Victory Lion's Blogosphere

Ubuntu 10.04(Lucid Lynx) beta now available for download

2010-03-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

With the final release of Ubuntu 10.04 due in just under a month, things appear to be right on schedule at Canonical. Yesterday the Lucid beta download page went live and eager testers rapidly descended upon the mirrors.

One key addition to the beta is Wubi. If you're not familiar with it, Wubi is a Windows program which allows you to install Ubuntu on the same drive as your Windows install. It's an extremely simple way to take Ubuntu for a test drive -- or make it a permanent fixture on your system.

137 years of Popular Science Magazine now online

2010-03-06T04:02:00.000-08:00

The entire 137 year archive of Popular Science Magazine is now available for online free browsing. You can view the entire collection's issues as they appeared at time of publication. It's definitely fun to go back in time and view cutting edge science throughout the years.

Right now, you can search by inputting key words in the search box, however they plan to roll out a browse-by-issue cover interface in the future with more advanced features for searching. Popular Science partnered with Google to make the archive possible.

Google Apps: Top 10 in 2009

2010-01-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a list of Google services that were launched or were significantly improved in 2009.

10. Google Public DNS - a DNS resolution system that doesn't offer too many features, but it's free and fast. Very fast.

9. Google Fast Flip - a service that lets you quickly browse news. It's easy to use and it's a better way to discover interesting news articles than Google News.

8. Google Squared - an innovative way to dynamically generate collections and facts about each item. It's an extension of Google Sets and you can use it to create lists.

7. Google Wave - an online platform for collaboration in real-time. While there are many interesting features in Google Wave, Google's implementation of the Wave protocol is too confusing and difficult to use.

6. Google Translate added new languages, made it easier to find web pages written in other languages and to translate web pages in real-time. You can now use Google Translate in Gmail, Google Docs, Google Groups and many other Google services.

5. Google Maps aggregated information about locations in place pages, started to show more search results and to use its own mapping data in the US. Google also launched Google Maps Navigation, "internet-connected GPS navigation system with voice guidance. It is part of Google Maps for mobile and is available for phones with Android 1.6 and higher." Unlike other navigation apps, Google's Android app is free, but it's limited to the US.

4. Google Image Search added many advanced search options: color filter, size filter, Creative Commons search and an option that lets you find similar images. There's also a great Android app that helps you search the web visually: Google Goggles.

3. Google Search added a toolbelt with many options that help you refine search results: you can restrict the results to forums and recent web pages, find pages shared by your friends, view page thumbnails and explore related searches. Other changes include a redesigned homepage with bigger buttons and less links, Google Suggest as a standard feature and more sitelinks.

2. Android, Google's mobile operating system, had 3 major releases and it's now used by more than 20 devices. Companies like HTC, Motorola, Samsung bet on Android and there are many cool applications that are only available for Android: Goggles, Sky Map, Google Navigation.

1. Google Chrome, the most innovative Google software released last year, continues to be a trendsetter when it comes to simplicity and great performance. It now supports themes and extensions, it has a bookmark sync engine and you can download native versions for Linux and Mac. Chrome is the most significant component of Chrome OS, a browser-centric operating system for notebooks, and a strategic project that helps Google push the web forward. Even if that means improving Internet Explorer.

Google Chrome Operating System

2009-11-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Google Inc is opening its much-anticipated Chrome software to external developers, as the search giant prepares to expand its reach into operating systems. The company hosted a media event on Thursday to show off the free cloud-based software, which it hopes to have on the market in netbooks ahead of the 2010 holiday season. Google executives said they designed Chrome with an emphasis on speed, security and simplicity. The software currently starts up on a PC in seven seconds, and Google said it is hoping to cut the boot time further. But the company said Chrome at least initially will not be able to run on just any PC, and it plans to specify certain hardware requirements to run the software, such as solid-state hard drives. With Chrome, Google is seeking to challenge the dominance of Microsoft Corp's Windows, which runs on nine out of 10 personal computers.

By opening up Chrome's source code, Google hopes to encourage outside developers to innovate on top of its operating system and design new applications. Google said all data in Chrome will automatically be housed in the so-called cloud, or on external servers, but also cached on the computer's internal hardware to boost performance. It also said Chrome applications, which are used for such every day tasks such as word processing and email, will be Web-based.

Microsoft's U Turn on Windows 7 Starter Limit

2009-05-30T04:03:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp said on Friday it would not limit the number of applications available at one time on the Starter edition of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, reversing its earlier strategy of limiting its capabilities and urging users to upgrade.

The move is a significant climbdown for Microsoft as it looks to keep a hold on the fast-growing market for small, cheap personal computers - known as netbooks - which are the principal market for the most basic version of Microsoft's new operating system, expected to roll out later this year. The world's largest software company had originally planned that users could run only three programs at one one time using Starter. The new plan would not limit the number of applications that could be used. "We believe these changes will make Windows 7 Starter an even more attractive option for customers who want a small notebook PC for very basic tasks, like browsing the web, checking email and personal productivity," a Microsoft executive wrote in of the company's public blogs.

Microsoft acknowledged its plan to limit Starter's capabilities and then try to sell users upgrades, had not been well received by potential customers and partners, which are generally looking to increase the powers of netbooks rather than impose limitations. Netbooks, or notebook PCs, have taken the computing world by storm in the last year or so, offering stripped-down functions on a small screen for only a few hundred dollars. Young users in particular have embraced them as an easy and cheap way to surf the Internet and send e-mails while on the move or at a cafe.

Microsoft noted that the Starter edition will still be inferior to its other, more expensive versions, designed for use on full PCs. Windows 7 Starter will not allow use of more than one monitor, support Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV, or contain a number of other features. But Microsoft pointed out that its more advanced Windows 7 versions will also work on netbooks.

GMail: Inserting Images in Text Body, now possible

2009-04-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Google Labs reports a new feature in GMail.

The new “Inserting images” Labs feature that has been added to Google’s email client must not be mistaken with the option to attach images to outgoing emails; what this feature does is go beyond adding a simple attachment, it lets you insert images to the message body. The bonus is that you can add images you have stored locally, or you can add the URL address of an online image (a preview is available so that you can be sue the image is the one you want to add).

Follow these 3 simple steps in order to activate the new feature provided by Google Labs:

Step 1 – Go to Gmail and login to your account. If you do not have one, perhaps this would be the best time to sign up (it’s free and you get tons of features to play with). If you already have a Google account and you are logged in, access Labs by simply clicking here.

Step 2 – In the top right corner of the screen, right next to your user name you should be able to see “Settings”; click it. Now locate “Labs” and click it as well.

Step 3 – Locate “Inserting images” and select “Enable”. Use a keyboard shortcut (such as the one available to Firefox users: Ctrl + F and type in “Inserting images”) to rapidly locate the feature. Click “Save Changes” (at the bottom of the screen) and you’re done.

After the feature has been enabled, when you compose an email, simply click the add images icon to insert the images of your choosing. Remember that you must first enable “rich formatting”. Here is how it should look when you have “Inserting images enabled.

Microsoft releases Sharepoint Designer 2007 as a free download

2009-04-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

The page states that Microsoft is "implementing a number of changes to promote and facilitate even more customization efforts on top of the SharePoint platform." One good way to do that is to get more developers to download and use Designer, and making it free should certainly help things along.

In general, the developer community is always slightly aloof when Microsoft announces they're releasing something for free. To ease minds, they put together a Q&A page to shed some light on the hows and whys of the Sharepoint change.

You'll need an MSN passport to sign in and download.

IE8 RC1 released: The Pros and Cons

2009-01-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Microsoft made the downloads publicly available on their web site.In case you have trouble finding the files, here they are:

Windows XP 32-bit

Server 2003 32-bit

Windows XP and Server 2003 64-bit

Vista and Server 2008 32-bit

Vista and Server 2003 64-bit

Here is a close look at the features

A few good things...
1. Accelerators are cool - they provide a ton of additional functionality with just a few clicks.
2. Web slices are a great idea. Now if only there were more than two or three worth installing...
3. Smart Screen is like Linus' grubby old blanket - not overly useful, but reassuring nonetheless.
4. Visual Search previews work very well for sites like Amazon and eBay.
5. The zoom tool is still very handy, especially on smaller displays.
6. Developer tools are very solid - kind of like Firebug, but they're baked right in.
7. Memory usage has been improved over IE7.
A few bad things...
1. The RC1 download weighs in at just over 16mb, more than twice the size of Firefox or Opera.
2. Installation takes quite some time. Have-a-shower-and-put-your-jammies-on long.
3. Rendering needs improvement. GMail looked terrible, as did a few other sites I use frequently.
4. Page load times were slower than Firefox and Chrome across the board.
5. What can I block with InPrivate? But after a full browsing session it has yet to suggest anything to block on any site.
6. Still no download manager. Really? Come on now, not even a basic one?
7. Suggested sites need work. Example: Twitter. Suggested: Yahoo, Friendster, Wikipedia: Twitter.
8. Cpu usage was sometimes out of hand on Flash-heavy sites (Firefox: 21% versus IE: 54%). Whether this is IE's fault or the Flash plugin, it's a problem.

Annular Solar Eclipse on January 26, 2009

2009-01-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 will feature a range of eclipses, starting with an annular solar eclipse on January 26. This particular eclipse will be visible from an area that covers the Indian Ocean and western Indonesia.

Where is the Eclipse Visible?

Sources such as NASA say that the eclipse will be seen in the larger path of the moon's penumbral shadow, which includes the southern third of Africa, Madagascar, many parts of Australia (except Tasmania), south-east India, south-east Asia and Indonesia, on January 26, 2009.

According to Harrington (1997), the cities of Kotabumi and Telukbetung in Indonesia will experience more than six minutes of annularity while Krakatoa (or Krakatau), which will be closer to the shadow’s edge, will experience less than five minutes of annularity. The town of Sampit, in Indonesia’s central Kalimantan province, and Samarinda, the capital of the Indonesian province of East Kalimantan, will witness a lopsided ring-of-fire sunset eclipse as they will be located near the southern extreme of annularity.

Eclipses in 2009

The eclipse set for January 26 is not the only eclipse that will occur in 2009. The list of eclipses for 2009 includes:

An annular solar eclipse on January 26.
A penumbral lunar eclipse on February 9.
A penumbral lunar eclipse on July 7.
A total solar eclipse on July 22.
A penumbral lunar eclipse on August 6.
A partial lunar eclipse on December 31.

Source : Time and Date

Google adds video embeds to Gmail Chat

2009-01-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

Google has added a new video preview to Gmail Chat.

If you want to share a video from YouTube or Google Video with someone, just drop the URL into your chat window.

A thumbnail image will show up in the chat window, and if you click on the preview a small video player will open up on the same page.

As you'd expect, this feature does not work with web videos that are not hosted by Google.
So you can't embed Hulu. DailyMotion, or Viddler videos just yet.

Google launches Picasa for Mac

2009-01-06T07:38:00.000-08:00

Google has released a public beta of its Picasa for Mac beta, desktop software to organize photos in one place, edit pictures, and share them online with friends and family.

This was announced by Google during the Macworld. Picasa for Mac makes it easy to manage large photo collections and helps users make professional-looking edits without any technical knowledge, including:
* A drag-and-drop photo collage tool that gives users control over layout and content
* A retouching brush to wipe out scratches and blemishes - and repair old photos
* A slideshow movie maker that uploads users photo montage videos to YouTube with a click
* Smart auto-cropping that guides users on how to zoom in on their subject
* And, auto red-eye removal.

Picasa for Mac integrates seamlessly with Picasa Web Albums, Google's free photo-sharing site, which offers features like name tags, the ability for users to automatically organize and share their photos based on the faces in each picture.

Picasa for Mac is available for free download in US English at: http://picasa.google.com/mac/.

Windows 7 Beta ISO leaked on torrent

2008-12-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

That's right, there's already been an ISO file leaked to several torrent trackers.

The ISO appears to contain the Windows 7 M1 build (7000) highlighted by Paul Thurrott on SuperSite. So far the new build seems to perform slightly better than 6801, and memory usage has been improved. A number of previously hidden features - like the iconized task bar - are also now active.

If you want to get your hands on it, check your favorite torrent search site. Also keep in mind that this is a leak, and there's always the possibility that the ISO has been tampered with.

Google Image Search adds search by style feature

2008-12-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Google has added a new search by style feature to its Image Search page. You can search for pictures from news items, pictures with faces, clip art, line drawings, or photos.

For some items, like "Apple" the results are impressive. If you click faces, you get pictures of Steve Jobs. If you click clip art or line drawings, you get cartoon-like images of apples. But some queries return funnier results. For example, a clip art search for "juice" returns plenty of drawings of juice boxes and glasses of juice. But when you click on the news content tab you find pictures of OJ Simpson, among other things.

Wiki turns friendly to mobiles

2008-12-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

While you were always able to access the site via any normal WAP enabled handset with HTML support, it would either take too long to load the page or look a little off due to either compression or your browser struggling to house the site in entirety.

Well worry no longer mobile maniacs; Wiki has gone mobile with a mobile friendly site mobile.wikipedia.org. It’s an extremely simple interface that enables you to get your Wiki info a whole lot easier than ever before. True there have been Wiki-friendly applications and services via SMS etc. but there isn't anything like the original.

Google Chrome (BETA)

2008-12-13T04:03:00.000-08:00

Google reports that Google Chrome is now out of Beta.

"Since we first released Google Chrome, the development team has been hard at work improving the stability and overall performance of the browser. In just 100 days, we have reached more than 10 million active users around the world (on all seven continents, no less) and released 14 updates to the product. We're excited to announce that with today's fifteenth release we are taking off the "beta" label!Google Chrome is a better browser today thanks to the many users who sent their feedback and the many more who enabled automatic crash reports, helping us rapidly diagnose and fix issues.

Some of the areas where we've made great progress include:

Better stability and performance of plug-ins (particularly video). Video and audio glitches were among the most common bugs fixed during the beta period. If you had problems watching videos with Google Chrome in the past, you should be pleasantly surprised with the performance now.

Even more speed. Google Chrome starts up fast, loads pages quickly, and just keeps getting faster. Since the first beta, the V8 JavaScript engine runs 1.4 times faster on the SunSpider benchmark and 1.5 times faster on the V8 benchmark — and there is more speed to come.

Bookmark manager and privacy controls. We heard you! Better bookmark features were a top request from our users. It's now easier to switch between another browser and Google Chrome with the bookmark import and export features, and we added a new simple way to manage large numbers of bookmarks, too.

Download Google Chrome and try it out. Let Google know what you think.

Airtel Launches "Self Care"

2008-12-06T03:03:00.001-08:00

Airtel Telemedia Services has launched 'Airtel Self Care' - an online account management facility for its broadband and landline customers.

With Airtel Self Care customers can view their last four bills, get unbilled usage details, make bill payments online through credit cards and debit cards, subscribe to the monthly e-bill service, segregate their personal calls, view their bill analysis and summary, place online requests/complaints and view their status, update their demographic details and see graphical representation of their calling patterns and usage.

Customers need to log on to www.airtel.in and register themselves to avail of this facility.

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Google Friend Connect Beta released..

2008-12-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Google has released Friend Connect today.

What exactly does this new feature do for you? The
Official Google Blog has more on it, but essentially it allows you to sign into sites using your logins from Google, Yahoo, AIM or OpenID, and “join” a site so that you can communicate with other people who have joined the same site. Essentially you can think of it as a Web wide social network.

Site owners can add other widgets to their site beyond the community module (pictured to the right), but thus far we have yet to see any site with other modules installed. As you can see, you’ll be able to browse the other members of the site you are on, and you can also see how many of the members of the site are already friends of yours.

To learn more, please visit www.google.com/friendconnect.

Next Gen USB 3.0 on its way

2008-12-03T09:31:00.000-08:00

The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has finalized specifications for the next-generation transfer technology. USB 3.0 will replace the USB 2.0 specification that was released in April 2000 and standardized by the USB-IF in late 2001.

SuperSpeed USB will offer a speed improvement of up to 10 times over USB 2.0, that offered up to 5 gigabytes per second.

The technology provides the capability for devices to draw additional power for quicker battery charging of portable devices. It will also be backwards-compatible with previous versions of USB.

Since late 2007 - apart from HP, Intel, Microsoft, NEC, ST-NXP Wireless and Texas Instruments that initially the USB 3.0 Promoter Group - more than 200 companies have stepped in.

The initial target markets for USB 3.0 will be PCs and devices that connect to the PC that require high-speed data transfers, including external hard disk drives and DVD players and recorders.

Mumbai Terror : Some un-answered questions...

2008-11-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

For 58 hours, as a bunch of determined, and lethally armed, terrorists held Mumbai to ransom, out to destroy everything, our men in uniform have taken them on, bravely and against all odds. No words will be enough to pay tribute to them.

Here are some questions posted by citizen journalists that may prove to be crucial in the investigations by the security agencies

1. If the terrorists just wanted to kill everyone, they had ample opportunity to do so. They were obviously holding out for some kind of deal. Did the NSG spend those 10 hours negotiating a deal? Did they even make contact? Its hard to believe that the NSG stormed the place and rescued almost every person taken hostage.

2. What was the RDX going to be used for? The police found 8 kgs of RDX behind Taj. Was this forgotten by the terrorists? Or was this a drop point for them to pick up later? The explosions inside the hotels were mainly grenades and plastic explosives.

3. Is it clear at this point that most of the terrorists are Punjabi? Watching videos on India TV, we see them referring to incidents like Babri Masjid and Gujarat and also sporadic Hindi words like Neta, Shanti and parivar, but the accent is undeniably Punjabi. One terrorist also used the word 'Rab' interchangeably with Allah, and referred to 'Waqt' as 'WAKAT'. What is more all their sound bytes were basic monologues, that they seem to have memorised. And in the Big Picture, looking at their clean cut faces, lithe physiques and smart logistical moves and mastery over weapons, what are the chances that these are not terrorists, but trained Pakistani commandos themselves?

4. How did the room service guys not find the bombs if it had been preserved somewhere within the Taj? Some room service guys are involved? Someone inside the Taj is definitely involved.

5. Why did the terrorists not blow up the full building itself? What can be the reason for this? I do not believe that they do not have the ammunition for that or planning. I believe if they wanted they could have done it.

6. The television visuals clearly showed Hemant Karkare wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof vest. How did he get hit in the chest?

And the most dangerous one

7. When a lot of hostages escaped from the Taj at around 3-4 AM on Thursday, none of them were questioned when they escaped from the rear of the Taj. This means that the terrorists as well could don a normal citizen's clothes and escape without any questions asked. What about Mumbai or rather Indian citizens's security if even one among them gets lost in Mumbai's crowds?

Lady Finger to cure Diabetes ?

2008-11-26T07:15:00.000-08:00

This is an email I received and not sure how far this is true.

Please note Lady Finger is called as Bhindi or OKRA in India. Here goes the mail content.

"Last month in one of TV program I learnt of a treatment of Sugar (Diabetes). Since I am diabetic, I tried it and it was very useful and my Sugar is in control now. In fact I have already reduced my medicine.

Take two pieces of Lady Finger (Bhindi) and remove/cut both ends of each piece. Also put a small cut in the middle and put these two pieces in glass of water. Cover the glass and keep it at room temperature during night. Early morning, before breakfast simply remove two pieces of lady finger (bhindi) from the glass and drink that water.

Keep doing it on daily basis. Within two weeks, you will see remarkable results in reduction of your SUGAR.

My sister has got rid of her diabetes. She was on Insulin for a few years, but after taking the lady fingers every morning for a few months, she has stopped Insulin but continues to take the lady fingers every day. But she chops the lady fingers into fine pieces in the night, adds the water and drinks it all up the next morning. Please. try it as it will not do you any harm even if it does not do much good to you, but U have to keep taking it for a few months before U see results, as most cases might be chronic."

Lotus Notes on Nokia Phones

2008-11-21T22:25:00.000-08:00

Nokia and IBM have announced IBM Lotus Notes support for a number of Nokia's S60-based mobile phones.

Lotus Notes Traveler provides real time access to email, calendar, address book, journal and to-do list data and will be available for Nokia devices in December 2008.

"This is another strong affirmation of our business mobility vision, which is to establish partnerships with the world's leading enterprise vendors. This collaboration means nearly 90 percent of business email can be mobilized with Nokia devices, without needing to purchase

additional servers, middleware or licenses. With the presence, position and technology that IBM have in the corporate email market, they are an essential partner for us in enterprise,"

"People need to be connected to their email, information and network when they are out of the office and that has to be done conveniently and on their terms. Lotus Notes Traveler for Nokia devices is a great example of that."

- said Soren Petersen, senior vice president, Nokia.

Google Gets Personal With SearchWiki

2008-11-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Google has added SearchWiki to their Web Search to give users more control over their search experience.

SearchWiki lets users customize search by re-ranking, deleting, adding, and commenting on search results.

With just a single click users can move the results they like to the top or add a new site. They can also write notes attached to a particular site and remove results that they don't feel belong.

These modifications will be shown to users every time they do the same search in the future. SearchWiki is available to signed-in Google users and the changes are stores in their Google Account.

The changes made only affect the user's own searches but one can see how the community has collectively edited the search results by clicking on the "See all notes for this SearchWiki" link.

Wireless Router cum Flower Vaze!

2008-11-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

Saudi Arabia-based telecommunications company STC have designed a wireless internet router that can also be used to hold flowers.

“The STC Router successfully bridges the gap between lifestyle and technology with it’s flower vase functionality,” say the designers.

The following is the quote from Saudi Telecom:

STC (Saudi Telecom) was in need for a unique router design that would provoke a positive emotional response. Wireless internet, Voice over IP, land line telephone and wired DSL are all incorporated into this elegant device.

Find out who is using your wireless network

2008-11-08T04:02:00.000-08:00

If you are suspicious that someone using your wireless network, follow this procedure to find out who is using

Go to Start > run, and type cmd
Type ipconfig next. It will list the default gateway here. Once you have your default gateway address, open your web browser and type it in the URL bar.
Scroll down until you see 'DHCP Server' if it is enabled, continue to the next step.
Check the "DHCP Clients Table". This list will tell you the computer name of everyone connected to your network on DHCP (DHCP automatically configures a computer's IP and DNS settings)

If you are concerned about people connected to your network, click the Wireless tab then click on Security and enable WEP or WPA (recommended). Everyone that wants to connect will need the WEP or WPA key to connect. Note:WPA (wifi protected access) is stronger.

Are you using the latest web browser?

2008-10-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

The researchers' paper, entitled "Understanding the Web Browser Threat", shows that as of June 2008,
only 59.1% percent of Internet users worldwide use the latest major version of their preferred web browser.

Firefox users are the most attentive: 92.2% of them surfed with Firefox 2, the latest major version before the recently released 3.0.

Only 52.5% of Microsoft Internet Explorer users have updated to version 7, which is the most secure according to multiple publicly-cited Microsoft experts
(among them Sandi Hardmeier). The study revealed that 637 million Internet users worldwide who use web browsers are either not running the latest version of their preferred browser or have not installed the latest patches. These users are vulnerable to exploitation due to their web browser's "built-in" vulnerabilities and the lack of more recent security mechanisms such as improved phishing protection.Neglected security patchesOver the past 18 months, the study also shows, a maximum of 83.3% of Firefox users were using the latest major version of the web browser and also had all current patches installed (i.e. latest minor version).

Only 56.1% and 47.6% of Opera and Internet Explorer users, respectively, were similarly utilizing fully-patched web browsers. Apple users are no better: since the public release of Safari 3, only 65.3% of users operate the latest Safari version.

Having users migrate faster to the latest browser version would not only increase security but also make the lives of webmasters easier, as they would need to test and optimize websites for fewer older versions of web browsers.

Source: Google Online Security Blog

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex released

2008-10-31T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ubuntu 8.10 is available for download. There aren't a ton of surprises.
But it does include a number of tweaks, bug fixes, and improvements. Here are just a few:

Improved support for connecting to 3G wireless networks
A utility for loading a fully working Ubuntu installation on a USB disk
There's a new System Cleaner utility that will help identify abandoned software packages
The Nautilus file manager now supports tabs

In addition to Ubuntu 8.10, you can also download the latest version of Kubuntu. Kubuntu is basically Ubuntu with the KDE desktop environment instead of GNOME. Xubuntu 8.10, which uses the Xfce desktop environment is also available.

Gmail for Mobile 2.0 Launched

2008-10-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

Gmail for mobile 2.0, designed to be faster and more reliable in low signal areas and to even support basic offline access on phones like the Nokia N95, Sony Ericsson W910i, and BlackBerry Curve.

The latest version of Gmail for mobile also allows you to access multiple Gmail or Google Apps email accounts from the same application.

Source : Google , GoogleMobile

USB Air Flow Mouse With Scrolling LED Message

2008-10-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is a USB Mouse with built-in fan to help to release heat when you

are using the mouse.
With the innovative design, you can create your own message by the
remote control and store it on the LED scrolling board inside the mouse
and it will
display it when the fan is switched on. Check out the video for yourself!

Google Android Mobile OS: Looks promising

2008-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista SP2 on the cards

2008-10-19T05:28:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 may be grabbing all the headlines these days, but that doesn't mean Microsoft has forgotten about Windows Vista. Microsoft plans to release at least one major update for Windows Vista before launching Windows 7.

In fact, a beta version of Windows Vista SP2 may already be in the hands of some Microsoft partners. Microsoft also plans to release a service pack called SP2 for Windows Server 2008 before Windows 7 drops. If you're feeling like you must have missed something, no there was never an SP1 for Windows Server 2008. But since the OS is built on Windows Vista SP1, the first service pack will get the SP2 treatment.

There's no real information at the moment about what actual changes we'll see in the service packs.

In related news, the first public beta of Windows 7 could be available as soon as mid-December.

Verbatim 500 GB Mediastation

2008-10-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

You can call these as next-gen HDDs or multimedia hard drives offering upto 500GB of capacity. These drives enable users to easily store videos, photos, music and films and then play it back directly via the TV or an audio system.

Weighing just around a Kg, the MediaStation features a 3.5" SATA hard drive for smooth writing and reading of data. It can store upto 1,000 hours of video (Mpeg 4) or 6,300 hours of music (MP3) or 250,000 5-Megapixel photos. The multimedia drive can play back all popular video, audio and graphics formats, including MPEG4, DivX, MP3, WMA, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, JPEG and PNG. All connection cables required for this are available with the drive. The included composite and S-video connection cables ensure picture-perfect playback. The standard version of MediaStation offers a scaled resolution of 1080i. A USB 2.0 connection allows additional data media to be docked with the MediaStation Pro and content transferred or displayed directly onto TV.

In addition to all the features of MediaStation, the MediaStation Pro version offers a WLAN connection with the help of which data from the PC can not only be transferred conveniently to the MediaStation Pro, but can also be played back directly in real time on the TV.

Both MediaStation and MediaStation Pro will be available by November '08 at an MSRP of Rs 15,000.

Freeware Lucky Pick: AnVir Task Manager Free

2008-10-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

AnVir Task Manager provides full set of system tools for Windows that help in every-day work:

System monitoring
Spyware removal
Windows enhancements

Click any process, and AnVir's bottom pane will display everything from an application's creator and signing authority to how many active internet connections it has.

It'll also display a full list of DLLs and other files in use by the selected app.Task Manager Free's connection tab provides detailed port monitoring, giving you a quick look at which of your processes are accessing the 'net.

A quick right-click allows you to kill any process or active TCP connection.It also monitors your system's workload, dropping icons in the system tray that indicate CPU usage (including a breakdown by application) and hard drive temperature, free space, and activity levels (again with per-application info).

Dowload it from here

The "GoogleUpdate.exe" hidden process

2008-10-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

Recently after installing Google Chrome browser, I noticed that there is a hidden process "GoogleUpdate.exe" which runs at startup. Here is an official explanation on this from Google.

Most of the recently released Google software uses live installers that download the required files from Google's servers and enable an auto-updater. Whether you want to install Chrome, Gears, Lively or Google Earth's plug-in, Google first downloads a small setup file that needs an Internet connection to obtain the software.

"GoogleUpdate.exe is a software component that acts as a meta-installer and auto-updater in many downloadable Google applications, including Google Chrome. It keeps your programs updated with the latest features. More importantly, GoogleUpdate allows your Google applications to be rapidly updated if security flaws are discovered"

When GoogleUpdate communicates with Google servers, it sends IDs of GoogleUpdate-managed applications on your computer and general usage information for these applications. GoogleUpdate also uses its own, randomly-generated unique ID number to accurately count total users. This information includes version numbers, languages, operating system, and other install or update-related details, such as whether or not the applications have been run.

Google Update Service uninstalls itself when there is no Google software using it. It may take a few hours after uninstalling Google software for Google Update to uninstall.

To make things even more difficult for those who manually remove the updater, "you may find that your Google programs no longer function properly and, in many cases, you may see GoogleUpdate return automatically".

Thin TVs on its way

2008-01-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

Both LCD and plasma will weigh substantially less in the coming years. How much less?

Many of these TVs will be shipping in 2008 and some in 2009. By and large, the buzz is that, before we get to the next wave of TV technology, there will be some nice improvements in the current stuff.

Freeware Lucky Pick : BurnAware

2008-01-22T23:54:00.000-08:00

BurnAware Free Edition allows you to easily perform the most common disc burning tasks: write to all CD/DVD media types, including Blu-Ray; write Audio CDs and DVD-Video files; create and burn disc images; write multi-session discs and much more.

Features

Absolutely FREE. No spyware, no adware, no banners
Writes to all CD/DVD media types including Blu-Ray (BD-R/BD-RE)
Writes discs from disc images
Writes DVDs from DVD-Video files
Writes Audio CDs from WAV, MP3, or WMA files
Creates disc images
Supports all current hardware interfaces
On-the-fly writing for all image types
Writes Multi-Session to all supported media formats
Auto-verification of written files
Supports unicode for multi-byte languages
Clean, flexible, easy to use interface
Supports Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista (32 and 64 Bit)

Best Valentine Greeting sites

2008-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Rattlebox - Rattlebox is really very good. They have great designs, the interface is nicely designed and the themes themselves are actually decent. You can can change all or some of the text to customize the card, and embed video cards on social networking sites, blogs, etc.

Hipster cards - another witty, well designed e-card site that you would actually want to use. Please note there are some off color options so we're going to note it as - NSFW.

Someecards - their tag line is "when you care enough to hit send." These cards are pen and ink and have funny one liners.

MushyGushy - card site where you can upload you head shot into different animated themes (think JibJab) customize, and send.

Smilebox - site where you choose from various multimedia designs and personalize with photos, video, music, words, and style and share via email, blog, or print.

delivr - send a personalized postcard from photos from your Flickr account or select from the 3 million or so Dlivr offers using the Flickr API to pull back the most interesting photos with an appropriate creative commons license.

meish.org - for the anti-valentine crowd. If you hate satin bears and VD makes you want to hurl, these non-sentimental e-cards will fit the bill for you. Oh and are they funny.That's the extent of our list but not for lack of trying. We specifically avoided the usual suspects, like American Greetings, and any site with animated gifs.

Attention "Skype" users

2008-01-21T05:29:00.000-08:00

Security researcher Aviv Raff has discovered and demonstrated a flaw within Skype that allows malicious code to be run under certain circumstances. The problem is caused by Skype's web control. The program uses Internet Explorer to render internal and external HTML, but does so using "Local Zone" security settings.

The bug currently affects Skype v.3.6.0.244, and may be present in older versions of the client as well. At this point, the solution is to avoid running video searches via Skype. Simply having the program installed or using its various other functions will not expose a system to potential infection.

ASUS PDA Phone

2008-01-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

ASUS has launched their latest PDA phone, the P750 in Mumbai. The P750 is a fully loaded Tri-Band GSM PDA phone with GPS capabilities as well as Wi-Fi, 3.5G with HSDPA and Bluetooth with A2DP connectivity.

The device runs on Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional and supports external memory with microSD cards. It's equipped with a 2.6-inch touch screen display that supports a resolution of 240 x 320 pixels and 65K colors. The ASUS P750 is priced at Rs. 28,900 and is available in stores.

GDesk for UIQ 3 Phones

2008-01-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

This is probably the most user friendly and definitely most appealing software i found for UIQ 3 based phones. I am sure you will never regret having a UIQ 3 based phone after using GDesk.

GDesk is a freeware application which provides the user to design their own desktop. With GDesk, you can convert a Symbian based phone into a iPhone or a Windows CE look and feel. The Gdesk wiki has many designs uploaded from end users.

Official Google Blog: Google News in Hindi

2007-03-19T01:28:00.000-07:00

Official Google Blog: Google News in Hindi

Know your personality by testing your Hand Writing!

2007-03-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

The Handwriting Wizard Self Test is an online tool that allows you to quickly analyze your friend’s handwriting or even your own handwriting. The computer will generate an accurate in-depth report about the personality of the writer.

Ready for the test? Begin the analysis!

Source : E-mail

Plagiarism? No, its just coincidence!

2007-02-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Find out how and from whom our Indian film music directors , so called, Musical maestro , the Musical Whiz kid, King of Music in Bollywood, Pancham Dada and what not... have copied the tunes (oops "have been inspired").

itwoFS is a dedicated "Music Plagiarism" portal. The motive of this site is straight and simple - to provide a comprehensive list of musical inspirations (sometimes subtle and intelligent but mostly downright blatant!) of Indian film music composers. Check it out...

Longest train in the world!

2007-01-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

The train from Nouadhibou to Zouerat in Mauritania is the longest train in the world. The iron ore train carry thousands of tons of crushed rock in a chain of wagons up to three kilometres long. Their schedules and frequencies depend partly on the speed of the extraction at the mines from over the border in Western Sahara.

There are 3 or 4 diesel-electric General Motors 3300V locomotives at the head of the train and about 200 cars each carrying up to 84 tons of iron ore, and a variable number of service cars. The total traffic averages 16.6 billion tons per year.

YObyke - Battery Powered Two-Wheeler

2006-10-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ahmedabad based induction melting furnace maker Electrotherm India Ltd. has introduced the YObyke - a battery powered two-wheeler.

One does not need a licence for this gearless, noiseless and non-polluting vehicle. A 4-to-6 hour recharge is good for 40 to 50 km. The cost is claimed to be 15 to 18 paise per km as against Re. 1 per km for a regular scooterette.

Approved by the Automotive Research Association of India in the below-25-cc or 250-watts category, the maximum speed is 25 km per hour. The price: Rs. 14,000 to Rs. 23,000, depending on the model. The bike has only a 75-kg capacity, so pillion riding will be difficult. Its hub motor is based in the centre of the rear wheel, so it is exposed to waterlogging in the monsoon.

Electrotherm's Rs. 25-crore project will manufacture 120,000 units per year at Samakhiyali in Kutch. Electrotherm will make the controllers and the motors and the batteries and body will initially be imported from Japan, Korea and China. The company also plans to launch an electric three-wheeler designed by Piyush Sharma, a student of Ahmedabad's National Institute of Design (NID). Cost: Rs. 80,000 (the conventional costs Rs. 120,000). Weight: 210 Kg. Cost per km: 30-35 paise. The three-wheeler will need four hours of charging and run for 110 kms with a full battery. It does not have any foot control and can be driven by physically challenged people.

9/11 - whats the true story?

2006-09-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

Five years after the 9/11 massacre, there is a growing concern and a silent awakening happening around the world on what really happened on that tragic day. Researchers & Scientists claim that a plane hitting a tall building cannot have a controlled demolition like we have watched in on TV clippings.

911 True Story is one such website which tells you a completely different story you have never imagined to be..

Pentagon Strike is another site (Video) which says a missile hit at Pentagon and not a Boeing 757..

Well, these sites really makes you think - "whats the real or true story"..