2012, here we come!

So before I forget, here’s wishing you all…

A

very

happy

2012!

Lets hope we are all around to appreciate it though!

The Windows Maintenance HowTo – All the Windows Myths–debunked!

If you are one of those people who worry about your slow systems and for the life of you cannot make out the the reasons why, this guide is for you.
Although a bit old, but still correct and to the point, this Lifehacker article will tell you all about the Windows Maintenance Tips: The Good, Bad, and Useless.
Also, watch this blog about the different ways you can actually fight that ‘Windows getting slow with time’ syndrome.
I will be posting something about regular system maintenance too. So watch this space!

2011 in Science–The biggest breakthroughs of 2011

If you are as passionate about science and tech like I am, hit this link for io9‘s version of -

Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2011

And as for 2012, its going to be an interesting year ahead as well!

Enjoy!

On the side - A perfect winter-sport; provided you have LOTS OF INSURANCE!

Seriously, if this is someone’s idea of Adventure sports, then that someone needs to get his head examined!

A very funny Death Wish!

Need to get hold of duplicate files on the windows system?

Refer the EE post @ LINK which also talks of (windows library feature) and also the excellent utilities mentioned at the Gizmo garage!

Technorati Tags: system,Refer,LINK,library,utilities,Gizmo
Blogger Labels: system,Refer,LINK,library,utilities,Gizmo

Anyone facing slow Windows 7 64 bit installs?

If you are facing slow Windows 7 64 bit installs, it could be the BIOS!

I know this sounds a bit off but you could get some help if you try disabling the floppy drive in BIOS.

Refer my EE link for Windows 7 (64bit) is installing very slow on a AMD A6-3400M

Technorati Tags: bit,64,slow install,drive,floppy,7,Windows,BIOS,Refer
Blogger Labels: bit,64,slow install,drive,floppy,7,Windows,BIOS,Refer

Ever wondered how to add text to the desktop?

In case you have ever required to add any piece of text to your desktop wallpaper, this post is for you!

You can get hold of the excellent sysinternals utility called BGInfo!

For a very specific application, refer to this discussion on Experts-Exchange.

And for a quick usage/application guide, head to this LINK.

HTH!

C

Technorati Tags: text,BGInfo,discussion,Experts,Exchange,usage,LINK,desktop
Blogger Labels: text,BGInfo,discussion,Experts,Exchange,usage,LINK,desktop

Coming Up: Make your roof the power generator!

Technorati Tags: Solar,paint,nano,green,quantum,technology

Do you want to switch to greener energy generation? Are you interested in solar power generation? Did you know it could be as simple as getting your terrace/home a new Paint Job!
Well, trust technology to come up with solutions for a better tomorrow as certain Notre Dame researchers have been successful in developing paint-on solar cells!
How cool is that!
See the video here -

Painting for solar cell energy!

Just imagine, switching to solar energy could be as simple as applying a new paint coat to your home rather than attaching solar panels to the roof!

2011 in IT...what do you think?

Now that 2011 is rolling out the end credits, it's time to sit back, and evaluate how the year went FTW.  And how was it for IT?

If there is one term which can describe the year's overall feel it is 'upheaval' which has lead to sinking to the known giants and rising of the NKOBs.

We all may be having different view for this, but here is what the Computer weekly editor says about it.

And as for the 2012, it is going to be much more interesting than 2011 as we already know, we live in interesting times.

Beware: Facebook is watching!

Whether you are an occasional Facebookie (!) or a die hard Facebook addict, you need to know that "Facebook Is Tracking You on the Web".

For the story and details refer to this Mashable Article,

For the premise refer to this Lifehacker post which also has tips to prevent it too.


Although the Lifehacker post contains discussion on FF and chrome addons for the FB issue as well as generic privacy control, the paranoid extra-cautious are suggested to refer here for a discussion on the best privacy/safety add-ons for the same (sorry FF only!)

I would still suggest using a browser cache cleaning utility for keeping the system free of storing (risk inducing) personal information. Basically containing browser related cookies and other temporary files. The best way would be using something like ccleaner.

But ccleaner is so potent in itself, that it begs another topic.

Later.

And if Y2K wasn't just enough fun, we proudly present, Y2K38 !

Y2K38? Yes, Y2K38! Apparently, the Y2K was just a 'bit' (pun intended!) short of the wholesome fun promised by the computing community.

So we have the pleasure of the oncoming Y2K38!

Click here for the details, here for the premise, and here for the workarounds and community discussion!

Time to upgrade your client-contracts if they don't cover Y2K38! JK!

John Titor was here.

This man came from the future. And went back too.

For the un-initiated, read what the John Titor mystery is all about.

For the io9 take, jump to here.

The next 5 years - be ready.

We surely live in interesting times! There are level of changes happening around us that should rightly be belonging to the pages of a 90's science fiction novel!

Now, the guys at IBM have come up with their Next 5 in 5 (5 year forecast) covering the tech-related social and personal changes; and the way we interface with technology.

These are backed up with the latest research carried out in the IBM’s Labs.

The 5 in 5 includes -

• Energy: People power will come to life
• Security: You will never need a password again
• Mind reading: no longer science fiction
• Mobile: The digital divide will cease to exist
• Analytics: Junk mail will become priority mail

Jump to IBM's Next 5 in 5. Be ready.

Need help in 'Getting information about Fonts being used in a PDF file'?

A while back, I helped someone resolve an issue related to getting the fonts (information) being used in a PDF document.

Following it up, I wrote a small tip-doc in EE. Hit the link to get an idea on Getting information about Fonts being used in a PDF file

HTH!

Funniest in 2011 @ GIFs!

Take it or leave it. But we still feel some of that childish glee, when we see those mesmerizing, animated GIFs here and there!

Anyways, here is a link which will take you through the journey of the funniest GIFs of 2011.

Enjoy!

Weird but true - "white web" found growing on nuclear waste

Check this for something which will raise enough speculations around the web!

Mysterious white webs found growing on nuclear waste.

A pretty thorough take on Windows maintenence.

This is for the people who know what they want from their system, and want to know how to get it.

Hosted at Lifehacker, where the best advice is up for sharing, feel confident and just go ahead and try this!

What maintenance do I need to do on my windows-pc?

Thank me in the comments!

In case you need to get the LAN activity icons in Windows 7.

I had posted this a while back in experts exchange, hit the jump if you are interested in getting back the LAN activity icons in Windows 7.

Do remember to leave your feedback at the article or this blog post!

Horribly Uggh! Brain-Eating Amoeba In Tap Water Kills Two In Lousiana

Brain-Eating Amoeba In Tap Water Kills Two In Lousiana!
And I thought this could only happen in movies...

Hit the jump for the full story!

On the side - Bradley Manning

Bradley Manning did what he thought was right, thinking his country would stand behind him in case of any backlash.

Bradley Manning was clearly wrong.

For the uninitiated, here are the links 'for who is he?' and 'what we should be doing about it?'.

Now here is some news about Facebook and Drinking!

According to a Mashable post "The average British person is under the influence of alcohol in three-quarters of of his or her tagged Facebook photos."

Now you know why everyone looks so happy! Hit the jump for a full update!

Aakash Tablet - The cheapest one!

So now, we have, [DRUMROLL please]

the cheapest tablet (yet!) - Presenting the AakashTablet!

"The Aakash is an Android tablet computer jointly developed by the London-based company DataWind with the Indian Institute of Technology Rajasthan (IIT) and manufactured by the India-based company Quad."

• More information here. 
• Online booking link via here.
• Phone Arena's take here.

And as they say, the sky is the limit!

P.S. the server seems to have gone down due to the unexpected number of hits, keep trying!
Update: its up AGAIN !

The coming year for Smartphones!

Well, if anyone has has its share of technology explosion this (going) year, its the micro-processor! And the best usage of the same is when it is available in a small package. I am referring to the latest and greatest mobile phones a.k.a the smartphones.

Leading the pack this year has been the Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II with the Samsung's very own Exynos Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A9 implementation.

Although Apple has been trying to keep up with the Android popularity and O.S. feature versatility, (which, quite frankly is a two edged sword in the Android arena), the scales are now slowly tilting in the favor of the open-source.

The next year promises the processor war to upscale to quad-core levels (although different views exist).

The expectation is from something called as Galaxy S3 (which is a 'Samsung' no-brainer as it comes after 2, right? :-))

The S3 promises the world, and more. For a sneak preview and a look @ the expected configuration (best taken with a grain spoonful of salt) , refer here for the expected specs and here for beefier details.

Quad-gimmick or not, I hope the wait should be worth it (if you can survive without the S2 till the S3 is here, i.e.)
If you already have an S2, fear not, here is something which will advice on what to do with it, once you have your S3! Uhh! Will there never be an end to this 'bought today/obsolete tomorrow' lunacy?

I hope not ;-)

How do I Stop the Beep in VMware?

Well, if you are into O.S. 'Virtualization', maybe for checking out new any O.S. or just maintaining a different segregated environment, chances are you have faced this problem. I am referring to the System speaker Beep in your VMware image. For the un-initiated,

VMware is a virtualization software that allows users to run O.S. inside an O.S.

Anyways following is a moderately easy sequence of steps to achieve the same (we would be altering the VMware Config File) - 

1.  Press the "Windows" key and "E" to open Windows Explorer.
2. Navigate to the following folder if you use XP or Vista:
         C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Workstation
3. OR -  If you use Windows 7, navigate to this folder instead:
         C:\ProgramData\VMWare
4. Open the "VMware Workstation" OR "VMware" folder.
5. Locate the "config.ini" file. (NOTE: In-case you do not see this file, you can create a blank text file and save it as 'all files' with name - 'config.ini' (i.e. the VMware Config File.)
6. Now open this (new/existing) file with any file editor.
7. Add this to the end of the file (or the beginning if it is a blank file!)  - mks.noBeep="TRUE"
8. Save the file and close it.
9. Remember to restart the image in your VMware application.

Voila! No more annoying beeps!

Now go on and try this!

Experts Exchange! Master is here!

Here it is!!!



Well, now back to the job.

Experts Exchange is going for an expert change

FTW update!

Well, the ever helpful, ever-tech site Experts Exchange is going for a revamp!!

Check this out!

For the uninitiated -"Experts-Exchange.com (EE) is a membership-based online "ask an expert" site for computer and IT related questions that was founded in 1996.

At Experts-Exchange, users are awarded points for answering questions asked by other users or writing articles the general community values as resourceful. This results in a competition for obtaining more points to achieve various experts' certifications."

Check here - http://www.experts-exchange.com/threeMillionSolutions.jsp

Now ain't that great or what!