The hard bitten road

Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (IRLS)

2025-01-06T22:16:00.003+05:30

Overview

Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (IRLS) is an optimization method used to solve certain types of regression problems, particularly those that involve minimizing the $L_1$ -norm or other robust loss functions. Unlike the traditional $L_2$ -norm minimization (least squares regression), the $L_1$ -norm minimization does not have a closed-form solution due to the absolute value function's non-differentiability. However, calculus and numerical optimization techniques enable the formulation of an iterative procedure to approximate the solution.

Steps in IRLS

Objective Function
The $L_1$ -regression problem aims to minimize the sum of absolute residuals:
$\min_{\mathbf{\beta}} \sum_{i=1}^n |y_i - \mathbf{x}_i^\top \mathbf{\beta}|$
Here:
- $y_i$ is the observed value.
- $\mathbf{x}_i$ is the predictor vector for the $i$ -th observation.
- $\mathbf{\beta}$ is the coefficient vector to be estimated.
Key Challenge
The absolute value function $|y_i - \mathbf{x}_i^\top \mathbf{\beta}|$ is not differentiable at zero, making direct optimization challenging.
Linear Approximation via Weights
To overcome the non-differentiability, we reformulate the problem by expressing the $L_1$ -norm minimization as a weighted least squares problem. The weight for each observation is inversely proportional to the magnitude of the residual from the previous iteration.
Iterative Reweighting
The procedure involves the following steps:
- Initialization: Start with an initial estimate of $\mathbf{\beta}$ , often obtained from ordinary least squares (OLS).
- Weight Calculation: At iteration $k$ , compute the weights $w_i^{(k)}$ for each observation: $w_i^{(k)} = \frac{1}{|r_i^{(k-1)}| + \epsilon}$ where $r_i^{(k-1)} = y_i - \mathbf{x}_i^\top \mathbf{\beta}^{(k-1)}$ is the residual from the previous iteration, and $\epsilon$ is a small constant to avoid division by zero.
- Weighted Least Squares Update: Solve the weighted least squares problem: $\mathbf{\beta}^{(k)} = \arg\min_{\mathbf{\beta}} \sum_{i=1}^n w_i^{(k)} \left( y_i - \mathbf{x}_i^\top \mathbf{\beta} \right)^2$
- Convergence Check: Check if $\mathbf{\beta}^{(k)}$ has converged to a stable value or if the change between successive iterations is below a predefined threshold.
Convergence
With proper initialization and weights, the IRLS procedure converges to the solution of the $L_1$ -regression problem.

Key Insights

Weight Interpretation: Observations with smaller residuals (closer to the model) receive higher weights, while those with larger residuals (potential outliers) are downweighted, enhancing robustness.
Connection to Robust Statistics: IRLS is a foundational method in robust regression, particularly when handling outliers, as it reduces their influence on the model.
Extensions: The IRLS framework is general and can be adapted to other loss functions, including Huber loss and pseudo-Huber loss, making it versatile for robust statistical modeling.

Advantages of IRLS

Robustness to Outliers: By iteratively adjusting weights, the method reduces the impact of extreme values in the data.
Simplicity of Implementation: The method builds on the well-established framework of least squares, making it straightforward to implement.

Challenges

Convergence Issues: Poor initialization or ill-conditioned data can result in slow or non-convergence.
Computational Overhead: The iterative nature requires solving weighted least squares problems multiple times, which can be computationally expensive for large datasets.

Applications

Regression problems with outliers.
Sparse signal recovery.
Optimization problems where $L_1$ -norm regularization or loss is used.

IRLS provides an elegant numerical solution to otherwise intractable $L_1$ -norm minimization problems, leveraging iterative refinement and robust weighting.

Breadth First Search

2025-01-06T22:04:00.005+05:30

Breadth-First Search (BFS) is a fundamental algorithm used for traversing or searching through the nodes of a graph, whether it's represented as an adjacency list or adjacency matrix. The BFS algorithm explores the graph level by level, starting from a given node (often referred to as the root or source node). The key characteristic of BFS is that it visits all the nodes at the present level (i.e., all nodes that are directly connected to the current node) before moving on to nodes at the next level. This ensures that the closest vertices to the starting node are visited first.

How BFS Works:

Initialization: BFS starts by placing the starting node in a queue. A queue is a First-In-First-Out (FIFO) data structure, which helps BFS in managing the order of node exploration.
Exploration:
- The algorithm repeatedly dequeues a node from the front of the queue, marks it as visited, and then enqueues all its unvisited adjacent nodes (i.e., its neighbors).
- This process continues until the queue is empty, which means all reachable nodes from the start node have been visited.
Level-by-Level Traversal:
- Because BFS uses a queue, it naturally processes nodes in layers or levels. First, it processes the starting node (level 0), then its immediate neighbors (level 1), then their neighbors (level 2), and so on.
- This level-wise traversal is crucial for solving various graph problems.

Comparison with Depth-First Search (DFS):

BFS vs. DFS:
- In BFS, the closest vertices to the start node are visited first because of the level-by-level traversal.
- In contrast, Depth-First Search (DFS) goes as deep as possible along each branch before backtracking. This means that DFS may visit nodes that are farther away from the start node before visiting nodes that are closer.

Applications of BFS:

BFS forms the foundation for many well-known graph algorithms. Here are some key applications:

Shortest Path in Unweighted Graphs:
- BFS can be used to find the shortest path from a source node to all other nodes in an unweighted graph. Since BFS explores nodes level by level, the first time it reaches a node, it has found the shortest path to that node.
Cycle Detection:
- BFS can be employed to detect cycles in both directed and undirected graphs.
- In an undirected graph, a cycle exists if, during BFS, we find an already visited node that is not the parent of the current node.
- In a directed graph, BFS can be adapted (using Kahn's algorithm) to detect cycles by checking if the graph is acyclic.
Kahn’s Algorithm:
- Kahn's algorithm is a BFS-based approach for topological sorting of a directed acyclic graph (DAG). It processes nodes in a way that ensures all vertices are visited in a valid order respecting the graph's dependencies.
Dijkstra’s Algorithm:
- While Dijkstra’s algorithm is primarily associated with finding the shortest paths in weighted graphs, it can be seen as a generalization of BFS. Dijkstra’s algorithm employs a priority queue (min-heap) instead of a simple queue to prioritize nodes with the smallest cumulative weights.
Prim’s Algorithm:
- Prim’s algorithm, used to find the minimum spanning tree of a weighted graph, also has similarities to BFS. It uses a priority queue to extend the tree by selecting the minimum weight edge at each step.

BFS in Practice:

BFS is not just theoretical; it's a practical tool for solving a wide array of real-world problems, from network routing, and social network analysis, to AI game-solving and more. Its ability to explore graphs systematically and guarantee the shortest path in unweighted graphs makes it a versatile and essential algorithm in the field of computer science.

Deployment error while deploying an app to a windows phone 10 device via usb from Preview/ Anniversary win 10 OS

2016-12-01T01:12:00.001+05:30

While deploying a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app from visual studio 2015 on an OS running on a preview build or an anniversary build 14393 the following errors might be encountered namely :
DEP0001 : Unexpected Error: -2145615869 or
dep0001 : unexpected error: -1988945906

Since visual studio is not updated with a windows 10 sdk for 14393 or later it is best to solve this error by running the ipoverusbsvc which could be found at
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Phone Tools\CoreCon\11.0\bin

the service may be started by using the net start command as shown below. Once the ipoverusbsvc starts the deployment error goes away and you will be able to start deploying and debugging directly to the phone via visual studio

Renaming or Deleting files in file paths with long names (Total file path exceeding 255 characters)

2015-08-20T16:08:00.000+05:30

A typical issue faced by windows 8/8.1/10 users is of deleting files with extremely long file names. These files could be hidden under multiple directories which adds to the longer file names. A simple rename or delete is disabled by shell due to the file path exceeding the specified 255 character limit.
In such a case it makes sense to point directly to the directly where the file is located by creating a mapped drive to it. This allows the additional characters added by he path to be shortened to below 255 characters. Hence file can be easily deleted or renamed.
One may ask what if the file's name is itself greater than 255 characters? Thankfully a file name greater than 255 characters is not allowed or recognized by windows.

To create mapped drive simply open command prompt and type in the following commands
Drive:\> subst DriveLetterToMap: Drive:\> path of file here
C:\> subst X: C:\abc\xyz\somereallylongfilenamehere.lng

This command will created a mapped drive say named X:
Open the newly create drive X: to delete or rename the somereallylongfilenamehere.lng file.

To delete the newly created virtual drive use the following commands

Drive:\> subst DriveLetterMapped: /d
eg
C:\> subst X: /d

Mathematical Equations and their relevance

2014-06-25T14:53:00.001+05:30

Sharing Airtel 4G Usb Internet or any other USB internet dongle with a Vmware/virtual machine

2014-05-01T13:36:00.003+05:30

To share Airtel 4G or any other usb based (non ethernet) internet with a vmware image two simple steps need to be performed:
1. Go to Control Panel\Network and Internet\Network and Sharing Center as below. Check for the following connections highlighted in yellow.

Now click on properties of the airtel / usb internet connection and click on the sharing tab and select the following values as shown below

Now go to your virtual machine in vmware workstation and click on edit virtual machine settings as shown

Click on network adapters and select custom:Specific virtual network and choose vmnet8(NAT) as shown below and voila you have internet on on vmware machine now :)

Creating a Wifi hotspot and internet sharing on the hotspot in Windows based systems

2014-05-01T09:58:00.002+05:30

Run the following two commands in administrative mode of command prompt
1.Creating a Wifi- hotspot command
netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=nameOfwifiHotspot key=yourpassword

2.Starting Wifi hotspot command
netsh wlan start hostednetwork

3.Stopping Wifi hotspot command
netsh wlan stophostednetwork

To share an existing internet connection with this newly created hotspot
Go to Control Panel>Network and Internet>Network and Sharing Center

Click on the properties of the an existing connection which has internet already as shown below highlighted in yellow

Click on the properties of the connection with the internet. in my case the connection it is an airtel 4G connection which is highlighted in yellow as shown below

check on allow other network users to connect through this computer's internet connection
and chose the network connection of wireless hotspot that you had created earlier.

click ok and now your have a wifi hotspot with internet connection :) Do not forget to stop the hotspot when you are done using it using the stop command as described earlier.

Free softwares

2013-08-07T23:34:00.001+05:30

3D Graphics:
3Delight Free - http://www.3delight.com/index.htm
Anim8or - http://www.anim8or.com/
Aqsis - http://www.aqsis.com/
Blender - http://www.blender3d.org/
Houdini (Free Edition) - http://www.sidefx.com/apprentice/index.html
Now3D - http://digilander.libero.it/giulios/Eng/homepage.htm
OpenFX - http://www.openfx.org
POV-Ray - http://www.povray.org/
SOFTIMAGE|XSI EXP - http://www.softimage.com/products/exp/v3/
Terragen - http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/
Toxic - http://www.toxicengine.org/
Wings 3D - http://www.wings3d.com/

Anti-Virus:
a-squared - http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/
AntiVir - http://www.free-av.com/
Avast - http://www.avast.com/i_idt_1018.html
AVG - http://free.grisoft.com/
BitDefender - http://www.bitdefender.com
ClamWin - http://www.clamwin.com/

Anti Spyware:
Ad-aware - http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/
Bazooka - http://www.kephyr.com/spywarescanner/index.html
Hijackthis - http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html
SpyBot Search & Destroy - http://spybot.safer-networking.de/
SpywareBlaster - http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
SpywareGuard - http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html
WinPatrol - http://www.winpatrol.com/

Audio Creation
Gungirl Sequencer - http://ggseq.sourceforge.net/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage
HammerHead - http://www.threechords.com/hammerhea...oduction.shtml
Jesusonic - http://www.jesusonic.com/soft.php
KRISTAL Audio Engine - http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php
orDrumbox - http://ordrumbox.sourceforge.net/
Tu2 - http://www.brambos.com/news.html

Audio Players:
1by1 - http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch
Billy - http://www.sheepfriends.com/?page=billy
CoolPlayer - http://coolplayer.sourceforge.net/
DeejaySystem MK1 - http://www.deejaysystem.com/prod_mk1.asp
DeliPlayer. http://www.deliplayer.com/
Foobar 2000 - http://www.foobar2000.org/
iTunes - http://www.apple.com/itunes/
Jet Audio Basic - http://www.jetaudio.com/
Mixere - http://mixere.sourceforge.net/
Mixxx - http://mixxx.sourceforge.net/
monoRAVEik - http://www.mono211.com/monoraveik/mr1200.html
MoreAmp - http://sourceforge.net/projects/moreamp/
Musik - http://musik.berlios.de/
musikCube - http://www.musikcube.com/
QCD Player - http://www.quinnware.com/
Sonique - http://sonique.lycos.com/
Winamp - http://www.winamp.com/
XMPlay - http://www.un4seen.com/xmplay.html
Zinf - http://www.zinf.org/

Audio Tools:
Audacity - http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
AudioShell - http://www.softpointer.com/AudioShell.htm
BeSweet - http://dspguru.doom9.net/
CDex - http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/
dBpowerAMP Music Converter - http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm
EAC - http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/
Encounter 2003 - http://www.waschbusch.com/
GermaniXEncoder - http://www.germanixsoft.de/
K-MP3 - http://www.katarncorp.com/
KraMixer - http://www.kramware.com/
MP3 Book Helper - http://mp3bookhelper.sourceforge.net/
MP3 Tag - http://www.mp3tag.de/
Mp3 Tag Tools - http://massid3lib.sourceforge.net/
mp3DirectCut - http://www.rz.uni-frankfurt.de/~pesch/
MP3Gain - http://www.geocities.com/mp3gain/
mp3Trim - http://www.logiccell.com/~mp3trim/
MusicBrainz - http://musicbrainz.org/
Rarewares - http://rarewares.hydrogenaudio.org/
SoundEngine Free - http://www.cycleof5th.com/en/index.htm
TagScanner - http://xdev.narod.ru/tagscan_e.htm
The GodFather - http://users.otenet.gr/~jtcliper/tgf/
TigoTago - http://www.tigotago.com/

CD/DVD Burning:
Burn4Free - http://www.burn4free.com/
Burnatonce - http://www.burnatonce.com/
Burrrn - http://www.burrrn.net/
CDBurnerXP - http://www.cdburnerxp.se/
CDRDAO - http://cdrdao.sourceforge.net/
CDR Tools Frontend - http://demosten.com/cdrfe/
Deepburner - http://www.deepburner.com/
DVD Decrypter: http://fileforum.betanews.com/downlo...r/1011845169/1
Easy Burning, DropCD & Audio CD - http://www.paehl.de/cdr
ImgBurn - http://www.imgburn.com/

Compression / Decompression:
7-zip - http://www.7-zip.org/
bzip2 - http://sources.redhat.com/bzip2/index.html
ExtractNow - http://www.extractnow.com/
FilZip - http://www.filzip.com/
Info-Zip - http://www.info-zip.org/
IZArc - http://www.florida.plus.com/izarc/
QuickZip - http://www.quickzip.org/
TUGZip - http://www.tugzip.com/
UPX - http://upx.sourceforge.net/
Zip&Go - http://www.handybits.com/zipngo.htm
Zipgenius - http://www.zipgenius.it/

Defrag Software:
DIRMS & Buzzsaw - http://www.dirms.com/
OpenVMS - http://www.execsoft.com/freeware/freeware.asp

Photo manipulation and image design:
ArtRage - http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html
Artweaver - http://www.artweaver.de/index.php?en_version
ColorPic - http://www.iconico.com/colorpic/
Delineate - http://delineate.sourceforge.net/
Inkscape - http://www.inkscape.org/
JPEGCrops - http://ekot.dk/programmer/JPEGCrops/
Paint .NET - http://www.eecs.wsu.edu/paint.net/
Pixia - http://www.ab.wakwak.com/~knight/
Pixie - http://www.nattyware.com/pixie.html
PhotoFiltre - http://www.photofiltre.com/
Sodipodi - http://www.sodipodi.com/
The Gimp - http://www.gimp.org/
Tuxpaint - http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/tuxpaint
Wax - http://www.debugmode.com/wax/
Wink - http://www.debugmode.com/wink/
WinMorph - http://www.debugmode.com/winmorph/

Programming:
ActivePerl - http://www.activestate.com/Products/ActivePerl
BlueJ - http://www.bluej.org/download/download.html
Crimson Editor - http://www.crimsoneditor.com/
Code::Blocks - http://www.codeblocks.org/
Context - http://www.context.cx/
Dev C++ - http://www.bloodshed.net/
Dev Pascal - http://www.bloodshed.net/
Digital Mars C++ - http://www.digitalmars.com/download/freecompiler.html
Eclipse - http://www.eclipse.org/
ExamDiff - http://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff
Freepascal - http://www.freepascal.org/
JCreator LE - http://www.jcreator.com/download.htm
jEdit - http://www.jedit.org/
Metapad - http://www.liquidninja.com/metapad/
Notepad++ - http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm
Notepad2 - http://www.flos-freeware.ch/
Open Watcom - http://www.openwatcom.org/
Pelles C - http://www.smorgasbordet.com/pellesc/index.htm
PHP Hypertext Parser - http://www.php.net/
Programmer's Notepad - http://www.pnotepad.org/
PSPad - http://www.pspad.com/
Python - http://www.python.org/
Ruby - http://www.dm4lab.to/~usa/ruby/index_en.html
SharpDevelop - http://www.icsharpcode.net/opensource/sd/
WebMatrix - http://www.asp.net/webmatrix/
WinMerge - http://winmerge.org/

Pop-up Blockers:
Google Toolbar - http://www.google.com/
NoAds - http://www.southbaypc.com/NoAds/
PopUp Stopper - http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html
Privoxy - http://www.privoxy.org/
Proxomitron - http://www.proxomitron.info/

RSS Readers:
Ablion - http://www.fileheaven.com/Abilon/download/14059.htm
BlogExpress - http://www.usablelabs.com/productBlogExpress.html
Feedreader - http://www.feedreader.com/
FireANT - http://www.antisnottv.net/
GreatNews - http://www.curiostudio.com/
RssBandit - http://www.rssbandit.org/
RSSOwl - http://www.rssowl.org/
RssReader - http://www.rssreader.com/
RSS Xpress - http://rssxpress.free.fr/en/?page=&idNews=
SharpReader - http://www.sharpreader.net/

System Information and monitoring:
AIDA32 - http://www.sofotex.com/AIDA32-download_L9326.html
ATITool - http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/
ATI Tray Tools - http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/
CPU-Z - http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
Gkrellm - http://bill.nalens.com/
K1 - http://clanpkm.free.fr/K1/?lng=en
Motherboard monitor - http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=311
SpeedFan - http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php
Sysmetrix - http://www.xymantix.com
WCPUID - http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA002.../download.html
WhatsRunning - http://www.whatsrunning.net/whatsrunning/main.aspx

Video codecs:
DivX Codec - http://www.divx.com/divx/?src=toptab...rom_/index.php
FFDSHOW - http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow
XviD - http://www.xvid.org/

Video players :
AC3Filter - http://sourceforge.net/projects/ac3filter
BsPlayer - http://www.bsplayer.org/
Crystal Player - http://www.crystalplayer.com/index.php?page=downloads
Cygwin MPlayer - http://armory.nicewarrior.org/projects/cygmp/
DivX Player - http://www.divx.com/
MaximusDVD - http://www.maximusdvd.com/
Media Player Classic - http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=82303
VideoLan - http://www.videolan.org/

Video tools:
DScaler - http://deinterlace.sourceforge.net/
FlasKMPEG - http://www.flaskmpeg.net
GSpot - http://www.headbands.com/gspot/
TMPGEnc - http://www.tmpgenc.net/e_main.html
VirtualDub - http://www.virtualdub.org/
VirtualDubMod - http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=65889
Zwei-Stein Video Editor - http://www.thugsatbay.com/software/index.html

Web browsers:
Firefox - http://www.getfirefox.com
K-Meleon - http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net/
Mozilla - http://www.mozilla.org/
Netscape - http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp
Opera - http://www.opera.com

Web servers:
Abyss - http://abyss.sourceforge.net/
Apache - http://httpd.apache.org/
Apache2Triad - http://apache2triad.net/
HTTP File Server - http://www.rejetto.com/sw/
Sambar - http://www.sambar.com/
Savant - http://savant.sourceforge.net/
SimpleServer:WWW - http://www.analogx.com/contents/down...work/sswww.htm
Smart Cache - http://scache.sourceforge.net/
TinyWeb - http://www.ritlabs.com/tinyweb/index.html
Xitami - http://www.xitami.com/

Webcam Software:
booruWebCam - http://www.booru.net/
Dorgem - http://dorgem.sourceforge.net/
grabMotion - http://www.grabmotion.com/
Pryme - http://www.hilo.dk/pryme/

Checksum Utilities:
fsum - http://www.slavasoft.com/fsum/
HashCalc - http://www.slavasoft.com/hashcalc/
hksfv - http://www.big-o-software.com/products/hksfv/
ICEECC - http://www.ice-graphics.com/ICEECC/IndexE.html
md5sum - http://www.etree.org/md5com.html
md5summer - http://www.md5summer.org/
MooSFV - http://www.ubercow.com/moosfv/
QuickPar - http://www.quickpar.org.uk/
QuickSFV - http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/4668/

General Utilities And Other Applications:
AdShield - http://www.lossepladsen.dk/all4you/T...d/AdShield.php
AnalogX - http://www.analogx.com/
AppRocket - http://www.candylabs.com/approcket/
AutoIt - http://www.hiddensoft.com/autoit3/
BISS - http://www.bluetack.co.uk/index.php
Celestia - http://www.shatters.net/celestia
CCleaner - http://www.ccleaner.com
ClipX - http://bluemars.org/clipx/
Contact - http://www.isaacboy.com/contact.htm
Cygwin - http://www.cygwin.com
Dir2HTML - http://www.pc-tools.net/win32/dir2html/
Dirkey - http://www.protonfx.com/dirkey/
EasyCleaner - http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
EditPad Lite - http://www.editpadpro.com/editpadlite.html
EssentialPIM - http://www.essentialpim.com/
Excessive-software - http://www.excessive-software.eu.tt/
Folder Size Extension - http://foldersize.sourceforge.net/
Hamsin Clipboard - http://www.iisr-cnc.com/hamsin/
HTTrack - http://www.httrack.com/
Inno Setup - http://www.jrsoftware.org/isinfo.php
KeyNote - http://www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html
Language Identifier - http://www.languageidentifier.com/
Link Checker - http://www.relsoftware.com/rlc/
Memtest-86 - http://www.memtest86.com
Money Manager - http://www.thezeal.com/software/manager/default.asp
Multi Install - http://multiinstall.sourceforge.net/
MWSnap - http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
NetTime - http://nettime.sourceforge.net
Nullsoft Installer - http://www.nullsoft.com/free/nsis
Open Subfolder - http://www.bubblepop.com/opensubfolder/index.html
Peerguardian - http://www.methlabs.org/
Process Explorer (aka ProcessXP) -
http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/fr.../procexp.shtml
png2ico - http://winterdrache.de/freeware/png2ico
RegSeeker - http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm
Restoration - http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
Startup Control Panel - http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml
Stickies - http://finiteloop.org/~btaylor/software/stickies/
StrokeIt - http://www.tcbmi.com/strokeit/
Syncback - http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html
Sysinternals - http://www.sysinternals.com/
Toolbox - http://www.sil.org/computing/toolbox/
TreeSize - http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml
TuneXP - http://www.driverheaven.net/dforce/s...?doc=txp_about
Turbo Pad - http://turbopad.sourceforge.net/
Unlocker - http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/
Vim - http://vim.sourceforge.net
WeathAlert - http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/msowul/?page=weathermain
WordWeb - http://wordweb.info/free/
XP AntiSpy - http://www.xpantispy.org/

Get All Details from Contacts in ANDROID.

2013-07-30T07:57:00.002+05:30

www.coderzheaven.com/2011/06/13/get-all-details-from-contacts-in-android/

package pack.coderzheaven;

import android.app.Activity;

import android.content.ContentResolver;

import android.database.Cursor;

import android.os.Bundle;

import android.provider.ContactsContract;

public class GetContactsDemo extends Activity {

    /** Called when the activity is first created. */

    @Override

    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

        setContentView(R.layout.main);

        readContacts();

    }

    public void readContacts(){

         ContentResolver cr = getContentResolver();

         Cursor cur = cr.query(ContactsContract.Contacts.CONTENT_URI,

                null, null, null, null);

         if (cur.getCount() > 0) {

            while (cur.moveToNext()) {

                String id = cur.getString(cur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.Contacts._ID));

                String name = cur.getString(cur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.Contacts.DISPLAY_NAME));

                if (Integer.parseInt(cur.getString(cur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.Contacts.HAS_PHONE_NUMBER))) > 0) {

                    System.out.println("name : " + name + ", ID : " + id);

                    // get the phone number

                    Cursor pCur = cr.query(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Phone.CONTENT_URI,null,

                                           ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Phone.CONTACT_ID +" = ?",

                                           new String[]{id}, null);

                    while (pCur.moveToNext()) {

                          String phone = pCur.getString(

                                 pCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Phone.NUMBER));

                          System.out.println("phone" + phone);

                    }

                    pCur.close();

                    // get email and type

                   Cursor emailCur = cr.query(

                            ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Email.CONTENT_URI,

                            null,

                            ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Email.CONTACT_ID + " = ?",

                            new String[]{id}, null);

                    while (emailCur.moveToNext()) {

                        // This would allow you get several email addresses

                            // if the email addresses were stored in an array

                        String email = emailCur.getString(

                                      emailCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Email.DATA));

                        String emailType = emailCur.getString(

                                      emailCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Email.TYPE));

                      System.out.println("Email " + email + " Email Type : " + emailType);

                    }

                    emailCur.close();

                    // Get note.......

                    String noteWhere = ContactsContract.Data.CONTACT_ID + " = ? AND " + ContactsContract.Data.MIMETYPE + " = ?";

                    String[] noteWhereParams = new String[]{id,

                    ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Note.CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE};

                            Cursor noteCur = cr.query(ContactsContract.Data.CONTENT_URI, null, noteWhere, noteWhereParams, null);

                    if (noteCur.moveToFirst()) {

                        String note = noteCur.getString(noteCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Note.NOTE));

                      System.out.println("Note " + note);

                    }

                    noteCur.close();

                    //Get Postal Address....

                    String addrWhere = ContactsContract.Data.CONTACT_ID + " = ? AND " + ContactsContract.Data.MIMETYPE + " = ?";

                    String[] addrWhereParams = new String[]{id,

                        ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE};

                    Cursor addrCur = cr.query(ContactsContract.Data.CONTENT_URI,

                                null, null, null, null);

                    while(addrCur.moveToNext()) {

                        String poBox = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.POBOX));

                        String street = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.STREET));

                        String city = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.CITY));

                        String state = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.REGION));

                        String postalCode = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.POSTCODE));

                        String country = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.COUNTRY));

                        String type = addrCur.getString(

                                     addrCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.StructuredPostal.TYPE));

                        // Do something with these....

                    }

                    addrCur.close();

                    // Get Instant Messenger.........

                    String imWhere = ContactsContract.Data.CONTACT_ID + " = ? AND " + ContactsContract.Data.MIMETYPE + " = ?";

                    String[] imWhereParams = new String[]{id,

                        ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Im.CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE};

                    Cursor imCur = cr.query(ContactsContract.Data.CONTENT_URI,

                            null, imWhere, imWhereParams, null);

                    if (imCur.moveToFirst()) {

                        String imName = imCur.getString(

                                 imCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Im.DATA));

                        String imType;

                        imType = imCur.getString(

                                 imCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Im.TYPE));

                    }

                    imCur.close();

                    // Get Organizations.........

                    String orgWhere = ContactsContract.Data.CONTACT_ID + " = ? AND " + ContactsContract.Data.MIMETYPE + " = ?";

                    String[] orgWhereParams = new String[]{id,

                        ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Organization.CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE};

                    Cursor orgCur = cr.query(ContactsContract.Data.CONTENT_URI,

                                null, orgWhere, orgWhereParams, null);

                    if (orgCur.moveToFirst()) {

                        String orgName = orgCur.getString(orgCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Organization.DATA));

                        String title = orgCur.getString(orgCur.getColumnIndex(ContactsContract.CommonDataKinds.Organization.TITLE));

                    }

                    orgCur.close();

                }

            }

       }

    }

}

How to make a custom rom for android

2012-10-27T19:58:00.002+05:30

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1611349

Pulsar 220 starter solonoid

2012-10-04T22:11:00.001+05:30

How to dissect a ROM and mod it to your satisfaction.

2012-09-23T12:13:00.002+05:30

[TEAM XPOSED] [Guide]9/21/11: How to dissect a ROM and mod it to your satisfaction.

Hi guys, I'm back again with somewhat of a guide.

How to dissect, repackage, and flash a ROM to your satisfaction without a kitchen!

Don't let anyone else fool you. The awesome devs at XDA, one in particular dsixda have made making ROMs very easy with kitchens. But you don't need to go through the process of installing and using one to get a ROM the way you want it. If installing and working with a kitchen seems too cumbersome and/or hard, or you're tired of waiting for or asking your ROM chef to include/exclude/change a feature, then this guide is for you.

ROMs aren't scary things, they're actually quite simple in terms of structure. As long as they're built correctly from the get go, you will learn how to mod it to suit your needs.

Tools needed: (most of which will be included in this guide)
A base ROM (start with your favorite)
WinRAR (or any good archiver)
Notepad++ (Recommended or something that can handle files encoded in UNIX)
SignAPK/APK Manager/APKTOOL/smali/baksmali (optional/advanced)
Time
Patience
Common sense (can't stress this enough)

Step 0:
-Start with a clean working environment, such as a folder or partition dedicated to this task. Your desktop probably won't be very good if you have a lot of stuff on it already.

Step 1:
-Using the archiver of your choice, you will need to extract the ROM to the work environment you've set up in Step 0.
--Your final result will look something similar to this:
NOTE: I am using my ROM as a reference.

Most ROMs will follow this structure, with some utilizing the folders "sdcard" and possibly others, depending on how customized they are. But as long as you have the /system folder, you will be fine. It is where you will probably spend the majority of your modding time. Get a feel for how the folder structure is. Navigate through them (don't make any changes). This guide will focus mainly on removing and adding apps, the more advanced stuff such as editing text files (with the exception of build.prop) and apks may come later.

NOTE: Please keep the original archive, do not delete it after extracting.

Step 2:
Navigate to the /system folder, which again should look similar to this:

Step 3:
The first folder we'll focus on is app. This is one of the most important folders when customizing your ROM. It will look something like this:

This folder is important because it houses your 'system apps', which are included in your ROM and cannot be uninstalled by traditional means. Here you can remove or add your own apps you want to include as system apps. Remember that not all apps are capable of running as system apps--actually, apps that are placed in this folder receive a higher permission level than apps that are placed in /data/app, so use caution when adding your own here. I would also suggest creating a "removed" folder [in a different location] and move any apps you decide to take away to here so you'll have them in case you remove something that causes a side effect you weren't intending to cause. If you feel comfortable with your WinRAR or 7zip skills, most of the images in these apks can be simply overwritten (this is initially how themes are created, among other ways). Be careful not to overwrite any 9.pngs because they are a special format. You can simply explore (not extract) them with your favorite archive program and replace images as you find them, which will typically reside in the res/drawable and res/drawable-hdpi folders.

Step 4:
Next up is the bin folder. This folder is very tricky and I would advise caution against removing anything that's currently in here unless you get real familiar with the contents of this folder. It will look something like this:

Most ROMs will include all the necessary scripts you will need in this folder. However, it doesn't hurt to familiarize yourself with it. Scripts such as bash and even sometimes busybox, can be installed here. If you're working with a very stock ROM, and I mean stock as in the only thing that was changed is adding root, then it wouldn't hurt to add bash here, other than that, let's move on.

Step 5:
Here we have the customize folder. This folder is pretty important as well. It holds all of your first boot activities and pretty much sets your phone up after you've flashed and/or updated ROMs. It looks like this:

Things start to get more involved and interesting around here. You'll notice three sub-folders inside of here, which house various customization scripts. To be honest, I'm not even sure how many of these get ran, but I'm almost positive the ones labeled "default" do get ran. Here's where Notepad++ will finally start to come in handy! If you're looking to do quick editing, then you can open any one of these xml files in Notepad++ and poke around. (For advanced script editing, I would suggest looking at the appropriate Android documentation. I'll see if I can get a link to that up.)

NOTE: Be VERY careful of what you remove from these xml files, the syntax has to be perfect, otherwise the script won't get initialized. I would suggest copying everything you intend on editing to another folder of the same name, in a different location of course, so that you can have copies. True beginners should not attempt editing any files in here until you familiarize yourself with their syntax.
Folder structure:
-CID
--cidProfile1.xml: I don't think this file gets parsed. However, I do take the time to remove language settings that I will never use, just for my own OCD reasons.
--cidProfile2.xml: I don't think this file gets parsed. However, I do take the time to remove language settings that I will never use, just for my own OCD reasons.
--default.xml: Settings such as screen timeouts, IME language settings, etc gets parsed here. Nothing of too much importance. However, I do take the time to remove language settings that I will never use, just for my own OCD reasons.
-MNS
--default.xml: This is probably the single most important file in the customize folder. Here houses most, if not all the first boot settings that get parsed, such as widget placement, bookmarks, and a whole plethora of other settings. This is a very fun and interesting file to edit, but again i heavily caution you to edit this file if you're a beginner. One simple mistake can lead to nothing getting parsed here--a mistake I've made a few times because of incorrect syntax.
-resource: This is probably the second most important folder in the customize section. Here lies all of the thumbnails and wallpapers for Sense. If you are planning on removing Sense, you can safely remove all the files here with the exception of CCInfo.txt. You can also replace the images as well as boot/power down animations here.

Step 6:
Ah, the etc folder--you'll spend probably no more than five minutes in this folder unless you're truly advanced, which means this guide is probably meaningless to you. It houses a lot of useless epub (ereader) books and looks like this:

If you have time, you can definitely do some exploring of files in here with your favorite text editor (Notepad++) and see if anything is of significance. If you find something, please report back! So far, I don't think very much, if anyone takes advantage of the actual files in this folder (the folders are a different story)
Folder structure:
-bluetooth: nothing to see here. bluetooth configuration files. could be useful down the line.
-dhcpcd: looks like configuration files for dhcp/dns/internet. could be useful down the line.
--dhcpcd-hooks: same as above
-fakeserverxml: This folder looks strange, even has a strange name. I assume if you're removing Sense, this won't be needed either. I'm not even sure it's needed WITH Sense. Poking around revealed some configuration files for what appears to be HTC Hub and scenes, widgets, skins, and other things.
-firmware: I wouldn't touch anything in here unless you know exactly what you're doing.
-init.d: Finally, something that matters! A lot of ROM chefs make use of this folder because it initializes scripts in here upon system boot. You'll see various things in here from various ROMs including: zipaligning, overclocking, kernel stuff, apps2sd, and more. If you know what you're doing, you could even drop your on initialization scrips into this folder and have them boot with the system. Be careful what you do in this folder though. You want to make sure you are following the correct set of steps to either add or remove things. I would poke around with a text editor at those files to see any dependencies, etc.
-iproute2: Nothing here for the average user.
-permissions: If you're removing Sense, without any intent on having it return, remove the relevant files from this folder as well. Other than that, let's move on.
-ppp: Nothing here for the average user.
-security: Nothing here for the average user.
-slideshow: Safe to get rid of. Inside are pictures that Sense uses as a slideshow.
-soundimage: Nothing here for the average user. However, things in here look promising for sound enhancement!
-terminfo: Nothing here for the average user.
--l: Same as above
--u Same as above
-updatecmds: Nothing here for the average user.
-wifi: Nothing here for the average user. However, you may be able to replace the wpa_supplicant file with a modified one for WiFi improvements.
-wimax: Nothing here for the average user. However, the files in the sub-folders here may be used in the future to enhance or modify WiMAX.
--dhcp: Same.
--sequansd: Same.
Before we move on, if you're going to use any sort of adblocking, your preconfigured hosts file should go here. Downloading ad-free from the market will overwrite this file when updating hosts, but if you want to supply your ROM users with a hosts file already somewhat updated, you can place that here. Looking at the various .sh/txt/csv/cfg/* files in Notepad++ will show you some defaults you can change, if you're comfortable in your editing skills, take a look at some of them and see what you can do. Not even I have bothered to look through most of these.

Step 7:
In and out like a robbery for this folder, "fonts", which houses the default fonts that Android uses for various things. I like to replace the clocktopia (which is used on the aosp lockscreen as the clock font) with the honeycomb clock font. Other than that, fonts replaced in here must retain the Android naming structure:

Step 8:
The framework folder is very...sensitive aka dangerous. Deleting or modifying the wrong thing in here can render your system unbootable. Until you're more seasoned in modifying ROMs, I would steer clear of this folder. However, the framework-res.apk file can be used to modify a lot of images to change the look, or "theme" of your ROM. So again, if you feel comfortable, fire up that archive program and get to replacin', otherwise let's move on:

If you're anything like me (anal) then you will wanna remove anything from the framework folder that has anything to do with apps you've removed. For instance, there is a blockbuster file in here that you can safely remove if you've removed the blockbuster app. Again, be careful with what you modify or remove from here, because your system can quickly become unbootable which will leave you wondering what happened.

Step 9:
The lib folder, like the framework folder, is very sensitive aka dangerous. Deleting or modifying the wrong thing in here can render your system unbootable. Until you're seasoned in modifying ROMs, I would steer clear of this folder. However, there are a few things that can be done in here if you've deleted other apps:

Folder structure:
-bluez-plugin: nothing here for the average user.
-egl: nothing here for the average user.
-hw: nothing here for the average user.
-modules: This is where kernel modules for things like WiFi/WiMAX/TUN/CIFS/ETC go. If you are modifying a ROM, and are including a kernel, be sure to delete what's here, and add the modules that came with the kernel. Not doing so will more than likely make its associated parts not function. Example: Error starting WiFi can usually be traced to wrong modules in this folder after updating a kernel.
-plugins: This folder houses plugins for different preinstalled apps. For instance, the Adobe Flash plugin would be here, but if you remove Flash from your ROM (since you can get it from the market and may be more updated than what was included) you should remove its associated files. I wouldn't remove the flashlite plugin though.
-soundfx: nothing here for the average user.

The lib folder can be very overwhelming from the sheer number of files in here but the majority of them will have little of no value to the average user. BUT, you should definitely check here if you are removing any system apps for associated lib files. For instance, Swype is included on HTC's stock software, and if you remove it from the /system/app folder, you want to come here and remove its associated lib file. There won't be a lib file for every program you remove, but it's good to double check here afterward to make sure you get all traces of it gone.

Step 10:
The media folder, probably the easiest folder ever, and least time spent in here. This folder controls all the built in audio sounds such as notifications/ringtones/etc as well as any other media related files, like video clips, images that would indicate an animation, etc:

Folder structure:
-audio: parent folder for system sounds.
--alarms: self explanatory.
--notifications: self explanatory.
--ringtones: self explanatory
--ui: self explanatory
-GPU: nothing here for the average user. Not sure what it even is for.
-mms: nothing here for the average user. Not sure what it even is for.
-weather: This folder isn't really of any use, but it does contain weather animations that the HTC weather app uses. If by some reason you want to edit, replace, or modify those animations, here they are. I would suggest placing files of the same resolution in here.

Be sure to place the files you want in their respective folders, because they won't show up when you try and select them for things they aren't intended for. For instance, placing notification sounds in the ringtones folder will make them not show up when you go to choose a notification sound from within Android.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1198035

Windows 8 rtm activation hacks

2012-08-06T08:39:00.001+05:30

You can rearm the trial version of Windows 8 rtm by the following steps:
1. Open command prompt
2. Type:
slmgr /rearm
3. Hit enter.

keys: http://pastebin.com/Ps9CzfHc

If you are using Pro, type these lines ONE BY ONE!
slmgr -ipk NG4HW-VH26C-733KW-K6F98-J8CK4
slmgr /skms kms-c.no-ip.org:1688
slmgr.vbs -ato

If you are using Enterprise:
slmgr.vbs -ipk NG4HW-VH26C-733KW-K6F98-J8CK4
slmgr /skms kms-c.no-ip.org:1688
slmgr /ato
slmgr /dli

Configuring Xdebug for PHP on windows

2012-07-31T22:16:00.002+05:30

you need to add the following lines to php.ini at the end

[XDebug]
;; Only Zend OR (!) XDebug
zend_extension="C:/php/php_xdebug-2.2.0-5.4-vc9.dll"
xdebug.remote_enable=true
xdebug.remote_host=localhost
xdebug.remote_port=80
xdebug.remote_handler=dbgp
xdebug.profiler_enable=1
xdebug.profiler_output_dir="C:/php/xdebug/tmp"

Note:
1.) / is used for path instead of \
2.) From PHP 5.3 onwards, you always need to use the zend_extension PHP.ini setting name, and not zend_extension_ts, nor zend_extension_debug.

Upgrading Galaxy S from Froyo to Gingerbread

2012-07-18T22:23:00.003+05:30

Preventing Hangs in Windows Applications

2012-07-18T22:22:00.004+05:30

Preventing Hangs in Windows Applications

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744765%28VS.85%29.aspx/

Affected Platforms

Clients - Windows 7

Servers - Windows Server 2008 R2

Description

Hangs - User Perspective
Users like responsive applications. When they click a menu, they want the application to react instantly, even if it is currently printing their work. When they save a lengthy document in their favorite word processor, they want to continue typing while the disk is still spinning. Users get impatient rather quickly when the application does not react in a timely fashion to their input.
A programmer might recognize many legitimate reasons for an application not to instantly respond to user input. The application might be busy recalculating some data, or simply waiting for its disk I/O to complete. However, from user research, we know that users get annoyed and frustrated after just a couple of seconds of unresponsiveness. After 5 seconds, they will try to terminate a hung application. Next to crashes, application hangs are the most common source of user disruption when working with Win32 applications.
There are many different root causes for application hangs, and not all of them manifest themselves in an unresponsive UI. However, an unresponsive UI is one of the most common hang experiences, and this scenario currently receives the most operating system support for both detection as well as recovery. Windows automatically detects, collects debug information, and optionally terminates or restarts hung applications. Otherwise, the user might have to restart the machine in order to recover a hung application.
Hangs - Operating System Perspective
When an application (or more accurately, a thread) creates a window on the desktop, it enters into an implicit contract with the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) to process window messages in a timely fashion. The DWM posts messages (keyboard/mouse input and messages from other windows, as well as itself) into the thread-specific message queue. The thread retrieves and dispatches those messages via its message queue. If the thread does not service the queue by calling GetMessage(), messages are not processed, and the window hangs: it can neither redraw nor can it accept input from the user. The operating system detects this state by attaching a timer to pending messages in the message queue. If a message has not been retrieved within 5 seconds, the DWM declares the window to be hung. You can query this particular window state via the IsHungAppWindow() API.
Detection is only the first step. At this point, the user still cannot even terminate the application - clicking the X (Close) button would result in a WM_CLOSE message, which would be stuck in the message queue just like any other message. The Desktop Window Manager assists by seamlessly hiding and then replacing the hung window with a 'ghost' copy displaying a bitmap of the original window's previous client area (and adding "Not Responding" to the title bar). As long as the original window's thread does not retrieve messages, the DWM manages both windows simultaneously, but allows the user to interact only with the ghost copy. Using this ghost window, the user can only move, minimize, and - most importantly - close the unresponsive application, but not change its internal state.
The whole ghost experience looks like this:

The Desktop Window Manager does one last thing; it integrates with Windows Error Reporting, allowing the user to not only close and optionally restart the application, but also send valuable debugging data back to Microsoft. You can get this hang data for your own applications by signing up at the Winqual website.
Windows 7 added one new feature to this experience. The operating system analyzes the hung application and, under certain circumstances, gives the user the option to cancel a blocking operation and make the application responsive again. The current implementation supports cancellation of blocking Socket calls; more operations will be user-cancelable in future releases.
To integrate your application with the hang recovery experience and to make the most out of the available data, follow these steps:

Ensure that your application registers for restart and recovery, making a hang as pain-free as possible to the user. A properly registered application can automatically restart with most of its unsaved data intact. This works for both application hangs and crashes.
Get frequency information as well as debugging data for your hung and crashed applications from the Winqual website. You can use this information even during your Beta to improve your code. See "Introducing Windows Error Reporting" for a brief overview.
You can disable the ghosting feature in your application via a call to DisableProcessWindowsGhosting (). However, this prevents the average user from closing and restarting a hung application and often ends in a reboot.

Hangs - Developer Perspective
The operating system defines an application hang as a UI thread that has not processed messages for at least 5 seconds. Obvious bugs cause some hangs, for example, a thread waiting for an event that is never signaled, and two threads each holding a lock and trying to acquire the others. You can fix those bugs without too much effort. However, many hangs are not so clear. Yes, the UI thread is not retrieving messages - but it is equally busy doing other 'important' work and will eventually come back to processing messages.
However, the user perceives this as a bug. The design should match the user's expectations. If the application's design leads to an unresponsive application, the design will have to change. Finally, and this is important, unresponsiveness cannot be fixed like a code bug; it requires upfront work during the design phase. Trying to retrofit an application's existing code base to make the UI more responsive is often too expensive. The following design guidelines might help.

Make UI responsiveness a top-level requirement; the user should always feel in control of your application
Ensure that users can cancel operations that take longer than one second to complete and/or that operations can complete in the background; provide appropriate progress UI if necessary

Queue long-running or blocking operations as background tasks (this requires a well-thought out messaging mechanism to inform the UI thread when work has been completed)
Keep the code for UI threads simple; remove as many blocking API calls as possible
Show windows and dialogs only when they are ready and fully operational. If the dialog needs to display information that is too resource-intensive to calculate, show some generic information first and update it on the fly when more data becomes available. A good example is the folder properties dialog from Windows Explorer. It needs to display the folder's total size, information that is not readily available from the file system. The dialog shows up right away and the "size" field is updated from a worker thread:

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to design and write a responsive application. Windows does not provide a simple asynchronous framework that would allow for easy scheduling of blocking or long-running operations. The following sections introduce some of the best practices in preventing hangs and highlight some of the common pitfalls.

Best Practices

Keep the UI Thread Simple
The UI thread's primary responsibility is to retrieve and dispatch messages. Any other kind of work introduces the risk of hanging the windows owned by this thread.
Do:

Move resource-intensive or unbounded algorithms that result in long-running operations to worker threads
Identify as many blocking function calls as possible and try to move them to worker threads; any function calling into another DLL should be suspicious
Make an extra effort to remove all file I/O and networking API calls from your worker thread. These functions can block for many seconds if not minutes. If you need to do any kind of I/O in the UI thread, consider using asynchronous I/O
Be aware that your UI thread is also servicing all single-threaded apartment (STA) COM servers hosted by your process; if you make a blocking call, these COM servers will be unresponsive until you service the message queue again

Do not:

Wait on any kernel object (like Event or Mutex) for more than a very short amount of time; if you have to wait at all, consider using MsgWaitForMultipleObjects(), which will unblock when a new message arrives
Share a thread's window message queue with another thread by using the AttachThreadInput() function. It is not only extremely difficult to properly synchronize access to the queue, it also can prevent the Windows operating system from properly detecting a hung window
Use TerminateThread() on any of your worker threads. Terminating a thread in this way will not allow it to release locks or signal events and can easily result in orphaned synchronization objects
Call into any 'unknown' code from your UI thread. This is especially true if your application has an extensibility model; there is no guarantee that 3rd-party code follows your responsiveness guidelines
Make any kind of blocking broadcast call; SendMessage(HWND_BROADCAST) puts you at the mercy of every ill-written application currently running

Implement Asynchronous Patterns
Removing long-running or blocking operations from the UI thread requires implementing an asynchronous framework that allows offloading those operations to worker threads.
Do:

Use asynchronous window message APIs in your UI thread, especially by replacing SendMessage with one of its non-blocking peers: PostMessage, SendNotifyMessage, or SendMessageCallback
Use background threads to execute long-running or blocking tasks. Use the new thread pool API to implement your worker threads
Provide cancellation support for long-running background tasks. For blocking I/O operations, use I/O cancellation, but only as a last resort; it's not easy to cancel the 'right' operation
Implement an asynchronous design for managed code by using the IAsyncResult pattern or by using Events

Use Locks Wisely
Your application or DLL needs locks to synchronize access to its internal data structures. Using multiple locks increases parallelism and makes your application more responsive. However, using multiple locks also increases the chance of acquiring those locks in different orders and causing your threads to deadlock. If two threads each hold a lock and then try to acquire the other thread's lock, their operations will form a circular wait that blocks any forward progress for these threads. You can avoid this deadlock only by ensuring that all threads in the application always acquire all locks in the same order. However, it isn't always easy to acquire locks in the 'right' order. Software components can be composed, but lock acquisitions cannot. If your code calls some other component, that component's locks now become part of your implicit lock order - even if you have no visibility into those locks.
Things get even harder because locking operations include far more than the usual functions for Critical Sections, Mutexes, and other traditional locks. Any blocking call that crosses thread boundaries has synchronization properties that can result in a deadlock. The calling thread performs an operation with 'acquire' semantics and cannot unblock until the target thread 'releases' that call. Quite a few User32 functions (for example SendMessage), as well as many blocking COM calls fall into this category.
Worse yet, the operating system has its own internal process-specific lock that sometimes is held while your code executes. This lock is acquired when DLLs are loaded into the process, and is therefore called the 'loader lock.' The DllMain function always executes under the loader lock; if you acquire any locks in DllMain (and you should not), you need to make the loader lock part of your lock order. Calling certain Win32 APIs might also acquire the loader lock on your behalf - functions like LoadLibraryEx, GetModuleHandle, and especially CoCreateInstance.
To tie all of this together, look at the sample code below. This function acquires multiple synchronization objects and implicitly defines a lock order, something that is not necessarily obvious on cursory inspection. On function entry, the code acquires a Critical Section and does not release it until function exit, thereby making it the top node in our lock hierarchy. The code then calls the Win32 function LoadIcon(), which under the covers might call into the Operating System Loader to load this binary. This operation would acquire the loader lock, which now also becomes part of this lock hierarchy (make sure the DllMain function does not acquire the g_cs lock). Next the code calls SendMessage(), a blocking cross-thread operation, which will not return unless the UI thread responds. Again, make sure that the UI thread never acquires g_cs.

bool foo::bar (char* buffer)

{

EnterCriticalSection(&g_cs);

// Get 'new data' icon

this.m_Icon = LoadIcon(hInst, MAKEINTRESOURCE(5));

// Let UI thread know to update icon SendMessage(hWnd,WM_COMMAND,IDM_ICON,NULL);

this.m_Params = GetParams(buffer);

LeaveCriticalSection(&g_cs); return true;

}

Looking at this code it seems clear that we implicitly made g_cs the top-level lock in our lock hierarchy, even if we only wanted to synchronize access to the class member variables.
Do:

Design a lock hierarchy and obey it. Add all the necessary locks. There are many more synchronization primitives than just Mutex and CriticalSections; they all need to be included. Include the loader lock in your hierarchy if you take any locks in DllMain()
Agree on locking protocol with your dependencies. Any code your application calls or that might call your application needs to share the same lock hierarchy
Lock data structures not functions. Move lock acquisitions away from function entry points and guard only data access with locks. If less code operates under a lock, there is less of a chance for deadlocks
Analyze lock acquisitions and releases in your error handling code. Often the lock hierarchy if forgotten when trying to recover from an error condition
Replace nested locks with reference counters - they cannot deadlock. Individually locked elements in lists and tables are good candidates
Be careful when waiting on a thread handle from a DLL. Always assume that your code could be called under the loader lock. It's better to reference-count your resources and let the worker thread do its own cleanup (and then use FreeLibraryAndExitThread to terminate cleanly)
Use the Wait Chain Traversal API if you want to diagnose your own deadlocks

Do not:

Do anything other than very simple initialization work in your DllMain() function. See DllMain Callback Function for more details. Especially do not call LoadLibraryEx or CoCreateInstance
Write your own locking primitives. Custom synchronization code can easily introduce subtle bugs into your code base. Use the rich selection of operating system synchronization objects instead
Do any work in the constructors and destructors for global variables, they are executed under the loader lock

Be Careful with Exceptions
Exceptions allow the separation of normal program flow and error handling. Because of this separation, it can be difficult to know the precise state of the program prior to the exception and the exception handler might miss crucial steps in restoring a valid state. This is especially true for lock acquisitions that need to be released in the handler to prevent future deadlocks.
The sample code below illustrates this issue. The unbounded access to the "buffer" variable will occasionally result in an access violation (AV). This AV is caught by the native exception handler, but it has no easy way of determining if the critical section was already acquired at the time of the exception (the AV could even have taken place somewhere in the EnterCriticalSection code).

BOOL bar (char* buffer)

{

BOOL rc = FALSE;

__try {

EnterCriticalSection(&cs);

while (*buffer++ != '&') ;

rc = GetParams(buffer);

LeaveCriticalSection(&cs);

} __except (EXCEPTION_EXECUTE_HANDLER)

{

return FALSE;

} return rc;

}

Do:

Remove __try/__except whenever possible; do not use SetUnhandledExceptionFilter
Wrap your locks in custom auto_ptr-like templates if you use C++ exceptions. The lock should be released in the destructor. For native exceptions release the locks in your __finally statement
Be careful with the code executing in a native exception handler; the exception might have leaked many locks, so your handler should not acquire any

Do not:

Handle native exceptions if not necessary or required by the Win32 APIs. If you use native exception handlers for reporting or data recovery after catastrophic failures, consider using the default operating system mechanism of Windows Error Reporting instead
Use C++ exceptions with any kind of UI (user32) code; an exception thrown in a callback will travel through layers of C code provided by the operating system. That code does not know about C++ unroll semantics

10 phones running on Ice Cream sandwich (Android 4.0)

2012-06-27T10:07:00.000+05:30

1. HTC One X

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_x-4320.php

2. Samsung I9300 Galaxy S III

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s_iii_i747-4803.php

3. HTC One V

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_v-4575.php

4. HTC One S

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_s-4574.php

5. Samsung Galaxy Nexus

http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_nexus-4219.php

6. HTC One XL

http://www.gsmarena.com/htc_one_xl-4572.php

7. Huawei Ascend P1

http://www.gsmarena.com/huawei_ascend_p1-4410.php

8. Sony Xperia neo L

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_neo_l-4647.php

9. LG Optimus L7 P700

http://www.gsmarena.com/lg_optimus_l7_p700-4565.php

10. Sony Xperia acro S

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_xperia_acro_s-4781.php

Installing Windows XP on AMD fx8210(8 core) and ASUS M5A97

2012-06-10T14:54:00.001+05:30

Got the new 8 core processor from AMD namely the fx 8210 along with an asus motherboard namely M5A97. I tried installing windows XP sp3 and it would fail throwing the blue screen of death. The message being Stop error code 0x0000007B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE)" errors in Windows XPApparently XP does not recognize ACHI and RAID configurations set in the bios for SATA configurations. I had to change the SATA configuration to IDE to tide over this error. This was mentioned in the user manual of the asus motherboard as well.However for vista,7 and 8 this problem is not present and these Operating systems install like a charm.

Do we need a task manager for android?

2012-06-01T08:26:00.002+05:30

ANDROID GUIDE: SHOULD I USE A TASK KILLER

Written by Rachid Otsmane-Elhaou.

www.droid-den.com/android-guides/android-guide-should-i-use-a-task-killer/

Task killer, one of the most prominent words within the android world. One that causes many arguments and confusion, well today lets see if we can put it all to rest.

I am constantly surprised when talking to new android owners that come to me with questions about their “faulty” phone and “poor-performing” battery, to discover that one of the first apps they installed was a task killer. Even more surprised when I dig deeper and ask why, with one of the top responses being because their “techy” friend said its a vital app. First things first, anything vital will be a core part of the the operating system. If google required that a task killer be a core part of their os, they would have included an easy way to kill apps, end of. Also, if your “techy” friend told you to download an task killer, please, ignore any advice from them in the future, you will regret it if you don’t.

So lets get on with this, following the jump I will be doing my best to describe why a task killer is not only not necessary, but BAD for your phone and your experience with the phone. I will also discuss the very few cases where one may be appropriate, and explain best practice in those situations.

Understanding The Android Way

aka ‘Android is not your Windows PC’

In order to understand why a task killer is not required with android, we must give an explanation about how android works, how it manages tasks, and indeed what a task actually is.

Android is a multitasking operating system, it was built from the ground up with the ethos of not having to kill tasks ground into its methodology. The designers intentionally left out a task killer and ways to close apps. Just think about this for a second. You gmail app is an app designed by google, but you don’t see a close button anywhere do you? In fact I bet a lot of people don’t know its even running (we will define “running” later). Google did not want to burden the mobile user with having to close applications when they are “done” with them. They decided to do this on the basis that a mobile user will repeatedly and briefly interact with a wide variety of applications throughout the day.

Think about your own usage for a minute, I know that this stands true for me, as it will 99.9% of you out there. We use our mobiles on and off, jumping from app to app. For instance, send sms, call friend, check facebook, play a game, make a note, check the weather, etc, etc. Sound familiar? It ought to, as mentioned this is how we use mobiles, and the list can literally go on an on and on.

Ok so we now understand why google decided not to include exit options, or task killer applications. But it’s going to take more than that to convince you right? Lets drop down a level and discuss what exactly happens when you leave (press home or back) an application. Within android applications, there are two fundamental things you should be aware of, an application, and a process. These two concepts are together what make up an application, and are key to understanding why a task killer is not required.

What Is a Process?

A process is an activity that can be performed by 1 or more applications. When you think of an application actually doing something, for example playing music, posting a message to facebook or syncing your rss feed, these are processes. However, it is important to note that just because a process exists, does not mean it may be actually; doing anything. If you like, it may be easier to say that processes may be in an idle or active state.

What Is an Application?

An application is something that makes use of many different processes to provide you with some wanted functionality. For example, the official facebook or twitter apps. An application may also be idle or active, depending if it has any active processes currently associated with it.

When you leave an application, that application is allowed to keep its process running in the background (true multitasking) allowing it to carry on doing whatever work it needs to do. For example continue to download the rest of a webpage or playing music. However, just because an application leaves processes “running” in the background, does not mean they are actually doing anything at all. They are being kept in memory just in case you are going to use them again soon. Many people cite this as a battery drain, nothing could be further from the truth however. Storing a footprint of an application in memory uses exactly the same amount of battery as it would if that section of memory is free. If you continue to open applications, then more of your memory will be used.

Eventually there will be no memory left, time to use a task killer? No! Android is smart enough to recognise when it is running low on available memory, and will start to close those apps that it deems are low priority. The way it determines priority means that those apps you have used least, and are not core to the phone will be closed down first. This does not include apps that are currently in the foreground, or as mentioned core apps such as the clock alarm. When android does close apps itself to free up memory, it does this in a very clever way in that the next time a closed app is reopened, it will restore it as if it had never been closed in the first place (this is similar to what iOS actually calls it’;s main multitasking, laughable I know).

The key point to take from the above is, that task killers are completely not required, and actually interfere with how the android os works under the hood.

Task Killer Misconceptions

So we’ve explained how android works, what it means by “running” apps, and how it automatically manages its own memory so you can stick to enjoying your phone, lets move onto dispelling some common misconceptions about android and the use of task killers:

“Task killers make my battery last longer” – FALSE!

Task killers actually do the opposite, they make your battery life shorter! Lets look at what exactly you are doing when you kill a task. You are completely removing it from memory. Ok, so compared to leaving it in memory you are expecting to save battery? No, whether or not that bit of memory is used by an app or is free, the same amount of battery is going to be used. You are actually reducing battery life because when you next go to use that app, you have to fully reopen it, this uses more memory than simply bringing it out of memory.

“Task killers make my phone run faster” – FALSE

Task killers cause your phone to become unstable and jerky. Killing processes is bad because a process may be shared between applications. When you kill it, you are causing disruption within the OS, forcing apps to reopen, to reopen a shared process.

“There is no exit button, thats why i use a task killer” – FALSE

There is no exit button because android was designed to never have the need for a user to close apps. If an app needs closing, android will do this itself.

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When Should I Use a Task Killer?

As mentioned, there are some situations where you may need to use a task killer, and this is when you have downloaded a poorly coded application that is causing your phone to be unstable, or hogging resources (commonly known as a memory leak). Firstly, you should understand that this should be a one off case. You should ideally immediately remove the offending app from your phone, and send an email to the developer telling them of your issues so that they may fix it. If they do not fix it, make sure you don’t use any other of their apps as they obviously have no idea what they are doing.There really is no excuse for using a poorly coded app, there are plenty more alternatives that have been coded by a developer who understands the platform they are developing for.

So in the above situation I recommend you get yourself an application called SystemPanel.

	SystemPanel Lite (market link)
	SystemPanel Paid $2.99 (market link)

The main screen of SystemPanel shows you a list of all the running applications and processes. You can then simply click through to force kill the problematic application. If you do not know which is the problem application then you can use SystemPanel to see how much memory is being used by each application, typically the problem app will have a much higher memory usage than others. See the screenshot below of this main screen:

Conclusion

So there we have it, I hope I have been able to explain to you why task killers are bad, and why you should not be using one. There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings out there, many boil down to the fact that people try to be too smart and think they understand android, when in fact they have no clue whatsoever. Do not listen to these people, send them here instead!

Good luck, take care, and above all, enjoy the experience of using your android phone, let android itself worry about everything else.

Sleep Paralysis

2011-12-09T07:52:00.002+05:30

SLEEP PARALYSIS

Updated January 26, 1999

See our updated article about sleep paralysis on the new Stanford Sleep and Dreams website.

What is sleep paralysis?

Sleep paralysis consists of a period of inability to perform voluntary movements either at sleep onset (called hypnogogic or predormital form) or upon awakening (called hypnopompic or postdormtal form).

Sleep paralysis may also be referred to as isolated sleep paralysis, familial sleep paralysis, hynogogic or hypnopompic paralysis, predormital or postdormital paralysis

What are the symptoms?

A complaint of inability to move the trunk or limbs at sleep onset or upon awakening
Presence of brief episodes of partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis
Episodes can be associated with hypnagogic hallucinations or dream-like mentation (act or use of the brain)

Polysomnography (a sleep recording) shows at least one of the following:

suppression of skeletal muscle tone
a sleep onset REM period
dissociated REM sleep

Is it harmful?

Sleep paralysis is most often associated with narcolepsy, a neurological condition in which the person has uncontrollable naps. However, there are many people who experience sleep paralysis without having signs of narcolepsy. Sometimes it runs in families. There is no known explanation why some people experience this paralysis. It is not harmful, although most people report feeling very afraid because they do not know what is happening, and within minutes they gradually or abruptly are able to move again; the episode is often terminated by a sound or a touch on the body.

In some cases, when hypnogogic hallucinations are present, people feel that someone is in the room with them, some experience the feeling that someone or something is sitting on their chest and they feel impending death and suffocation. That has been called the “Hag Phenomena” and has been happening to people over the centuries. These things cause people much anxiety and terror, but there is no physical harm.

What else can you tell me about sleep paralysis?

Some people with disrupted sleep schedules or circadian rhythm disturbances experience sleep paralysis
A study found that 35% of subjects with isolated sleep paralysis also reported a history of wake panic attacks unrelated to the experience of paralysis
Sixteen percent of these persons with isolated sleep paralysis met the criteria for panic disorder

How can I stop the sleep paralysis?

In severe cases, where episodes take place at least once a week for 6 months, medication may be used.

You may be able to minimize the episodes by following good sleep hygiene:

getting enough sleep
reduce stress
exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime)
keep a regular sleep schedule

Sleep Paralysis Articles & Web Sites

What is sleep paralysis?
Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreams Research
Sleep Paralysis and Associated Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Experiences Page
Sleep Paralysis/Hag Phenomena
Sleep Paralysis - A story about my experience by Daniel Hacking
The Evils of Sleep Paralysis (Its not really evil spirits! )
The Periodic Paralysis Resource Center Sleep paralysis is normal

Browser shortcuts

2011-12-02T09:29:00.001+05:30

Browser Management	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Help	`F1`	n/a	`F1`
Add Bookmark	`Ctrl`+`D`	`Cmd`+`D`	`Ctrl`+`D`
Bookmarks Sidebar (toggle)	`Ctrl`+`B` `Ctrl`+`I`	`Cmd`+`B`	`Ctrl`+`B`
Browsing History (toggle)	`Ctrl`+`H`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`H`	`Ctrl`+`H`
Download History	`Ctrl`+`J`	`Cmd`+`J`	`Ctrl`+`Y`
Clear Private Data	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Del`	n/a	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Del`
Page Manipulation	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Full Screen (toggle)	`F11`	n/a	`F11`
Increase Text Size	`Ctrl`+`+` `Ctrl`+`Scroll down`	`Cmd`+`+`	`Ctrl`+`+` `Ctrl`+`Scroll down`
Decrease Text Size	`Ctrl`+`-` `Ctrl`+`Scroll up`	`Cmd`+`-`	`Ctrl`+`-` `Ctrl`+`Scroll up`
Restore Text Size	`Ctrl`+`0`	`Cmd`+`0`	`Ctrl`+`0`
Print	`Ctrl`+`P`	`Cmd`+`P`	`Ctrl`+`P`
Reload Page	`F5` `Ctrl`+`R`	`F5` `Cmd`+`R`	`F5` `Ctrl`+`R`
Force Reload Page (override cache)	`Ctrl`+`F5` `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`R` `Shift`+Reload button	`Cmd`+`F5` `Cmd`+`Shift`+`R` `Shift`+Reload button	`Ctrl`+`F5` `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`R` `Shift`+Reload button
Stop Loading	`Esc`	`Esc` `Cmd`+`.`	`Esc`
Save Page As	`Ctrl`+`S` `Alt`+`Left-click`	`Cmd`+`S`	`Ctrl`+`S`
Page Source	`Ctrl`+`U`	`Cmd`+`U`	`Ctrl`+`U`
Page Info	n/a	`Cmd`+`I`	`Ctrl`+`I`
DOM Inspector	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`I`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`I`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`I`
Page Navigation	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Go Down One Line	`⇩` `Alt`+`Scroll down`	`⇩`	`⇩` `Alt`+`Scroll down`
Go Up One Line	`⇧` `Alt`+`Scroll up`	`⇧`	`⇧` `Alt`+`Scroll up`
Go Down One Screen	`PageDown` `Spacebar`	`PageDown` `Spacebar`	`PageDown` `Spacebar` `Shift`+`Backspace` ³
Go Up One Screen	`PageUp` `Shift`+`Spacebar`	`PageUp` `Shift`+`Spacebar`	`PageUp` `Shift`+`Spacebar` `Backspace` ³
Go to Bottom of Page	`End`	`End`	`End`
Go to Top of Page	`Home`	`Home`	`Home`
Move to Next Frame	`F6`	`F6`	`F6`
Move to Previous Frame	`Shift`+`F6`	`Shift`+`F6`	`Shift`+`F6`
Move Focus to Next Actionable Item	`Tab`	`Tab`	`Tab`
Move Focus to Previous Actionable Item	`Shift`+`Tab`	`Shift`+`Tab`	`Shift`+`Tab`
Web Navigation	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Open Home Page	`Alt`+`Home`	`Option`+`Home`	`Alt`+`Home`
Back one Page	`Alt`+`⇦` `Ctrl`+`[` `Shift`+`Scroll down` `Backspace`	`Cmd`+`⇦` `Cmd`+`[` `Delete`	`Alt`+`⇦` `Ctrl`+`[` `Shift`+`Scroll down`
Forward one Page	`Alt`+`⇨` `Ctrl`+`]` `Shift`+`Scroll up` `Shift`+`Backspace`	`Cmd`+`⇨` `Cmd`+`]`	`Alt`+`⇨` `Ctrl`+`]` `Shift`+`Scroll up`
Open Link	`Enter` `Left-click`	`Return` `Click`	`Enter` `Left-click`
Open Link (in new Background Tab)²	`Ctrl`+`Enter` `Ctrl`+`Left-click` `Middle-click`	`Cmd`+`Return` `Cmd`+`Click`	`Ctrl`+`Enter` `Ctrl`+`Left-click` `Middle-click`
Open Link (in new Foreground Tab)²	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Left-click` `Shift`+`Middle-click`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Click`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Left-click` `Shift`+`Middle-click`
Paste URL in Tab	n/a	n/a	`Middle-click` in Tab⁴
Open Link in New Window	`Shift`+`Enter` `Shift`+`Left-click`	`Shift`+`Return` `Shift`+`Click`	`Shift`+`Enter` `Shift`+`Left-click`
Save Link Target As	`Alt`+`Enter`	`Option`+`Return`	`Alt`+`Enter`
Caret Browsing	`F7`	`F7`	`F7`

Tabs and Windows	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Open New Tab	`Ctrl`+`T` `Double-Click` on Tab Bar	`Cmd`+`T` `Double-Click` on Tab Bar	`Ctrl`+`T` `Double-Click` on Tab Bar
Close Tab (close Window if only one tab)	`Ctrl`+`W` `Ctrl`+`F4` `Middle-click` on Tab	`Cmd`+`W` `Cmd`+`F4`	`Ctrl`+`W` `Ctrl`+`F4` `Middle-click` on Tab
Undo Close Tab	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`T`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`T`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`T`
Next Tab	`Ctrl`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageDown`	`Ctrl`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageDown`	`Ctrl`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageDown`
Previous Tab	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageUp`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageUp`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Tab` `Ctrl`+`PageUp`
Select Tab [1 to 9]	`Ctrl`+[`1`…`9`]	`Cmd`+[`1`…`9`]	`Alt`+[`1`…`9`]
Open New Window	`Ctrl`+`N`	`Cmd`+`N`	`Ctrl`+`N`
Close Window	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`W` `Alt`+`F4`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`W` `Option`+`F4`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`W` `Alt`+`F4`
Location	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Select Location Bar	`Ctrl`+`L` `Alt`+`D`	`Cmd`+`L`	`Ctrl`+`L` `Alt`+`D`
Complete .com Address ¹	`Ctrl`+`Enter`	`Cmd`+`Return`	`Ctrl`+`Enter`
Complete .net Address ¹	`Shift`+`Enter`	`Shift`+`Return`	`Shift`+`Enter`
Complete .org Address ¹	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Enter`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Return`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Enter`
Open Address in New Tab ¹	`Alt`+`Enter`	`Option`+`Return`	`Alt`+`Enter`
Open File	`Ctrl`+`O`	`Cmd`+`O`	`Ctrl`+`O`
Search Engines	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Select Search Bar	`Ctrl`+`K`	`Cmd`+`K`	`Ctrl`+`K` `Ctrl`+`J`
Select Next Search Engine in Search Bar	`Ctrl`+`⇩`	`Cmd`+`⇩`	`Ctrl`+`⇩`
Select Previous Search Engine in Search Bar	`Ctrl`+`⇧`	`Cmd`+`⇧`	`Ctrl`+`⇧`
Open List of Search Engines in Search Bar	`Alt`+`⇩` `Alt`+`⇧`	`Option`+`⇩` `Option`+`⇧`	`Alt`+`⇩` `Alt`+`⇧`
Forms	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Select Next Entry	`⇩`	`⇩`	`⇩`
Select Previous Entry	`⇧`	`⇧`	`⇧`
Toggle Checkbox	`Spacebar`	`Spacebar`	`Spacebar`
Auto Complete	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Select Next Auto-Complete Entry	`⇩`	`⇩`	`⇩`
Select Previous Auto-Complete Entry	`⇧`	`⇧`	`⇧`
Delete Individual Auto-Complete Entry	`Shift`+`Del`	`Shift`+`Del`	`Shift`+`Del`
Text Manipulation	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Select All	`Ctrl`+`A`	`Cmd`+`A`	`Ctrl`+`A` `Alt`+`A`
Cut	`Ctrl`+`X`	`Cmd`+`X`	`Ctrl`+`X`
Copy	`Ctrl`+`C`	`Cmd`+`C`	`Ctrl`+`C`
Paste	`Ctrl`+`V`	`Cmd`+`V`	`Ctrl`+`V`
Delete	`Del`	`Del`	`Del`
Undo	`Ctrl`+`Z`	`Cmd`+`Z`	`Ctrl`+`Z`
Redo	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Z` `Ctrl`+`Y`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`Z`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Z` `Ctrl`+`Y`
Search in Page	Windows	Mac OS X	Linux
Find in This Page	`Ctrl`+`F`	`Cmd`+`F`	`Ctrl`+`F`
Find Again	`Ctrl`+`G` `F3`	`Cmd`+`G` `F3`	`Ctrl`+`G` `F3`
Find Previous	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`G` `Shift`+`F3`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`G` `Shift`+`F3`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`G` `Shift`+`F3`
Quick Find Text	`/`	`/`	`/`
Quick Find Link	`'`	`'`	`'`

Rooting Samsung Galaxy Y S5360 (Android 2.3.4)

2011-11-03T14:24:00.000+05:30

1. Download needed file (update.zip)
2. Copy ZIP file to the root of your SD-card
3. Turn off your phone
4. Switch ON your device in the recovery Mode
(hold power, volume up, home button together).
5. Select update from SD Card option. (yung volume keys gamitin pang select)
6. You will see that the list of files will come from which you will have to select the file which is named as Update.zip
7. Wait a few minutes
8. And…..voila!! Your Galaxy Y S5360 is now rooted

How do you know that you android has been rooted?
a).Open the apps Folder
b). You should now see an app called "Superuser". Congrats you are now rooted

Manually remove virus' from a windows PC

2011-11-02T11:45:00.003+05:30

Manually remove virus' from a windows PC

If you have a lot of popups or an advertisement for fake antispyware, you have malware of on your PC. Here’s how to manually remove the virus from running in the first place. The majority of viruses in Windows XP are easy to find — and they’re more conspicuous than you would think.

Start in the registry. Most viruses launch when you log into Windows — they typically call an executable from the registry. In fact, that call will tell you exactly where the virus resides.

Click Start. Click Run and type: regedit.exe

Click OK.

Registry Editor opens. Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

Then expand Software.

Next expand Microsoft.

Now expand Windows.

‘

Then expand CurrentVersion.

Click on the Run folder. Here you’ll find some of the programs that launch on startup. A rule of thumb: a virus is a randomly generated string that makes no sense. Usually software writers title their files with names that describe what they do. At first glance – this is an example from a real virus I uprooted — it’s VpKspPwxlCbXa. This is likely a virus.

The real giveaway that this is a virus is the location of the application it’s calling. It’s in the Application Data folder. It launches every time you log in. So no matter how many times you reboot, it comes right back.

Write down where the virus resides. In this case, it’s in the All Users Application Data folder. Then simply right-click the registry key and delete it. Now you haven’t actually deleted the virus, you’ve only deleted the call that launches it, which is doing the minimum. A virus is just a program, after all, so if the virus doesn’t launch it does no harm. But delete the file system anyway.

Now it’s time to go to the Application Data Folder. There is more than one — follow the path exactly as you wrote it down.

Now right-click My Computer. Select Explore.

Expand Documents and Settings.

Expand All Users

Click on Application Data.

Try to delete the virus — just right-click and delete it. It’s not likely you can because it’s running in memory. Do rename it, though. You want to rename that .exe to anything else.

After you rename it, reboot the PC and return to the same location.

Because you’ve deleted the call from registry the virus won’t run in memory. Now you are able to delete it. Do it!

This set of steps comes in really handy when you have a virus or malware that your antivirus software doesn’t catch. Remember to always keep your PC and antivirus software up-to-date.

This article has been lifted from:

www.groovypost.com/howto/find-and-remove-most-common-viruses-from-pc/

Hindi-Malayalam alphabets

2011-10-28T10:58:00.001+05:30

Vowels (Swaram)

Vowel Diacritics

Consonants (Vyanjanam)

Some of the conjunct consonants

Consonent Diacritics

Malayalam Numerals

Alphabetic order

Dictionaries sort the 16 independent vowels before the 36 consonants. The ordering of the vowels resembles Unicode ordering, but is not identical:

അ ആ ഇ ഈ ഉ ഊ ഋ ൠ ഌ ൡ എ ഏ ഐ ഒ ഓ ഔ

Also the ordering of the 36 consonant symbols resembles Unicode ordering, but is not identical:

ക ഖ ഗ ഘ ങ ച ഛ ജ ഝ ഞ ട ഠ ഡ ഢ ണ ത ഥ ദ ധ ന പ ഫ ബ ഭ മ യ ര ല വ ശ ഷ സ ഹ ള ഴ റ

APN and Access Number of Indian Telecom Operators

2011-09-27T15:31:00.001+05:30

Following are the APN and Access Numbers of some of the major Indian Telecom Operators. This data is useful when connecting Industrial PDA's to GPRS.
Most industrial PDA's running on Wince and others required you to explicitly enter the below information.

Airtel
APN: airtelgprs.com
Access Number: *99***1#

Aircel
APN: aircelgprs
Access Number: *99***1#

Reliance
APN: rcomnet (or) smartnet
Access Number: *99#

Idea
APN: internet
APN: imis (For WAP)
APN:mmsc (MMS)
Access Number: *99***1#

BSNL
APN: bsnlnet
Access Number: *99#

Tata Docomo
APN: TATA.DOCOMO.INTERNET
Access Number: *99#

MTNL 3G
Postpaid: APN: mtnl3g
Prepaid APN: pps3g
Access Number: *99#

Vodafone
APN: www (For Internet)
APN: portalnmms (For WAP & MMS)
Access Number :*99***1#