHJIR/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm1vQ7VQ1L7X__Kz_Sq4aYLIVey8gKdAqJQAZwTnOVjSOV8mtif83bjxztwDBenC8UbILSF2_22JbqBRZgDszSOYO2We8sQWN45oXdhxoD1nRn-Elw9CcQfYK1vkokslRP5HyaihcrHJIR/s400/3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407946622032204050" /></a><div>You're done! You should have your match streaming for you within seconds! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>In case you've got any queries regarding this, leave a comment and I'll get back to you asap!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>NOTE: If you are on a limited broadband connection, watching live-streams can account for a lot of bandwidth so take care.</div><div>Also, if you are on a slow dialup connection, the video may appear laggy and slow. This is not a problem with SopCast or the channel, it's your internet connection.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.onetipaday.com/2007/03/08/guide-to-watching-champions-league-premiership-and-uefa-cup-football-online/2/">Credits to OneTipADay for showing me how its done!</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-61378110917884776362009-11-19T09:37:00.004+05:302009-11-22T11:48:40.804+05:30Standalone Stack lets you pin stacks to your Windows Taskbar!If you use <a href="http://rocketdock.com/">RocketDock</a> you probably also use the Stack-docklet for saving docklet-real-estate. And if you don't use the docklet already, maybe you should!<a href="http://rocketdock.com/addon/docklets/1791"> Check it out now</a>!<div><br /></div><div>With the awesome Windows 7 toolbar, you may have already gotten rid of your Dock, however you must be missing the stack-docklet that you had earlier.</div><div>Well with '<a href="http://www.chrisnsoft.com/standalonestack/">Standalone Stack</a>' from <a href="http://www.chrisnsoft.com/">Chris'n'Soft</a> you can have stacks on your taskbar!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbe2W9bkuBwC4QY9FGw2WEO5v4AXP939e2zn1ZgFdrvR_XFWa1AfVPbihTglM4Xa6fAusXIuRq9hA79N0UEYEWMWMCzecFIdsoFo3PsZp_XIkA0QCbG5OB6NOHnr7gBWxMsmdriyOmGwf/s1600/styacs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTbe2W9bkuBwC4QY9FGw2WEO5v4AXP939e2zn1ZgFdrvR_XFWa1AfVPbihTglM4Xa6fAusXIuRq9hA79N0UEYEWMWMCzecFIdsoFo3PsZp_XIkA0QCbG5OB6NOHnr7gBWxMsmdriyOmGwf/s400/styacs.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405663331770997618" /></a><br />Just <a href="http://www.chrisnsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/standalonestack2.zip">download Standalone Stack from here</a>. Unzip the files to C:/standalonestack/ and run the standalonestack2.exe file to fire it up!<div><br /></div><div>Now in the left side bar, select 'New Stack'. On the right, enter a name for your stack and enter a Path name'. Which ever folder you point to here, the contents of that folder would appear in your stack. For example, you could create a folder of all your game shortcuts and then have your stack point to that folder. Consequently you get a stack pointing to all your games on your PC just as I've done in the screenshot above.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now hit the 'Create Stack' button and then the 'Create shortcut on desktop' button.</div><div>You will now get a stack icon on your desktop that does just the same task. If you wish to, you may now pin that shortcut to your taskbar and then delete the shortcut. </div><div>And you're done! You've got a stack docklet on your task bar now!</div><div><br /></div><div>Standalone stack works on XP/Vista/7.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-29292105072099070052009-11-17T12:07:00.007+05:302009-11-22T11:49:49.690+05:30Automatic Drive Icons on your DesktopIf you've used ubuntu, you must have noticed that as soon as you enter a flash drive or disc into the machine, you instantly get a helpful little icon on your desktop that points to your newly plugged in drive.<div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac3466p4-lw4TcuSWpSLscs2nrXNTOunZNJJ_EuOe_NcDRMTYn3gN2y4goGf1i_ae4hcY4RnAbA7Ch2xLqowThk3uw_saGah0A5a0DORvdPmHA9ebathkKbpoDng1QZ0qLxwPKbgOIGwN/s1600/drive.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiac3466p4-lw4TcuSWpSLscs2nrXNTOunZNJJ_EuOe_NcDRMTYn3gN2y4goGf1i_ae4hcY4RnAbA7Ch2xLqowThk3uw_saGah0A5a0DORvdPmHA9ebathkKbpoDng1QZ0qLxwPKbgOIGwN/s400/drive.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404959703593906546" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can have the same functionality on your Windows machines using <a href="http://www.ianandmonica.com/desktopmedia/">Desktop Media</a>.</div><div>On downloading this tiny app (350kb) just unzip the contents and run the application.</div><div>You'll get a tray application and on double clicking it you're presented with a menu with a wide variety of options regarding how you want the app to behave.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc-3h7jVqeJwbdz3Ga7KsEdfiS3NaYmfieQBsaegqzfWdH8hth_m7vZEgOsNDUDBioKO9cATx1bKMff1VpTD99GxSVh2itVrcusFNaM7hebwFP8arCoLZPysnOOB5agqSm7wdOInBifS4/s1600/asds.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 211px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnc-3h7jVqeJwbdz3Ga7KsEdfiS3NaYmfieQBsaegqzfWdH8hth_m7vZEgOsNDUDBioKO9cATx1bKMff1VpTD99GxSVh2itVrcusFNaM7hebwFP8arCoLZPysnOOB5agqSm7wdOInBifS4/s320/asds.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404960976967082242" /></a><br /><br /></div>You can <a href="http://www.ianandmonica.com/desktopmedia/download.php">download Desktop Media from here</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-51597992261128398092009-10-03T11:10:00.004+05:302009-11-22T11:50:30.697+05:30Search your desktop real-time using EverythingOf late I've been using <a href="http://www.voidtools.com/">Everything</a> a lot to search my desktop for files!<div><br /></div><div>It's a really cool software that indexes all your hard disks (as long as they're in NTFS) and lets you search files instantly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Instantly meaning; hardly you press a key, it will list all files on your system that contain that keyword. And as you key in more characters, all the relevant search results would get filtered.</div><div>That is, you get to search real time!</div><div><br /></div><div>The software is just 334 kb and it beats the default Windows Search hands down!</div><div>A must have on your XP system methinks!</div><div><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-49300324317085890122009-08-14T13:18:00.005+05:302009-11-22T11:51:21.804+05:30How to use 2 (or more) LAN settings on the same LAN card.I recently got myself an MTNL Triband connection along with which I also had a local broadband connection.<br />Now I had just one LAN card and consequently just the one "Local Area Connection" in my network connections.<br />Each of the 2 had separate IPs, masks and gateways and I had to find a quicker way to switch between the 2 LAN-TCP/IP settings. Manually editing the settings each time is obviously too troublesome.<br />This little trick is pretty useful also if you're constantly swapping between several connections (maybe home and office) on your laptop.<br /><div><br />Google to the rescue it was. Here's a neat trick that uses "netsh", a command-line command to change the tcp/ip settings.<br />Here's how you do it,<br /><br />Create a text file and copy the following lines of code into the file.</div><br /><blockquote>netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" source=static addr=<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC00;">P_ADDRESS</span> mask=<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">SUBNET_MASK</span><br />netsh interface ip set address name="Local Area Connection" gateway=<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">DEFAULT_FATEWAY</span> gwmetric=0<br />netsh interface ip set dns name="Local Area Connection" source=static addr=<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">PREFERRED_DNS</span><br />netsh interface ip add dns name="Local Area Connection" addr=<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">ALTERNATE_DNS</span> index=2<br />pause</blockquote><br /><div><br />Replace the yellow text with the respective details of either one of your connections.</div><div>Make sure the name of your LAN connection is same as the one specified in the text file (as in this case it is 'Local Area Connection').<br /><div><br />(Make sure that file extensions are not hidden and then) Change the extension from .txt to .bat so that it is saved as a batch file.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do the same thing once more and this time enter the details of your second connection.</div><div><br />You can name the files whatever you want. For e.g., I named one as MTNL connection.bat and the other as localnet.bat</div><div><br /></div><div>When you want to swap to another connection, just run the relevant .bat file and you're good to go. If you want to revert to the previous settings, run the other .bat file.</div><div><br /></div><div>In case you come across any difficulties post away and I'll try my best to help you asap!</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-69072447962660703622009-08-06T21:46:00.006+05:302009-11-22T11:51:57.083+05:30Download an offline installer of Google Chrome in a jiffy!<div>Google Chrome is awesome. Period.</div><div>However, if you're on a very slow or do not have an internet connection, the default Chrome installer (which is an online installer) is a pain.</div><div>I'd rather have a large download file for a completely offline install rather than a small file with an online one.</div><div><br /></div><div>And you can get an offline installer for Chrome really easily. Here's how:</div><div><br /></div><div>Head over to http://filehippo.com/download_google_chrome/ to get to know the latest version of Chrome available. Or you can just google that.</div><div>As of today, the Beta version is currently at</div><div>3.0.196.2</div><div><br /></div><div>Now we've only got to take note of the last two parts of that version number. In this case: "196.2".</div><div><br /></div><div>And then simply enter the following address into your browser and replace the xxx.xx with the version no.</div><div>http://dl.google.com/chrome/install/xxx.xx/chrome_installer.exe</div><div><br /></div><div>In my case, it would be http://dl.google.com/chrome/install/196.2/chrome_installer.exe</div><div><br /></div><div>Go to the link and you should get a prompt box telling you to save the file. It would be around 10mb. Just save the file and you're done.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next time you've got to install Chrome, you can do it without an internet connection. Just fire up the newly downloaded installer and you're golden!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-68572547079293460772009-04-22T21:01:00.003+05:302009-11-22T11:54:20.287+05:30Start copying using TeraCopy!<a href="http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php">TeraCopy</a> is a tiny freeware program that is an alternative for the default Windows XP (or Vista) file-copying tool. It copies files at the maximum possible speed, providing the 'current status' of the copying (which includes the estimated time of completion, %left, no. of files completed in batch copying etc..) and it also has an error recoverability feature which is a terribly missed feature in the default copying application.<br /><br />In case of a file-copy error, it will try several times again to copy the file. And incase a copy still isn't possible it will not terminate the entire copying process (unlike the default copying application in Windows which abruptly stops the copying), but it will just skip the faulty file and copy the rest of the files successfully.<br />Teracopy also displays the speeds at which files are copied and also offers a unique feature of pausing and resuming a file-copying process.<br /><br />A <a href="http://www.codesector.com/files/teracopyportable.paf.exe">portable version of Teracopy</a> is also available incase you're running a slow system.<br /><br />So, XP and Vista users, stop just copying and <a href="http://www.codesector.com/download.php">start teracopying now</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-63398383847329817052009-04-11T17:30:00.003+05:302009-11-22T13:06:00.405+05:30Fixing iKernel.exe/Installshield errorI recently ran into this iKernel.exe error while trying to install Dreamweaver on my lappy.<br />It read "The Installshield engine could not be launched. %1 ikernel.exe is not a valid Win32 application"<br />The same error popped up while trying to install another application. So I decided to look it up and I managed to find a simple solution for the same and this solution works for most of the other iKernel.exe or Installshield errors as well!<br /><br />Simply head over to C:/Program Files/Common Files/Installshield and delete the 'Engine' folder. Then empty it from recycle bin!<br />Try the installation again and you should be golden! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-9482382608131582132009-04-04T21:32:00.006+05:302009-11-22T13:10:58.313+05:30Protect your Pen-drives from viruses by disabling autorun!Well most of the times that your pen drive get's infected is usually due to plugging in a previously infected pendrive to a PC and then plugging yours to the same.<br />If you've got your "Folder Options" missing, "Regedit" missing or your usb devices not opening in Windows Explorer, it's most usually because you're infected with a virus.<br />Well, an anti-virus scan and a spyware removal tool would help you get rid of the virus, but then you've got to be careful not to get infected again!<br /><br />Most viruses spread by utilizing the autorun.inf file that autmatically runs every time you plug-in your pen drive to your computer. They configure the autorun file to launch the virus-executables that may be bundled along with the autroun.inf file on your pendrive. And thats how they spread from machine to machine, cripplings systems along the way.<br /><br />So how I'll try to help you here is by disabling the autorun feature which would minimize the chances infection considerably incase an infected pendrive is plugged into your comp.<br />Also, we'll see how to prevent viruses from infecting pen drives that are plugged into your computer.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Disabling the Autorun feature.</span><br />Simply fire up your registry editor. (Start>Run>regedit)<br />Navigate to <code>HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows<br />\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer<br /></code>Now double click the value ""NoDriveTypeAutoRun" and set the Hex value to "ff" or the Decimal value to "255".<br />Hit F5 (to refresh your registry editor) and you're done.<br />Autorun.inf will no longer be executed automatically.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Prevent Autorun.inf files being writted to your pen drives.</span><br />All you've got to do here is create a folder named "Autorun.inf" without the quotes!<br /><br />(Headover to folder options and unhide file extensions incase it isn't already.)<br />These files should prevent malicious autorun files from infecting your pendrive.<br /><br />Thats it! :)<br />These 2 steps should minimize (if not immunize) your pendrives from viruses to quite an extent!<br />Incase you still need some more help on this topic, ask away!<code><br /></code><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-5210704095073388752009-03-08T10:48:00.003+05:302009-11-22T13:11:34.715+05:30Get rid of the shortcut-arrow from Shortcut Icons.Well, this tip is mainly for the desktop conscious, the ones who like to flaunt their sleek looking desktops with the magnificent wallpapers, smooth looking themes and arty icons.<br />But the little shortcut-arrow that shows up on shortcut icons always seem to blemish the beauty of your icons.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRkJzyjXqwmlsoGKuLMM8W93seqVuZh9uT_r9txb9ZLKsYunCs3utp_8KSHX8TFVfzJoJO6hpiaBsVID4CbikGsx2Dtmgae7zdoTNu9eC37TS_CBslQk8UU4m3ZawBBO4dcM_Eej4K9DN/s1600-h/2assd.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 108px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyRkJzyjXqwmlsoGKuLMM8W93seqVuZh9uT_r9txb9ZLKsYunCs3utp_8KSHX8TFVfzJoJO6hpiaBsVID4CbikGsx2Dtmgae7zdoTNu9eC37TS_CBslQk8UU4m3ZawBBO4dcM_Eej4K9DN/s400/2assd.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310684846315951746" border="0" /></a><br />So this little tweak here helps you get rid off these ugly marks.<br />All you've got to do is edit a single registry value.<br />Here's how its done...<br /><br /><br />Head over the the Registry Editor (Start>Run>"regedit">OK)<br />Navigate to "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile".<br />Backup the key just incase you would want the shortcut-arrows back in the future. To do this, right click on "lnkfile">Export>and save the .reg file to a directory with an appropriate name like "Show shortcut arrows".<br />Now that you're done backing up,<br />Delete the "IsShortcut" string. Hit F5 (To refresh).<br />Log off. Log back on.<br />Your're done! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-88975468949493062412009-03-08T10:13:00.004+05:302009-11-22T13:12:35.310+05:30View your Folder Sizes in the Details section of your foldersIt's always a pain to not be able to view a folder size directly in the Details-view of a folder. Right-clicking>Properties and then waiting for the folder size to show up isn't the only way out anymore.<br />You can now use the application <a href="http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/">Folder Size 2.4</a> to enable the folder-size attribute to show up in the Details section as seen in the screenshot below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwXli9puX-wOihkKTL9wpdlZCffdZTwt9tcJDbhO1nXKRUwFpHmQeyAqiqb0cIy00VbiGrri5aZh5IffdCoN2bdezsBf6dxjSOD4gJP9nEgtqKwNmXAEpCwaOw3kMupkFmkIjqLsvDYg7/s1600-h/foldrsioze.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAwXli9puX-wOihkKTL9wpdlZCffdZTwt9tcJDbhO1nXKRUwFpHmQeyAqiqb0cIy00VbiGrri5aZh5IffdCoN2bdezsBf6dxjSOD4gJP9nEgtqKwNmXAEpCwaOw3kMupkFmkIjqLsvDYg7/s400/foldrsioze.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310677927616751666" border="0" /></a>All you've got to do is download the 228kb .msi file from <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/foldersize/">here</a>. Close any open explorer windows. Run the installer and you're good to go.<br />Now, just rightclick the Details tab and check the Foldersize attribute to view the folder sizes.<br />The app also lets you see the number of Folder Children, File Children and All Children.<br />Enjoy the tweak! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-75004128663860242112009-02-28T15:32:00.001+05:302009-03-08T10:11:16.937+05:30Prevent Firefox from Hogging Memory When MinimizedGot <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5161563/prevent-firefox-from-hogging-memory-when-minimized">this tip</a> off of <a href="http://lifehacker.com/">Lifehacker</a>.. Head on over there to hack life better.. :)<br /><br />Heres another handy little tip for those of you who are low on RAM. You could prevent Firefox from taking up RAM when it's minimized into your taskbar.<br />Just like earlier, all you need to do is only enter a new value in the about:config page.<br /><br />So heres how its done..<br />Type <em>about:config</em> into your address bar.<br />Hit Enter.<br />Confirm to your browser that you'll be careful messing with your configuration.<br />Right-click somewhere outside all those period-separated values and choose New/Boolean.<br />In the window that pops up, enter <code>config.trim_on_minimize</code><br />Hit OK.<br />Then select "True" in the next dialog.<br />Close out your <code>about:config</code> window, restart Firefox, and you're done! :)<br /><br /><a href="http://lifehacker.com/5161563/prevent-firefox-from-hogging-memory-when-minimized">>>Source<<</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-36129976598597650022008-12-13T09:31:00.003+05:302008-12-13T09:38:15.337+05:30And now Google Chrome 1.0 is out!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipm8RXVJKcMDLvRpTEaELdjgdcdPwbei2S8jquACD_xHot2xjkqCVciYz7l6rRtUYWFBle5cof6yIegacLmU7p080wz87vzehEkGZa5scOqObFIUmE38oAkCIaIZUMTc3GSqWcAAbC4Mbx/s1600-h/chrome21-261x300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipm8RXVJKcMDLvRpTEaELdjgdcdPwbei2S8jquACD_xHot2xjkqCVciYz7l6rRtUYWFBle5cof6yIegacLmU7p080wz87vzehEkGZa5scOqObFIUmE38oAkCIaIZUMTc3GSqWcAAbC4Mbx/s400/chrome21-261x300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279121577199780658" border="0" /></a><br />Yeah, only the second product from Google to lose the beta tag!<br />Chrome 1.0 is out and available for download!<br /><br />Learn more about Chrome's features <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/features.html">here</a>!<br />And start downloading <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html">here</a>!<br /><br />Happy browsing! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-2979670347549554392008-12-09T10:27:00.006+05:302008-12-13T09:40:10.096+05:30FIREFOX 3.1 IS COMING...<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzUEQnnsvAeyR9A4HN21icuqlO5a24_EMk4TyaIIxbAg1mV2RCDCTN6n-xLj4lLwgIlNDsWaDmAUxjUKUquaeSh_aZKe0LMeWtXshG88aDk_XAqCQoescmrFLCjeSqaFscAVtj7Xc47Fy/s1600-h/firefox3.1beta2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimzUEQnnsvAeyR9A4HN21icuqlO5a24_EMk4TyaIIxbAg1mV2RCDCTN6n-xLj4lLwgIlNDsWaDmAUxjUKUquaeSh_aZKe0LMeWtXshG88aDk_XAqCQoescmrFLCjeSqaFscAVtj7Xc47Fy/s400/firefox3.1beta2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277650634040884386" border="0" /></a>^Clickie that^ :)<br />I simply love this welcome screen.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Yesh! FF3.1 beta2 is out for download and available for testing! :)<br />Read more about it <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5104228/firefox-31-beta-2-now-available-for-your-testing-pleasure">here</a>.<br /><br />Check the features out at the <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/3.1b2/releasenotes/">official Mozilla webpage</a>!<br /><br />The list of features which included;<br />One-Click Bookmarking,<br />Instant Web Site ID,<br />Improved Performance,<br />Full Zoom,<br />Password Manager,<br />Smart Location Bar,<br />Platform-Native Look & Feel.<br /><br />The list now extends with the beta2:<br />This beta is now available in 54 languages.<br />Added functions to make it easy to clear recent history by time as well as remove all traces of a website.<br />New support for web worker threads.<br />Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.<br />Removed the new tab-switching behavior based on feedback from users<br />Support for new web technologies such as the <video> and <audio> elements, the W3C Geolocation API, JavaScript query selectors, CSS 2.1 and 3 properties, SVG transforms and offline applications.<br /><br /><br /><br />Have a look at the detailed list of the features <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.1b2&os=win&lang=en-US">Download Firefox 3.1 b2 now!</a><br /><br /></audio></video></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>Keith Mascarenhashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05408440808924991660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-17729247960531000612008-12-05T15:56:00.010+05:302008-12-07T07:52:59.371+05:30Nokia N97 - A cellphone on steroids!Nokia had kept all gadget enthusiasts guessing with the mysterious countdown timer that they had put up the Nokia website for quite awhile now. Nokia promised a true 'mobile computer' like we've never seen before but refused to give out any more details to the prying media!<br /><br />On 2nd December Nokia ultimately revealed the spanking new Nokia N97 at the <a href="http://www.nokia.com/nokiaworld">Nokia World Conference 2008</a>, leaving everyone thrilled! The N97 is the first N-Series device to enjoy the new Symbian Series60 5th Edition OS introduced to us first by the Nokia 5800 a.k.a. the Tube. Well, I'd say, Nokia came through with its promise!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOccPAs6ag9V7I0Wxf8AZiSvdsjNohNRTI5EbnPwt7fCjmwELipIDhZo5QhFuaUIVF78wWBAk8UM-YTVhGzN9GVuOj6cC9B1uyE40jUW-XJ-gmMCwUp2rSJ9Y394pEVAjIZ9HvOsVyhg/s1600-h/nokia-n97-side-by-side.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioOccPAs6ag9V7I0Wxf8AZiSvdsjNohNRTI5EbnPwt7fCjmwELipIDhZo5QhFuaUIVF78wWBAk8UM-YTVhGzN9GVuOj6cC9B1uyE40jUW-XJ-gmMCwUp2rSJ9Y394pEVAjIZ9HvOsVyhg/s400/nokia-n97-side-by-side.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276325748064366354" border="0" /></a><br />The Nokia N97 has got a ton of features crammed into its little 150g body! It combines a dazzling <span id="intelliTxt"><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">16M color 3.5" touchscreen</span> display that has a resolution of <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">360 x 640 pixels </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> </span>with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard which is a boon for heavy texters! It sports a cool <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">5MP camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss Tessar optics</span> which deliver complete DVD quality videos.<br /><br />The<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);"> 16:9 wide home screen</span> of the N97 is completely customizable with widgets. You can access news feeds, social networks & friends at the touch of a button...oops!...I mean screen! The N97 makes it convenient to update social networking sites on the go. It also supports all <a href="http://www.ovi.com/">Ovi</a> features making it easier to share and stay connected with the world.<br /><br />This smartphone is high on connectivity. Its got every form of mobile connectivity that exists...<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">GPRS, 3G, HSDPA, Bluetooth, Wi-fi</span>. It also has full support to display flash videos on the web. It is like a browser that always online!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLlh17hnexZqRqQB_TItm5EnhecfTwtcjnxAJIpaU5auNy4B70xGZgMdWMIM2Npx-c9ciDzdl5-M7llw6Rdq2fv4r-whPWm50dLv7EJMZU13Sw6oCvwf0BDoFKb96Zz0aYnLAytdqPFg/s1600-h/gsmarena_007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 195px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVLlh17hnexZqRqQB_TItm5EnhecfTwtcjnxAJIpaU5auNy4B70xGZgMdWMIM2Npx-c9ciDzdl5-M7llw6Rdq2fv4r-whPWm50dLv7EJMZU13Sw6oCvwf0BDoFKb96Zz0aYnLAytdqPFg/s320/gsmarena_007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276329680934576498" border="0" /></a><br />The N97 is the first Nokia phone to introduce the concept <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">"social location"</span>. It has integrated <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">A-GPS </span>sensors so that it intuitively understand where it is. The system works on the Nokia mapping technology with a built-in <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">virtual compass</span> that points the user the direction he should go when using turn-by-turn navigation. One thing's for sure...with this phone, you will never get lost!<br /><br />Gaming fans can rejoice as the N97 has full <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">support for the N-Gage platform</span>. Widescreen gaming on a Nokia phone has now become a reality. With the built-in <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">accelerometer</span>, touch and tilt based gaming will soon be on the cards.<br /><br />The N97 has a whopping <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">32 GB internal storage</span> and can further be expanded with a 16GB microSD card adding up a nifty <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">48GB </span>which is more that enough to store all sorts of media- photos, videos, songs, docs....just everything! The battery life is pretty impressive. The BL-4C provides about 400 hours of standby time, 320-400 hours of talk time, 4.5 hours of video playback and over 37 hours of audio playback...so you can blast songs on the stereo speakers<span style="font-style: italic;"> for 1.5 days</span>! That's enough to bring the house down, I must say!<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102); font-style: italic;">This phone definitely contends for the top spot of the<a href="http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/2008/06/iphone-killers.html"> iPhone killer</a>!!</span><br /><br />Here's the official video of the N97 to get you drooling!<br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-06013078940791369 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2O2Li74EYew&hl=en&fs=1"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-007318085721777934 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2O2Li74EYew&hl=en&fs=1"></a><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2O2Li74EYew&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2O2Li74EYew&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br />The N97 is expected to start shipping in the first half of 2009 with a price tag of around €550.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-61488508811310296612008-11-22T22:02:00.011+05:302009-11-19T09:59:51.598+05:30ObjectDock - Must-have desktop utility!If your someone who likes customiszing your desktop for maximum productivity and easy access, you'll adore ObjectDock! ObjectDock is a nifty little desktop enhancement for Windows quite similar to the taskbar in the Apple Mac.<br /><br /><blockquote>UPDATE: 11/19/2009:<br /><br />I recommend using <a href="http://rocketdock.com/">RocketDock </a>over ObjectDock for this same purpose since it is freeware and has support for several themes and addons.</blockquote><br />Basically, it contains a little dock which can be placed anywhere on the screen. The dock contains shortcuts to application programs, folder locations as well as websites. It is completely customizable and the interface is super smooth! You can place the dock on any edge of the screen- top, bottom, left or right. Adding items to the dock is literally a piece of cake! You just got to drag and drog the application or folder to the docklet & it'll create an icon for that applet. To remove shortcuts from the docklet, simply drag them off from it. They simply vanish into thin air!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHZtC5lOC6qjCw41xMhVviw__p7j2c4uEb_Z7oJfxjDlR_jxPsTTDERlnfGzVtO8m5edwMd3yHS_VH4coubj974ZvEbbCAdXRxTzqSvpHNuILJTP0eqamjFcu2jOVld3ptJ3zWpfTjaE/s1600-h/img8C.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 216px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHZtC5lOC6qjCw41xMhVviw__p7j2c4uEb_Z7oJfxjDlR_jxPsTTDERlnfGzVtO8m5edwMd3yHS_VH4coubj974ZvEbbCAdXRxTzqSvpHNuILJTP0eqamjFcu2jOVld3ptJ3zWpfTjaE/s400/img8C.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271538792782548498" border="0" /></a><br />ObjectDock acts as a handy utility especially if you access some specific folders or websites or programs on your computer very frequently. Instead of browsing to that folder every time, you can directly access it from the dock. Also, if that folder contains subfolders, you could directly go to that subfolder by customizing the dock icon to produce a drop-down menu. It really does cut down effort and saves time! It also contains useful little applications called docklets which display weather, clock etc.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiZZxQzzyn7By08zaUZgnt7wEaJk6FR10oR1F3t95RDT0YwGAZYI8nJJcrd7XS7xhRAedlbnSq2Bi6t4E0pAzKWFIGtvTEg_UWchiitwNDoNKuClGtS6cWBpuSPUTuxE-6f7hBThiOQk/s1600-h/tg363.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 196px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjiZZxQzzyn7By08zaUZgnt7wEaJk6FR10oR1F3t95RDT0YwGAZYI8nJJcrd7XS7xhRAedlbnSq2Bi6t4E0pAzKWFIGtvTEg_UWchiitwNDoNKuClGtS6cWBpuSPUTuxE-6f7hBThiOQk/s200/tg363.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271539913135817746" border="0" /></a><br />The standard installer comes with the ObjectDock library of icons. You can even use you own icons for the docklets. The dock can be customized for various animation effects when you move your mouse over it. It is completely skinnable & with over 100 hundred skins available for download online, you can make the dock look supercool as compare to those ugly Windows icons!<br /><br />ObjectDock can be customized to display all running applications in the dock as well. It can almost replace the standard Windows taskbar! Also, it has a smaller memory footprint as compare to other Windows dock softwares...still if you find the system taking too much load, you can reduce the number of animation effects and quality to increase speed.<br /><br />The best part is that this software is available completely free of cost!<br />Download from <a href="http://dw.com.com/redir?edId=3&siteId=4&oId=3000-2072_4-10210264&ontId=2072_4&spi=4dd950c90b30f5558ba31bb8a399a346&lop=link&tag=tdw_dltext&ltype=dl_dlnow&pid=10696248&mfgId=80664&merId=80664&pguid=LW3J7tjveB4AAG33rYEAAADP&destUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.download.com%2F3001-2072_4-10696248.html%3Fspi%3D4dd950c90b30f5558ba31bb8a399a346">HERE</a><br /><br />Of course, the paid versions contains added features like tabbed docks, multiple onscreen docks, support for system trays etc., but you'll have to shell out a cool $20 for that!<br />You can check out the official site here - <a href="http://www.stardock.com/products/objectdock/index.asp">Stardock ObjectDock</a><br /><br />Here's a screenshot of the ObjectDock on my desktop with not much frills-<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq6Pb-1ZS0HHhG93vPV5R10VTJB7uJfb1jR8HLGnKnIUWyvxd550j4VLUa9oe_RHwmFi9MinB-ibxFY_x4IJNpVuTujEOqN9mv29KmwGH-HlvkorPTgrvZ7nslP1my27Uas1gFaK_vZk/s1600-h/tg56.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 360px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq6Pb-1ZS0HHhG93vPV5R10VTJB7uJfb1jR8HLGnKnIUWyvxd550j4VLUa9oe_RHwmFi9MinB-ibxFY_x4IJNpVuTujEOqN9mv29KmwGH-HlvkorPTgrvZ7nslP1my27Uas1gFaK_vZk/s320/tg56.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271537676345642610" border="0" /></a><br />Give ObjectDock a try! You'll love this functional super sleek software!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-54845002932541018762008-11-13T13:44:00.007+05:302008-11-17T22:07:41.504+05:30Image to text converter<div><div>Ever wondered how those bits of text were written to look like an image?</div><div>For examle:</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m6kxb47CQO_BCISfLXmlPCbMcXncxYP0ACmlUg_KSVm2loBok68VxhUl2orOUKPBNQeQyUQRE2jn0inXDMn3UF21767TqRCME7rg15zxqvdCgu0K21gm_oYiUA_5xKaamCbgEX0GvdI/s400/untitled.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 382px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269660962150915138" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIRmxty_r7LgYTErpY4xtYE4HO4RHQtS6zJcVgAhkThfMM5MLcAjJCzZaM1qnolUm7LPdOHNjjkR80_ZLy_Sp1aJ0SJzIXjFeiGNvMW9XQLac1tqzGwMEX2eZP8_bExfTG6U6RsgFGfmw/s400/techg.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 383px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269661533475540610" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Well its very easy using TIM Text to image Converter!</div><div>This neat little bit of code developed by the coders at donationcoders.com works great at this purpose!</div><div>You can check out the original page of this software <a href="http://www.donationcoder.com/Forums/bb/index.php?topic=11547.msg93197#msg93197">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The download link in the previous link requires you to download two separate files and then extract the contents of one into the other for it to work.</div><div>I've simplified that for you by already doing the extraction part and hosting the ready product.</div><div>You can <a href="http://drop.io/keithsoftwares">download it from here</a>. UnRar and run Tim.exe to use!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">The program converts an image (jpg or bmp) to a text, which looks like the image in grayscale. You can choose any monospaced font and any font size you want to format the text with, and also any set of allowed characters. The result can be saved as text and then you can format it correctly in a text editor, or you can save the image of the text already correctly formatted.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>You could also save your converted results in an image format (jpeg, gif) just as I have done in the above image.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">If you are unsatisfied with the result of your converted image;</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Try to change color mapping so that the line is more steep, it improves contrast. Look at the histograms to decide where the line should lie. You could also play with the color sliders.</span></span></div><div>What works best for me is, bloating up the source image to a higher resolution and then converting the enlarged image.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Another very impressive converter is an online one; <a href="http://text-image.com/" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none;"> </span></a><a href="http://text-image.com/">TEXT-IMAGE.com</a></div><div><br /></div><div>You can choose between HTML, ASCII and Matrix output results for your image.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Again, if you are unsatisfied with your result, enlarging the image will help.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you do happen to know of any other more efficient converter, I'd be pleased to know. Do leave details in the comments for this post. Thanks and keep coming! :)</div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-76769307626851474732008-09-13T12:15:00.009+05:302009-11-22T13:13:59.784+05:30My list of 11 must-have applications!Here is a list of 11 must-have applications for your computer! The list includes applications that are required for system-maintenance, security and better functionality.<br />I personally recommend the following and if you look around on the net, you'll find many others agreeing with the same. However, if you've got more effective applications do let us know and we could feature it here!<br />Attached, are direct download links and also the respective websites of each of the applications.<div><br />So lets get going..<br />In no particular order..<br /><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">1. CCleaner</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnpdiCY0E7agcbk1Cr_OCwDBSK9WnBHdgcUrKfVYKHC0m5iu0B4u96Gqi719x-vuVaYX-P7SYEY2_jWQ7N0G387Yo97m6P65Y0vp5D9bTMIs2ICSdOZd2Pepw41KgDoYwn1VaW4bJD9U/s1600-h/ccleaner.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdnpdiCY0E7agcbk1Cr_OCwDBSK9WnBHdgcUrKfVYKHC0m5iu0B4u96Gqi719x-vuVaYX-P7SYEY2_jWQ7N0G387Yo97m6P65Y0vp5D9bTMIs2ICSdOZd2Pepw41KgDoYwn1VaW4bJD9U/s320/ccleaner.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240601878787142674" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">CCleaner is a </span><b style="font-style: italic;">freeware</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware! :)</span><br /><br /><div>The best part about CCleaner is that it works as Disk Cleanup, Registry-cleaner, uninstaller and Startup items remover, all in one! Just run this nifty application around once a week or whenever your feel your PC has slowed down and stay clean! :)<br /><a href="http://www.ccleaner.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/download/49399be3aab5af19e5d88e8bc6498b71/">Download</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">2. Firefox</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPiiyo6igg_OPjiIp9-ovcQ7E6gabnOJWO4iisGxH3i1lLodNm8-KGYLy4XVZ19-4BfS7qaNfmcanxKPoT8zbD-sr9CuxD7mnFBhCJwbJAtgVzQD9NuMyFquQlwoBag6skSUuzcVKII8/s1600-h/firefox-rgb-3.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPiiyo6igg_OPjiIp9-ovcQ7E6gabnOJWO4iisGxH3i1lLodNm8-KGYLy4XVZ19-4BfS7qaNfmcanxKPoT8zbD-sr9CuxD7mnFBhCJwbJAtgVzQD9NuMyFquQlwoBag6skSUuzcVKII8/s320/firefox-rgb-3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240602892255592034" border="0" /></a>Why use FireFox when you've already got IE installed on your pc?<br />Well maybe going through the definitions for IE on urbandictionary.com would help.<br />Clickie <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Internet+Explorer">here</a> to view them!<br />The first one reads:<br /><blockquote><table id="entries" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr></tr><tr><td><br /></td> <td class="text" colspan="2"> <div class="definition"> "<span style="font-style: italic;">A simple Windows XP tool which allows the user to browse to Mozilla.com and download Firefox, a web browser."</span> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote>I could only go on and on and on as to why one should use Firefox.<br />There are just so many that I'd rather just post a link here mentioning the same:<br />http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/<br />Also, with Firefox you could use the tweak I've mentioned in earlier posts to get your webpages to load faster!<br /><a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html?product=firefox-3.0.1&os=win&lang=en-US">Download</a><br /><br /></div><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">3. MozBackup</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-V5VmLIgax7UffrC_OuRwbM_RrgbI9sHuqJkXjIzjgnAs0fGVKkpMKl_gOHh5BDHvmkIiOge2FmkGWTR6332libXa1QUewNiU7LNPqYNfhauk9O5USWdDAJmpC8jk82W0FqoGMPwWbY/s1600-h/mozbackup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-V5VmLIgax7UffrC_OuRwbM_RrgbI9sHuqJkXjIzjgnAs0fGVKkpMKl_gOHh5BDHvmkIiOge2FmkGWTR6332libXa1QUewNiU7LNPqYNfhauk9O5USWdDAJmpC8jk82W0FqoGMPwWbY/s320/mozbackup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240602892599831762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong style="font-style: italic;">MozBackup</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> is a simple utility for creating backups of </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/" title="Mozilla Firefox: Homepage">Mozilla Firefox</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mozilla.com/thunderbird/" title="Mozilla Thunderbird: Homepage">Mozilla Thunderbird</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/" title="Mozilla Sunbird: Homepage">Mozilla Sunbird</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.flock.com/" title="Flock: Homepage">Flock</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/" title="SeaMonkey: Homepage">SeaMonkey</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/" title="Mozilla Suite: Homepage">Mozilla Suite</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.spicebird.com/" title="Spicebird: Homepage">Spicebird</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> and </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://browser.netscape.com/" title="Netscape Browser: Homepage">Netscape</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> profiles.</span> <strong style="font-style: italic;">It allows you to backup and restore</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> bookmarks, mail, contacts, history, extensions, cache etc. It's an easy way to do Firefox backup, Thunderbird backup ...</span><br /><br /></div><div>As mentioned in my earlier post, this nifty little application is very useful when you need to carry your bookmarks from one pc to another. Also, backing up your bookmarks can be very important if you bookmark a lot. I regard this app as a lifesaver since I'm always bookmarking stuff and I've got around 200bookmarks already. :P</div><div><a href="http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/">Website </a>| <a href="http://sourceforge.net/project/downloading.php?groupname=mozbackup&filename=MozBackup-1.4.8-EN.exe&use_mirror=nchc">Download</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">4. Flashget</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvGlxknrYQNHIFZBDvICX5VF_o6J6PN5J7qCd8RPEJY_xNyNBNUp0PF938coAo5FKkIdOhyphenhyphendKmQKQvvVj2Y-D7llAWc_-CyDyaVMvrLFvPEGlEwn6sP9LZEW4vlBzeAAwjGWUpBaZlm4/s1600-h/flashget-logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFvGlxknrYQNHIFZBDvICX5VF_o6J6PN5J7qCd8RPEJY_xNyNBNUp0PF938coAo5FKkIdOhyphenhyphendKmQKQvvVj2Y-D7llAWc_-CyDyaVMvrLFvPEGlEwn6sP9LZEW4vlBzeAAwjGWUpBaZlm4/s320/flashget-logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240602892258896562" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">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.</span><br /><br />I do most of my downloads from torrents so I rarely need a download manager. But whenever I do, its FlashGet. Fast, Efficient, Light and Easy. No Ads, thats another blessing with this download manager. Also, the tiny download-stat-box that you can move around your desktop looks neat. :)</div><div><a href="http://www.flashget.com/index_en.htm">Website </a>| <a href="http://down6.flashget.com/flashget196en.exe">Download</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">5. uTorrent</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO6S43Drsm00kd3BIJq4gUpngmhy-TC_7qIykETs3xYylO2fZMWdSJjEMpp3XJAaPctCs-7zXBeiFi_NuQ5tq2fz382J2MmQdyGCEq25q-KXwOV93PoRZZGYRrLZajK2pgxhONMJlZ70/s1600-h/utorrent_logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO6S43Drsm00kd3BIJq4gUpngmhy-TC_7qIykETs3xYylO2fZMWdSJjEMpp3XJAaPctCs-7zXBeiFi_NuQ5tq2fz382J2MmQdyGCEq25q-KXwOV93PoRZZGYRrLZajK2pgxhONMJlZ70/s320/utorrent_logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240603752590627010" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">uTorrent is a powerful and efficient BitTorrent client for Windows. Most of the features present in other BitTorrent clients are present in uTorrent, including bandwidth prioritization, scheduling, RSS auto-downloading, and Mainline DHT. Additionally, uTorrent supports the protocol encryption joint specification and peer exchange. Unlike many torrent clients, it does not hog valuable system resources--typically using less than 6MB of memory, allowing you to use the computer as if it weren't there at all.</span><br /><br /></div><div>Undoubtedly, the best torrent client. Very light weight and its got all the necessary features that any client should have. If you look around, you'll see that almost all teh pirates on teh net use utorrent.</div><div><a href="http://utorrent.com/">Website </a>| <a href="http://download.utorrent.com/1.8/utorrent.exe">Download</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">6. 7-Zip/WinRar</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWywXqOHvm4PU9tiSRrgEk2XIKYSZDlYpLJp-LnfqHrEmmqaDKV8_A1itrlT41lPSeF4abLlzvXokpFJVYdcYWoiop5UR_byOKs8QXspWw4-LUie0FReVqb1utk_a2QKj7vhj4r0Kiv_I/s1600-h/open-source-crave-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWywXqOHvm4PU9tiSRrgEk2XIKYSZDlYpLJp-LnfqHrEmmqaDKV8_A1itrlT41lPSeF4abLlzvXokpFJVYdcYWoiop5UR_byOKs8QXspWw4-LUie0FReVqb1utk_a2QKj7vhj4r0Kiv_I/s320/open-source-crave-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240602894521320402" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk322oRKrMopyZOzy2kW2jOGzXZeP-nYa_k5HucPYFy0OrRlpEdQjQ9Iw_lJbBLYqdL8O5sozfAwG32Oa5xiJ1beNL1CtzxwGZtHcC9V851RkFq6C1mPq0iFs8yJZokD4lxYtreGoHF9o/s1600-h/winrar-logo.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk322oRKrMopyZOzy2kW2jOGzXZeP-nYa_k5HucPYFy0OrRlpEdQjQ9Iw_lJbBLYqdL8O5sozfAwG32Oa5xiJ1beNL1CtzxwGZtHcC9V851RkFq6C1mPq0iFs8yJZokD4lxYtreGoHF9o/s320/winrar-logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240604297738795826" border="0" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7-Zip</span><br />7-Zip<span style="font-style: italic;"> is </span><b style="font-style: italic;">open source</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> software. Most of the source code is under the </span><b style="font-style: italic;">GNU LGPL</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> license.</span> <b style="font-style: italic;">7-Zip</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> works in Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista. There is a port of the command line version to Linux/Unix.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Compression ratio results are very dependent upon the data used for the tests. Usually, </span><b style="font-style: italic;">7-Zip</b> compresses to 7z format 30-70% better than to zip format. And <b style="font-style: italic;">7-Zip</b><span style="font-style: italic;"> compresses to zip format 2-10% better than most of other zip compatible programs.</span><br /><a href="http://www.7-zip.org/">Website </a>| <a href="http://downloads.sourceforge.net/sevenzip/7z457.exe">Download</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">WinRAR</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;">WinRAR is a powerful archive manager. It can backup your data and reduce size of email attachments, decompress </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rarlab.com/rar_file.htm">RAR</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rarlab.com/zip_file.htm">ZIP</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> and </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.rarlab.com/otherfmt.htm">other</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> files downloaded from Internet and create new archives in RAR and ZIP file format.</span><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.rarlab.com/">Website</a></span> | <a href="http://www.rarlab.com/rar/wrar38b5.exe">Download</a><br /><br />I currently use WinRAR. I've only rarely had to use 7zip for extracting some files that WinRAR couldnt. Anyway, since 7zip extracts more file types and compresses them better, its the clear better recommendation. But since I've been using WinRAR for the past several years now, I wouldn't give it a thumbs-down either. They're both win-win for me. :)<br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">7. VLC</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrXpn1pjFAMWfP-VDVkeF4OHqwTqA8dx8mky_UnIHaP914hTJlOH5dwYLRyzKT7ilQDAhVHZS6VVBvlSD5cEUcADYdzN2QJIB0TXoC3t7hkd4Cm5EBXED_ktAqklvt8s79_Y5pVUSIgc/s1600-h/vlc-logo.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQrXpn1pjFAMWfP-VDVkeF4OHqwTqA8dx8mky_UnIHaP914hTJlOH5dwYLRyzKT7ilQDAhVHZS6VVBvlSD5cEUcADYdzN2QJIB0TXoC3t7hkd4Cm5EBXED_ktAqklvt8s79_Y5pVUSIgc/s320/vlc-logo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240603751389735442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">VLC media player is a highly portable </span></span><strong style="font-style: italic;">multimedia player</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as </span><strong style="font-style: italic;">DVD</strong><span style="font-style: italic;">s, </span><strong style="font-style: italic;">VCD</strong><span style="font-style: italic;">s, and various </span><strong style="font-style: italic;">streaming</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> protocols.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> It can also be used as a </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/streaming.html">server to stream</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> in unicast or </span><strong style="font-style: italic;">multicast</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> in IPv4 or </span><strong style="font-style: italic;">IPv6</strong><span style="font-style: italic;"> on a high-bandwidth network.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"> It doesn't need any external codec or program to work.</span><br /><br /></div><div>To impatient to see the video that hasn't even completed downloading? Well no worries, VLC would play that as well! No Codecs hassles. Watch incomplete-downloaded videos, improper-file-extension-name videos and any shit you wish to with VLC.</div><div><a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html">Download</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">8. Total Video Converte</span>r<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aeQBc3GS1x0BvtnItkVo82f1jO8tsmj3GQ-MDvQJfv0INMYLyhAnPSHT1HAPEuHCFKrit91iOdWp8A_J4rCihmtjhcriolgI7S3Pze35gbN0mH5ta0EWTTwehQ-kzrGlkelSQ_me6Ks/s1600-h/7532-Alkazar-TotalVideoConverter.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8aeQBc3GS1x0BvtnItkVo82f1jO8tsmj3GQ-MDvQJfv0INMYLyhAnPSHT1HAPEuHCFKrit91iOdWp8A_J4rCihmtjhcriolgI7S3Pze35gbN0mH5ta0EWTTwehQ-kzrGlkelSQ_me6Ks/s320/7532-Alkazar-TotalVideoConverter.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240601869971193362" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"><b>Total Video Converter</b> 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.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Verdana;font-size:13px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Georgia;"><div>Total Video Converter is hands-down the best video converter I've ever used. I've never had the problem of unrecognized file formats since it offers just so many options! You can also edit the audio bit rate and the video frame rate etc. Add black-bars to the horizontal or vertical edges and convert video files to audio samples. TVC owns. The only downside is that its not freeware. However cracks/serials are freely available on the net, all you've got to do is search. And trust me, it's worth the effort.</div><div><a href="http://www.effectmatrix.com/total-video-converter/">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.effectmatrix.com/total-video-converter/tvc.exe">Download</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; ">9. Daemon</span><br /></div></span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplCZzbWs6ecm1NbUeDpwAPmhYPBe7Akl5z32coYj03su9XdVuy6fL3lfkqFKQ_p5LfH5ycDAz2PNZnaiD9Wvxk8YYfC4uLhZnhhDU8DknTjPiq3Y_jVnso14z9i6_2Mj5ENMffNq9dNI/s1600-h/daemon+tools.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgplCZzbWs6ecm1NbUeDpwAPmhYPBe7Akl5z32coYj03su9XdVuy6fL3lfkqFKQ_p5LfH5ycDAz2PNZnaiD9Wvxk8YYfC4uLhZnhhDU8DknTjPiq3Y_jVnso14z9i6_2Mj5ENMffNq9dNI/s320/daemon+tools.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240602887385373442" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">DAEMON Tools is CD & DVD emulation software which allows users to make CD/DVD disc images, create a virtual CD / DVD drives and play CDs & DVDs without the need for the physical disc. It supports more CD / DVD image types than any other CD emulator. It is able to emulate nearly all CD / DVD image types on the market today.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Easy to use and efficient. I've never had to go looking for any other emulation software.</span><br /></span><a href="http://www.daemon-tools.cc/">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php?mode=ViewCategory&catid=5">Download</a><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">10. Spybot</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBtXE1Na7O3bisP2nyX9ximDYdMvgcpSTQvfBKFRo74Wwh0437ZvtELOHqM2yJmrKKcSWCgK7i8UDDflK9pJn6Z04RZoj78sbAsJYxuGKiIrDrrGm1ePwyjdka192rW3CHnzzCD5x9io/s1600-h/spybotlogo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBtXE1Na7O3bisP2nyX9ximDYdMvgcpSTQvfBKFRo74Wwh0437ZvtELOHqM2yJmrKKcSWCgK7i8UDDflK9pJn6Z04RZoj78sbAsJYxuGKiIrDrrGm1ePwyjdka192rW3CHnzzCD5x9io/s320/spybotlogo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240603746292189426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you have been working on. And for professional users, Spybot-S&D allows you to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Simple and excellent Spyware remover. Recommended by millions all over the net, Spybot owns all. Just run this application every once in a while and stay spyware-free.</div><div><a href="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/index.html">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.safer-networking.org/en/mirrors/index.html">Download</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">11. Avast/AVG/Avira</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28KgD0RYW1bkQDIzkMubhWT4f_s6TfCDE5xja6rWDUF-S9ih0-yxd9kcubzS3kQekIEB0p7_fXXPMDA6SE6KoBmSd4n9kHVNoJ_IkGtAXfBneaRMgLJDuUu69sNs7FvXc1zVaefoCk3s/s1600-h/avast_logo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28KgD0RYW1bkQDIzkMubhWT4f_s6TfCDE5xja6rWDUF-S9ih0-yxd9kcubzS3kQekIEB0p7_fXXPMDA6SE6KoBmSd4n9kHVNoJ_IkGtAXfBneaRMgLJDuUu69sNs7FvXc1zVaefoCk3s/s320/avast_logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240601873171339602" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdGRdeiz2WpBBd6_ExYxFG3T4uKAjErRfpLMo4w30vhckWyUTcjPUEdGovfmTCA-sZXek05_04HPydCHfG4wklSW1xDJXk3usUGgkwfgzhLjgduUXgC_2UYXBtlgYWBM-zvMWdoyBkk8/s1600-h/avira_logo_red_rgb.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSdGRdeiz2WpBBd6_ExYxFG3T4uKAjErRfpLMo4w30vhckWyUTcjPUEdGovfmTCA-sZXek05_04HPydCHfG4wklSW1xDJXk3usUGgkwfgzhLjgduUXgC_2UYXBtlgYWBM-zvMWdoyBkk8/s200/avira_logo_red_rgb.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240604689464335106" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HtWdS6AxgvFcJ2CG-kPnEUhup9kt5IR4SbBZks2Q2lNO42U13g8681C9SIslo4bx5xbquyIrtkmVnCb_T2L23MlFd7CVawpTLTygDoSm11xs5cZsDHzOdQkEPtwi5fcSGeJRpygyrX8/s1600-h/AVG+AV+Logo_short.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0HtWdS6AxgvFcJ2CG-kPnEUhup9kt5IR4SbBZks2Q2lNO42U13g8681C9SIslo4bx5xbquyIrtkmVnCb_T2L23MlFd7CVawpTLTygDoSm11xs5cZsDHzOdQkEPtwi5fcSGeJRpygyrX8/s320/AVG+AV+Logo_short.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240601873462018946" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Start here.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Avast:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">avast! antivirus Home Edition includes ANTI-SPYWARE protection, certified by the West Coast Labs Checkmark process, and ANTI-ROOTKIT DETECTION based on the best-in class GMER technology. With over 50 million users of avast!, you can rest assured that you are using one of the most tried and trusted products in Windows security.</span><br /><a href="http://www.avast.com/">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html">Download</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">AVG</span>:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">AVG Free offers very good (and very free) protection against viruses and spyware... As a bonus, its real-time LinkScanner technology keeps you from clicking search links to dangerous sites. It's an excellent choice if you need free protection against both viruses and spyware.</span><a href="http://free.avg.com/"></a></div><div><a href="http://free.avg.com/">Website </a>| <a href="http://free.avg.com/ww.download?prd=afe">Download</a></div><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Avira</span>:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus is a comprehensive, easy to use antivirus program, designed to offer reliable free of charge virus protection to home-users only. Avira offers: Extensive Malware Recognition of viruses, Trojans, backdoor programs, worms, etc. Automatic incremental updates of antivirus signatures, engine and entire software.</span><br /><a href="http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php">Website </a>| <a href="http://www.free-av.de/en/download/1/download_avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html">Download</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There are a lot of good anti-viruses to chose from that are freely avaialable on the internet. But the above 3 make my list for the top 3. I currently use AVG and it's worked fine for me. However, it's important that you regularly update the virus-definitions. Run a scan every once in a while and you'll do good.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>That's it for my list. All of the above applications are freewares except for Total Video Converter.</div><div>I'd rather you download these softwares and try them out for yourselves instead of deciding to use them or not by only reading their reviews.</div><div>Do let me know here if theres any application for Windows which you think is essential to be added to this list.</div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-7120077436040759592008-09-03T10:42:00.005+05:302008-09-03T11:16:09.691+05:30*Boom**Bang**Smack!*Google Chrome is here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhnZg2gpi6twmeaKqF-Razn4tX_dcrLdcuovJhU7_CXtCjhkJYq6_w20L8YgpVIY8R1XPOj1P-txW-q2x1WwGRrhBxbE9vIqWKPOV6IOPJ4nMA1IQE-VboUsud1qzZTGjzmMN73Ynd-s/s1600-h/32156_g1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDhnZg2gpi6twmeaKqF-Razn4tX_dcrLdcuovJhU7_CXtCjhkJYq6_w20L8YgpVIY8R1XPOj1P-txW-q2x1WwGRrhBxbE9vIqWKPOV6IOPJ4nMA1IQE-VboUsud1qzZTGjzmMN73Ynd-s/s400/32156_g1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5241663083687802402" border="0" /></a>After just minor rumours about a certain Google Chrome browser that Google were planning to release, Google have officially announced the release of the beta version of <a href="http://www.google.com/chrome">Google Chrome!</a><br /><br />Check it out people! I won't bother writing the 5832349439th review of Chrome on the internet. <a href="http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=google+chrome+reviews">There are plenty of those already!</a><br /><br />The funny part is, Google had actually first announced the arrival and outlined the features of the browser through an online comic book!<br />Yeah! <a href="http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/">Lookie here</a><br /><br />I can tell you though, that I've gone through the browser and most of the features are simply kickass!<br />I'd even go on to say that, in time, it could well overtake Firefox3 as well!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/features.html">Here's</a> the link to the official site mentioning the features of the same.<br /><br /><a href="http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-09-01-n47.html">Blogoscoped reviewed</a> the browser and it outlined the following features:<br /><span></span><blockquote><span>1. </span><strong>Google Chrome is Google’s open source browser project.</strong><br /><span>2. </span><strong>The browser will include a JavaScript Virtual Machine called V8.<br />3. </strong><strong>Google Chrome will use special tabs.</strong><span> Instead of traditional tabs like those seen in Firefox, Chrome puts the tab buttons on the upper side of the window, not below the address bar. </span><br /><span>4. </span><strong>The browser has an address bar with auto-completion features.</strong><span> Called ’omnibox’, Google says it offers search suggestions, top pages you’ve visited, pages you didn’t visit but which are popular amd more.</span><br /><span>5. </span><strong>As a default homepage Chrome presents you with a kind of “speed dial” feature, similar to the one of Opera.<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">6. </span></strong><strong>Chrome has a privacy mode; Google says you can create an “incognito” window “and nothing that occurs in that window is ever logged on your computer.”<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">7. </span></strong><strong>Web apps can be launched in their own browser window without address bar and toolbar.<br /><span style="font-weight: normal;">8. </span></strong><strong>To fight malware and phishing attempts, Chrome is constantly downloading lists of harmful sites.</strong><strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></strong><br /></blockquote><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/chrome/eula.html">Download it</a> and check it out now!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-59999821526222382232008-08-09T12:04:00.007+05:302009-11-22T13:15:36.307+05:30Avoid system-formats to save your PC! Please Backup!I've seen a lot of my friends saying that they had to format they're computers (and thus lose important data) because some virus/trojan had infected their PC. They say they need to re-install the OS altogether to fix the problem and there wasn't any solution.<br />However, more often than not this isn't true. Windows itself provides several ways to fix the mistakes you made or get your pc back to an earlier normal state.<br />If you happened to try to edit some important Windows files (intentionally or unintentionally via some program) and screwed your system up causing it to not boot or pop up several message boxes talking about errors, well then a system-format isn't the only solution.<br />There are simple ways you can fix this without losing out on important data!<br />You can just use a Windows Component called System Restore to restore your computer to an earlier date, when your system was stable. You can even try reverting your registry to an earlier state if registry-editing has caused you problems. Or there also are other backup programs like Norton Ghost that restore your windows files to a predefined stable state.<br />I'll explain these backup methods right away.<br /><br /><strong><u>Backing up Registry.</u></strong><br />I've already mentioned in the article before this one how to backup and restore your registry.<br />This is especially useful when you've edited values in your system registry and it has caused your PC to become unstable.<br />Check the article out <a href="http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/2008/07/backing-up-your-registry.html">here</a>.<br /><br /><strong><u>Using System-Restore.</u></strong><br />This could well be one of the easiest and quickest ways to get yourself out of a mess you just got into.<br />What system-restore does is, it restores your computer to an earlier predefined date, just like taking your PC back in time, sometime when your PC was stable.<br />All you've got to do is regulary set system checkpoints whenever your system is stable so that you can effectively restore to those points in times of trouble!<br />Using System Restore won't affect newly created or deleted files. It only reverts back to a previous system state wherein it will disregard any newly installed software or application.<br />Anyway, lets get down to business on how to make a Checkpoint.<br />Click <em>Start</em>><em>Programs</em>><em>Accessories</em>><em>System</em> <em>tools</em>><em>System</em> <em>Restore</em>.<br />Check the "<em><strong>Create a Restore point</strong></em>" radio button and click <em>Next</em>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjOe51xdt5yY2gNzO9FE_Hix0br_38vGKrF8y7iEBnHu7E-YwxcSFXE56gVKNQ4EOVTX54K_8Rb6C4It7yn18RKEjzKOdjaUB_oC0MzqlEYM29cpuY0ejSK1vpsrorDYbNLdN4tMQaPw/s1600-h/1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232417464992580114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="266" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjOe51xdt5yY2gNzO9FE_Hix0br_38vGKrF8y7iEBnHu7E-YwxcSFXE56gVKNQ4EOVTX54K_8Rb6C4It7yn18RKEjzKOdjaUB_oC0MzqlEYM29cpuY0ejSK1vpsrorDYbNLdN4tMQaPw/s400/1.JPG" width="178" border="0" /></a><br />Here, give your restore point a suitable name. If your doing this after a fresh install of your OS, name it something like "<em>Fresh OS install</em>"!<br />Then click <em>Create</em>!<br />Your done! Your system restore point is created! :)<br /><div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBFxhtVnOdvzhpZe8dzztlLZ7-Gw1_EdoT1rz11_6mdQAhTakCQ6g0d57dJCaZIKul7WPn6tiIZ8lgRe_YjEQH9dTSsHChxYeBDiv4189iVrGLeZrobyTDB2_TUBa3t5syV9ZB_G_57I/s1600-h/2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232418273730183026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBFxhtVnOdvzhpZe8dzztlLZ7-Gw1_EdoT1rz11_6mdQAhTakCQ6g0d57dJCaZIKul7WPn6tiIZ8lgRe_YjEQH9dTSsHChxYeBDiv4189iVrGLeZrobyTDB2_TUBa3t5syV9ZB_G_57I/s200/2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232418396936100962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofB91vJltosUigjqsJQ8xOFGkdTPylq3pHSjSd6-K6gQFdlHUboUTWNwX7oQdTtasFpzNZkNup71FCdvgpNBcIB8Pv_LZMzI01xsfzFnFgo01Jnd9rToWSjBGY1j432KCY7I_N75nLok/s200/3.JPG" border="0" />Now to restore your computer to an earlier date, follow the following steps.<br />Again navigate to <em>Start</em>><em>Programs</em>><em>Accessories</em>><em>System</em> <em>tools</em>><em>System</em> <em>Restore</em>.<br />This time choose "<em><strong>Restore my computer to an earlier time</strong></em>"<br />A calendar will then be displayed featuring all the system restore points that are available to you.<br />Note that, windows creates system restore points on it's own whenever certain programs are installed and you can choose to restore to these points as well.<br />Anyway, navigate to the date you created your desired restore point and on the right window you will see a list of restore points that were created on the day.<br />Choose the appropriate one and then click <em>Next</em>. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232418792725843426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuupkZnZqh9qC5kFxJoHkG-cfXeuew75NBDTREBm_audcXb-j1gFGqwnb8354svcYfjrZFTbfaHSPddt2ngh-1yUW4NYRtAJgJoJsTzsw3ER6aX4bg95T83JG_v_sRyCtRXVkU9Zi-zFw/s320/4.JPG" border="0" />Here you've got to confirm your restore by clicking <em>Next</em> again.<br />On clicking next, your pc reboots and the system-restore process initiates itself.<br />However, a system-restore isn't always successful. If the restore is unsuccessful try another restore point.<br />Remember, the best way to keep your pc and your documents safe is by regulary making restore points. The more the better.<br /><br /><strong><u>Using Norton Ghost.</u></strong><br />Norton Ghost is another wonderful software that quite literally saves your ass when Windows Components/files get corrupted and even System-restore doesn't work.<br />What it basically does is that it creates a virtual image of your disk and saves it another disk on your computer. So when the disk gets corrupted, all you've got to do is replace the corrupted disc with the content from the virtual image! :)<br />You can simply create an image of your C: or wherever your OS is installed and then in times of trouble, just replace the entire C: with an earlier, stable state of the drive.<br />I'll provide links here to some wonderful tutorials/guides made on using Norton Ghost.<br />Creating Images: <a href="http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/tutorial/nghost_10/2005100407425562.htm">http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/tutorial/nghost_10/2005100407425562.htm</a><br />Restoring from images: <a href="http://ghost.radified.com/ghost_3.htm">http://ghost.radified.com/ghost_3.htm</a><br /><br /><strong><u>Other backup.</u></strong><br />Well for frequent bookmarkers like me, it's disastrous when I lose all my Mozilla Firefox bookmarks after a format or unprecedented error.<br />What I do is, I use <a href="http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/">MozBackup</a>! :)<br />It's a simple freeware utility that allows to create and restore backups for your browser.<br />It's a tiny 1mb file. You can download it from <a href="http://downloads.sourceforge.net/mozbackup/MozBackup-1.4.8-EN.zip?download">here</a>.<br /><br />Apart from these backup methods, you should also always backup important files on a drive apart from where your OS is installed i.e. usually C:.<br />Better yet, if you've got more than one HDD, save a copy on the other one or even on a USB stick if needed.<br /><br />Remember, formatting isn't always the solution. Even try google if its a specific application-related problem your facing. You could save yourself the trouble of losing out on important data!<br />Keep backing up! Ciao! :)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-31528625082173901952008-07-29T11:56:00.004+05:302009-11-22T13:14:47.671+05:30Backing up your registry.Some of our readers found the registry edit tweaks a little too dicey and thus avoided them completely. Consequently, I've decided to make a post here, explaining how you can backup your entire windows registry. This helps when you screw things up while editing your windows registry.<br />All you do then to revert to your original settings is double click the backup file!<br />So lets get going..<br /><br />1. Head over to the "<span style="font-style: italic;">Run</span>" menu. Do (the microsoft button)+r or <span style="font-style: italic;">Start</span>><span style="font-style: italic;">Run</span>.<br />2. Enter "<span style="font-weight: bold;">regedit</span>" in the text field and hit enter to fire up Windows Registry editor.<br />3. On the left pane, navigate upwards, right to the top and highlight "<span style="font-style: italic;">My computer</span>"<br />4. Then click "<span style="font-style: italic;">File</span>" and "<span style="font-style: italic;">Export</span>..." in the drop-down menu.<br />5. Now you've got to save your backup file anywhere on your computer with any name you wish. I recommend you to name it as "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Registry Backup 29_07_2008</span>" or something like that so you know what the file is and when the backup was made.<br />6. Click "<span style="font-style: italic;">Save</span>" once you've selected your desired destination.<br />A <span style="font-weight: bold;">.reg</span> (Registration file) of approximately 50mb is created.<br /><br />Your now done with making your backup!<br /><br />After editing your registry while trying tweaks on this site or any other site, in case things do not go as planned, just come back to this file and double click it!<br />You will be asked if you're sure you want to add the information to your registry. Click <span style="font-style: italic;">Yes</span> your done!<br /><br />So now you can try out the registry edit-related tweaks here without fear!<br />Enjoy the site! :)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-24858732593637519542008-07-20T12:21:00.013+05:302009-11-22T13:16:25.844+05:30Edit "Start" in the start button to any other text!Yeah, using this tweak you can edit the "Start" in the Start menu to anything you like; your name, your dog's name, anything at all! ;)<br /><div><div>Credits to Jim Foley a.k.a. TheElderGeek at <a href="http://www.theeldergeek.com/">http://www.theeldergeek.com/</a> for this kickass tweak.</div><div>I tweaked mine to look like my gaming nick, "xatax"! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3iFegaRV3EP57cpTntBstfeSOQbKSInE8hF8zaEHQp_ksLeZl7rQCIQLWVHKuFx5LLqPp75i1HfNA6oCiBTAmeMJj4eLgHaKCB3Am8gQ8i6kSxkCAT59R_O2t3LKMS7ppJpNdCzXmfY/s1600-h/pic1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224997883272683538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3iFegaRV3EP57cpTntBstfeSOQbKSInE8hF8zaEHQp_ksLeZl7rQCIQLWVHKuFx5LLqPp75i1HfNA6oCiBTAmeMJj4eLgHaKCB3Am8gQ8i6kSxkCAT59R_O2t3LKMS7ppJpNdCzXmfY/s400/pic1.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Before beginning, I'd like to make it very clear that this tweak involves editing your Windows Registry and WINDOWS core files (explorer.exe). There is always a risk of causing harm to your system. I've tried this tweak and it has worked fine for me. However, it may or may not work with you. If you mess up, I will not assume any responsibilty. I'd try my best to help you out of the mess though. :)</strong></div><div><strong>This tweak works for Windows XP Home and Professional versions. If you are using any other OS, avoid this tweak.</strong></div><div></div></div><div>You can safely try this tweak by first backing up your registry. To learn how to backup your registry, <a href="http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/2008/07/backing-up-your-registry.html">click here</a>. <div><br /></div><div>Lets begin.</div><div>First you need to install <a href="http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/">Resource Hacker</a>. Resource HackerTM is a freeware utility to view, modify, rename, add, delete and extract resources in 32bit Windows executables and resource files (*.res). It incorporates an internal resource script compiler and decompiler and works on Win95, Win98, WinME, WinNT, Win2000 and WinXP operating systems. Click <a href="http://delphi.icm.edu.pl/ftp/tools/ResHack.zip">here</a> to directly download it to your pc.</div><div>Unzip and run ResHacker.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224998679748570818" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8B9yDDR6Qn6w1F6b2vGgQ-MuuvYtKiMQBsBvb96Gg8XVUmLTgj8tXTyyiQxhbd4T76LZzC5CLjHWPSrFKZF-rGqMoHvTej0S2pdg63rhd4OA21l1QF7ZRCba4xg26vK0AY09HAc8qLvE/s400/pic2.JPG" border="0" /> Now go to <em>File>Open</em> and navigate to <em>C:\Windows\explorer.exe</em> (Be sure not to make a mix up with explorer.scf).<br /><div>On the left pane, navigate to <em>String Table>37>1033</em>. Here, as you may have already guessed, we edit line <em>578</em>.</div><div>Simply replace "<em>start</em>" with text of your choice without removing the quotation marks. "<em>xatax</em>" in my case.</div><div>Now click <strong>Compile Script</strong>! Next, from the File menu, DO NOT "<em>Save</em>". Use "<em>Save as</em>" and save it as <strong>explorer.exe</strong> in any folder <em>within C:\Windows</em> (that does not already contain an explorer.exe file) but NOT C:Windows itself. I used <em>C:Windows\inf</em>. You could do the same.</div><div></div><br /><div>Now all we've got to do is edit the registry so that windows accesses the edited explorer.exe file whenever the user logs on.</div><div>Fire up Registry Editor. (<em>Start>Run</em>. Enter <strong>regedit</strong> in the text field.)</div><div>Navigate to <strong>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows NT\ CurrentVersion\ Winlogon</strong></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5224999175991886690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYHNP_A1m4mThowP5zajs7XJxhA7Kz79npGmLin4UXHu72nCJ4FU2DOSkVAFkPBh1w979wgMtjB58EGA2xuc0XkuuMURN0gkQb75zehNjYOvDu6LoB6mTBC-cgVK4PPrcw9m31Ii33u8c/s400/pic3.JPG" border="0" /> <div>In the right pane, navigate to the "<strong>Shell</strong>" entry. Double click it to edit the string. In the <em>Value data</em> line, enter the directory and file name that was used to save explorer.exe . In my case, <strong>inf/explorer.exe</strong> .</div><div>Hit ok. <em>F5</em> to refresh. Close the Registry Editor. Log off and log back on or simply reboot and you should see the new edited Start button! :)</div><div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6040639865985957105.post-23436442824643680692008-07-11T06:41:00.016+05:302009-11-22T13:17:23.193+05:30How to hide files inside an imageThis is an old but neat trick to hide files on your comp. it works because most people wouldn't really think of hiding stuff inside a JPEG file. They would either change the File Properties to 'Hidden' [but this can easily be revealed by changing the Folder Properties] or they would use software to hide files [which is not a free option] <div><div><div><br /></div><div>Now, to hide files "inside" an image all you need is a software like WinRAR. Winzip & 7-Zip also work but not as well. Get WinRAR from <a href="http://www.download.com/WinRAR/3000-2250_4-10007677.html?hhTest=1">HERE</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>1.Make a new folder and move all the files you want to hide to this folder. In our case, the folder is <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">C:\Tech-gyaan</span>. The files I intend to hide are "<span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">File1.doc</span>" & "<span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">File2.txt</span>".</div><div>Also move the JPEG image file that you intend to use to this folder.<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221570445813444210" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtENeU6kxC0oM-NPT4rZg5055Ay_0H8YpZuEDcqpSdV7JTp3fhFaTe4idxLq_EruMrmCClfkoBMtm1JC0OOgJiHjFBOmb1YdCVjh5YBhQd7M0-J9R6CGSDlntOY7VsYYuHeuz4vZHjjlM/s400/tg17.bmp" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>2. Now select all the files you want to hide, right click, and select <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">'Add to Archive'</span>. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221570918435944274" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRV0TQhTV-LiRzmQEz4hmrvNx1jQ7NC3nxvLGjZWMrT8JenyJxOVekGIaVf915pZBH8zTFePkQlVywE0u2x9zAUjdtyZue4DtB1oPvTSRh462FDDoftKK_xgqzMBQkPeczdvEoyctVJEA/s400/tg13.bmp" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdP_h210IxeBLLQ3KRjKNaol4C5i5iAyX-YB1PwFXqiZiv8zf64zYfpZk4cGUP-121Kj7YLV3qwFCWVzBb8f1sV0ZQZRa29_fiiVMWTH44Cu05l_Ly_0um4vgkWJLGj3yVn7kKRUMfeM/s1600-h/tg14.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221571380791212802" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 377px; height: 358px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdP_h210IxeBLLQ3KRjKNaol4C5i5iAyX-YB1PwFXqiZiv8zf64zYfpZk4cGUP-121Kj7YLV3qwFCWVzBb8f1sV0ZQZRa29_fiiVMWTH44Cu05l_Ly_0um4vgkWJLGj3yVn7kKRUMfeM/s400/tg14.bmp" width="389" border="0" height="365" /></a><br /><div>In the window that pops up, name the archive anything you want. I've named it <span style="color: rgb(204, 255, 255);">TG.rar</span></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><br /><br />3. Next, go to <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">Start-> Run</span>. Type in '<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">cmd</span>' to open the command prompt. Type in <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">cd..</span> until you come to the root C: drive. Next, type <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">cd Tech-gyaan</span> or whatever is the name of the folder you've created.<br /></div><div> </div><div>Now type in "<span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);">copy /b Image.JPG + TG.rar Image.jpg</span>" without quotes & press Enter. <em>[Replace 'TG' & Image with the appropriate name of the respective files on your comp]</em></div><div></div><div> </div><div>You should see a response like the one below saying '1 file(s) copied.'<br /></div><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221568832478596946" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMi4QWWMt2dnIxe0Z2qRhwUxvIMQ4kehQVeayigJB1-9whnliOfiPs4oBgAsRlPOuYbIQ4zpq8GyzAwiDLyq9hHz95U3zVklCBpVrLQS5syfwqhx344lZyGjv2gBFFBb6j-msJ76cRAnY/s400/tg15.bmp" width="415" border="0" height="112" /><br /><div>That's it! You've successfully hidden those files inside the image. Anyone else will just think that its a normal image. Nothing more!</div><br /><div>You'll notice that the size of the JPEG image increases a bit. Now to access those hidden files when you need them, you can right click on the image file, go to <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">'Open With'</span> and select <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">WinRAR</span> from the list of programs. If WinRAR is not displayed in the list, simply click on <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">'Choose program'</span> and then scroll down to<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 204);">WinRAR</span>. You should now be able to see your hidden files in WinRAR. You can extract them if you want to.</div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div> </div><div>You could even encrypt or password protect the rar file for better security.</div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Liked this article? You'll find a lot more here at http://tech-gyaan.blogspot.com/</div>TGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07250411580389602995noreply@blogger.com0