Technology Facts

Ubuntu 9.04 released

2009-04-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Ubuntu team is pleased to announce Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop and Server
editions and Ubuntu Netbook Remix, continuing Ubuntu's tradition of
integrating the latest and greatest open source technologies into a
high-quality, easy-to-use Linux distribution.
Read more..

How To Open .mdf .mds Files

2009-01-27T08:58:00.000-08:00

On torrents sites cd images are available in many different format. The .mdf/.mds is one of those formats. To extract the .iso image from .mdf/.mds formatted files you need to have a specialized utility. Daemon Tools is one such freeware utility.

Basically Daemon Tools is a virtual cd drive program. You can use Daemon Tools virtual cd program to mount .mdf/.mds formatted file and directly run cd from this virtual cd drive.

You may download Daemon Tools utility clicking on this link.

How to Extract Part RAR Files?

2009-01-23T20:14:00.001-08:00

Many times downloaded files are in the form collection of small RAR files. These are usually named as part1.rar, part2.rar, part3.rar etc. Yesterday I downloaded one cd image which came as part RAR achieve files. To extract the .iso image of the CD, I put all the the part files of RAR archive in same directory. I then opened the first part file named part1.rar with WINRAR program. WINRAR program combined all the part RAR files and produced a .iso image file. I then extracted this .iso image to the hard drive and burned a CD.

The Future Trend

2009-01-20T20:32:00.001-08:00

It's almost three months since I started blogging at buzznol. In past three months I have posted many blog posts. Actually I wanted this blog to be about all the topics and news related to technology and its impact on our day to day life. But till now I've mainly blogged about various topics related to computer software. So in the future you will notice the change in this trend because I am planning to include blog posts on many topics such as robotics, space technology, solar power,wind energy etc. By writing on all the topics related to technology, I believe that buzznol will really become a technology blog and attract more readers interested in technology news and topics. But this does not mean that I'll stop blogging about computer software, as many of the visitors till now were mostly interested in the blog posts related to software. So, lets wait and see how the blog at buzznol develops.

Free SMTP Server For Windows

2009-01-15T14:22:00.001-08:00

Last week I wanted a program which could directly send email from my computer. Initially I tried the SMTP server that comes with windows XP but I was unable to configure it properly. Hence I googled to search for alternative SMTP server programs. While searching I found SMTP server program which is easy to install, it's called Free SMTP server. It's a small and sweet program. It is a smtp program that lets you send email messages directly from your computer. It is a very convenient for the people traveling around the world and connecting their computers to different ISPs all the time. Instead of using your ISP's SMTP server you can use free SMTP program to increase security and privacy. Free SMTP servers supports all the email client programs like Outlook Express, Thunderbird and Eudora. To configure your email client program to send email through Free SMTP server is very easy. Just type "localhost" instead of your ISP is SMTP server address and you are done.

Free SMTP server works on Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista.

To download Free SMTP server click on this link.

Install Webmin On Ubuntu Linux

2009-01-13T06:48:00.001-08:00

Webmin is a web based interface for system administration for Linux. It is very convenient for system administration of commonly used services like Apache, DNS , SMTP, file sharing etc. Webmin consists of simple webserver and a number of CGI programs written in perl language. Hence before installing Webmin we have to prepare Ubuntu by installing perl and its associated libraries. To install the required perl packages, type the following command in the terminal,

sudo apt-get install perl libnet-ssleay-perl openssl libauthen-pam-perl libpam-runtime libio-pty-perl libmd5-perl

after installing required perl packages download Webmin package with following command,

wget -c http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/webadmin/webmin_1.441_all.deb

Next install this downloaded package of Webmin with following command,

sudo dpkg -i webmin_1.441_all.deb

Now you can start using Webmin by typing a following URL in your web browser,

https://localhost:10000

Free Twitter Plugin For Wordpress

2009-01-07T20:39:00.001-08:00

If you have a Wordpress blog to which you want to drive traffic, here is a way to do so. TweetMyBlog is Wordpress plugin that makes it very easy to combine the powers of Wordpress and Twitter - driving massive amounts of traffic
to your blog. When you install this plugin on your Wordpress blog, TweetMyBlog will automatically

1) Post a tweet whenever you update you blog. The tweet will link back to your Wordpress blog, driving a ton of interested visitors your way.

2) Highlight your latest Tweets on your Wordpress blog's sidebar - while increasing your Twitter following

3) Promote your TweetMyBlog affiliate link on auto-pilot, whenever you use the plugin and Wordpress sidebar widget. Earn commissions just for posting to your blog.

And the good thing about TweetMyBlog plugin is that it is 100% free.

To get TweetMyBlog plugin for your Wordpress blog, click on this link.

Use Ejecter to safely Remove USB Devices in Ubuntu

2009-01-04T18:28:00.001-08:00

Ejecter is a very nice and useful utility to safely, easily remove external media connected to your computer. There is just a small and simple applet whose menu sits in the system notification area on your Ubuntu Desktop, providing you a quick and easy way to unmount external devices such as usb pendrives, cd/dvd, external hard disks, digital cameras etc.

To download Ejecter please click on this link.

After downloading the .deb package for Ejecter just double click on the downloaded file to install the Ejecter. After installation find the Ejecter applet in system notification area on your Ubuntu desktop.

Testing YACG on Windows

2009-01-02T20:58:00.001-08:00

After testing YACG successfully on Ubuntu Linux, I decided to test YACG on windows platform. But to test YACG on windows platform you need apache web server and PHP. I thought that I would download Apache and PHP separately but as I googled on the Internet I came across two distribution packages packages which consisted of Apache,MySQL and PHP. First one is called WAMP and the other one XAMPP. As the WAMP is much smaller than XAMPP I downloaded WAMP first. It worked without any problem. Then I installed YACG in apache server's root directory. But YACG failed. I enabled curl extension of PHP without avail. Therefore I decided to download XAMPP.

XAMPP is much larger distribution. It also comes with FileZilla FTP server. So XAMPP is ideal for simulating actual working conditions. After installing XAMPP, I enabled curl extension for PHP and I uploaded YACG to APACHE web server's root directory using FTP client and Filezilla FTP server. I was surprised to find that YACG worked on XAMPP without any problem. I didn't even had to change the file permissions through FTP client. So if you are interested in testing YACG on windows platform I recommend XAMPP distribution.

To go to XAMPP download page click on this link.

You can obtain more information about YACG by joining YACG forum at http://forums.getyacg.com. Here at the forum you will also find the links to download YACG. Good luck.

Testing YACG On Ubuntu

2009-01-01T06:04:00.001-08:00

It's already new years morn and here I am wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Hopefully 2009 will bring better opportunities and bright future for everyone.

Yesterday I was testing a script which can automatically generate websites. If you have not heard about it, it is called YACG short for Yet Another Content Generator. You have to install this script on your webserver by uploading. You also have to supply your list of keywords in a file called keywords.txt. Then based on the keywords the YACG script generates web pages by scrapping content from various article sites.

As I have installed apache web server and PHP with curl support on my Ubuntu desktop, I was able to test YACG on my Ubuntu desktop. I must admit that the website generated by YACG is quite impressive. Now before porting it to my domain, I want to change the default template. Hence I am on the look out for templates for YACG.

You can obtain more information by joining YACG forum at http://forums.getyacg.com. Here at the forum you will also find the links to download YACG. Good luck.

Install Curl Extension for PHP in Ubuntu

2008-12-30T14:43:00.001-08:00

Many times we come across web applications which are written in PHP and require curl extension. PHP curl functions can used through use of libcurl. The libcurl was create by Daniel Sternberg. With the help of libcurl you can connect and communicate with webserver using different protocols. To install curl library on your Ubuntu computer, you need to have LAMP (Linux apache mysql php) set up ready. Once you have Lamp setup ready just type in following command in terminal to install curl library,

sudo apt-get install curl libcurl3 libcurl3-dev php5-curl

After installing libcurl you should restart the web server with following command,

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

If you don't have LAMP functionality already installed, then please click on the following link to find out how install LAMP on Ubuntu Linux,

http://buzznol.blogspot.com/2008/11/install-apache-mysql-php-in-ubuntu.html

FireFTP is a free, secure, cross-platform FTP client for Mozilla Firefox

2008-12-27T06:02:00.001-08:00

For last few days I have been busy with my new blogs. I am using WordPress platform on a rented domain. With couple of WordPress plugins I turned these blogs into autoblogs. The installed autoblog plugins post content to my blogs automatically. While preparing these autoblogs for operation I came across an interesting utility for Mozilla Firefox.

This utility is called FireFTP and it is a Mozilla Firefox addon. You just install this addon and after customization of toolbar you get a nice small button for a FireFTP on the toolbar in Firefox. When you click on this button FireFTP client opens into a new tab. You can create new FTP account in this FireFTP client and get connected to FTP server at just a click of a button. Another good thing about this addon is that it works on all different platforms be it Windows or Linux.I found this addon very useful and hope that you'll find it too!

To go to the download page of FireFTP just click on this link.

OpenSuse 11.1 Installation Failed

2008-12-21T23:24:00.001-08:00

I downloaded OpenSuse 11.1 KDE version from the net. Burned the boot image on the CD. But when I tried to install it on my laptop, I ran into difficulties. I have already installed Ubuntu Linux on my laptop on one of the partitions. When I ran OpenSuse installer, I reached up to the partition manager. Then partition manager notified me that Ubuntu partition needs to be deleted. I played around and tried to get over this hurdle, but I couldn't. Partition manager was still showing that Ubuntu partition being selected for deletion. Hence I aborted the installation of OpenSuse 11.1 for time being. Later on I will try to install it on my USB pen drive.

Remove the Navbar from Blogger Blog

2008-12-20T20:56:00.001-08:00

Sometime blogger likes to remove the Navbar from the blogger blog. But if you are not using FTP to post to the blog it is actually against TOS of blogger.com. So make sure that you are not violating TOS before removing the NAvbar. To remove the Navbar, log on to your blogger account. Next select Layout from the dashboard and Edit HTML tab. Now add following code to your blogger template,

#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}

Add this code above variable definitions in blogger template as shown,
-----------------------------------------------
Blogger Template Style
Name: Minima
Designer: Douglas Bowman
URL: www.stopdesign.com
Date: 26 Feb 2004
Updated by: Blogger Team
----------------------------------------------- */
#navbar-iframe {
display: none !important;
}
/* Variable definitions
====================
<Variable name="bgcolor" description="Page Background Color"
type="color" default="#fff" value="#ffffff">

The newly added code to the blogger template is shown in a RED font. After modifying the template code do not forget to save the template. Now next time when you will view your blog, you will not see the Navbar.

How to Restore Grub

2008-12-19T05:46:00.001-08:00

On a dual or multi boot system when you install Windows XP again it overwrites Grub boot loader with its own boot loader. To restore Grub follow the steps as described below,

Start your computer and boot with Ubuntu Live CD. Once Ubuntu Linux is loaded, open terminal and type sudo grub at the prompt.
Now prompt will change to grub>
Next type find /boot/grub/stage1 at the grub> prompt and press enter.
The location of grub on different partitions will be shown as a result of find /boot/grub/stage1 command.
Select the partition on which your Grub is located e.g. my grub loader for Ubuntu on first hard disk on partition 2 was shown as (hd0,1).
Next choose this partition as root partition by typing root (hdd, partition No.), e.g. in my case I typed root(hd0,2) at the command prompt.
Now to restore Master Boot Record type setup (hdd) at the command prompt e.g. in my case I typed setup (hd0).
Once the MBR is installed on the hard disk, you can exit grub> prompt by typing quit and pressing enter.

Next reboot the computer without Ubuntu Live CD and you will get your usual Grub Menu.

Ping Servers List for Windows Live Writer

2008-12-17T19:10:00.001-08:00

If you are trying to get as much exposure as possible to your blog, then it is essential that you notify the Ping servers as soon as you update the blog. The ping server is basically ongoing log of blogs that have been updated recently. Therefore by pinging the ping servers you let the ping servers know that your blog has been updated. If you are using Windows Live Writer to edit and publish your blogs then the Windows Live Writer can Ping the Ping Servers for you every time you post to your blog. For this you can provide a list of Ping servers to Windows Live Writer.

To provide the list of ping servers to Windows Live Writer just click on Tools->Options and select Ping Servers. Then check the box, Send ping to URLs below. Following is the list of Ping servers you can cut and paste in the list box provided at Tools-> Options->Ping Servers,

http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080
http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx
http://api.feedster.com/ping.php
http://rpc.pingomatic.com

How To Remove Antivirus 360

2008-12-16T20:19:00.001-08:00

Recently my computer was hit by a virus attack. The infection was caused by Antivirus 360. Antivirus 360 is a Rogue anti-spyware program that shows false scan results and uses aggressive advertising to promote itself. Vundo Trojan advertises this rogue. Vundo Trojan shows large number of false Pop Ups, notification and alerts about your computer being infected asking you to install Antivirus 360. Once you download and install Antivirus 360 it will scan your computer for infection and show false results. It even shows windows regular files C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe, C:\Windows\System32\alg.exe as spyware or virus. So if you manually remove these files your computer may cease to function properly. Antivirus 360 cannot be uninstalled as it doesn't list any uninstall utility to remove it. Windows Add/Remove program cannot uninstall it. So you have basically stuck with this program till you register it online for $50.

To get rid of this Antivirus you can use Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program. This Anti-Malware can remove the most advanced malware. I downloaded this Anti-Malware program and installed it on my computer. The first time when I ran it, It scanned computer, found Vundo Trojan. I then removed Vundo Trojan with it. Next I updated Malwarebytes Anti-Malware using built in update function. After updating when I ran the Anti-Malware utility again it found Rogue Antivirus 360 infection. I then removed the Antivirus 360 by just pressing Remove button.

Click here to download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Windows Live Installer And Critical Update agent 5.8.02469

2008-12-15T13:34:00.001-08:00

As my Windows XP installation had become too slow and sluggish, I backed up all data and reinstalled Windows XP. I normally use Windows Live Writer for posting to the blogs, therefore I downloaded installer from Windows Live Writer website. However when I tried to install I was not able to install Windows Live Writer, as I was getting the message, a critical update agent 5.8.02469 or later is required for installation. To overcome this difficulty I searched the net for critical update agent 5.8.02469 or later but soon was disappointed to find no useful information. Then suddenly I realized that I had turned of Automatic Updates in windows XP. So I just turned on Automatic Updates. Thereafter I was able to install Windows Live writer without a problem.

So if you are also having the same problem while installing the Windows Live Writer, just go to control panel and open system Properties box by clicking on Systems icon. On System Properties box choose Automatic Update tab and select Automatic option. Now you would be able to install Windows Live applications without a problem.

Windows XP: The OS That Won't Quit

2008-12-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

Shane O'Neill writes:

Phasing out an old operating system is nothing new for Microsoft, but Windows XP is unique in that it may be too good to die.

This week, Dell announced it will offer systems with the aging Windows XP for a surcharge of US$150 over the newer Windows Vista--this only five months after it stopped offering XP on its Inspiron consumer desktop and laptop PCs.

The deadline for Windows XP downgrades has been pushed back twice now, remaining in effect until July 31, 2009-a strong indication that enough users want to stay with the aging XP rather than give Vista a chance.

Though market share for Windows XP dropped nearly 10 percent in 2008 as Vista slowly made gains, XP still has a market share of 66 percent, according to Web metrics company Net Applications.

You Can Build Your Own Solar Panel

2008-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

With energy resources dwindling fast and global warming changing climates across the globe, more people look towards renewable energies for reducing their carbon footprint. However, even the most environmentally passionate person cannot pursue such endeavors without the proper financial resources. The professional installation of a solar energy system can cost in the thousands, so many resourceful individuals are turning to the many great resources that help you build your own solar panel.

It is possible to completely build your own solar panel, but for the most part, these panels are small and do not produce the wattage necessary to power more than a simple lamp and only for a couple of minutes. The most effective way to produce power from the sun, when you can't afford to hire the professionals, would be with a solar panel kit. These build your own solar panel kits come with everything you need to successfully build your own solar panel in the comfort of your living room, or the garage may be a wiser choice.

Surprisingly, build your own solar panel kits are not difficult to find. With large companies like GE producing these kits, the build your own solar panel sets are very affordable and offer quicker return on your investment than purchasing and professionally installing a solar energy system. In general the instructions are easy to follow, even for teens and children, and in no time you are on your way to your own solar power system.

If you are looking to build your own solar panel there are a numerous resources and guides available to help you through the process. By involving the whole family in the building process, every one will learn how a solar power system works and exactly how the components are put together. Also, when you build your own solar panel you are giving yourself the knowledge to expand your system on your own, without calling back the installers, and the ability to adapt your current system to meet new design needs.

Making the choice to build your own solar panel is a great investment for your future and the world's future. Start making your own power at home and take advantage of this great way to educate yourself while saving money and helping the environment and learn how to build your own solar panel today.

Bypass the Firewall

2008-12-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

If you are in a school or a organization that uses firewall, you know how frustrating it is to browse the web. Because of firewall access to many interesting places on the web is denied. So here is an application called HTTP-Tunnel which allows you to overcome the limitations imposed by the firewalls. HTTP-Tunnel also gives protection against hackers, ID theft, spyware with built in encryption.

Install HTTP-Tunnel if you want to

bypass the firewall
surf with secure browsing
Encrypt all your internet traffic
Don't want your browsing to be monitored by school or any other organization
Hide your IP address
download unlimited data

To Go To HTTP-Tunnel Download page click on this link

Recycling Old Hard Disk Drives

2008-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Before I bought a Laptop I was using a desktop computer with two harddisk drives. One was Samsung 40 GB and the other Samsung 80 GB. But the desktop computer developed a fault on its main board and it was beyond repair. Therefore I had to to scrap the desktop computer.

The laptop I use has 40 GB internal Hard disk. Now with all the downloads and all I needed more hard disk space. There fore I decided to buy external hard drive.

But then suddenly I got an idea. I just removed two old hard disk drives from my old computer and went to the computer shop. The sales person at the computer shop told me that it was very much possible to connect old hard disk drives. All I had to do was to buy a IDE to USB convertor for each hardisk. Now with these IDE to USB connector I can still use my old hard disk drives without any problem. These new external drives were immediately recognized by BIOS, Windows and Ubuntu. I could delete old partitions, create new partitions and format these from windows and Ubuntu. I even installed Ubuntu Linux on my new usb external drive made from old hard disk drive.

By just using old hard disk drives and IDE to USB connector I was able to save many $$$s.

Cost-Conscious Companies Turn to Open Source Software

2008-12-08T14:47:00.001-08:00

Rachel King writes:-

After the tech bubble burst, E*Trade's (NYSE: ET) technology chief, Lee Thompson, needed to find a way to do more with less. In 2001 and 2002, the online stock trading company shrank its tech budget by one-third. "We had to go through and figure out every penny that we were spending and make alternatives to reduce those costs," says Thompson, vice-president and chief technologist of E*Trade. So he began using software that can be downloaded at no cost via the Internet. By the end of 2002, he was saving US$13 million a year thanks to use of these freely available applications known as open source software.

Screen Capture Software

2008-12-07T21:10:00.001-08:00

Many times you need screenshots for publishing on your blog or in the tutorial you are writing. To get this screen shots you require a screen capture software. Although by pressing ALT + PrtSC i.e print screen key you can get screenshots in windows, Alt + PrtSc captures only full screen. To overcome this limitation of Print Screen you need more sofisticated software. Most comercial screen capturing softwares are pretty costly. But here is one screen capture software which comes free. It is called Light Screen.

With Light Screen screen capture tool you can,

Capture whole desktop
Capture Active Window
Capture Selected region

This software tool is very easy to use and can be downloaded from here.

Virtual CD/DVD Drive

2008-12-04T13:06:00.000-08:00

There are many people who download cd/ DVD images from the internet, or have CD/DVD images on their hard disks. Here is one program called MagicDisc which is must for them. MagicDisc allows you to use almost all CD/DVD image without burning them onto CD or DVD in order to easily access your favorite games, music, or software programs. It works like a real CD/DVD-ROM. You can run programs, play games, or listen to music from your virtual CD-ROM. Allowing you to run your game images at over 200x faster than from a conventional CD/DVD-ROM.

MagicDisc allows you to create new vitual CD/DVD drives in My Computer. After creating these virtual drives you can mount CD/DVD images on them. MagicDisc works on Windows9x/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista.

Following CD/DVD formats are supported by Magic Disc:-

BIN (CDRWin)
IMA/IMG (Generic disk images)
CIF (Easy CD Creator)
NRG (Nero - Burning ROM)
IMG/CCD (CloneCD)
MDF/MDS (Fantom CD)
VCD (Farstone Virtual Drive)
VaporCD (Noum Vapor CDROM)
P01/MD1/XA (Gear)
VC4/000 (Virtual CD)
VDI (Virtuo CD Manager)
C2D (WinOnCD)
BWI/BWT (BlinkWrite)
CDI (DiscJuggler)
TAO/DAO (Duplicator)
PDI (Instant Copy)

To download MagicDisc click on this link.

Why won't Sony or Microsoft admit Nintendo is a competitor?

2008-12-02T16:51:00.001-08:00

Don Reisinger writes:-

Whenever I read a Sony or Microsoft press release or meet with company representatives, they're quick to point out that Nintendo's Wii console isn't a competitor. Why? They claim it's because the Wii does gaming differently and is more of a "casual" platform than a "true" gaming console.

It didn't get any better Monday when Microsoft sent a press release detailing the Xbox 360's performance on Black Friday. According to the company, its console sales "were on pace to beat previous years, outselling the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one ratio and estimating a 25 percent increase from Xbox 360 Black Friday sales figures from 2007."

Read more here: Nintendo is a competitor

Nokia releases Nokia 6260

2008-12-01T18:03:00.001-08:00

Nokia has come with its own new model after the release of Blackberry Storm. Nokia has announced officially that new mobile Nokia 6260 will be released and available in January 2009.

The Nokia 6260 slide comes with a 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and WiFi, 3G/HSDPA connectivity up to 10.2 Mbps.The camera also has a numeric 2.4 inches keypad and a 320 by 480 display. Nokia 6260 can be connected to TV with TV-out functionality, stereo speakers. Nokia 6260 has 200 MB internal memory and also supports microSD card technology for additional storage. Nokia 6260 has six hours span of call and 400 hours standby time. Uploading images and videos to websites, blogs and social networks is faster with Nokia 6260, which features lightning-fast speeds over both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

It will be hitting the market in early January in Europe priced at 200 Euros.

Multi boot Computers

2008-11-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

With increase in popularity of Linux based operating systems like Fedora, Ubuntu, Open Suse etc. many people have started using multi boot computers. Multi boot computers have more than one operating system installed on them. In a typical multi boot computer, one operating system is Windows and other some distribution based on Linux or UNIX. User then can boot the particular operating system of their choice and selection. Boot manager programs like GRUB offer convenience of booting the operating system of your choice and selection. Besides Linux there are few other operating systems available, which can be installed on multi boot computers e.g. Solaris, Open Solaris, BSD UNIX, QNX etc. Also with availability of hard disks of large capacities it is now possible to install full distribution of other operating systems beside Windows. In future perhaps a software specially developed for multi boot operating system may become available e.g Linux based file defragmentation utility for Windows file system or a Linux based anti-virus software which is capable of scanning and destroying the viruses on windows installation. With multi boot computers you get best of multiple operating system technologies.

Webcam in Fedora 10

2008-11-29T01:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I downloaded the Fedora 10 live cd. I am using the kde version of live CD. The live CD booted without any problem. After loading the desktop, Using installation wizard, I installed Fedora 10 on the hard disk and rebooted. It was fun watching Fedora 10 booting from hard disk. The graphical boot system is simply out of the world.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Vimicro 301 Neptune webcam was detected by Fedora 10 as soon as I plugged it in and loaded its Kernel based v4l webcam linux driver. In Fedora 10 webcam support is available right from the kernel.

Although the webcam was properly detected and got configured automatically, I was dissapointed to find that the available version Skype doesnot work on Fedora 10. Till we get version update from Skype, I will have to use Skype from windows and Ubuntu.

Fedora Releases Fedora 10

2008-11-28T06:54:00.001-08:00

Fedora project sponsored by RedHat released it's latest version of Fedora on Tuesday. Fedora is a free Linux based operating system popular amongst many Linux enthusiasts. The latest version Fedora 10 is released with a improvements in security, networking, boot time, virtualization management and printing capabilities.

With new virtualization management it is possible to manage virtual hosts and storage remotely.

With improvements in networking it is possible to share internet connection with others.

There have been improvements in boot time too. Fedora 10 boots faster now with new graphical boot system.

Latest version of Open Office, Open Office 3.0 is also included in Fedora 10.

Fedora 10 also supports wide range of webcams.

Download Fedora 10 Linux.

Installation of Webcam In Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-27T02:21:00.001-08:00

I have a Vimicro 301 Neptune webcam. It works perfectly well in Windows. I wanted to use this webcame under Ubuntu too. From the net I came to know that kernel module gspca is required for fuctioning of Vimicro 301 Neptune web camera under Ubuntu. As this module doesn't come along with the Ubuntu Intrepid, I decided to download the source code for gscpa kernel module. I downloaded the source code from http://mxhaard.free.fr/download.html. But when I tried to compile it, I got compilation errors.

As it was not possible to compile the gscpa source code I downloaded source code for gspca module from http://packages.ubuntu.com/hardy/all/gspca-source/download and tried to compile it with m-a command but I again got the compilation errors.

After failure to compile the gspca source code, I searched for more information on the Internet. Finally I found a post on one of the Ubuntu forums ,that answered this issue. The author of this post lamer1 has developed a patch for gspca source code. So I downloaded the patch gspca.patch.gz and unzipped it then I patched the gspca source code with this patch and compiled the kernel. I was too stunned to find that the gscpa module was successfully compiled. I used following commands in terminal to compile kernel and to install it.

tar -xvzf gspcav1-20071224.tar.gz
tar -xvzf gspca.patch.gz
cd gspcav1-20071224
patch < ../gspca.patch
make
sudo make install

This installed the module alright. Then I opened /etc/modprobe.d/options for editing,

sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/options

Now I appended following line to /etc/modprobe.d/options

options gspca force_rgb=1

Now when I plugged in the usb webcam driver showed as /dev/video0 in /dev/.

But skype wasnot able to detect the webcam.

So I changed the file permissions of /dev/video0 with following command

chmod 777 /dev/video0

Now the webcam was detected by skype all right.

Only issue I am facing now is the file permission, as I have to change file permissions of /dev/video0 with chmod everytime I plug in the webcam.

Convert MIDI Files To Wave Format

2008-11-25T17:21:00.001-08:00

I have a collection of midi files in .mid and .kar format. It's a collection of a very nice music. I wanted to transfer this music on my MP3 player.

As MP3 player cannot play midi files directly I had to convert midi files to wave format and then wave format to mp3 format. In this blogpost I'll show you how I converted midi file to wave format on Ubuntu Linux.

First I downloaded and installed the program Timidity using following command

sudo apt-get install timidity

Timidity is a program for playing midi and karaoke files. It can play the midi and karaoke files even if they are zipped. I used the special feature of Timidity program to output the played music to a wave file with -Ow switch. I used the following command to convert midi file to a wave file

timidity -Ows midifile

where midifile can be .mid or .kar file, this command generates midifile.wav file in the current directory.

Technorati Tags: midi, wave, .mid, .kar, .wav, convert, music

Back Up And Restore MBR

2008-11-24T17:20:00.001-08:00

I have a computer with multiple operating systems installed. Windows XP and Ubuntu are the main OSs I use regularly. Beside these two I also have Open Solaris and Fedora Linux installed on my computers. Booting into any of these is not a problem because I use GRUB bootloader installed by Ubuntu Linux. Problem came when I wanted to reinstall WindowsXP as it had become too sluggish due to possible virus infection ( it was taking me around 15 minutes to boot WindowsXP). After reinstallation windows bootloader was going to wipe out grub bootloader. So I decided to back up Master Boot Record (MBR). I logged into Ubuntu, opened a terminal and backed up MBR with following command

sudo dd if=/dev/sda of=original.mbr bs=512 count=1

This created a copy of MBR in the file original.mbr from my harddisk /dev/sda. After backing up MBR I reinstalled windows. Now to get back the original GRUB bootloader, I booted Ubuntu Live CD. After the desktop was fully loaded, I opened a terminal and mounted my Ubuntu Partition on the harddisk under /mnt directory Ubuntu of Live CD. Then I enetered into home directory with

sudo cd /mnt/home/charles

Now I could see the file original.mbr in my home directory. To restore the original MBR issued the following command in the terminal

sudo dd if=original.mbr of=/dev/sda bs=512 count=1

Now my original GRUB bootloader was back and I could boot into any OS on my computer.

Add Digg Button To Your Blogposts At Blogger

2008-11-23T17:40:00.001-08:00

If your want to drive traffic to your blog, you know how important it is, to submit your blog at digg,com.You may also add a big Digg button to your blogpost at blogger.com like the one I have on my blog posts. It is very easy to add Digg button to to your blog posts, all you have to do is edit the template as described below.

1. Log on to your account at blogger.com
2. Click on "Layout"
3. Under "Layout" tab, select "Edit HTML" tab
4. Download the template to your desktop for editing, by clicking on "Download Full Template".
5. Open the dowloaded template in the Notepad.
6. In the template you are editing find the following line:-
<p><data:post.body/></p>
7. Just above this line paste following code


<div style='float:right; margin-left:10px;'>
<script type='text/javascript'>
digg_url = '<data:post.url/>';
</script>
<script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/>
</div>


8. Save the template.
9. Upload the template again to blogger by browsing to the template's file name and clicking on "Upload "button under "Edit HTML" tab.

Use Gmail's Vacation Responder

2008-11-22T15:42:00.001-08:00

When your are on vacation or away from the computers & Internet and not checking and answering your emails, you can let the people know you are away by setting an auto responder in Gmail. It is a very convenient feature to use. It is basically like putting Not At Home sign on your door when you are away from home. Vacation responder feature sends automated reply to incoming mail.

To use this facility log on to your Gmail account. Then click on Settings. Under Settings tab select General tab. Locate Vacation responder on the General tab.

Once you have located Vacation responder on the general tab, to activate vacation responder feature select the option Vacation responder on using the radio button. Now type the subject and message in the text boxes provided. You can also reply to only those people who are in your address book and avoid replying to news letters by checking the check box Only send a response to people in my contact. That's all. Now whenever you will get a mail, automatic reply will be sent. To switch off vacation responder facility simply select the option Vacation Responder off using the radio button under Settings->General->Vacation responder.

Access Ext3 File System From Windows

2008-11-20T17:27:00.001-08:00

I have a dual boot computer with Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. Sometimes I work in Windows XP and sometimes in Ubuntu. When I am working in Ubuntu I can easily access the windows partition from Ubuntu. In contrast to working in Ubuntu when I used to work in Windows XP I was not able to access my ext3 based Ubuntu Linux partitions which caused a lot of inconvenience. Then I came to know about the utility called EXT2FSD which allows you to mount ext3 partitions. I downloaded the latest version of this utility and installed it under Windows XP. The version of EXT2FSD I am using is 0.46a. Although the support for journalizing file system is still under development, in this version of Ext2FSD ext3 journal check and replay is implemented.

EXT2FSD works as a windows driver for ext3 based Linux partitions. Using this utility you can easily mount ext2/ext3 based Linux partitions under Windows. Ext2FSD also allows to allocate drive letters to the mounted ext2/ext3 based partitions. When these Linux partitions are mounted under Windows you can access these partitions from My Computer as any other drive. You can read as well as write to these partitions.

To go to the download page of EXT2FSD click on this link.

Read CHM Files On Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-19T16:07:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I downloaded an eBook. But I was soon dissapointed because I was not able to read the eBook on my Ubuntu Linux as the eBook was in .CHM format. CHM files, known as Microsoft Compressed HTML Help files, are a common format for online documentation and eBooks. CHM format is a basically compressed archive of HTML files with the added benefit of an index. You can view the CHM formated file on linux by extracting the html files from the chm archive or converting CHM files to pdf format.

But there is a better alternative available for reading CHM files, which is xCHM reader program. After getting this information I downloaded xCHM reader program with following command:-

sudo apt-get install xchm

With this command xCHMreader program gets installed and well integrated into the Ubuntu Desktop.Now after having installed xCHM reader I have no difficulty reading the eBooks which are in CHM format on my Ubuntu Linux.

Find A Profitable Niche

2008-11-17T15:31:00.001-08:00

When you want to design and promote a new website, you need to find out the keywords that can generate maximum traffic from the search engines. For this you are interested in the most profitable keywords for your niche. Manual research for keywords by analyzing each keyword by going to wordtracker and then to the search engine to estimate traffic can be quite time consuming. You can avoid this by using automatic keyword research tools specially developed for keyword research. Most of these keyword research tools are quite expensive. Therefore if you need a keyword research tool to find a profitable niche which is free and easy to use then here is one such tool called Keyword Buzz which can be downloaded for free and is quite easy to use.

Special features of Keyword Buzz:-

With Keyword Buzz you can find profitable keywords for your niche or any other niche
You can analyze your competition in three major search engines
You can find low competition keywords for high search engine placement.

With keyword Buzz you can find out how many searches are being done daily for a particular keyword. Keyword Buzz also shows you how many results are available in Google, Yahoo and MSN search engines for this particular keyword. This is how you can estimate supply and demand for any keyword which is very important when analyzing keywords for a profitable niche.

To go to download page of Keyword Buzz click on this link.

Install Konqueror In Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

Konqueror is not only a web browser but it is also a very good file manager. It is designed as a core part of KDesktop Environment (KDE).If you are used to KDE and now you are migrating to Ubuntu Linux you will surely miss Konqueror in Ubuntu. Here is a good news for you Konqueror can run on various Linux systems including Ubuntu Linux. All you need to to install Konqueror is to give following command (assuming you are connected to the Internet) in the terminal,

sudo apt-get install konqueror

As you are using sudo command you will be asked for your user account password. Just type the passwords and apt-get install command will install Konqueror on your Ubuntu Linux. Happy browsing!!

USB 2.0 To Be Updated To USB 3.0

2008-11-15T20:04:00.001-08:00

USB 2.0 is widely used to transfer the data from and various gadgets like cameras, hard disks, music players etc. This popular USB 2.0 will be updated USB 3.0. This update to USB 3.0 means that the data will be transfered ten times faster than USB 2.0.

USB specifications for data tranfer were introduced in 1996 for the first time. This USB standard has changed the way we interact with computers. USB standard allows everything from mouse, keyboard, printer, digital camera, mp3 player etc. to be connected to the computers without having a need to reboot the computers. This has what made USB 2.0 very popular.

Inspite of the popularity there are still some limitations to USB 2.0 standard due to its slow speed, inefficient power usage. These limitations will be overcome with USB 3.0 standard. USB 3.0 will be the first major update to USB standard after 8 years. The USB 3.0 will support data transfer rates of 4.8 gigabytes per second which is nearly ten times faster than current USB 2.0 standard's 480 megabits per second.

The USB 3.0 standand is promoted by USB Implementars Forum a non profit group founded by various companies.

Indian Flag Is On The Moon

2008-11-15T04:06:00.001-08:00

India has joined the elite club by planting its tricolor flag on the Moon on 14th November 2008. The probe was ejected on to the surface of the moon from Chandrayan the spacecraft which is orbiting the Moon. The probe also took pictures and gathered other data as it crash landed in the Moon's south pole region. The 35 kg box shaped Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was painted with Indian tricolor saffron white and green flag. India is the fourth country to have landed artificial object on the surface of the Moon the others being USA, former USSR and Japan.

Install Apache, MySQL, PHP In Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-15T00:10:00.001-08:00

I recently installed Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop edition on my computer. Actually I should have installed Ubuntu Server edition as it comes with pre-configured apache, MySQL and PHP. But to install Ubuntu server edition meant re-installation and that is what I was trying to avoid. Instead I decided to install Apache, MySQL and PHP on my Ubuntu Desktop Linux. Here is how I did it.
I opened up a terminal and gave instruction to install Apache web server
sudo apt-get install apache2

After apache web server was installed properly, I installed PHP by typing following command in the terminal.

sudo apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5

After installing PHP I installed MySQL with following instruction

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

While installing MySQL I was asked to enter root password and then to confirm it.I did that and MySQL too got installed on my computer.

This is how, I was able to prepare my computer for LAMP (Linux, Apache,MySQL,PHP) based web development.

Backup Your Gmail Account

2008-11-13T17:52:00.001-08:00

Now you can back up your gmail account at the click of a button. All you need to do is download a program called GMail Backup and install it on you computer. As Gmail Backup works on IMAP protocal, you will have to enable your gmail account for IMAP functionality. This you can do by logging on to your gmail aaccount and then by navigating to Settings--> Forwarding And POP/IMAP-->IMAP Access -->Enable IMAP.

Now to backup your email account, start Gmail Backup. Enter your gmail login and password in the text-boxes provided. Now select or create a folder on your local computer where you would like to backup your gmail account. Next click on Backup button and your account will be backed up.

You can also restore the backed up data just by clicking the restore button.

If you want to tranfer the contents of your one gmail account to another just back up the gmail account you want to tranfer the contents of, with GMail Backup. Now provide the login and password details of your other gmail account and click on restore button.

Gmail Back up is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. Gmail Backup also supports Google Mail accounts.

To go to the download page of Gmail Backup click on this link.

Technorati Tags: Gmail, Backup, Gmail Backup

Gmail Introduces Voice And Video Chat

2008-11-12T17:19:00.001-08:00

The missing parts have finally arrived and Gmail is now equipped with voice and video chat. If you have a microphone and a webcam, you can now video chat with your friends directly from Gmail by downloading and installing a special plugin.

The Gmail voice and video chat plugin supports all major browsers which includes Firefox. It gets installed automatically on all the browsers.

The plugin at present works only on on Windows, hopefully in future, it'll will also work on MacOS and Linux.

Unlike Skype though, The Gmail voice and video chat doesn't support direct calls to telephone. But anyway having a PC to PC voice and video chat from Gmail is definitely advantageous.

You may download Gmail Voice And Video Video Plugin By Clicking On This Link

Install C and C++ Compiler On Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-11T18:58:00.001-08:00

If you are a programmer, developer or a person just learning to program in C and C++ you would require the compilers for C and C++. It's very easy to install compilers for C and C ++ on Ubuntu Linux. Just type the following command,

sudo aptitude install build-essential

As you are using sudo command you will be asked to enter your password. So just enter your user account password and C & C++ compilers will be installed.

To invoke C compiler you have to use cc or gcc command from the command prompt and to invoke C++ compiler you have to use g++ command.

Make Your Linux Box More Secure

2008-11-10T14:09:00.001-08:00

These days many PCs and Laptops like EEE PC come with pre-installed Linux Operating system. Many people just use these Linux based computers for browsing the web, sending & receiving email and for messenger based chats. Most of these computers are single user, stand alone computers. Linux based computer can be made more secure defining who can access it and who cannot. This basic security hack works even when you are not behind a firewall.

To make your Linux based computers more secure all you have to do is to edit the files which allow and deny the access to the local computer from remote computer. These files are /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny. In /etc/hosts.allow you can define which host i.e. computer has permission to access which service on the local machine. In /etc/host.deny you can define which services on the local host (machine) are denied to which remote host. This is a very basic form of security . By editing just these two files and by adding the lines as shown below you can make you Linux box more secure. Just follow the following procedure to make your standalone Linux box more secure.

Login as a root user.
Edit file /etc/hosts.allow and add following line to it:- ALL:127.0.0.1
Now save /etc/hosts.allow and open /etc/hosts.deny for editing.
Add following line to /etc/hosts.deny :- ALL:ALL

The first line ALL:127.0.0.1 in /etc/hosts.allow allows local host a total access to all the services on localhost, so you yourself can work on this machine. Remember 127.0.0.7 is the loopback address of the local host. The second line ALL:ALL in /etc/hosts.deny denies access to all other machines which have not been given permission for access in /etc/hosts.allow.

Private Browsing With Firefox Web Browser

2008-11-09T15:06:00.001-08:00

There are times you would like to browse the web without leaving a trace on your computer, so that others spying on you would not know anything about the places on Internet you were visiting. In other words what you would like to do is to browse the web in privacy, This can be feature can be added to Firefox web browser by installing a special addon called Stealther. What Stealther does is disable the following:-

cookies
Browsing history
Browsing history in the address bar
Disk cache
History of downloaded files
Information saved about forms
Sending ReferrerHeader
Recently closed Tab list

These option gets cleared only when you are browsing privately. In other words the information saved before your private session remains unaffected.
This add-on works with Firefox browser versions 1 to 3.
To go to the download page of the Stealther download page, click on this link.

Protect Your Word Document With A Password

2008-11-08T15:43:00.001-08:00

If you would like to protect your Microsoft Word documents with a password, this blog post will show you how to it. Basically you will be able to add a password protection for document opening and document modifying. Follow the following procedure to protect your document in Microsoft Word.

Create or open your existing document in Microsoft Word. Next click on Save As menu item from File menu. A box with title Save As will open as shown in in the snapshot. Enter a file name for your document in text field provided.
Next in top right of this box click on Tools and select on click on Security Options from the list as shown.
Now the box with title Security will open as shown in the following snapshot. Type the password to open and password to modify in the textfields provided. After entering this information click on OK.
A box will pop up asking you to confirm the password to open the document Type the password to open the document in the text field and click on OK.
Now again a confirm password box will pop up asking you to confirm password for modifying the document. Enter the password in the text field provide and click on OK.
Next you will be back to file Save As box. Click on Save.

Now your document will be password protected.You will require passwords to open and modify the document. Although your document is now password protected, remember that this measure of security is limited as there are many programs on the net to crack the passwords.

Free Collection of Essential Software

2008-11-07T17:31:00.001-08:00

I get many email messages asking me about which is the best software to download. After receiving these emails I finally decided to post my suggestion on this blog. From my view point Google Pack is the best software which can be downloaded.

What is Google Pack?

Google Pack is a free collection of essential software from Google and other reputed software companies. The software in Google Pack helps you to detect and remove viruses and spyware, organize your photos, browse web faster. It is also useful in installing and maintaining a number of application programs.

Earlier Star Office which costs $70 was available with this pack for free. But now Google is not offering this product perhaps to promote their own online software called Google Docs.

Google Pack can be easily downloaded from their website for free. The advantage of downloading Google Pack is that you get essential software for free which is free from viruses and malware.

When installing this software you get choice of choosing the software applications you would like to install. The installer checks if you already have the applications it's installing. If it finds that a application is pre-installed then it looks for the updates and notifies.

Google Pack contains following software:-

Google Earth
Norton Security Scan
Google Desktop
Firefox web browser with Google Toolbar
Adobe Reader
Skype
Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
Spyware Doctor
Picasa
Google Photo Screen Saver
Google Talk
Real player

To go to the download page of Google Pack click on this link.

Adjust The Volume Of Your MP3 Files

2008-11-06T17:26:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I downloaded few mp3 songs from different resources. These then I transferred to my Mobile and a MP3 player. But when I heard these songs on my MP3 player I had to adjust the volume of mp3 player every time the song changed. I realized that this was happening due to the MP3 having different volume settings. In other words these MP3 were not normalized to have same volume. I guess many people face this problem. There are many utilities available to normalize wave files but the programs which can normalize MP3 files are difficult to locate. I found a utility called MP3Gain which does the task of normalizing MP3.

Normalizing MP3 files with MP3Gain is very easy. All you have to do is add MP3 files which are to be normalized to list box by clicking on AddFie(s) button on the tool bar. Set the Target Normal Volume which is 89 db by default. I usually set Target Normal Volume 90 db. Then just click on Track Gain button on the toolbar.

I normalized all the songs I downloaded, to have a gain of 90 db and then copied again these normalized MP3s to my MP3 player and Mobile. Now I don't have to adjust the volume of MP3 player each time the song changes.

The program then analyses each MP3 file and normalizes it to the set Target Normal Volume.

The best thing about this program is that it is free. It works windows platform. You may download MP3Gain by clicking on following download link.

To go to the download page of MP3Gain click on this link.

Install Ubuntu Linux As A Windows Application

2008-11-05T16:54:00.001-08:00

There are many people who would like to install and use Linux operating system. But these people find the installation process very difficult. Many a times replacing your old windows operating system is also out of question. This is the main reason why people are scared to wipe out windows completely and try out Linux. What these people would like instead is an application which can be installed as a normal windows operation and could be uninstalled easily should the need arise. To satisfy the needs of those who find it difficult to install Linux, there is new utility called Wubi.

Wubi runs as a windows application allowing you to install Linux. You just need to choose few options and then you are through. First Select the drive on which you want to install Ubuntu (there is no need to repartition your hard disk). Then select the the installation size. Yo also have a choice of installing from different flavors of Ubuntu viz. Ubuntu,Kubuntu, Xubuntu and Mythbuntu. You have a choice of language selection. English is the default language. Then you have to enter a username and password of your choice for the Ubuntu Linux. After the installation is complete you get an option to boot into your Ubuntu Linux by selecting an option in your windows boot menu.

To run Wubi effectively you need 256 MB of RAM, 5 GB harddisk space. Wubi runs on following platforms:- Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista

Wubi just like Ubuntu costs absolutely nothing and is free from spyware and malware. You may download Wubi from the following download link.

To go to the download page of Wubi click on this link.

Activating Root Account In Ubuntu Linux

2008-11-04T14:35:00.001-08:00

In UNIX & Linux, there is a superuser account named root. This is equivalent of Administrator in Windows. The superuser has privileges to do anything and everything, and thus using this superuser status to do daily can be dangerous. As root you could type a command incorrectly and destroy the system e.g rm -f * . Because of this reason it is better to do day to day work, as a normal user with limited privileges and use a special command sudo to run the task which require superuser privileges.

While installing Ubuntu, the installation program doesn't ask for the root account and by default the root account password is locked. Due to this reason you can not login as root directly or use the substitute user su command. However it is possible to run the tasks that require superuser privileges with sudo command as the the root account still exists physically. This allows normal user to run the certain tasks that require root privileges without knowing the root password. Sudo commands also needs a password which is your normal user account password and not the root password.

But some system administrators feel that they should always have a proper access to the super user account. They feel uncomfortable if they do not have proper access to the root account.

You can enable the root account password by using sudo. All one needs to do is to log on to Ubuntu as normal user and give the following command,

sudo passwd

At first you will be asked for your normal user password and then the new password for the root account. After typing the new root account password your root account password gets activated. Now with this new root account password you can directly log on to Ubuntu as a root user and become a superuser.

Search The Internet With Google Hack

2008-11-03T13:26:00.001-08:00

Last Monday I found a software program that helps you to search Internet with very precise search parameter settings. The name of this software program is Google Hack. When you use Google Hacks you do not have to go to the Google web site to search for a file or something because all the Google search queries are readily available for one click usage.

Whether it's an application or mp3 music file or a video file you are looking for, you just have to enter search string and select the type of the search with just few other parameters for a very precise search. You don't have to know intricate search string syntax. The searches done using Google Hack are highly complex and optimized due to the choice of selecting precise search parameters. You can choose these precise parameters by just clicking on the proper option boxes and radio buttons on the Google Hack's application interface.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that searches performed by Google Hack are very precise and the results too are very simple and direct.

This program works on Windows XP and should work on Windows Vista without any problem. The program is freely available for download, You may download this program by clicking on the download link mentioned below.

Click on this link to go to the download page of Google Hack.

How To Include Links In Your PDF Documents

2008-11-02T11:48:00.001-08:00

Few days back my friend Mukesh was writing a e-book on affiliate marketing. The e-book was supposedly for the viral marketing, hence there were many affiliate links in it. He wrote the book in MS Word and converted it to PDF using Cute PDF convertor. When he tested the PDF document all the URLs were non functional. He found the same problem with many other PDF convertors.

Then last Sunday day he told me the problem and asked me if I knew any other method to convert the documents to PDF format. I suggested Adobe Acrobat Writer. But he told me that it was not possible for him to buy acrobat writer.

Just a day after this incident, I suggested him to log on to Google Docs to write the e-book and to save it in PDF format.

He did that and to his surprise his all affiliate links were functional in the PDF version of the e-book.

Therefore all you need is a Google email account. With this email account id then you can log on to the Google docs and create your own PDF documents with embedded URLs which are very much functional.

Manage Multiple GMail Accounts Right From Your Browser

2008-11-01T17:39:00.001-07:00

I have five GMail accounts. It is a really time consuming job to check each and every email account by going to GMail and logging. Therefore I wanted a application which simplifies this job. Finally I found a Firefox browser add-in called GMail Manager which really simplifies managing multiple GMail accounts.

GMail Manager is a Mozilla Firefox extension that allows you to manage multiple GMail accounts and receive new email notifications. GMail Manager displays account details including unread messages, saved drafts, spam messages, labels with new mail, space used, and new mail snippets.

Features :-

With GMail manager you can manage multiple GMail accounts
Now you can receive new mail notifications
GMail Manager includes support for GMail hosted accounts
Tooltip with account details and new mail snippets
One-click access for loading your GMail account
It can detect Mailto: links
GMail Manager includes quick mail compose for your GMail accounts
This Firefox add-on has a customizable icon placement in the Firefox's toolbar/statusbar
Ability to import/export account preferences

I am quite sure you will also find this Firefox add-in very useful.

To go to the download page of GMail Manager click on this link.

Configure DSL Broadband In Ubuntu Linux

2008-10-31T17:04:00.001-07:00

Many Linux newbies ask me how to configure DSL In Ubuntu Linux for a broadband connection. It is actually very easy to configure. In this blog post I'll show you how to configure PPPoE dialer for DSL broadband connection. Remember to connect to the Internet using DSL connection you must have a Ethernet card which is also known as Network Interface Card or NIC and a DSL modem. Your NIC card will usually be recognized by Ubuntu Linux and will be called eth0 interface. Now to configure PPPoE dialer for DSL broadband, boot Ubuntu Linux and log into your user account. Open a terminal window and follow the following procedure.

Now type a sudo pppoeconf command in the terminal window. Next you will be asked for your user account password. After entering the correct password the pppoeconf program will start with the opening screen as shown in the following snapshot. If your network interface is present in the mentioned ethernet devices, select Yes and press enter.
The next screen will open as shown in snapshot below. Here you will be asked whether you would like to modify the configuration. Click on yes and then go to the next screen.
Now Popular Options screen will be shown. Select Yes and press enter.
In the next screen your username will be asked. Here enter the username given to you by your DSL provider. Select Ok and press enter.
Now your password for DSL broadband connection will be asked in the next screen. Enter your password, select Ok and press enter.
Now USE PEER DNS screen will be shown. Unless you want to modify your primary and secondary DNS just select Yes and press enter.
Next you will be shown LIMITED MSS PROBLEM. just select Yes and press enter.
Next screen will tell you that your dsl is configured. If you want to start your Internet connection automatically at the boot time select yes or otherwise select No and press enter.
In the next screen you will be asked of you want to start your dsl broadband Internet connection select Yes and press Enter. Your Internet connection will be established now.

Now to disconnect type in command sudo poff and to connect type the command sudo pon dsl-provider in the terminal window every time you want to connect. This is not necessary if you have chosen to start dsl connection while booting.

Configure DSL In Fedora Linux

2008-10-30T15:45:00.001-07:00

Method for configuring PPPoE dialer for connecting to Internet using DSL Broadband in Fedora Linux has considerably changed from Fedora Linux version 9. In this post I am going show you how to configure DSL in Fedora Linux. Remember to connect to the Internet using DSL connection you must have a Ethernet card which is also known as Network Interface Card or NIC and a DSL modem. Your NIC card will usually be recognized by Fedora Linux 9 and will be called eth0 interface. To configure DSL in Fedora Linux boot and log on to your Fedora 9 Linux under KDesktop (KDE) as root user and follow the procedure described below.

Notice an applet with an icon on KDesktop's Taskbar (which looks like a network RJ45 connector) on the left usually at the bottom of the desktop. This applet is called Wired Network Connection applet.
Right click on Wired Network Connection applet. A menu will open. Select and left click on Edit Connections.
Now a new Network Connections window window will open up with multiple tabs which are namely Wired, Wireless, Mobile Broadband, VPN and DSL. Left click on DSL tab.
Under DSL tab in Network Connection windows left click on Add Button as shown in the following snapshot.
A new window will open having a title Editing DSL Connection 1. In this demo I've kept Connection name as DSL connection 1 which is a default. If you want to get connected to the Internet automatically check the Connect automatically Checkbox. I am leaving it unchecked as would like to connect to Internet manually.Now enter your username provided by DSL Broadband service provider. Now type the name of your DSL Broadband providers name in the Service textbox. Next enter your password for DSL connection. Now left click on OK button.
Now Configuration of DSL in Fedora Linux is complete. To get connected to the Internet left click on Wired Network Connection applet on the KDesktops Taskbar and a new menu will popup as shown in the snapshot. Select and left click on DSL connection 1 and you will be connected to the Internet.

Happy surfing!!

Upload And Store Your Files In Your Gmail Account

2008-10-29T16:18:00.001-07:00

Now you can use your Gmail account to store files. Files can be MP3s, ZIPs, RARs, PDFs, DOCs, TXTs etc. The files are stored as email attachments. Maximum permissible size of the file is 10 MB. In standard GMAIL interface you will see stored files as emails. To get a interface like windows explorer to our Gmail file storage system we need to install a shell extension program called GMail Drive Shell Extension. After installing this shell extension we can access uploaded files in the same way as we access files on a PEN drive.

After installation of GMail Drive Shell Extension we get an icon for GMailDrive in My Computer as shown in the snapshot below.

When you double click on GMailDrive icon, a login window will open as shown in the snapshot below

In this login window, enter your gmail username and password and Click on OK button. After logging to your gmail account GMailDrive will open windows explorer type interface as shown in the following snapshot.

Using this interface you can then upload your files by dragging and dropping or you can access your already uploaded files.

To download GMailDrive Shell Extension setup program click on this link.

Blogging From Linux

2008-10-28T18:02:00.001-07:00

I have a dual boot Laptop with Windows XP and Linux operating system. I'm having OpenSuse version of Linux.

I usually work on Windows platform. On windows platform I use Windows Live Writer for posting to the blog.

But usually on weekends I like to boot Linux and log on. Earlier when I worked on Linux, I had to logon to my website using the web browser and do the blog posting, as there was a limited support for blogging from Linux. Through Google search I found that there are indeed some blog editors like Drivel and Gnome Blog Entry Poster that work on the Linux platform. But as I use KDE based kubuntu, I needed a WYSIWG Blog Editor that works well under K Desktop Environment. Then one day googling for Firefox Add-ons, I came across a add on for Mozilla Firefox browser. I wondered whether it'll work on Linux. I just downloaded it and installed it. Then I restarted the Firefox browser. And there it was, sitting as a small icon on the status bar of Mozilla Firefox Browser. I clicked on the icon and a small window pane opened in the Firefox web browser window. It looked just like the screenshot image included in this post. And the best thing about it was that it's a WYSIWYG blog editor. I then added my blogging accounts using the account wizard under the Blog tab by just clicking on Add button. Scribefire add on even allows you to embed YouTube video with just a click. You can even preview the blog post. For reviewing the blogpost, Scribefire sends the temporary post which gets deleted later on.

Scribefire Firefox addon supports many blogging platforms like Blogger, WordPress, Movable Type, Drupal etc.

Nowadays whenever I am on Linux, I use Scribefire to post to the blogs.

These days EEE PC is becoming quite popular. It usually has Linux installed on it. So the Scribefire add on could prove very useful to the EEE PC user who wants to post to the blog.

To go to the download page of Scribefire click on this link.

Record MP3 Music From Internet Radio

2008-10-27T17:23:00.001-07:00

I was wondering how to record the songs, which are being played on the Internet Radio, hence I searched and searched and found a program to record. It is called Easy MP3 Sound Recorder.

Easy Mp3 Sound Recorder can be used to record a sound file from your computer's microphone, Internet streaming audio or any music or sound played by your sound card. Depending on your sound card capabilities, you can adjust the desired quality.

You can choose to record output files in MP3, WMA or WAVE format. For MP3 file recording compressed file bitrate can be adjusted between 8kbps and 320kbps, similarly for recording in WMA format you can set the bitrate between 28,8kbps and 128kbps. When recording the output file in WAVE format you can choose channel as stereo or mono, bits per sample and the sample rate.

To record all you have to do is to choose the audio source, output file format, location and name of the output file and just press "Start Recording" button. You can find out the elapsed time from a great looking counter. When you have finished recording music just press the "Stop" button. The recorded file can then be downloaded to your MP3 player or mobile.

Easy MP3 Sound Recorder works on Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003. Considering that Easy MP3 Sound Recorder is a freeware, its really a awesome program.

To go to the download page of this program click on this link.

The First Google Android Phone

2008-10-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

T-Mobile G1 is the first phone running Google Android . The phone runs on Google's Android Operating System. The application provided on Home screen on the G1 has a desktop with shortcut icons just like the one on Windows mobile devices. But unlike windows mobile offers the user three screens for storing more shortcuts than will fit on just one screen. You can scroll between the desktops by dragging sideways across the home screen.

The G1 comes preloaded with applications like Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube Player, Google Talk and Calendar. There is a web browser on the G1 which uses the same rendering engine as Google Chrome web browser. The G1’s browser comes with a clever multi-page window pane which lets you surf multiple websites at the same time.

You can receive mail from Google's Gmail or any other POP or IMAP account. Email, Text Message, IM alerts are shown immediately on the notification bar.

One-Click Google search is provided on the G1.

Other applications can be downloaded from the Android Market. Android Market hosts services provided by the developers. Download and install your favorite software, music or games and more.

Features:-

Carrier :- T-Mobile

Manufacturer :- HTC

Camera :- 3.2 MP with auto focus

Input :- Capacitive Touch Screen, QWERTY keyboard, Trackball

Operating System:- Android 1.0

Connectivity :- Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 b/g

Battery :- 1150 mAh

Size :- 117.7 mm x 55.7 mm x 17.1 mm

Weight :- 158g

Blogging With Windows Live Writer

2008-10-25T18:31:00.001-07:00

Windows Live Writer is an application from Microsoft that makes it easy to publish rich content to your blog. Unlike most of the blogging tools which are web based, Windows Live Writer is a free downloadable WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) application that runs on your computer. With WYSIWYG editor you can author a post and know how it will look like before it is published it on your blog.

Windows Live Writer knows the styles of your blog such as fonts, colors, headings, block quotes, background images, margins and paragraph spacing and allows you to edit your post using these styles.Windows Live Writer will be useful for writers looking for a faster, simpler way to post to blogs.

It works with most of the blogging platforms, which includes Blogger, WordPress, TypePad, LiveJournal and others. To publish your post just create a Windows Live Writer weblog account by providing it your site url and logging details. You can create multiple weblog accounts for your different blogs. Just choose the weblog account you want to publish to, create your post and publish it, so simple!

Click here to go to the Windows Live Download Page

Call Your Friends With Skype

2008-10-24T17:07:00.000-07:00

Skype is a free software which works seamlessly over your Internet connection. With Skype you can talk, chat or make video calls free of charge. You may use Skype to make local, long distance and international calls to phones and cell phones at cheaper rates. When you use Skype, you don't have to worry about time, cost or distance.

When you use Skype, you can also instant message anyone on your contact list. You can also have a group chat with up to hundred people. Conference call is also possible with nine other people.

Use Skype on your laptop or on mobile so that you can keep in touch when you are on the move. A wide range of mobiles support Skype. Also available are the range of WiFi and cordless phones which have built-in Skype. Skype also works on the devices like Play Station Portable.

Pretty cool features are also available with Skype. All one needs is a webcam to make free video calls.

Use Skype to call your friends and a voice chat with the best quality available.

Main features of Skype:-

Call anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world free of charge.
Best sound quality
Free video calls
No special configuration required works with all routers, firewalls and NAT.
End to end encryption of calls to ensure and safeguard your privacy.
Skype is based on cutting edge peer to peer technology developed by creators of Kazaa.
Very easy to use.

Things you need to use Skype:-

For video calls you need WindowsXP
Internet connection preferably broadband. GPRS not supported for voice calls.
Speakers and microphone or headset
A webcam for video call
PC desktop or laptop with at least 400 MHZ,128 MB RAM and 16MB free disk space.

Latest version for Skype is Skype 4.0 Beta 2 for Windows.

Click here to go to the download page of Skype 4.0 Beta 2 for Windows.

Firefox Minefield The Latest And The Fastest Browser

2008-10-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in the fastest browser around then you should definitely try a new Mozilla Firefox browser which is called Minefield. Although it is still early alpha built, it has the fastest java script engine.

After you spend time with Firefox Minefield, you'll surely realize that it's a fastest browser out there. Tests have shown that it 10% faster than Google's new browser Chrome. Although Chrome is still in the beta phase it is clear that its going to have performance based competition.

As the Google Minefield is still in alpha stage some browser add-ons like Roboform won't work with it but still it's worth to try. It works on Windows, Mac and Linux.

You may download Firefox and install Minefield from following download link. After installation, Start the tracemonkey JavaScript engine by going to about:config and enabling the option javascript.options.jit.content.

Download Firefox Minefield.

Hello, World!!

2008-10-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Hi,
My name is Charles and this is my blog. Technology affects our life in many ways. Therefore on this blog I will be discussing, reviewing and providing information about technology be it about computers, mobiles, automobiles or spacecraft.