In the Name of God a.k.a Khuda Ke Liye

A beautiful movie....Here is an extract from www.imdb.com on the movie.....

The film is about the difficult situation in which the Pakistanis in particular and the Muslims in general are caught up since 9/11. There is a war going on between the Fundamentalists and the Liberal Muslims. This situation is creating a drift not only between the Western world and the Muslims, but also within the Muslims. The educated and modern Muslims are in a difficult situation because of their approach towards life and their western attire. They are criticized and harassed by the fundamentalists and on the other hand the Western world sees them as potential suspects of terrorism just because of their Muslim names. This paradox is resulting in great suffering for a forward looking Muslim. Above mentioned is the theme of the film "KHUDA KE LIYE" which in English means "IN THE NAME OF GOD". The interesting thing about the film is how it connects the happenings in the three continents. Unlike the usual Indian and Pakistani films based on romantic saga, dances and songs, this film is based on some very serious issues.

Director Shoaib Mansoor gets it right as usual the writing is also perfect. He very easily balances the stories running together. The screenplay is perfect and the picture quality is top notch. the music is also perfect and never does it hamper the story flow. lyrics are also good.

Its the story of two brothers, played by Shaan and Fawad khan. Who are musicians and are born in a well-to-do family of Lahore. Then in very little time their lives change as the younger brother Sarmad(Fawad Khan) chooses a path for himself that none of his family members ever thought he would. Inspiration for such a path comes from a Maulana of the mosque.

Iman Ali plays Marry a girl born to a Pakistani British citizen who wants to marry a British Christan boy against the will of her father. Naseer-Uddin-Shah plays a moderate Mowlana as a guest appearance.

Chris McCandless aka "Alexander Supertramp"

A must watch movie...."Into the Wild"

Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless aka "Alexander Supertramp" (12 February 1968 – 18 August 1992) abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness hoping to live a period of solitude. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life. Less than five months later, he died of starvation near Denali National Park.

Before Chris died this is what he wrote in him Journal

"S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out of here. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August?"

His body was found in his sleeping bag inside the bus, weighing an estimated sixty-seven pounds. He had been dead for more than two weeks. His official cause of death was starvation.

In 1996, Jon Krakauer wrote a book about his life called, Into the Wild, which inspired a 2007 film of the same name.

Quote by ::Christopher McCandless::

When you want something in life, you just gotta reach out and grab it.

Funny Call Center Movie

This is one of the funniest call center movie I have ever seen...i bet you won't stop laughing !

Here is the link: http://www.callcentermovie.com/movie/movie2.html

Bhangra Dancer on "Britain's Got Talent" .... Awesome!!

Earth Cam

Webcam Network's EarthCam is the leading network of live webcams and offers the most comprehensive search engine of internet cameras from around the world. EarthCam delivers real time live images of some of the world's most interesting and unique views and events. The portal offers the most extensive database allowing users to search by keyword or simply browse through the categories and subcategories. Users can see what is happening around the world right now -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

To watch Times Square in New York Live click here

Ray Ban TV Commercial

If anyone of you is wondering what is the song played during the newly launched Ray Ban tv commercial it is

Song: Make it Up
Artist : Ben Kweller

It's a black and white ad and it starts with a guy jumping into a swimming pool. the song played is a really soft and soothing one. It goes something like "I need a goodluck charm. ....."

Here is the Youtube video..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdwJnpYaj0

Enjoy !!

Web Bot - What is it? Can it predict things?

I recently saw an episode of decoding the past on the History channel. And it had some references to some web bot project,in which some computer program can predict the future,mainly stocks and such..Supposedly it predicted a few things that were dead on.It also had some references to 2012 as well.

The web bot project was designed in the late 1990's - originally to predict the stock market trends. For those of you who do not know, the web bot technology uses a system of spiders to crawl the Internet and search for keywords, much like a search engine does. When a keyword is located, the bot program takes a snapshot of the text preceding and following the keyword. This snapshot of text is sent to a central location where it is then filtered to define meaning.

The folks operating the web bot program have a wonderful sense of humor with regards to what it is that they do. The are incredibly open minded, and have also made the wise choice to keep the government from obtaining the technology. For the most part, they refuse media interviews as well and prefer to keep the project to a low roar.

To read more see:

http://aphroditeastrology.com/2007/05/web-bot-predictions.html

http://www.dailycommonsense.com/web-bot-what-is-it-can-it-predict-stuff

An Inconvenient Truth !

This is one of the most amazing movie / documentary made on environmental changes that i have seen so far.

An Inconvenient Truth is an American Academy Award-winning documentary film about global warming, presented by former United States Vice President Al Gore and directed by Davis Guggenheim. It is the fourth-highest-grossing documentary film to date in the United States, after Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins and Sicko. The movie focuses on Al Gore and his travels in support of his efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate crisis.

To know more about the movie see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/

Morange

Here is something i found by which you can unleash the power of your PDA.

While alternative mobile applications connect only one or to two dots in the mobile world, such as push email or mobile instant messaging, Morange technology lets you to connect to simply everything.

Morange empowers the user to access any information, communicate with anyone and have control on everything from mobile phone. Morange works across all different platforms and networks: may it be Windows Mobile, Symbian, J2ME, or Linux. Imagine that Morange is able to offer users the widest choice of applications: Professionals may require Push Mail; yet young generation may prefer instant messaging with their buddies.

Click here to know more about Morange.

Do you Fring?

fring™ is a mobile internet service & community that enables you to access & interact with your social networks on-the-go, make free calls and live chat with all your fring, Skype®, MSN® Messenger, Google Talk™, ICQ, SIP, Twitter, Yahoo!™ and AIM®* friends using your handset’s internet connection rather than costly cellular airtime minutes.

Bringing PC-benefits to the mobile, fring will empower you with mobility and availability as never before, integrating all contacts in to one, searchable buddy list, allowing you to see who’s online before dialing with contact availability indicators, engage in multiple conversations simultaneously, send & receive files and more.

You can even make affordable local and international calls to landline and regular cellular numbers using your SkypeOut/SkypeIn account or almost any internet voice service (SIP) such as SIPNET, EuteliaVoIP, VoIPVoIP and VoIPTalk, even from non-SIP enabled handsets.

So what are you waiting for? Start fringing....!

Torrent Websites

Well folks, these days you can download almost everything through torrents, be it movies, mp3, software, documentaries, e-books etc. Here are a few popular torrnets sites that i have come accross. Happy downloading !

Aradi Tracker
Bitenova
Bitme
Bollywood Torrents
BitLord
BitmeTV
BT Junkie
DC Torrent
Desinova
Desi Torrents
Demonoid
Full Releases
ISO hunt
IM Torrents
Independent Desi Releasers
Legal Torrents
Mininova
Music-Vid
Orb Design
The Pirate Bay
Seedler
Think Torrent
Titanium Torrents
Torrent-Damage
Torrent Matrix
Torrentit
Torrent Leech
Torrentz
Torrent Box
Torrent Reactor
Torrent Scan
Torrent Spy
TV Torrents

Wait a minute....did you already know that? :-)

Downtime of Websites

How most popular websites in the World manage their downtime ? They have tons of visitor traffic daily. Are they holding up under that pressure?Pingdom, a website tracking service just finished a study of the downtime experienced by the top 20 Alexa ranked sites, and their conclusion: Blogger is the worst, followed by YouTube. Year to date, the two sites have been down over 4.45 hours. Google, which itself was down for seven minutes has been upstaged by Yahoo.com, which is still the best with zero-minute of downtime.

Talk with your Blog visitors using Google Chatback

Ever thought of talking with your blog visitors? How they feel about your blog? What they expect there? Would you like to communicate with your visitors? But the question is - How? Google recently launched a new Google Talk feature that lets visitors to your web site to chat or talk with you. It called as "chatback” by Google because instead of you doing all the talking on your blog, your visitors can talk back to you. Sure, they could leave comments, but those are public and hard to use for a real conversation. With chatback, it’s a real instant message session. It opens in new window so user can continue with his other works on your blog.

To use chatback, the blogger must have a Google Talk account whereas it is not necssary for blog visitors. They don’t even need to have an email address, or to have ever used instant messaging. When they visit your site, they’ll see a badge/image like the one on the top right showing your online status (available, busy, offline) and, if you’re available, they can just click and start chatting. Chatback uses the web-based Google Talk Gadget so your visitors don’t need to download and install anything.

This chatback can be used anywhere, blogs, portals, static webpages, online profiles etc. You can use it on any web page that you can add HTML content. To get started, visit the chatback start page. Then just copy the provided HTML snippet to your web site. Visitors will then see a badge on your site indicating your availability, and can click to start a chat with you. The status which you set in your gtalk will be visible on the badge.

If you’re using a Google Apps account, you can create a chatback badge by visiting here where DOMAIN is the name of your domain. From the page, copy and paste the HTML into the page where you want the badge to be displayed. You’ll know it’s working if you see a large Google Talk bubble showing your current online status along with the message ‘Chat with [your name]’ (or whatever you selected as your badge title).

So what are you waiting for? Do you see me online ??

HD - DVD vs Blu Ray

The blue technology is often reffered to as technology used for developing DVD players, DVD writers and most famous of all the Blu-ray Disc. Before Blu-ray there was a lot of confusion over the various DVD formats, but the advent of blu ray produced a common ground for all the formats globally. For straters, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are the next generation of optical storage, though there do exist several competing formats as well. Blu-ray offers about 25 GB of storage on a single layer, but a Blu-ray Disc (BD) can and will host more than one layer—hence a typical dual-layer BD will be capable of holding up to 50 GB. HD-DVD offers about 15 GB on a single layer. Dual and triple-layer discs of this format have been manufactured.

Lately this has changed into a war between Blu-ray and HD DVD, and it seems both the formats are locking horns for another technology warfare as the sales of hd dvd players are rising every day.The Blu-ray standard was developed by a group of companies called the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The name “HD-DVD” itself stands for, of course, High-Density Digital Versatile Disc. Both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD camps say they will initially be providing “hybrid discs” but the difference lies in how both of them interact with other supporting hardwares. To normal person the main difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD is in the disc structure itself. It is only when adapted with other features as panel display and projectors or a audio device the real quality of the formats are shown.

It has been widely seen that hd dvd players are far more compatiable to all such external hardwares as Blu-ray has to be equipped with it’s own exclusive set. This is where HD-DVD takes lead and one of the latest and most poineer product based on HD-DVD technology is Toshiba hd dvd players. The players are reviewed as one which Load times are fine, picture quality is excellent, audio is fantastic and it upconverts good as well, as always the pricing of Toshiba is so competitive that frabkly Blu-ray has been pushed back presenlty in this Battle of Formats.

See the following links to know more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc
http://www.blu-ray.com/info/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HD_DVD
http://www.hddvd.org/

List of Popular Proxy Websites

Folks, here is a list of proxy sites i found on the internet which can be used to browse Orkut, Myspace, Yahoo, YouTube and other social networking websites which are generally banned in schools, colleges and companies. Happy surfing ;-)

250.eu

alphaprox.com

amelin.org

anonr.com

anonymouscamp.org

browse.ms

browseprox.com

browser9.com

btunnel.com

bypassgenie.com

ctunnel.com

daveproxy.co.uk

dtunnel.com

enableprivacy.com

fatslag.net

filtersneak.com

foxprox.net

freakproxy.com

freeocean.info

gecko-proxy.com

geektunnel.com

getfreeproxy.com

gtunnel.com

hide9.com

hideme.info

hidesafe.com

hideurip.com

hujiko.com

internetcloak.com

invisiblesurfing.com

ipproxy.net

jtunnel.com

justavoid.com

ktunnel.com

londonproxy.com

ltunnel.com

majorproxy.com

microproxy.net

mypersonalproxy.com

myspaceprox.com

myspacewaiter.com

ntunnel.com

oproxy.info

otunnel.com

polysolve.com

pr0xies.info

proxe.info

proxies.grproxify.co.uk

proxify.comproxify.net

proxoid.com

proxy.org.in

proxyanalyzer.com

proxybear.com

proxycube.net

proxyden.com

proxydragon.com

proxyfirst.com

proxygenius.com

proxyjoe.com

proxylock.net

proxynest.com

proxypad.net

proxypimp.com

proxyscope.net

proxysurfing.net

proxytower.com

proxyview.net

proxyworm.com

pruxys.com

ptunnel.com

rtunnel.com

safeforwork.net

safe-surf.org

schoolsurf.org

slimtrust.com

sureproxy.com

surfatschool.net

surfingagain.com

thefreeproxy.net

urlencoded.com

virtual-browser.com

voodoo-proxy.com

vpntunnel.net

vtunnel.com

w3privacy.com

wahsystems.com

webviaproxy.com

workinter.net

wtunnel.com

xs2myspace.com

yesproxy.com

yourproxies.net

yourproxy.eu

zoot-proxy.com

ztunnel.com

What is IPv6?

IPv6 is the shortform of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). It is designated as the successor of IPv4, the current version of the Internet Protocol, for general use on the Internet.

The main change brought by IPv6 is a much larger address space that allows greater flexibility in assigning addresses. The extended address length eliminates the need to use network address translation (NAT) to avoid address exhaustion, and also simplifies aspects of address assignment and renumbering when changing providers. It was not the intention of IPv6 designers, however, to give permanent unique addresses to every individual and every computer.

The main feature of IPv6 that is driving adoption today is the larger address space: addresses in IPv6 are 128 bits long versus 32 bits in IPv4.

The larger address space avoids the potential exhaustion of the IPv4 address space without the need for network address translation (NAT) and other devices that break the end-to-end nature of Internet traffic. It also makes administration of medium and large networks simpler, by avoiding the need for complex subnetting schemes. Subnetting will, ideally, revert to its purpose of logical segmentation of an IP network for optimal routing and access.

The drawback of the large address size is that IPv6 carries some bandwidth overhead over IPv4, which may hurt regions where bandwidth is limited (header compression can sometimes be used to alleviate this problem). IPv6 addresses are also very difficult to remember; use of the Domain Name System (DNS) is necessary.

Disable unnecessary Windows Vista services

If you want to fully maximize your Vista performance, you can disable some unwanted services that you won't be using anyway, especially if you are a home user.

To disable the services:

1. Type msconfig in Run and click "Ok".2. Click the Services Tab3. Now you can disable any unwanted service simply by unchecking the box to its left.

The list of unnecessary services are :

Computer Browser : If you are not connected to any other computer, then disable this service freely.

ReadyBoost : If you are not using ReadyBoost, then disable this service freely.

Fax : If you aren't using Fax, then disable this service freely.

IP Helper : If you aren't using IPv6, then disable this service freely.

Offline Files : If you don't use Offline Files, then disable this service freely.

Print Spooler : If you don't have any printer installed, then disable this service freely.

Windows Defender : If you're using a 3rd party anti-spyware program, then disable this service freely.

Portable Device Enumerator Service : If you don't use any portable device, then disable this service freely.

Windows Time : If you don't keep your time internet synchronized, then disable this service freely.

Remember : There will be no problem after disabling either of this services, unless you install something that might require a certain process which you have disabled, remember that it can be enabled at any time.

Configure Gmail on Sony Ericsson P990i

There are 3 ways you can access your Gmail on P990i.

1. Using the phone browser (just like you check Gmail on you PC's web browser)
2. Using the Gmail Application (you can download this Gmail application from Gmail website depending on which OS your phone uses Eg: Windows Mobile, Symbian, S60 etc)
3. Use your Email application on P990i to download emails from Gmail just like a POP email client.

Today i am going to discuss how you can do that !

On you Gmail Account:

1. Make sure you have the POP Download enabled and settings saved.
2. For more information see here.

On your P990i do the following:

1. Goto Messaging ->Settings->Email Accounts->New

2. Under Basic Tab
- Account Name : Gmail
- Your Name : ABC
- Email address : your gmail email id (you@gmail.com)
- Connection Type : PoP3
- Push Email : UNCHECKED

3. Under Inbox Tab
- Incoming Server Address : pop.gmail.com
- Username : your gmail email id in full (you@gmail.com)
- Password : your gmail password
- Download Restrictions : Select your choice here
- Smaller Than : This option is based on the Download Restrictions
- Limit is set to: 200
- Receive Using Group: Select your Data Account configured on the Phone

3. Under Outbox Tab
- Outgoing Server Address : smtp.gmail.com
- Use SMTP Authentication : Checked
- Use Inbox Login details : Checked (Next two fields should automatically populate)
- Send Using Group: Select your Data Account configured on the Phone

4. Advance Settings (Click on the drop down arrow on GMAIL at top left corner of screen)

Under Incoming Tab
- Secure Connection : select SSL
- Incoming Mail Port : 995
- Secure Password Authentication : Unchecked

Under Outgoing Tab
- Secure Connection : select TLS
- Outgoing Mail Port : 587
- Use MIME encoding : Checked

5. Click SAVE (this is the most important part)

6. Now you will be back to messaging.

7. Click on the Messaging drop down arrow on top of screen and select Get & Send

Happy Messaging !!

Microsoft Surface

Microsoft Surface (Codename: Milan), is a Multi-touch product from Microsoft. Surface is developed as a software and hardware combination technology that allows a user, or multiple users, to manipulate digital content by the use of natural motions, hand gestures, or physical objects. It was announced on May 29, 2007, and is expected to be released by commercial partners in spring 2008. Initial customers will be in the hospitality businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, public entertainment venues and the military for tactical overviews.

Surface is essentially a Windows Vista PC tucked inside a table, topped with a 30-inch reflective surface in a clear acrylic frame. It has been optimized to respond to 52 touches at a time. In addition to recognizing finger movements, Microsoft Surface can also identify physical objects. Microsoft says that when a diner sets down a wine glass, for example, the table can automatically offer additional wine choices tailored to the dinner being eaten. Prices will reportedly be $5,000 to $10,000 per unit. However Microsoft said it expects prices to drop enough to make consumer versions feasible in 2010.

To know more about Microsoft Surface visit:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Surface

NOTPRON

Well folks, NOTPRON (http://www.deathball.net/notpron) is one of the toughest riddle available on the internet that I have come accross. The riddle has had 12,907,472 users as of date and only 164 people so far have been able to solve the riddle, which means that the success rate is just 0.001%. Notpron has total of 139 levels. So far i have been able to get upto level 16 and trust me ....it will drive you crazy and challenge you all the time. You don't have to be a computer nerd to resolve it...you just have to be a quick learner and adapt.

Who is Kevin Mitnick?

Kevin David Mitnick (born August 6, 1963) is a computer security consultant and convicted criminal who was a controversial computer hacker in the United States.

Mitnick was convicted in the late 1990s of illegally gaining access to computer networks and stealing intellectual property. Though Mitnick has been convicted of computer related crimes and possession of several forged identification documents, his supporters argue that his punishment was excessive. In his 2002 book, The Art of Deception, Mitnick states that he compromised computers solely by using passwords and codes that he gained by social engineering. It is notable that Mitnick did not use software programs or hacking tools for cracking passwords or otherwise exploiting computer or phone security.

Mitnick served five years in prison, of which four and a half years were pre-trial, and eight months were in solitary confinement. He was released on January 21, 2000. During his supervised release, which ended on January 21, 2003, he was initially restricted from using any communications technology other than a landline telephone. Mitnick fought this decision in court, and the judge ruled in his favor, allowing him to access the Internet.

Mitnick now runs Mitnick Security Consulting, a computer security consultancy. To know more about Kevin see the links below:

http://www.kevinmitnick.com/
http://www.takedown.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Mitnick

Here are two books by Kevin Mitnick that you can buy if you are interested to read more....

Blackle ??

Now this is something interesting people....Use Blackle search engine (powered by Google custom search) to save energy.

Blackle (http://www.blackle.com) was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

According to the website, Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen."

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

Now here is Google's version.....

"Reducing climate change by saving energy is an important effort we should all join, and that's why we're very glad to see the innovative thinking going into a variety of solutions. One idea, suggested by the site called "Blackle" (which is not related to Google, by the way, though the site does use our custom search engine), is to reduce energy used by monitors by providing search with a black background. We applaud the spirit of the idea, but our own analysis as well as that of others shows that making the Google homepage black will not reduce energy consumption. To the contrary, on flat-panel monitors (already estimated to be 75% of the market), displaying black may actually increase energy usage. Detailed results from a new study confirm this."

Blackle believes that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly, seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

So take your call and do the best you can. Oops ....did you switch off the television ?

What is GooSync?

GooSync (http://www.goosync.com) is a server based synchronisation service that allows you to synchronise almost any mobile device over-the-air with your Google Calendar, tasks and contacts.

GooSync works on any device that is SyncML compliant which includes the latest Nokia, Sony Ericcson and Motorola phones. It also works on Windows Pocket PC, Windows SmartPhone, Palm OS, Treo, BlackBerry and Apple iPhone by installing a SyncML client. You can view a full list of supported devices here.

GooSync uses an open standard called SyncML (Synchronisation Markup Language) designed for platform-independent information synchronisation. This allows you to synchronise your calendar, contacts, tasks between your mobile device and GooSync in both directions. You can synchronise your mobile device to GooSync over-the-air using GPRS or via Wi-fi.

GooSync synchronises your calendar appointments from your Google Calendar. GooSync uses Google's AuthSub authentication to access your Google Calendar service without ever handling your Google account's login information.For more information click here.

So what are you waiting for folks....?? Happy synchronizing :-)

Internet World Statistics

Well....just came accross this website...pretty interesting...huh !

Internet World Statistics (http://www.internetworldstats.com) is an International website featuring up to date world Internet Usage, Population Statistics and Internet Market Research Data, for over 233 individual countries and world regions. See the Big Picture here.

A useful resource for international market research, containing Internet statistics, broadband penetration, world population data and global trade information.

Sync ML / OMA

Ever wondered that instead on having to store contacts, calendar, tasks etc on you Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook if there was a way to integrate everything at one place which you could synchronize your mobile device to…..well here is the answer…..what you require is a device that supports Sync ML….and the best part is, now a days most of the advance mobile phones and PDAs have it. All you need to do is create a Sync ML account and know how to use it.

Synchronization Markup Language (SyncML), now known as Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), is an open-source standard for digital devices to interoperate regardless of manufacturer or brand. For example, SyncML might be used between a cell phone and a computer, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a network. The advantage of SyncML is that it is platform-independent, making it a flexible solution for connecting digital devices of all kinds.

SyncML is the brainchild of Philippe Kahn, who also invented the camera phone and founded Borland, Starfish Software, LightSurf, and FullPower Technologies. Motorola purchased Starfish Software in 1998, while Verisign now owns LightSurf. Heavy-hitters such as IBM, Lotus, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Palm Inc., Siemens AG, and Motorola already build SyncML compliance into their products. It is hoped that SyncML will become a global language for both wired and wireless technologies, providing a common language the world over for digital connectivity. The purpose of SyncML is to change this by offering an open standard as a replacement.

SyncML is most commonly thought of as a method to synchronize contact and calendar information (Personal Information Manager) between some type of handheld device and a computer (personal, or network-based service), such as between a mobile phone and a personal computer. The new version of the specification includes support for push email, providing a standard protocol alternative to proprietary solutions like BlackBerry.

Some products are now using SyncML for more general information synchronization purposes, such as to synchronize project task information across a distributed group of team members. SyncML can also be used as a base for backup solutions.

So folks what are you waiting for? Give it a shot and experience the power of technology at your footstep. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SyncML

SETI

SETI@home is a scientific experiment that uses Internet-connected computers in the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). You can participate by running a free program that downloads and analyzes radio telescope data.

The mission of SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe. The SETI Institute is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to scientific research, education and public outreach.

SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) is the collective name for a number of activities to detect intelligent extraterrestrial life. The general approach of SETI projects is to survey the sky to detect the existence of transmissions from a civilization on a distant planet – an approach widely endorsed by the scientific community as hard science.

There are great challenges in searching across the sky for a first transmission that could be characterized as intelligent, since its direction, spectrum and method of communication are all unknown beforehand. SETI projects necessarily make assumptions to narrow the search, and thus no exhaustive search has so far been conducted.

To know more about SETI, log on to http://setiathome.berkeley.edu

The Grid to Render the Web Obsolete?

The birthplace of the Web, Cern, which is based near Geneva, is now busy working on "the grid" that boasts speeds nearly 10,000 times faster than a typical Broadband connection, and that may soon render the Web obsolete.

The grid computing project was started around seven years ago by researchers at Cern. They claim "the grid" is so fast it is capable of sending the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.

With that kind of computing power, future generations will be able to collaborate and communicate in ways that older people cannot even imagine, says Professor of Physics at Glasgow University and leading light of the project.

Scientists at Cern intend to activate "the grid" this summer alongside what they term as 'red button day' when they will switch on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) or the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the Universe.

So what is "the grid"? Professor Tony Doyle, technical director of "the grid" project, said they need so much processing power that there would even be an issue as to getting enough electricity to run the computers -- if they were all at Cern. Doyle said the only answer was a new network powerful enough to send the data instantly to research centers in other countries.

Doyle explained that that network, in effect a parallel Internet, is now built, using fibre optic cables that run from Cern to 11 centres in the United States, Canada, the Far East, Europe, and around the world. From each center, further connections radiate out to a host of other research institutions that use existing high-speed academic networks. Which means Britain alone has 8,000 servers on the grid system so that any student or academic will theoretically be able to hook up to the grid rather than the Internet from this autumn.

What does the grid have that Internet doesn't? While the Internet has been built by linking together a mesh of cables and routing equipment most of which lacks the capacity for high-speed data transmission, the grid, by contrast has been built with dedicated fibre optic cables and modern routing centres, ensuring there are no outdated components that manage to slow down the speed of data transmission.

Commenting on the possibilities of the grid, Ian Bird, project leader, said grid technology could make the Internet so fast that people would stop using desktop computers to store information and entrust it all to the internet. Bird said it would lead to what is known as 'cloud computing', where people keep all their information online and access it from anywhere.

So, people are you ready for the Grid ?

Second Life

Second Life® is a 3-D virtual world created by its Residents. Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by millions of Residents from around the globe.

From the moment you enter the World you'll discover a vast digital continent, teeming with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity. Once you've explored a bit, perhaps you'll find a perfect parcel of land to build your house or business.

You'll also be surrounded by the Creations of your fellow Residents. Because Residents retain intellectual property rights in their digital creations, they can buy, sell and trade with other Residents.

The Marketplace currently supports millions of US dollars in monthly transactions. This commerce is handled with the inworld unit of trade, the Linden™ dollar, which can be converted to US dollars at several thriving online Linden dollar exchanges.

So, what are you waiting for?? Wanna have a Second Life?? Log on to www.secondlife.com

Cheers !!

Google Voice Search - Hyderabad

Google recently announced limited launch of Call Google 1 800 41 99 99 99 pilot in Hyderabad. This service is a part of Google's initiative to make local information easily available at the touch of a button on your phone. You can call this service any time of the day for toll free (from mobile and landline phones), find a local business, get your call transferred and receive an SMS with the results. Now you don not need to know

You can call and ask for:

1. Local Business Information. e.g. where can I find Pizza in Panjagutta?
2. Movie Showtimes. e.g What movies are running in PVR today? or What are the show timings for watching "Jodhaa Akbar" ?

Call Google is completely free. You will not be charged anything to find a local business and connect the call to talk them. Remember the number 1 800 41 99 99 99 ( One eight hundred - four one - double nine - double nine - double nine) when you need help with local information. Currently, this number is active for callers from Hyderabad only.

Share it will all your friends and family and let them know about this new service from Google for callers from Hyderabad.

Trust me.....it works....Happy searching !

Awesome Gmail Tip !

I just found this ......one of my top favorite feature in Gmail !!!

Let’s say that your email address is ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’, basically everything sent to any of the following email addresses will be forwarded to your primary email.

Ps: No offence !! I user George Bush because all of you know him :-)

GeorgeBush@gmail.com
G.eorgeBush@gmail.com
Ge.orgeBush@gmail.com
GeorgeBus.h@gmail.com

.........
GeorgeBush@googlemail.com
G.eorgeBush@googlemail.com
Ge.orgeBush@googlemail.com
GeorgeBus.h@googlemail.com

And that’s not all, you can place as many dots as you want, it can be even something like ‘G.e.o.r.g.e.B.u.s.h@gmail.com’ and you’ll still get it on ‘GeorgeBush@gmail.com’

Additionally, you can embed random text to your email ID using ‘+’ sign. That is to say ‘GeorgeBush+anythingyouwant@gmail.com’ can be used as your email address, as well.

Because Gmail doesn't recognize dots as characters within usernames, adding or removing dots from a Gmail address won’t change the actual destination address. Messages sent to yourusername@gmail.com, your.username@gmail.com and y.o.u.r.u.s.e.r.n.a.m.e@gmail.com are all delivered to your inbox, and only yours.

Gmail allows only one registration for any given username. Once you sign up for a particular username, any dot variations are made permanently unavailable.

However, for security reasons, when you log in to Gmail, you must enter any dots that were originally defined as part of your username.

Ok I got it.....its fun....big deal.....Now what ?

Here is the good part......

1. One email for every purpose
Instead of using different email addresses for various purposes (work, school, friends, etc.) you can use different variations of your Gmail and filter incoming mails by ’sent to’ address. For instance, all incoming mail sent to ‘Name.Surname@gmail.com’ can be put to folder ‘work’, messages sent to ‘NameSurname@gmail.com’ can be put to ‘friends’, ‘N.ameSurname@gmail.com’ can be used for newsletters, and so on.

2. Track/Block spammers
When signing up for some website, say thatwebsite.com, you can add thatwebsite to your Gmail user ID (eg. GeorgeBush+thatwebsite@gmail.com). This way you can block your subscription whenever you want and even identify those websites that distribute your email address to spammers.

More Tips? Surprise me in the comments....have fun !!!

Configure Exchange ActiveSync on Sony Ericsson P990i

For all those folks who have not been able to configure Exchange ActiveSync on P990i provided by DataViz Corp.

Pre-conditions:

1. Your company's mail server should be MS Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 Installed.
2. Mobile access should be enabled for your profile on server. By default when profile is created it is enabled.
3. You have OWA (Outlook Web Access) enabled without use of VPN.

For more details / troubleshooting on configuration of MS Exchange Server for mobile access see the links below or please email me.

Other error codes are explained in this link:
http://support.dataviz.com/support.srch?docid=13679&pid=2000

Follow this article for settings on the server or you can fwd. it to you IT team and cross check.
http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Managing-Mobile-Access-Exchange-Server-2003.html

You can download the correct software version from here...
http://www.dataviz.com/downloads

Steps:

1. Install Exchange ActiveSync on P990i. This SIS file comes bundled with the phone or you can download it from the Sony Ericsson or DataViz website.
2. Make sure you have a working WIFI / GPRS / 3G connection configured on your P990i
3. You will now require the following information to configure the software. Open the software on the phone and enter the following.

Username : Your NT / Login ID and password which you use to login to your desktop in office.

Server: Your exchange server address. This is usually the address you use to o access OWA on IE. Remove the "https://" part from the address and type under the server address field.

Domain: You can leave this blank.

Use SSL Check this box (This is for the secure connection)

Hopefully if things are correct at the server end and you have entered the correct settings in the setup this should get you going....Please feel free to post if you have any issues.

Note:
Before synchronizing your phone make sure you backup the contacts. There are chances that synch. might result into duplicates for the first time and you may have to manually delete / modify them.

Cheers ! Happy messaging !!!

What is jusched.exe And Why Is It Running?

If you've looked in Task Manager and wondered what on earth the jusched.exe process is and if you can turn it off, then you are in luck. This process is the Java Update scheduler, which is a process that wastes memory all the time just to check once a month whether there are new updates to Java.

There's a scheduled tasks feature built into Windows for this type of thing… the java update scheduler is obviously not being used for critical updates since it's only scheduled to check once each month. Since I simply can't understand why the process needs to waste my memory, it has to go.

What you'll need to do is open up Control Panel, and then if you are in XP you can click on the Java icon, or in Vista you can click on Additional Options, and then click on Java.

Once you have the Java Control Panel open, select the Update tab, and then uncheck the box for "Check for Updates Automatically"

You'll receive a warning message stating that if somebody finds a security hole in Java that it will take up to a month before you are protected from it

After you click the Never Check button above, you'll probably receive this error message if you are in Windows Vista, stating that it also hasn't been properly certified to work with Vista in the first place. Just click that it works correctly.

That does make me wonder… I guess we'll miss the update that fixes the problem with the control panel… or will we? What you can do instead is schedule a task to run monthly using the built-in Task scheduler. If you don't care about updates to Java, then disregard the next part.

Schedule Java Update Check (Optional)
Just type in Task Scheduler into the start menu search box to open the task scheduler, and then click on Create Basic Task.

Follow the wizard along to pick a month and date, and then when you get to the "Start a Program" screen, use this as the path, adjusting if you are running a different version of Java. The key thing is that you run the jucheck.exe in your Java directory.

"C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_01\bin\jucheck.exe"

Now when the scheduled task runs once a month, or whenever you schedule it, you'll get this dialog if there is a new version, or another dialog stating there are no updates to Java.

What is svchost.exe And Why Is It Running?

You are no doubt reading this article because you are wondering why on earth there are nearly a dozen processes running with the name svchost.exe. You can't kill them, and you don't remember starting them… so what are they?

So What Is It?
According to Microsoft: "svchost.exe is a generic host process name for services that run from dynamic-link libraries". Could we have that in english please?

Some time ago, Microsoft started moving all of the functionality from internal Windows services into .dll files instead of .exe files. From a programming perspective this makes more sense for reusability… but the problem is that you can't launch a .dll file directly from Windows, it has to be loaded up from a running executable (.exe). Thus the svchost.exe process was born.

Why Are There So Many svchost.exes Running?

If you've ever taken a look at the Services section in control panel you might notice that there are a Lot of services required by Windows. If every single service ran under a single svchost.exe instance, a failure in one might bring down all of Windows… so they are separated out.

Those services are organized into logical groups, and then a single svchost.exe instance is created for each group. For instance, one svchost.exe instance runs the 3 services related to the firewall. Another svchost.exe instance might run all the services related to the user interface, and so on.

So What Can I Do About It?

You can trim down unneeded services by disabling or stopping the services that don't absolutely need to be running. Additionally, if you are noticing very heavy CPU usage on a single svchost.exe instance you can restart the services running under that instance.

The biggest problem is identifying what services are being run on a particular svchost.exe instance… we'll cover that below.

If you are curious what we're talking about, just open up Task Manager and check the "Show processes from all users" box

Checking From the Command Line (Vista or XP)

If you want to see what services are being hosted by a particular svchost.exe instance, you can use the tasklist command (tasklist /SVC) from the command prompt in order to see the list of services. The problem with using the command line method is that you don't necessarily know what these cryptic names refer to.

Checking in Task Manager in Vista

You can right-click on a particular svchost.exe process, and then choose the "Go to Service" option. This will flip over to the Services tab, where the services running under that svchost.exe process will be selected:

The great thing about doing it this way is that you can see the real name under the Description column, so you can choose to disable the service if you don't want it running.

Using Process Explorer in Vista or XP

You can use the excellent Process Explorer utility from Microsoft/Sysinternals to see what services are running as a part of a svchost.exe process.
Hovering your mouse over one of the processes will show you a popup list of all the services

Or you can double-click on a svchost.exe instance and select the Services tab, where you can choose to stop one of the services if you choose.

Disabling Services

Open up Services from the administrative tools section of Control Panel, or type services.msc into the start menu search or run box.

Find the service in the list that you'd like to disable, and either double-click on it or right-click and choose Properties.

Change the Startup Type to Disabled, and then click the Stop button to immediately stop it.

You could also use the command prompt to disable the service if you choose. In this command "trkwks" is the Service name from the above dialog, but if you go back to the tasklist command at the beginning of this article you'll notice you can find it there as well.

sc config trkwks start= disabled

Hopefully this is helpful ! :-)

Speed Up SATA Hard Drives in Windows Vista

Windows Vista has built-in support for Serial ATA(SATA) hard drives, but it doesn't automatically enable advanced write caching features. You can speed up your computer by enabling this mode in Device Manager.

You can quickly get to Device Manager by just typing device into the start menu search box. (Or from the command line, devmgmt.msc)

Open the Disk drives section of the tree, and right-click on your hard drive, choosing Properties.

Select the Policies tab, and you should see this dialog:

Click the checkbox for Enable advanced performance, and you are done.

Windows Vista SP1 Released to Windows Update

You can now download Windows Vista SP1 via Windows Update. For those of you eager to receive the benefits of Windows Vista SP1, you can now do so. We've seen quite a bit of questions in our comments so we want to communicate as much as possible surrounding Windows Vista SP1 and today's release to Windows Update as we can.

For those of you happy to wait, sit tight because SP1 will start downloading to PCs automatically beginning in mid-April (remember, this happens only if you have your Windows Update configured to automatically download updates and SP1 will automatically download but not automatically install). But if you want to get the benefit of a year's worth of improvements right now, go check Windows Update today (hit the Start Menu, All Programs, and select Windows Update).

If in running Windows Update you do not see Windows Vista SP1 listed, there are a number of good reasons for this (eight, in fact -- see the whole list). Below are a few of the most common reasons why you might not see SP1 on Windows Update:


You have not yet installed all the prerequisite packages you need for Windows Vista SP1. To install them, visit the Windows Update control panel and click on "check for updates."

You have a pre-release version of SP1 and need to uninstall it before installing SP1

You already have it. To determine if you already have SP1 installed, Open the Start Menu, right click on Computer and left click on Properties.

SP1 is released in these 5 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. If you have any other language installed, SP1 will not yet be offered to you. (You might not even know if you have an additional language installed -- check the Regional and Language Options control panel to see which languages you have installed.)

Back in February MS announced that they would be using Windows Update to help make the update as seamless as possible for our users. Windows Update will detect drivers that we know may be problematic when updating to SP1 and will not offer the service pack until an update has been installed.


Those of you who find that SP1 isn't offered over Windows Update even after updating all your drivers, but would still like to download it can access our "standalone installer" from the Microsoft Download Center here. Windows Update will help ensure a better experience, so if you do choose to visit the Microsoft Download Center make sure that you read these KBs before installing.

How to configure AVG Firewall to allow VPN connection?

Various VPN applications use different protocols for their communication.
Therefore, if you find some blocked traffic in the Filter Device log, with protocol: 47 mentioned, please allow the GRE rule.
If protocol: 50 is mentioned there, please allow the ESP rule.
The GRE and ESP rules are already created within the AVG Firewall. You only need to change them to allowed, as follows:
AVG Control Center->AVG Firewall->Configuration->System tab

If you cannot find these two rules within the AVG Firewall, please run the Automatic Configuration Wizard again. It will automatically create them.