Category: Technology

How to install Vista on your Mac: The Complete Walkthrough

How to install Vista on your Mac: The Complete Walkthrough
Using Boot Camp to install Vista on your Mac: The Complete Walkthrough

This walkthrough will take you through every step of installing Microsoft Windows Vista on your Intel Mac (running 10.5 or later), using Boot Camp. It will cover a number of possible errors that you may encounter, and how to get around them. Each time I bring up an error I will explain in detail what you’ll need to do to resolve the issue and continue installing Vista. It’s up to you to decide if it’s worth the time and effort (for example, you may need to completely wipe your hard drive clean and restore from a Time Machine backup). It’s also possible that everything will go perfectly smoothly and you’ll wonder why you even needed a guide.

To install Vista on your Mac you will need the following:

All firmware updates installed on your Mac (use Apple Button -> Software Update… to check)
A Vista installation DVD (Home Basic, Home Premium, Business or Ultimate)
Your OS X Leopard installation DVD
At least 10GB of empty hard drive space on your Mac (you can probably get away with less but you’ll have almost no room to install anything other than the OS)
An hour and a half if all goes well, up to 5 hours if not
Though not absolutely required, it’s a VERY good idea to have a complete and up to date Time Machine backup of OS X – it really came in handy for me
Patience, possibly a great deal of it. Having a book handy will also help kill time during the partitioning, installing etc).

Installing Vista via Boot Camp

Here goes. First thing – close absolutely every open program you can. That includes those things running in the Apple Menu that you always forget about. Don’t worry about killing the Dock or Dashboard – having those running is fine.
Now open a Finder and navigate to Applications -> Utilities and double-click Boot Camp Assistant.

It’s not a bad idea to have the Setup Guide handy, just in case you need it. Click the Print Installation & Setup Guide button.
Click OK

If you have another computer around, and would like to save half a tree (printing the guide will use 20-something pages) – select the PDF button and choose Save as PDF

If you don’t want to download my copy, enter the appropriate info (most importantly, the download location so you can find it) and click Save. Transfer the PDF to your other PC/Mac so you can access it while actually installing Vista.

Back at the Introduction page of the Boot Camp Assistant, click Continue. Now you have to decide how much space you want to allocate to Windows Vista. You might be able to get away with going as low as 6GB, but I would highly advise against it. You’ll have almost no space left over to install software, and your page file in Windows might cause frequent crashes. I opted for 20GB, which left me with just a bit over 15GB to use after installing Windows Vista Ultimate and upgrading to SP1.

To change the amount of space to dedicate to Vista, click the small divider between Mac OS X and Windows, and drag it to the left.

When you’re happy with the amount of space that Vista will have, click Partition.

Watch the little status indicator..

and hold your breath that no errors occur. If you’re presented with a Start Windows Installation screen, proceed with step #11 below (and consider yourself very lucky). If you get an error, keep reading.

The most common error is that OS X couldn’t move a file and the partition could not be created. There are a couple of things that could be wrong, and I’ll outline how to fix them from the fastest method to the longest method. Cross your fingers that the fastest one will resolve your problem.

Close out of the Boot Camp Assistant and launch the Disk Utility by selecting Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility.

Select your Mac drive, or the partition you were trying to install Boot Camp on (if you have more than one). Click the Verify Disk Permissions button, then the Repair Disk Permissions button. Once that’s done, click the Verify Disk button, then the Repair Disk button if it’s available.

Now go back to step #1 and try it all over again (except you don’t need to print out the PDF twice). If you were able to create the partition, excellent, continue with step #11. If you got the same “can’t move file” error, download and install OnyX Once installed, launch it (you’ll probably be prompted for your password) and select the Maintenance tab. Click the Execute button and wait.

Once again, go back to step #1 and start all over again. If it worked this time, excellent, proceed to step #11. If it didn’t, you have another couple of choices. Neither is much fun. First, you can purchase defragging software (I’m not aware of any that are free/open source) such as iDefrag and hope that it resolves your problem (it might not). Second – and this is what I opted to do – re-install OS X by formatting the entire drive (all data will be lost), run software update to get all the firmware updates, install Vista via Boot Camp, and then restore OS X from a Time Machine backup. Like I said, not great choices. If you do decide to go the format and re-install route, I’ll outline it with a few more details –

Know that you might lose all of your data. Time Machine could fail, your roommate might decide now would be a good time to smash your backup drive – any number of problems could occur. This is my way of saying that I will NOT be held responsible if this method causes you all kinds of nightmares. With all of that said, it worked perfectly fine for me.
Make sure you have a 100% up to date Time Machine backup. Open Time Machine and select Back Up Now. If you opted not to back up certain folders, make sure you have the contents of those folders backed up – or remove them from the “don’t back these folders up” section of Time Machine.
Put your OS X Leopard DVD in your DVD drive, and restart your Mac.
Hold down the c key as your Mac restarts – this will force your Mac to boot from the DVD rather than the hard drive.
Follow the walk-through to install OS X. Make sure you select the “format this drive then install OS X” option
Once you’ve re-installed OS X, start your Mac and run the Software Update to make sure everything is up to date. Once completed, you’ll be prompted to reboot. Do so.
Once again, run the Boot Camp Assistant. This time you should have no problems at all
Carry on with step #11 below, and once you’ve completely finished installing Vista, perform a Time Machine restore. To do so, boot from the OS X DVD (hold down c as your Mac starts up) and from the Utilities menu, select Restore from Time Machine (or something like that, I forget right now). Let Time Machine do its thing (boring, takes forever) and once it’s done, reboot yet again. You’ll finally have a dual boot Mac w/ Vista and OS X.

Alright, time to install Vista. Put your Vista DVD in your DVD drive and click Start Installation.

A bunch of things will happen on their own. Don’t interfere with them. You’ll eventually land at a screen asking where you want to install Windows. Make sure, and I mean make sure you select the BOOTCAMP partition. Selecting anything else is going to force you to re-install OS X, and unless you have a recent Time Machine backup, you’ll lose all of your data.

Now click the Drive options (advanced) link/button. Click Format and once it’s done, click OK. Now you can click Next.

Now Vista will install. It takes a while and it’s not particularly entertaining. Vista will restart itself at least once during the installation. If by some chance – and this shouldn’t happen – when Vista restarts itself, and you end up back in OS X instead of Vista, restart again and this time hold down the Option key as your Mac starts. You’ll be presented with a number of drive icons to choose from. Double-click the Windows icon.

And now Vista has finished installing, you’ve setup your “account” in Vista, and you think you’re done. You’re not. Eject you Vista DVD from your DVD drive (if you have problems ejecting it go to the Computer view in Vista, click once on your DVD drive, and then select the Eject link that will show up in the menu. Now pop in your OS X Leopard DVD. You’ll be prompted “Install or run program” – click the Run setup.exe button.

You might be told that a system restart is pending and you can’t install anything yet. I never said this was a short process. Restart your Mac and make sure to boot into Vista.

This time when you Run setup.exe you’ll get the “Welcome to the Boot Camp installer” screen. Click Next.

Place a check in the “I agree” part, and click Next.

Make sure Apple Software Update for Windows is selected, and click Install.

Sit back and watch. Don’t interfere. Your screen may flicker, ignore it.

Also ignore any pop-ups that might appear in your System tray.

Almost done..

And now you’re done. Click Finish.

Restart yet again.

Note: when Vista boots, you might encounter a couple screens full of error messages (Unrecognized partition table for for drive 80, can’t boot from NTLDR from drive=0×80 etc). Ignore them, and let Vista continue to boot. I have a (bad) camera phone picture of some of the errors below.

This time when Vista starts, you’ll notice a new icon in the System tray – it’s the Boot Camp software. Click it once and a pop-up menu will appear.Select Boot Camp Control Panel….

On the first tab, Startup Disk you can select which Operating System you want to boot into by default. Just high-light the one you want – but remember – you can also choose to boot to the other OS by holding down the Option key while your Mac starts. Note: you can also define which OS you want to boot into by default in your Mac. Just select the Startup Disk option in your System Preferences.

Click the Brightness tab to adjust – you got it – the screen brightness.

Click the Remote tab. From here you can disable or enable the use of a remote infrared receiver. Your choice.

Select the Keyboard tab to make some keyboard changes. Boring.

And finally, select the Power tab. Do you want to automatically restart after a power failure? Here’s where you decide. When you’re done reviewing all of the Boot Camp Control Panel options, click OK.

And one last thing. Remember – no matter which Operating System, Vista or OS X, you decide to have as the one you automatically boot into when your Mac is turned on, you can select the other one by holding down the Option key as your Mac starts.

June 15, 2012
HTC Evo 4G LTE

HTC Evo 4G LTE Review: Gorgeous, but No LTE for Now

Sprint’s original HTC Evo 4G was the carrier’s very first 4G WiMAX phone. Two years (and a few other Evos) later, we have the HTC Evo 4G LTE ($200 with a new two-year contract from Sprint; price as of 5/10/12). But despite the name, this smartphone is currently just a 3G phone until Sprint builds out its LTE network. Outside of this issue, the Evo 4G LTE is a solid phone. The display, camera, design, and multimedia features make it the best phone currently coming from Sprint. Sprint will have the HTC Evo 4G LTE available on May 18.

Different Design on HTC Evo 4G LTE

The Evo’s kickstandThe HTC Evo 4G LTE might share a lot of specs in common with the One X on AT&T, but its design is totally different. With its black body and red accents, you might mistake it for a Verizon phone; it looks an awful lot like the newly announced HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE. It holds onto the Evo design legacy, however, with a bright red kickstand. You flip the kickstand out and set your Evo on a table for some hands-free video watching. The kickstand is a little difficult to open, however. You’ll need some nails to get it out. The kickstand divides the Evo’s battery cover, which is part glossy black plastic and part matte, soft-touch rubber.

Measuring 5.3-by-2.7-by-0.35 inches, the Evo is slightly smaller than the One X, which measures 5.3-by-2.8-by-0.4 inches. The Evo is an ounce heavier, at 4.7 ounces, than the One X (4.6 ounces).

The Evo has a 4.7-inch 1280-by-720 HD pixel display with IPS (In Plane Switching) technology. We loaded the Evo up with a few test photos we use across phones to test display quality. These images include a colorscale test, a grayscale test, and photos of people. In our colorscale test, I could detect some oversaturation as the colors bled into one another (see sample photo). In the portrait photos, skin tones had a ruddy look–another sign of oversaturation. Details appeared sharp, however, as did text.

Android 4.0 with HTC Evo 4G LTE Sense

HTC Sense–the manufacturer’s user interface over Android–has garnered a mixed response from consumers and tech journalists alike. And Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) has, by far, the best-looking interface of any version of Android. I understand why manufacturers slapped on overlays in the early days of Android: The underlying interfaces were ugly. HTC Sense is undeniably pretty. But its animations and colorful widgets have a tendency to bog down the operating system.

Perhaps my idea that manufacturers might leave Android 4.0 alone and just add a few customized widgets was just wishful thinking. To HTC’s credit, Sense 4.0 is much subtler than previous versions of the interface. The company has cleared out many unnecessary icons and text that cluttered older versions of Sense. You can still pinch the screen to see all seven of your homescreens, and you get that handy customizable lock screen that we saw with Sense 3.0.

Still, Android purists might take offense to a few changes. The Recent Apps UI has been tweaked in typical Sense fashion. Rather than displaying your apps or websites as a list with thumbnails, it displays them as pages that flip as you flick through them. The Sense widgets are a bit too busy and garish for my liking, but you can easily remove them.

HTC Sense also makes some very basic tasks more difficult than they should be. For example, to change the phone’s wallpaper, you have to dig through multiple menus in the Settings. Changing the wallpaper in vanilla Android 4.0 is as simple as holding down on the homescreen.

The Evo 4G LTE comes with a significant amount of carrier and manufacturer-added software, but that seems to be the norm these days. You can disable some of these so they don’t show up in your apps menu. Annoyingly, you can’t disable either the Sprint Music Plus player or the Sprint Zone.

Camera

Sprint and HTC unleashed a bunch of journalists in the city of New Orleans to test out the HTC Evo’s camera in the field. Like the HTC One series of phones, the Evo 4G LTE has HTC’s ImageSense camera software and the HTC ImageChip, which supports a which supports an f2.0 aperture and a handful of different shooting modes, including High Dynamic Range (HDR), Macro, and Panorama. HTC also claims that One cameras have an almost no-lag shutter speed. In my hands-on tests, I found the no-lag claim to be pretty much true. My photos taken in automatic mode looked excellent, with good colors and crisp Indoor Photo Using Automatic Modedetails. Most of the shooting modes worked quite well, too, especially the macro mode (see example photos).
HDR made my photos look a bit spooky–I prefer the HDR mode on the iPhone 4S’s camera. You can also add Instagram-like filters to your photos, but I don’t think they look very good. A better bet would be to add a third-party app like, well, Instagram or Pixlr, which has even more filters.
This Evo also has a very cool continuous shooting feature, which lets you take multiple pictures at a time. You can then use the camera app’s Best Photo feature, which will automatically pick the cleanest photos out of the group. You can use continuous shooting with both the onscreen shutter button and the physical key. It is a little sensitive, however. When I was snapping photos from a tour bus in New Orleans, I accidentally took multiple pictures without meaning to.

The Evo has a dedicated camera shutter button, which is always a plus, as it helps stabilize the phone before you take your photo. Annoyingly, you can’t press the button when the phone is locked to jump directly to the camera app.

Multimedia

All HTC One phones have Beats Audio built in. Beats Audio automatically turns on when you play music, but you can opt to turn it off. I could definitely hear a positive change in music quality, especially with rock and metal music, when Beats was running. Bass sounded richer and the vocals fuller. Beats Audio also kicks in when you play a YouTube video.

Unlike the One phones, the Evo has a microSD slot so you can expand your phone’s memory beyond the built-in 16GB, with photos, video, apps, and so on.

The phone also comes with HTC Watch, which is the company’s movie-streaming service. If you wish to stream movies off your phone, however, I’d go with Netflix, as it has a larger library than Watch.

Performance

Using the FCC-approved Ookla Speedtest.net app, I tested Sprint’s 3G network in two cities: New Orleans and San Francisco. In New Orleans, the HTC Evo achieved an average of 1.4 Mbps for download speeds and 0.52 Mbps for upload speeds. In San Francisco, Sprint’s 3G network was a bit faster, with an average of 1.69 Mbps for downloads and 0.90 Mbps for upload speeds.

These are okay speeds for 3G, but I’ve been spoiled by 4G. Videos started and stalled over YouTube and Web pages weren’t loading as quickly as I’m used to. Even T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network seems much faster than Sprint’s 3G network. But until Sprint LTE comes to your city, you’re stuck with 3G. Even if you have WiMax in your city, the Evo 4G LTE isn’t compatible with that network.

I ran both the Quadrant and Vellamo benchmarking apps to see how powerful the Qualcomm S4 1.5GHz dual-core processor is on the HTC EVO 4G LTE. With Vellamo (which was developed by Qualcomm), the Evo had a score of 2392, slightly ahead of the HTC One S, which has the same processor and achieved a score of 2365.

Under Quadrant, the HTC Evo got a score of 5145, which put it slightly ahead of both the One S and the Galaxy Nexus. I also ran a few graphics-heavy games, like World of Goo and Osmos, and the Evo handled them flawlessly.

While we haven’t yet completed our formal battery tests, I used the EVO 4G LTE for an afternoon photo outing. After 2 hours and about 50 photos later, I noticed a significant drop in battery life. You might not use the camera as heavily in a short time span as I did for this review, but one of the main selling points of this phone is the camera. I also ran a 26-minute video over YouTube with the battery starting at 76 percent charged. After the video was finished, the Evo had a battery life of 67 percent. We’ll update the Evo’s battery life results once we finish our formal testing.

We experienced uneven call quality with both the HTC One X and the One S, but the Evo sounded good on both ends of the line. My friends said my voice sounded clear and natural, and they didn’t hear any crackling or static as they did on the One phones.

The EVO 4G LTE will be the first handset on a U.S. carrier with HD Voice. Sprint’s demo of HD Voice at the EVO 4G LTE’s launch in New York City showed how it significantly decreases background noise.

This is made possible by the Snapdragon processor, which uses dual-microphone noise suppression and earpiece active noise cancellation. It also relies on Sprint to finish its upgrades to its 3G network so we were unfortunately unable to test this feature. Also, HD Voice will only work if both people on a call are using an HD Voice-supported smartphone on an HD Voice-supported network.

Bottom Line

The Evo phones have always been Sprint’s strongest offering, and the Evo 4G LTE is no exception. From its beautiful design to the versatile camera to the fast performance, this is Sprint’s best phone–and one of the best Android phones available. But without LTE, it feels as if it is not quite living up to its potential.

That Sprint is releasing LTE phones (the Evo, the LG Viper, and the Galaxy Nexus) without an actual 4G LTE network in place is a bit frustrating. While the company has disclosed the initial six cities for launch (Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio), it has not said when these networks will turn on. And unless you live in one of those cities, you’ll find it hard to get excited about LTE. Sprint’s 3G network feels painfully slow, too, especially when you compare it to other carriers’ 4G networks. Sprint has announced that it will release 15 more 4G devices, most of them handsets. Unless you are 100 percent committed to the Evo legacy or are dying to upgrade your phone, I’d hold off on buying the Evo until you know that you’ll get LTE or have seen what else is available before locking into a two-year contract.

June 15, 2012
7 Great Google Spreadsheet Gadgets

Inside Google Docs’ spreadsheet component, you’ll find gadgets that endow the app with powers thatTurn text into a QR code.even Excel users will envy. Included are tools for creating animated pie charts, producing QR codes, generating organizational charts, and more. You can also plot data in color by country on a map, and you can publish a map with your office location marked on it. All of these tricks are easy to pull off–I’ll show you how.

1. Make Your Own QR Codes

QR codes are ubiquitous these days. They’re a great way to share contact details, URLs, product information, and other brief amounts of text. To create a QR code in a Google Docs spreadsheet, first type the text for the code into one or more adjacent cells in a column of the spreadsheet. Choose Insert > Gadget >All,locate the QR Code gadget, and click Add to spreadsheet. When the Gadget Settings dialog box appears, drag over the cells containing the text for the code, click OK, and then clickApply & Close. The generated QR code will display in the gadget dialog box. You can drag the gadget dialog box–as you can all gadget dialog boxes–and place it anywhere on the spreadsheet. To see the options for working with any gadget, click the down arrow in the top corner of the gadget dialog box. The options for the QR Code gadget include using ‘Publish Gadget’ to obtain some code that you can use on your website to display the QR code. You can also use Print Screen on the code and then insert it into a document or other publication.

2. Make Your Own Custom Google Map

The Map gadget uses content from Google Maps to display the addresses you have entered as markers on the map.Pictures convey more information than words do, and a map offers the easiest way to show people where your office and other places of interest are located. The Map gadget lets you create a custom Google Map with pointers to the places you want to highlight, and it’s simple to use. To begin, type a list of addresses, one per row down a single column. If you want a tooltip to appear over the map location when someone hovers over the marker, type the text for this item in the cell to the right of the address. For example, to produce a map of local farmers’ markets, type each address in one cell and the name of the farmers’ market in the adjoining cell to the right. Choose Insert > Gadget >Maps, and click Add to Spreadsheet. Now select the range of cells containing your address and tooltip data, and then enter a title for the map in the Title box. If your data includes tooltips, select the Last Column as Tooltips checkbox, and then click theZoom Using Mouse Wheel checkbox. From the ‘Map type’ list, select the type of map–Normal is a good choice–and then click Apply & Close. The gadget dialog box will now show a map with the addresses plotted on it. As with the other gadgets, you can publish the Map gadget for use on your website to show your business locations or places of interest to your customers.

3. Create Quick and Easy Organization Charts

Organization charts are handy for describing how your business is set up, but they also work well for diagramming website designs and displaying any other data in a hierarchical arrangement. The Organization Chart gadget can create a hierarchical chart showing the design for your website or the management structure of your business.

4. Produce an Interactive Table

At its simplest, the Table gadget lets you filter data to see a subset of it.The Google Table gadget allows you to analyze data by creating a table that supports filtering, grouping, and even totaling. Insert the gadget by choosingInsert > Gadget > Tables > Add to spreadsheet. Select the range containing your data, including the heading row, and click OK. Click in the Title box and type a title for your tables. Select the checkboxes for Show Filters and Enable Grouping, and then click Apply & Close.To group the data by the contents of column A, for example, click the Define groupings and calculations link, select that column’s heading, and click the arrow to add it to ‘Group by Box’. Click Next, and select a column to calculate. To sum Profit, for instance, set the Profit entry to Total. You can apply calculations to multiple columns, if you desire, or to none at all if you just want to group the data.You’ll see a table appear in the gadget dialog box, with the headings over each column. Use the filter box at the top of each column to filter that column of data. Click OK, and the gadget will show you the grouped data, with any calculations appearing in the row above the appropriate group. You can collapse and expand the groups as necessary to see the values in the table.

5. Create a Gantt Chart From Project Data

The Gantt Chart gadget illustrates the tasks in a project and the time allotted for each of them.You can use a Gantt chart to display projects involving tasks that must be performed over time. To make this type of chart, you need three columns of data (with an optional fourth column). In the first column, place a list of the individual tasks in the overall project–the steps needed to create and publish an email newsletter, for example. In the second column, place the start date for each task; in the third column, insert the end date for the task. If you wish, you can add a fourth column containing the percentage completed for that task. To produce the Gantt chart, chooseInsert > Gadget > Charts. Locate the Gantt chart and click Add to spreadsheet. Select the data for the tasks, the start and end dates, and the completed percentage, and click OK. Set the Name column to the column containing the task names. Set the Start column, Finish column, and % Complete column to the column letters containing that data (typically columns B, C, and D), and click Apply & Close. The Gantt chart will present the tasks to be completed, their start and end dates, and the progress made toward their completion to date.

6. Plot Data as Colors on a Map

The Heatmap gadget shows relative values as colors on a map.You can plot data related to states or countries on a heat map, with small values indicated by light colors and larger values rendered in darker and more saturated colors. To plot the data correctly, you must use ISO country codes (or, for U.S. states, the usual two-letter state codes). Place the data to plot in the cell to the right of each relevant state or country. Choose Insert > Gadget > Map > Heatmap, and then click Add to spreadsheet. Select the data–including the locations and the data to plot, but not the column headings–and click OK. Type a title for the heatmap in the Title box, select the map type from the Region box (click USA to plot data on a United States map), and click Apply & Close. The map will appear with the regions colored appropriately for the value of the data associated with each.

7. Create an Animated Pie Chart

Drag on a pie slice in the animated pie chart to offset it from the chart itself.Interactive charts are more interesting to look at than static graphs. You can create animated pie charts in a Google spreadsheet using a gadget. For this chart, you need only the categories and one set of data, because pie charts can plot only a single data series. Insert the gadget by choosing Insert > Gadget > Charts. Locate the FusionCharts Pie & Donut Widget, and click Add to spreadsheet. Click in the Range box, select the data to plot–omitting the column headings–and click OK. Now select the chart type, such as Pie 3D. Type a caption and subcaption for the chart to inform the viewer as to the information the chart is intended to convey. Enable the Animate checkbox, and, if you prefer, enable Values On and Labels On to show both labels and values for each pie slice. If you enable Tooltips, the mouse pointer will show a tooltip if the user hovers the mouse over a given slice. Select Format Number and set Decimals to No Decimal so that numbers will be constrained in size. Enabling Shorten Values will ensure that the chart presents large values legibly. Click Apply & Close. When the chart appears, you can drag on a pie slice to explode it from the chart. Right-click the chart and click Enable Rotation so that you can then rotate the chart with your mouse. Gadgets such as these add a range of extra functions to Google spreadsheets, allowing you to do new things with your data and display it in ways that can help your business.

The first step in producing an organization chart is to create the data on which it will be based. In one column, type each employee’s name, or whatever other text should appear in each box in the chart. In each adjoining cell to the right, type the corresponding manager’s name, or whatever information you wish to display in the box at the next higher level in the chart. Don’t put any top-level information–such as the highest manager’s name or a website’s home page–in the first column, because they have nothing above them in the hierarchy. If you want two lines of text in a box, type one line and press Alt-Enter to start a second line. Confirm that the spelling of each name or box label is identical wherever you use it, or the chart won’t render correctly. If necessary, copy the contents of a cell rather than retyping it to make sure that each entry that should be identical–such as “home” in the example illustrated here–remains so. Now choose Insert > Gadget > Diagrams > Organization Chart, and click Add to spreadsheet. Select the cells in the two columns containing the data, and click OK. Type a title in the Title box, and click Apply & Close. The organization chart will appear in your spreadsheet.

June 15, 2012
Android Tablets Beating Out iPad in Business and IT: Report
Android Tablets Beating Out iPad in Business: Apple’s iPad may still be considered the king of tablets in many quarters, but new research data casts a shadow of doubt over how long that will continue. that will continue.
In fact, a full 44 percent of first-time tablet buyers in business and IT plan to purchase an Android Tablets in the upcoming 12 months, compared with just 27 percent planning to go with an iPad, according to a new study from IDG Connect (IDG Connect is part of IDG, which owns PCWorld.com). “The rise in tablet usage and increasing prevalence of BYOD is set to have a fundamental impact on IT and business over the next few years,” said Kathryn Cave, editor at IDG Connect, in a press release announcing the results. “These findings signify changes in work mobile consumption and market leadership in the tablet arena.”
Only Three Percent Opt for Windows 8 To conduct its research, IDG Connect recently surveyed 3,124 IT and business professionals around the globe. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they already own a tablet, and 51 percent of those reported having an iPad, IDG Connect reported.

Android Tablets Beating Out iPad in Business

For future purchases, though, Android was clearly the preferred choice, with 44 percent of respondents saying they’d choose a device that uses the Linux-based operating system. Only three percent of respondents said they’d opt for Windows 8, and 21 percent said they weren’t sure. Global Variations The research results are even more interesting when broken down geographically. In Africa, 44 percent indicated they’d choose an Android tablet, compared with only 21 percent planning to buy an iPad. Similarly, in Europe, 23 %of new buyers said they plan to buy an iPad, compared with a full 49 percent who have set their sights on an Android tablet. North America and Australia/New Zealand, interestingly, showed the lowest preference for Android tablets, only 30 percent of North American buyers and 35 percent of those in Australia/New Zealand choosing them over iPads.
June 15, 2012
Sony Debuts New Android 4.0 Xperia Miro and Tipo via Facebook Campaign

Japanese electronics maker Sony has announced two new smartphones, the Xperia Miro and Xperia Tipo ahead of schedule following a successful social media campaign. The new smartphones, which will run on Android 4.0, were launched 9 days early after Facebook users brought announcement date and timeforward by 20 seconds with each click they made on the Sony page. The two smartphones will be the first by Sony to run on Ice Cream Sandwich and will feature Facebook integration. Despite having a low-end 800MHz Qualcomm processor and 512MB of RAM, the Xperia Miro will also feature a 3.5 inch touchscreen,
a front-facing 5 megapixel camera, 4GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, MicroUSB and contactless DLNA connectivity to enable content to be shared and viewed on TVs, tablets and PCs. The Xperia Miro features Sony’s xLoud audio technology and also comes preloaded with the Music Unlimited app which has access to millions of music tracks on the Sony Entertainment Network for a monthly subscription fee. The Xperia Tipo is targeted at a slightly lower end of the market, featuring a 3.2 inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a 3.2 megapixel camera.

June 15, 2012
Why you can’t undo Facebook Timeline

Can’t Undo Facebook Timeline? Know Why

After 6th December, Facebook Timeline has completely transformed the shape of old FB profiles. Some users are finding the new layout pretty complicated and unfamiliar. Whether it may be new advanced privacy settings or the new profile design, Facebook new changes are always somewhat not unanimously accepted by the 800 Million registered users. The new Timeline design display all your posts in hierarchal way, giving more importance to your memorable posts, photos and events.
There appears to be no option which could remove timeline or undo the new profile design change so that you could revert back to the old profile layout. No method so far seems to work, neither disabling the timeline app is working. The Timeline App was a method by which you could set up timeline before its launch. There must be reasons behind absence of timeline Removal option. Lets analyze some facts.

Zukerberg Recently blogged about his commitment to Facebook community saying: Quote

I founded Facebook on the idea that people want to share and connect with people in their lives, but to do this everyone needs complete control over who they share with at all times.
This idea has been the core of Facebook since day one. When I built the first version of Facebook, almost nobody I knew wanted a public page on the internet. That seemed scary. But as long as they could make their page private, they felt safe sharing with their friends online. Control was key. With Facebook, for the first time, people had the tools they needed to do this. That’s how Facebook became the world’s biggest community online. We made it easy for people to feel comfortable sharing things about their real lives.
We’ve added many new tools since then: sharing photos, creating groups, commenting on and liking your friends’ posts and recently even listening to music or watching videos together. With each new tool, we’ve added new privacy controls to ensure that you continue to have complete control over who sees everything you share. Because of these tools and controls, most people share many more things today than they did a few years ago.
Overall, I think we have a good history of providing transparency and control over who can see your information.
That said, I’m the first to admit that we’ve made a bunch of mistakes. In particular, I think that a small number of high profile mistakes, like Beacon four years ago and poor execution as we transitioned our privacy model two years ago, have often overshadowed much of the good work we’ve done.

The highlighted words are where Mark himself accepts some of his past mistakes. Beacon was Facebook’s advertisement system that sent data from external websites to Facebook, for the purpose of allowing targeted ads and allowing users to share their activities with their friends. The controversial part was that Facebook was publishing User activities from other websites without explicit permission from the user. This was a complete violation of user privacy. All this was done without letting you know!
The purpose of sharing the Beacon story is to tell you that Facebook have often taken decisions without keeping user feedback greatly in mind. Now when the entire Layout was going to be transformed, no proper Feedback campaign was ran which could ask users about their likes and dislikes concerned with the new timeline Design. Yes they tested a beta version of timeline and allowed users to try timeline in advance but why not User Feedback again?
Mark promised on November with his blog post that user response will be given great importance but I never get it why the same mistake is repeated again?
Now lets know the reasons that why can’t your remove, undo or delete the timeline view.
1.To Prevent Algorithm Conflict
Things look simple when they look alike. In order to prevent development ambiguity/complexity, all layouts are given same design structure so that it becomes easy to organize the data using the same technique without the need of two different methods for the display and arrangement of the same data on Facebook servers.
2. To Prevent Psychological Confusion
If the option of removing Timeline existed then it would have given rise to great confusion in interface. Facebook users are of different age and are experimented to like simplicity in design and structure. If your friend is running a timeLine and you are running Old Profile, then of course you will find it difficult to understand the updates at his profile due to different organization of data. What is placed at your left is shifted to top and right on timeline. This can discourage users from using Facebook and then can probably look for an alternative simple social media network like Google+.
3. A Challenge to Google+
Google Plus is the new social networking website which was launched just this July by Google Inc. Almost all features in Google+ match that of Facebook accept the introduction of Sparks, Circles and video conferencing. In order to tell its users that Facebook offers much different social touch a step like this was important. I must inform you that Facebook knew about the Google+ development and all its features much before it was launched. Because keeping an eye on your competitor is an important principle of i-marketing.

What do you think?
In short it is hard to believe but once again the new look has been forced upon the users without keeping the community likes and dislikes in Mind. I would love to hear about what else can you share on this latest development and do tell me if you like the new layout or not. Please give reasons why you like it. Hope to see some comfortable new changes in FB’s new design. For the time being new creative tricks are been applied to Timeline Covers. Why not Create a Hot Cover for your Profile?

Peace and blessings pals!

June 14, 2012
Video & Text Tutorial on Facebook Video Calling

Facebook Video Calling: How To Set Up & Start a Video Call?Facebook has finally started filling up the missing blanks on their social network as an answer to Google Plus Project. Together with Skype, Facebook has launched its first ever Video Calling option on there website. Facebook Users can now not only chat but they can now see their loved ones smile, wink and say lol face to face! So far there are no latency issues and video calling loads faster and works without pauses or any other pros. You don’t need to install any software or application to make this function work. Below you will find some useful Facebook video calling tips.

How do I set up video calling?
To start a video call with a friend you will first need to complete a quick, one-time setup:

To call a friend, click the video icon at the top of your chat window.
Simply click the “Set Up” button and follow the easy instructions for how to set up video calling on your favorite browser.
Once installed successfully the video call will start automatically or you can ring back your friend by clicking the video call button at the top right corner of your friends profile

How do I start a video call with a friend?
After the one-time set up you are now ready to make your first call:

Visit your friend’s profile and click the “Call” button in the top right corner. You can also click the video icon at the top of the chat window.
When your friend answers, be patient and wait for sometime till both your web cams are inter connected.
If your friend is unavailable or offline, you can leave a video message. That’s indeed more like Yahoo’s Voice service.

For all these steps to correctly work you must make sure that both your webcam and microphone are connected to the right slots and are in a running condition. You can still use video calling even if you don’t have a webcam. You will be able to talk to and see your friend but your friend will be able to hear your voice only.

UPDATE: Though Facebook video calling is still a work under progress but you may find these tips useful in future. I will keep you updated with all the latest new few features.

June 14, 2012
Google Explains The Difference Between Google Plus, 1 Button & Search

Google+ is the most recent player in the social networking field. When it first came, we reckoned it was just another attempt by Google to counter Facebook’s increasing dominance, and that it will fail like other projects from Google in the past such as Google Buzz, Orkut etc. But now, it seems that it is obviously here to stay. Google+ is a lot more than just a social networking website. The +1 button isn’t just another Like button, as you will see later in this post. Google+ is a site where you can show your interests, have connections, and build an identity. It’s a friend of webmasters, who can achieve a lot more by using this simple social site. In a way, Google is trying to provide a coherent experience to the users by introducing all their products such as Google Search, GMail, Google News, etc. And Google+ could be the glue that holds everything together to provide an uninterrupted and ‘seamless Google experience’ to the users. In this post, we will talk about how important Google+ is, and why should you use the +1 button, and how it all helps webmasters.

Starting out with Google Plus
First of all, you need to have a presence on Google+ for it to be of any use to you. Read our post on how to join Google+. A public profile on Google Plus is very important. You can also create a separate Google+ page or your blog or brand, just like a Facebook Page. Google+ then gives you many features. Here is a video by Google’s Developer Programs Tech Lead, Maile Ohye, who summarizes the concepts explained in this post.

Intimacy; Create Circles, follow people, and Hang out!
Google introduced this great feature of Circles. Circles can come in real handy if you want to do targeted marketing. You can share your updates with any of your circles, and the people in the remaining circles won’t get those updates. This way, you can only share your personal updates with your family circle, and brand related updates to its respective circle. Also, you can set up more circles and target a specific audience, such as only men, or only women etc.

At Google+, you can follow anyone, just like Twitter. It doesn’t need confirmation. So if you would like to get updates from your favorite brand, you can simply follow them. On the other hand, if you don’t want someone to follow you, you can simply block them out!

Another great feature that inspired change in Facebook is the Hangouts feature. With this, up to ten people can start a conference video call and talk to each other.
Google+ Interaction
Google+ Interaction allows you to edit any of your posts at any time, kinda like a blog post. You can also edit your comments. Unlike a blog post, however, which is always pushed down as new posts arrive, your posts on Google+ will remain on the top depending on their popularity and the comments on them.
The +1 Button
The +1 Button is more than just a Like button you normally find on Facebook. With it, you can build your reputation. It helps you to publicly recommend and share content you find useful. Unlike the Like button on Facebook which is limited to Facebook itself, the +1 information for a content is available throughout the web on search results, ads and sites. Hence, it isn’t just confined to Google+, but it extends over to all Google products. Also, you can track and manage all your +1s, so that you can revoke them at any time if you don’t like them anymore.

The advantage of the +1 button is, you can +1 a post directly from search results. And if any of the people you know have +1’d a post, you will see it right below the search results. That way, if you +1 something, you’re indirectly recommending it to your followers.

With the +1 button, you can also get great metrics from Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools. The +1s data on your Webmaster Tools will help you better understand your audience by seeing what gender or age group +1’d your posts the most etc. You can also see the +1s for particular pages on your website, and the +1s that were gives for certain pages from other sites on the web.All this shows how you are building your reputation.
+1 Search Integration
We already talked about how you can +1 a search result right from the SERPs. But there is one thing you need to know. While searching for your results, Google takes your +1 history into account. For example, if I search for ‘earning methods’ and +1 our sister blog smartearningmethods.com, the next time I search for ‘earning methods’, SmartEarningMethods will come up in the top spots. Also, if any of my friends has +1’d another blog, that will come up too. Hence, getting +1s on your posts could prove very useful to you, since Google returns tailored results for each individual.

In search results, Google might also show who the author of a content is. This is where a profile comes in useful. If you have a profile linked to that content, Google might shows that as well, which increases your chances of getting followers.

Google+ can project your brand far beyond your own reach. Users who +1 your content are actually recommending your content to their own followers, who in turn might +1 the content, and so on. Hence, a network builds up with your content at its center. Facebook also has a somewhat similar feature, but the reason Google+ is ahead in this area is, Facebook’s shares are limited to Facebook only, where as the +1 button shows up on search results and is accessible throughout the web.

That was some basic information about Google+ and the +1 button you need to know. Google+ indeed is a a great new opportunity for you to grow your brand’s reach.

June 14, 2012
25 Best Free Themes for Windows 7

Windows 7 one of the most successful operating system from Microsoft so far. Using windows 7 on your personal computer or laptop gives a new experience to its users. There are many themes, widgets, layout option in this operating system which makes it different from other windows like 98, XP. Themes are the best way to enhance your screen layout and here we are going to share best and free themes for windows 7 which you must have to try on your PC or Laptop.

Antarctic

Download

Love Birds

Download

Surfing Theme

Download

Rio Movie

Download

Rango

Download

Ireland

Download

Waterdrops

Download

Small World

Download

Sailing

Download

Kang Fu Panda 2

Download

Harry Potter

Download

Mega Mind

Download

Halo Reach

Download

Bake House

Download

Girls Rock

Download

Snow Angel

Download

Surreal Territory

Download

Best of Bing 3

Download

Alan Wake

Download

Windows Live

Download

Snow Sport

Download

Fireworks

Download

Bunnies

Download

Lightning

Download

Nature Photograph

Download

June 13, 2012
10 Must Have Apps For Nokia 5800

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Nokia, the one of most popular and trusted mobile company. Nokia made wide range of mobile phones for every kind of user either the user is rich or belongs to middle class. Here recently Nokia launch Nokia 5800, a Symbian OS v9.4 based mobile phone with TFT resistive touchscreen. Nokia 5800 is a fully loaded features n work over both Wi-Fi and 3G connections. Nokia 5800 has an amazing feature of TV-Out, which makes it different from other segments by Nokia. Here are the 10 best applications from my personal view which I think makes its performance excellent from good. These apps are about your social network, Business, Security, Entertainment and as well as for students.

1.Nimbuzz

Nimbuzz is application for free calls and messaging using your different social media. You can use your Yahoo!, Windows Live/MSN, AIM, ICQ, Google Talk, Facebook, MySpace, Hyves and SIP (VoIP) accounts at a same time and can customize contacts list and tabs. In new version some changes, New chat style layout, Recent Calls tab, Real time call rates for cheap international calls with Nimbuzz Out, New profile style.
Download

2.MazeLock

MazeLock is the one of best security app for your phone from strangers. Just install and watch carefully the default unlock pattern. It is an innovative way to unlock your touch screen phone just set your own unlock pattern by connecting some of the nine white dots together. When you try to unlock your phone, you need to draw the same pattern exactly as you set.
Download

3.Moneycontrol-Markets on Mobile

Worried about your investments in market and enable to know information, here is the solution for you while using Nokia 5800.This application is powered by moneycontrol.com, India’s no.1 financial and business portal trusted by millions. Use the application to get real-time stock quotes, Indian and Global market Indices, manage and keep track of your investment portfolio, watch Live TV and get in-depth coverage & analysis of financial markets, economy and business.
Download

4.AroundMe

Stranger in a new area and want to find restaurants, banks, ATM, gas stations, and other local services while using Nokia 5800, here is the best app for you which not even tells you about places around you, also tells the maps, directions, routes, street view and read reviews about your destination.
Download

5.Mundu TV

Mundu TV is Television on your mobile. Mundu TV provides a rich TV viewing experience with network independence, subscription with unlimited usage. Now everyone with an Internet access will watch their favorite channels live. You can access Mundu TV over a GPRS , 3G or WiFi connection.
Download

6. Kaspersky Mobile Security

Kaspersky Mobile Security is the one of the best security app for Nokia mobile phones. Now don’t worry about your phone to lost or stolen with the Anti-Theft Locate. In case your device lost or stolen GPS Find will help you to locate your device. This app keeps your mobile life truly private you can hide or un-hide your contacts and communications history to others.
Download

7.Opera Mobile Web Browser

Opera Mobile Web Browser is one of the most popular and using web browser for mobile not even in Nokia it is used on all platforms, Android, Java and iPhones. It is fast, smooth, safe and makes surfing the Web on a mobile device like never before. In latest version the interface looks better with your device and gives Opera Mobile a sleek, modern appearance. Opera Mobile Web Browser comes ultimate when your device connected with WiFi or wireless broadband connection.
Download

8.AccuWeather.com WRT Widget

With this application you’ll have access to the current conditions and severe weather risk for the next 6 hours, rain and snow totals for the next 5 days, temperature and sky conditions for the next 15 hours, 10 days and nights of forecasts, daytime high wind speed and or satellite map centered on your location with 5 levels of zoom.
Download

9.Dictionary & Translation Pro

Dictionary & Translation Pro is an extremely simple app to use and all you really have to do is touch once to access a thesaurus, dictionary, and translation service all in one. You can get information for a variety of different languages including Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Hindu, Italian, and many others. There are over a million words that are located in the dictionary portion. You can simple Dictionary, and Translator with use of left and right buttons.
Download

10.Wikipedia Reader

Wikipedia Reader is an amazing app to read about every topic to related every field. Wikipedia Reader Widget for Symbian is a Web Runtime application that allows reading Wikipedia pages in a format appropriate for small screens. Wikipedia reader have bookmarks, history, collapsible sections and beta support for reading in all languages. It is a very useful app for students.
Download

June 13, 2012
10 Must Have Apps For Your Android Phone

Android is one of the most popular mobile operating system in the world by Google’s mobile operating system which has been growing exponentially since its launch in late 2008. Android is an open source mobile operating system and have number of useful apps which potentially increase the functionality of the device. Sometimes it becomes so hard to find such a useful apps. Here,I am going to share best Android Apps from my point of view, which you must have on your Android phone.

Real Player

RealPlayer has made its way to Android and can be a great thing. Real Player is a media player app for your Android Phone, plays Music , Videos , Show Photos. Real player also offers you to create your Playlists to arrange your songs according to your choice. You can sort your music according to the albums, play recently added music to the library. Real Player is not just a music player it also acts as photo editing app for photos you can zoom, crop, Slide show, Rotete and more from the same app.
Download

Photoshop Express

The Photoshop Express is one of the most popular photo editing app by Adobe. Photoshop Exprees allows you portable image editing option like crop, rotate, adjust color, and add special effects. Access all your photos form your mobile and quickly share with family and friends. PhotoShop Express contains the amazing effects, Soft Focus, and Sharpen, Borders and more in just a touch. Photoshop Express lets you access your entire online photo and video library directly from your Photoshop.com account. It is just like having thousands of photos and videos right in your pocket.
Download

Bubble Buster

Bubble Buster is a gaming app for your Android device. Bubble Buster is an entertaining app,helps one to pass your time for hours, where a challenging strategy to be implemented to advance to the levels. The distinct colored bubbles will keep coming from top of the screen, and the player should aim at the bubbles and tap to shoot with another similar colored bubble to clear the down pouring bubbles which clear the screen and also overflow. Bubble Buster has numerous levels, and once you finish with the present level, you will be able to notice an indicator for next level which can be downloaded.
Download

Tube Mate

Tube Mate lets Android Device users to Search Videos, Related Videos, Favorites and store them to SD card.Tube Mate is a Youtube video browser and download tool. Tube Mate lets you to download High Quality and High Definition videos to SD Card. TubeMate for Android features 480×270 for general devices.
Download

Skype

Now make Video Calls, Instant Messaging with one application from your Android Device. Skype has been developed in close conjunction with Google to enjoy IM and keep contact books up to date by syncing Skype contacts with the handset’s address book. When you first fire it up, you have the option of adding all your Skype contacts to your main address book and works over WiFi and 3G.
Download

eBuddy Messenger

eBuddy Messenger is almost all in one Instant Messenger App. It is works very quick with MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Google Talk, MySpace, and Hyves for instant Messenging. You can sort contacts by names, groups, or accounts and add a slew of alert bells and whistles and the feature offers page tabs for your buddy list, your open chats, and your accounts. eBuddy has a visually humorous, light exterior that comes complete with a little “eBuddy” buddy logo.
Download

Yahoo! Messenger

Yahoo is the one the populer social network and it possesses most of the ingredients necessary to make a great IM experience. With Yahoo Messenger for Android, stay in touch with your IM friends. Always know when you get a new message or friend request. Access your friends’ status and update your own availability. Check out your friends and add new ones. Chat with your Yahoo! Messenger and MSN/Windows Live friends. Send camera and gallery photos and express yourself with emoticons and receive pix from your IM friends.

Download

Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe is the gaming app for Android Device. Tic Tac Toe is the game is to get, horizontal, vertical or the diagonal cells marked with the same symbol. You can play TicTacToe against the mobile or your friends(1 Player or 2 Player) into 3×3 or 6×6 level mode with excellent graphics .
Download

Anti-Virus Free

Now protect you mobile from virus with Anti-Virus Free from AVG-Mobilation. Anti-Virus Free protect Android Phone from Viruses , ,malware & exploits in real-time. It’s easy-to-use virus protection, as well as a real-time scanner, backup assistant, phone locator, task killer, app locker and local device wipe. With Real Time Scanner, keeps you protected no meter how you download your apps or games or data via Bluetooth.
Download

Google Maps

>Google Maps for Android offers one of the best experiences you can get. Google Maps tells you how to get where you want to go by car, public transport, good old-fashioned shoe leather, and now, by bike. Voice-guided navigation takes you turn by turn, and voice search keeps your typing fingers fresh. Google Places feature is now integrated with Twitter, allowing users to share their opinion and other information about a specific location.
Download

June 13, 2012
10 Must Have Apps For Windows 7

Windows 7 is latest operating system from Microsoft and also without any doubt, a very successful operating system yet. It has many amazing features and have a big improvement with built application like Media player , Games , Internet Explorer and some other menu items. But here I would like to share with you some of the best must have applications for Windows 7 without which it is just like incomplete for the purpose for which it is designed.

1.Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is one of the most famous and used web browser application at the time and thousands of the people’s are using it as their default browser. Firefox have a lot of extensions which makes your internet accessing easy and better. The latest version of Firefox now available Mozilla Firefox 4.0 with a new look as compare to its old versions. In latest Firefox have features include tabbed browsing, spell checking, incremental find, live bookmarking, a download manager,private browsing, and more.
Download

2. AVG Anti-Virus 2011 Free Edition

AVG anti-virus is a most popular antivirus in market and also have a good response by users. It protects your computer from many kinds of viruses. It is a total security which can make the scans are faster, it does install more quickly, and some tweaks to the interface have made it easier to use. The big improvement in this edition is Link Scanner, E-Mail scanner , an Update Manager Anti-Rootkit and PC Analyzer to provide more protection and better performance of your pc.
Download

3. VLC Media Player

VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files and completes all your needs. You can play DVDs, VCD’s, Audio CD’s, web streams, TV cards and much more. It is a Simple, Powerful and Fast media player which Plays most codecs with no codec packs needed and all there for totally free.
Download

4. CCleaner

CCleaner is the most easy tool for cleaning your Windows PC. It protects your privacy online and makes your computer faster and more secure. It is very Easy to use and a small, fast download. CCleaner removes Temporary files, history, cookies, Auto complete from history, index.DAT, Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files from your PC and an advanced features to remove unused and old registry entries. In other words we can say it works as a sweeper for Internet Explorer , Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari and Windows.
Download

5. Internet Download Manager

Internet Download Manager is used to download any thing from any site. It shows on-screen download links, which makes your internet surfing easy and fast. You can make your downloading file Pause and Resume. You can also add a new URL to download manually.
Download

6. Winamp

Winamp is also another media player used widely after Windows Media Player. It is a free media player that plays mp3 and other audio files, syncs your iPod, subscribes to Podcasts and more. It have amazing in-built loaded equalizer setting which makes a good quality of sound for listeners. You can also download more skins and visualization effects and able to customize them.
Download

7.Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home or small business PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Microsoft Secure Essentials is a free and download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and is automatically updated to protect your PC with the latest technology. It runs quietly and efficiently in the background so that you are free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want without any interruptions or long computer wait times.
Download

8.CDBurnerXP

is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. Though it includes XP in name but works like a charm in Windows 7. It includes the feature to create and burn all kinds of discs,audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks,ISO files,bootable discs. It also provide the option for data verification after burning process. Not even this, it has multi-language interface and also available different operating systems such as Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista/2008/Win7 (x86 / x64).
Download

9.Digsby

Digsby is multi messenger which lets you to make instant messaging easy with various social network sites. It is an e-mail notification and social networking tool that lets you chat with all your friends on AIM, Facebook, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, and Jabber. You can manage you buddy list in simple way.You can Customize digsby with application skins to give it a personal look and feel and also manage your Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL/AIM Mail, IMAP, and POP accounts right from it.
Download

10. Photo Scape

If you have low system configuration and can’t run Photoshop then here is an alternative for it. Photo Scape is a great free photo editing software application which supports RAW, as well as all other major image formats from JPEG and PNG to animated GIF’s. It comes with rebuilt templates for users to create photo collages, fumetti, and Web comics, and has a standard set of red-eye removal, light/shadow, and contrast-editing features. You can also batch edit images, combine them, and print them out one at a time or several at once. All this for free and with a small use of memory .
Download

June 13, 2012
Samsung Galaxy S III: Everything You Need to Know

Here’s the scoop on what Samsung didn’t discuss at the launch party of the next hot Android phone.

Samsung Galaxy S IIIAfter all of the rumors and speculation, the Samsung Galaxy S III is finally here but you probably have a few questions about this new Android phone.
Samsung is the master of flash and flare at its press conferences, but we’re here to help you get to the nitty gritty of why you should care about this phone. The Galaxy S III will go on sale in Europe on May 23. No official word yet on a U.S. launch, but it could come this summer.

Can the S III Really Follow Your Every Move?

The Samsung S III really wants to be your new best friend–your new psychic best friend. According to Samsung’s somewhat creepy commercial (shown below), the S III “follows your every move.” Scared yet?
http://www.youtube.com/embed/_JkkkdH6zTQ
In reality, the Samsung S III can do things like predict when you want the screen awake by using the front-facing camera to monitor your eyes. If you’re watching a movie on your phone and happen to fall asleep, the phone’s display will turn off.
The S III also has a feature called S Voice, which is a customized voice-recognition system. Hmm, sound familiar? Like Apple’s Siri, S Voice can recognize a variety of commands. For example, you can say “snooze” when your alarm goes off and buy yourself a little more sleeping time. You can also say “direct call” and ring somebody while you’re in the middle of a text. You can also control the volume of your music, organize your calendar, and launch the camera via voice commands.
However, there’s no word, so far, on whether S Voice works with third-party applications. S Voice works with eight different languages, including British English and American English. A few of my friends from across the pond have complained about Siri’s difficulty in understanding them so I guess this is good news there.

Is It Quad-Core Powered?

Samsung confirmed before today’s announcement that the Galaxy S III phones will be powered by the company’s own quad-core 1.4GHz Exynos 4 Quad processor. Oddly, however, the processor specs were not in the press materials we received today. I have a suspicion that the Samsung quad-core processor is not compatible with U.S. LTE networks. If true, we might see a different processor on the S III phones in the United States. Samsung would not comment on what sort of processor the U.S. versions will have when I asked.
HTC pulled a similar trick with the One X. The global version runs on an NVidia Tegra 3 processor, while the U.S. phone uses a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor. NVidia’s quad-core processor was not yet compatible with AT&T’s LTE network at the time of the One X’s manufacture. In our benchmarks, however, the U.S. version of the One X did quite well despite having fewer cores.

When Will the S III Come to the United States?

According to our sources at Samsung, the 4G (HSPA+/LTE) versions of the S III will come to North America this summer. Samsung said it will optimize the phones for the LTE and HSPA+ networks. Timing, pricing, or carrier partners have not yet been announced.

What is the Deal with the New Sharing Apps?

Samsung made a big deal about the ease of sharing from the S III, but from what I can tell, it looks like you can only share from your S III to another. Samsung has enhanced Android Beam, which allows large files to be transferred between phones quickly. Now called S Beam, you can share music, photos, and up to 1GB of video from your S III to your buddy’s S III.
To help you understand, here’s how Android Beam works on the Galaxy Nexus.
Samsung also enhanced its DLNA service for sharing content from your phone to your TV. AllShare Cast lets you wirelessly connect your Galaxy S III to your TV, tablet, or PC and share files over WiFi. However, you’ll have to buy the separate All Cast Hub accessory in order to use this feature (see the Accessories question below)

What is an HD Super AMOLED display?

The 3.4-inch-thick S III has a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a 1280-pixel by 720-pixel resolution. This is the same display technology we saw on the Galaxy Nexus. The Galaxy S II had Super AMOLED Plus, which is actually based on a PenTile pixel structure in which pixels share subpixels.
The Galaxy S II phones, on the other hand, have full RGB displays in which the pixels have their own subpixels. This means that HD Super AMOLED displays have lower overall subpixel density, which could translate to reduced sharpness and degraded color accuracy.
When we compared the Galaxy Nexus to the Galaxy S II, however, we didn’t notice a huge difference in display quality. The only quality different we detected was color accuracy, especially with whites (they appeared to have a yellowish tint). I have yet to see the Galaxy SIII up close and personal, so I’m not sure if it suffers from this same issue
One cool thing is that despite the Galaxy S III having a larger display than its predecessor (4.8 inches versus 4.3/4.5 inches), it isn’t much bigger. There’s very little bezel around the phone as the display takes full advantage of the hardware real estate.

Will Battery Life Really Improve?

Battery life is the bane of every tech user. Samsung claims that it won’t be an issue with the S III as it has a larger 2100mAh battery. For comparison, the Galaxy S II has a 1560mAh battery, while the Galaxy Nexus has a 1750mAh battery. The granddaddy of phones with long battery life, the Droid Razr Maxx, has a 3300mAH battery.
I fear that Samsung’s all-seeing front-facing camera might put a strain on the battery life, however. Also, phone manufacturers still haven’t worked out all the kinks with battery conservation on LTE networks. Battery life will depend on what sort of processor Samsung is packing into its S III phones for the United States and, as we’ve learned, this is still very much up in the air.

Is the Camera Any Good?

The Samsung Galaxy phones have always performed quite well in our PCWorld Test Center camera subjective tests. While I haven’t personally gotten my hands on the Galaxy S III’s 8-megapixel camera, I can tell you a little bit about its new features.
According to Samsung, the Galaxy S III will have zero shutter lag. The company also claims that the camera will start in “less than one second.” The S III will also have a burst-shot mode, a feature we saw on HTC’s One phones.
The S III camera also will have a feature called “Best Photo,” which will automatically select your best photos out of a series of eight photos taken in succession. But do you really want your phone to be your photo assistant?

What About Accessories?

Samsung Galaxy Note S PenSamsung announced a slew of accessories, including a C Pen stylus (which seems pretty similar to the S Pen on the Galaxy Note), an AllShare Cast Hub for wireless streaming, a docking station for your desk, a wireless charger, a car kit, and an HDMI adapter.
Samsung also announced the S Pebble “music companion” MP3 player. Why does this accessory look so familiar? Oh yes, in 2009, I reviewed the Samsung Pebble MP3 player which looks strikingly similar to the S Pebble.

Is the Galaxy Nexus Outdated Now?

Samsung Galaxy NexusNo, relax. It might not have as many cores as the S III, and the display might be a little smaller, but don’t feel bad if you just walked out of the store with a brand new Galaxy Nexus. Your Galaxy Nexus is still an excellent, current phone and offers something the Galaxy S III does not: A pure, untouched Android experience.
Have more questions? Sound off in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer them for you.

June 13, 2012
Run XP Software in Windows 7
SIUC asked the Windows forum about running software intended for Windows XP in Windows 7.
For the most part, it should just work. I’ve rarely run into programs that run fine in XP but have trouble in Windows 7.
But if you’ve run into one of those rare programs, try running it in XP Compatibility Mode:
1. Right click the .exe file or the shortcut and select Properties.
2. Click the Compatibility tab.
3. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for and select an appropriate option.
If this doesn’t work, there’s another work-around: XP Mode. (And yes, I know it’s silly that the two solutions are called XP Compatibility Mode and XP Mode.) Unfortunately, this option is only available for Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate editions.
You’ll need to download and install Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC (be patient; it’s a big download).
Once you’re finished, you’ll be able to actually run XP inside a virtual machine in Windows 7. It’s not as smooth as simply running the programs in Windows 7–you’re in an entirely different environment. Even the hard drive that XP boots from and runs off of is a virtual one.
But you won’t be entirely cut-off from Windows 7. You will be able to access the real hard drive from within XP, and both versions of Windows will share the same clipboard.
June 13, 2012
How to Install Windows 7 Without the Disc
Here’s how to legally download Windows 7 and make your own install disc.

Many computers ship without Windows 7 installation discs. Instead they come with “recovery” discs and/or partitions that claim to restore your PC to its “factory fresh” state, but include a ton of bloatware (free trials, media players, useless utilities, and the like) along with Windows. Removing each piece of bloat is time-consuming, and just not the same as truly starting fresh.

In this article, you’ll learn how to make your own Windows 7 installation disc (or USB flash drive) and use the valid product key you already have to perform a fresh reinstallation. The following method is effective and legal, and doesn’t require a lot of technical expertise
However, we don’t recommend that you delete your recovery partition or throw away your existing recovery discs. Although many people have had success with the following procedure, others have not. Some users have not been able to activate their copy of Windows even after entering a valid product key, while others own PCs that require software not included in a Windows 7 ISO. You have no way to know whether this procedure will work for you until you try, and you need a backup plan in case it doesn’t.
Also, save your files and drivers to external media before you start. Reinstalling Windows wipes out all personal data and causes a loss of functionality in devices for which Windows lacks an adequate built-in driver. Plan on loading the latest device drivers from media you create before reinstalling Windows.

Reinstalling Windows 7, Step by Step

1. Find your Windows 7 product key: Typically this 25-character alphanumeric string is printed on a sticker affixed to your PC or on documentation included with your PC. Alternatively, you can use a keyfinder program such as Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder to pull your product key from the Registry. You need your product key to reinstall Windows.
Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder helps you round up your serial numbers.
2. Download the ISO file for the version of Windows 7 you own:
The above links point to Digital River, a licensed distributor of Microsoft software. These downloads are each over 3GB, and your product key will work only with your edition of Windows, so make sure to select the right one.
3. Download the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool. This utility lets you copy your Windows 7 ISO file to a DVD or USB flash drive. Whether you choose DVD or USB makes no difference; just confirm that your PC can boot to the media type you select.
4. Boot your computer using the Windows 7 DVD or USB flash drive. Follow the prompts to prepare the destination hard drive and install Windows.
June 13, 2012
Try Windows 8 Without Losing Windows 7
Anderson7 asked the Windows forum for the safest way to install Windows 8 on a system already running Windows 7.
I wrote my opinion of Windows 8 last month. Many readers voiced their own, differing opinions. You can make up your own mind by installing the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
But you shouldn’t replace your current OS with one that’s not yet ready to be sold commercially. You want to install Windows 8 in a way that leaves Windows 7 unharmed.

That’s why I recommend installing it in a virtual machine (VM). Virtual machine software imitates an actual, physical computer, onto which you can install another operating system. This is by far the easiest and safest way to try out an operating system.
I recommend Oracle VM VirtualBox for creating and running your Windows 8 VM. It’s free, open-source, powerful, and it already supports Windows 8. (It’s main free competitor, VMWare Player, doesn’t support Windows 8 as I write this.)
You’ll also need to download the .iso file version of the Windows 8 preview. This page contains both 32- and 64-bit editions; unlike previous Windows versions, you can’t install the 32-bit version on 64-bit hardware (at least I couldn’t). You’ll also find the product key here; you’ll need that during installation.
Once everything is downloaded and you’ve installed VirtualBox, follow these directions:
1. Load VirtualBox, the click the New icon in the upper-left corner.
2. This starts a wizard. Click Next.
3. On the “VM Name and OS Type” page, enter a name that includes the phrase windows 8. Otherwise, “Windows 8” won’t show up as a Version option.
4. Stick to defaults for the result of the wizard, even when asked if you want to “Create new hard disk.” Don’t worry, it’s just a virtual disk.
5. When the Wizard finishes and closes, double-click the new virtual machine.
6. Read the message about the Auto capture keyboard, then click OK.
7. The First Run Wizard will start. When you’re asked for Installation Media, click the folder icon on the right and select your downloaded .iso file.
8. The installation will begin after you click Start.
9. When asked for a type of installation, select Custom. Don’t worry about overwriting files. The only hard drive the installation sees is the empty, virtual one.
When you’re done, you’ll be able to run Windows 8 inside Windows 7.
June 13, 2012
Apple’s Facebook Integration Will Help Both Companies, Analysts Say

Apple announcement that it’s integrating Facebook into its operating system software should be welcome news for a social network that’s taken a lot of hits in recent weeks.
“Facebook is a company that could use some good news or could, at the very least, use a break from the seemingly non-stop drumbeat of dismal press,” said Dan Olds, an analyst at Gabriel Consulting Group. “This isn’t going to be any sort of miracle for Facebook, but it is a nice feature. And it’s [a change from] the ‘Facebook Cavalcade of Crappy News’ headlines.”

Apple announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference this week that Facebook will be integrated into the iOS software that runs the iPhone and iPad, as well as into the latest OS X version, code-named Mountain Lion.
Apple said the integration of Facebook into its operating systems will enable users to easily and seamlessly post photos, videos and updates to their Facebook accounts. The updates will let users update their Facebook status by talking to their phones, Apple added.
The integration puts Facebook at the fingertips of Apple device users without having to use the social network’s own apps, which many experts call mediocre at best.
While Apple’s move doesn’t offer an answer to Facebook’s problem of figuring out how to make money from mobile users, it may increase the time that millions of users spend on the site when they are on the go.
“Apple caters to the masses and Facebook is the social media hub for the masses,” said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy.
“This sounds positive for Facebook, which needs any kind of win. This will undoubtedly increase Facebook interaction but it still doesn’t address the mobile monetization issue. And until Facebook figures this out, not much else matters,” he added.
As for Apple, offering integration with a wildly popular social network is a good way to keep users from drifting to other platforms, noted Rob Enderle, an analyst at the Enderle Group.
“In general, this is a nice feature which should help prevent customer moves to Android or Windows Phone,” he added. “It showcases their increased advantage in speech in what is a speech optimized device and perhaps anticipates the long-rumored smaller iPhone, where text entry would be more difficult.”
Olds agreed that the integration is as good for Apple as it is for Facebook.

“There are almost a billion Facebook users. That’s a big, big number, even for Apple,” Olds said. “Down the road, there might be a mechanism where Facebook users can buy and view Apple content via the Facebook interface with friends. So there’s a lot of potential synergy here.”
He added that it’s wise not to forget the adage, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
“Both companies are arrayed against Google on several fronts,” said Olds. “A combined effort, or at least a loose relationship, helps both.”

June 13, 2012
Huawei E303 Firmware Software Update.21.157.31.00.850 – Download
Huawei E303 Firmware software can be used to update the firmware of your Huawei E303 USB Modem, including Glo Bolt and MTN E303 Modems. Together with the Universal Master Code Calculator tool, Huawei E303 Firmware may be required to unlock stubborn E303 Glo Bolt modems.

Huawei E303 Firmware installation wizard

File Info
- File Name: E303 Firmware S Update.21.157.31.00.850
- File Type: WinRAR ZIP archive (.zip)
- File Size: 10.1 MB (10,694,218 bytes)
Download E303 Firmware S Update Now
June 12, 2012
15 Best Skins For Windows Media Player

Windows is the one of the widely used operating system world wide due its most easy interface and wide range of features. It doing grate jobs in almost every field, either in development, security or social media and of course in entertainment. When we thought about entertainment Windows Media Player is at first number. Media Player is a proprietary digital media player and media library application developed by Microsoft that is used for playing audio, video and viewing images on personal computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system, as well as on Pocket PC and Windows Mobile-based devices. There are many versions available for it but we will discuss about the Windows Media Player 11 and Windows Media Player 12.
Windows Media Player 11 and 12 have the many changes in features such as Instant Search, Cd Burning, Global Status, Support for ripping audio CDs to WAV and WMA 10 Pro formats (MPEG-4 Part 2 video formats, AAC audio and 3GP, MP4 and MOV container formats in 12th version) and much more from its earlier version. Now if you get bore from a same look window from a long time here are the best skins for Windows Media Player while using in Windows7 or earlier versions of windows.

1.Sony Xplod

Download

2.Batman Begins

Download

3.Into One EMERALD

Download

4.WM Tab

Download

5.Ultimate Simple

Download

6.Sleek

Download

7.Papo fandangos

Download

8.STS Control

Download

9.Official DVD Profiler Skin

Download

10.Neon

Download

11.Alienware Invader

Download

12.L.C.D. 2.0

Download

13.OSX Media Player

Download

14.Xbox

Download

15.T3D WMP Skin

Download

June 12, 2012
How to Reset Your Windows Password

Here’s our guide to resetting your Windows password if you don’t have access to a previously created password-reset disk.

The easiest way to reset a forgotten Windows password is to use a previously created password-reset disk. You can create such a disk (on USB removable media or a floppy) within the Windows User Accounts menu by opening the Windows Control Panel, selecting User Accounts, and clicking Create a password reset disk in the left pane. You should take this step with a new PC; once you have the disk, you can insert it when starting the PC to cause Windows to display the ‘Reset password’ option at the login screen, allowing you to regain access to your system.

However, if you don’t have a password-reset disk and you need to reset your Windows password, I suggest using the following Sticky Keys trick.

Reset Your Windows Password Using the Command Prompt

1. Boot your computer using your Windows installation disc.
2. Wait for the setup files to load, and select your language. Click Next.
3. Click the Repair your computer link on the Install Windows screen.
4. Select the operating system to repair, and note the drive letter on which the OS is installed (it is probably C: or D:). Click Next.
5. Click Command Prompt at the bottom of the list of recovery tools.
Now you need to overwrite the Sticky Keys executable with the Command Prompt executable. Sticky Keys is an accessibility feature that allows a user to tap the Shift, Ctrl, Alt, or Windows key once to achieve the same effect as holding the key down. Ordinarily, tapping Shift five times activates Sticky Keys–but with this trick, you are going to make tapping Shift five times activate the Windows Command Prompt instead.
The instructions below use drive letter C: as an example. If your operating system is installed on another drive, replace C: with the appropriate drive letter.
1. In the Command Prompt window, type copy c:windowssystem32sethc.exe c: and press Enter.
2. Type copy /y c:windowssystem32cmd.exe c:windowssystem32sethc.exe and press Enter.
3. Exit the Command Prompt and reboot the computer. At the login screen, tap Shift five times. The Command Prompt will pop up.
4. Type net user username password, replacing username with your username and password with a new password.
5. Exit the Command Prompt, and log in using your new password.
To prevent another user from exploiting the same trick to reset your password, you can restore Sticky Keys as follows:
1. Step through the instructions above to boot the PC using your Windows installation disc, open the recovery tools, and launch the Command Prompt.
2. Type copy /y c:sethc.exe c:windowssystem32sethc.exe and press Enter.
3. Exit the Command Prompt and reboot the computer. Pressing Shift five times will now activate Sticky Keys instead of the Command Prompt. Store your Windows installation disc in a secure location.
Caution: Resetting a password using the Sticky Keys trick means you will lose access to encrypted files, encrypted email messages, and stored passwords for Internet Explorer and network resources. Remember to back up your important data regularly.

June 12, 2012