Addoii

Unblock Malaysia Blocked File Sharing Site

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Due to blocking 10 file sharing sites, Malaysia government had been warned by a group of hacker known as Anonymous. The hackers warned Malaysia government that they will hack http://www.malaysia.gov.my 7.30pm GMT on Wednesday (3.30am Thursday Malaysian time) and has named it “Operation Malaysia“.

Every problem has it’s solution. Currently Streamyx users are not allowed to visit all this 10 blocked sites. How to unblock blocked file sharing site? I came through this image on Facebook and it’s the tutorial to surf the unblock sites.

Tutorial to unblock:

Changing DNS server settings on Microsoft Windows 7

Go the Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, and click Change adapter settings.
Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
- To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties.
- To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and click Properties.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then click Properties.
Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
Click OK.
Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server or Alternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
Click ‘OK’ and ‘OK’ again.

How to join a file using HJSplit

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 15:33:00 +0000

Download HJSplit here: http://hjsplit.en.softonic.com/

With HJSplit you can not only split files, but also join the split parts back together again.

Information: a collection of split parts is set of files having all the same filename, exept for the extension at the end of the file name (.001, .002, .003, etc.) . Combining/joining these split parts is equivalent to restoring the original (pre-split) file.

After clicking on the 'Join' button in the main HJSplit screen, you will see the following screen:

To join a set of files, just perform the steps indicated below.

(1) Make sure the set of split parts (set of files ending in .001, .002, .003, etc.) to be joined all reside inside the same directory.

(2) click on the button 'Input file', in the screen directly above, which will open the dialog shown directly below:

(3) In this dialog, select the file you want to join. Then press the 'Open' button.

Information: please note that only the first file in the set of split parts (the .001 file) is visible in this dialog. Note that it is important that all split parts are in the same folder. When the other files which belong to the set of split parts (.002, .003, .004, etc.) are in the same folder, HJSplit will automatically find them during joining.

After pressing 'Open', the name and path of the file you just selected will appear in the 'input file' box, please see below:

(4) Press the 'start' button in the screen above. HJSplit now shows a progressbar with the title 'working'.

(5) Finally,you will see the message that joining is completed (see below).

That the joined file can now be found in the same folder as the split part (the .001 file you selected in step 2).

Sofware for Streaming

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:00:00 +0000

This is where you will find links, news and reviews on all the latest P2P software, media applications, radio stations and any other useful medium designed to make watching or listening to live football easier!

P2P Software & Applications

SOPCAST
SopCast is a simple, free way to broadcast video and audio or watch the video and listen to radio on the Internet. Adopting P2P(Peer-to-Peer) technology, It is very efficient and easy to use. Let anyone become a broadcaster without the costs of a powerful server and vast bandwidth. You can build your own TV stations comparable with large commercial sites with minimal resources. Using SopCast, you can serve 10,000 online users with a personal computer and a home broadband connection.

SoP is the abbreviation for Streaming over P2P. Sopcast is a Streaming Direct Broadcasting System based on P2P. The core is the communication protocol produced by Sopcast Team, which is named sop://, or Sop technology.
SOPCAST.COM - DOWNLOADS PAGE

TVU PLAYER
TVU networks offers a free global live TV service that you can watch on your Windows PC over a broadband Internet connection. This service is dedicated to bringing you TV that you can't get from cable or satellite, such as news and sports from around the world.

The TVU service is accessed with a free downloadable Windows application, the TVUPlayer, which is available here. The TVU service, accessed via its free TVUPlayer application, has been downloaded 12 million times by viewers in over 200 countries.

TVU uses a new broadcast technology called Real-Time Packet Replication. With this technology, all the viewers who are watching a channel at the same time are cooperating to give everyone the best possible signal. TVU's application does not create any new files on your hard disk because you're watching live TV.

Unlike typical Internet video broadcasts that use the older streaming technology, TVU's broadcasters do not need to dedicate more bandwidth for each additional user. This allows broadcasters to reach very large numbers of viewers at low cost. Because TVU can have an unlimited number of channels, TVU offers broadcasters opportunities denied to them by cable and satellite systems. Local broadcasters become global broadcasters; new channels can find a broadcast slot; and bigger broadcasters can create new channels to showcase content that they own but don't have space to broadcast on their existing channels.

Most exciting of all, viewers can become broadcasters using TVU networks' free Broadcast application. This application, combined with a standard-grade PC and a typical broadband Internet connection, allows anybody to become a broadcaster. This basic set-up allows any number of viewers world-wide to watch your channel.
TVUNETWORKS.COM - DOWNLOAD

TVANTS
TVAnts is one of the pioneers in P2P streaming industry. TVAnts has a vast array of channels on offer from sports to music and education; from ESPN to Discovery channel. The only disadvantage of TVAnts is the advertisements it displays during loading and also the long buffering time. On the plus side, the picture quality is good compared to some of the other software.
TVANTS.COM - DOWNLOAD

ZATTOO
Zattoo has developed a software program that allows you to watch TV on your computer. All you need is a broadband connection and a current operating system (Windows XP or Vista, Mac OS X, or Linux).

To watch live TV on your PC, simply download the Zattoo Player, register, and get channel-surfing! If you run into any problems, take a look at our FAQ section.
Where can I use Zattoo?
Zattoo is currently available in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK. We’ll be launching in new countries and continents soon, so check back frequently.
ZATTOO.COM - DOWNLOAD

Web Based Services

Justin.tv is the leader in live video, and the place to broadcast and share video online. Our community consists of over 1 million registered users, and the site receives millions of unique visitors per month and hundreds of millions of pageviews per month.

The Justin.tv live video network is powered by Python Media Server - a custom built live streaming video server cluster. The network is 100% owned and operated by Justin.tv and scales to new heights weekly.

The Justin.tv chat system is powered by the Twisted Chat Server - a custom built chat server that implements a variety of filtering and moderation techniques and relays well over a million messages a day.
GO TO JUSTIN.TV

Mogulus is the most powerful live broadcast platform on the internet.

Producers can use the Mogulus browser-based Studio application to create LIVE, scheduled and on-demand internet television to broadcast anywhere on the web through a single player widget.

Our service comes in two flavors Free (ad-supported) and Pro (white-label, no-ads, pay for usage).

Unique features include the ability to mix multiple live cameras, imported videos clips, and overlay graphics.

With Mogulus, producers can broadcast live from a mobile phone; use a customizable flash player with integrated chat; and develop a branded channel page on Mogulus.com that incorporates interactive chat.
GO TO MOGULUS.COM

Ustream.TV is the live interactive video broadcast platform that enables anyone with a camera and an Internet connection to quickly and easily broadcast to a global audience of unlimited size. In less than two minutes, anyone can become a broadcaster by creating their own channel on Ustream or by broadcasting through their own site, empowering them to engage with their audience and further build their brand. Click here to start a broadcast now or learn more about broadcasting.

Ustream's one-to-many live interactive video encourages broadcast-to-viewer and viewer-to-viewer interaction, empowering a much more engaging experience for everyone involved.
GO TO USTREAM.COM

Watch Live Television Online For FREE

TVCatchup is a new service which lets you watch live television online. There are currently 15 channels to choose from, it's totally legal and absolutely free!

So whether you are at uni, on holiday, travelling with work, away from home or are just too darn lazy to move away from your PC, join the revolution and start watching television with TVCatchup today!
GO TO TV CATCHUP

VEETLE

Veetle is a Silicon Valley startup seeking to give the power of high quality video broadcasting back to the people. On Veetle, you can watch video broadcast in TV and HD quality. What's more, you can broadcast your own content in high quality too!

It's always been the case that high-end video broadcasting can be done only by a few big media companies. Now, with Veetle, that power is in your hands. As long as you provide us with a good video source, we can broadcast it in high quality. Well, if you give us the video shot using your cell phone, we'll still broadcast it. But don't blame us if it's not in HD :)
GO TO VEETLE

Media Players

VLC PLAYER
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, ogg, ...) as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
It can also be used as a server to stream in unicast or multicast in IPv4 or IPv6 on a high-bandwidth network.
It doesn't need any external codec or program to work.
VIDEOLAN.ORG - DOWNLOAD

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER - MICROSOFT.COM - DOWNLOAD

QUICKTIME - APPLE.COM - DOWNLOAD

REALPLAYER - REAL.COM - DOWNLOAD

Funny words in the computer world

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:14:00 +0000

There are some funny words in the computer world. A brouter is a network bridge and a router combined in a single product. A glyph is a graphic symbol that provides the appearance or form for an alphabetic or numeric font. (“Glyph” is from a Greek word for “carving.”) A moof monster is a vague and indefinable source of trouble for users of information technology. A jughead is a tool used by researchers for searching information on gopher sites. Not gopher the squirrel but the old information retrieval system called Gopher, predecessor to the World Wide Web.

A kludge (pronounced kloodzh) is an awkward or clumsy (but at least temporarily effective) solution to a programming or hardware design or implementation problem. A Flying Ice Cube is what lives inside computers of scientists trying to simulate molecules. At the office, a Boss Key is the key you hit to quickly hide something when you see your boss or uninvited coworker approaching.

Although two of the most famous names in the computer world – the Internet world, more precisely – are now plainly familiar they did sound funny in their early days. Yahoo once was a word used to express delight [e.g. Yahoo! I've done it!] the dictionary defines yahoo as “not very intelligent or interested in culture,” and “one of a race of brutes resembling men but subject to the Houyhnhnms in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels 1726; rude, unsophisticated, uncouth.” David Filo and Jerry Young apparently liked the definition of a yahoo and, in April 1994, used it to rename the Internet service their founded four months earlier as “David’s and Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” They added the exclamation mark after the name and explained it’s backronym to be “Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle.”

Sean Anderson, on the other hand, had numbers instead of words in mind when he suggested another name for Larry Page and Sergey Brin’s BackRub search engine (written in 1996 in the java and python computer languages). In 1997, Sean suggested googolplex, after the mathematical unit that refers to extremely large numbers, but Larry decided on the shortened form: googol. According to David Koller of the Stanford University, Sean misspelled the word as “google.” The rest is history of extremely large numbers.

The term googol was first mentioned in 1938 by Edward Kasner and referred to in the book Mathematics and the Imagination that he co-published with James Newman in 1940. Googol was coined by Kasner’s 8-year-old nephew, Milton Sirotta, as a reply to what name he would give to a really large number. It sounded kinda funny until we started googling ourselves and other things.

Fictional languages:

Many of new computer words were created for or originated in the fictional languages in sci-fi movies and video games, some which sprung complete new languages such as Klingon (Star Trek), D’ni (Myst and Riven) and Simlish (The Sims). Perhaps distant beings will be googling themselves soon too.

More computer funnies:

DEFINITION: Computer – A device designed to speed and automate errors.
All computers wait at the same speed.
Error: Keyboard not attached. Press F1 to continue.
Press any key to continue or any other key to quit.
Press any key… no, no, no, NOT THAT ONE!
KEYBOARD: An instrument used for entering errors into a system.
HARDWARE: The parts of a computer which can be kicked.
PCMCIA: People Can’t Memorize Computer Industry Acronyms.
ISDN: It Still Does Nothing.
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI!
To err is human; to really mess things up you need a computer.

See: Funny words in the computer world

How to Stop Megavideo Time Limit

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 07:42:00 +0000

Q1. Megavideo Movies stop at the middle of the movie, how can I watch movies full length ?Well, there are several methods of removing the Megavideo limit, try them and choose the one that works for you.
NEW Method to stop Megavideo time limit

First, clear your browsers and cookies. Then, If your using Firefox, Go to: Tools > Options and click "Exceptions" and block "megavideo.com" & "www.megavideo.com" (without quotes)

First Method to Download Videos from Megavideo:
Install the popular firefox extension called Downloadhelper. It is able to download any streaming content running in your firefox browser, so you can easily download videos from ANY video streaming sites with a single click. I personally use this method for downloading megavideo videos and it hasnâ€™t let me down so far. It is simple to use and you can find all instructions at their FAQ page. If you are not able to understand their FAQ to learn how to use the extension, then no worries, I will give you a short step-by-step manual to download videos from megavideo.1. Install Extension.2. You will notice a small icon ( [Image]) in the top right hand side of your browser window. If it is not there then right-click on the toolbar and click customize. You will certainly see the downloadhelper icon there. Just drag it where you want it to be on your toolbar.3. Now, whenever you are on a site with streaming content, the downloadhelper button will animate and become coloured. Just click on the button and you will see the link to the different streaming files. Most likely there will only be one file when surfing sites likes megavideo, youtube, dailymotion, etc. Just click the play button (pause the movie) click on the icon, and the and the download will begin (megavideo_I_am_watchinhg_it.flv).4. You will need a FLV Player to play the file. Download the FLV Player HERE

Second Method:This one is good for People that do not use Firefox.1. Download This Program and install: CLICK HERE2. Place the megavideo URL and download the file.3. You can now watch the video, the best chose is to open it with your DIVX player!

Third Method:1. Download Illimitux 3.0 and install it: Click Here Only for FIREFOX!
2. Click The movie you want to see, a message will appear on bottom.
3. You will be redirected to Illimitux, where you can watch it full screen without limitation.

Fourth Method:If you have dsl internet and your provider assigns you dynamic IP (DHCP). Most people have it. Just watch the movie like you normally do. When the message pops up, open your router web page in another window (type in your internal ip adress - something like 194.167.3.1). Then go to 'Status', click disconnect, your router will automatically reconnect (if not - click connect), you'll get another IP. The whole thing takes about 5 seconds, really easy. Then just refresh the megavideo page with your movie and continue watching from where you left. It's probably the easiest and quickest solution.

Fifth Method:Another option is to use a Hide IP program. The first 14 days are free (try and than buy), after 14 days you can acquire the product for a small fee (29.99$ for a LIFETIME). With Hide IP you can change your IP whenever you want. Every time the Time Limit pop ups, just change your IP and keep watching. Much cheaper than paying at Megavideo.

Opps! - The annoying man

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:24:00 +0000

Convert NTFS Partition to FAT32 and Vice Versa

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:42:00 +0000

1. Comparison of NTFS and FAT32

FAT32 (File Allocation Table) is an old file system; it is simple and readable to work on a large number of operating systems. But, recently, it is understood that the usage of FAT 32 always been replaced by NTFS-the superior partition format.

NTFS (New Technology File System) is the standard file system of Windows NT, including its later versions Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. NTFS supersedes the FAT32 as the preferred file system for Microsoft's Windows operating systems.

By comparison of NTFS and FAT32, it's easy to find that NTFS has more advantages than FAT file system. The listed below are the advantages of NTFS.

• Allows indexing which improves file searching (mostly, faster).
• Better security - file encryption (except Win XP home)
• Supports user quotas.
• File compression to save disk space.
• Supports larger files than FAT (greater than 4GB).
• Supported format on dynamic disks (except Win XP Home).
• Resistant to fragmentation.

2. How to Convert FAT32 to NTFS

1). Open Command Prompt, press "Windows & R" key, input "cmd" and then press "Enter".

2). in the command prompt window, type: convert drive_letter: /fs: ntfs

Pay attention to here, typing "convert D: /fs:ntfs:" would format drive D: with the NTFS format according to your own requirement. And once you convert a FAT32 partition to NTFS, you cannot simply convert it back to FAT32 because you have to reformat the drive or partition which will erase all data. So, before formatting, back up the data if necessary.

3. How to Convert NTFS to FAT32

Why we convert superior file system back to FAT32? This question confused many people. The fact is that some devices can only supports FAT32 file system, so to convert NTFS to FAT32 is required.

1). Open Windows Explorer and choose one drive that you want to reformat. Right click the drive and select the "Format" option from the context menu.

2). Select "FAT32" from this drop down box under the "File System" section and tick at the "Quick Format" option.

3). Click the "Start" button to start the reformatting process. It may take a few minutes according to the size of your drive. In addition, you may choose the 3rd-party partition software (like Partition Assistant Free Edition) to quickly reformat a partition.

Ok, conversion is finished; however, another question came out-how to convert NTFS to FAT32 without data losing? Currently, we can not approach the best of both worlds yet. The best safe way is the "backup - reformat - restore".

How to Put Lightning inside the Bottle

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:40:00 +0000

This Photoshop tutorial can make everyone who wants to know how to create lightning in a bottle and you will be very surprised to learn how it is quickly and easy.

Before starting this tutorial go thru Google Images to find some appropriate picture of bottle to work with. Open up the picture and start with our tutorial.

Use the Pen Tool to create shape around bottle reflection as shown on my screenshot below:

After that open Paths Palette and click on Load path as a selection button on the palette bottom.

Press Ctrl+J to duplicate selected area. Then apply Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to add some electric hue to the reflection.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D.

Now move to the next step. I would like to add glow from the bottle. Create a new layer and use Pen Tool again to create shape similar to bottle shape like on the picture below:

Open up Paths Palette again and click Load path as a selection button on the bottom and fill selection with color of #383cc6.

Go back to Layers palette. Remove selection with Select > Deselect (or press Ctrl+D). Then duplicate layer with Ctrl+J and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur for copied layer:

See the result below:

Go to layer under and use Select > Load Selection to select this layer.

Then we can delete this layer, we don’t need it more. Go to copied blurred copy and press Delete button to clear selected area on this layer.

Time to add the lightning in a bottle. Create a new layer again, then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create selection as on my picture below:

Press D button to set up foreground and background colors as black and white. After that use the Gradient Tool to fill selection with black to white gradient.

Then apply Filter > Render > Difference Clouds:

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and invert colors by using Image > Adjustments > Invert:

Then apply Image > Adjustments > Levels to change brightness and contrast for the future lightning.

To finish off the tutorial I would like to change color of lightning. We can do this by using Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation with next parameters:

After that change blending mode to Screen for current layer. That is it for now. We are done with our tutorial. Looks very professional isn’t it?

Can Laptop WiFi Be Traced?

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:08:00 +0000

Laptop users often connect to public WiFi services. Many people are concerned for their privacy on such connections and wonder if their activities can be traced to their own identities or machines. Others are concerned about possible interception of data. There are two feasible ways of identifying a user on an Internet connection: MAC address and IP address.

IP Address Explained

An IP (Internet protocol) address is a unique number assigned to users of a wireless network. For example, if you connect to a public WiFi service, your IP address will be the same as everyone else's on that connection.

IP Address Identification
IP addresses only identify the person or organization that hosts the connection. A person cannot simply look up your name and address using your IP address. The best she will get is your approximate geographic location and Internet service provider. It is only possible to get an actual registrant's information by court order.

MAC Address Explained
A MAC (media access control) address is a number assigned to network adapters. For example, if you join a public WiFi network, your MAC address will (most likely) be different from another person's MAC address because you have a different wireless card.

MAC Address Identification
MAC addresses are supposed to be unique, but manufacturers can sometimes neglect to ensure that every device is assigned a different number. In addition, MAC addresses can be "spoofed" by computer programs. Therefore, a MAC address is not considered personally identifiable information. However, because your MAC address is static, wireless networks can track your connections and block your laptop.

Ensuring Privacy
To ensure privacy over a public WiFi network, make sure you have enabled an Internet security suite with a firewall. Set any wireless settings to "public." Also, to be sure, do not enter any sensitive information over such a connection. Be aware that the connection host can intercept any data being sent over the connection.

Creating Football Fan from Orc

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:12:00 +0000

This simple tutorial is dedicated to the event that is just happened. — 2010 FIFA World Cup. I’d like to show you how to turn any character into a football fan.

To begin with we should select the appropriate image to make our tutorial on. You can try search in Google Images, or take my image of Orc.

Let’s begin with the clothes. For example, we use an image of a football, you can find it using search in Google Images, or use my image. Further we open the image of the ball and place it on the document with our future fan.

We apply Hard Light Blending Mode to the layer with the ball.

Now let’s deform the ball a little. With help of Edit > Transformer > Scale we miniaturize the ball.

Then using the Rectangular Marquee Tool we select the lower part of the ball, as shown in the screenshot below:

And delete using Delete button.

With the help of Edit > Transformer > Warp deform along the shape of a helmet.

After that using the Polygonal Lasso Tool we select the unnecessary parts and delete them with the help of Delete. As a result we get a helmet painted like a football.

Now using the Eraser Tool we remove the coloring of the ball from the helmet border and rivets. We select a hard-edged brush, opacity 100%, change the diameter according to the situation.

Usually fans make up into colors of their country flag, but as in this tutorial the method is just shown, our fan won’t belong to any country. Let’s continue working with the ball, and decorate the parts of the clothes on the same principle.

It’s worth changing Layer Blending Modes on different parts and choose the one that looks better, in this case it’s better to apply the Soft Light Blending Mode.

We duplicate the given layer by pressing Ctrl+J.

Let’s choose one more detail.

On the football colored belt in the Overlay Blending Mode. Further we use bright colors: red, green, yellow, white and blue, select the Brush Tool and choose Rough Round Bristle in the standard Photoshop palette. Then press F5 and change the parameter Spacing settings (nested in the Brush Tip Shape menu) for 50%, opacity 100%, diameter can be changed at will. In order for the makeup to look realistic, it should be applied slightly chaotically, not trying to line straight, and if you write any text on clothes or body, you should just “draw” it, i.e. not to use the type, but apply it using brush.

The letters will obtain arbitrary incline, it looks very natural, and it concerns the whole makeup.

It’s also necessary to use any typical objects, for example, a whistle. You can take my image (link to Whistle.jpg) or find in Google Images. Place the whistle, cut out with the help of the Polygonal Lasso Tool, upon our picture.

Miniaturize it using Edit > Transformer > Scale and place upon the orc’s belt.

Now we should fasten the whistle to the belt.

With the help of the Polygonal Lasso Tool we cut out the ring from the picture of orc to fasten the whistle. Rotate the ring using Edit > Transformer > Rotate.

Then using the Eraser Tool we clean up part of the whistle under the ring.

Now the whistle is hanging on the belt, but to look more natural, the whistle should cast a shadow, so we apply the Drop Shadow (link to 21) Layer Style.

We get such an effect:

It looks better now, but still lacks shadow casting on the whistle itself, so we apply the Inner Shadow (link to 23) Layer Style.

The result will be the following:

It’s time to add text. Select the Horizontal Type Tool and write the phrase, as it’s shown below. Select Wide Latin type (14 pt, Crisp) and write an inscription with any color.

Further we adjust the following settings for the Layer Style:

Drop Shadow

Inner Shadow

Gradient Overlay

Pattern Overlay

Stroke

The colors that are used in the gradient are showed below:

As a result the text in the picture looks like this one:

In the end we got an interesting tutorial, dedicated to the Football World Cup. Feel free to experiment with any pictures!

Has the Internet Killed Privacy?

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:11:00 +0000

When I took Journalism 101 in college, we discussed privacy at length. As budding reporters, we learned the difference between public figures (e.g. politicians) and private citizens. We learned that the press was almost always protected against writing something about public figures in the paper (even if it turned out to be false), but we had to follow more stringent guidelines when writing about private citizens. Writing a damaging story about a private person for no apparent reason, no matter how factually accurate it might be, was cause for a lawsuit. The underlying reason for all that was privacy, and the unspoken need to protect the reputation of the average person. If Mr. Senator is cheating on his wife, it is fair game to report it. But you'd better not write about Mr. Nobody's affair, unless he does something newsworthy and the affair is applicable to the story.

I attended college when the Internet was in its infancy. At that time, someone could choose to remain a private person. The reason why politicians weren't protected as well against libel and slander is because they chose to put themselves into the limelight, where privacy didn't exist. Now, thanks to the Internet, it appears that privacy doesn't exist for the average Joe, either.

The Internet has essentially given everyone the same tools that were once the sole purview of journalists, namely a publishing platform. Now, anyone can write something about any other person online. But unlike journalists, those Web publishers don't have to be as careful about what they say. There are too many writers and not enough editors looking over their shoulders. With nobody protecting the privacy of those being written about, it can affect reputations.

As far as reputation goes, we can't control what others say about us online, just like we can't control what people say about us offline. Unfortunately, online commentary, whether accurate or not, stays there forever. And where Mr. Nobody's affair once was not particularly newsworthy, now it is if the writer happens to be his wife.

That takes me back to college. With college students today caring less about the information they put online than previous generations, I wonder what professors in Journalism 101, or Media Ethics are teaching today, and whether it is falling on deaf ears.

The Effect of Music Notes on Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:10:00 +0000

This tutorial shows how to apply any design on flower petals in Photoshop. As an example we can use the design of a stave for applying it on the tulip-petals.

At first we should find an appropriate photo to work with. You can use search in Google Images or feel free to use my picture with the image of tulips. Open up the picture and start the tutorial.

It is worth improving the quality of the image a little, before we start applying the effects. For this purpose we apply Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen with the following parameters:

Then we should improve the contrast using Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast:

In the upshot we’ll get the following result:

Now we should match the design to apply on the flower petals. I decided to take a picture of a stave (link to Stave.jpg). Let it be any fragment from any musical composition. We open this picture.

Then we copy the notes on the main canvas with tulips, or just drag it using mouse.

The size of the music sheet is too small for a tulip-petal, so we copy it using Ctrl+J and lower it a bit, place it so as it would be a uniform sheet, and merge the layers with the notes using Ctrl+E.

Then we change the layer mode for the layer with notes for Darken. As a result white color was excluded, we see only notes and flowers.

To expand the image we use Edit > Transform > Warp, with the help of this tool we deform the music sheet approximately to the form of a tulip-petal.

Then using the Polygonal Lasso Tool we create petal-shaped selection.

After that we use Shift+Ctrl+I to invert the selection, as it showed on the picture below:

We press the Delete button to delete everything that is contained within the selected area and remove the selection using Ctrl+D.

Then we use the Eraser Tool, choose a brush with soft edge, 50 pixels in diameter, transparency 50% and slightly erase the notes along the edges of the petal. After that we use Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen for the layer with notes:

As there is dew on the tulips, for more natural effect in the places, where we see the drops, we should deform the notes a bit. For this purpose we use the Polygonal Lasso Tool (Feather 4 px) to create selection of the areas, that should be deformed.

For the selected area we use Filter > Distort > Spherize with the following parameters:

On the same principle we deform the image for the rest of the drops on petals. We get an interesting dew effect on the notes.

The rest of the petals are processed in the same way.

As a result we got a wonderful tutorial on design overlay on flower petals. Feel free to experiment and you will get an excellent effect!

Designing a Cartoon Cloud Splash-Image

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:57:00 +0000

You can see what we’ll be designing in this tutorial below, I call it a ‘cartoony cloud splash’, because I think it could be used effectively as a website splash page. This tutorial is really really easy, in case you’re new to Photoshop!

1. Create a New Document

First thing to do is start by making a new document in which you can make your clouds. For this tutorial I used a document size of around 400 x 400 pixels, with a Resolution of 72 (default)
Using the Gradient Tool, draw a nice, blue gradient on the background, it’s meant to resemble the sky! Colors used here: #6dbede to #2f82c0 and now you have a nice soft background.

2. Creating the Cloud Shape

Firstly create a new layer, now find and get out the Elliptical Marquee Tool, using similar settings to the ones below.

Now make a bunch of random circles, attempting to make a cartoon-shaped cloud.

Complete the cloud shape by filling up the selection in the middle of the cloud.

Make sure you’re on the new layer you created, then fill the layer with white – #ffffff.

Nice cloud shape, huh?!

3. Adding Effects to the Cloud

The cloud looked quite nice already, but to give it some more detail, you might want to apply the following layer styles to your cloud layer:

Depending on what size you made your cloud, you may have to modify the layer styles just a little bit, feel free to do so. Your cloud should now look like this:

Looks pretty nice, in my opinion! And now add some text if you want, you can use it for a navigation system at the start of your website (splash page)

Fin

Thank you for reading the tutorial, everyone, I hope you enjoyed it! If you need to, you can of course download the PSD file for the end product from here: cartoon cloud splash PSD download (200kb)

Need for Speed World – Game Review

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 03:07:00 +0000

Developer: Black Box EA Singapore

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Genre: Racing

Release Date: July 20, 2010 (UK)

Co-developed by Black Box and EA Singapore, Need for Speed World Online takes the race into the largest open world in the history of Need for Speed -- designed exclusively for the PC. This Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans access to licensed cars, parts and multiple game modes. Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customize their profile and their ride.

Downloads for Alpha Protocol

Downloads for Need for Speed World available at FilePlanet.
FilePlanet has demos, patches, game clients, maps, mods and other files for your PC games as well as free PC games.

GameSpy Comrade is the fastest way to play games online with your friends. Comrade allows you to chat with and follow buddies in and out of games, send messages to your team, and download patches.

Trailer & Game Play

What to Do and Not to Do in a Relationship

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 02:55:00 +0000

What to share and what not to share matters in a relationship. Our relationships are like the known fairytales. We see a person fall in love with that person. Then as everybody else does, even we try enjoying the company of that person for as much time we can. There are times when we prefer to stay at his home more than we do stay at our own home.

After sometime you will notice that often when you start your conversations about the expectations you have, he starts behaving in a weird way. Even when you talk about commitment then also you see the same behavior of your man. Is there anything wrong? I think you must be wondering as to what must have gone wrong. There are certain ways which you can follow to know what you are supposed to do and what not.

What are things, which we should not say?

As the old saying goes in this way that honesty is the best policy and I believe that old saying is gold. The way we present the picture to someone is a matter of fact in a relationship. Honesty is the key to open all rusted locks. This also means that you should learn how to communicate with him. Never make your present complicated with your past and do not punish your present for the sorrows you got in the past. It is better if you avoid stories of your past because this will not make things look simpler but rather this would make your present think that there are issues still left related to him. One should not lay down the foundation with issues related to the past because the moment you say the past the fluids in his brain would move in a great extent. Such activities of yours will make the man think in other way.

Things one should remember before making a commitment:

Throw all your old past relationship away, which you have kept, locked them inside your heart. If you want to see your partner happy, firstly you must be happy with yourself. It is in this way that you will influence people around you. If you are always in a depression then there will be lines on your face. It is important that you are happy in a relationship. All man wants a smart woman who does not brood over her past.

Before taking the step for taking the relationship in a better way, you should first clear all your emotional fixed deposits, which will either create backlogs. So gear yourself up and make sure that you now know what to do and what not to do.

Chicken Menu Ideas for Catering

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:52:00 +0000

Using chicken is relatively inexpensive, versatile and appeases most diner's palates. Incorporated easily into a variety of dishes, chicken absorbs a range of flavors and seasonings from nearly every culture. When determining amounts to purchase for a catering job, the safe bet is to assume approximately 1 pound of boneless, skinless meat for every four people and 1 pound of meat for three people when the bone and skin remain.

Chicken on the Bone

Chicken parts are easily prepared and offer the client her choice of white or dark meat from the serving line. Cook drumsticks, breasts and thighs on the barbecue or in the oven. Marinate whole pieces of chicken overnight with teriyaki or citrus-based marinades, or season with spices and herbs just prior to cooking. Common seasonings when cooking whole pieces of chicken include a basic salt and pepper blend, savory herbs such as rosemary and sage. Bake whole pieces in sauces such as the sour cream and paprika dish, Hungarian paprikas, or make a Thai-themed coconut-lemongrass sauce, or go Italian with cacciatore. Hold on to the chicken wings, often packaged separately when purchasing chicken in bulk, and use for appetizers.

Chicken for Casseroles

Fold boneless, skinless chicken meat into dishes like chicken pot pie or tamale pie, or prepare white lasagna with Alfredo sauce and layers of chicken. Other popular chicken casseroles include chicken tetrazzini or Florentine, Spanish rice and chicken, or chicken and dumplings. Use chicken meat for preparing enchiladas, stuffing into roasted peppers or pasta shells, or tossing into stir-fries.

On the Buffet Line

Have a pan of seasoned chicken available at the buffet line for people to fill tacos, burritos or pita bread or to use as a topping for salads or baked potatoes. This can be a mixture of white and dark meat, julienned so the customer can take as much or as little as he likes.
Prepare for lunch or dinner service as well. Classic chicken soups include chicken noodle, chicken with white or black beans, chili with chicken, chicken corn chowder and cream of chicken and tortilla soup.

3D Will Alter How Games Are Marketed Forever

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 02:51:00 +0000

The marketing of video games is set to receive a big shake-up with visually-unfriendly new mediums of entertainment entering the market, and a big in effective advertising techniques towards online-based platforms.

THQ's VP of core games, Danny Bilson's, claim that television's viability as an advertising medium for games was on the way down is a well-grounded one.

Quoted in gamesindustry.biz, Bilson said "One of the bigger questions we have to ask ourselves is how important is television? How important is television to a core gamer on a non-television brand? So I think television has some relevance on WWE and UFC because I consider those TV brands. But our other stuff, I question it severely.

"It's incredibly expensive, and what I can do with two million dollars, which will buy a few TV spots on a big sporting event, what I can do in outdoor, or on the web, or direct-to-consumer is way more exciting.

"You know where I want to market? I want to market on Xbox Live. I want to market on PSN... Television is a big question mark for me."

The same report cited EA allegedly spending over $2 million for a 30-second Superbowl advertisement for Dante's Inferno as an example of just how expensive game advertising can be.

With that kind of money at stake, the return on investment needs to be clear, from a marketing point of view. With television, it isn't.

The Internet, with its tools to track click-through rates on placed advertising, is a far more useful raw medium for advertisers. Social networking, too, plays a big role in the 'friend referrals' which EA has been quoted as creating a greater number of game sales that TV advertising.

And then there's 3D. 3D consoles and technologies - such as the Nintendo 3DS system, or the PlayStation 3's 3D capabilities, renders many visual forms of advertising nearly-useless.

Like everyone else, I was wowed on the potential of the 3D's when I saw it at E3. What I wasn't wowed by was how terrible the images transferred to 2D mediums, like the computer screen I was viewing E3 through. All I saw was grainy, messy footage, and my only consolidation was the many reports that in the flesh what looks horrible looks incredible.

I envision that 3D is frightening to traditional marketers, but when you consider the positive response to the 3DS on online forums, Facebook, and Twitter, it is clear where the future of game advertising is. It's in stroking the flames of viral publicity that a good product develops for itself.

Before the advent of the Internet, there was a good example of this at work. The micro-budget horror film, Halloween, became a mega success with almost no advertising budget. It was a strictly press review and word-of-mouth snowball, and is now a historical film.

The 3D's will essentially force game marketing to come full circle. With no high definition videos to rely on, the focus will instead be on making sure the people who would be interested in a game know of its existence, and then making sure their entire social network also know, and so on.

Wireless Charging System

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:51:00 +0000

Do you want to have your cellphone charged without wires? If so, there is good news for you. A wireless charging device has been invented to meet your needs. You need only to put your phone on the device which is put on the table. Therefore, you need not to waste your time to find a electrical source when you are on a journey or at work.

The wireless charging system is a device that consists of a plug in charging mat and a receiver embedded in a cover for portable charging. It also allows you to "drop and charge" without having to to fiddle with cords as well as simultaneously charge multiple devices.

But what described above is the traditional wireless charging device which has restrict limitation of the direction of how your phone placed. If your phone has been put aslant, the electricity will not be charged. Recently, Japan has developed a brand new type. You need not to pay attention to the direction of your phone and can put it on the device with your choice. This is a new progress.

The way of using the device is very simple. First you need to put the device on a table as a power supply, then it will be used as a electrical source to offer electricity to your phones, lamps and other small things that use electricity. Its principle of operation is that it has been put into a kind of specialized electrode and small parts, which making the wireless available among these electrodes.

In the following years, the advent of the new devices will probably make batteries step down from the stage of electricity. Our life will be the life which is full of portability and convenience. Related chips for the wireless charging system is: MC145010P.

Ann is the freelance writer for e-commerce website in the IC. seekic.com. offers the IC buyers around the world to find quality supplier of ICs globally. We try best to aggregate all the trade leads in the IC business world, and let these leads benefit all business person.

Adding a Blurry Glass Effect

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:50:00 +0000

Firstly, you’ll be needing a stock photo. Below I’ve written down some good sources for free stock photos.

After you’ve chosen a nice stock photo, we can move on with this tutorial. You can download the stock photo that I used from here: Water Droplets Stock.

1. Adding Glass Effect

Alright, after you’ve opened up your stock photo, duplicate the Background layer. Now add a water-kind-of effect by applying the Filter Distort > Ripple to the duplicate layer.

Now apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with a radius of something like 0.5-2.0, it varies, but I used a radius of 1.0.

2. Cutting Glass Out

Now you need to cut out just a part of it. Do this by getting the Rectangular Marquee Tool and making a rectangular selection in the middle of your picture like this:

Invert your selection (right-click selection and click Select Inverse) then delete the outside part of your selection.

3. Applying Further Effects

At the moment, the middle part doesn’t stand out very well, so let’s fix that. Start by going into the Blending Options for the glass layer, do this by right-clicking the layer in the layer’s palette and going into the Blending Options. Now, apply the following layer styles/settings:

Now, if you used all of the correct settings, you should now have an effect similar to this:

Looks pretty nice to me! You can take this further of course, try different filters, different layer styles, some image adjustments maybe. But that’s all for this small tutorial, sorry

Thanks for visiting PhotoshopStar though, your source for free, high-quality Photoshop tutorials!

If you would like to download the PSD file from this tutorial, you can do so from here: Glass Effect PSD.

Why to Limit Time on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:48:00 +0000

It was not long ago that parents beamed with pride when their children showed enthusiasm and interest in using the computer. There was a sense that it meant that they were bright and advanced. Manufacturers even developed special keyboards for toddlers and infants. But all that has come full circle and parents are more and more frustrated and concerned about the increasing amount of time that their children are spending at the computer.

From physical conditions that can be tied to computer overuse to concerns of social isolation, the Internet and has become an evil influence in the eyes of many parents and as technology moves forward like a speeding bulldozer, parents are frantically trying to learn about how to handle relatively new development. Kids today are already asking their parents, "How did you make plans with friends before Facebook?" and "Didn't you want to die of boredom before computers were invented?" It's similar to the way previous generations adapted to new technologies and inventions of course, but the Internet seems to have a powerful influence that was previously unknown. That can be seen in the simple rapid rate of adaptation. You'd be hard pressed today to find an American or European home without Internet connectivity. That has happened in a relatively very short period compared to the telephone and television, for example.

One of the biggest concerns parents have about the Internet is how much time their children are online. Even when they are not sitting at a desk, more and more children have smart phones and other devices that allow them to be online - playing games, chatting, surfing, etc. And it is only going to get worse with the trend towards mobile Internet getting stronger and taking off.

Why Should You Consider Limiting Time Online?

Even too much of a good thing can be bad. no one wants their child to eat broccoli 3 times a day, to do homework 10 hours per day or to play sports all day while neglecting everything else. So the need to create an online schedule or time limit is not because we think the internet is all bad. In just needs to be put into perspective.

Physical Effects

There is a range of physical problems that can arise from sitting at a computer for hours everyday. Arms, shoulders, neck, back, hands -- the muscles are being strained repeatedly in ways that they were not meant to be and even if kids do not feel pain now, they are likely to suffer as they get older. Of course most children do not sit correctly at the computer and this further creates the likeliness of problems later in life.

Weight gain is also a symptom of increased computer use. When playing on the computer replaces physical activity, kids are less active. The more that happens, the more it will effect their weight. if instead of playing soccer outside with friends a 10 year old boy starts playing FIFA 2010, obviously there will be an effect on his health and weight! And there are less obvious habits that we are changing due to our internet use. if once children would make a weekly shopping trip to the supermarket with their mother, now their parents order groceries online, there is yet another reduction in their overall physical activity.

Emotional Effects

When so much time is spent doing any particular activity, it has an effect, for good or for bad, on the mind. Some researchers are talking about the actual "rewiring" of our brains. many studies have been conducted about the effects of video games, porn sites, online gambling and other Internet activities that are though to be addicting. Whether or not we want to accept the findings of the studies, one thing is for sure -- there is some effect.

A friend told me a funny story of driving in his car with his two sons during a particularly beautiful sunset. His 15 year old son commented, "Look at those great graphics!" It's a really funny story, but it gets you thinking.

But It's Not Fair!

Why isn't it fair to tell your children that they can't use the computer for more than 1 hour each day? What's wrong with making an Internet free weekend on occasion or setting an 8pm deadline for all computers to be shut down during the week? Nothing is unfair about that.

The constant noise, light and activity we are fed from the computers in our homes contributes greatly to our stress. It is also thought that children today, with their need to be in constant contact with friends through Facebook, text messaging, Twitter and whatever other social media they may use at the moment, are much more stressed than previous generations.

It's not about limiting their time online as a punishment or because you don't want them to have too much fun. It is about taking responsibility for their health and well being. Do a simple experiment and take note of the difference in sleeping patterns when you go from home computers on 24/7 to shutting all media down in the early evening. I promise everyone in the house will feel calmer, sleep better and sleep more.

Unthinkable (2010) - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Watch this movie here

Thank to Bombs and other devastative weapons terrorist can head up easily than previous. There were many terrorist which became cancer for the entire world. Europe to Asia terrorism brutally killed many innocent people. Unthinkable (2010) movie is contemporary suitable for movie world as it wants some differences. Still most of countries threat from terrorism. This is a time to show aftermath of terrorism.

Most of Asian countries invasion by terrorism and few countries wipe out terrorism from the motherland. Unthinkable (2010) movie is relating to terrorism and it will be thriller to watch. It is rare to see terrorism related movies in last few months. Most of movies came out with horror genre or action genre plot. This will be mega opportunity for movie lovers who were excepting change in movie world. Unthinkable (2010) is not a normal plot as it contains curiosity through out the movie.

Film story lines up around terrorism. Terrorist like to spread fear among civil people by exploding bombs every where. They did not care how many innocent people die from that. Unthinkable (2010) review well depicts this situation and it makes huge sense to audience. One Muslim terrorist has hide three nuclear bombs in three various and mysterious places. When their mission reveals FBI agent Helen Brody tries to find out that three places where that Muslim man has hid bombs.

Though she is super FBI agent in this case she struggle with unsolvable cobweb. It forces her to get assist from black operation member. “H” is his name and bit of peculiar but genies for investigating. He limits all boundaries which most of FBI cannot reach. Brutal and uncommon methods of investigation carry him towards the solution. Government also support to H. This Unthinkable (2010) movie story can keep audience in high interest and can be feel more thriller than forever.

Gregor Jordan is an awards winning director who has done The Informers (2009), These Days: Powderfinger Live in Concert (2004), Buffalo Soldiers (2001) and many movies. Already this movie has gathered load of people who well knows his directing talents. This will distribute by Senator Entertainment. The Damned United (2009) actor Michael Sheen plays as Muslim terrorist who has claim to keep three bombs in various US cities.

Samuel L. Jackson is plays as H who is the black operation’s agent. Iron Man 2 (2010), Running Wild (2011), Nick Fury (2012) are some of his forth coming movies. Fireflies in the Garden (2008) actress Carrie-Anne Moss plays FBI agent role who tries to solve this problem. Brandon Routh, Gil Bellows and Martin Donovan plays FBI members role through out this movie.

No doubt this Unthinkable (2010) movie will be implausible movie. The director of this movie succeeds to remain curiosity all over the movie. Audience also will watch it with open mouth.

How to Add a Custom Favicon to your Blogger Blog

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:09:00 +0000

When you publish a blog with Blogger, the default favicon which appears in your browser navigation bar is Blogger’s favicon (the unmistakable orange and white logo).
Many Blogger users choose to display their own favicon instead of Bloggers, in order to “brand” their blog with memorable icons in keeping with their blog’s design. It is actually quite easy to add our own favicon to our Blogger blogs, and instantly adds a sense of professionality to your overall design.
In this post, I’ll explain how easy it is to add a favicon to your Blogger blog, along with resources for designing your own favicon and where you can host this for free.

What is a favicon?

The word “favicon” is short for “favourites icon”, and is a 16×16px square icon which is associated with a website (or blog). Browsers which support favicons will usually display a website’s favicon in the address bar (to the left of the URL), and next to the page’s name in a list of bookmarks. Browsers which support tabbed navigation (such as Firefox and IE8) will also display the favicon next to the page title on each tab.
Favicons are usually found on the root of a domain, and use the .ico extension. For example, the favicon for Blogging Tips can be found here: http://www.bloggingtips.com/favicon.ico
Blogger users do not have access to the root of their blog hosting. This means that unless an alternate favicon is specified, Blogger’s favicon will display in browsers accessing Blogger powered sites.
In order to add a custom favicon to be displayed in the browser of sites accessing a Blogger powered blog, we need to:

Create our own favicon
Upload this to an image host
Edit the Blogger template to reference this alternative favicon.

Let’s go through these steps in order.

How to create your own favicon for Blogger

A favicon is a small image, measuring 16×16 pixels. Favicons are usually made with the .ico extension, though it’s also possible to use .GIF and .PNG files to reference a favicon.
If you are a budding ‘Photoshopper’, you can create your own favicon from scratch. Don’t forget to use a canvas measuring 16 pixels square (or create a square image which can be reduced to this size) and save as a .GIF or .PNG image.
Those who already use a recognised icon for their site/blog logo can easily generate a favicon using one of these free services:

Favicon Generator (Blogger Buster)
FaviconGenerator.com (right click image and choose “Save image as”)
HTML-Kit favicon generator (download as favicon package) – Enables you to create a static or animated favicon; you can even create a favicon quickly using your Twitter username!

Alternatively you can download a “ready made” favicon from these sites:

Favicons R Us
FreeFavicon.com
Iconlet.com (use the 16 px square version of your favourite icon)

Upload your favicon to the web

While Blogger does not offer hosting for files we use in our blogs (eg: JavaScript, documents and HTML files), we can upload images for use in our blog posts which are hosted by Picasa.
After uploading an image to our blog post (even if this post is not published) we can extract the URL of the image and reference this in our Blogger template code. Surprisingly, we can upload .ico files to our blog posts with Blogger (as well as any .PNG or .GIF favicons you may have created too).
To upload your favicon to Picasa through your blog, simply create a new blog post and choose to insert an image in your post. Choose the favicon you have created/generated/downloaded and upload this to your post.
Then either preview your post or view in the rich text editor so your favicon image can be seen on the screen. Right click this favicon and choose to copy the location of the image. Save this to your clipboard or paste into a text file for easy reference.
If you prefer to use a different host for your favicon, here are a few free hosts which support .ico files:

As before, copy the location of your icon file to yoru clipboard or paste in a text file for easy reference.

Add the reference for your favicon to your Blogger template

he final step to creating a custom favicon for Blogger is referencing the favicon in your Blogger template code.

To do this, go to Layout>Edit HTML in your Blogger template. You do not need to check the “Expand widget templates” box.

Search for the closing </head> tag in your template using your browser’s search function.

Immediately before this line, paste the following section of code, substituting YOUR-FAVICON-URL for the URL where your favicon is hosted:

<link href='YOUR-FAVICON-URL' rel='shortcut icon'/>
<link href='YOUR-FAVICON-URL' rel='icon'/>

Then save your template. Now when you view your blog in your browser, you should see your favicon appear beside the web address and in the bookmarks folder (if you have bookmarked your site).

Note: it is very important that you paste the favicon tags just before the closing </head> tag, not earlier in the template code. This is because Blogger generates favicon tags when your blog pages are generated which would otherwise override your custom favicon references.

Important information when using custom favicons for Blogger blogs

If you use Internet Explorer 6 or older, the favicon will not appear unless you have bookmarked your blog and refreshed your browser.

Also, any services which automatically extract the favicon for a site (such as Blogger’s “Feed” and “Blog List” gadgets) will still reference the Blogger favicon rather than our own custom favicons. This is because such auto-discovery scripts reference the favicon hosted on the same server as the website, rather than the favicon which is referenced in the HTML code of the page. As yet, there is no way to present our custom favicons to services which automatically discover the favicon for a site.

Your thoughts?

I hope this tutorial enables you to add custom favicons for your own Blogger blogs with ease. If you know of any other simple methods for creating custom favicons for Blogger, please let us know in the comments below.

The 10 Founding Fathers of the Web

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 09:59:00 +0000

While the phrase “founding fathers” is often used in conjunction with men like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, we wanted the think about the phrase on the global level. And what is more global than the world wide web? Thus, this holiday, we’re taking a look at 10 individuals who have been instrumental in helping to shape the world wide web and the culture of the Internet as we know it today.

Check out our round up below to learn about some of the most influential people in the creation and development of the ideas and technologies that have led to today’s web experience. Let us know in the comments if you think we’ve missed anyone!

1. Tim Berners-Lee

Why He Matters: Tim Berners-Lee is credited as the inventor of the World Wide Web. A physicist, Berners-Lee and his team built the world’s very first web browser, WorldWideWeb, the first web server and the HyperText-based markup language HTML.

Berners-Lee founded and is the current director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), a standards body that oversees the development of the web as a whole. While the Internet () itself dates back 1969, it was Berners-Lee who was able to bring together the concept of the Internet and hypertext, which set the foundation for the Internet as we know it today.

Because CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) didn’t make the World Wide Web proprietary and never charged for dues, its protocols were widely adopted.

2. Marc Andreessen

Why He Matters: Marc Andreessen co-authored Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser and he founded Netscape Communications.

While Mosaic wasn’t the first graphical web browser, it was the first to garner significant attention. It was also the first browser to display images inline with text.

After designing and programing Mosaic, Andreessen went on to co-found Netscape Communications. Netscape’s flagship product, Netscape Navigator, had an enormous impact, by helping to bring the web to mainstream users. In 1998, Netscape released the code base for Netscape Communicator under an open source license. That project, known as Mozilla, became the basis of what we now know as Firefox ().

3. Brian Behlendorf

Why He Matters: Brian Behlendorf was the primary developer of the Apache Web Server and one of the founding members of the Apache Group. While working as the webmaster for Wired Magazines’s HotWired web site, Behlendorf found himself making changes and patches to the HTTP server first developed at NCSA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After realizing that others were also adding their own patches, he put together an electronic mailing list to help coordinate the work.

By February 1995, the project had been given a name – Apache – and the entire codebase from the original NCSA server was rewritten and re-optimized. The real genius with Apache, other than its free and open source nature, was that it was built to be extensible. That meant that ISPs could easily add their own extensions or plugins to better optimize the server, allowing hundreds of sites to be hosted from just one computer server. Apache remains the most popular web server on the Internet.

4, 5, 6. Rasmus Lerdorf, Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski

Why They Matter: Lerdorf, Gutmans and Suraski are all responsible for what we know as PHP (), the scripting language that remains one of the most used web languages for creating dynamic web pages. Rasmus Lerdorf first created PHP in 1995 and he was the main developer of the project for its first two versions.

In 1997, Gutmans and Suraski decided to extend PHP, rewriting the parser and creating what became known as PHP 3. The two then went on to rewrite the core of PHP, naming it the Zend Engine, and using that to power PHP 4. Gutmans and Suraski further went on to found Zend Technologies, which continues to do much of the development of PHP.

While Larry Wall’s Perl was one of the first general-purpose scripting languages to really take off on the web, the ease of use and embedability of PHP is what has made it take over as the defacto “P” in the LAMP stack (LAMP being a default set of components on which many web applications are based).

7. Brad Fitzpatrick

Why He Matters: Creator of LiveJournal, in many ways the proto-social network, the original author of memcached and the original authentication protocol for OpenID.

Fitzpatrick created LiveJournal in college, as a way for he and his friends to keep one another up to date with what they were doing. It evolved into a larger blogging community and implemented many features, like Friends Lists, the ability to create user polls, support for blog clients, the ability to send text messages to users, the ability to post by phone, post by e-mail, create group blogs and more that have become a standard part of communities like Facebook (), Tumblr (), MySpace (), WordPress ().com and Posterous () today.

As LiveJournal grew and started to use more and more resources, Fitzpatrick started the memcached project as a way to speed up dynamic web applications and alleviate database load. It does this by pooling together the free memory from across your web servers and then allocate it out as needed. This makes it easy for large projects to scale. Memcached is in use by Wikipedia (), Flickr (), Facebook, WordPress, Twitter (), Craigslist () and more.

8. Brendan Eich

Why He Matters: He created JavaScript and now serves as the CTO of the Mozilla Corporation. Eich created JavaScript while at Netscape, first under the name Mocha, then under the name LiveScript, and finally as JavaScript. JavaScript made its official debut in December of 1995.

JavaScript quickly became one of the most popular web programming languages, even if its use cases in the early days were often visual abominations. However, as time has progressed, the advent of JavaScript libraries and frameworks, coupled with the power of Ajax has made JavaScript an integral part of the standards-based web.

9. John Resig

Why He Matters: John Resig is the creator and lead developer of jQuery, the most popular JavaScript library on the web. While other JavaScript libraries, such as Sam Stephenson’s Protoype, preceded jQuery, jQuery’s goal of being compatible across web browsers is what really sets it apart.

In the last two years especially, the momentum around jQuery has exploded and it is now reportedly in use by 31% of the top 10,000 most visited websites. It’s extensibility and the jQuery UI toolkit has also made it a popular adoption target in enterprise application development. Any JavaScript library that can make the leap from web developers to enterprise app builders is the real deal.

JavaScript continues to be one of the big forces within the standards-based web and jQuery is helping to lead the charge.

10. Jonathan Gay

Why He Matters: He co-founded FutureWave Software and for more than a decade was the main programmer and visionary behind Flash.

While not everyone is a fan of Adobe Flash, it’s important to remember how influential and instrumental the technology has been over the course of the last 15 years. Gay wrote a vector drawing program called SmartSketch back in 1993 for the PenPoint operating system, and after PenPoint was discontinued, the technology in SmartSketch was repurposed as a tool that could create animation that could be played back on web pages.

This product, FutureSplash Animator, was acquired by Macromedia in 1996 and renamed Flash. After the acquisition, Gay became Vice President of Engineering at Macromedia and he led the Flash engineering team. Over the years, his team implemented new elements to Flash, like Actionscript ().

However, perhaps Gay’s pinnacle achievement with Flash was in the team he spearheaded to create what was then known as the Flash Communication Server (it’s now the Flash Media Server) which let Flash Player use the RTMP protocol to stream audio and video over the web. In essence, this technology is what allowed YouTube () to be, well, YouTube.

Have a great 4th of July! Enjoy the Fireworks!

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:03:00 +0000

For those of you who may not know the answer, it’s the British. The U.S. declared independence in 1776 and would fight the English for another 13 years before finally defeating them – along with the help of France – in 1789 at Yorktown.

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. This day embodies everything that is America.

Creative Adding Label to the Skin

noreply@blogger.com (BlogMaster) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Here is useful tutorial where I’m gonna show you how to add the label to the human skin in Photoshop. In this tutorial I will be using this stock photo of the man.

Firstly, you should find a nice stock photo to work with. As I mentioned above, I used a photo of the young man, if you want you can download it and get to work. Open up it and press Ctrl+J to duplicate layer. After that move to the lower layer and desaturate it with Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. Then go back to the copied layer and correct the color balance using Image > Adjustments > Levels. Set up following presets:

Then change layer opacity to 70%.

Now, duplicate this layer with previous and duplicate (Ctrl+J) new layer again. After that apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with next presets:

Then mess with the layer mode & opacity/fill. I tried Overlay with opacity of 45%.

See the difference now? Ok, after that select the Sharpen Tool and increases the sharpness on man face.

I would like to add a contrast more. For this effect use the Burn Tool (Brush: 20 px, Range: Midtones, Exposure: 40%) and add dark spots on the face.

Move to the next step. Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to create selection as on my picture below and fill it with black color.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and apply Outer Glow layer style to this layer.

Your picture should look as mine:

Ok, create a new layer, after that select the Brush Tool and a hard round brush about 4 pixels and add a couple of more strokes with dark red (#47091a) color.

Then apply Filter > Blur > Radial Blur:

Ok, mess with the layer mode & opacity/fill one more time. I tried Overlay with opacity of 70%.

Time to add the label! Create a new layer use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create selection as on the picture below and fill it with color of #c0b6ba.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D, then get out the Horizontal Type Tool to write out the text. Use the Arial font and chose font color as #221820 for text lines.

Merge text layers and label layer together and apply Filter > Noise > Add Noise to add a little bit noise to the label.

Hopefully your picture looks something like this:

Ok, after that apply Edit > Transform > Free Transform to rotate label and move it left as on my picture below.

Move to the next step. Select the Burn Tool (Brush: 20 px, Range: Highlights, Exposure: 20%) and add some dark lines to the label.

Looks better now, isn’t it? Time to bring the shadow under the label. Move to the layer under and create another one layer above. Use the Polygonal Lasso Tool to create selection and fill it with black to transparent gradient.

Remove selection with Ctrl+D and use the Blur Tool to add a little blur to the shadow.

And the last one thing that we need to do is to bring sutures to the picture. For this effect select the Brush Tool and a soft round brush about 1 pixel. Make a couple of sutures with black color on the new layer.

Looks not so realistic. But I know how to resolve this problem. Press Ctrl+T and reduce current layer halved.

Duplicate this layer with Ctrl+J and move it below like on my picture. Merge two of these layers in one and set up opacity to 75% for new layer.

Ok, that is it! Looks realistic and very creative as for me. Don’t be afraid to make your own experiments.