Facebook Privacy: 10 Settings Every User Needs to Know

Facebook’s privacy settings are extremely detailed, giving you the ability to fine-tune the privacy aspects of almost every little part of your Facebook account. Unfortunately, for most users, this level of micromanagement makes Facebook’s privacy settings a convoluted mess.Even worse, these settings change often; you may think you know everything there is about them, only to be greeted with a completely different layout and a bunch of new options the next time you visit the dreaded Facebook Privacy Settings page.
So, what do you do when you’ve got over 170 options to choose from? You focus on the most important ones. We’ve entered Facebook’s maze of privacy options and came out on the other side bruised, battered, but with 10 essential settings in our hands. Disregard them at your own peril!

1. Sharing on Facebook

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Account > Privacy Settings > Sharing on Facebook
Controlling how you share content is quite complex and will probably make your head hurt, but it’s essential that you take a good look at the settings and decide for yourself what you want to share and with whom.
Facebook gives you the easy way out: You can share content with Everyone, Friends of Friends, or Friends only. However, if you’re using lists (see item number eight on this list), you might want to customize the settings and set a certain type of content to be visible to the people on some of your lists, and invisible to others. For example, only my close friends can see all my photos, while business associates can see just a few.
It’s important to note the “Preview my Profile” option which lets you see your profile as someone else would. Setting all the options just right can sometimes be tricky. When in doubt, defer to this option.

2. Existing Photos

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Account > Privacy Settings > Sharing on Facebook > Customize Settings > Edit album privacy for existing photos
Settings for sharing content on Facebook can be treacherous as they don’t always apply to all your existing photos. With this setting, you can go through your old albums and change the privacy setting for each one, including your Wall Photos.

3. Checking In to Places

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Account > Privacy Settings > Sharing on Facebook > Customize Settings > Friends can check me in to Places
Another setting under Sharing on Facebook often goes unnoticed, and it can be very important, as it lets your friends check you in to Places. Having someone else telling the world where you are can be unpleasant and even dangerous in some cases. If you want to avoid it, disable this feature.

4. Connecting on Facebook

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Account > Privacy Settings > Connecting on Facebook
Privacy settings for sharing content on Facebook are separated from the settings for connecting, which basically means sharing information about you: Your photo, gender, age, education, hometown etc.
Furthermore, these settings determine how people can find you on Facebook. Can they do it simply by searching for your name? Can anyone add you as a friend, and send you a message?
Here, you can change those settings to Friends Only, Friends of Friends, Everyone or — in some cases — customize them. For example, if you get pestered by too many anonymous messages, you might consider letting only your friends send them. Be careful: If you set everything to the strictest available privacy setting, people may have a harder time finding you on Facebook.

 5. Apps You Use

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Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites > Apps You Use
This is another painful setting as it usually means wading through dozens of apps and either removing them or editing the privacy settings for each of them individually.
We suggest removing all of the apps you’re not using (hint: If you can’t remember what it is, you probably don’t need it), and carefully reviewing the permissions you’ve given each individual app. For example, some apps like to post on your Wall even though they don’t require the option to function.

6. Instant Personalization

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Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites > Instant Personalization
We’ve covered this setting in-depth before. For detailed info on what it does, check out this article. Essentially, it lets third-party websites personalize your experience, which can be nice, but it also allows access to your personal data.
You can opt-out of Instant Personalization on individual third-party websites, such as Pandora, simply by clicking on “No Thanks” when asked about it. However, on Facebook you can completely disable it by leaving the checkbox before “Enable instant personalization on partner websites” unchecked.

7. Info Accessible to Your Friends

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Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites > Info accessible through your friends
This is where Facebook’s privacy settings get really tricky, and most users don’t realize it. No matter how tight your privacy settings are, you’re still sharing some of your content and info with a group of people, even if it’s only your closest friends. However, what you share with them doesn’t necessarily end with them, especially if their privacy settings are lax. In the end, your friends might be sharing your info with third-party services, which is precisely what you want to avoid.
With this setting, you can set exactly what information is available to apps and websites if your friends use them.

8. Public Search

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Account > Privacy Settings > Apps and Websites > Public Search
When someone searches for you on a search engine, they might get a preview of your public profile which, in some cases, can be very revealing. If you don’t want that to happen, you should turn this option off.

9. Friend Lists

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Friends > Edit Friends > Create a List

If you’re a typical Facebook user, you have 130 friends, and it’s very likely that you don’t want to share every detail of your life with all of these people.
This is where Friend Lists come into play. By creating lists of — for example — your family members, close friends and business acquaintances, you can finely tune the details you want to share with each list (as explained above).
Creating lists can be a bit dull at first, especially if you start doing it when you already have hundreds of friends, but once you set them up, it’s easy to add each new friend to a particular list.

 

10. Enabling HTTPS

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Account > Account Settings > Account Security > Secure Browsing (HTTPS)
The last setting we’d like to highlight has more to do with security than privacy. However, if someone hacks into your account or sniffs your data (which can be easily done with an app like Firesheep), all the privacy settings in the world won’t help you protect it.
Recently, Facebook started introducing HTTPS support, which makes it a lot harder for someone connected to the same network to sniff your password and other data. It makes Facebook a bit slower, and certain features don’t work yet, but we highly recommend it as HTTPS is essential to online security on all web services, not just Facebook.
If the option isn’t available to you just yet, don’t worry. Facebook promised it will gradually roll out the feature in the following weeks.

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Ubuntu 10.10 Final Version Download Available Now!

All you Ubuntu fanboys can forget about the specialty of 10/10/10 as Ubuntu 10.10 Final (codenamed Maverick Meerkat) has been released which is super fast to boot (takes less than 9 seconds) and carries new “Unity” user interface, which is optimized for smaller netbook screens and mobile computing.
The Unity UI offers limited support for touch and a host of new, sleek, larger fonts. Users can, for instance, launch applications from the left bar, display tabs and maximize and minimize applications from touch capable laptops running Ubuntu 10.10.

Ubuntu 10.10 Features

Super easy installation, the incredibly user-friendly Software Center, Ubuntu One’s streaming music, the new Ubuntu font, and the Unity interface for netbooks are just some of the uber-cool features we love in Ubuntu 10.10!
The new default wallpaper isn’t orange anymore and I love it personally. The two themes – Ambiance & Radiance are modified just enough to make them look different and bit more orangey. The Ubuntu Software Center has received a lot of improvements. It now has a Featured Applications and What’s New section.

 

Download Ubuntu 10.10

 

The wait for the final version of Ubuntu 10.10 is now over! Head over to Ubuntu.com to download a disk image (or just hit up Update Manager if you’re already running Ubuntu).

Download Ubuntu 10.10

If their website is still acting weird (as it was at the time of writing this post), you can always look for the torrent sources!

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Ylmf OS!: Ubuntu Hacked to Look Just Like Windows XP

That’s not Windows XP, it is actually an Ubuntu OS hacked and transformed by Chinese pirates to make it look exactly like Windows XP and they have pretty much succeeded in doing that! It’s called Ylmf OS! Why have they moved to Ubuntu? Because their previous release, a pirate version of Windows XP itself is being cracked down on by Microsoft.
The official site of Ylmf OS! is completely in Chinese with no option to open the English version. The download page though has some five links to the ISO that you can download. But note that the OS’s GUI is completely in Chinese as well.

For more screenshots, you can check out this page and you will be shocked to see that the pirated copycat Ubuntu version of Windows XP looks surprisingly close to Microsoft’s version! Though the Chinese have limited laws to prevent piracy, I expect Microsoft to try their level best to stop the distribution of this Ubuntu version as soon as possible as it still copies its GUI!

Update: One of the comments on Download Squad indicates that by using the “sudo locale-gen en-US” command after installation, he was able to change the language to English (which would explain why the picture below has English in it).

[via]DownloadSquad

 

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5 Must Have Applications for Ubuntu

While trying to unravel the depths of Linux operating system, I came across various such posts which included an exhaustive list of applications having various well known Ubuntu apps like Thunderbird, Wine etc. which according to me are very obvious. So going beyond obvious here are 5 applications for Ubuntu which you will appreciate and will enhance your experience with the distro.

5 Must Have Applications for Ubuntu

1. Ubuntu Tweaks:
   Ubuntu Tweaks is probably the most widely known application out of all the other applications in this list. It gives you immense power and control over all the functionalities and settings of the system. It can be considered to an Ubuntu variant of Ultimate Windows Tweaker for Windows7.
2. Clementine:
   Being honest, I spent ages looking for a decent media player which could match it’s counterparts on Windows, and finally my search ended with Clementine. It is inspired by Amarok player for KDE, but loading KDE libraries on Gnome (which comes default with Ubuntu) can make your system clumsy and sometimes cause irritating bugs. Clementine has been on GTK libraries which is perfectly compatible with Gnome and takes about 15 mb of RAM. It has tabbed playlist, awesome context pane which displays informations from Last.fm, premium users can play music directly from Last.fm, can play internet radios and do a lot more.
3. Bleachbit:
   I am sure anyone who are conscious PC users, are aware of operating systems gathering temporary files and thereby becoming slow and sluggish. For Windows there are some applications like CCleaner, TuneUp-Cleaner etc. Bleachbit does the same for Ubuntu. It cleans all the temporary files gathered by various browsers, installers, desktop environments etc.
4. Shutter:
   I know of people complaining about the screenshot application for *nix. There are some nice applications for  Windows and Snag-it is one of them. Though this application is nowhere near to Snag-It, it definitely is one of the best available replacements in Ubuntu. It can capture screenshots, edit them and provides various other annotation options.
5. Gnome-Do:
   Windows 7′s start menu has a very handy option of searching the application and launching, rather than browsing each section and then finding the right application to start. Gnome-do, which is very similar to Launchy but much more advanced, does the same. It can be started with just a hit of a short-cut. It gives a lot more options which is dependent on the application, for instance triggering the bookmark for firefox or posting your status update on twitter.

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Make Your Own Google Search St

I’m almost an year late, but I’m sure enough of you haven’t tried Google Search Stories yet. Google surprised everyone by releasing a Super Bowl ad last year titled “Parisian Love“. The ad got really popular and started a viral meme of sorts, including some parodies. Google was quick enough to sense the opportunity and they released a nice Youtube video creator tool called Google Search Stories! If you haven’t tried it yet, you are surely missing some fun.
It’s a simple, self-explanatory tool where-in you can enter up to seven queries (including Images, Maps, and standard web search) and choose a musical track, and the video creator will produce an animated spot in a jiffy. You can then upload the video on to your Youtube account and share it with your friends and family with ease.
Though I didn’t like Google restricting the number of queries to six (the last one isn’t queried), the variety of options you get to choose the music for your story is amazing. The end quality of the video is awesome and nearly professional. A brief search on Google shows you thousands of videos created by different people as their business ads, social awareness campaigns, travelogues and even romantic proposals!
Unleash your creativity and come out with a cool story.

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GPS receiver with Bluetooth

The Leadtek 9559X is a slim, compact, lightweight Bluetooth GPS receiver, apt for portable devices, such as PDAs or smartphones. Based on state-of-the-art SiRFStarIII technology, the Leadtek 9559X has the benefits of high sensitivity, low power consumption and fast connection with Bluetooth embedded devices. With the synchronization of the Leadtek 9559X and a PDA or smartphone (device should have BT connection and mapping function), you can easily locate your position with accuracy.

The Leadtek 9559X can be used with mobile devices which also provide location-based service (LBS). The Leadtek 9559X can be easily integrated with all navigation software applications to indicate your position. It has a standard NMEA output and is compatible with all Palm OS and pocket PC devices. With support from SiRFLoc software, the Leadtek 9559X also provides SiRFLoc multimode technology. It can determine your position with the help of carrier networks through Bluetooth-equipped phones or determine it independently from satellite signals.

Features :-

• SiRFStarIII chipset supported
• 20 channels with all-in-view tracking and SiRFStarIII high sensitivity software
• RF metal shield for best performance in noisy environments
• Multi-path mitigation hardware
• Light-weight design and easy to carry
• Cold/warm/hot start time: 42/38/1 sec at open sky and stationary environments
• Specially designed Li-ion battery (compatible with Nokia 3650 battery pack)
• Power on/off slide switch
• Two LED indicators: Bluetooth and GPS
• Neck strap eyelet
• Build-in ceramic patch antenna and external antenna connector
• Dimension: 68.1mm x 44mm x 26.5mm
• Weight: 70g with battery
• Compliant with Bluetooth v1.2, class 2
• Operation time: 11 hours, in continuous mode 
  
  
  
  

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New segments open up to GPS

The Australian cricket team employed GPS satellite tracking devices to get an idea of the distances and speeds they cover on the field.

BANGALORE: In addition to their trademark resilience and aggressive playing style, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology could well be one of the defining factors behind the Australian cricket team’s performance in recent times.

Early this year, the team employed GPS satellite tracking devices to get an idea of the distances and speeds they cover on the field. This provided some interesting such as a significant difference in heart rates between training and competitive matches, which meant they had to train harder.

Cricket apart, GPS is finding its way into many other commercial and consumer areas. A whole new segment called recreational GPS is emerging. Especially in the US, GPS devices are being used for a wide range of consumer applications,” said Ashu Pande, country head, SiRF India, a company that provides chips and software platform for GPS applications.

Hikers and trainers use it not just for location tracking but also to clock data such as speed and height climbed. Once this data is uploaded and processed at the backend, a user gets relevant info such as a comparison with previous outings and activities, time taken to cover the distance and number of calories burnt.

“We prefer to look at GPS as not location based but location enabled services because location by itself is not a killer application. But enabling location within an application makes it a killer application.” SiRF is doing its bit to bring together the ecosystem of application developers, content providers and device manufacturers through its community. This site allows developers to register download the programming suite SiRFStudio, and also interact with the community.

Pande sees synergy between Internet and GPS. “Adding context to Internet content is the key. For example, yahoo takes a user to a specific country home page based on IP address. If the GPS function is added, depending on the location, it could automatically provide relevant info such as weather or traffic updates.”

The US is leading the market in GPS adoption thanks to the 911 mandate which requires phones to be GPS tagged so that those dialing the emergency number 911 can be reached based on the location tracking. India however has been slow on GPS adoption and its uses have been restricted to transport and vehicular tracking.

Pande, however, feels that there is a lot of potential for GPS in the commercial space IN India especially for people management and asset tracking.

“Mobiles fitted with GPS could be relevant in B2B applications in logistics, services industry and also segments which employ a massive sales force.”

“We are working with a customer in Korea to make a cell phone with limited call functions that can send location details back to the enterprise,” he said.

Pande also said that the company is also in talks with the Planning Commission to explore the feasibility of road tolling using GPS devices, on the Golden Quadrilateral highway.

This could be on the lines of the successful deployment of a high-tech road toll system that was launched for heavy commercial vehicles on German highways.

© CyberMedia News

  

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Accelerating WANs

Wide area networks (WANs) are fairly common nowadays from big banks to telecom companies, all connect their branch offices through it. But, the big question is whether the companies are able to take out all the benefits from WANs

MUMBAI: Inter-connectivity is one of the biggest hurdles that organizations spread over multiple locations face. How to transmit data between different branches, and more importantly, how to do it efficiently?

Wide area networks (WANs) are fairly common nowadays from big banks to telecom companies, all connect their branch offices through it. But, the big question is whether the companies are able to take out all the benefits from WANs.
 
This was the topic that the CIOL seminar, Application Acceleration Using Wide Area Data Services - The Road to Success, discussed recently in Mumbai. The event witnessed some path breaking technology discussions and demonstrations on ways of accelerating WANs.
 
Vivek Singh, regional director (India and SAARC), Riverbed, spoke at length on how different companies were grappling with the issue. The typical response of most companies faced by low bandwidth issues was either to increase the pipe or try and consolidate the data center. Either didn’t help much.
 
“According to a survey over 67 per cent of employees, work in a location other than the headquarter. In this globalized scenario, bandwidth connectivity can be extremely critical. Yet, what is promised is not necessarily the bandwidth speed that one gets and the main reasons behind this is latency and software chattiness,” Singh said.
 
He went on to talk about how Riverbed’s proprietary technology solved these two critical issues.
 
Prem Mishra, director – Technical, from Millennium Infotech, also spoke on the issue and gave a demonstration on how Riverbed helped in accelerating the network speed. Most of the attendees seem to be quite impressed by the demonstration and were seen seeking more details on the technology.
 
© CyberMedia News

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Download GreenPois0n RC5 to Jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 [How to Guide]

The Chronic dev team has just released GreenPois0n RC5 jailbreaking tool which can be used to jailbreak iDevices running the latest iOS 4.2.1 firmware. Only catch here is that (for now) GreenPois0n RC5 is available only for Mac and it is not a stable release (RC5 – Release candidate 5). GreenPois0n for Windows and Linux is expected to arrive soon.
With GreenPois0n RC5, you will be able to jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 (untethered) on iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch 4G/3G/2G, iPad and Apple TV 2G. Unlike Redsnow 0.9.7, Greenpois0n RC5 will not need any 4.2b3 SHSH Blobs saved on Cydia for Untethered Jailbreak.

Download GreenPois0n RC5

 

You can download GreenPois0n RC5 from Greenpois0n RC5 or use this mirror. You can check the guide given below to use GreenPois0n RC5 to jailbreak iOS 4.2.1, but be aware of this being an unstable release and expect some problems if you don’t follow the procedure carefully.
Update: Greenpois0n RC5_2 has been released which fixes some of the previous issues. Download it here or here.

How to Jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 using GreenPoisOn RC5?

Disclaimer: The guide is purely for informational and educational purposes only. Jailbreak your device at your own risk.
Do not proceed if you rely on carrier unlock. Ultrasn0w doesn’t support this baseband yet.
1. Download GreenPois0n RC5 from the links given above.
2. Connect your iDevice running iOS 4.2.1 to the USB of your mac.
3. Start GreenPois0n RC5 and click on Jailbreak button. Follow the on-screen instructions to put your device in the DFU mode.
4. Click again on Jailbreak button of Greenpois0n to start the jailbreaking process.
5. Wait for GreenPois0n to complete its steps. Once it’s complete, you will see a “Loader” icon on the springboard. Tap on it and install Cydia.
Voila! Your iDevice is now jailbroken with iOS 4.2.1! Thanks Blogsdna!

 

 

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The Cloud Revolution – All About it !!

To wonder why cloud computing revolution is occurring today, is something of circumlocution. A comprehensive definition of cloud computing, fundamentally gets associated with a broad swath of the major advances happening, in how IT is functioned and distributed at present. Internet- based computing where servers provide resources, software and data to computers and other devices on demand is known as cloud computing. It’s an expected evolution of the extensive embracing of virtualization, service oriented architecture and utility computing.
Fast application and service provisioning, flexible reaction to load changes, low-touch management, network-centric access, and the capacity to move workloads from one site to another are all features of cloud computing. To sum it up, cloud computing is more of a cuneiform for the important things happening in IT, than it is a precise technology.
The name “Cloud Computing” comes from the utilization of a cloud image to symbolize the internet. The dependency on this ‘cloud’ for dependably sending and receiving of data is very profound. At first there were data pipes, routers and servers; but now there are services. Cloud computing comprises the total continuum of delivering hosted services over the internet. These services are largely classified into three categories:
1) Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – E.g. Amazon,
2) Platform as a Service (PaaS) – E.g. Google Apps,
3) Software as a Service( SaaS ) E.g. Web-based E-mails.
There are three essential services of cloud computing, that make a distinction from conventional hosting. They are, being sold on demand, it is flexible as per the services required by the user and the service is fully administered by the operator. The user only requires a computer along with an internet connection. It makes the world virtual more than ever.
It is apparent that there isn’t an enormous amount of exhilaration and propaganda around changing the data centers being operated, access to applications and deployment of new services.  The reason for such a broad based sprint, to do things diversely is because large evolutionary trends under right circumstances come together, in a way that results in something that is quite revolutionary.
A cloud can either be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anybody on the internet, whereas private cloud is a data center that provides hosted services to a restricted number of people. When a service provider utilizes public cloud services to create their private cloud, the outcome is identified as a virtual private cloud. The objective is to provide simple and suitable access to computing resources and IT services, be it private or public.
The most extensively used cloud computing applications used across many industries are -
1) Collaboration Applications,
2) Cloud Backup,
3) Business Applications,
4) Personal Productivity Application, and
5) Web Applications.
The aim of cloud computing is to use unused resources, authenticate the cost savings and attain an insight on how to handle performance across a virtualized infrastructure. Companies providing cloud services other than Amazon and Google are Salesforce, AT&T and Enomaly.
The main advantage of cloud computing is that small and medium sized business can immediately achieve the benefits. Ease of access to multiple data centers anyplace in the globe is an additional benefit. It also means that companies don’t require paying for hardware if they need further services from the cloud computing service provider.  Lastly, the most exceptional feature is that it is more ecologically gracious. Transferring applications to the cloud diminishes energy costs for operating and cooling hardware.
All I can bet on is, Cloud Computing is here to stay. And, it surely is rocking too.

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Mobile Broadband on Your Laptop

Accessing the Internet on the move is easier than ever before, with options including smartphones, tablets and laptops. For people who want more from their mobile browsing than looking at Facebook and making use of the latest apps, getting mobile broadband on a laptop is often the medium of choice – perfect for doing work on the move or watching streamed TV programmes.
When Wi-Fi isn’t available, a dongle is the required piece of kit to get online

What is a dongle?

A dongle most commonly refers to the smallest of mobile broadband modems, housed in a USB stick plugged into the appropriate port on a laptop. Small enough to fit in your pocket, or as an addition to your key ring, dongles are easy to transport providing a simple way to get online practically anywhere.

Choosing the best deal !!

Accessing the Internet through a dongle can be paid for in a number of ways, with contract and pay as you go options, much like mobile phones. To work out what’s going to be best for you, first you need to think about how you use the internet. If it’s just browsing the odd web page and updating your status on Facebook, then pay as you go is probably all you need. To set your-self up with a pay as you go dongle, simply go to your local phone shop, or buy online; dong les typically cost around £20.
If you want to download lots of data, such as films and music, then you should consider going down the contract route as this could be very pricey under pay as you go. Contracts typically last from 12 to 24 months, so if you don’t want to be tied in for too long, make sure you know what you’re signing up to. Go for a contract with large or unlimited data allowances – if there is a limit, make sure you don’t exceed this, as it’s likely to be expensive. Contract dongles are often provided free, with laptops thrown in as part of the deal in some instances. Mobile broadband comparison sites are a good place to start when choosing a dongle contract.

Check your access !!

Like a mobile phone signal, mobile broadband connectivity varies for each provider depending on where you are in the country, so make sure you check the area you’re going to use mobile broadband most is covered.
Cheap and easy to access, dongles have revolutionized the way we go online, with pretty much everywhere in the world, able to pick up the mobile broadband of at least one provider. Just make sure you do your research first to get the best dongle deal to suit your individual needs.
This is a guest post by Jessica Lowe who writes on behalf of Broadband Genie, the independent comparison website for broadband, smartphones and mobile broadband deals.

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How to Build a Wireless Home Network Without a Router?

Usually, everyone has just one internet connection at home. What if you want to share that internet connection with across all your desktop and laptop computers, your Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones (like the iPhone), media players (like the iPod Touch), video game consoles (like the PS3/Xbox), digital photo frames and any other wireless devices that you may have at home?
Yes, having a wireless router is the easiest solution. Set up a wireless network with the help of a router, connecting it to your modem and then to all your wireless devices. What if you don’t have a router? Or your existing router just conked? Don’t buy a new one, it’s really not needed!

Build a Wireless Home Network Without a Router?

 

A lot of people don’t know that if you run Windows 7, Windows Vista or even Windows XP, it is possible to build your own wireless network at home or office without using a wireless broadband router or a wireless access point, saving some money. In this tutorial we will show you step-by-step how to build this kind of wireless network, also known as ad-hoc.
Note that if you have any old desktops you might need to buy a wireless network card for each computer you want to connect to your network and to the Internet wirelessly. But most new desktops and laptop computers are already equipped with internal network adapters so you are ready to go without a router.
In order to build your own wireless network you will need the following:

• A broadband Internet connection;
• A wireless network card installed on each computer that you want to connect to your wireless network;

There are two types of wireless network cards available: USB and add-on. Usually add-on cards are more stable. Add-on cards for desktops are provided for the PCI slot and add-on cards for laptops are provided for the PC Card (PCMCIA)
Below is an example image for PCI wireless network card for desktops

And a USB wireless network card would look like this

As for the laptops, you would need a PC Card add-on wireless network card similar to this

Once you have everything ready, you can now create a Wi-Fi network.

Create a Wi-Fi Network without a Router

To set up an ad-hoc network in Windows Vista, go to Network and Sharing Center from the control panel, select “Set up a connection or network” and choose “Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network“.

Now give a name to your network. The default security type should be WPA2-Personal. Let it be like that because WPA2 is much better than WEP when it comes to wireless network security. Choose a security passphrase, click on save network if you intend to use this network again, and hit next.

Turn on Internet Sharing in the next screen and now your other home computers can connect to the ad hoc network just like they would connect to any regular wireless network. Setting up a ad-hock network in Windows XP is similar with just a couple more steps intermediate steps involved, but ensure that you are using Windows XP SP2 or SP3 for it to work.

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CES 2011 – Faster Technology & Better Media Connectivity enable ‘Enhanced Networking’

It was predicted that in this year’s CES 2011 the tip of the iceberg was networking and it was also said that electronic gadgets and devices will have more built-in networking capabilities than computers.
The main theme of the networking vendors at CES 2011 was ‘Home is where the Network is’. This should not come as a surprise because since the past few years several home entertainment devices like flat-screen TVs, media playback devices, game consoles, and so on, include an Ethernet port. Others use USB Wi-Fi dongles to connect to a wireless network, and many even come with a built-in Wi-Fi adapter.
The new trend now is for network vendors to transport digital entertainment than just business data and for this; they are introducing a new range of products that will enable consumers to watch movies, share photos, listen to music and perform many such entertaining activities without actually worrying as to where the real content is located. Apart from just rendering faster networking services to home-based consumers the vendors are also focused on improving the networking of small businesses who can use faster networks or big file transfers and backups. Along with this several small businesses can also make use of the network cameras that help keep a security-eye on workplaces.

The Probable Products on offer -

The major announcements of products were those that would support the generation – next WiDi technology from Intel and they include a range of products like moving notebook multimedia to HDTVs and stereos. Renowned companies like Netgear will introduce new Push2TV adapters, the PTV2000 which are fabricated keeping in mind the WiDi technology that will enable 1080p video and streams protected content. D-Link is also intending to bring out its first WiDi adapter – the MainStage during summer. Meanwhile, Logitech has also announced a WiDi speaker adapter priced at $30, which again is a revelation in the music playing arena. The speaker adapter from Logitech would play WiDi-enabled notebook audio over external stereo speakers.
Faster Networking, More Connectivity –
One of the ways by which networking vendors are integrating multimedia is by selling hybrid routers that combine networking technologies, offering support for both wireless and wired devices. One such example of a hybrid router comes from D-Link and here is the detailing of the product – ‘D-Link’s Hybrid Wireless-N Powerline Router (DHP-1320) incorporates support for 802.1n WiFi (on the 2.4GHz band), HomePlugAV, and Ethernet. Netgear, meanwhile, announced its own Wi-Fi/HomeplugAV/Ethernet hybrid, the N300 Wireless Router + Powerline AV (WNXR2000).’
Along with routers like these there is also another device which is gaining quick recognition and a fantastic acceptance rate from the networking technologists. And that is - Powerline, which is a major help in electric wiring and sometimes more reliable than Wi-Fi. The earlier mentioned products will surely be a part of an escalating trend that uses Wi-Fi as an alternative to wired and Bluetooth amongst devices. If the Wi-Fi seems unreliable for some reason there is always the dependent tool of powerline wiring that can be called for rescue.
Altogether a fantastic start to the New Year for networking vendors by bringing in a revelation to home entertainment and also to businesses.

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Gmail gets Native Desktop Notifications

Google has announced native desktop notifications for Gmail which includes notifications for chat as well as new mails. Gmail always had this bubble sound alert for new chat messages, but no real visual alert/notification as such. But now you can get to know as and when a new chat message or a new mail comes in through a desktop alert, without having to use any third party app or extension.
A catch of sorts behind this – you need to be using Google Chrome web browser. Chances are you might already be using Chrome, if not, you have a solid reason to switch to Chrome now! Over the past year or so, it has become my primary browser, just like Gmail being the primary email service.
The latest version of Chrome has HTML5 desktop notifications which display pop-ups whenever a chat message or new email arrives.

How to Turn on Gmail Desktop Alerts?

 

In order to turn on Desktop alerts for Gmail, click on the Settings link on the top right corner of Gmail and scroll down to the “Desktop Notifications” section. If you just want to get notified about chat messages, or if you use Priority Inbox and only want to get notifications for important messages, you can customize your settings from there too.

For those who are not comfortable using Chrome would need to wait for sometime and Google has promised to get it working on other browsers as well in the near future. It is not just Gmail, Chrome’s HTML5 notifications can be enabled for AOL IM, Yahoo! IM and other chats.
Note that, you might have to refresh the browser a couple of time in order to get the desktop notifications to work, but it is very well worth it if you ask me!

Source: Gmail Blog [via] Techie-Buzz

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Top 5 Most Popular BlackBerry Mobile Phones

1. BlackBerry Torch 9800

Best of both Worlds – Large Display with Touchscreen and the same awesome QWERTY keypad.
This is the latest Blackberry mobile and is also the regarded as one of the best. It comes with 3.2 inch TFT capacitive touchscreen (with multi-touch capability) with a resolution of 360 x 480 pixels and runs on the latest Blackberry 6 OS. It also features the trademark Blackberry Qwerty Keypad (slide out) and the optical track pad. Blackberry Torch has a 512 MB RAM and comes with a 4 GB internal memory with external memory support of up to 32 GB. It is equipped with a 5MP auto-focus camera with a LED flash. GPS navigation with A-GPS support is also available. All in all Blackberry Torch is a complete package.
Best Price: Rs. 31,499

2. BlackBerry Storm2 9520

Blackberry for all the Touch Screen Lovers
If you love large displays and touch screens, this one is for you. Blackberry Storm2 is the next version of the popular Blackberry Storm. Storm 2 comes with a brilliant 3.25 inches (360 x 480 pixels) TFT capacitive touchscreen. It features Sure Press technology which along with SureType allows for faster and more intuitive typing and feedback. Best part about Storm2 is its battery life which lasts for around 48 hours (with push mail, 3G and wi-fi active) unlike any other touchscreen smartphone. This is probably the best touch screen phone if your primary requirement is email, messaging and web browsing.
Best Price: Rs. 31,500

3. BlackBerry Bold 3 9780

The Best QWERTY Bar Blackberry
If you love the standard Blackberry form factor i.e. the Qwerty then this is the one for you. Blackberry Bold 3 9780 is one of the most recently launched blackberry and comes with the new Blackberry OS 6. Screen is 480 x 360 pixels, 2.44 inches. It has same awesome qwerty keypad with a touch sensitive optical track pad. It comes with a 5 MP camera and a LED Flash. It keeps up RIM’s reputation of manufacturing well built, rugged, tough mobiles. It comes with the usual connectivity options like 3G, Wi-Fi, global roaming etc and also GPS navigation. Battery life is also superb.
Best Price: Rs. 25,999

4. BlackBerry Curve 3G 9300

Best Value for Money Blackberry
Blackberry Curve 3G 9300 is the advanced version of the cheapest Blackberry Curve 8520. It comes with a 2.46 inches display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, touch-sensitive optical trackpad and the standard Blackberry Qwerty keypad. Connectivity options include global roaming (on GSM), 3G, Wi-Fi. It comes with GPS Navigation and supports Blackberry maps as well as Google Maps. It runs on BlackBerry OS 5.0 which is upgradable. Where it lacks, is in the multimedia department. It comes with just a 2 MP camera. Battery life is awesome and can last up to 2 days with normal usage and 3G active. With its reasonable price, this is the best value for money Blackberry phone. But if you are looking for a good multimedia and camera phone, stay aware from it. It is best only for email, messaging, communication and social networking.
Best Price: Rs. 15,249

5. BlackBerry Curve 8520

The Cheapest Blackberry
BlackBerry Curve 8520 is the entry level mobile from Blackberry. It comes with a 2.46 inch TFT display with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, standard Blackberry Qwerty keypad and the optical trackpad. It runs on Blackberry OS and a 512 MHz processor. Camera is just 2MP which is justified for its price. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi but it lacks 3G, so if you want 3G, this will be a deal breaker for you. If you are fine with standard blackberry push mail, messaging, texting and social networking updates on standard GPRS/EDGE, this is a great device to have. Overall if you are on a budget but still want a blackberry for email and messaging, this is the one to choose. It is much better than the earlier generation Blackberry’s with trackball and older OS.
Best Price: Rs. 11,499

Other Notable Mention

BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100

Blackberry for people who want a Blackberry but hate its size
BlackBerry Pearl 3G 9100 is latest in series of Blackberry Pearl mobiles which are the compact Blackberry’s. Pearl 3G 9100 comes with a 2.25 inches display with a resolution of 360 x 400 pixels. It features the unique Half-Qwerty Keypad with the optical track pad. This half-qwerty keypad is a 20-key condensed hybrid Qwerty and can take some effort to get used to it. It runs on Blackberry OS 5.0 and comes with GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi and a 3.2 MP camera. Overall is a phone targeted for people who need to have a Blackberry for their work but don’t want to carry the bigger size full qwerty phone.
Best Price: Rs. 14,059
PS: The above prices are good as on 26th Jan 2011 and are taken from the available at Mysmartprice.com
This is a guest post by Sitakanta whose startup, mysmartprice.com, helps people to find the best price of mobile phones and books. The prices mentioned above are taken from the Blackberry mobile price list available at Mysmartprice.com. 
 

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With Cloud Computing, the Mathematics of Evolution May Get Easier to Learn

An innovative, educational computing platform developed by University at Buffalo faculty members and hosted by the cloud (remote, high-capacity, scalable servers) is helping UB students understand parts of evolutionary biology on an entirely new level. Soon, high-school and middle-school students will benefit from the same tool as well.

Pop! World, developed by UB faculty members with a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant, takes advantage of cloud computing, which allows programs to run on remote servers instead of through departmental or institutional servers. That feature allows resource-intensive programs to serve many users regardless of their physical location without sacrificing speed or quality of service.
"The cloud serves as a way to distribute resources for free without limits on how many people can access it and with no regard to what kind of computer you are downloading to," says Jessica Poulin, PhD, research assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, who developed Pop! World with principal investigator Bina Ramamurthy, PhD, research associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Katharina Dittmar, PhD, assistant professor of biological sciences. "Everybody can get there."
UB faculty members designed Pop! World because they wanted to get college students more excited about population genetics; they also wanted to maintain the university's unique freshman lab requirements at a time when resources are growing more scarce.
UB is one of the few universities in the U.S. that encourages freshmen interested in biology to begin experiencing labs during their first semester on campus.
"We put our freshmen right into labs because students who might otherwise be lost from the major are captivated when they get to do science," Poulin says. "When you sit in a lecture hall with 400 people and someone is talking about flatworms, what do you care? Despite the logistical difficulties, and the intense demands on staff time, we think that getting freshmen into labs is one of our department's great strengths. We didn't want to discontinue it."
At the same time, Poulin says that it is difficult to convey the main concepts of population genetics at this level, particularly those that are mathematically demanding.
Hired in 2008 to revamp UB's evolutionary biology curriculum for Bio 200, Poulin says that the department was seeking ways to maintain and improve the course and the lab for students without requiring additional resources, such as teaching assistants.
"Almost all of evolutionary theory can be mathematically modeled if you know enough information to begin with," she says. "If you enter the correct parameters into the computer, the computer will tell you what will happen after one generation or a thousand generations. I wanted students to be exposed to something that made them feel they were actually watching evolution happen. I wanted it to be captivating."
While some computational tools exist to help students with population genetics -- the mathematical analysis of evolution -- the result is often nothing more dramatic than a line graph.
"Our students grew up in the Internet age surrounded by MP3 players, wireless phones and social networking apps," says Ramamurthy, "so the visual aspects of Pop! World are certainly very appealing to them."
The UB team programmed Pop! World in Adobe Flash, which lends a highly visual, nearly tactile look to the program. While the current version illustrates evolution with red and green lizards, it is highly adaptable, so it can be used with any population of organisms. It also is highly scalable, so that it can be made more complex, to serve the needs of population genetics researchers, or less complex, to serve the needs of middle- and high-school students.
A preliminary version of Pop! World is running on the Google App Engine Cloud. It can be accessed by going to

http://popworld15.appspot.com/.

With the help of the NSF grant, the UB team is now creating a sophisticated version of the tool, expected to be available by Fall 2011.
"Our idea was to use general principles of population genetics not only to convey the principle in the context of evolutionary biology but to make sure that students understand visually what's happening with the mathematics behind it," explains Dittmar.
When an early version of Pop! World was used to teach evolutionary biology last summer, students and teaching assistants responded enthusiastically.
"The TAs loved it because it facilitated their explanations of a very complicated problem," Poulin says.
"Pop! World gives students the visual background they need to understand complex mathematical problems," Dittmar adds. "And it works kind of like a video game, which serves the current population of undergrads well."
That visual appeal is also expected to go far with middle-school and high-school biology students, groups the UB team hopes to excite about evolution; by spring, they expect to have completed a modified version for them as well.
By making evolutionary biology more visually appealing and, thus, more accessible, Poulin hopes that Pop! World will make evolution itself a more appealing subject for secondary schools to teach.
"There's a huge disconnect," she says. "The universities all accept evolution as fact. It's not a question. But many high schools and middle schools don't want to touch it. They don't want to deal with the politics of it."
Her hope is that the visual and educational appeal of Pop! World and the ease of using it will begin to change that situation.
The UB team's grant, "A Cloud-enabled Evolutionary Genetics Learning Tool for Engaging the Cyber-savvy Generation" (NSF OCI CI-Team 1041280) from the NSF's Office of Cyberinfrastructure, will run for two years.
Hongsik Kim, Jungeun Lee and Byunghun Jang, all former UB graduate students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, also were involved in the project.

 Story Source :  

University at Buffalo

enlarge

(From left) Bina Ramamurthy, Jessica Poulin and Katharina Dittmar say Pop! World's visual appeal makes the mathematical analysis of evolution more captivating for students than conventional representations. (Credit: University at Buffalo)

 

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GRIN Plasmonics: A Practical Path to Superfast Computing, Ultrapowerful Optical Microscopy and Invisibility Carpet-Cloaking Devices

ScienceDaily said it could be done and now they've done it. What's more, they did it with a GRIN. A team of researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley, have carried out the first experimental demonstration of GRIN -- for gradient index -- plasmonics, a hybrid technology that opens the door to a wide range of exotic optics, including superfast computers based on light rather than electronic signals, ultra-powerful optical microscopes able to resolve DNA molecules with visible light, and "invisibility" carpet-cloaking devices.

Working with composites featuring a dielectric (non-conducting) material on a metal substrate, and "grey-scale" electron beam lithography, a standard method in the computer chip industry for patterning 3-D surface topographies, the researchers have fabricated highly efficient plasmonic versions of Luneburg and Eaton lenses. A Luneburg lens focuses light from all directions equally well, and an Eaton lens bends light 90 degrees from all incoming directions.
"This past year, we used computer simulations to demonstrate that with only moderate modifications of an isotropic dielectric material in a dielectric-metal composite, it would be possible to achieve practical transformation optics results," says Xiang Zhang, who led this research. "Our GRIN plasmonics technique provides a practical way for routing light at very small scales and producing efficient functional plasmonic devices."
Zhang, a principal investigator with Berkeley Lab's Materials Sciences Division and director of UC Berkeley's Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center (SINAM), is the corresponding author of a paper in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, describing this work titled, "Plasmonic Luneburg and Eaton Lenses." Co-authoring the paper were Thomas Zentgraf, Yongmin Liu, Maiken Mikkelsen and Jason Valentine.
GRIN plasmonics combines methodologies from transformation optics and plasmonics, two rising new fields of science that could revolutionize what we are able to do with light. In transformation optics, the physical space through which light travels is warped to control the light's trajectory, similar to the way in which outer space is warped by a massive object under Einstein's relativity theory. In plasmonics, light is confined in dimensions smaller than the wavelength of photons in free space, making it possible to match the different length-scales associated with photonics and electronics in a single nanoscale device.
"Applying transformation optics to plasmonics allows for precise control of strongly confined light waves in the context of two-dimensional optics," Zhang says. "Our technique is analogous to the well-known GRIN optics technique, whereas previous plasmonic techniques were realized by discrete structuring of the metal surface in a metal-dielectric composite."
Like all plasmonic technologies, GRIN plasmonics starts with an electronic surface wave that rolls through the conduction electrons on a metal. Just as the energy in a wave of light is carried in a quantized particle-like unit called a photon, so, too, is plasmonic energy carried in a quasi-particle called a plasmon. Plasmons will interact with photons at the interface of a metal and dielectric to form yet another quasi-particle, a surface plasmon polariton (SPP).
The Luneburg and Eaton lenses fabricated by Zhang and his co-authors interacted with SPPs rather than photons. To make these lenses, the researchers worked with a thin dielectric film (a thermplastic called PMMA) on top of a gold surface. When applying grey-scale electron beam lithography, the researchers exposed the dielectric film to an electron beam that was varied in dosage (charge per unit area) as it moved across the film's surface. This resulted in highly controlled differences in film thickness across the length of the dielectric that altered the local propagation of SPPs. In turn, the "mode index," which determines how fast the SPPs will propagate, is altered so that the direction of the SPPs can be influenced.
"By adiabatically tailoring the topology of the dielectric layer adjacent to the metal surface, we're able to continuously modify the mode index of SPPs," says Zentgraf. "As a result, we can manipulate the flow of SPPs with a greater degree of freedom in the context of two-dimensional optics."
Says Liu, "The practicality of working only with the purely dielectric material to transform SPPs is a big selling point for GRIN plasmonics. Controlling the physical properties of metals on the nanometer length-scale, which is the penetration depth of electromagnetic waves associated with SPPs extending below the metal surfaces, is beyond the reach of existing nanofabrication techniques."
Adds Zentgraf, "Our approach has the potential to achieve low-loss functional plasmonic elements with a standard fabrication technology that is fully compatible with active plasmonics."
In the Nature Nanotechnology paper, the researchers say that inefficiencies in plasmonic devices due to SPPs lost through scattering could be reduced even further by incorporating various SPP gain materials, such as fluorescent dye molecules, directly into the dielectric. This, they say, would lead to an increased propagation distance that is highly desired for optical and plasmonic devices. It should also enable the realization of two-dimensional plasmonic elements beyond the Luneburg and Eaton lenses.
Says Mikkelsen, "GRIN plasmonics can be immediately applied to the design and production of various plasmonic elements, such as waveguides and beam splitters, to improve the performance of integrated plasmonics. Currently we are working on more complex, transformational plasmonic devices, such as plasmonic collimators, single plasmonic elements with multiple functions, and plasmonic lenses with enhanced performance."
This research was supported by the U.S. Army Research Office and the National Science Foundation's Nano-scale Science and Engineering Center.

Story Source:

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. 

Journal Reference:

Plasmonic Luneburg and Eaton lenses. Nature Nanotechnology, 2011

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Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.6 VMWare image for Windows PC

This is pre-installed Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.6 VMWare image for Windows PC.

How to install and begin using Mac OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.6 in Windows using Vmware Player :


1. In order to know if your PC is capable of virtualization and how to enable it in BIOS please download this software from Microsoft :

 

Code:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/support/configure-bios.aspx 

 

2. Download all the files from links above fileserve,extract using Power Archiver,WinRar..etc

3. Install Vmware workstation 7 or Vmware Player

4.Put the Snow Leopard VM folder (its 8.8 GB) in any place u want where you have the most space.

5.Open Vmware Workstation or Wmware Player

6.Choose from menu the option : Open Existing VM or Open a Virtual Machine



7.Click and open MAc OSX 10.6.6 Server.vmx now vmware will add the mac os x as Virtual OS.

8.

9.Click Power on this virtual machine or Play Virtual Machine and start mac osx



Note*:

- Username :  mac
- Password :   macosx

*you must change the OS in vmware player or workstation to FreeBsd

*to boot correctly you must type -v busratio=4 cpus=1,for Intel Core i7 type -v busratio=20


Screens:



















Download:

Code:

http://www.fileserve.com/file/MB8pPHQ

http://www.fileserve.com/file/NgCNPK6

http://www.fileserve.com/file/wvEgf3U

http://www.fileserve.com/file/ddadc3D

http://www.fileserve.com/file/fEG8PQz

http://www.fileserve.com/file/bBmZuSs

Download and Enjoy.

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ASCII Animator (convert GIF image to animated ASCII art)

ASCII Animator (convert GIF image to animated ASCII art)



^^^



ASCII Animator is a uniquesoftware to convert GIF image to animated ASCII art.
ASCII Animator is a unique, funny and free software to convert GIF image to animated ASCII art.


First, ASCII Animator extracts GIF image into frames, then converts each frames to ASCII art, and encodes the ASCII art into a new animated ASCII art GIF image.

DOWNLOAD LINK :-

http://www.filesonic.com/file/62952082/ASCII.ArtMaker.1.6.rar

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