BABA Merage

Turn an Old Computer into a Networked Backup, Streaming, or Torrenting Machine with FreeNAS

2011-07-19T19:02:00.001+03:00

At it's most basic, Network attached storage, or NAS, is a great way to share files on your local network. But it's also a perfect solution for backing up your computers, streaming media across your home network, or even torrenting files to a central server. If you have an aging computer lying around, you can turn it into a NAS for for free with the open-source FreeNAS operating system. Here's how.

First, we'll take a closer look at what exactly a NAS is and does, then jump into how to set it up. If you want to skip the first part, you can skip straight to the setup section.

What Is Network Attached Storage?

A Network attached storage box is a computer on your network specifically designed to store files. Any computer on the network can access files on a NAS, which makes them great for bigger households, and they're also nice for when you don't want to store a bunch of external drives on your desk. Unlike regular file servers, NAS units are usually built for a specific purpose, like backing up your data or streaming media to other machines. They're also usually quite low power and low cost, and they don't require a monitor, mouse or keyboard—once you've installed the software, you can configure every aspect of your NAS from a web browser on your other computers.

Full size

You can find pre-made NAS units for as low as one or two hundred dollars, and they usually come with their own software. However, if you have an old computer lying around, you can actually turn it into a NAS for free with the aptly-named FreeNAS software. It doesn't need much in terms or resources, any old computer will probably do. Alternatively, you can buy or build a very cheap nettop that fits the specifications of what you want to do (and even hide it in some nice-looking box from IKEA) You could evenstrip down a $50 PogoPlug and install FreeNAS on it. The bottom line is, there's no need to go out and buy a pre-built NAS when you can make one yourself with great, free, open source software and hardware you already have lying around.Heck, if you've got the money, you're better off spending on it on an extra hard drive than you are an entirely new machine.

Here, we'll show you how to set up FreeNAS on the computer of your choice, connect it to your other computers as if it were directly attached to them, and show you a few simple examples of how you could use it for backup, iTunes music streaming, or video streaming to a home theater PC. Photo by Andrew Currie.

Note: FreeNAS recently released a new version (version 8.0), we don't think it's quite ready for prime time yet. It's still missing a lot of the features that make FreeNAS great, so we're going to use the now-legacy version 7 of FreeNAS.

What You'll Need

You can install FreeNAS on a ton of different systems using a number of different methods, but here are the things you'll need for our method:

A PC with a minimum of 192MB RAM to act as your NAS. It will also need a bootable CD drive in it from which we can install FreeNAS onto one of its hard drives.
The FreeNAS live CD, available here (more details on that below).
A network with DHCP reservations or static IP addresses. This isn't required, but it's definitely preferred. If you don't have this, managing your NAS can get pretty annoying, since its IP address will change whenever you reboot it (as will your other computers').

FreeNAS is actually designed to run on a flash drive or compact flash card rather than one of the drives in your computer, but since many computers (especially older ones, like the one you might recycle into a NAS) don't support booting from USB, we're going to install FreeNAS to the hard drive for simplicity. If your computer supports booting from USB, you can actually use the live CD to install FreeNAS to a 2GB flash drive and run FreeNAS from that flash drive instead, keeping it plugged into your NAS at all times.

Installing FreeNAS

To install FreeNAS, you'll need the FreeNAS live CD. Head to this page and click on the latest stable build of FreeNAS 7. Download the live CD image that applies to you—that is, if your NAS has a 64-bit capable processor in it, grab the amd64 version. If not (or if you aren't sure), grab the i386 version. Burn it to disc using something like IMGBurn for Windows or Burn for Mac, and stick it into a computer (any computer, it doesn't matter if its your NAS or not).

Head over to your NAS box and boot up from the live CD. It'll take awhile to boot up, but once you get to the FreeNAS menu, pick option 9: "Install/Upgrade to hard drive/flash device". Pick option 2 on the next screen, "Install embedded OS on HDD/Flash/USB + DATA + SWAP partition" (if you're installing on a flash drive, you can pick option 1 instead). Pick your CD drive and hard drive from the lists it throws at you, and say no to a SWAP partition (unless your computer has less than a few gigs of RAM, in which case it might be a good idea to create a SWAP partition that's twice the size of the RAM in your machine). It will format your drive for you with the UFS file system, and install FreeNAS to a small partition at the beginning of the drive.

Remove the live CD and boot up your computer. You should boot into your new FreeNAS installation, and come up with the same menu the Live CD gave you. This time, pick option 1, "Assign Interfaces". Pick your ethernet port from the list (there's probably only one option), then pick "none, Finish and exit" on the next page. Next, pick option 2, "Set LAN IP Address". Using DHCP should be fine, unless you're using static IPs, in which case you can hit "no" and assign it an address yourself.

When you're done with all the network configuration, it should spit out an IP address for you. This is how you'll access the web interface to configure everything on your NAS, so make a note of it and head over to your desktop computer. You can now unhook the keyboard and monitor from your NAS; you won't need them anymore.

Sharing Your FreeNAS Drive with a Desktop Computer

To access the web interface, open your web browser and type in the IP address you copied down at the end of the installation process. When you first open it up, it'll ask you for a username and password. Type in admin for the username and freenas for the password to gain access.

The first thing we want to do is change these to something a bit more secure. Click on the "System" menu at the top of the page and hit "General". Under WebGUI, change the username to whatever you want, and click save. Go to the Password tab and change your password as well.

Next, we'll add our hard drive(s) to FreeNAS. Hover over the Disks menu at the top of the page and click on Management. Click on the Plus sign to add a new one. On the next page, choose your disk from the "Disk" dropdown menu, type in a description if necessary, and hit Add. The rest of the default settings should be fine for now. Make sure you hit "Apply Settings" back on the Disk Management page when it takes you back there.

If you're running FreeNAS off a flash drive, head to Disks > Format and pick your disk from the dropdown menu. Choose "UFS (GPT and Soft Updates)" and give it a volume label. Hit Format disk. If FreeNAS is installed to your internal hard drive, you can skip this step since you formatted it when you installed FreeNAS.

Next, we need to give that drive a "mount point" in FreeNAS. Head to Disks > Mount Point from the top menu, and click the plus sign. Pick your disk from the dropdown menu. Give the mount point a name, description if you like, and hit Add. Once again, hit Apply Settings on the next page.

We're almost there! The last thing you want to do is share that drive with your other computers on the network. For this example, we're going to use CIFS, since it's compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux machines (If you're in a Mac-only household, I recommend researching AFP instead, since it'll be a bit easier to set up). Head to Services > CIFS/SMB and hit the Enable checkbox in the right corner. You can change its NetBIOS name, workgroup, and description if you so choose, then scroll down and hit "Save and Restart".

Click on the Shares tab at the top of the settings page, and click the plus sign. Give it a name, comment if desired, and hit the "..." button to tell it which of your FreeNAS drives you want to share. The default settings should be fine for most people, so go ahead and hit Add.

That's it! You should be able to access your network-attached drive from any computer. In Windows Explorer, just type \\192.168.0.10 into the navigation bar, using your NAS' IP address in place of the example I've provided. You should see your NAS show up and you can browse it, create folders, add files to it, and so on. For easy access, you can right-click on it and hit Map Network Drive to put it under My Computer. You should be able to do this with every other computer on the network, and easily share files between all of those computers.

Three Cool Ways You Can Use Your NAS

That's all fine and dandy, but you can do more than just store files on the network. Here are a few cool things you can do with your NAS and how to set them up.

Backing Up Data to Your NAS

Since a NAS can hold many large drives, it's a popular option for backing up data. FreeNAS recommends Rsync for backup, but I've found that it's more trouble than it's worth. Instead, I like to use previously mentioned Microsoft SyncToy, which does essentially the same thing. In addition, Mac users can use Time Machine with their NAS as long as one of its drives are formatted as AFP.

Backing Up With SyncToy

To backup a folder or group of folders on Windows, download and install SyncToy and open it up. SyncToy is extremely simple to use: just create a new folder pair, using the "left" folder as the folder from your computer that you want to back up, and the "right" folder as the folder on your NAS to which you're backing up those files. You have three different types of sync: Synchronize, Echo, and Contribute. Synchronize will keep the two folders in sync at all times, so if you change or delete something on one side, it'll sync those changes to the other side. Echo will only sync changes you make from the left side (your computer)—if you change or delete anything on the NAS, those changes won't be synced back. Contribute is my preferred method. It does the same thing as Echo, but won't sync over deletions. This means if I accidentally delete a file from my hard drive, it'll still be on my NAS, and I can go grab it and replace it. When you're done, you can run your first sync and make sure all the files copied over correctly.

SyncToy, unfortunately, only runs when you tell it to, so if we want to automate this process, we'll have to do it ourselves. Open up your Start Menu and type "task scheduler" into the search box, and start up Microsoft's Task Scheduler program. Click "Create New Basic Task" in the right sidebar, give it a name, and set it to run daily (I usually choose around 2am, so it runs while I'm asleep). When asked, tell it you want to start a program. At the next screen, browse into C:\Program Files\SyncToy 2.1 folder and choose SyncToyCmd.exe. Type -R into the Arguments box, hit next, and finish setup.

This will run SyncToy in command line mode each day. Note that you can open up SyncToy at any time and add more folders to your backup, and your task will run through them all daily, syncing over any new or changed files to your NAS for safe keeping.

Backing Up With Time Machine

If you want to back up with Time Machine, you'll need one of the drives in your NAS formatted as AFP, as described in the "Sharing Your FreeNAS Drive" section above. If you do, you can head into Services > AFP > Shares on the web interface, edit the settings for that share, and pick "Time Machine" from the "Automatic Disk Discover Mode" dropdown. The next time you open up Time Machine, your NAS drive will be available as a backup disk.

Note that to do this, you'll want to mount the NAS drive at logon, which you can do by opening up System Preferences on your Mac, going to Accounts > Login Items and dragging the NAS drive from your desktop right into the login items window. That way it will always be connected and Time Machine will be able to access it at all times.

Streaming Media to Other Computers From Your NAS

If you have a home theater PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, or other UPnP-enabled device, you can stream media straight from your NAS with just a few tweaks. We've talked about UPnP before, so you might already know how easy it is to use—and FreeNAS' setup is no different.
To get started, head into the web configuration for your NAS and go to Services > UPnP. Click the Enable checkbox on the right hand side and give your UPnP server a name. Under "Database Directory", click the "..." button and browse to a folder on your NAS where you want the UPnP configuration file stored (it doesn't really matter where this is). Then, head down to Content and click the "..." button to point FreeNAS to the folders you want to share. In this case, we have a "Media" folder we've created in which we're storing video, so we'll pick that and hit the "Add" button to add it to the list. You can add multiple folders from all over your NAS, and it can stream them as long as they contain movies or music.

Some devices, like the Playstation 3, may require you to transcode your higher-definition videos, so check the "enable transcoding" box if necessary. Then hit Save. If you head over to your UPnP device and search for servers, you should see that your NAS pops up, and you can browse your media folders and watch those videos on your TV.

Downloading Torrents Using Your NAS

One of the coolest features of FreeNAS is the ability to download torrents without the help of another computer. FreeNAS has a version ofTransmission built right in that can watch folders for torrents and download them—you'll never have to worry about keeping your main computer on, logged in, or avoid rebooting it. Your NAS can download all those torrents for you.

To set up BitTorrent support, open up FreeNAS' web configuration and go to Services > BitTorrent. Click the Enable checkbox on the right hand side, and specify a Download Directory. This is where your completed torrents will go. Most of the other settings are fine, though I like to require encryption on the people to whom I connect, so you can tweak that setting if you want. If you want to set up a Watch Directory, that's probably a good idea too—that way, you can drop torrent files right into a specific folder on your NAS and it will immediately start downloading them. Hit Save when you're done.

The last thing you'll need to do is probably change your NAS' DNS servers, otherwise it won't be able to connect to the internet. Head to System > General and change the DNS servers to your ISPs, or, if you don't know them, you can just use Google's (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) since they're easy to remember. Hit Save when you're done.

When you start downloading a torrent, you can monitor it from a web interface by going to192.168.1.10:9091, replacing my IP address with your NAS', of course. That way you can keep an eye on how far your torrents are coming along from any computer on your network.

These are just a few of the many things you can do with FreeNAS, so be sure to check out FreeNAS' web page for more info (as well as the Legacy Wiki, since the legacy version has even more features). Got a NAS setup in your home that you think is pretty awesome?

DO U STILL WANT TO JOIN NETWORK MARKETING? INFORM YOURSELF USING FACTS, LOGIC & MATH!!!

2011-07-01T17:19:00.001+03:00

It has come to my attention that Egypt among other developing countries is practicing a new "marketing" trend called "Network Marketing". Basically, you will be approached by a representative of a certain company offering you to work with them in the business by becoming a marketer yourself. He/She will explain to you the whole process of making money through this scheme.

In this article, I intend to bring awareness to people of what is Network Marketing and how can you get confused by the legal businesses and the illegal businesses using facts, logic and math!

Okay, so first let me explain what is marketing? "Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering (making it available in the market or the shops), and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society (for helping them socially, economically, or politically) at large." as defined by the American Marketing Association [1].

If we examine the definition by the American Marketing Association, we will find that an intended benefit is required for both the customer (by utilizing the product) and the producer (by making profit).

So, what you might be thinking now is what “Network Marketing” is? Okay, hold on, I will have to describe the kinds of marketing that it has derived from it. Legitimate Multi level Marketing (MLM) is the marketing scheme used to confuse new recruiters to join “Network Marketing” along with the Illegal Pyramid schemes.

First, what is a Legitimate Multi Level Marketing? MLM is a marketing scheme whereby the marketing of a product is done through the distribution of it to the general market by recruiters or distributors who will not only buy and sell the products but will recruit others who will do the same. It is very attractive because you don’t only get commission on the products you sell but a percentage on the products sold by the distributors that you recruited into the system.

This process is often confused with the Illegal Pyramid Scheme (It will be described later in the article). Therefore you must ensure that this process satisfy a certain criteria as stated by the US Federal Trade Commission [2]. The criterion is to: 1. Sell a real product 2. to members of the general public 3. without requiring them to pay anything extra to join the MLM system. 4. Commissions may be paid to distributors; however, it is paid for real retail sales NOT for new recruits.

Popular examples of successful MLM are Oriflame[3], Avon[4], and Mary Kay Cosmetics[5]. If you examine those three examples, you will find that they satisfy the criteria stated by the American Federal State of Commission to become a Legitimate Multi Level Marketing, that is—by 1. selling real products (check the website), 2. to members to the general public (you can buy it directly from the website or find in the market like in pharmacies or cosmetic stores) 3. without requiring to pay an extra penny than the market stated price, and finally 4. if you are a distributor you get commission on the retail sales not the number of recruiters (ie: getting the same commission whether you sold 10 products to one person or 1 product to 10 persons).

So, now what is Illegal Pyramid Schemes? Illegal Pyramid Schemes derive their structure from the Legitimate Multi Level Marketing, however, with some minor changes that may confuse new recruiters in making them believe it’s a legal business process. It involves promising participants payments upon recruiting new people into the scheme NOT by selling products or services to the general public. So, the commission here is for recruiting people, and that is not what marketing is about. It is described by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [6] and Federal Trade Commission as a form of FRAUD.

So still, how does it work? First, you will need to buy a product in order to enter the business. Second, you will need to recruit new people to enter the business or market the product. However, you will not receive commission by just recruiting one person; there will be some restrictions like you will have to recruit 6 participants for each commission. The recruiters of this business help new recruiters believe that they will have to work hard for the first few months, and then a river of endless money will be thrown into their laps. However the MATH DOES NOT WORK! Please see the below demonstration [7].

PLEASE SEE PICTURES ATTACHED FOR THIS DEMONSTRATION

As stated by World Development Indicators [8], the population of Earth on 2008 was 6,697,254,041. Therefore, if you examine the bolded numbers, you will see that it has EXCEEDED THE POPULATION OF EARTH. So, mathematically and logically speaking there is NOT enough people to make this process infinite.

You will tend to hear from the people convincing you to join the network or the pyramid that they have already made money from this process; most probably they are not lying. Still, the question lies, in which level are you starting? If you started at the top levels then chances are you will be making money off the backs of the recruiters below you, but what if you aren’t? Is there any chance to know where do you stand? The answer is: No!

As you get approached with this kind of business, which nowadays call it “Network Marketing” (I still don’t see where the marketing of products lies here). The recruiter will ask will advise you to recruit the closest friends and family members below you, so that they will make the greatest profit after you. Logically speaking, if you and your family members were in the top levels, then chances are you both will make money and be happy. However, what if, what if you were not on the top levels? You would have convinced the CLOSEST FRIENDS and FAMILY MEMBERS to join the business making them fall in the trap. Socially speaking, how do you think this will affect the relationship with these people? Do you think they will trust you with money again? Do you think they will respect you? Moreover, do you think you will have any kind of relationship with them again? Well, some might say depending on the money they have “invested” and some might say they will forgive him. The question is: will money be any good without those people surrounding you? Given that maybe you were from the levels who earned money and they were from the levels that didn’t.

As I am trying to analyze here, have you noticed that now we are talking about the money that we invested in this business NOT the money we paid to buy a useful product that we actually needed? So now that we speak, is it really a marketing strategy or is it a business model? It’s confusing, isn’t it?

Since I gave examples to the Legitimate Multi Level Marketing, it would be unfair to not give an example to the Illegal Pyramid Schemes. The most popular Pyramid Scheme working under the name of “Network Marketing” is QNET[9].

Some questions arising that make me wonder. Are the products available in the market? No, I wouldn’t find the watch they are selling in any watch store; they want it to be unique products that you will only buy from the distributors (unlike products of Oriflame that you can find them in any pharmacy). Can I buy the product online?No, it has to be through a referral. Can I browse the prices and products online? No, why? I have no idea! Are the products overpriced? Yes, the minimum purchase is for $600. The products are diverse such as travel packages, jewelry, watches and so on. Are they branded products? No. Gucci[10] watches prices start from $300++ . Mmmm… I think I would prefer to buy Gucci, wouldn’t you?

Some people would argue that the product is overpriced because you are not just buying the product, but you are investing your money into the business. Hold on, wait a second, let me check again the criteria that ensures a Legitimate MLM. Oh yes, I remember, it requires me NOT PAY AN EXTRA PENNY for the price of the product.

I then stop for a second and wonder, if I entered this business, would I buy another product? Let’s say, I bought the overpriced non-branded watch to join the business. If I want to buy a new watch, would I still pay this ridiculously high price for that product, or will I go buy it from Gucci, Bvlgari, or Mont Blanc. Come on, at least people would know am wearing a Gucci watch! We all like to showoff don’t we?

Also, the first time I paid extra money was to invest in the business, but do I really have to invest again? No, I am already in the pyramid. Chances are, my first investment was at the top levels of the pyramid (if I am making profit), who is to say I am in which level now? So another question arises, do I buy the product because I really want it, or is it just a business venture?

I can’t help notice that in the website it’s stated that the company has been up and running since 1998 and that the Head Quarters are in Hong Kong. I also can't help notice the countries where they have their offices in such as Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, and United Arab Emirates. Well, anyone approached by this company might think “mmmm… I guess it’s trustworthy”. I thought so too, until I checked the activity of their website through Alexa [11] a web information company. When I checked this company’s activity (SEE ATTACHED PICTURE) [12], I was amazed and not so surprised with what I got. I’d like to share with you what I found out.

For starters (please check the Traffic Stats tab), I was keen to know the peak activity on the website. Since the whole buying and selling process goes through it, then, the more activity on the website, the more sales has been made. I found out that there was no activity on 2009, and the activity started to boost in midst (June) 2010 which made me think, how come the company has been there since 1998 and the activity started only on 2010? (The activity of the website was prior to 2009 according to the old websitehttp://www.quest.net )

Secondly the company’s Head Quarters is in Hong Kong! Yaaay, it’s a first world country, which should mean something! Oh, wait they have an office in Singapore as well, that should mean the business is up and running in developed countries. Wait my friend, don’t rush into things. I checked the company’s worldwide traffic rank, meaning I checked the top countries that access and view the website. Since again the whole process is done online, then the countries with the highest rank are the countries that are more actively involved in the “business”. So let me list for you the first 10 countries: Sudan, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Malaysia, India, Philippines and the US. Out of the top countries, only three countries have offices as stated. The question that I can’t find an answer to is why don’t all the countries that practice this business have an office? Another question is why are the top countries only developing countries? If this is business if flawless and guarantees profit if you put in effort and hard work, then where is European countries, Australia, Canada, and Singapore for God’s sake. Where is the activity of Head Quarters in HONG KONG! I am trying to use reason and logic here.

Okay, some might think I am a little biased here, so I will present the same information for Oriflame (SEE ATTACHED PICTURE) [13] an example of a Legitimate Multi Level Marketing company.

As you can see, the activity on the website is up and running continuing from 2008, maybe the activity was a bit low in 2009 due to the economic crises, and boosted again since the beginning of 2010. Although it was low in 2009, it was still there! Well, I personally think that makes sense!

The top active countries are Slovakia, Czech Republic, Lithaunia, Azerbaija, Estonia, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Hyngary, Romania, Portugal, Poland, Serbia and Montegero, Greece, Peru, Chili, Belarus, Turkey, Mexico, Colombia, Spain India, Iran, and the US. As we can see, that there is activity of both developing and developed countries.

Up till now, I have been discussing the participation of this “business” and it’s affect on you personally. But then, this wouldn’t be fair to the society. As stated earlier that marketing should benefit the society as a whole.

Since I am Egyptian, I will try to examine the effect of this process to the economy of my country. Egypt is of course known to be one of the developing countries. We don’t use our currency the Egyptian pound to buy goods from other countries like the US importing using the US dollar, or the European countries in the European Union using the Euro. So, in order to buy any products from abroad, I need to first buy US dollar, a foreign currency, second I will need to transfer the money abroad in that case Hong Kong, third I need to receive the product worthy of the money I paid.

So let me explain it a little bit clearer, if I buy a $1000 worth of gold and I receive it in my country taxed. Then, my country is not losing; you got what you paid for. Nevertheless, this is not the case with “Network Marketing”. You basically pay double if not more the price of what you are buying. So the country here lost half of what you paid. If you paid $1000 and got a watch worth of $500, then the country lost $500 not just you. You might think that’s MY MONEY, I USE IT TO BUY WHATEVER I WANT! Well it’s true. However, if you spend it in the country, then the country will benefit by 1. Businesses in the country making profit from you 2. The goods are being taxed. If you import any good from abroad, let’s say you bought a book from Amazon.com, the country will tax you on that book, making the country profit from you. So, the question here lies, is the goods bought taxed? If the goods are taxed, then the country is losing half of the price you paid. If the goods are not taxed then the country is losing the whole price of what you paid.

Let’s assume that you will get commission for every 6 people you recruit. Meaning that by level 13, you will exceed the population of earth, and by level 11 you will exceed the population of Egypt. So, I am assuming that the business flourished and reached level 10, which will have 60,466,176 people. Let’s assume that all these people will join the business, keeping aside the fact that Egypt is a POOR country and not everyone can pay an average of $1000 to join the business. By level 9, the last level making profit in the country assuming everyone will join, an average of 60,466,176 * $1000 = $60,466,176,000 is sent outside the country for all members in level 9 to make profit. How much money entered the country for profit? Let’s assume as they tell you that you will make $250 for every 6 people joining the “business”, that will make 60,466,176/6 * $250 = $2,519,424,000 to people’s pockets (the top of the pyramid making profit). Also, let’s assume that the top of the pyramid is in Egypt not in Hong Kong as they claim. That will be about $2,519,424,000 / $60,466,176,000 * 100% = 4.167% of what is paid outside the country being re-spent again inside the country. Please do keep in mind that this number of people entering the business is almost impossible because a small percentage of Egyptians can actually afford to pay an average of $1000 to join the “business”. (Please do keep in mind that I have neglected the higher levels of the pyramid; I only used the calculations in level 10 for simplicity and demonstration purposes only.)

Once more, you might still wonder, why is this kind of business activity only flourishing in developing countries? Well, I can help you a little if you allow me. Pyramid schemes are considered a kind of fraud and can be sued for it in court in the US. In Singapore [14], you will be fined from $30,000 to $200,000 and might be imprisoned up to 5 years. If you kept on searching policies made by Canada, the UK, or other developed countries, you would understand!

Let me recall the definition of marketing. "Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large." Help me understand how will that bring VALUE to the customers and SOCIETY at large? With some facts, a little logic, a little reason, and some math we all can make sense of what’s going on.

Technology can be very attractive and the quality of a website can deceive people into trusting it. As an IT professional, I believe that by providing just a web developer or myself for that matter and a domain costing $10, I can present such a classical and attractive window for the Pyramid Scheme. Hell, I can start a Pyramid Scheme myself and call it “Society Marketing” for God’s sake!

Note: I included references used so you can check up on me. If you find this article useful in any way please share it with your friends. We want to increase the awareness of such things penetrating and ruining our society and economy.

Check the article "Why DEVELOPED (1st World) countries are NOT involved with QNET? Let’s find out…" for more facts about Qnet: http://sherwette.blogspot.com/2010/10/why-developed-1st-world-countries-are_07.html

NEW: Please refer to: Is Qnet Scam? Illegal? Desperate justifications by Qnet proved FALSE! Increase your AWARENESS!!!: http://sherwette.blogspot.com/2010/10/is-qnet-scam-illegal-desperate.html

For Religion's View: Anti-Qnet Egyptians

Check out Start your own Business, Start Freelancing! for alternative creative productive ways to MAKE MONEY!

References:

1. American Marketing Association :http://www.marketingpower.com/aboutama/pages/definitionofmarketing.aspx

(Sept 2010)

2. Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm(Sept 2010)

3 Oriflame: http://www.oriflame.com/ (Sept 2010)

4. Avon: http://www.avon.com/ (Sept 2010)

5. Mary Kay Cosmetics: http://www.marykay.com/ (Sept 2010)

6. Federal Bureau of Investment (FBI):http://www.fbi.gov/majcases/fraud/fraudschemes.htm#pyramid (Sept 2010)

7. Pyramid Scheme level demonstration:http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/MLM_pyramid.php (Sept 2010)

8. Population of Earth: http://data.worldbank.org/ (Sept 2010)

9. QNET: www.qnet.net (Sept 2010)

10.Gucci: http://www.gucci.com/ (Sept 2010)

11. Alexa: http://www.alexa.com/ (Sept 2010)

12. Qnet.net Traffic: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/qnet.net# (Sept 2010)

13. Oriflame.com Traffic: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/oriflame.com (Sept 2010)

14. Ministry of Trade and Industry Singapore: http://app.mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=567#9 (Sept 2010)

THIS IS FOR EVERY IDIOT WHO ... wala balash el 3'alat just read (NOT SPAM)

2010-11-06T02:29:00.000+03:00

For everyone who asked me about QuestNet we network marketing we kol el kalam el hagayes eli 3amaleeno fe masr el gedeeda el meetings el wahmeya eli homa 3amlenha we kol el nas eli eda7ak 3aliha we khalas dafa3et el $2000 we kol el 7awearat deh this is for you to read.... and plz ma7adish yegeeli ye2oli ana 3andi leek bisness forset el 3omr te2bad $3000 fel shahr men 3'eer mate3mel 7aga we el kalam el ahbal dah kolo

شركة "كويست نت" وأكبر عملية إحتيال في سورية

كشف مصدر مطلعة عما أسمته “أضخم عملية احتيال يتعرض لها أشخاص في سوريا حيث بلغ عدد الضحايا وفقاً للقائمين بالعملية 22 ألف مشترك من مختلف المدن السورية ومعظمهم من الشرائح المتعلمة أطباء ومدرسين ومهندسين، ووصلت المبالغ التي تمّ جمعها منهم إلى 660 مليون ل.س بحسب أقوال المتهمين..”.

وأضاف المصدر” بدأت القصة بشكوى عادية تقدمت بها الشابة (صفاء) إلى مخفر شرطة جرمانا بريف دمشق، تدعي بان شابين يسكنان في ذات الحي الذي تسكنه، عرضوا عليها الانضمام إلى شركة(كويست نت) الماليزية، واصفين دخولها إلى الشركة بأنها فرصة العمر التي ستدرُّ عليها أرباحاً طائلة..”

وعن طريقة الانضمام تقول(صفاء) “استطاعوا إقناعي بدفع 30 ألف ليرة سورية، على أساس ان ترسل الشركة هدية بقيمة المبلغ، واني استطيع أن أحقق أرباح كبيرة، فكلّما انضم شخص إلى الشركة عن طريقي ستمنحني الشركة ألفين ليرة..”

تتابع(صفاء) “بعد شهر أعطوني قطعة زجاج وقالوا أن الشركة أرسلتها لي، (تشبه صحن السجائر) وهي ستمنحني الطاقة وتمنع عني الأمراض، ويكفي أن أضعها مكان المرض ليختفي، وستحميني من كافة المخاطر وتنقي الماء أيضا.. ”

تتابع(صفاء) ” أخذت قطعة الزجاج التي لا تساوي قيمتها الـ50 ليرة وبدأت اشعر بأنني وقعت ضحية احتيال، باني خسرت المبلغ، حاولت أعادة قطعة الزجاج في محاولة للانسحاب واسترجاع الـ30 ألف، لكنهم رفضوا طلبي، ولم يردوا على اتصالاتي المتكررة بل إن احدهم قال لي مستهزئا افعلي ما بوسعك، فتقدمت بالشكوى، حيث تبين بان الموضوع اكبر مما كنت أتخيل”.

وعن الأشخاص الذين ينشطون للشركة يقول المصدر المطلع” بعد شكوى (صفاء) تمّ استدعاء الشابين فأوضحا بان لا علاقة لهم بالأمر وان حالتهما تشبه

حال صفاء، وان انضمامهما إلى الشركة عن طريق الشاب (هـ.س) حيث اخبرهما أن أرباحهما ستتضاعف كلّما قاما بضم شخصين إلى الشركة..”

وتابع المصدر” بالبحث عن (هـ.س) تمّ إيجاده في (كافتيريا) مع ستة أشخاص آخرين وهم يحاولون إقناع الزبائن بالانضمام إلى الشركة، ومعهم ساعة عادية، وقلادة من الزجاج مرسوم عليها حرف ع “.

وفي اتصال مع السيدة(س) التي تمّ عرض الانضمام للشركة عليها تقول” جرى الأمر بشكل عادي، لقد عرضوا علي لكني رفضت، المسألة مسـألة قبول أو رفض وأنا رفضت الانضمام لعدم قناعتي”

أما عن انضمام (هـ.س) فنقل المصدر “انضم عن طريق الشاب(ح) عراقي الجنسية، وبتوقيف، حيث دافع عن الشركة واعتبر أن عملها نظامي موضحا بأن افتتاحها تمّ بحضور وزير الاقتصاد في فندق الشيرتون بتاريخ 17/7/2008…

وعن أموال المشتركين قال أنها ترسل إلى الشركة بماليزيا، ويتم إرسال عقود الاشتراك بالفاكس والمراسلات تتم عن طريق النت، واصفا الشركة بالعالمية وبان ما تقوم به نظامي وقانوني..”

أما عن طريقة انضمامه فأوضح بحسب المصدر المطلع “انضم عن طريق شخص سوري، نافيا أن يكون للشركة مقراً، كاشفا عن وجود مستشار قانوني للشركة (محامي) في منطقة الطلياني بدمشق، وأن جميع الاتصالات مع الشركة في ماليزية تتم عن طريق الانترنت “.

وحول عدد المنتسبين للشركة أوضح المصدر “اعترافات الأشخاص تشير إلى وجود نحو 22 ألف مشترك”.

وتابع “تمّ لغاية الآن توقيف 8 أشخاص معظمهم متعلمين واحدهم حاصل على الماجستير، وسيتم تحويلهم إلى القضاء أصولا” واصفا ما جرى “نصب واحتيال، بيع أوهام فلا يوجد أي سلعة حقيقية، كل شخص يتورط يسعى إلى توريط الآخرين ومن اقرب المقربين إليه كي يستردّ شيئاً مما دفعه..”.

أخيرا نشير إلى انه بالبحث على الانترنت عن شركة(quest.net) تبيّن وجود أعداد كبيرة من المواقع التي تشير إلى شركات تحمل ذات التسمية، وبالتالي لا يمكننا تأكد أو نفي ما ورد عن ارتباط الأشخاص المذكورين بأي من تلك الشركات.

سورية أونلاين

Why We Hack: The Benefits of Disobedience

2010-10-28T20:56:00.003+03:00

Sometimes disobedience is necessary and good when rules fail us, and it's at the core of why we hack. Hacking is a means of expressing dissatisfaction, confounding the mechanism, and ultimately doing better. Here's why it's so important.

Much of today's entertainment focuses on vigilantes, serial killers, and traditionally bad people. The common thread? They all promote disobedience as a virtue. How do you relate to a serial killer like Dexter? You do it because he murders other serial killers—read: bad people. He does something wrong because good behavior won't accomplish what needs to be done. (See also: Batman.) It's this same mentality, this same brand of unrest, that fuels all kinds of disobedience. In particular, it's why we hack.

What I Mean When I Say "Hack"
Hacking can be defined a few ways, from the more innocent type of life hacking we generally talk about to the darker side of the spectrum where people are actually carrying out highly illegal actions. Here, we fall somewhere in the gray middle, where hacking disobeys companies, circumvents copyright laws, and challenges people to do more with what they're given. Hacking is a brand of disobedience that both expresses dissatisfaction with the status quo and does something to change it. This is the kind of hacking—and disobedience—that's beneficial and good.

The Reasons for Disobedience

It's hard for a lot of people to justify disobedience because it often involves breaking rules, if not the law. There's always at least a shred of incorrectness to disobedience, even if it's committed for all the right reasons. Hacking gets a bad reputation for those reasons as well, and to really understand why hacking is so important it's necessary to look at its roots: civil disobedience

Though certainly not the first instance, the idea of civil disobedience was popularized byHenry David Thoreau in his aptly titled 1848 essay Civil Disobedience. Wikipedia summarizes the thesis nicely:

It argues that people should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that people have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice.

Why It Matters

We've seen numerous examples of the benefits of civil disobedience over time, from Gandhi's campaign for independence from the British Empire (e.g.: the Salt March), to the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s and 60s America (e.g.:Rosa Parks), to the more recent Gay Rights Movement. With issues that have been around for some time it's easy to see, historically, how each group is denied rights and, at strategic times, chose disobedience as a means of fighting back. It all seems obvious now, but oppression and disobedience aren't necessarily all that different. For example, the Nazi party came to power because of civil unrest. Disobedience was a key component in Hitler's rise to power. For a more contemporary example I won't make comparisons to current political movements, because nothing is quite on the level of the third reich, but instead offer up something that's a little controversial:

Take Antoine Dodson's (ofBed Intruder fame) new iPhone app that takes sex offender tracking a lot further by identifying sex offenders through the wonders of augmented reality. The general assumption is that sex offenders are bad people and knowing their locations allows us to stay safe and keep our loved ones safe. The problem, however, is that sex offender databases suck. They suck because the definition of a sex offender is so broad that it includes people like Wendy Whittaker (full text at The Economist) who engaged in sexual activity with another minor who was below the age of consent. While there are definitely bad people who belong on such a list, there are plenty—like Wendy—who do not. We're catching too many dolphins with our tuna nets, so to speak, and its these sorts of unjust and ineffective laws that define oppression. It's our often emotional reactions that let people in desire of power (in this case, politicians) step in, willing to be so tough on sex offenders that they'll throw a net to catch anyone vaguely criminal, and slowly turn us into willingly oppressive people without even knowing it. While it feels like disobedience, it's not. This is one of many reasons why disobedience is necessary.

Why We Hack

So what does this all have to do with hacking? Let's look at two examples: Napster and Apple. Napster was really the beginning of the music sharing movement, which largely revolved around stealing copyrighted music by trading it online with others. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) quickly stepped in and made major efforts to catch and sue as many music thieves as possible. In some cases they caught people they were after, but many people were sued by the RIAA despite their infraction either being minor orpossibly non-existent.

It is, again, the same situation: a group of people react emotionally, act without thinking, and hurt innocent people in the process. Despite the oppressive nature of the RIAA, file-sharing services were an incredible example of positive disobedience. They demonstrated the desire for purchasing and sharing unprotected digital music online, created the market for portable media players, and have reoriented the music industry more towards the benefit of the consumer. While the RIAA's witch hunt brought a number of casualties in the process, the immense change brought by the existence of music file sharing services—a simple act of disobedience—changed an entire industry.

That inevitably leads us to Apple, iTunes, and iOS. Apple quickly recognized the desire for people to buy and trade music legally, so they released the iPod and iTunes. A music store quickly grew as part of iTunes so people could legally purchase digital audio content. Initially, this content was locked down by digital rights management (DRM) copy protection, but dissatisfaction with its limitations eventually moved the music industry away from using it all-together. Today, you can buy music on iTunes and virtually any online music store with no DRM, leaving you the choice to share it with as many people as you want or simply keep it to yourself. What you do with your music is now your choice.

Apple recognized the problem with complex user experiences and attempted to create simpler, easier-to-use products. Their idea with iTunes had less to do with the legal consumption of music and more with the convenience, and they've applied this paradigm to all their products. With more and more people using computers and the internet, Apple's strategy has been to build the hardware and software that was the easiest to use. As a result, over the years, Apple has created two things: some pretty impressive hardware and software, but also a locked down platform that purportedly protects us from viruses, pornography, and other things Apple believes we don't want.

While no one can argue that Apple's been successful doing this, many of us who love their products but want the ability to do more are fed up. Lively communities for building Hackintosh Macs and doing amazing things with jailbroken iOS devices demonstrate the desire for the option of openness. When we purchase a product, said product should not make an effort to prevent us from using it in the way we want. Somewhere along the line, people started believing that when Apple says you shouldn't jailbreak your iPhone, it was actually against the law to do so. That's simply not the case.

We hack because we want to do better. We hack because we want to demonstrate the desire for greater possibilities. We hack because we're sick and tired of being caught in a net designed for other people. We hack because it's fun. With the internet becoming the world community, hacking is our form of civil disobedience. It's our way to passionately tear down and rebuild, confound the mechanism, and express dissatisfaction through improvement. It's about doing better, not breaking the law.

In addition to hacking, the Do It Yourself (DIY) movement is a kinder form of disobedience. We've grown into a society where processes are so streamlined and tailored to the customer's convenience that we don't need to make anything anymore. Instead we can work longer hours at our jobs and come home to a house cleaned by a robot vacuum and sit down to eat the seventh take out meal of the week. It's not that these conveniences are inherently bad, but when something breaks (as a Roomba often does), you have to be prepared to vacuum yourself. At those times, you're reminded how it's important to know how to clean, how to fix things around the house, and how to cook so you can do it when you need to or want to. There are so many things we've neglected to learn or have forgotten because convenience has stripped them of their relevancy. The DIY movement stands behind the belief that forgetting how to do things is, culturally, a bad thing.

The need for disobedience comes in many forms but it all stems from being denied something we sorely need in our lives. While it's not always the right answer, it's hugely important. We need to keep on hacking so long as we're angry, frustrated, and dissatisfied with the status quo. We can sit around and complain, or we can do better. For me, it's a pretty easy choice.

Unfriend Finder Helps You Discover Who Has Unfriended You on Facebook

2010-10-28T20:45:00.002+03:00

Continuously grooming your list of people who've wronged you requires a lot of upkeep and thought. Let Unfriend Finder help you out by keeping track of the people who ditch you as a friend on Facebook.

Photo by Pete (yourspleen)

(Click to enlarge.)

There's nothing terribly surprising or complicated about installing and using Unfriend Finder. You just download it, install it in your web browser of choice (assuming your choice is either Chrome, Firefox, Opera, or Safari), log into Facebook, and let Unfriend Finder do it's job. It's important to note it's not retroactive, so you're not going to find a bunch of lost friends just by installing it. Instead, install it now, be patient, and wait for certain "friends" to drop you thinking you won't notice. You will, and you'll be able to some day remind them of their indiscretion.

Pulse Check...

2010-06-30T19:28:00.000+03:00

I'm not sure if I still exist or not, things aren't what they used to be, all the days are the same, nothing new happens and when something does it's never pleasant. Waking up early in the morning doesn't feel so bad now, cleaning your bed and getting dressed is like an automated procedure. And then the day starts, as i walked down the stairs I wondered what's the reason for all this, is it really necessary to achieve anything, then the next thought really got me depressed. "Did anyone notice I was gone?" well actually it;s more of the fact that i "am" and will be gone for some time. anyways that's not the point. nor the thought that being missed or included in someone else's life that bothered me. its that I'm doing nothing nothing and a little more nothing and when think about doing something all it gets you is more trouble so its actually more beneficial to not to do anything at all. and while i realized i just stepped the last step in the stairs i realized that even thinking about doing something just made me think about time and as a consequence of that i realize how much time has gone by thinking about it and when u realize that its only a few seconds it just gets more depressing how "time goes by so slowly". As i walk towards the people I also noticed another interesting fact... not being class-ist at all but humm how can i say this in the politest way possible ... come to think of it why the hell am i even wanting to be polite (el mo2adab hena beyakhod 3ala dema3'o) but lets try... out of all the people you can count ...nahh i will try another way... lets just say it's just stinks.
so life goes on and work starts, i look at my cup of tea still boiling hot and doze of a little watching the steam as it rises from my cup. (that reminds me, my tea is getting cold) and looking at the watch and not remembering the last time i ever saw my watch even close to the 8 am whatsha-ma-thingy hand on the watch, doesn't matter that much its a long day today so can't think about every second that goes by.

ok ok to nothing can explain boring as much as boring but add to that heat and it becomes unbearable... ok ok ill stop complaining its better than alot of other places. but bardo who can blame me except ppl in those places and i bet they wouldnt coz they simply wont know.

ma3lina nerga3 le mawdo3na .... which is.... someone tell me things that can be done to pass by time that including sitting for 4 hours not being able to even go to the bathroom?

fasel wa newasel....
cya

How To Remove Antivirus Live and Other Rogue/Fake Antivirus Malware

2010-01-16T06:20:00.001+03:00

from the How-To Geek by The Geek

If you’ve got a PC infected by the Antivirus Live virus, you’ve got a tough job ahead of you to remove it. And we’ve got the instructions to help.

Antivirus Live is one of many fake antivirus applications that are really rogue viruses that take your computer hostage—then they tell you that your computer is infected by viruses, and you have to pay them to get rid of the fake viruses that aren’t really there. It’s a huge problem, and they are not easy to remove, because they block virtually everything you try and run, including real anti-malware tools.

Removing Rogue Fake Antivirus Infections

There’s a couple of steps that you can generally follow to get rid of the majority of rogue antivirus infections, and actually most malware or spyware infections of any type. Here’s the quick steps:

Reboot your PC into safe mode with networking (use F8 right before Windows starts to load)
Install SuperAntiSpyware and run it. (see our previous article on how to use it)
Reboot your PC and go back into safe mode with networking.
Install MalwareBytes and run it, doing a full system scan. (see our previous article on how to use it).
Reboot your PC again, and run your normal Antivirus application (we recommend Microsoft Security Essentials).
At this point your PC is usually clean.

Note that some malware will block you from using safe mode. That usually requires another set of steps that we won’t cover here.

Let’s Remove Antivirus Live

The first thing you’ll want to do is reboot your computer, and hit the F8 key right before Windows starts loading (you can hit it a bunch of times). Then select the Safe Mode with Networking option.

Before you do anything else, you’re going to need to fix the internet connection to work, because Antivirus Live changes IE to use a fake proxy server that prevents you from getting to anything else—and will also prevent you from installing and updating a real anti-malware software.

Now you’ll want to install SuperAntiSpyware (linked above), which you have hopefully downloaded via another computer already, but safe mode with networking should allow you to download and install it.

Once you load it up, it’s going to do some analysis…

Then you’ll see the full application screen, where you’ll want to use the Check for Updates button to make sure you have the latest definitions. Once you’ve done that, click the Scan your Computer button.

Select your primary drive at least, though you should pick all the drives, and then click the Perform Complete Scan button.

It’ll run for a long time, detect a bunch of stuff, and then you can proceed through the wizard to actually removing it all…

Once it’s all done, you can reboot the PC again (just make sure to go back into Safe Mode again).

Next you’ll want to install Malwarebytes, make sure to check the Update tab for the latest definitions, and then perform a full scan of your system.

Malwarebytes will find even more malware that SuperAntiSpyware missed (seems like you always need more than one util to get it all). Just be sure to click the Remove Selected button to get rid of the rest.

At this point you’ll want to reboot your system, and then install Microsoft Security Essentials and run another full scan. Can’t hurt to be too cautious!

Note: If you used a thumb drive at any point during this process, you should make sure and scan that as well—I’ve had viruses hop over to the thumb drive, ready to infect the next machine.

Backupify Cloud Backup Free Until January 31; Stays Free If You Sign Up Now [Deals]

2009-12-23T01:39:00.000+03:00

Pr eviously mentioned( in lifehacker) web service Backupify backs up all your online accounts (Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and a ton more) to the cloud, normally for a nominal fee—but until January 31, 2010, all Backupify accounts will be free with unlimited storage. After this period, the service will go back to a paid pricing structure. Anyone who signs up for an account during this free period, however, will remain free—and unlimited—forever. So if you've been considering the service (or feel the need to backup your Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Wordpress, or many other supported online accounts), now is the time to sign up. If you don't see your service listed, sign up anyway—they've announced that YouTube and Linkedin backups are coming soon, and they plan to continue to launch support for more services. It can't hurt—after all, it doesn't get much cheaper than free.

How Fanboys See Operating Systems

2009-12-20T03:16:00.002+03:00

Workaround to Disable and Remove OGA Office Not Genuine Notifications (Uninstall KB949810)

2009-12-19T00:20:00.002+03:00

After installing Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) Notifications (KB949810) from Windows Update, OGA Validation will perform genuine test on installed Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007 and Office 2010 software. If Office product is validated as not genuine, “This copy of Microsoft Office is not genuine” notification message will be displayed on notification area (system tray), at splash screen during Office program (i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) startup, and at Office’s toolbar or ribbon with extra “Get Genuine Office” tab or element.

KB949810 OGA Notifications update is designed so that end-user cannot uninstall or removed the update using “Add and Remove Programs” or “Program and Features” in the Control Panel, in a bid to encourage end-users to buy genuine Microsoft products. But, if you’re a legit Office users, and the OGA validation has returned false-positive result, use the one of the following hacks to disable and remove Microsoft Office not genuine notification messages displayed by OGA Notifications.

Note: Hack below simply remove and disable OGA Notifications so that no notification message about Office not genuine is not displayed, and works on most versions of OGA Notifications. It doesn’t crack or patch OGA Validation component, OGACheckControl.dll, which does the validation process to determine if the Office product is genuine or not.

Hack 1: Disable OGAAddin.dll from Loading with Office Applications

OGAAddin.dll (and OGAVerify.exe) is a few files that been installed by OGA Notifications. OGAAddin.dll allowed OGA Notifications to install as an add-in to applications in Office productivity suites to display not genuine reminder message to illegitimate and illegal copy of Office. By stopping the OGAAddin load behavior and preventing OGAAddin.dll from loading, the Office Genuine Advantage Notifications message can be suppressed.

Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe).
Press Ctrl-F to open search box, and search for OGAAddin.connectregistry key.
In the right pane, right click on Load Behavior and select Modify.
Change the value data from 3 to 0.
Repeat for each and every OGAAddin.connect found.

With this hack, Windows still treat OGA as installed, and will not prompt user to install again.

Hack 2: Disable and Remove OGAAddin from within Office Applications

Run one of the Office app such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher and etc as administrator.

Note: Open Windows Explorer, go to %SystemDrive%\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12 (may be different depends on version of Office installed and x64 OS uses Program Files (x86) folder), and right click on Office app executable, e.g. winword.exe, excel.exe, powerpnt.exe and etc to run as administrator.
Go to Options (at the bottom of menu triggered by Office button) ->Add-Ins.
Select COM Add-ins under Manage drop menu list, and click Go.
Disable or remoev the OGAAdmin.
Repeat above steps for each and every Office applications installed.

Hack 3: Delete and Remove (Uninstall) Office Genuine Advantage Notifications Components

Although Microsoft does not allow OGA Notifications to be uninstall, but that does not mean that individual file components of OGA Notifications cannot be deleted, removed or uninstalled manually.

To disable OGA Notifications and uninstall KB949810, close and exit from all Office applications (including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, Visio and etc.), and search for the following files in%SystemDrive%\Wndows\System32 folder and%SystemDrive%\Windows\SysWow64 folder (for 64-bit OS x64 only).

OGAVerify.exe
OGAAddin.dll

Delete the above files. It’s also possible rename the files so that system cannot find them.

Hack 4: Remove OGAAddin.connect Registry Key in System Registry

Pretty much similar to method 1 and 2, but it’s quicker and will complete remove trace of OGAAddin.connect from registry. Unlike hack 1, Windows Update may prompt you to install again.

Run Registry Editor (RegEdit.exe).
Go to each and every of the following registry keys, and any other which contains OGAAddin.connect registry value sub-key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Powerpoint\Addins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
Delete the OGAAddin.connect registry value.

Hack 5: Properly Uninstall KB949810 OGA Notification via OGANotifier.msi

Tip by AnonyMouse

Easy to uninstall. Just follow these steps:

Go to C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download\8998da55d52b36c0e98ba016ddd50de0\ folder.

Note: The directory may be different, so if not found search for OGANotifier.cab.
Extract OGANotifier.cab with WinRAR (or using the Expand command at command line) to get a file named OGANotifier.msi.
Right click on OGANotifier.msi, and select Uninstall.
Remember to block the update from been installed again in WU.

There is also an official Windows Installer method of uninstalling OGA, Belt-and-Braces approach submitted by one of the reader, shown below:

Remove ‘Office/Windows Genuine Advantage’ from Office Programs:
- Word / Excel / PowerPoint / Access
  
  Quick Access Toolbar – More Commands – Add Ins – Manage ‘Comm Add Ins’ – Go – Remove OGA Add In
- Outlook / Visio
  
  Tools – Trust Centre – Add Ins – Manage ‘Comm Add Ins’ – Manage – Go – Remove OGA Add In
Reboot into Windows ‘Safe Mode’
Rename in \windows\system32 (by adding .bak to end of file)
- LegitCheckControl.dll (create empty file)
- OGAAddin.dll (create empty file)
- OGACheckControl.dll (create empty file)
- OGAExec.exe (create empty file)
- WgaTray.exe (create empty file)
- WgaLogon.dll (create empty file)
Edit Registry (Navigate to WgaLogon folder)
1. HKey Local Machine
2. Software
3. Microsoft
4. Windows NT
5. Current Version
6. Winlogon
7. Notify
8. DELETE Wgalogon folder
Disable OGALogon Task
1. \Windows\tasks
2. Select OGALogon and the ‘Properties’
3. On Task Tab
4. Disable as follows (Uncheck):
  - Run only if logged on
  - Enabled (Scheduled task runs at specified time)
5. On Settings Tab
6. Disable as follows (Check):
  
  Delete the task if it is not scheduled to run again
Restart Windows Normally
Block Programs in Firewall (Prevents running IF there is an automatic Update)
- OGAExec.exe **create empty file (If not done in 3)
- WgaTray.exe **create empty file (If not done in 3)

With any one of the hacks above, no more Office Genuine Advantage notification message will be displayed and showed on system, regardless of genuine status of the Office software, unless of course, end-user chooses to reinstall KB949810.

Top 10 Downloads for a Road Warrior Laptop [Lifehacker Top 10]

2009-12-13T13:16:00.002+03:00

If you take your laptop to destinations beyond your couch, you expose it to intermittent connectivity, greater risk of theft, always-depleting batteries, and many other variables. Prepare your laptop for productivity on the go with these apps and utilities.
Photo by jimmyroq.
We've previously tackled 10 tips for productive travel, covering helpers for laptops, smartphones, and the humans that use them. This list, however, is purely software, and hopefully adds more to your mobile agility.

10. Auto-pause iTunes when you remove headphones

Sure, it's a niche kind of download, but how neat is it to never have to worry about revealing your playlist pleasures to the room at large? With the Breakawayapp/preference pane installed in OS X, your iTunes playlist automatically pauses when headphones are removed, and resumes, with a fade-in, when plugged back in. That's it, but that's pretty handy. (Original post)

9. Make it dual-monitor friendly

If your laptop is your main computing workhorse, it's often easy to attach to a larger monitor for a two-screen setup. With different resolutions, sizes, and sometimes-primary-sometimes-not setups, though, manually managing the two to your liking can be a headache. Using an all-in-one utility likeDisplayFusion or UltraMon to manage your Windows monitors, or any of these downloads and tips for making the most of your dual monitors, is the aspirin for sometimes-mobile, sometimes-home setups.

8. Use a better Wi-Fi finder

You system's own Wi-Fi connection manager can tell you what hotspots are nearby, and maybe what kind of security they're using, but that's about it. With an app like NetStumbler or WeFi for Windows, or iStumbler for Macs, you can get far more detail about the security, signal-to-noise ratio, and other information about the connections that are available wherever you're at. In the case of WeFi, you can even harness the hive mind of fellow travelers to find a free, open spot nearby. For more on finding decent Wi-Fi with the help of software, web sites, and coffee purchases, check out our definitive guide to finding free Wi-Fi.

7. Tether your phone to your laptop

Even really fast 3G service doesn't feel that fast on a laptop, where you're probably used to the web being a speed-of-thought experience. Still, when you just need to quickly grab an email or a few important files, your phone's mobile net access can be a vital lifeline for a Wi-Fi-less laptop. You can root and tether an iPhone, or simply tether an Android unit (Wi-Fi or USB) or a Palm Pre. Got something else? June Fabrics' PdaNet apps will likely get you what you need, though they may be limited in their non-paid versions.

6. Save battery power (and power out gracefully)

If you work away from a power cord often enough that battery life is a serious concern, a few downloads can make your machine smarter about how it uses power and how it acts when it's almost out. Windows 7 and Vista machines can grab Aerofoil, a neat little automator that turns things like Windows' 3-D effects and background switching on or off depending on battery power. Vista users also have Vista Battery Saver as an option-packed alternative. We haven't really found a similar program for Macs while they're running, but SmartSleep is a real time and battery saver for those who frequently close the lid on their machines and expect a somewhat snappy startup upon returning.

5. Get friendly with Thunderbird 3

There are those who might tell you that Thunderbird, and desktop email in general, is dying out. Mozilla's desktop email client is, however, very close to a new release, and it still makes for the best means of accessing Gmail when its web site is down, accessing email via IMAP, and syncing with a Google Calendar on any platform—or even off a thumb drive. Even if it's not your primary means of reading and sending mail, getting to know Thunderbird, especially its much-refined third edition, is a great way of ensuring email accessibility on a plane or anywhere else your laptop goes.

4. Get "Back" to your Mac or PC

A lot of companies are selling remote desktop software these days, with names like GoToMyPC and Back to My Mac. We're sure they work fine, but they're really selling a boutique experience of software tools you can otherwise get free. Adam detailed how to get Back to Your Mac without paying for it, along with some tips on building a similar system for a PC, which could then connect to either a PC or Mac. Either way, you're never detached from your home or work computer and its files, assuming you keep it on.

3. Make it secure and track-able

There are many free and wonderful applications for Windows and Mac computers that prevent thieves and snoopers from getting at your data, along with tracking and identifying a thief. Too many to list in one Top 10 item, really—luckily, Adam already rounded up the majority of them in a post on thief-proofing your laptop. We'd add two items to that list, however—Prey, an all-in-one tool for tracking down a stolen laptop and capturing images of its captor, and FireFound, a Firefox add-on that reports its location when Firefox is running—so, really more helpful if your thief or stolen goods buyer doesn't happen to be an Internet Explorer or Safari fan. (Original posts: FireFound, Prey)

2. Turn it into a hotspot

Hotel rooms with wired-only internet, Wi-Fi cafes with purchase or password requirements—these are annoying, but not insurmountable obstacles for smartphones and friends needing connectivity. Connectify, a free Windows 7 download (while in beta), makes the process dead simple. If you're running OS X, XP, or Vista, you can get pointers on opening up your laptop's Wi-Fi withCNET's video guide. (Original posts: XP/Vista/Mac hotspots, Connectify).

1. Keep your files synced

You've got enough stuff to remember when you're running out the door—skip worrying about where your work files are by setting up a universal synchronization system with a free app like Dropbox, SugarSync, or SpiderOak, all of which can run on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems; in the case of Dropbox and SugarSync, they'll also run on mobile platforms. Rather than worrying about whether that file got transferred between your desktop and laptop, these apps let you work out of one universal folder that updates itself for every system you own. Go further with Dropbox and similar tools with the How-To Geek's tips for doing more than just file syncing.

Five Best Outlining Tools

2009-12-13T13:14:00.000+03:00

Outlines are useful for more than just recalling painful memories of high-school research papers. This week we're taking a look at the five favorite outlining tools of Lifehacker readers.
Most of us received our earliest introduction to outlining by a teacher who insisted we needed to outline before writing papers and reports. While outlining is a solid tool for writing a research paper, it's also invaluable for writing other things—speeches, presentations, books, etc.—and for organizing your thoughts into patterns that can be easily tweaked and edited before your reach the end product, be it book or business plan, is committed to its final form.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite outlining tool, and now we're back to share the most popular outlining tools used by Lifehacker readers.
Note: The pricing for Microsoft Word and Microsoft OneNote is given for the standalone purchase price of the individual products. Both are available as part of the various Microsoft Office Suite configurations and are significantly cheaper when purchased as part of a suite.

Microsoft OneNote (Windows, Standalone: $75)

OneNote is a note-taking and organization tool that many Lifehacker readers have called Microsoft's best product. It's versatile—it's made appearances here, in the best note-taking tools and journaling Hive Fives—and the outlining functionality is well integrated and easy to use. One of the strong points of outlining in OneNote is the way outlines support the same drag and drop rearranging found throughout OneNote. Almost every single element in a OneNote page can be dragged, dropped, or easily manipulated with a context menu—the screenshot above shows an element in the outline right before being dragged into a new slot. Note: If you're curious about the GTD context in the screenshot, read our guide to getting things done with Microsoft OneNote.

OmniOutliner (Mac, Standard: $39.95, Professional $69.95)

OmniOutliner is a comprehensive outlining tool for OS X with a host of features that make outlining more exciting and effective than simply scrawling roman numerals on a legal pad. With OmniOutliner, you can not only create outlines, but create additional columns of for input and data. Want your outline to have a column where you can check things off like a checklist or assign due dates? You can add it in. OmniOutliner has full AppleScript support so you script in tasks like having OmniOutliner put things on your calendar. Even if you're not looking for the more advanced bells and whistles like script support or multiple columns, the basic outline is still well designed. Inline notes allow you to add information directly to an entry in the outline for later reference but hide it when you want to look at just the outline. The professional version adds in new features like being able to navigate your outline by section, text clipping to pull in information from other apps on your computer, and audio capture to take voice notes.

Microsoft Word (Windows/Mac, Standalone: $130)

You certainly can't round up popular applications for outlining without Microsoft Word making an appearance. It wasn't conceived as an outlining tool, but thanks to its presence on millions of personal and corporate computers, the outlining tools built into it have seen an enormous amount of use. Outlining directly in document is a bit kludgy, but thankfully Word has an "Outlining View"—seen in the screenshot above—which makes outline creation and editing much easier. If you've never used Word to outline before, check out this tutorial to get started.

Org-Mode (Windows/Mac/Linux, Free)

Org-Mode is a portable and open-source tool that runs off of the also free and open-source Emacs platform—Emacs is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and more here. You work on Org-Mode in a command prompt-like window and do all your editing and changes via the command line and keyboard shortcuts. It's definitely not the kind of application you toss at your computer-illiterate relatives, but it is a powerful and flexible tool for organizing outlines and more. The authors of Org-Mode maintain a large list of tutorials and screencasts for showing what can be done with Org-Mode, this one about using Org-Mode for outlining is of particular interest to today's Hive Five.

FreeMind (Windows/Mac/Linux, Free)

Traditionally one thinks of outlines as a linear progression down the page. Many Lifehacker readers, however, opted to outline their projects and ideas in mind-mapping applications like the popular and open-source FreeMind. You still get a hierarchical structure, headers, sub-headers, and so on, but the information is presented in a mind-map format instead of a simple list. FreeMind is very keyboard friendly—it's possible to create your entire outline without your hands leaving the keyboard. You use customize item flagging, color coding, and more. FreeMind also made an appearance in and won the Hive Five for best mind-mapping tools.

Translate Any Web Text on the Fly with a Bookmarklet

2009-11-30T18:24:00.002+03:00

Google has recently offered translation of web pages generated from JavaScript—like search results and webapps—through its own toolbars. Want to quickly translate text without the toolbar? The Google Operating System blog has a bookmarklet to try out.
If you're already using the Google toolbar on your browser, or mostly browse sites that use Google's own persistent translation toolbar, you won't need this bookmarklet. For those of us looking for quick translation of any web page out there, the bookmarklet linked at the Google Operating System post is a nice and easy fix.
While this bookmarklet can work with any kind of text on a page and automatically detect the language, it doesn't automatically convert to a default English language. For that, you should check out the To English bookmarklet that's won its way into our hearts (and bookmarklets folder).

Google Translation Bar [Google Operating System]

The History of the Internet in a Nutshell

2009-11-17T15:31:00.002+03:00

If you’re reading this article, it’s likely that you spend a fair amount of time online. However, considering how much of an influence the Internet has in our daily lives, how many of us actually know the story of how it got its start?

Here’s a brief history of the Internet, including important dates, people, projects, sites, and other information that should give you at least a partial picture of what this thing we call the Internet really is, and where it came from.

While the complete history of the Internet could easily fill a few books, this article should familiarize you with key milestones and events related to the growth and evolution of the Internet between 1969 to 2009.

1969: Arpanet

Arpanet was the first real network to run on packet switching technology (new at the time). On the October 29, 1969, computers at Stanford and UCLA connected for the first time. In effect, they were the first hosts on what would one day become the Internet.

The first message sent across the network was supposed to be "Login", but reportedly, the link between the two colleges crashed on the letter "g".

1969: Unix

Another major milestone during the 60’s was the inception of Unix: the operating system whose design heavily influenced that of Linux and FreeBSD (the operating systems most popular in today’s web servers/web hosting services).

1970: Arpanet network

An Arpanet network was established between Harvard, MIT, and BBN (the company that created the "interface message processor" computers used to connect to the network) in 1970.

1971: Email

Email was first developed in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, who also made the decision to use the "@" symbol to separate the user name from the computer name (which later on became the domain name).

1971: Project Gutenberg and eBooks

One of the most impressive developments of 1971 was the start of Project Gutenberg. Project Gutenberg, for those unfamiliar with the site, is a global effort to make books and documents in the public domain available electronically–for free–in a variety of eBook and electronic formats.

It began when Michael Hart gained access to a large block of computing time and came to the realization that the future of computers wasn’t in computing itself, but in the storage, retrieval and searching of information that, at the time, was only contained in libraries. He manually typed (no OCR at the time) the "Declaration of Independence" and launched Project Gutenberg to make information contained in books widely available in electronic form. In effect, this was the birth of the eBook.

1972: CYCLADES

France began its own Arpanet-like project in 1972, called CYCLADES. While Cyclades was eventually shut down, it did pioneer a key idea: the host computer should be responsible for data transmission rather than the network itself.

1973: The first trans-Atlantic connection and the popularity of emailing

Arpanet made its first trans-Atlantic connection in 1973, with the University College of London. During the same year, email accounted for 75% of all Arpanet network activity.

1974: The beginning of TCP/IP

1974 was a breakthrough year. A proposal was published to link Arpa-like networks together into a so-called "inter-network", which would have no central control and would work around a transmission control protocol (which eventually became TCP/IP).

1975: The email client

With the popularity of emailing, the first modern email program was developed byJohn Vittal, a programmer at the University of Southern California in 1975. The biggest technological advance this program (called MSG) made was the addition of "Reply"and "Forward" functionality.

1977: The PC modem

1977 was a big year for the development of the Internet as we know it today. It’s the year the first PC modem, developed by Dennis Hayes and Dale Heatherington, was introduced and initially sold to computer hobbyists.

1978: The Bulletin Board System (BBS)

The first bulletin board system (BBS) was developed during a blizzard in Chicago in 1978.

1978: Spam is born

1978 is also the year that brought the first unsolicited commercial email message(later known as spam), sent out to 600 California Arpanet users by Gary Thuerk.

1979: MUD – The earliest form of multiplayer games

The precursor to World of Warcraft and Second Life was developed in 1979, and was called MUD (short for MultiUser Dungeon). MUDs were entirely text-based virtual worlds, combining elements of role-playing games, interactive, fiction, and online chat.

1979: Usenet

1979 also ushered into the scene: Usenet, created by two graduate students. Usenet was an internet-based discussion system, allowing people from around the globe to converse about the same topics by posting public messages categorized by newsgroups.

1980: ENQUIRE software

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (better known as CERN) launchedENQUIRE (written by Tim Berners-Lee), a hypertext program that allowed scientists at the particle physics lab to keep track of people, software, and projects using hypertext (hyperlinks).

1982: The first emoticon

While many people credit Kevin MacKenzie with the invention of the emoticon in 1979, it was Scott Fahlman in 1982 who proposed using :-) after a joke, rather than the original -) proposed by MacKenzie. The modern emoticon was born.

1983: Arpanet computers switch over to TCP/IP

January 1, 1983 was the deadline for Arpanet computers to switch over to the TCP/IP protocols developed by Vinton Cerf. A few hundred computers were affected by the switch. The name server was also developed in ‘83.

1984: Domain Name System (DNS)

The domain name system was created in 1984 along with the first Domain Name Servers (DNS). The domain name system was important in that it made addresses on the Internet more human-friendly compared to its numerical IP address counterparts. DNS servers allowed Internet users to type in an easy-to-remember domain name and then converted it to the IP address automatically.

1985: Virtual communities

1985 brought the development of The WELL (short for Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link), one of the oldest virtual communities still in operation. It was developed by Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant in February of ‘85. It started out as a community of the readers and writers of the Whole Earth Review and was an open but "remarkably literate and uninhibited intellectual gathering". Wired Magazine once called The Well "The most influential online community in the world."

1986: Protocol wars

The so-called Protocol wars began in 1986. European countries at that time were pursuing the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), while the United States was using the Internet/Arpanet protocol, which eventually won out.

1987: The Internet grows

By 1987, there were nearly 30,000 hosts on the Internet. The original Arpanet protocol had been limited to 1,000 hosts, but the adoption of the TCP/IP standard made larger numbers of hosts possible.

1988: IRC – Internet Relay Chat

Also in 1988, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) was first deployed, paving the way for real-time chat and the instant messaging programs we use today.

1988: First major malicious internet-based attack

One of the first major Internet worms was released in 1988. Referred to as "The Morris Worm", it was written by Robert Tappan Morris and caused major interruptionsacross large parts of the Internet.

1989: AOL is launched

When Apple pulled out of the AppleLink program in 1989, the project was renamed and America Online was born. AOL, still in existence today, later on made the Internetpopular amongst the average internet users.

1989: The proposal for the World Wide Web

1989 also brought about the proposal for the World Wide Web, written by Tim Berners-Lee. It was originally published in the March issue of MacWorld, and then redistributed in May 1990. It was written to persuade CERN that a global hypertext system was in CERN’s best interest. It was originally called "Mesh"; the term "World Wide Web" was coined while Berners-Lee was writing the code in 1990.

1990: First commercial dial-up ISP

1990 also brought about the first commercial dial-up Internet provider, The World. The same year, Arpanet ceased to exist.

1990: World Wide Web protocols finished

The code for the World Wide Web was written by Tim Berners-Lee, based on his proposal from the year before, along with the standards for HTML, HTTP, and URLs.

1991: First web page created

1991 brought some major innovations to the world of the Internet. The first web pagewas created and, much like the first email explained what email was, its purpose was to explain what the World Wide Web was.

1991: First content-based search protocol

Also in the same year, the first search protocol that examined file contents instead of just file names was launched, called Gopher.

1991: MP3 becomes a standard

Also, the MP3 file format was accepted as a standard in 1991. MP3 files, being highly compressed, later become a popular file format to share songs and entire albumsvia the internet.

1991: The first webcam

One of the more interesting developments of this era, though, was the first webcam. It was deployed at a Cambridge University computer lab, and its sole purpose was to monitor a particular coffee maker so that lab users could avoid wasted trips to an empty coffee pot.

1993: Mosaic – first graphical web browser for the general public

The first widely downloaded Internet browser, Mosaic, was released in 1993. While Mosaic wasn’t the first web browser, it is considered the first browser to make the Internet easily accessible to non-techies.

1993: Governments join in on the fun

In 1993, both the White House and the United Nations came online, marking the beginning of the .gov and .org domain names.

1994: Netscape Navigator

Mosaic’s first big competitor, Netscape Navigator, was released the year following (1994).

1995: Commercialization of the internet

1995 is often considered the first year the web became commercialized. While there were commercial enterprises online prior to ‘95, there were a few key developments that happened that year. First, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption was developed by Netscape, making it safer to conduct financial transactions (like credit card payments) online.

In addition, two major online businesses got their start the same year. The first sale on "Echo Bay" was made that year. Echo Bay later became eBay. Amazon.com also started in 1995, though it didn’t turn a profit for six years, until 2001.

1995: Geocities, the Vatican goes online, and JavaScript

Other major developments that year included the launch of Geocities (which officially closed down on October 26, 2009).

The Vatican also went online for the first time.

Java and JavaScript (originally called LiveScript by its creator, Brendan Eich, and deployed as part of the Netscape Navigator browser – see comments for explanation) was first introduced to the public in 1995. ActiveX was launched by Microsoft the following year.

1996: First web-based (webmail) service

In 1996, HoTMaiL (the capitalized letters are an homage to HTML), the first webmail service, was launched.

1997: The term "weblog" is coined

While the first blogs had been around for a few years in one form or another, 1997 was the first year the term "weblog" was used.

1998: First new story to be broken online instead of traditional media

In 1998, the first major news story to be broken online was the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal (also referred to as "Monicagate" among other nicknames), which was posted on The Drudge Report after Newsweek killed the story.

1998: Google!

Google went live in 1998, revolutionizing the way in which people find information online.

1998: Internet-based file-sharing gets its roots

In 1998 as well, Napster launched, opening up the gates to mainstream file-sharing of audio files over the internet.

1999: SETI@home project

1999 is the year when one of the more interesting projects ever brought online: theSETI@home project, launched. The project has created the equivalent of a giant supercomputer by harnessing the computing power of more than 3 million computers worldwide, using their processors whenever the screensaver comes on, indicating that the computer is idle. The program analyzes radio telescope data to look for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence.

2000: The bubble bursts

2000 was the year of the dotcom collapse, resulting in huge losses for legions of investors. Hundreds of companies closed, some of which had never turned a profit for their investors. The NASDAQ, which listed a large number of tech companies affected by the bubble, peaked at over 5,000, then lost 10% of its value in a single day, and finally hit bottom in October of 2002.

2001: Wikipedia is launched

With the dotcom collapse still going strong, Wikipedia launched in 2001, one of the websites that paved the way for collective web content generation/social media.

2003: VoIP goes mainstream

In 2003: Skype is released to the public, giving a user-friendly interface to Voice over IP calling.

2003: MySpace becomes the most popular social network

Also in 2003, MySpace opens up its doors. It later grew to be the most popular social network at one time (thought it has since been overtaken by Facebook).

2003: CAN-SPAM Act puts a lid on unsolicited emails

Another major advance in 2003 was the signing of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, better known as the CAN-SPAM Act.

2004: Web 2.0

Though coined in 1999 by Darcy DiNucci, the term "Web 2.0", referring to websites and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) that are highly interactive and user-driven became popular around 2004. During the first Web 2.0 conference, John Batelle and Tim O’Reilly described the concept of "the Web as a Platform": software applications built to take advantage of internet connectivity, moving away from the desktop (which has downsides such as operating system dependency and lack of interoperability).

2004: Social Media and Digg

The term "social media", believed to be first used by Chris Sharpley, was coined in the same year that "Web 2.0" became a mainstream concept. Social media–sites and web applications that allow its users to create and share content and to connect with one another–started around this period.

Digg, a social news site, launched on November of 2004, paving the way for sites such as Reddit, Mixx, and Yahoo! Buzz. Digg revolutionized traditional means of generating and finding web content, democratically promoting news and web links that are reviewed and voted on by a community.

2004: "The" Facebook open to college students

Facebook launched in 2004, though at the time it was only open to college studentsand was called "The Facebook"; later on, "The" was dropped from the name, though the URL http://www.thefacebook.com still works.

2005: YouTube – streaming video for the masses

YouTube launched in 2005, bringing free online video hosting and sharing to the masses.

2006: Twitter gets twittering

Twitter launched in 2006. It was originally going to be called twittr (inspired by Flickr); the first Twitter message was "just setting up my twttr".

2007: Major move to place TV shows online

Hulu was first launched in 2007, a joint venture between ABC, NBC, and Fox to make popular TV shows available to watch online.

2007: The iPhone and the Mobile Web

The biggest innovation of 2007 was almost certainly the iPhone, which was almost wholly responsible for renewed interest in mobile web applications and design.

2008: "Internet Election"

The first "Internet election" took place in 2008 with the U.S. Presidential election. It was the first year that national candidates took full advantage of all the Internet had to offer. Hillary Clinton jumped on board early with YouTube campaign videos. Virtually every candidate had a Facebook page or a Twitter feed, or both.

Ron Paul set a new fundraising record by raising $4.3 million in a single daythrough online donations, and then beat his own record only weeks later by raising $4.4 million in a single day.

The 2008 elections placed the Internet squarely at the forefront of politics and campaigning, a trend that is unlikely to change any time in the near future.

2009: ICANN policy changes

2009 brought about one of the biggest changes to come to the Internet in a long time when the U.S. relaxed its control over ICANN, the official naming body of the Internet (they’re the organization in charge of registering domain names).

The Future?

Where is the future of the Internet headed?

Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top [Charts]

2009-11-17T15:00:00.002+03:00

New data from SquareTrade (one of the bigger warranty providers) says Asus and Toshiba have the least hardware malfunctions over 3 years, while one-in-four HP laptops are projected to experience problems. Oh, and crappy netbooks are worst of all.
They say that sub-$400 netbooks are 20 percent more likely to fail in the first year. But no real surprises there.

SquareTrade says it randomly selected over 30,000 laptops and netbooks covered by its warranty plans for the study. Brands with a minimum of 1000 laptops included Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, Gateway, HP, Lenovo, Sony, and Toshiba. Accidental damage and software issues handled by the retailer were not included in the numbers.
Summary below, while the full report can be found at: [SquareTrade]

• Over 31 percent of laptops will fail in the first three years of ownership.
• Of these failures, two-thirds came from hardware malfunctions (20.4 percent) and one-third (10.6 percent) was reported as accidental damage.
• Asus and Toshiba were the most reliable manufacturers, with fewer than 16 percent having a hardware malfunction over three years.
• Netbooks are projected to have a 20 percent higher failure rate from hardware malfunctions than more expensive laptop computers.
• Manufacturers proved to be a more reliable determinant of reliability than the type of laptop and should be a greater factor in making a purchase decision.

Regular GPS not accurate enough? Try RTK-GPS!

2009-11-17T14:58:00.002+03:00

Want to fly your plane or drive your car using GPS signals, but finding that your receiver just isn't accurate enough to make things work? Well, MAKE subscriber Bruce Mueller writes in to point us at an impressive solution: an open-source real time kinematic GPS receiver. Researchers Tomoji Takasu and Akio Yasuda of Tokyo University developed the RTKLIB library to perform the RTK-GPS calculations, and then ported the whole thing to run on a low-cost beagle board and commodity GPS receiver. Want to try it out? Full source code, circuit layouts and instructions are provided on their site.
So, how does it work? A GPS receiver normally works by measuring the delay between an internally generated signal and one received by a satellite. This specially crafted signal makes it possible for the GPS receiver to find and latch onto the satellites signal, however it's wavelength limits the accuracy of the receiver. The real time kinematic system gets around this limitation by measuring the phase delay in the carrier signal. Because this signal has a much sorter wavelength, it is possible to make a system that is accurate to the centimeter.
Read more | Permalink

Moblin Linux 2.1 now out

2009-11-17T14:57:00.002+03:00

The latest Moblin Linux 2.1 is now available for all netbook users to check out, where among the many enhancements and new features will include :-

Support for 3G data connections
Bluetooth device management
Updated browser with plug-in support
Integrated application installer for Moblin Garage
Connection manager now supports Ethernet, WiFi, WiMAX, and 3G
Support for more screen resolutions

All of these features won't work perfectly at the moment though, for example, there is only one 3G modem supported at the moment which is the Ericsson MBM, although the team is working to throw in support for additional models in due time.
Permalink: Moblin Linux 2.1 now out from Ubergizmo

XP Quick Fix Plus Repairs Common Windows XP Errors [Downloads]

2009-11-17T14:56:00.002+03:00

Windows XP: If your Windows XP installation is acting up, sometimes a fix is as simple as tweaking a registry key. Rather than muck about in your registry looking for it, use XP Quick Fix Plus to patch things up.
XP Quick Fix Plus is a tiny portable application that presents 40 quick fixes arranged in a push-button chart. Press the button for the problem you're having like CDs not autoplaying, file associations grayed out, the boot.ini tab missing in MSCONFIG, or any of the other 40 common problems, and XP Quick Fix Plus will patch the registry key for the problem you're having and get things back in working order.
Not sure if the button covers the problem you're having? Mousing over the buttons gives you a detailed description of the problem. Have a favorite quick-fix tool to share? Let's hear about it in the comments. XP Quick Fix Plus is freeware, Windows only.

XP Quick Fix Plus [via Download Squad]

Top 10 Clever Fixes for Your Broken Stuff [Clever Uses]

2009-11-08T22:08:00.002+03:00

Buying a replacement at Target isn't always the necessary solution when your stuff goes on the fritz. Fix common problems or altogether broken gear with these clever repair methods.

10. Stripped screw holes

I've moved a wall-mounted magnetic knife block between four different homes in the last three years, and now its screws just spin endlessly in place. This weekend, I'll be gluing a golf tee inside the holes, then re-mounting that sucker on the kitchen wall. It's a trick that will only work with screws that are, of course, at least close to a golf tee's width, but it's a handy one for those of us who put a bit too much push into our drills. (Original post)

9. Booze-addled brains

A night out for drinks resulting in a rough morning is nobody's fault but your own, though persuasive friends and the weekend can be a volatile combination. Get a good night's sleep if you can, drink plenty of water, but while the night is still happening, try a booze-conscious diet. Not entirely easy to pull off, and it lends a less care-free attitude to the night, but it's far less inconvenient than waking up feeling like a truck tire. The next morning, try a little ginseng, and consider taking up Lifehacker readers on their best hangover cures. Photo by cutglassdecanter.

8. Shattered light bulbs

If it was a completely clean break between glass and metal socket, you could simply kill a circuit breaker and twist out a light bulb with pliers. But how often does anything ever break clean? If you've got a bulb to pull out with glass still hanging, or you can't get at your circuit box, try a potato cut in half to embed the sharp bulb and socket in, then simply turn it left to unscrew the bulb. Now you're ready to replace the bulb, and you've got a reason to have hash browns with your next breakfast—using the non-bulb-removing potato half, of course. (Original post)

7. Constantly loose glasses

The screw that holds your glasses tight against your head? It's gone the way of seemingly everything on expensive and hard to fix items. When you finally get a miniature screwdriver and restore your snug fit, grab some clear nail polish and dab it over the top of the screws. It's enough of a bond to keep the screws from coming loose again, but you could still get them out if you needed to. (Original post)

6. Splinter-stuffed hands

A simple tweezer session might free your hands of wood slivers, but sometimes they're just too tiny, or too many, to try and remove with micro-surgery. If you're fiending for a fix, try applying some glue to the afflicted skin, then peel it off to take the splinters with it. That's one of the more powerful splinter fixes, but you might be able to get away with a banana peel or bath and pumice stone to pull out those ugly little remainders of your latest wood project. Photo by furryscaly.

5. Shiny but scratched gadget bezels

Gadgets with shiny chrome finishes look great out of the box. A few days of actual use, however, can give you that Why I Can't Have Nice Things feeling. Smooth out your iPhone or any other gadget with a polished chrome-like finish by brushing the bezel evenly with a rough sponge. It's a bug that becomes a feature on your newly-unique phone. (Original post)

4. Failing hard drive

When your computer suddenly fails to boot up or starts randomly deciding it can't find certain files, the first thing you'll do is hope for, or confirm, a recent backup. If it looks like mechanical failure is the cause, and you need just a bit more data off that drive before it's gone for good, try sticking it in the freezer until it's good and cold, then let it reach room temperature again and give it another try. This passed-around tech geek tip works, as a last resort, because when worn-out mechanical parts fail to connect and align properly, contracting them with cold, then allowing them to expand again, can sometimes restore things to barely-working order just long enough to give you a little more time before the funeral. (Original post)

3. Wet cellphones and other gadgets

If cellular companies were nice, they'd realize that running water, beverages, and rain are a part of everyday life. As it is, most cellphones these days have paper inside that change color when a little liquid completely voids your warranty. If your cellphone is on the fritz after an unexpected bath, we've recommended a bowl of rice, a bit of kitty litter, and, for certain phones in certain dire situations, even rubbing alcohol. They can't save your soaked gadget every single time, but when they do, you'll feel like celebrating—just keep the phone away from the table next time. (Original post)

2. Cables run amok

The cables may still work, but they make your workspace look and feel like an utter mess. We've often featured our IKEA-assisted de-tangling technique, but for those unable to locate one of those custom wire baskets, or facing a serious amount of cord length, readerSeandavid010 has illustrated the conversion of rain gutters into cord catchers, using cheap hardware bits and a little time with a cordless screwdriver or drill. Paint the gutters any color you'd like to match your walls or desk, and buy just the right amount to fit your needs.

1. Ugly, in-your-face web ads and annoyances

Pop-up ads, jittery Flash come-ons, auto-playing sound—they don't mean the whole web is broken, just a small, ugly part of it. Using Firefox and its strongest add-ons and settings, you can mostly eliminate the most unpleasant aspects of the web and regain some measure of control over what you see.

Asus Releases Board With USB 3.0 Support

2009-11-05T22:16:00.004+03:00

While we love USB 2.0, we’re certainly looking forward to USB 3.0, and the news that Asus’s new P7DP55DE-E Premium motherboard will support the upcoming USB 3.0 standard is certainly good news. While the motherboard itself uses Intel’s P55 Express Chipset which doesn’t support USB 3.0, it does include a third-party controller to incorporate 2 SuperSpeed USB ports, along with a cool 10 USB 2.0 ports. If speed is your thing, there are also two 6Gb/s SATA ports and 2 Gigabit Ethernet ports included. This motherboard should be available in a few weeks, and should be retailing for $299.

Permalink: Asus Releases Board With USB 3.0 Support from Ubergizmo

Duracell myGrid Charging Pad Cell Phone Starter Kit Review

2009-11-05T22:10:00.000+03:00

One of the burdens that every gadgeteer must bear is the burden of gadget charging. You know what I mean, almost every gadget that we own runs on battery power. Mobile phones, audio players, video players, etc. Even though many of our devices can be charged via USB, which is a convenience, that can have its own challenges, such as running out of ports. Fortunately, the age of wireless charging is dawning and I’m going to tell you about one such solution today. It’s the Duracell myGrid Charging Pad. Let’s take a look.

Wireless charging really isn’t a new idea. I remember having that feature 5 years ago with the SPOT watches back in 2004. Some of them had a special cradle that you placed the watch on for charging. I thought that feature was the coolest thing ever and thought it would usher in a trend that would show up in new devices from that point further. Unfortunately, it didn’t. We had to wait almost half a decade before the next wireless charging feature was sighted. This time it was with the Palm Pre’sTouchstone charge. And now we have the Duracell myGrid.

Hardware Specifications

Max Number of Devices: 5 (15W max)
Dimensions: 6.75 in. W x 8.5 in. L x 0.75 in. H
Power input: 100 – 240 VAC, 0.4 Amps, 50 – 60 Hz
Power output: 15 Watts max
Weight: 4.0 oz.
Certifications: UL, FCC, ETL

Package Contents

myGrid Charging Pad
AC Adapter
Power Clip Adapter
Power Clip tips compatible with: BlackBerry Pearl 8100 series, Curve 8300 series, 8800 Series, Bold Series, Motorola RAZR series, RAZR V3 Series, MOTOQ Series, W385, W370, Nokia E71 Series, #2610, #6085, #6061

(The three cases shown in the image above are sold separately for $34.99 each)

The charging pad has a hard plastic base with flat chrome metal slats on top. I think it looks attractive and doesn’t look out of place on a desk.

The starter kit comes with a Power Clip Adapter and three Power Clip tips.

The tips are adjustable. The connector part can slide up and down to accommodate the thickness of the device that you need to charge.

The adapter is made to stick to the back of the device you want to charge. It has an adhesive sticker on the back.

The smaller end of the adapter is magnetic and is designed to connect to the bottom of the Power clip.

To use a Power Clip, you insert the appropriate tip into the charging port of a compatible device. Here is the mini USB tip inserted into the charging port of my Slacker G2 Radio.

Then the Power adapter attaches magnetically to the bottom of the tip. You’ll notice 4 contacts poking out of the back of the adapter. These contacts touch the metal slats on the myGrid to charge the device.

At this point, the Slacker G2 should be charging. You can see that there is a small Blue LED on the myGrid. When that LED is lit, it means that there is contact with an adapter. Unfortunately, I had almost no luck using the adapter tips with the devices I tested them with. The Slacker G2 would show that it was charging only every so often like there might have been a bad connection. I also tried one of the mini USB tips with the Sandisk Sansa Clip. I had 0 luck with this device as well and didn’t get it to charge at all. I also tried the USB tips (both of them) with a couple different Motorola phones that I have laying around. No luck with them either. I don’t know if I can really complain about tips not working because the devices that I tested them with are not listed as being compatible with the myGrid. That said, they all are using mini USB connectors to charge and they charge fine with my computer. So go figure…

So the tips didn’t work. But the sleeve did! I was sent two BlackBerry sleeves and an iPhone sleeve (which isn’t available yet). I don’t have a Blackberry phone, so the iPhone sleeve is the only one that I was able to test. These are flexible Black rubber type sleeves with a built in connection to the charging pins on the phone. You can see the iPhone sleeve above on the Right. It has a stand dock connector built into it.

The back of the sleeves have the same spring-loaded contacts as the Power adapter that stick out and touch the myGrid charging pad surface.

The iPhone sleeve fit my iPhone 3GS just fine. The only down side is the somewhat ugly lump on the bottom that houses the built-in dock connector. Another down side that you’ll want to consider is that you’ll need to remove the iPhone from the sleeve in order to sync with iTunes on your computer.

I like that you don’t have to even think about how you place the device on the myGrid. The orientation doesn’t matter. As soon as I dropped my iPhone on the base, it began charging. Simple! Charging seemed just as fast as when using a USB docking cable with my computer.

An advantage of the myGrid is that you can charge up to 5 devices at one time. You might have a hard time fitting them all on the base though.

I see the Duracell myGrid as a definite step in the right direction as far as wireless charging is concerned. I hope that we’ll soon see devices that have been designed so that special sleeves and adapter tips aren’t required in order to charge wirelessly. But until that happens, the myGrid is a cool alternative (if the adapter tips work).

Product Information

Price:	$79.99
Manufacturer:	Duracell
Pros:	Wireless charging Charges as fast as standard chargers Charge multiple devices at once (up to 5)
Cons:	iPhone sleeve needs to be removed to sync with computer I could not get the Power clips to work

This Is Why They Make Travel Adapters

2009-08-16T16:31:00.000+03:00

3rd grade? ...

2009-06-15T03:20:00.002+03:00

A first-grade teacher, Ms. Brooks, was having trouble with one of her students. The teacher asked, "Harry, what's your problem?"

Harry answered, "I'm too smart for the 1st grade. My sister is in the 3rd grade and I'm smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 3rd grade too!"

Ms. Brooks had had enough. She took Harry to the principal's office.

While Harry waited in the outer office, the teacher explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Ms. Brooks he would give the boy a test. If he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the 1st grade and behave. She agreed.

Harry was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.

Principal: "What is 3 x 3?"

Harry: "9."

Principal: "What is 6 x 6?"

Harry: "36."

And so it went with every question the principal thought a 3rd grader should know.

The principal looks at Ms. Brooks and tells her, "I think Harry can go to the 3rd grade"

Ms. Brooks says to the principal, "Let me ask him some questions."

The principal and Harry both agreed.

Ms. Brooks asks, "What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"

Harry, after a moment: "Legs."

Ms. Brooks: "What is in your pants that you have but I do not have?"

The principal wondered why would she ask such a question!

Harry replied: "Pockets."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a dog do that a man steps into?"

Harry: "Pants."

Ms. Brooks: What starts with a C, ends with a T, is hairy, oval, delicious and contains thin, whitish liquid?"

Harry: "Coconut."

The principal sat forward with his mouth hanging open.

Ms. Brooks: "What goes in hard and pink then comes out soft and sticky?"

The principal's eyes opened really wide and before he could stop the answer, Harry replied, "Bubble gum."

Ms. Brooks: "What does a man do standing up, a woman does sitting down and a dog does on three legs?"

Harry: "Shake hands."

The principal was trembling.

Ms. Brooks: "What word starts with an 'F' and ends in 'K' that means a lot of heat and excitement?"

Harry: "Firetruck."

The principal breathed a sigh of relief and told the teacher, "Put Harry in the fifth-grade, I got the last seven questions wrong.

DeskHedron Adds 3D Virtual Desktop Eye-Candy to Windows

2009-06-14T22:46:00.001+03:00

Windows only: Free application DeskHedron brings multiple virtual desktops to Windows, complete with an impressive spinning 3D animation that switches between your desktops.

Using the application is simple enough—just run the executable, use the tray icon to add or remove up to 9 virtual desktops, and then switch between the desktops with a hotkey. The default setup only has two virtual desktops, so switching between them looks like flipping the desktop over—add more virtual desktops and it looks a little likeCompiz Fusion's cube desktop.

The software is still very basic, only works with a single monitor, and has no options to move windows from one cube to another—but unlike the similar, no longer free, and Yod'm 3D, this application is open source, and ready for any enterprising coder to improve it.

DeskHedron is free and open source, available for Windows only. Readers looking for a more full-featured solution should check out Dexpot or theVista Virtual Desktop Manager.

DeskHedron [via Shell Extension City]

FAST is a Geeky Command-Line Database

2009-06-14T22:43:00.003+03:00

Instead of bloating his system with a fancy information gathering tool, reader Scott decided to take it really old-school—he created a batch file database to store frequently accessed information.

Using Scott's database works much the same as our founding editor's Todo.txt command-line utility—except this one is geared at storing and retrieving tiny bits of information, so it only has two actions: add or search.

You'll start out by creating a new batch file named f.bat using the following script, adjusting the path to the notes.txt file to the location on your system—you can even store the whole thing on a flash drive that can be easily carried around from system to system.

@echo off if (%1)==(-add) goto add if not (%1)==() goto find goto end
:ADD echo %2 >> F:\notes.txt echo ok goto end
:FIND find /i "%1" F:\notes.txt goto end
:USAGE echo USAGE: f keyword echo f -add "some string of data" goto end
:END

Once you've got that all hooked up, you can add new entries to the list with the -add parameter:

f -add "My pizza place number: 703-555-8888"

Once you've added your data to the file, you can search for it later by simply typing:

f pizza

If you really wanted to get geeky with it, you could hook the batch file into Launchy to add new entries quickly on the fly, and add a Pause command into the :FIND block so it wouldn't disappear right away—so you can easily lookup notes, phone numbers, or anything you want to store in no time flat. Great job, Scott!

If all this geeky goodness is too much for you, learn how to expand your brain with Evernote instead, or learn about howOneNote is a note-taking power tool—otherwise, hit the link for the full explanation.

FAST Command-Line Database [rad89.com]

Magic Formation is a Circular Dock Launcher

2009-06-14T22:38:00.003+03:00

Windows only: Application launcher Magic Formation adds a circular dock that can be triggered by hotkeys or mouse gestures—just draw a circle on the desktop to make it show up.

Using the application is fairly simple—just invoke it with your mouse gesture; adjusting the mouse gesture sensitivity through the options dialog is probably necessary to trigger the dock more easily. There are plenty of other advanced options in the preferences, from using a hotkey to trigger the dock to assigning a mouse key instead—making this interesting application worth a look for anybody in the market for a better application launcher.

Magic Formation is a free download for Windows only. For more ways to quickly access your programs, check out the five best application launchers, or get full-featured mouse gestures with previously mentioned gMote.

Magic Formation

A pictorial guide to the subtle differences between small, cheap laptops

2009-06-14T22:36:00.002+03:00

We've yapped it up with MID and UMPC makers before in order to figure out exactly what makes the two any different from one another, and now that lines are being blurred at a blistering pace in the ultraportable / netbook / low-cost laptop / undersized PC market, it's about time someone laid down some ground rules. Thankfully, there's no "discussion" necessary here -- just follow that flow chart above and you'll be an expert in seven to ten seconds flat. Guaranteed.

A Pirate's Code of Conduct for BitTorrent

2009-06-14T22:34:00.002+03:00

In the 17th century, when groups of men plundered the seas in ships filled with rats and scurvy, they agreed on a code to keep themselves civilly uncivil. I propose the same for BitTorrent.

My code isn't necessarily the code for everyone. But it is the code for my ship, my computer, my slow-ass DSL connection that can't steal anything worth a damn anyway. Here is the code that I live by.

Article One
Every man shall upload half of what he downloads, with the saints filling in the rest. It's like tossing back a tiny fish so that it may grow into a great whale...only so we can hunt said whale and feast on its blubber during a later voyage.

Article Two
TV is to be downloaded, movies are to be attended when a man returns to shore. If ye aren't a Neilsen family, what you watch doesn't matter for ratings anyway. Since advertisers pay by rating, it's a theft-less crime. Movies, on the other hand, do see profits of gold and jewels. So support independent/foreign film in the theaters, andsave the action flicks with high production values and many beautiful explosions for the big screen, too. Hollywood romantic comedies? They are for plundering (in secret).

Article Three
A man shall steal as much music as he needs to quench his thirst, assuming that he supports the band by attending concerts and buying t-shirts. One should always buy the work of an indie label, however, if the music is deemed pleasant after the new moon, it's time for purchasing.

Article Four
Ye wouldn't be a pirate if ye didn't download Photoshop. But for the office, such manners are frowned upon. Make your employer pay so that others may play. And if a man spends his life building a $10 app, that man has earned his $10. Toss him a coin should you requisition his services.

Article Five
Pornography can keep a man company at sea, but always avoid that dealing with husbandry. Girlfriend sharing is OK, assuming the missus knows she's on the Bay. (We're pirates, not douchebags.)

Article Six
JK Rowling's booty is apt for plundering, but her's is a rare case indeed. If a book be in the library and tis in stock, one could make an argument to download for free. But our conscience dictates that we buy some books to keep good writers in print.

Article Seven
If at any time a man should download a virus, that man must notify the message board immediately. If at any time a man should actively upload a virus, no retributive measure shall be deemed too brutal. An arse becomes fair game for a hook.

Article Eight
After you try it, if you really like it and can afford to do so, buy it.

As I said, these are the pirating rules that I live by. They might not be right for every sea, but they've served me just fine for many a year. What be your pirate code?

Project Dragonfly Helps You Build and Furnish Your Home

2009-06-14T22:31:00.001+03:00

if you're looking for a way to map out and furniture your entire home, Project Dragonfly's web application can help.

Dragonfly lets you click, drag, and rotate furniture, rooms, walls, and other items. You can build from scratch or use one of the app's sample rooms to get you started, then view your work in two or three dimensions.

Dragonfly lets you track your changes in real time and check out what other users have uploaded in the gallery. Though you can test drive the site without doing so, saving and sharing your work requires registration.

This isn't the only app of its kind that we've seen before, and if you're looking to get serious about modeling your home, there's very little you can find that's better suited for modeling your home and planning improvements in 3D than Google Sketchup, but if you'd prefer a lower learning curve and quicker results, Dragonfly is a good option.

Dragonfly Click here

Eye-Fi Pro

2009-06-14T22:29:00.000+03:00

Eye-Fi gains more ground with the Pro version of its wireless SD card that will offer the following - support for raw file transfers, the ability to connect directly to a computer via an Ad-Hoc wireless connection and selective file transfer. All of these are new additions apart from other features introduced in a refresh previously, and Eye-Fi aims to trickle down its relayed uploads feature in the near future to other products within the same line. You can pick up the 4GB Eye-Fi Pro for $149 a pop.

Graduation Isn’t the End

2009-05-18T17:01:00.001+03:00

Learn to use your phone...

2009-05-17T04:04:00.003+03:00

Well I was going to show you how you can use most of the google products to ur advantage like getting sms's with ur calander events and syncing ur contacts to the gmail account so if you ever loose your phone you dont loose all ur info, and how to push emails to ur phone regularly so u would get ur emails instantly as they arive in ur inbox. And how to (which is something I love about the new google maps) FIND ur location without GPS, something called location beta, go online on your laptop (which i did explain b4) and finally watch youTube on your phones. hummm well I thought thats alot of explaining to do and since it is 4 am I'm seriously gonna do all that later, but just have an idea about what you can do with your phone.

Bluetooth...0.1

2009-05-17T03:52:00.000+03:00

Matlab and AMD 64 issue

2009-05-05T02:41:00.002+03:00

This issue has been bugging me , AMD Athlon64 processor based PC running Windows Vista Ultimate and wanted to use Matlab 7 Release 14 (7.0.0.19920) on it for my Nural course. The software installed fine. However, on clicking the desktop shortcut, the program showed the splash screen but then suddenly quit. I wasn't sure as to what was causing it.

I have been struggling with this issue for some time and have finally found a solution. At least, this solution worked on my PC.

Follow the steps below:

1 - Open %MATLAB7%\bin\win32 in Windows Explorer or through My Computer. '%MATLAB7%' here is the path where you installed MATLAB.

2 - Find the file named 'blas.spec'. Open this file in Wordpad. You will see a listing like this:

GenuineIntel Family 5 Model * atlas_PPro.dll # Pentium
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 1 atlas_PPro.dll # Pentium Pro
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 3 atlas_PII.dll # Pentium II (Klamath)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 5 atlas_PII.dll # Pentium II (Deschutes)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 6 atlas_PII.dll # Celeron
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 7 atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium III (Katmai)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 8 atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium III (Coppermine)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 9 atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium M
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 10 atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium III (Cascades)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model 11 atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium III (Mobile)
GenuineIntel Family 6 Model * atlas_PIII.dll # Pentium III
GenuineIntel Family 15 Model * atlas_P4.dll # Pentium 4
AuthenticAMD Family 5 Model * atlas_PII.dll # AMD-K6
AuthenticAMD Family 6 Model * atlas_Athlon.dll # Athlon/Duron
AuthenticAMD Family 15 Model 4 atlas_Athlon.dll # Athlon 64
AuthenticAMD Family 15 Model 5 atlas_Athlon.dll # Opteron

3 - Scroll down and add the following two lines at the end:

AuthenticAMD Family 15 Model 12 atlas_Athlon.dll # Athlon 64 (Newcastle)
AuthenticAMD Family 15 Model * atlas_Athlon.dll # AMD64

4 - Save the file (Ctrl+S).

5 -Start Matlab.

I hope this solution works for you. I have read about setting the environment variable 'blas_version' to some other value but I didn't need to find and/or modify it. My copy of Matlab worked fine after the above mentioned changes.

Good luck with your Matlab programming!