Here is a list of online photo editing websites, most of them are well equipped with excellence features. Give them a try & don’t forget to have fun with your photos.

1 72 photos

72photos lets you do amazing things with your photos and store them in a safe place online where you can access them from anywhere. You need to create a account in order to use the editing functionality.
Link: http://72photos.com/

2 Phoenix Image Editor

From basic image retouching to complex effects, Phoenix delivers the key features of a desktop image editor with the simplicity and accessibility of a web-based application. Click the “Launch Phoenix” to activate the editor.
Link: http://aviary.com/tools/phoenix

3 BigHugeLabs Motivator

With BigHugeLabs Motivator, you can create your own customized motivational posters. Armed with a digital camera and that non-stop wit of yours, you now have the power to turn a simple photograph into a humorous or inspirational message. Make your own inspirational, funny, parody, sports or other posters.
Link: http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php

4 Blingee

You can use their easy-to-use web applications to express your own ideas, feelings, and emotions without limitations. Add Glitter, Graphics, and Comments to personalize your images & share with your friends.
Link: http://blingee.com/

5 FotoFlexer

FotoFlexer is the advanced online digital photo editor. Advanced effects can be done online which previously only available to professionals software.
Link: http://fotoflexer.com/

6 pho.to

Online Photo Enhancement and Presentation Platform to have fun with. You can also interact with other users through the user community forum which is available in the website. The website also provides some photo tips & tricks on how to enhance a photo.
Link: http://pho.to/

7 Fun Photo Box

FunPhotoBox.com is an online photo editing tool where you can create funny pictures from your photos. Just upload your photo and apply hundreds of professionally designed photo effects.
Link: http://funphotobox.com/

8 Dr.Pic

DrPic.com uses HTML, AJAX, and Java Script technology. DrPic.com is one of the popular online image editing tools available on the Internet.
Link: http://www.drpic.com/

9 jpg fun

With jpgFUN you can make a lot of interesting & funny images using your photos & this site. Variants of visual effects are very different, everyone can make their own image. jpgFUN create new effect every week. Select an effect & upload your photo.
Link: http://jpgfun.com/

10 PhotoFunia

PhotoFunia is an online photo editing tool that gives you a fun filled experience. You upload any photo and just wait to see the magic. PhotoFunia will then automatically identifies the face in the photo and let’s you add cool photo effects and create funny face photo montages.
Link: http://photofunia.com/

11 Pixenate

Pixenate is the photo editor of choice for photo printing and photo sharing businesses. The editing tools is available right away for you to edit your photo.
Link: http://pixenate.com/

12 pixer.us

If you need a quick fix for your photo you can edit your photos online by using pixer.us with your browser. Simply upload your photo & you can start to play with it.
Link: http://pixer.us/

13 pixlr

pixlr is an advanced online image editor. Click the “Open image editor” to activate the editor.
Link: http://pixlr.com/

14 RSIZR

RSIZR is a Flash application that lets you resize JPG, PNG, and GIF images on your computer. The interface for RSIZR is clean & easy to use.
Link: http://rsizr.com/

15 BeFunky

BeFunky simplifies photo editing and effects for everyday people. You can just choose from our constantly growing library of photo effects to turn your ordinary photos into extraordinary art with virtually no effort. You may also fix your common photo problems like bad lighting, digital noise, fuzzy colors and details with one click.
Link: http://www.befunky.com/

16 Dumpr

Dumpr is where you create marvellous photos to share with your friends. Very interesting, with Dumpr you can make a spiffy puzzle from your photos without leaving your seat … and much more.
Link: http://www.dumpr.net/

17 Face in Hole

If you want to know how you would look like with a different hair cut, in a famous picture or in a cd cover, Face in Hole in the right place for you.
Link: http://www.faceinhole.com/us/

18 FakeMagazineCover

In FakeMagazineCover you can personalize magazine covers online by uploading digital photos you have on your computer. No software applications to install, just use your web browser.
Link: http://www.fakemagazinecover.com/

19 Personalized Money

If you like you face to be on a currency note, Personalized Money is the place for you. Have fun with your own currency note.
Link: http://www.festisite.com/money/

20 FixPicture

FixPicture make the resize & picture/image conversion faster. You can apply rotation, and some effects like greyscale, sepia, blur & much more.,
Link: http://www.fixpicture.org/

21 flauntR

FotoDesk is an unique online imaging service that combines photo editing, printing, sharing and storage in a single seamless service.
Link: http://www.flauntr.com/

22 FotoCrib

FotoCrib is a web based graphics tool that enables users to edit their photos online.
Link: http://www.fotocrib.com/

23 Foto Trix

Upload a digital photo to add fun effects and novelty layouts. Contents more than 2,500 templates for your digital photographs. You can make it look like you had your photograph taken with a celebrity or add some goofy props to spice up your photos.
Link: http://www.fototrix.com/

24 Instyle Makeover

Try on the newest celebrity hairstyles from short cuts and bangs to long party styles and updos, plus find out how to get the looks yourself!
Link: http://www.instyle.com/instyle/makeover/

25 LoonaPix.com

With LoonaPix.com, you can make funny photo online using LoonaPic effect or embed your face from the photo to the various templates, add photo frame or just trim it.
Link: http://www.loonapix.com/

26 LunaPic

LunaPic has the functionality of most photo editing softwares, use it completely free photo editor in your browser.
Link: http://www.lunapic.com/editor/

27 MagMyPic

MagMyPic is a fake magazine covers and comics make, with your very own picture. You can also post mag covers instantly to your Profile on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social network.
Link: http://www.magmypic.com/

28 Phixr

Phixr is an online photo editor, a free web-based picture editing tool. You can simply edit your photos in your web browser. When you enter internet cafes & find no photo editing software installed on the computer, Phixr is your right choice.
Link: http://www.phixr.com/

29 Photovisi

Photovisi is free, it is an easy to use online tool to create photo collages. Select one of the many collage templates, add your photos and then customize by dragging items around.
Link: http://www.photovisi.com/

30 Picnik

It’s fast, easy & fun. Picnik makes your photos fabulous with easy to use yet powerful editing tools. Get your content & be creative with the oodles of effects, fonts, shapes, and frames.
Link: http://www.picnik.com/

31 Pixisnap

With 3 easy steps, Pixisnap allows you to create your own pixisnap photos. Simplychoose a mosaic type, upload your photo and customize your mosaic art.
Link: http://www.pixisnap.com/

32 piZap.com

piZap.com is a free online photo editor featuring fun free photo effects, photo stickers and one click effects for your digital photos. Upload your photos & create wacky images. You can use it & post your images for your for social networking sites.
Link: http://www.pizap.com/application.php

33 Splashup

Splashup is the full-featured, free range, online image editing tools. You can simply create new images, edit existing images and manipulate layers with filters.
Link: http://www.splashup.com/

34 WriteOnIt

At WriteOnIt, you can easily create your photomontage, free cards, magazine cover and other funny jokes for you and your friends.
Link: http://www.writeonit.org/

StumbleUpon for example, it automatically create a thumbnail & attach to users ‘favorite’ when the web page is submitted. However, it does not always create a image thumbnail as what we want. Sometime, it just capture the whole web page or even takes the image ad on your page & use it as thumbnail.

Without any modification to the web page, we will have little control over what image should be used for the thumbnail. If the thumbnail is wrongly selected, the ‘favorite’ will becomes less interesting & it will attracts less clicks or stumbles. The following illustration shows two difference thumbnails from techmiliue.com submitted to Stumbleupon, which one do you want to click first?

So, I decided to create WordPress plugin to accomplish this task. Use this plugin to insert some image & html herder tags into the post for the social media sites like Stumbleupon or Digg to pick up.

Latest Version: 1.0

Here are some features that come with this plugin:

• The plugin will ONLY inserts the thumbnail image specify by you on the fly right before the contents when your post is submitted to Stumbleupon. At all other times, the thumbnail image is not included in your post.
• A header tag is inserted to the header of your post for Digg submission.
• You can switch to javascript instead of php for Stumbleupon website detection. This is useful when you have other cache plugin installed, such as ‘WP Super Cache’, etc. as most of the time your web pages are static.
• You can specify different thumbnail image for different post.

Download

The Quick Overview

Screen shot showing the editing option right under the ‘Edit Post’ panel.

Link To TechMilieu.com

If you believe that Stumbleupon & Digg Thumbnail Maker plugin is valuable to you, than a link from your blog to http://techmilieu.com/ would be highly appreciated. You can show your support by simply copy one of the HTML code below & paste into your pages. This will help spread the words, thanks.

Text Link : TechMilieu.com
<a href="http://TechMilieu.com/">TechMilieu.com</a>

Tiny Button :
<a href="http://techmilieu.com/"><img src="http://techmilieu.com/images/link-20x20.png" alt="TechMilieu.com"></a>

Feel free to use it in your blogs. Please feedback for any bug you might have found, or any suggestion you like to add. Hope this plugin which have benefited me would benefit you as well. Also, check out my other WordPress plugin: Quick Adsense

There are alternatives available for free, one of them is Google Chrome. I believe it’s time to give this alternative a try & the add-on is one of the factor to consider. I have selected some of them which I believe is useful (not in any ranking order). Download Google Chrome & its extensions (add-ons), give it a try. If you are Firefox fan like me, perhaps to consider use Chrome as your alternative browser.

1 SmoothScroll

Scrolls the websites smoothly when scrolling with the mouse wheel or the keyboard. The option page is clean, simple & yet give you lots of adjustment. Although this is a simple extension, it perfectly enhanced your browsing experience.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/cccpiddacjljmfbbgeimpelpndgpoknn ]

2 Tab Menu

Sometime, if we open up too many tabs it may overflowing the bar. The Tab Menu provides a vertical browser action menu in which you can select, close, and even rearrange your tabs. You can also search for a tab by typing in the text box.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/galfofdpepkcahkfobimileafiobdplb ]

3 Mouse Stroke

You can use this extension to accelerate the mouse strokes operations. Support super drag & go, rocker gestures and wheel gestures in one extension. You can go back to the previous page by move you mouse left & come back by move you mouse right. Great extension for those who prefer to use mouse rather that the keyboard shotcuts.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/aeaoofnhgocdbnbeljkmbjdmhbcokfdb ]

4 Downloads

The Downloads extension allows user to access the Downloads window directly from the toolbar. If you make a lot of downloads, then you may be interested to give this extension a try.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/jfchnphgogjhineanplmfkofljiagjfb ]

5 *Split Screen*

Watch a video, while you surfing other webpage. Opens a new tab & enetr two URLs, two website will be displayeds on one page. Worth to give this extension a try, take the advantages of having dual view in your browser.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ilpdiniechkbmflcmlffclappfmhdndn ]

6 Google Mail Checker

This extension displays the number of unread messages in your Google Mail inbox. You can also click the button to open your inbox. Use this extension if you are too busy to login to your gmail account to check your mail.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/mihcahmgecmbnbcchbopgniflfhgnkff ]

7 Remember The Milk for Gmail

Remember The Milk for Gmail extension is a task management goodness. It allows you to manage your tasks in Gmail, such as complete, postpone & task editing.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/hphjpfmagbhbdfhdndglcccmhdjhjjce ]

8 Webpage Screenshot

With this extension you can captures the whole webpage & save it. To adjust the position of the page, Simply resize the window before capturing.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ckibcdccnfeookdmbahgiakhnjcddpki ]

9 Aviary Screen Capture

If you own a blog then you definatly need a screen capture tool to generate screenshots of a webpage. Use Aviary Screen Capture to take a screenshot of any webpage & edit it directly in your browser with Aviary.com applications. It allows user to capture the screen instantly, capture of the visible portion of all web pages and images, crop & resize the capture, save it to desktop, host online, edit in other applications, etc.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ncgcgghbabbopfcpgcjpfffdgnbadegf ]

10 Docs PDF/PowerPoint Viewer (by Google)

Automatically previews pdfs, powerpoint presentations, and other documents in Google Docs Viewer.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/nnbmlagghjjcbdhgmkedmbmedengocbn ]

11 PageRank

This extension display PageRank right beside the address bar & I quite like it. It it simply & straight forward. If you just want to know the PageRank info of a website & don’t prefer Google Toolbar to be installed in the browser, then this extension is definitely the right choice. Btw, as illustrated in the image, it is good to know that Google has a PageRank of 10 (wow) & techmilieu.com only has a PageRank of 3 :(

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/pneoplpmnpjoioldpodoljacigkahohc ]

12 Dictionary Lookup

Look up any word from Wiktionary with a simple click and without leaving the page. This extension that allows you to quickly look up definitions of words and phrases in a clean inline box.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ipdjaafajlfiopcppipdinmcjbcpofhd ]

13 Google Translate

Click the translate button whenever you want to translate the page you’re visiting. Ok, you can achieve the same result by visiting to Google, click translate & paste the url to the translation textbox. With this extension you can produce the result with one click.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/aapbdbdomjkkjkaonfhkkikfgjllcleb ]

14 Google Dictionary

View definitions easily as you browse the web. Simply double-click any word in the contents to view its definition in a small pop-up bubble. You may also view the complete definition of any word or phrase using the address bar dictionary.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/mgijmajocgfcbeboacabfgobmjgjcoja# ]

15 RSS Subscription Extension (by Google)

Similar to Firefox Live Bookmarks, this extension detects RSS feeds on current page & displays an RSS icon right beside the address bar. It allows you to click on it to preview the feed content and subscribe. The extension comes has 4 feed readers by default, that’s Google Reader, iGoogle, Bloglines & My Yahoo. You can of course add any web-based feed reader to the list.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/nlbjncdgjeocebhnmkbbbdekmmmcbfjd ]

16 Feedly

A magazine-like startpage. A fast and stylish way to read and share the content of your favorite sites and services. Provides seamless integration with Google Reader, Twitter, Delicious, YouTube and Amazon.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ndhinffkekpekljifjkkkkkhopnjodja ]

17 Forecastfox Weather

With Forecastfox Weather you can View current conditions, 7-day forecast, maps and severe weather alerts in an easily readable format. It delivers international weather from AccuWeather.com. Features include, severe weather alerts, radar, current conditions, 7-day forecast, details for each day, recent locations quick switch, links to hourly forecasts & more.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/ihffmkcfkejomlfnilnmkokcpgclhfeg ]

18 Page Monitor

Stays in the background and monitors web pages for changes without visiting the page itself. This extension displays a notification when the page has changes. You can monito any number of pages, change the check interval, etc.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/pemhgklkefakciniebenbfclihhmmfcd ]

19 NPR: News, Music and Books

Listen to NPR stories as you browse the web, check the latest headlines and set up custom feeds based on a keyword.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/hcamfjcklnmlbokoackecfjidfjafgog ]

20 FastestChrome

Browse faster! FastestChrome auto-load next pages, search faster, and more. FastestFox is a popular Firefox extensions, now it is available for Chrome.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/mmffncokckfccddfenhkhnllmlobdahm ]

21 Xmarks SearchTabs

SearchTabs enhances your Google search with tabs containing the top web sites related to your search, grouped by topic. It adds useful information related to the links returned by Google, showing what a site is about and how it ranks across on Xmarks.com.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bcopailfldjiaclacokieaaalokmobdd ]

22 Search Preview

SearchPreview let you see a preview image of every search result before you click it. The extension adds preview images (thumbnails) to your Google search results.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/hcjdanpjacpeeppdjkppebobilhaglfo ]

23 Mini Google Maps

If you love handy tools, then you may want to try up Mini Google Maps. It comes in handy when you’re looking for browsing on a map but want to find it quickly and get the job done. By clicking on the extension single toolbar button, the map will be opened instantly on top of a popup box.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/oeahddlmhbcabnnojadgimmiaaplfpfo ]

24 Proxy Switchy!

For those who are using proxy, why not give Proxy Switchy a try. Proxy Switchy! is an advanced proxy manager for Google Chrome, it allows users to manage and switch between multiple proxy profiles quickly and easily.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/caehdcpeofiiigpdhbabniblemipncjj ]

25 WOT

WOT, Web of Trust, warns you about risky websites that try to scam visitors, deliver malware or send spam. You can use this plugin as as your front-line layer of protection when browsing or searching in unfamiliar website. It uses the information from collected from multiple trusted sources, like phishing and spam blacklists, and the up-to-date ratings provided by WOT users.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bhmmomiinigofkjcapegjjndpbikblnp ]

26 Digg for Chrome

Digg for Chrome is the official Digg extension, See what is being discovered and shared on Digg. It display Digg count for any URL to the right of the browser’s address bar. You can also share any URL, including Twitter, Facebook, and email. The is an additional info which I believe you can’t find in digg website itself, that’s the number of page view of a page.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/nphjpicjdnignjenbhkimpjjkpbidohb ]

27 Facebook for Google Chrome

Although this is an unofficial Facebook extension, it lets you check your Facebook news feed, wall, inbox and notifications. The extension now supports English, Spanish and French.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/lkdedmbpkaiahjjibfdmpoefffnbdkli ]

28 Chromed Bird

Chromed Bird is a Twitter extension that allows you to follow your timelines and interact with your Twitter account.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/encaiiljifbdbjlphpgpiimidegddhic ]

29 Cooliris

Cooliris is cool! The 3D Wall that speeds up search on Google Images, YouTube, Flickr, and more. Enjoy the richest way to view photos from Facebook, Picasa, and even your own computer. On the infinite 3D Wall, you can effortlessly scroll though thousands of images and videos in seconds without having to click from page to page.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/noocneohefmdhonidldnlhaainpiomkp ]

30 Flickr Puzzle

Jigsaw Puzzle ! Yes it is! The selected images are loaded from Flickr & the image set will be updated as you refresh or scroll through the images. Understand that it is the amazing new HTML5 canvas element that make this extension possible.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/eofclhgoplclkhhfhhheoknoodjlpjhb ]

31 Chrome TV

Chrome TV, watch online TV direct from your browser. I’m not sure how useful it is, with more than 3,000 TV channels from all over the world. Give it a try.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/lambangeielkjcnmioccboaphdfcffib ]

32 Chrome Sounds

Enjoy a more magical and immersive experience when browsing the web using the power of sound.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/kkfibincabhfblmkmhcabnlghmncdcaf ]

33 RemindMe

Setup reminders while browsing and sync them between computers. Remind yourself of online stuff that you want to do later, tasks that need to be done at a specific time.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/dkbeopafgiefnlffkhmkhldcojehlgam ]

34 Favorite Doodle

With this extension you can replace the logo on the Google homepage and search results page with your personal favorite Google Doodle. You would’t miss the special occasions doodles as it will still show the new doodles on special occasions.

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/nedjejdfkkjgebciefdfofjhmeogiaga ]

35 1-ClickWeather for Chrome

1-ClickWeather allows users to quickly view the current weather conditions, maps, and the weather outlook for the next 24 hours directly in the Chrome browser with a single click. Available in one of 5 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, or Portuguese).

[ Link: https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/fgmbighdoomjmebfbgplfmhcdbomjkoa ]

Here are the two issues I want to highlight to you:

1. The Navigation Pane focus goes away when directory is expended.
2. The Navigation Pane is overwhelmed with unwanted items such as Libraries, Favorite & Homegroup.

The Navigation Pane Focus Goes Away When Directory Is Expended

If you are not clear what this issue is about, perhaps you should try this. In the Navigation Pane of the Windows Explorer, try to expend as much folders as you can. You will come to a point where the focus will goes away to the top of the pane, especially when there are a lot of expended folders in the Navigation Pane.

Maybe, this is only a small issue; nevertheless it greatly reduces the efficiency while we are in the middle of exploring our files & folders. For illustrations, check out the following video.

The Navigation Pane Is Overwhelmed With Unwanted Items

I was surprised when I saw the unnecessary items (Favorite, Libraries & Homegroup) appear in the Navigation Pane & can’t be removed directly. I believe more than 99% of the Windows users don’t need the Favorite & Libraries folder. I personally prefer these folders not to stay inside the pane; it simply takes up the space.

The Workarounds

I’m not sure whether the “focus” behavior is functioning as intended or by mistake. In actual fact, it is related to the extra items in the Navigation Pane as mentioned above.

That means to say hiding (not deleting) the Favorite, Libraries & Homegroup in the Navigation Pane, with the “Show all folders” uncheck in the Folders Option (as illustrated below), will makes the Navigation Pane focus stay at it is & it will behaves more like the classic Windows XP, simple as that.

I’m not going to show you how to hide those items here, there are excellence posts around for you to go through. It involves editing the windows registry. If you are serious about this issues, check out Customize the Navigation Pane in Windows 7 Explorer and How to Remove and Hide “Libraries” Group from Navigation Pane of Windows 7 Explorer. Good luck!

Setting up WordPress on your local computer is straight forward. All you need is the WordPress itself & XAMPP as a host server. In this article, I show you how to install WordPress on your local computer with XAMPP.

1 Download & Install XAMPP Lite

First, you need to download & install XAMPP Lite. (I recommend the lite version because there are some applications that bundled with the full version which you are hardly need them for normal work. XAMPP Lite is most importantly contains Apache, MySQL & PHP, those three are the one we need.)

Be sure to download the self-extracting archive, it is the easiest way to install XAMPP. Double click the EXE file, choose a directory and click “Install”.

Once the installation is completed, double click the “XAMPP Control Panel” icon to launch XAMPP Control Panel. Next, click “Apache” & “MySql” start buttons to get both applications running.

Now, you need to check whether your Apache local server is running properly. Go to your browser, in the address bar type http://localhost & press enter. If the XAMPP is installed correctly, you will see the default “splash” page as illustrated bellow. Select a language to enter the welcome page.

2 Create The Database For WordPress

Your Apache server & MySql database are now running. Now we need to create a database for your WordPress. Under the Tools menu on the welcome page, click “phpMyAdmin”. Enter “MyWordpress” into the “Create New Database” textbox, make sure “utf8_unicode_ci” is selected & press “Create”.

3 Download & Install WordPress

That’s all for XMAPP. Now, download the latest version of WordPress http://wordpress.org/ (zip file). Extract the WordPress to a new folder (name it as MyWordpress) under the “htdocs” folder where “XMAPP” is installed (default should be at C:\xampplite\htdocs\MyWordpress).

Under the folder, rename the file wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php. Open & edit the file in Notepad, locate & change the following lines, make sure it is exactly the same as illustrated (database name is ‘MyWordpress’, database username is ‘root’, password is ” & hostname is ‘localhost’).

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define('DB_NAME', 'MyWordpress');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'root');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', '');

/** MySQL hostname */
define('DB_HOST', 'localhost');

Again, go to your browser, in the address bar type http://localhost/wordpress/ & press enter. Key in a Blog Title, Your E-mail & press “Install WordPress”.

That’s it, your WordPress is now in your locally on your computer & ready to be used . Have fun !

Clear & White Background

Smoke Art 01 [ Photo by Krister462 / CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 02 [ Photo by claude.attard.bezzina / CC BY-ND 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 03 [ Photo by geishaboy500 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 04 [ Photo by geishaboy500 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 05 [ Photo by Krister462 / CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 06 [ Photo by LeNs'PHoTOs / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 07 [ Photo by Rebecca Miller / CC BY-ND 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 08 [ Photo by árticotropical / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 09 [ Photo by árticotropical / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 10 [ Photo by árticotropical / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 11 [ Photo by árticotropical / CC BY 2.0 ]

Dark & Black Background

Smoke Art 12 [ Photo by deanfotos66 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 13 [ Photo by deanfotos66 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 14 [ Photo by deanfotos66 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 15 [ Photo by deanfotos66 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 16 [ Photo by deanfotos66 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 17 [ Photo by geishaboy500 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 18 [ Photo by geishaboy500 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 19 [ Photo by geishaboy500 / CC BY 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 20 [ Photo by Quang'y / CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

Smoke Art 21 [ Photo by Krister462 / CC BY-SA 2.0 ]

Pingtest.net gives each test result a grade to help you interpret the overall quality. It measures specifically on your connection’s Packet Loss, Ping & Jitter quality. It sounds technical at first; nevertheless Pingtest.net makes the test process easy for you. All you need to do is to click a button & the test result is shown in minutes.

Screen shot from pingtest.net

So, what do the technical terms mean?

Packet Loss is a measurement the loss of data during the transmitting & receiving of “packets” data. It can mean download & upload speeds or quality of data streaming. 0% means your connection is perfect, if anything greater than that should cause concern.

Ping on the other hand measures how long it takes for a “packet” of data to transmit from your computer to a server on the Internet and goes back. Similar to Packet Loss, the lower is better; result below 100 ms should be expected from a broadband connection.

Jitter measures the variance for successive ping tests. 0 Jitter means the results were exactly the same every time, anything above 0 is the variance. Lower Jitter value is better, nevertheless some Jitter should be expected over the Internet & having it be small is in good health.

Go ahead, test out your Internet Connection Quality, give pingtest.net a try.

Another scenario is where you want to move your existing Windows from one hard drive to another. This cannot be done with “copy & paste” in Windows Explorer, some files can only be created in the installation process.

The solution here is to use a Disk Cloning Utilities to backup the existing system. This is useful when you want to restored your system back to the original state with all the drives, software & configuration intact. If anything goes wrong to your system, you can easily reinstall or move your Windows to any hard drive at anytime.

Using DriveImage XML for Disk Cloning

There are plenty of free Disk Cloning Utilities around the net, but I have only tried DriveImage XML. DriveImage XML is an easy to use utility for system & data backup. It can backup the whole hard drive & create bit-by-bit compressed mirror image of data in the drive. The image being created is smaller than the original, my 15GB system in a 60GB partition has been compressed into 8GB multiple files image.

DriveImage XML runs under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Vista and Windows 7 only. The program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS. The image can be restored back to the system without having to reboot.

If you do not have a image copy of your Window system, go ahead & give DriveImage XML a try. Backup your system & keep the backup image files in separate drive location.

(Note: DriveImage XML has successfully backup my Windows XP laptop system. Nevertheless, DriveImage XML is unable to detect my Window 7 notebook system hard drive. Alternatively, you can use the backup utility that comes with Windows 7, however I still prefer the whole hard drive to be cloned. Perhaps, the workaround is to boot DriveImage from a CD-ROM, I’m going to try WinPE later for the solution.)

Website: http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm