COOL WALLPAPER PACK
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Indian students make electric appliances operable via sms
The device, which was developed by Abdullah Azhar and Kamal Gupta, both final year B.Tech students of Department of Electronics, will enable users to operate electrical appliances at their home from anywhere in the world at any time at a very low cost, a college spokesman said.
According to him, existing technologies for home automation require internet, Bluetooth and wi-fi systems, which are comparatively expensive. The device has also won the second prize at the international exhibition of 'Electrical and Industrial Electronics' held in Mumbai recently.
Now, a software to translate as you speak on phone
Bangalore: Internet giant Google, which has also made an entry in the mobile world with its own phone Nexus One, is working on a software which will interpret foreign languages as a person speak. The translation is done almost instantly and Google hopes to have a basic system ready within a couple of years, reports Chris Gourlay of Sunday Times.
Google has already developed an automatic system for translating text on computers, which is being polished by scanning millions of multi-lingual websites and documents. So far it covers 52 languages, adding Haitian Creole last week.
Recently Google also launched a feature where a user can search on the search engine by saying the key words instead of typing. Now it is working on combining the two technologies to produce software capable of understanding a caller's voice and translating it into a synthetic equivalent in a foreign language. The phone would analyse "packages" of speech, listening to the speaker until it understands the full meaning of words and phrases, before attempting translation. "We think speech-to-speech translation should be possible and work reasonably well in a few years' time," said Franz Och, Google's Head of Translation Services.
Although automatic text translators are now reasonably effective, voice recognition has proved more challenging. "Everyone has a different voice, accent and pitch," said Och. "But recognition should be effective with mobile phones because by nature they are personal to you. The phone should get a feel for your voice from past voice search queries, for example."
Google has already developed an automatic system for translating text on computers, which is being polished by scanning millions of multi-lingual websites and documents. So far it covers 52 languages, adding Haitian Creole last week.
Recently Google also launched a feature where a user can search on the search engine by saying the key words instead of typing. Now it is working on combining the two technologies to produce software capable of understanding a caller's voice and translating it into a synthetic equivalent in a foreign language. The phone would analyse "packages" of speech, listening to the speaker until it understands the full meaning of words and phrases, before attempting translation. "We think speech-to-speech translation should be possible and work reasonably well in a few years' time," said Franz Och, Google's Head of Translation Services.
Although automatic text translators are now reasonably effective, voice recognition has proved more challenging. "Everyone has a different voice, accent and pitch," said Och. "But recognition should be effective with mobile phones because by nature they are personal to you. The phone should get a feel for your voice from past voice search queries, for example."
Soon, Gmail to allow status updates like Twitter
Yahoo had done a similar revamp of its website to allow status updated. These updates also alerted users when their friends have uploaded photos to Flickr.
An unnamed informant says the new Google revisions will also allow users to share their YouTube and Picasa content. Gmail already lets contacts chat in the browser, set away messages and write short messages as their status.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Google shows off Chrome OS tablet ideas
Who could resist the months of hype that paved the way for Apple's iPad debut last week? Apparently not Google, which has shown its interest in tablet computing with its browser-based Chrome OS.
On Monday, Glen Murphy, a user interface designer for Google's Chrome browser and the Chrome operating system based on it, pointed to image and video concepts of a Chrome OS-based tablet that went live two days before the iPad launch. Apparently nobody noticed initially, because only now did Murphy tweet, "Apparently our tablet mocks have been unearthed."
The site also shows the array of devices Google envisions for Chrome OS.
"While its primary focus is Netbooks, Chrome OS could eventually scale to a wide variety of devices. Each would have vastly different input methods, available screen space, and processing power," according to the Chromium form factors site. Chromium is the name of the open-source developer project that underlies the branded Chrome product.
It's possible that Chrome OS could be an easier sell on tablets than on Netbooks, the class of device on which Google said it plans to launch Chrome OS. Netbooks often are used as general-purpose PCs, so the browser-based philosophy of Chrome OS is a more jarring transition.
Today's tablets, in contrast, tend to focus more on a collection of specialized uses such as reading books, surfing the Net, and chores that only require light typing. With that approach, Chrome OS' break from the PC world could be less jarring. The tablet market isn't as big as the Netbook market, though.
The ideas are only mock-ups, but Google has established itself as a real if not dominant force in the computing industry. Its Android mobile-phone operating system is increasingly influential, and its Chrome browser continues to steadily grow in usage.
On Monday, Glen Murphy, a user interface designer for Google's Chrome browser and the Chrome operating system based on it, pointed to image and video concepts of a Chrome OS-based tablet that went live two days before the iPad launch. Apparently nobody noticed initially, because only now did Murphy tweet, "Apparently our tablet mocks have been unearthed."
The site also shows the array of devices Google envisions for Chrome OS.
"While its primary focus is Netbooks, Chrome OS could eventually scale to a wide variety of devices. Each would have vastly different input methods, available screen space, and processing power," according to the Chromium form factors site. Chromium is the name of the open-source developer project that underlies the branded Chrome product.
It's possible that Chrome OS could be an easier sell on tablets than on Netbooks, the class of device on which Google said it plans to launch Chrome OS. Netbooks often are used as general-purpose PCs, so the browser-based philosophy of Chrome OS is a more jarring transition.
Today's tablets, in contrast, tend to focus more on a collection of specialized uses such as reading books, surfing the Net, and chores that only require light typing. With that approach, Chrome OS' break from the PC world could be less jarring. The tablet market isn't as big as the Netbook market, though.
The ideas are only mock-ups, but Google has established itself as a real if not dominant force in the computing industry. Its Android mobile-phone operating system is increasingly influential, and its Chrome browser continues to steadily grow in usage.
NTT DoCoMo to show off 4G handset
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo is set to demonstrate a prototype handset based on high-speed wireless data technology LTE later this month, according to its handset partner, NEC.
NEC said on Monday that NTT will demonstrate the handset receiving streaming high-resolution video across an LTE network at Mobile World Congress, which kicks off February 15 inBarcelona
LTE, the "long-term evolution" of 3G, is the successor to HSDPA and is roughly 10 times faster, providing theoretical downlink speeds of at least 100Mbps and a theoretical uplink of at least 50Mbps.
NEC said on Monday that NTT will demonstrate the handset receiving streaming high-resolution video across an LTE network at Mobile World Congress, which kicks off February 15 in
LTE, the "long-term evolution" of 3G, is the successor to HSDPA and is roughly 10 times faster, providing theoretical downlink speeds of at least 100Mbps and a theoretical uplink of at least 50Mbps.
Windows Azure finally ready for customers
Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud computing service became generally available on Monday with very little flourish. And that might be because this first wave of Azure offerings is frankly a bit odd.
I am sure Microsoft will eventually figure out how to give its users options that are more obviously appealing (perhaps using Amazon Web Services as the model?), but in the near-term the options are not as clear as they could be.
It's still a positive for cloud enthusiasts that Azure has finally reached a place where Microsoft is comfortable offering it commercially. And if you're part of the Azure team, you have to be glad to have any solidification of just what the offerings are.
In many ways, Microsoft is applying the same enterprise architecture principles to the cloud--with pricing variables for consumption, storage, and even integration with other applications. This may not actually be wrong over time, but it forces developers and users to think through the usage of the cloud components that they have no experience with.
I suspect this approach is due to the operating system-centric view that Microsoft takes of pretty much all technology. After all, they do call it a cloud operating system and it looks as though everything on top forms the stack, leaving users to not have to think about the OS. Again, not necessarily wrong, but the platform hasn't yet been explained or marketed well-enough to see the results.
That approach is in contrast to AWS EC2 or Rackspace, as Om Malik notes, suggesting that compared to "infrastructure-as-a-service providers such as Amazon with Ec2 or Rackspace with its CloudServers products, Azure attempts to handle more of the actual management and provisioning of virtual machines for a user."
I highly doubt that Azure will have much effect on Microsoft's near-term or even medium-term revenue (either positive or negative). What's important is that Azure has put a stake in the ground for Microsoft to be a part of enterprise cloud discussions as well as opening up Azure to the developer masses who provide invaluable testing and feedback.
Cloud computing in general needs Microsoft to be a part of the ecosystem. And while I am not convinced Azure is anywhere near right yet, Microsoft has plenty of resources to put toward the effort. Let's hope it does.
I am sure Microsoft will eventually figure out how to give its users options that are more obviously appealing (perhaps using Amazon Web Services as the model?), but in the near-term the options are not as clear as they could be.
It's still a positive for cloud enthusiasts that Azure has finally reached a place where Microsoft is comfortable offering it commercially. And if you're part of the Azure team, you have to be glad to have any solidification of just what the offerings are.
In many ways, Microsoft is applying the same enterprise architecture principles to the cloud--with pricing variables for consumption, storage, and even integration with other applications. This may not actually be wrong over time, but it forces developers and users to think through the usage of the cloud components that they have no experience with.
I suspect this approach is due to the operating system-centric view that Microsoft takes of pretty much all technology. After all, they do call it a cloud operating system and it looks as though everything on top forms the stack, leaving users to not have to think about the OS. Again, not necessarily wrong, but the platform hasn't yet been explained or marketed well-enough to see the results.
That approach is in contrast to AWS EC2 or Rackspace, as Om Malik notes, suggesting that compared to "infrastructure-as-a-service providers such as Amazon with Ec2 or Rackspace with its CloudServers products, Azure attempts to handle more of the actual management and provisioning of virtual machines for a user."
I highly doubt that Azure will have much effect on Microsoft's near-term or even medium-term revenue (either positive or negative). What's important is that Azure has put a stake in the ground for Microsoft to be a part of enterprise cloud discussions as well as opening up Azure to the developer masses who provide invaluable testing and feedback.
Cloud computing in general needs Microsoft to be a part of the ecosystem. And while I am not convinced Azure is anywhere near right yet, Microsoft has plenty of resources to put toward the effort. Let's hope it does.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Ad Hoc Networks
CreatingTo create a new ad hoc network open Control Panel then Network Connections, or double click on the wireless icon in the system tray (by the clock).  Click on the Wireless Network tab then the add button.  A new window will appear. Give your network a name, and check the two boxes near the bottom.  Click OK to close that window and OK again. If you try to View Wireless Networks, your changes may not be saved, so make sure to click OK first. Your ad hoc network is all set up now! ConnectingOpen Network Connections (via Control Panel or the wireless icon) and select View Wireless Networks. The following window will appear.  You should see the ad hoc network as a computer-to-computer network. You may have to refresh the list. Click on the network then the Connect button near the bottom. It may take a minute or two to aquire a network address. If you don't see your network, you may have to change settings to only connect to ad hoc networks. Click on Change advanced settings. On the new window, click on the Wireless Networks tab, then advanced.  Select the third radio button and click Close, then OK. Open Network Connections again, and follow the steps above to connect to the network. |
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
How to block any installed application from lunching on your computer?
Today tip will help you to block any windows built-in applications or other third party programs from being executed on a target computer. If you want to restrict an application from running your family members and co-workers then AppLocker provides a simple solution to do so. However this tip is very useful for you, if you are sharing your computer with others or you do not want that other persons run all installed applications. This trick will work in nearly all of the windows versions like windows 2000, XP, 2003 and 2008.
AppLocker provides us a complete solution to block any programs from being executed on a target computer. You can download this tool for any windows version using AppLocker link. Download it and run the easy setup.
After installation, double click on AppLocker icon on your desktop to start the Application Locker software. Now this application will display the list of computer software programs like Microsoft Word, Excel, Internet Explorer and many others.
Here click on any application checkbox and then click on Save button to block any software. For example, if you want to block Internet Explorer then select the checkbox of internet explorer and now after saving the change click on Internet Explorer to start it. Here you will get following message:
Now here you can add other application other than the default lock application list, you can lock other programs by clicking the “Configure” button to open the configuration window. Type the caption you want displayed on the ‘Lock application list’. Then, type the programs executable file name and click the ‘Add’ button to add new applications.
10 Really Cool Websites To Help Cure Boredom
The Internet has become big business, and with business comes a lot of seriousness. But there's nothing serious about these cool websites. If you need to cure boredom, then you need an injection of an old-fashioned remedy: web surfing.
So, let this list serve as a guide to websites to cure boredom and kill time. Some are old, some are new, but all of them contain a good portion of fun.
1. The Onion
Description: An oldie but a goody, The Onion is still going strong and remains one of the hippest places to hang out on the web. Known for satirical news and irreverent treatment of popular issues, The Onion might just be the funniest destination on the web. For this, it tops the list of cool websites.
2. Ning
Description: Social networking is all the rage, and Ning takes it to the next level by letting you create your very own social network. Design your own profile questionnaire, decide what modules to include, and choose a template for your social network. Ning is a great website for organizing a group of people.
3. Pandora
Description: Created by the Music Genome Project, Pandora offers a unique Internet radio service by playing related songs not based on the likes and dislikes of other people, but based on how close together the songs are musically. This cool website is great for putting music on in the background while you surf or work.
4. WidgetBox
Description: Whether you want to put some glitz on your blog or some bling on your MySpace profile, web widgets are where its at. And Widgetbox has all the widgets you could want.
5. Woot
Description: The perfect website for those that like to shop but don't have a lot of time to browse through a slew of merchandise, the daily woot features only one product, so you can save time and still do your thing.
6. Flixster
Description: This really cool website should come with a warning label that reads, "Do not enter if you are short on time." For anyone that likes movies, this site is simply addicting. Watch out for the never-ending trivia game -- it never ends!
7. Protopage
Description: The most Web 2.0 of the personalized start pages, this cool website is perfect for anyone that really likes podcasts or is looking to put some personality into their custom home page.
8. StumbleUpon
Description: StumbleUpon is like having a remote control for the web where you can flip through website after website. A word of caution, though, stumbling can be addictive and can lead to a sore pointer finger from repetitive clicking.
9. Lifehacker
Description: A great blog for anyone looking to streamline their life, Lifehacker provides tricks and tips for getting stuff done. Whether you need tips to help with time management or a shortcut to completing a certain task, Lifehacker is a great site save to your favorites.
10. Weatherbonk
Description: Have you ever wanted to be a weather forecaster? Skip the years at Meteorologist School
Be Careful with Attachments
There have been a number of really bad viruses just within the past 6 months. We've seen the W32.Beagle, W32.Netsky, MyDoom, and so on. Most of these viruses were transported or replicated from pc to pc-using email attachments. These are easy to spot if you're paying attention, simply because they are usually executable files, but not always.
Some attachments contain Macros (simple programs that run within other programs, all the titles in Microsoft Office use macros). If you're not that familiar with spotting file extensions, don't worry, that's what I'm here to talk about today. If you are a little hazy on the whole "file extension" thing then let's spend a few moments explaining it.
File extensions are what tell the program how to treat a particular piece of data. For example, most people are somewhat familiar with .doc or a .txt file extensions these are both text documents and when the user opens this file the Operating System looks at this extension and then knows how to open it.
Hackers try to use some sort of eye-grabbing ploy to get you to open their email and activate the virus, which is always an attachment. Most Anti-virus nowadays stops, or at least warns, you of these high risk attachments and even take measures to protect you. However, on the average 10-15 new viruses are created every day and I personally wouldn't count on any program to 100% protect my pc. That's why I scrutinize any email, if I wasn't expecting an attachment, I won't open it until I had a chance to talk to the sender.
Some of the more common file types used to hide viruses include:
.scr - Windows Screen Saver - USE CAUTION if you receive a screen saver via email. They can contain worms or viruses
.pif - DO NOT OPEN! This is most likely a virus. Clicking it will run a program or code that can mess up your computer.
.exe - executable file - a program that contains a virus, Trojan horse, or worm
.pps - MS PowerPoint (can contain macro virus)
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.vbs - Visual Basic script
.bat - Executable MS-DOS batch file
.com - DOS executable command
.asp - active server page - internet script
.doc - Word document (can contain macro virus)
.xls - Excel file (can contain macro virus)
.pif - DO NOT OPEN! This is most likely a virus. Clicking it will run a program or code that can mess up your computer.
.exe - executable file - a program that contains a virus, Trojan horse, or worm
.pps - MS PowerPoint (can contain macro virus)
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.vbs - Visual Basic script
.bat - Executable MS-DOS batch file
.com - DOS executable command
.asp - active server page - internet script
.doc - Word document (can contain macro virus)
.xls - Excel file (can contain macro virus)
This is in no way a complete list. Just because an attachment may have one of these extensions doesn't mean that it is a virus, but it should send up warning flags. Hackers use clever subject lines, and viruses can appear to come from a friend so keep on your toes and don't fall victim to their deceptive traps. Scan those attachments and verify with the sender before opening.
Convert FAT or FAT32 File system into NTFS
You can increase the performance of your computer using NTFS (New Technology File System) hard drive volume with windows XP, because this advance file system provides some extra features, for example security, reliability, file encryption and Compression features.
But if you are still using old file systems like FAT or FAT32, you can covert it into NTFS with a simple command. The interesting thing is that you can convert your hard drive volumes file system without losing data on the drive.
Follow the giving steps to convert FAT or FAT32 partition to NTFS:
- First go to Start button then click on Run option.
- Now type here “CMD” and press Ok to open command prompt.
- At the command prompt type convert drive letter name: /fs:ntfs
· For example if you want to convert drive E to NTFS then the command will be “convert e: /fs:ntfs”.
· Now restart your computer and enjoy NTFS features, but keep in mind you cannot covert back it to FAT or FAT32 again.
Detect viruses in a computer using multiple antivirus engines
Virus detection and its removal are made through an antivirus program which finds out viruses in a computer and then possibly removes or repairs the virus problem. But today an interesting tip, how to scan your system without any installed antivirus program. You can scan any specific file for viruses, malware, worms and trojans on your system without any preloaded antivirus protection.
VirusTotal is a free service that facilitates you for quick scan to detect viruses, malware, worms and trojans. VirusTotal will analyze your system files using multiple antivirus engines. VirusTotal is not a proper substitute of installed antivirus program, because this service works only when you will be connected to internet.
Now under the "Upload the file" section, click on browse button to select the virus affected file and press "Send File" button.
Here VirusTotal will takes some time to upload file (depends upon the file size and internet speed).
Now scanning process will be started to scan affected file.
It will again takes some time to scan affected file using latest antivirus version and gives you detailed results from each antivirus engine with statistics.
