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How To Send Attachments Without Problems

2012-07-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Whenever you send or receive emails you probably always have the need to attach certain type of a file. Those attachments can be pictures, documents, installation files, etc... But sometimes these files can cause problems with certain email services, especially when it comes for example to send multiple files at once, or when files are too large to be sent or when the mail software blocks certain file types. Here are some tips to resolve common issues and send your files without worry by email.

Send an attachment that is blocked

Some application and web mail clients block certain types of files such as programs (.exe) or scripts and compressed files (.rar, .zip). You can easily overcome this limitation and by following below steps I will show you how
Step 1: Before attaching blocked file to your message, you will need to replace its extension by the one that it is not blocked. To perform this procedure, file extensions must be displayed in Windows Explorer. If this is not the case, click Start menu and choose Computer
Step 2: Now click on Organize and from dropdown menu choose Folder and search options

Step 3: Choose View tab and then uncheck the checkbox next to Hide extensions for known file types.

Step 4: Click OK to save your changes
Step 5: Now click Start menu and open Computer again. Locate the blocked file and press the F2 key on your keyboard.
Step 6: Move the cursor to the right and remove the file extension, i.e. the three letters after the dot to the right of the name.

Step 7: Then enter the three letters of an extension that is not blocked such as the .doc extension for Word documents. Confirm changes by pressing Enter on your keyboard.
Step 8: Click the Yes button.
Step 9: You can then send your file with your mail and you won’t receive warning that you can’t send that type of files.
Step 10: When the person to whom you send your file receive your message, he will do the opposite, i.e. remove the extension .doc from the file and replace it with the original extension that you previously replaced.

Upload multiple files at once

When you have multiple files to attach to a message written in Gmail for example, you have to select them one by one. However it is possible to select all of your files at the same time and avoid waiting and attaching each file individually, here is how to do that
Step 1: When you are composing a new email in Gmail for example and want to attach your files click Attach a file link

Step 2: In the window that opens, navigate to the folder where the files you want to attach are located. Press the Ctrl key on your keyboard and while holding it down, left mouse click on files that you want to upload (select as many of them as you wish)

Step 3: Click the Open button.
Step 4: The files are then uploaded to the servers and added to your Gmail message. A progress bar indicates the progress of the operation.

Split a large file into several pieces

Many mail services prohibit sending files larger than a certain threshold, e.g. 5 MB. To send a larger file, you must split it into several parts which you can then send in separate messages. The recipient will then only have to pick up the pieces of your file. To do this we will use the free tool Xtremsplit. This application is free however it’s on French, but you will ne have any difficulties to use it if you follow steps below
Step 1: First download Xtremsplit on your computer
Step 2: Once the download completes no installation is required, simply run the software by double clicking the downloaded file.
Step 3: Now click S.

Step 4: Select the file which you want to split apart and click Open.
Step 5: By clicking D you can change the location of where you splitted parts will be added.

Step 6: Then at the bottom of the window, under ‘Taille des parties‘ specify the size each splitted file, 4 MB for example.
Step 7: Then click the COUPER button.

Step 8: A message indicating the end of the operation, click OK.
Step 9: Now all you have to do is attach each of those splitted files and send them to your friend/coworker

Merge the pieces of splitted file

Now when you sent your file to a friend or coworker he will need to recreate the original file and for that purpose he will also need to use a Xtremsplit application.
Step 1: At first, he will need to save all the pieces of the file located in different mails in one folder on his hard drive.
Step 2: Then he needs to run the Xtremsplit and select Coller option

Step 3: Click S and select the first file, namely the file whose name ends with 001.xtm. Click Open.

Step 4: Click the COLLER button.
Step 5: Finally, click OK and he have original file returned to its real size.

Details

How To Download A Copy Of All Your Emails

2012-07-23T15:51:00.000-07:00

When you read your emails, you use a web mail clients such Gmail, AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo for example. Whenever you read emails using those online clients you need to have access to internet. If you need to take your emails wherever you go, you can download all your messages in a mail program on your computer or on a memory stick and then read them later or when you need them. This is also good a way to keep a copy of your important messages on your computer. In this tutorial I will show you how to use Thunderbird to retrieve your emails from the Internet, while leaving a copy on your web mail. You can access all your messages from the Internet, but also from your USB drive. Of course, this latest version contains all the messages until your last login.

Before proceeding to below steps make sure you download Thunderbird Portable from this link and copy downloaded file anywhere with you. The reason why we use a portable version of Thunderbird is because you can put on your USB drive and then carry your emails with you.
Note: For this tutorial I will be using my favorite webmail Gmail, however this process will work in any other such as Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, AOL Mail, etc…
Step 1: Since all webmails by default do not allow the downloading of messages from POP, we will need to enable POP inside webmail. For that first log into your Gmail account.
Step 2: Click gear button located at the top right of your Gmail and from drop down menu choose Settings

Step 3: Click Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab

Step 4: Then select Enable POP for all mail
Step 5: Scroll down the list When messages are accessed with POP and choose Archive Gmail’s copy. This way all emails which are downloaded to your computer or your USB drive will be automatically archived in Gmail.

Step 6: Now click the Save Changes button located at the bottom of the page
Step 7: Now we will configure a portable version of Thunderbird which we previously downloaded at the beginning of this tutorial. To do that start the Thunderboard by double clikcing on downloaded file
Step 8: In a window that appears click on click Tools and then from drop down menu select Account Settings

Step 9: Inside new window click on Account Actions and then Add Mail Account

Step 10: Type in your email full name, email and password. Click Continue button

Step 11: Now select POP3 select box and click Done (Note that POP settings are automatically adjusted by Thunderbird)

Step 12: Now when we have all configured lets download your emails. To do that simply click on Get Mail button located in top left corne of your Thunderbird window.

Step 13: If it ask you to enter a password type it in and then confirm. All your emails will be downlaoded now and original messages are stored online on Gmail under All Mail.
Depending on your net connection type and speed it might take some time if you have GBs of email in your mailbox. We hope this will help you having a copy of all your emails. Share your thoughts with me in comments below.

Details

How to Get Better Battery Life and Performance on Your Android Phone with a New Kernel

2012-07-22T03:38:00.000-07:00

You may have heard about how flashing a new ROM can improve your Android experience, but flashing a new kernel is one of the best ways to improve your phone's performance, battery life, and even add some saucy new features. Whether you know anything about either, here's what you need to know to make it happen.

What Is a Kernel?

A kernel in an operating system—in this case Android—is the component responsible for helping your applications communicate with your hardware. It manages the system resources, communicates with external devices when needed, and so on. Android uses a variation of the Linux kernel. A kernel is not the same as a ROM, even though you install them in mostly the same way. A ROM is a bit more all-encompassing. It's the operating system you use on your phone, the software your phone uses to get things done—the kernel is the bridge between that ROM and your hardware. All ROMs come with a kernel installed, but you can install a third-party one if you like—and that's what this post is about.

What a New Kernel Can Do For Your Phone

Flashing kernels isn't quite as talked about as flashing ROMs, but it can do a ton for your phone, namely in the way of battery life and performance—though it can also add extra features to your device, too. Here are some things to look for when choosing a new kernel.

Better Performance and Battery Life

This is the big change a new kernel can bring to your device. I'd separate these into two categories, but they're so intertwined that you really need to consider both when picking a kernel. There are a bunch of different kernel features that contribute to this:
Clock Speeds: In a very basic sense, higher clock speeds will improve performance on your phone. Flashing a new kernel allows you to overclock your phone, using higher clock speeds than the manufacturer intended. They can also let you reach lower clock speeds, so you can underclock your phone when you aren't using it, thus saving battery life. Your kernel will only give you the option to do so, however; if you want to overclock, you'll have to flash the kernel in question and then use something like SetCPU or CPU Tuner to tweak the clock speed.
Voltage: Higher clock speeds use up more battery on your phone because they require more voltage. However, some ROMs come with lower voltage limits, which means your phone will run just as fast, but use up less battery. Some will even overclock and undervolt your phone, though all of this comes at the expense of stability—if you notice that your phone goes into a boot loop, or reboots at random times, you'll want to either lower your clock speed or upgrade to a kernel with a higher voltage. Some ROMS have further sub-categories in this section, like Hybrid Adaptive Voltage Scaling (HAVS), which can be better for battery life (at the risk of stability) and Static Voltage Scaling (SVS), which keeps your phone at a steady voltage.
CPU Governors: Different kernels can support different CPU Governers, which manage the way your phone ramps up or down its clock speeds as you use it. There are a few different kinds you'll see, including Conservative, which focuses on battery life by ramping up your CPU very gradually when needed; Interactive, which focuses more on performance and smoothness by scaling up the CPU faster; InteractiveX, which is like Interactive but scales the CPU down when your screen is off (for better battery life); and Smartass, which is similar to Conservative but takes more factors into account when ramping up the CPU.
Task Scheduler: Kernels come with two different types of task schedulers: the Completely Fair Scheduler (CFS) and the Brain F**k Scheduler (BFS). CFS kernels are designed for regular phone use, like texting, web browsing, and otherwise multitasking apps on your phone. Most stock kernels are CFS kernels. BFS kernels focus more on whatever app is in the foreground, which is great for things like games but can be a bit laggier and a bit less stable.
These are the biggest features, but kernel developers add in all kinds of other tweaks to their kernels when possible, whether its introducing a more efficient file system, making the RAM more efficient, and so on. Again, they should list the tweaks in their description, so read up on the kernels for your specific device to learn more. I'd also recommend checking out XDA user mroneeyedboh's HTC Evo 4G kernel starter guide, from which much of this information comes.

Extra Features

Kernels can also add full features to your phone, or fix other issues that the manufacturer hasn't attended to yet. For example, while a lot of phones support Wi-Fi tethering out of the box, some—like the Motorola Droid—don't. If you find your phone isn't letting you tether using apps like Wi-Fi Tether, you might need to flash a new kernel that supports Wi-Fi tethering on your device. Kernels for Samsung phones can add support for a feature called Backlight Notification (BLN), which, coupled with an app, can turn your phone's buttons into notification lights.
Keep an eye out for features you don't want, too. For example, some HTC kernels come with a feature called Superior Battery Charging, or SBC, that can overcharge your battery for better life—but is likely to shorten your battery's life at best, or make it unstable at worst. I'd avoid kernels with this feature. You should also watch out for kernels that disable certain features of your phone—since some features are manufacturer-specific, you won't be able to get them in other ROMs or kernels. A good example of this is HDMI support on the EVO 4G.
Again, just make sure you research all the kernels available for your device, and know what you're getting yourself into before you flash. Most phones should have a large forum thread somewhere on XDA or RootzWiki that lists all the kernels available for their device. Make sure you choose a compatible one, too—the version of Android you're running determines what kernels you can use, so make sure you don't flash a Sense kernel on an AOSP ROM (like CyanogenMod), and make sure you don't flash a Froyo kernel on a Gingerbread phone—they won't play nicely together.

How to Flash a New Kernel

Once you've found a kernel you want to flash, download it to your device. It should be in ZIP format. Flashing a kernel is almost exactly like flashing a new ROM. You'll need to flash a new recovery to your phone, like ClockworkMod, which you can flash with ROM Manager. Put the ZIP file on your phone's SD card, then start up ROM Manager and go to "Install ROM from SD Card". Choose the kernel's ZIP file and continue. Note, however, that some kernels require that you flash them through your recovery mode instead of with ROM Manager—so once again, do your due diligence on its home page before you go a-flashin'.
The main difference between flashing a ROM and flashing a kernel is that you do not want to wipe your data. Wipe the Dalvik Cache only, and back up your ROM if desired (I highly recommend doing so, in case something goes wrong). Other than that, you should be golden. If you haven't flashed a ROM before, I recommend reading up on that first—but if you're familiar with that process, flashing a kernel shouldn't be a big shock to the system.

Flashing a new kernel can sound pretty dramatic, but it's actually quite simple—and it's very easy to try out a bunch of different kernels before settling on one. Whether your preference is battery life, performance, or extra features like color tinting, you have a whole lot of choices to further tweak your Android experience.

How to get the Best rom for your Android device

2012-07-22T03:30:00.000-07:00

There are tons of great reasons to root your Android phone, but once you do, you'll likely be overwhelmed with all the custom ROM options out there. Here's how to go about finding—and installing—the one that fits your needs.

What's a ROM?

One of the best things about the openness of the Android platform is that if you're unhappy with the stock OS, you can install one of many modified versions of Android (called ROMs) on your device. The downside is that there are so many developers and different Android devices out there that the custom ROM scene can be very difficult to navigate. We're here to help the whole process seem a bit more manageable.

This guide assumes you've already rooted your device. Thus, if you haven't, be sure to do that first

The Three Most Popular Types of ROMs

If you're familiar with Linux, choosing the right ROM is similar to finding the right Linux distribution. Each version of the OS has a specific goal in mind, and as such differs quite a bit from the others. Which one you choose is dependent on your priorities and how you use the device.
The most popular types of ROM's come in three different flavors: ROMs that port future versions of Android to your device (when they aren't yet officially available), ROMs that add new features beyond the stock OS, and ROMs that focus on speed and stability. These aren't the only three categories of custom ROMs, nor are they hard and fast rules, but they offer good guidelines as to what's out there. Generally, you can pick a ROM fairly easily if you know which of these three categories contains the features most important to you.

1) Future Versions of Android

Unless you're on the Nexus One, it usually takes a while for your phone's manufacturer to prepare the latest and greatest version of Android for your device. At the time of this writing, for example, Android 2.2 "Froyo" (the most up-to-date, stable Android OS) is available and has been open sourced, but most manufacturers haven't released updates for their devices yet. Luckily, since the Froyo source code became available, pretty much all ROMs out there are Froyo-based now (you'll know because they'll say they're based on the latest version of the Android Open Source Project, or AOSP). But before the source code of a big update is released, it's up to kindly developers to create ROMs based on the early releases in this category alone. Once the source is available, nearly every category of ROM will use the future version.
For the purpose of explanation, however, let's take a trip back to the time before the Froyo source code was available. When Froyo first came to the Nexus One, many developers took that version or other Froyo leaks and and created ROMs for other phones, for those that wanted the newest version as soon as possible. They were the only ROMs based on Froyo at the time—the ROMs in the categories below may have contained a few Froyo features, but most developers don't base their ROMs on Froyo until the source code is available. Thus, if you want the newest stock version of Android as soon as it comes out, these are the ROMs to go with. They're usually the least stable ROMs of the bunch, however, so once the code's been open sourced, you're better off going with something from the "speed and stability" category (since it'll still be based on the newest version). Once the next release of Android comes out (codenamed "Gingerbread"), this category of ROM will be most people's first shot at the new release.

2) ROMs That Add New Features

Many ROMs seek to add more features to your phone that aren't available in the stock OS. Usually these are things like extra settings (seen in the screenshot above), or little conveniences like making the "sound off" lock screen slide put your phone on vibrate instead, or letting you skip music tracks with the volume buttons. Sometimes these ROMs will also contain things outright missing from the stock version, like FLAC support. While feature-adding ROMs are still built for speed and stability, they may not be quite as fast or as stable as those in the third category (though they're often still be better than the stock ROM). In most cases, the most popular ROM in this category is CyanogenMod, although devices without CyanogenMod ports have similar ROMs that achieve the same goals (such as the Fresh ROM, available for the Evo).
Note that when I say ROMs add extra features, I do not mean features like tethering, overclocking, and other larger, more publicized features. Most of these features make it to Android devices through separate apps instead of being built-in. Many ROMs (both in this category and in others) may pre-install them, but you can, naturally, add a lot of feature-adding applications to a rooted phone (through the Android Market) without installing a custom ROM.

3) ROMs That Focus Only on Speed and Stability

Some ROMs, such as OpenDesire on the Desire, Baked Snack on the Evo, or Bugless Beast on the Droid, are less focused on tweaking the OS for features and more focused on bringing as much speed, stability, and battery life to your phone as possible. Thus, if you have rooted mainly for this reason (or because you wanted to add larger, app-based features such as wireless tethering), then this type of ROM is the one for you. They may sometimes lag a bit behind in terms of adding the newest features, but they're usually the fastest and most stable around. Often they also remove the bloat many manufacturers put on their phones, such as extra apps or user interfaces (such as HTC's Sense and Motorola's MotoBlur).
Note that all ROMs will probably say that they focus on speed and stability, but this particular group focuses only on these things, and will usually say that they contain no extra tweaks as a result, so look for that as opposed to the words "built for speed and stability" when you search in the next step.

How to Find and Install Custom ROMs

We briefly discussed how to install a custom ROM in our Droid rooting tutorial, but below I'm going to delve a bit deeper into the ins and outs of the process of picking, backing up, and flashing your ROM. Reminder: Your phone should already be rooted before you proceed.

Your Recovery Image

Your phone's recovery image is is the system from which you can flash new ROMs and themes, make and restore backups (called "nandroid" backups), wipe caches, and perform other tasks. It's essentially an Android rooter's best friend. To access it, you usually need to boot up your phone while holding down one or two external buttons (such as the volume button, or a button on the phone's physical keyboard, if applicable). You'll have to look up the button combination for your specific phone on Google, by searching something like htc evo recovery mode (replacing htc evo with your specific phone, of course).

There are a few different custom recovery images out there that make hacking easier than the stock recovery image does. We're going to use one called ClockworkMod, since it comes with ROM Manager and is easy to use. To start, install ROM Manager from the Market (the free version is usually suitable, although you may find later that you want to upgrade to the pay version, which has more ROMs, themes, and overclocking kernels). Start the app, hit the "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery" button at the top of the main menu, and confirm your phone's model. You'll see a progress bar at the top of the screen while it flashes. When it's finished, you're ready to download and install a new ROM.

Finding the Right ROM

The problem with the ROM scene is that most ROMs don't have any kind of official web site; they're usually just posted on forums (which makes them a bit more difficult to search for). There aren't many comprehensive ROM databases on the net, but I did find this list at TheUnlockr, which is pretty good. Just click on your phone's model and you'll be presented with a fairly well-maintained list of the popular ROMs available for your phone (some phones, like the Droid, don't have a very populated list yet, but most do).

If you like, you can open up ROM Manager at this point and hit "Download ROM" to see which ROMs are available through the app. These are usually the most popular, and are good guidelines as to which ones you should read up on. Click on a few of the links at TheUnlockr's database and see if you can figure out which category it belongs to. Unfortunately most ROMs aren't going to come out and clearly identify as fitting into one of the categories we laid out above, but often they will say at the beginning whether they have added extra features to the ROM or whether they were built only for stability. You can also take a look at the changelog to see if extra features have been added or whether it's a bunch of under-the-hood tweaks and extra apps like Wireless Tether.
Once you've found one or more ROMs that sound good, it's mostly trial and error from here. You might have to test drive more than one to get a feel for which ones you like best, but that's the fun part of it all. Note also, that even if a ROM isn't listed in ROM Manager but it sounds really good, you can still download it to your phone's SD card and install it using ROM Manager's "install from SD card" option, so don't let ROM Manager's list limit you if you don't like anything it has, even though it is a good guideline of what's popular.

Note: In some cases, CyanogenMod is the only popular ROM available for your device. In these cases, even if you're looking only for speed and stability, I recommend you try it out—while Cyanogen definitely falls into the "features" category of ROMs, it is by far one of the most popular and widely worked-on cross-device ROMs out there, and there's a reason for it. Also, the newest version is incredibly fast and stable from my experience, far more than older versions—so even if that's your goal, you may find yourself happy with it.

Install Your New ROM

Installing a new ROM (more commonly known as "flashing") is very easy with ROM Manager. Just go back to the "Download ROM" section (or, if you're installing a ROM from your SD card, go to "Install ROM from SD card" and pick your ROM). It will download, if applicable, and then give you this prompt:

Always, always, always back up your existing ROM before flashing something new. Then, if something goes wrong, you can always restore to your latest backup, either through ROM Manager (by going to "Manage and Restore backups" on the main menu) or by booting into recovery mode and choosing "nandroid".
Generally, you'll want to "Wipe Data and Cache" if you're moving from a ROM based on one Android version to the next (i.e. a 2.1-based ROM to a 2.2-based ROM). You'll also want to check the main download page of the ROM you're installing (which you can find through TheUnlockr) to see if they recommend wiping for that particular version. "Wipe Data and Cache" basically means that all your settings will be returned to stock—If you weren't running a Froyo build beforehand, you'll have to re-download all your apps, as well as rearrange your home screens and reconfigure all your custom settings every time you wipe. In the end, you can always try not wiping and see what happens—if you flash a ROM and have problems, it's pretty easy to restore from your backup and try again.

Enjoy Your New ROM

At this point, your phone will reboot into recovery mode, flash the ROM, and you can explore all the new features available to you (or just bask in the glory of speed and stability). You can do a bit more with ROM Manager, like install extra themes and kernels, which we discussed in our Droid rooting tutorial. Remember that a good part of picking the right ROM is trial and error, so don't be afraid to flash something else, even if you like the first one you picked—you might be surprised how much more you like others. Besides, even if you don't, you can always restore from your backup and be none the more inconvenienced.

Reasons to Root Your Android Device

2012-07-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

Android's an open, capable operating system all by itself, but by default it doesn't allow apps to assume root access—that is, take full control—of your phone or tablet. That imposes a few limitations and those are easily removed through the process of rooting your device. In many cases it's very simple, and doesn't require much more than plugging in your Android and pressing a button. Some devices require quite a bit more work, and others just need you to apply a firmware patch (which is scarier than it is difficult). Rooting will let you do great things like control your device with a PS3 controller, set up an awesome automated backup process, block ads, encrypt your internet traffic, and automate practically anything. You may not need to root for a lot of reasons, but there's almost always one killer hack that makes it an essential process.

The Always Up-To-Date Guide to Rooting the Most Popular Android Phones

2012-07-22T03:11:00.000-07:00

We love Android, but rooting your phone can give you the opportunity to do so much more than your phone can do out of the box—whether its wireless tethering, speeding it up with overclocking, or customizing the look of your phone with themes. Here's how to root some of the most popular phones with minimal effort.
Rooting, for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run more apps (like backup or tethering apps), as well as flash custom ROMs to your phone, which add all sorts of extra features. If you're on the fence about rooting, check out our top 10 root-only apps that make it worth the hassle.
There are a ton of different Android phones out there, and while some rooting methods might work for multiple phones, there is no one-size-fits-all guide for rooting every phone out there. As such, we can't show you how to root every phone in existence, especially since we can't test every method. So we're going to post methods for the ten most popular Android phones among our readers and the ones you voted as the five best, and keep it updated as new phones come out. If your phone isn't on the list, be sure to check the Where to Go if Your Phone Isn't Listed section for suggestions on where you can find more info pertaining to your specific device.

Glossary of Rooting Terms

As you learn more about the rooting process, you'll probably run into a bunch of terms that can be confusing. Here are some of the most important ones and what they mean.

Rooting Terms

Root: Rooting means you have root access to your device—that is, it can run the sudo command, and has enhanced privileges allowing it to run apps like Wireless Tether or SetCPU. You can root either by installing the Superuser application—which many of the below root processes include—or by flashing a custom ROM that has root access included.

ROM: A ROM is a modified version of Android. It may contain extra features, a different look, speed enhancements, or even a version of Android that hasn't been released yet. We won't discuss ROMs in depth here, but if you want to use one once you're rooted, you can read more about doing that here.

Flash: Flashing essentially means installing something on your device, whether it be a ROM, a kernel, or something else that comes in the form of a ZIP file. Sometimes the rooting process requires flashing ZIP file, sometimes it doesn't.

Bootloader: Your bootloader is the lowest level of software on your phone, running all the code that's necessary to start up your operating system. Most bootloaders come locked, which keeps you from rooting your phone. Unlocking your bootloader doesn't root your phone directly, but it does allow you to root, then flash custom ROMs if you so desire.

Recovery: Your recovery is the software on your phone that lets you make backups, flash ROMs, and perform other system-level tasks. The default recoveries can't do much, but you can flash a custom recovery—like ClockworkMod—after you've unlocked your bootloader that will give you much more control over your device. This is often an integral part of the rooting process.

ADB: ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, and it's a command line tool for your computer that can communicate with an Android device you've connected to it. It's part of the Android Software Developers Kit (SDK). Many of the root tools below use ADB, whether you're typing the commands yourself or not. Unless the instructions call for installing the SDK and running ADB commands, you won't need to mess with it—you'll just need to know that it's what most of the tools use to root your phone.
S-OFF: HTC phones use a feature called Signature Verification in HBOOT, their bootloader. By default, your phone has S-ON, which means it blocks you from flashing radio images—the code that manages your data, Wi-Fi, and GPS connections. Switching your phone to S-OFF lets you flash new radios. Rooting doesn't require S-OFF, but many rooting tools will give you S-OFF in addition to root access, which is nice.

RUU and SBF: ROM Upgrade Utilities (for HTC phones) and System Boot Files (for Motorola phones) are files direct from the manufacturer that change the software on your phone. RUU and SBF files are how the manufacturers deliver your over-the-air upgrades, and modders often post leaked RUU and SBF files for flashing when the updates haven't been released yet. They're also handy when downgrading your phone, if a rooting method isn't available for the newest software version yet. You can flash RUUs right from your HTC phone, but Motorola users will need a Windows program called RSD Lite to flash SBF files.

Rooting Methods

We won't go through the nitty gritty details of each method, since we can't test them ourselves, but we will tell you what you need and what each method entails. Before rooting, we recommend you read up a bit more on your phone, and we've provided some links for further reading at the end of each description. Click on your phone's thumbnail below for more.

Where to Go If Your Phone Isn't Listed

Just because your phone isn't listed doesn't mean it isn't rootable (in fact, some of the above methods might work on other phones). Pete's rooting tool, which roots the Droid X and Motorola Atrix, also roots a number of other Motorola phones, from the Cliq to the Droid2 and 3 to the Droid Bionic. Similarly, HTC's official unlocking method will unlock the bootloader of nearly any HTC phone, though you'll need to look up more information on how to flash a recovery to your specific device. It also isn't the easiest method, so if your phone has a one-click tool available, it's usually better to use that because it's quicker, will give you S-OFF, and won't leave a digital "watermark" on your phone that permanently voids your warranty. Lastly, SuperOneClick is a great one-click app that roots a ton of phones, especially older ones, so do a bit of googling and see if it works for yours—because it's just about the easiest root method out there.
The best way to research your phone, though, would be to check out the All Things Root section of your phone's forum at Android Forums. If you find your phone's subforum and click on All Things Root, there's almost always a sticky post with info on rooting methods, ROMs, and other special troubleshooting tips that could apply to your specific phone. Looking up your phone on the XDA Developers forums is always a great idea too, and the CyanogenMod Wiki often has lots of information on rooting and flashing ROMs as well (even if you aren't flashing CyanogenMod). With a bit of research, you should be able to find at least one guide that works for your specific device.

The 10 Best Android Apps that Make Rooting Your Phone Worth the Hassle

2012-07-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

Android phones are spectacular little devices because they're able to so much that others simply can't, but one big snag in that greatness is that many of those best features require that the phones be rooted. Whether you plan on installing custom ROMs or not, you may want to root your phone just to use the great apps that require root access. Here are the ten most essential apps available for Android that require root.
Rooting, for those of you that don't know, means giving yourself root permissions on your phone. It's similar running programs as administrators in Windows, or running a command with sudo in Linux. With a rooted phone, you can run more apps or install custom versions of the Android operating system. Note that there's a big difference between installing a custom ROM on an Android phone and just rooting it. Custom ROMs may offer plenty of features that aren't available direct from the manufacturer, but most of them can be added to a rooted phone by simply installing the right apps. That's what we're after today.
If you haven't rooted your phone yet, but would like to know more about the process, be sure to check out our always up-to-date guide to rooting Android phones.

Superuser Allows Other Apps Root Access

Superuser is the first app a user should install after rooting, if the rooting method didn't do it already. "Rooting" a phone allows a user to establish total control over the device, but Superuser is the app that provides the button for that control. With Superuser installed, any app that needs root privileges to run will have to ask permission, and an informative pop-up will display with the option to give it those privileges. This app is an absolute must for any of the other apps on the list to even run.

Titanium Backup Automates System Backups

Titanium Backup is an enormously useful app. Not only can it backup apps, but it can backup apps and all their data, and it can delete apps—even system apps or bloatware. Making regular backups of all your apps (and their data) can ensure that if you ever really screw up, say in trying to install a custom ROM, that you can still have everything the way you left it should you need to wipe the entire phone and start from scratch. For more detailed information, see our full guide on using Titanium Backup.

ShootMe Takes Screenshots with a Shake

It's a sad fact that Android ships with no way to take screenshots. ShootMe is an extremely simple, user-friendly app that rectifies that situation, but it needs the phone to be rooted first. ShootMe's greatest feature is that it allows you to choose from several options in deciding what the trigger should be for the screenshot to take place—whether it's shaking the phone, covering the light sensor, or just yelling at it (my favorite).

Metamorph Applies Visual Themes to Anything

Metamorph is a small app that allows you to theme any part of Android by applying simple patch files. Learning how to make your own themes isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but most users don't bother—there are plenty to choose from, made by other users who are absolutely nuts about theming. Parts of the system that can be themed by Metamorph include the lockscreen, menu screens, individual apps, or just about anything else that's ever displayed on the screen. It's all possible.

Adfree Blocks Ads Anywhere on Your Phone

Adfree may actually be the greatest root-essential app available on Android, and it's one that you never see unless it needs updating. All Adfree does is block ads, but it does it for everything on the phone. Since the app works by blocking ad-serving sites at the IP address level (by modifying the phone's Hosts file), it doesn't slow your system down, and it does a remarkably good job. Even if you don't mind ads in your browser, using Adfree makes "free" apps from the Market much more tolerable, since most of them have pop-up ads that tend to ruin the experience otherwise.

SSH Tunnel Encrypts All Internet Traffic on Your Phone

Recently mentioned SSH Tunnel is an app that allows an Android phone to connect to the internet using an ssh tunnel for a completely secure connection. It's great for those times when you've got no data signal, stuck at work or a coffee shop that only has public Wi-Fi available, and you need to be sure that nobody is snooping your sensitive personal information as you connect to sites like Gmail or Facebook.

Tasker Can Automate Almost Any Task

Tasker by itself doesn't require root privileges to run, but some of its more impressive features do. Giving Tasker room to do what it does best is definitely a good thing, since it can practically automate your entire phone given the right amount of power. Rooting your phone is the only way to give it that kind of access.

SetCPU Controls the Speed and Behavior of Your Phone's Processor

SetCPU has been, is still, and will probably be for quite some time the de facto tool for controlling a rooted Android phone's processor speed. SetCPU allows the user to exert total control over how fast, or slow, the processor runs at any given point in time. As an example, SetCPU can force the processor to sit at its lowest setting whenever the screen is turned off, but to use a range between 240MHz and 806MHz as needed while the phone is awake. For phones that have the ability to drastically overclock, SetCPU can help ensure that they don't overheat by keeping watch on the temperature, and acting accordingly. Overclocking or not, battery savings and overall performance can be greatly enhanced using this app.

Busybox Adds True Linux Commands to the Android System

Busybox is often called "the Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux," because that's what it basically is. It's not an actual app that you run, but instead provides all the Linux/UNIX commands that we know and love. Without the commands installed, the barebones "Linux" that Android runs on top of can't really do too much, making apps like Terminal Emulator nearly worthless.

Wireless Tether Turns Your Phone into a Wi-Fi Hotspot

Finally, Wireless Tether. For many users, this feature is the single most important thing in the world of mobile devices, so having the ability to use it is a must. Wireless Tether turns an Android phone, regardless of carrier, into a full blown W-Fi hotspot for any nearby devices that need one. It's as simple as that, but only rooted phones can use it.

There are plenty of other apps out there that only work with rooted phones, and it doesn't seem likely that the carriers are ever going to allow phones on their networks to sell with root capabilities baked in. If you want the added functionality of these apps, there's just no way around it. You've got to go rooted. So, if you're convinced, head over to the rooting guide to see what's required to set your phone free.
Know of any other great apps for rooted Android phones? Have a personal favorite that's not on the list? Share them in the comments!

Jailbreak Your iPhone

2012-07-22T02:56:00.000-07:00

In the past jailbreaking was almost a necessity to get the functionality you wanted out of your iPhone, but with a rapidly maturing operating system with most of the features people want it's not as much of a concern as it used to be. That said, you don't want to discount the jailbreaking process. The awesome things you can do may not be obvious anymore, but they're still awesome. The jailbreaking process is easier than ever and the community of developers and users is wonderfully large. The primary reason to jailbreak nowadays is that if you have a problem, in a day or two someone will have developed a solution. Take Sparrow for example. It's a phenomenal mail client for the iPhone, but because of Apple's restrictions it can't safely offer push notifications for new messages. This bothered some people, in within a day Sparrow Push was developed to provide that functionality. On top of that there are plenty of great apps and notification center tweaks that are a good place to start if you're new to jailbreaking. It may not be the necessity it once was, but it's now awesome for several new reasons.

Boost Your Router with DD-WRT or Tomato

2012-07-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

Out of the box, the firmware on most routers isn't great. It lacks features, doesn't work properly, or is just a pain to use. Two custom firmware upgrades are available to solve some or all of those problems: DD-WRT and Tomato. DD-WRT is geared at providing you with a level of control you'd expect from a professional-grade router. Tomato was designed to make your router much more user-friendly so you don't have to be an expert to use it. Tomato also provides a number of important features missing from some router firmware, too. However you slice it, these upgrades can make your life easier, help you boost a crappy Wi-Fi signal, configure a more functional network setup, and a whole lot more. It's not the flashiest of hardware boosting hacks, but it is one of the best. Your network will thank you for it.

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Audio formats. Difference and Which One you Should Use.

2012-07-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

I know MP3 is the most popular audio format out there, but there are so many others—like AAC, FLAC, OGG and WMA—that I'm not really sure which one I should be using. What's the difference between them, and which one should I use to rip my music?

You aren't alone in your confusion, but luckily, it's pretty simple once you understand it all. Here's a quick lowdown on the differences between each of these audio formats.

The Lossless Formats: WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless, and Others

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We've talked about the difference between lossless and lossy before, but the short version is, there are two types of audio quality: lossless and lossy. Lossless music keeps all the audio quality of the original source—in most cases, CD—intact, while lossy music compresses the files for space savings (though at slightly diminished quality). Lossless files include:

WAV and AIFF: Both WAV and AIFF are uncompressed formats, which means they are exact copies of the original source audio. The two formats are essentially the same quality; they just store the data a bit differently. AIFF is made by Apple, so you may see it a bit more often in Apple products, but WAV is pretty much universal. However, since they're uncompressed, they take up a lot of unnecessary space. Unless you're editing the audio, you don't need to store the audio in these formats.
FLAC: The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) is the most popular lossless format, making it a good choice if you want to store your music in lossless. Unlike WAV and AIFF, it's been compressed, so it takes up a lot less space. However, it's still a lossless format, which means the audio quality is still the same as the original source, so it's much better for listening than WAV and AIFF. It's also free and open source, which is handy if you're into that sort of thing.
Apple Lossless: Also known as ALAC, Apple Lossless is similar to FLAC. It's a compressed lossless file, although it's made by Apple. Its compression isn't quite as efficient as FLAC, so your files may be a bit bigger, but it's fully supported by iTunes and iOS (while FLAC is not). Thus, you'd want to use this if you use iTunes and iOS as your primary music listening software.
APE: APE is a very highly compressed lossless file, meaning you'll get the most space savings. Its audio quality is the same as FLAC, ALAC, and other lossless files, but it isn't compatible with nearly as many players. They also work your processor harder to decode, since they're so highly compressed. Generally, I wouldn't recommend using this unless you're very starved for space and have a player that supports it.
The Lossy Formats: MP3, AAC, OGG, and More
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For regular listening, it's more likely that you'll be using a lossy format. They save a ton of space, leaving you with more room for songs on your portable player, and—if they're high enough bitrate—they'll be indistinguishable from the original source. Here are the formats you'll probably run into:
- MP3: MPEG Audio Layer III, or MP3 for short, is the most common lossy format around. So much so that it's become synonymous with downloaded music. MP3 isn't the most efficient format of them all, but its definitely the most well-supported, making it our #1 choice for lossy audio. You really can't go wrong with MP3.
- AAC: Advanced Audio Coding, also known as AAC, is similar to MP3, although it's a bit more efficient. That means that you can have files that take up less space, but with the same sound quality as MP3. And, with Apple's iTunes making AAC so popular, it's almost as widely compatible with MP3. I've only ever had one device that couldn't play AACs properly, and that was a few years ago, so it's pretty hard to go wrong with AAC either.
- Ogg Vorbis: The Vorbis format, often known as Ogg Vorbis due to its use of the Ogg container, is a free and open source alternative to MP3 and AAC. Its main draw is that it isn't restricted by patents, but that doesn't affect you as a user—in fact, despite its open nature and similar quality, it's much less popular than MP3 and AAC, meaning fewer players are going to support it. As such, we don't really recommend it unless you feel very strongly about open source.
- WMA: Windows Media Audio is Microsoft's own proprietary format, similar to MP3 or AAC. It doesn't really offer any advantages over the other formats, and it's also not as well supported. There's very little reason to rip your CDs into this format.
So Which Should You Use?
Now that you understand the difference between each format, what should you use for ripping or downloading music? In general, we recommend using MP3 or AAC. They're compatible with nearly every player out there, and both are indistinguishable from the original source if encoded at a high bitrate. Unless you have specific needs that suggest otherwise, MP3 and AAC are clear choices.
However, there is something to be said for ripping your music in a lossless format like FLAC. While you probably won't notice higher quality, lossless is great for storing your music if you plan on converting it to other formats later on—since converting a lossy format to another lossy format (e.g., AAC to MP3) will produce files of noticeably lower quality. So, for archival purposes, we recommend FLAC. However, you can use any lossless format you want, since you can convert between lossless formats without changing the quality of the file.
The bottom line? Don't stress out about it. Just make sure you're using something widely compatible, don't convert between two lossy formats, and just enjoy the music!

Source

Yahoo, Gmail, AOL Passwords Leaked; Check If You Are Among The Victims

2012-07-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

The string of hackers reaching out to prominent tech giants and hacking into their systems continues. This time, the primary victim has been Yahoo. The company has confirmed that some 400,000 usernames and passwords of Yahoo users were hacked by a hacker group called D33D and were leaked onto the web.

However, Yahoo was not the only one who was targeted. Among other companies whose systems were hacked into, are Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, SBC Global, BellSouth and Verizon.
Interestingly, the hackers who have posted this data online attached a brief note which reads, “We hope that the parties responsible for managing the security of this subdomain will take this as a wake-up call, and not as a threat.” The online data dump can be found here.

It is alarming to note that such successful hacking ventures are becoming more frequent, making the social media as well as the regular online systems appear very insecure to the users. Hackers seem to be able to hack into any of them on the whim of their wills and put the privacy and identity of millions of users at stake.

If you wish to check out whether or not your Yahoo account was among the ones which were hacked, head straight to this Sucuri Malware Labs page.

If you are a Gmail user, the you are more secure. Because, Google has taken swift measures to immediately reset the passwords of the compromised accounts, thus adding a fair deal of security. Yahoo is also taking similar measures. A spokesperson for Yahoo stated on this account, “We are fixing the vulnerability that led to the disclosure of this data, changing the passwords of the affected Yahoo users and notifying companies whose user accounts may have been compromised.”

Source: D33D
Courtesy: Mashable

Details: http://thetechjournal.com/internet/web-security/yahoo-gmail-aol-passwords-leaked-check-if-you-are-among-the-victims.xhtml#ixzz21FzcTtP2

How To Install Mac OS X Lion From Any USB Drive

2012-07-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

Mac OS X 10.7.3 Lion is only available for download via the App Store from Apple. It includes over 250 new features that will transform how you interact with your Mac. Although a USB version is also available for a bit higher price (double the price of the downloadable version), many of you will want to learn how to create their own bootable USB drive version to shelter your Lion. This procedure is quite simple and fast which will certainly help you to save at least $30 because you won’t need to buy Mac OS X 10.7 Lion USB version.

To create a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion bootable USB drive follow steps below:

Step 1: The first thing to do is to pay $29.99 from the App Store to download the latest Mac OS 10.7.3. After download process is completed a folder named Install Mac OS X Lion is in your Applications folder.

Step 2: Right click on downloaded package and choose Show Package

Step 3: Now open folder Contents and then SharedSupport.

Step 4: Copy InstallESD.dmg on your desktop for convenience.

Step 5: Find Disk Utility via Spotlight and insert your USB drive with a minimum capacity of 8 GB. Also make sure your USB drive is blank.

Step 6: Your USB then appears in the list on the left that lists all partitions internal or external. Select your USB drive and click the Restore button on the right side.

Step 7: In the Source… field, click Image… and specify the file InstallESD.dmg previously copied to the desktop.

Step 8: In the Destination… field, drag and drop your USB drive from the list on the left.

Step 9: You just have to click on the Restore button in bottom right corner and wait about 10-15 minutes so that the operation is completed.

Step 10: To install the Lion, open System Preferences and click Startup icon. There, select your USB drive and restart your Mac computer.

Step 11: The computer will then reboot with your bootable USB drive.
You now have a bootable USB drive able to install Mac OS X Lion on your different Mac machines. It will also help you to reformat your Mac in case of trouble.

Details

How To SpeedUp Mozilla Firefox

2012-07-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

In its default configuration the Firefox web browser offers a speed of pages loading, but it is possible to significantly speed it up even more by changing a few options. The first batch of changes will concern the HTTP pipelining, while the second will involve management changes in the number of connections on the remote web server and persistence.

To get started follow below steps:
Step 1: Open Mozilla Firefox
Step 2: In the address bar type about:config
Step 3: If you get a warning message simply click I’ll be careful, I promise! button
Step 4: Inside filter type network.http.pipelining and change value True
Step 5: Inside filter type network.http.proxy.pipelining and change value to True
Step 6: Inside filter type network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set value to 30
Step 7: Next right click on empty space and from context menu choose New -> Integer. Name it nglayout.initialpaint.delay and click OK. In next window assign value 0 and click OK.

Step 8: Next in filter field type below entries one by one and change their values as suggested

network.http.max-connections – Value 40.
network.http.max-connections-per-server – Value 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy – Value 16
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server – Value 16

Step 9: Restart Mozilla Firefox to apply changes
Note: It is still possible to accelerate performance by creating a new Boolean value named browser.turbo.enabled whose value will be set to TRUE. This option is still experimental, so you are changing it at your own risk. Be aware that this option can reduce memory usage and speed the response time of Firefox.

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How To Use Your iPhone As A Mouse and Keyboard

2012-07-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

Apple iDevices can easily replace many different devices in your home. In one of my previous tutorials I showed you how you can replace your Apple TV remote controller with iPhone, iPad or iPod . In this tutorial I will show you how you can turn your iDevice into wireless mouse or keyboard which you can use to control your Windows or Mac computer. With simple and lightweight application from Logitech, enabling this feature on your iDevice is nothing complicated.

To get started follow steps below
Step 1: To get started you will need to download Logitech Touch Mouse Server and install it on your Windows or Mac computer.
Step 2: Once installation is finished click Start menu, locate Logitech Touch Mouse Server and start the application
Step 3: If you are using Windows 7 or older, a small icon will appear in your system tray

Step 4: Next download and install Touch Mouse on your iOS Device
Step 5: Once you have installed it on your iDevice start the application

Step 6: Now make sure that your iOS device is connected to the same WiFi network as your Windows or Mac computer, if not you will get an error message as you can see from image below

Step 7: From the list select your Windows or Mac computer that you want to control by taping on its name
Step 8: Once you have selected the computer a touchpad interface will appear with few buttons similar to your mouse. Use your fingers and move them inside touch pad black space, you will notice that your mouse cursor is moving on your computer
Step 9: If you tap on white keyboard icon located at bottom right of your iDevice screen you will activate a keypad on your iOS iDevice which will enable you to use a keyboard on your computer

Step 10: By taping on Settings icon located on bottom right corner of your iOS iDevice screen you will bring a settings menu where you can adjust Buttons Options, Scrolling Options, Tracking Options and few other options

Step 11: If you no longer wish to use your iDevice as mouse or keyboard simply tap on a second icon from bottom right and you will disconnect your phone from your computer

Details:

How To Remotely Control Apple TV from Your iPad or iPhone

2012-07-21T04:04:00.000-07:00

If you find the physical remote that comes with Apple TV too small then you should try using your iPad or iPhone as a remote controller. In this tutorial I will show you how to using Apple Remote app on your iDevice control Apple TV. The coolest Remote app features on your iPhone or iPad is to use an iPad keyboard when you need to type, much easier than using physical remote.

Since I prefer to use it mostly on my iPad i will show you how to enable it under iPad however this procedure is almost the same on iPhone too. To get started follow steps below.
Step 1: For this purpose we will need to download Apple Remote app on our iDevice. This app is free, and once installation is finished lunch the Remote app and then tap on Turn on Home Sharing

Step 2: Now enter your Apple ID and password and then tap Done
Step 3: You should see a message telling you to configure Apple TV with Home Sharing

Step 4: Now on your Apple TV main menu go to Computers and then choose Turn on Home Sharing
Step 5: When we have successfully setup Home Sharing on our iDevice (In my case iPad) we are gone start using Remote app since all adjustments are done.
Step 6: Lunch Remote app on your iPad or iPhone and then you need to tap on big Apple TV icon

Step 7: Tap on Use gestures to control Apple TV
Step 8: Tap on Menu located at bottom of your screen to power on the Apple TV.

Step 9: Use finger gestures on your iDevice to navigate menus and control your Apple TV
You are finished now! Share your experience with us do you like this app or you prefer Apple TV physical remote.

Details:

Use the exFAT File System and Never Format Your External Drive Again

2012-07-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

Using an external drive between Mac and Windows computers can be a hassle, since you constantly have to reformat it to fit which computer you're using it on. Instead of reformatting it all the time, just use the much more platform-independent exFAT and never format it again.
Windows' default NTFS is only readable on OS X, not writable, and Windows computers can't even read Mac-formatted HFS+ drives. FAT32 works for both OSes, but has a 4GB size limit per file, so it isn't ideal. You can always install drivers for those other OSes, but that doesn't help when you're sharing files with your friends' computers. Besides, it's kind of a hassle. The exFAT file system is a much simpler option.
exFAT has been around for awhile, but we've never really talked about it. Essentially, it's a file system that's both readable and writable on any modern Mac or Windows machine (sorry, Leopard users). All you need to do is format the drive on a Windows machine and you're good to go. Note that you can't format it on OS X, you have to format it on Windows for it to be compatible with both platforms (Update: A lot of you are noting that OS X formats these just fine, so your mileage may vary). To do so, just:

Open up Windows Explorer and right-click on your drive in the sidebar. Choose "Format".
In the "File System" dropdown, choose exFAT instead of NTFS.
Click Start and close this window when finished.

From then on, that drive should work fantastically between Mac and Windows machines. It won't work with Linux unless you install Linux's exFAT drivers, but for most people, exFAT is just about perfect.

Source life hacker

Microsoft May Unveil Office 2013 Suite On Monday

2012-07-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

USA Today reported yesterday that Microsoft may unveil Office 2013 (aka Office 15) beta in a news conference to be held in San Francisco on Monday (on July 16, 2012). The newspaper said that the news is supported by unnamed industry sources. The report also claimed that the final version of the Office suite will be available from May 2013.
Microsoft declined to comment on the possible dates for the beta release or the final release. The software giant has been very secretive about Office 2013 so far. But, earlier the company promised a beta release this summer. That means, the latest speculation may prove to be correct on Monday.
Industry sources are, however, not confident about the compatibility of the new Office suite in different platforms. Some says, the new suite will run exclusively on Windows 8.Others believe that Office 2013 will run on new platforms including Surface tablets and Apple iPad as well as older platforms. The latter group seems to be more realistic.
A lot of talk is also going on about new features of the omnipresent Office suite. The most talked about feature is the support for PDF editing in Office 2013.
Whatever the cases would be, the July 16 news conference will surely at center stage of tech talk for the next couple of days.
Source: USA Today

Details: thetechjournal

How To Save A Web Page Directly To Google Drive

2012-07-14T01:13:00.000-07:00

Few days ago a new version of Google Chrome has been released. Among many new features of the new version of Google Chrome, the one that caught my eye is the deep integration of Google Cloud Print into the browser. With this integration of Google Cloud Print inside Google Chrome you can now save any web page as a PDF directly to your Google Drive. In this tutorial I will show you how to do it in four simple steps.

Prerequisites: A Google Drive account and a latest version of Google Chrome.
After making sure that you comply with the prerequisites, start following the steps below.
Step 1: Go to a web page which you want to save as a PDF inside your Google Drive cloud storage.
Step 2: Press Ctrl + P buttons (simultaneously) on your keyboard.
Step 3: A new Print window will appear. As shown in the following screenshot, under Destination choose Print with Google Cloud Print and click on Print.

Step 4: A new dialog window will appear asking you to select the location where you want to save your web page as PDF. Here you have to choose Save to Google Drive and press Print button.

Step 5: If you have followed through step 1 to 4 then you are done. Now, check your Google Drive account and you should see the page saved as PDF inside your account.
This is a pretty cool feature for Google Chrome users, especially for the ones who are on the go. If you want to share your opinion about it, write it in comment section below.

Details: thetechjournal

How To Disable Auto Brightness in Windows 8

2012-07-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

You know that when you don't use your phone for couple a seconds or minutes its screen brightness will dim down untill it rich 0% which will completely black your screen. This features exist in mobile devices in order to save your battery life and screen however there is no so much use when it comes to computer, well at least in my case. So in order to disable this feature you will need to turn off your auto brightness or adaptive brightness and in this tutorial I will show you how to do that.

To get started follow steps below
Step 1: We will start from your Windows desktop so in order to show it press Windows+D on your keyboard
Step 2: On bottom right of your screen next to your clock, left mouse click on battery icon
Step 3: From the menu that appears click on More power options

Step 4: In new window that opens, under the currently selected profile click on the option Change plan settings

Step 5: Now from the bottom of new window click on option Change advanced power settings

Step 6: In new smaller window expand the Display and then expand Enable adaptive brightness

Step 7: You have the option to turn it of while your laptop is on battery or plugged in. Simply click on drop down menu next to each of them and change from On to Off

Step 8: Click OK and then close all windows. From this moment auto brightness will be turned off.

Details: thetechjournal

How To Perform A Hard Reset In Windows 8

2012-07-12T14:52:00.000-07:00

If you messed up something in Windows and it wont work normally the first thing you probably do is reinstall entire Windows. Luckily Microsoft thought about this problem too and implemented a very cool feature inside Windows 8 called Hard Reset which will return your computer to normal work without any new Windows installation and in this tutorial I will show you how to use it.

To get started follow steps below
Step 1: First thing what we need to do is bring a Charm menu by pointing your mouse in top right corner of your screen

Step 2: Then click on Settings

Step 3: Now choose the last option Change PC settings

Step 4: Inside left pane select General section and then in right pane scroll down all the way to the bottom

Step 5: Now you have two options to choose; you can either

Refresh your PC without affecting your files
Remove everything and reinstall Windows

Step 6: If you decided which operation you want to perform (depending on what kind of problems you have in Windows), click on Get started button
You are done! Now simply follow few instructions on your screen and you Windows will be like new, without losing your data or Windows settings. If you want to share your experience with this new feature leave it in comment section below.

Details: thetechjournal

How To Download Wikpedia Articles In PDF

2012-07-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

No matter how you prefer reading, whether it's on smartphone, computer, paper, eBook reader, it is always good to have the content you need for work or wont to read near you, and if that content is from Wikipedia sometimes that can be tricky when you don't have an internet connection to access it. However there is a solution for that and in this tutorial I will show you how easily you can create any Wikipedia article portable and care it with you anywhere.

To get started follow steps below

Convert Wikipedia article into PDF

Step 1: In your web browser visit a Wikipedia article page which you want to have in PDF
Step 2: Now in the left side bar expand the Print/export options
Step 3: Now choose option Download as PDF

Step 4: After few seconds a Wikipedia will open a new page in your web browser where you will get a confirmtion tha tyour PDF document is generated. Click on Download the file link and choose where you want to save your PDF document

Create a PDF book

As you can see from above steps creating PDF document from Wikipedia article can be quite easy and useful, however if you need more then one article to carry with you for example dosen or hundreds of them then it can be time consuming converting all of them into PDF and adding as separate PDF file. But Wikipedia have solution for that too and that would be a Wikipedia Book, and to create it here is what to do:
Step 1: Inside left sidebar of Wikipedia expand the Print/export option and click on Create a book

Step 2: In new page click on Start book creator green buton and you will be redirected to the page your previously visited

Step 3: You can visit any Wikipedia page you wish to add into PDF Book and click on Add this page to your book located at the top of the page

Step 4: Once you have added all the pages you wish to add into PDF click on Show book link

Step 5: A new page will open where you can add a Title, reorder pages and chapters, choose atype of format in which you want to download your Wikipedia book or you can even order a printed book.
Step 6: Once you are done with customizations click on Download link and you Wikipedia book will be downloaded on your computer ready for futher use.

Details: thetechjournal

How To Record Video Conversation In Windows

2012-07-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

With Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Skype, Google Talk, and many other messenger you are able to save the text of your conversations. However, if you are having a video conversation there is no option to save videos of your video conferencing sessions (except in some cases where an add-on can solve the problem). In this tutorial I will show you how you can record your video chat sessions with free software for Windows called CamStudio, regardless of the messaging software you use.

Before proceeding further make sure you download the latest version of CamStudio from think link and then install it on your computer. Once the installation is finished continue following below steps.
Step 1: Start the CamStudio and if you haven’t already. We are going to define the video recordings settings.
Step 2: In the top navigation menu of CamStudio click Region tab and then from the drop down menu click Window. With this option turned on only the window of your messenger or other video conversation toll will be recorded.

Step 3: Next click on the Options menu and click Cursor Options.

Step 4: In new window select Hide Cursor and click OK.

Step 5: Again click on the Options menu then choose Program Options -> Directory for recording and then click Use Application installed directory.

Step 6: Select the Options menu and select Record Audio from speakers. The sound coming out of your speakers and your dialogue with other person will also be recorded with the video.

Step 7: Now that we are finished with settings adjustments go to your messenger or other video conversations tool and start your video conversation.
Step 8: Next in CamStudio, click the Record video from the screen red button.

Step 9: Click in the window that displays your video conversation and start your conversation.
Step 10: Once finished your conversation, go back to CamStudio then click Stop recording video.

Step 11: The video is automatically compressed and then opened with your default media software.
Step 12: You can find the video file in the CamStudio installation folder. In my case, that was C:\Program Files (x86)\CamStudio 2.6b.

Details: thetechjournal

Will Your Internet Work on Monday? How to Check for DNS Malware

2012-07-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

A nasty piece of malware called DNSChanger will kick thousands of Mac and PC users off the Internet on Monday, and there’s a chance you could be one of them.
The FBI is shutting down domains that have been affected by the DNSChanger malware, which has been circulating the web since as far back as 2007. The malware redirected Internet traffic to sites with paid advertisements where cybercriminals reaped profit from unsuspecting visitors.
The trojan’s creators — six Estonian nationals — shut down their services when they were caught and arrested about eight months ago.
Although the FBI has been urging consumers for months to check if their systems have been affected by DNSChanger, about 275,000 computers are still at risk of not having Internet access on Monday, July 9.

SEE ALSO: July 9: Doomsday for Your PC or Mac If It Has This Malware The good news is that it’s easy to see if your system has been infected and fix it if needed. The DNS Changer Working Group (DCWG) launched a check tool — if you click on the link and the box is green, your computer is clean (If the box is red, your Internet will be dead).

Meanwhile, McAfee’s DNS Check tool not only checks if you have the malware but it takes the challenging part out of manually updating Internet settings to correct the issue.

A list of other check tools are also listed on the official DNSChanger Check-up site.
Has your computer been affected? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, PashaIgnatov
Source Mashable

Remove Watermark from Windows 8 Consumer Preview

2012-07-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Users who have downloaded and installed Windows 8 CP must have noticed a small watermark in the bottom-right corner saying "Windows 8 Consumer Preview Evaluation Copy. Build 8250", though it doesn't take much space but some users might find it annoying.

If you’re one of those users who find it annoying and would like to remove it, then here's how you can remove it.

Head over to this link here and download My WCP Watermark Editor. Just run the tool and remove the watermark. Whole process would take around two minutes and upon completion would ask for restart.

Just reboot and change the background.

And your Desktop would be Clean. (via)

2012-07-06T07:02:00.000-07:00

If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants. So, said the genius called Isaac Newton. What was true of one of the most brilliant minds of history should be true of every one of the esteemed people on this list. The number ten is just a minuscule figure for a lineup that is supposed to be of famous geeks who changed the world, but so it is here for the sake of keeping this list brief.
The only underlying logic I can offer in my defense is that this geek list is of people whom you might not recognize if you bumped into them at the neighborhood mall. No Page 3 names here. And so no Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, or Mark Zuckerberg.

Alan Turing

Famous Geekiness: The Turing Machine in second place. His effect on the outcome of The Second World War in the first. (Wikipedia)
The day I wrote this article was Alan Turing’s birthday and Google honored him with a special doodle. Why? Because the famous cipher breaker is regarded as the Father of Computer Science. He also made a lasting contribution to the ideas about artificial intelligence. The Turing Machine was the forefather of the modern computer algorithm. It is a hypothetical model that explains the logic of computational logic or can be even used to explain a CPU. Think of it as the simplest computer of its kind.

Interesting fact: He was criminally prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952. He committed suicide in 1954. Gordon Brown issued a public apology in 2009.

Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf

Famous Geekiness: Proposed and gave form to the Internet we know today in a paper titled ‘A Protocol for Packet Network Interconnection.’(Wikipedia Link1 & Link2)
From the father of computer science, to the men considered to be one of the Fathers of The Internet. Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, thought of and created the TCP/IP suite of communication protocols that is the virtual backbone of the Internet. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol for the first time enabled diverse range of computers and networks to ‘talk’ with one another, truly creating a global connection.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Famous Geekiness: Invented the World Wide Web. (Wikipedia)
While working at CERN he proposed the idea of hypertext that would allow researchers to share information across the Internet in the form of hypertext documents. What was meant to be a way for information interchange between scientists, became a global interconnected network, the Web we know today. Tim Berners-Lee also created the first browser, the first web editor, and the first website at CERN.
Interesting Fact: His father Conway Berners-Lee and mother Mary Lee Woods both worked on the development of Ferranti Mark 1, the world’s first commercial electronic computer.

Ralph H. Baer

Famous Geekiness: Video games pioneer, considered to be the Father of Video Games for his contributions. (Wikipedia)
Ralph H. Baer developed the Brown Box (later the Magnavox Odyssey), the first home video game console. He also created the first light gun and brought in cartridges as part of console games. He almost single-handedly gave birth to what today is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Interesting fact: Ralph H. Baer was a television engineer by profession and later also created the classic Simon for Mattel.

Ray Tomlinson

Famous Geekiness: Creator of email. (Wikipedia)
Just when Internet was coming into being via its predecessor, the ARPANET in 1971, Ray Tomlinson created something that in time made postmen worry about their future and us forget about the art of letter writing. The email had humble beginnings when it was sent from one machine to another that was next to it. Later other mail handling protocols were established and email rapidly evolved as a form of communication.
Interesting fact: The @ symbol was used by Ray Tomlinson to tell which user was at what computer in the building they were all in.

Dennis Ritchie

Famous Geekiness: Created the “C” programming language and the UNIX operating system (with Ken Thompson). (Wikipedia)
How significant was the development of “C”? Let me quote a magazine article that said – the shoulders Steve Jobs stood on. Unlike Steve Jobs he died almost unnoticed and unsung. The importance of C is that it can be used to code without worrying about the hardware platform. It is the core of many operating systems from Mac OS X to iOS and Android. Many hardware drivers are written in C. As the geeky saying goes – real men code in C.
Interesting fact: Dennis Ritchie along with Brian Kernighan authored the The C Programming Language, the most definitive book on the topic. They were the first to introduce the “Hello World” program which continues to be used as an example first program by everyone.

Jarkko Oikarinen

Famous Geekiness: Created IRC, the oldest multi-chat protocol in the world. (Wikipedia)
Nokia isn’t the only thing Finland should be famous for. In 1988, Jarkko Oikarinen created the Internet Relay Chat. IRC was the world’s first real-time chat protocol. It is still going strong with thousands of networks and IRC servers around the world. IRC clients are available for every operating system and today’s IRC clients unlike their text-only predecessors also allow file sharing.
Interesting fact: Both during the Gulf War and the 1991 Soviet coup d’état attempt, IRC was the one tool that managed to defeat the media blackouts and report from the ground.

Shawn Fanning

Famous Geekiness: Started Napster and possibly the digital music sharing revolution. (Wikipedia)
What started as a peer-to-peer file sharing service in 1998 arguably set off the digital music revolution and popularity of MP3 songs. Napster was shut down in 2001 after a series of lawsuits by music majors. Napster popularized the P2P model and it was one of the first platforms where indie singers and underground music could make its name. Shawn Fanning is a college dropout and he set up Napster along with John Fanning and Sean Parker.
Interesting fact: Napster was named after Shawn Fanning’s frizzy haircut (nappy).

Bram Cohen

Famous Geekiness: Created BitTorrent. (Wikipedia)
You might have heard about BitTorrent but not about Bram Cohen. The American computer programmer wrote the peer-to-peer protocol which enables us to share files of any type simultaneously with other users around the world. He also programmed the BitTorrent client.
Interesting fact: Bram Cohen suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome which affects the physical and social abilities of a person.

Michael Hart

Famous Geekiness: Creator of the electronic book (eBook). (Wikipedia)
Michael Hart is probably the least geeky person on this list, but his contribution is profound and could be more so as knowledge expands and spreads. Thanks to eBooks. He is also the founder of Project Gutenberg that makes available books out of copyright (Public Domain) and some copyrighted works that are available with express permission. Project Gutenberg can also be thought of as the world’s first online public library.
Interesting fact: He typed in by hand the first 300+ books made available on Project Gutenberg. Though he made knowledge freely available, he died in poverty.
Here, you might shout about the usual suspects. No Jack Dorsey (creator of Twitter), no Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and no Linus Torvalds (Linux). It’s almost as if I pulled out random names from a hat. Probably that’s why I didn’t get an Ada Lovelace or an Al Gore either. But that’s the problem with lists. It has to end somewhere and you can’t put everyone on it. I really wanted to put Matt Mullenweg here because he is one of the reasons you are reading this post here. He developed WordPress after all. So, who’s your name on the list? We are listening.

Image Credit: VIP in silver letters via Shutterstock

Olaw2jr

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Will Your Internet Work on Monday? How to Check for DNS Malware

Remove Watermark from Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Alan Turing

Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf

Sir Tim Berners-Lee

Ralph H. Baer

Ray Tomlinson

Dennis Ritchie

Jarkko Oikarinen

Shawn Fanning

Bram Cohen

Michael Hart