Ultimate Technology Base

Install Windows 7 from USB

2011-05-07T16:19:00.006+05:30

Here are the five simple steps that you need to follow to create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 7 from USB device:

Note: You need a USB flash drive with a minimum of 4 GB of free space. And also please backup your data from USB first.

1. Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool from here and install it.

2. Run the program, browse to your Windows 7 ISO image using the Browse button.

3. In this step, you need to select your media type. As we are here to create a bootable USB, simply click on USB device button.

4. Select your USB flash drive from the drop down box and click on Begin copying button.

5. The Windows 7 USB/DVD tool will take a few minutes to complete the procedure.

6. You are done. Reboot you machine and start installing Windows 7 (Windows 7 installation procedure).

BYOC Summer 2011 ! (Bring your own computer)

2011-05-07T16:19:00.005+05:30

In 2011 Summer, a new fresh look & format of BYOC will be seen. a never-seen-before video gaming experience for Indian gamers. Awesome tournaments with incredible prizes.

Enjoy 60 Hours of non stop Gaming.

Mark your calendars, gear up your rigs, and hone your skills--it's time for BYOC™ !

Where: TBD

When: June 24 - 26, 2011 (Friday morning to Sunday evening)

Tournaments

This years's game tournaments will provide all kind of gamers somethng to look forward to. Here we collect the best from the team vs team, player vs player and console gaming. It is a mixture of old classis and new games. The game competitions starts on Friday and ends on Sunday

PC

Counter Strike 1.6
DOTA
Call of Duty 4
FIFA
NFS

Console

Tekken 6

General rules for ALL tournaments:

Rights to participate

Participants with valid ticket for the BYOC Summer 2011 have the right to participate in the games competitions.
All who wish to participate must register at the Tourhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnament registration desk before Friday 2.00 PM.
Members of the crew are allowed to participate subject to certain conditions.

Prizes and ceremony

It is mandatory to show up on the award ceremony on Sunday for anyone who wins something at BYOC. This applies to all contests. Players or teams that do not show up may lose part or all of their prize.
BYOC has the right to remove parts of the prizes for a tournament if it is to few participants in the tournament.

For more info visit :-
BYOC India

Free Public DNS Servers List

2011-05-07T16:06:00.002+05:30

The most basic task of DNS is to translate hostnames such as theos.in to IP address such as 74.86.49.131. In very simple terms, it can be compared to a phone book. DNS also has other important use such as email routing.

This is my list of better, fast public dns servers and free dns server (as compare to your ISP / DSL / ADSL / cable DNS service providers dns servers). These dns servers are free to all. I was able to improve my browsing speed with following DNS servers. Use any one of the following provider.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

=> Service provider: Google
Google public dns server IP address:

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

=> Service provider:Dnsadvantage
Dnsadvantage free dns server list:

156.154.70.1http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
156.154.71.1

=> Service provider:OpenDNS
OpenDNS free dns server list / IP address:

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

=> Service provider:Norton
Norton free dns server list / IP address:

198.153.192.1
198.153.194.1

=> Service provider: GTEI DNS (now Verizon)
Public Name server IP address:

4.2.2.1
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.5
4.2.2.6

=> Service provider: ScrubIt
Public dns server address:

67.138.54.100
207.225.209.66

Google out with Video and voice chat for Gmail

2008-11-14T17:20:00.003+05:30

Google let loose their video chat to the masses. If your account doesn’t have the option yet, Google promises within a day or so you will. The new option for video is very simple and many users are wondering, how does this differ from other online video services like Skype?

Skype is a full-featured video calling program. It is easiest to think of Gmail voice and chat as augmenting their instant messaging chat rather than something completely new. One of the biggest differences is Gmail’s version only allows video chatting with other Gmail users who have downloaded the plug in (about 2MB). With Skype, users are allowed to contact both online and offline numbers, albeit for a fee. There is not an option to go offline with Gmail voice and chat.

Businesses dig Skype’s ability to conference in multiple users. Users won’t be enjoying this feature on the Gmail version as this capability does not exist (yet). Gmail only allows one to one communication.

Skype has a lot of fun features other than just placing the call such as voice recording. Again, Gmail keeps it simple and plain, as with everything they do. No voice recording is available.

While the addition is welcome and everyone loves something more for free, it should not be mistaken for the real deal by a serious Skype user.
To download the Gmail video and voice chat plugin just click here and it will automatically install and integrate with yor gmail account.

Once you install the plugin, to start a video chat, just click on the "Video & more" menu at the bottom of your Gmail chat window, and choose "Start video chat." You'll have a few seconds to make sure you look presentable while it's ringing, and then you'll see and hear your friend live, right from within Gmail. You can click the "pop-out" icon to make the video larger, or click the full screen icon in the upper left-hand corner

10 Awesome Linux T-shirt

2008-07-29T06:44:00.003+05:30

I often find it necessary to express my inner geek side through my t-shirts. Be it in the form of my views about politics, computers, nature or just confusing tees that most people don’t know what they mean. So today I will share with you 10 of my favorite geeky linux inspired t-shirts that I own. Please share your collection in the comments.

1) Linux Box Better than Windows.

2) Got Root?.

3) Sudo Make me a Sandwich.

4) Kill Bill.

5) Arrogant Linux Elitist.

6) Earth, Water, Debian.

7) Open Source - Open Mind

8) You > /dev/nul.

9) I Have Root You Dont.

10) Man Women.

The Web is a Trillion Pages Long: Google

2008-07-28T02:16:00.001+05:30

The web is a trillion pages to Google, and growing at a rate of several billion pages per day, the company said in a blog post. Literally though, the interweb consists of more than the trillion pages that Google indexes. Google claims not to index every one of those trillion pages; not all of them, "We don't index every one of those trillion pages -- many of them are similar to each other, or represent auto-generated content..." Most of the pages consist of duplicate URLs -- with multiple pages containing the same content.

he first Google index in 1998 had 26 million pages, and by 2000 the Google index reached the one billion mark. The blog further charts the nature of this task and the evolution of Google's own methods: "Back then, we did everything in batches: one workstation could compute the PageRank graph on 26 million pages in a couple of hours, and that set of pages would be used as Google's index for a fixed period of time. Today, Google downloads the web continuously, collecting updated page information and re-processing the entire web-link graph several times per day."

The blog post led to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch to hint at something interesting come next week. Quoting that Google is proud to have the most 'comprehensive index of any search engine', Michael adds that "That may be true today, but it probably won t be true next week". A hint to a potential challenger to the search engine crown, if there ever was one.

Microsoft demonstrates Multi-touch with Video

2008-07-27T03:33:00.001+05:30

For years Microsoft has been investing in many forms of natural input in order to simplify the way people interact with their PC's and devices. The advent of the original Windows graphical user interface forever changed the way people used their PC's. Today, advances in pen and handwriting technology in Windows Vista offers students a natural and intuitive way to capture searchable notes and diagrams in the classroom. Others are using this technology to quietly capture pen based notes during meetings. Speech recognition, something which was once considered science fiction, is enabling many Windows Vista users to see, hear, and use their computers for the very first time.

Last year, at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference, Bill Gates introduced a groundbreaking new computing experience called Surface. Surface harnesses touch and multi-touch capabilities to provide users with a natural way to interact directly with computing devices. Expect to see the table-like Surface devices in hotels, retail establishments, restaurants and public entertainment venues.

Touch is quickly becoming a common way of directly interacting with software and devices. Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere including laptop touch pads, cell phones, remote controls, GPS devices, and more. What becomes even more compelling is when this experience is delivered to the PC -on a wide variety of Windows notebooks, in all-in-one PC's, as well as in external monitors. In working with our broad ecosystem of hardware and software manufactures, we're excited to be showing some of the great work and investments we are working on in Windows 7.

Tonight, at this year's D:All Things Digital conference, Julie Larson-Green showed Walt Mossberg how a few of the multi-touch innovations first previewed in Surface will ultimately enhance the next version of Windows. A transcript of the demo can be found here: http://d6.allthingsd.com/20080527/gates_ballmer/.

Below is an abridged version of the demo that Julie delivered this evening. Please note, the applications you will see are for demonstration purposes only...but it's all Windows 7 underneath.

Microsoft: Xbox 360 Will Beat PS3 For Years On Software Sales

2008-07-26T19:37:00.002+05:30

As the dust settles from E3, it's time to get back into the daily grind of the console wars. One man, Microsoft's Don Mattrick, is taking a stand. He claims that the Xbox 360 will see higher software sales over the PS3 for the rest of both console's lifecycles.

Them's fightin' words.

Mattrick is apparently annoyed at all the questions about the console war. "I did the math, I did the math a different way, I did the math... there was no equation that I came to where I got a different answer, and I went, 'You know what? This is getting boring,'" said Mattrick. "Like, instead of everyone standing on the sidelines trying to hedge, I'm just going to say it."

And say it he did.

He also alluded to Sony and Nintendo taking a "vacation" in terms of preparing for their E3 press conferences. "I think our team showed up for work every day, had more than 12 months of productivity, and it kind of feels like the competition took an extended holiday and didn't get as much done as a result," he said.

"I hope the other guys got some great pictures when they were away on vacation," he added later.

ZING!

Pair this up with Sony's Kaz Hirai saying he'd rather take a bullet to the dome over having a game like Gears of War 2 on the PlayStation 3 and you've got the makings of a brawl. Maybe we'll see it unfold at Leipzig while Reggie Fils-Aime sits off the side and counts his money.

Video games can weather poor economy-Microsoft

2008-07-26T19:35:00.000+05:30

Microsoft Corp is not seeing any weakness in its Xbox business from the soft U.S. economy and expects the company and the rest of the video game industry to weather downturns in consumer spending, the head of Microsoft's Xbox business told Reuters.
By Reuters

Microsoft Corp is not seeing any weakness in its Xbox business from the soft U.S. economy and expects the company and the rest of the video game industry to weather downturns in consumer spending, the head of Microsoft's Xbox business told Reuters Wednesday.

Don Mattrick, a senior vice president at Microsoft's entertainment and device division, said video games remain a bright spot for consumer spending at retailers.

In an interview at the E3 video game industry trade show, Mattrick said the video game industry is fortunate that all the main consoles debuted in 2006 and 2007, which means many consumers do not need to go buy the more expensive hardware.

"That would have been a more challenging dynamic if it was a brand new box shipping for the first time this holiday," said Mattrick, who joined Microsoft a year ago after working at game publisher Electronic Arts Inc (EA) for 15 years.

Some analysts are concerned that a decline in discretionary spending, due to higher prices for gasoline and food, could crimp outlays for video games and other entertainment.

The video game industry, forecast to reach $57 billion in revenues this year, according to research firm DFC Intelligence, appeals to a wide audience since it offers a wide range of titles that provide something for everyone, according to Mattrick.

"Consumer spending is still going to exist, and people are going to prioritize," said Mattrick, once considered a contender for the corner office at EA. "I'm bullish about our growth prospects as an industry and as Microsoft."

Mattrick said video games offer many more hours of entertainment than a two-hour movie, making it less expensive over time.

Earlier this week, Mattrick claimed that the Xbox 360 would sell more consoles over its lifetime than Sony Corp's PlayStation 3, a bold statement since the PlayStation 2 has ruled the industry in the latest generation of game machines.

In late April, Microsoft said it sold over 19 million Xbox 360s since it debuted in November 2006, a year ahead of Sony's PS3 and Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii.

At the end of March, Sony had sold 12.85 million PS3 units, while Nintendo had sold 24.45 million Wii machines, according to data from each of the companies.

After losing roughly $5 billion since it entered the video game console business in 2001, Microsoft turned a profit in fiscal 2008 at its entertainment and devices division, comprised mainly of the Xbox business.

The division posted $614 million in operating profit in the first nine months of fiscal 2008 after a $1.9 billion loss a year earlier.

At its E3 news conference Monday, Microsoft said "Gear of War 2," the sequel to its blockbuster science-fiction shooter game, will be released on Nov. 7 in time for the crucial holiday shopping season.

The original game has sold 5 million units worldwide since its launch in November 2006, according to the company.

Mattrick said the sequel could do even better since there are more customers with Xbox 360 consoles now than when the original was released.

"We've established a new hit property, and now the installed base is larger," said Mattrick. "It's going to be a blockbuster."

"Gears of War" is especially lucrative for the company since the game comes from Microsoft Games Studios, which means Microsoft gets all the revenue and profit from game sales instead of a few dollars in royalty for third-party titles

Splinter Cell (Xbox 360 / PS3) Lacks Conviction, Delayed Until Fiscal 2009-2010

2008-07-26T19:26:00.000+05:30

After Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction no-showed E3 last week, it led to natural speculation (given the game's rocky development history to date) that the title has been delayed yet again. Today, Ubisoft confirmed that very fact while reporting the company's fiscal Q1 sales (ending June 30th).

During the conference call in conjunction with the press release, CEO Yves Guillemot commented, "Splinter Cell is a very important franchise for Ubisoft and we have high anticipation for this game. It is a major product and we want it to be able to catch all the gameplay opportunities it is offering to us today. There are lots of opportunities that we want to take and so that is why we can give [them] a little bit more time to make sure it can become a huge product."

This latest delay now places release of the game in fiscal 2009-10, which means that it could see release anytime between April 1st, 2009 and March 31st, 2010. It also seemingly validates at least some rumors that the game is being reworked significantly, some of which have included Ubisoft ditching the game's original engine, to a re-working of the gameplay the game was to feature (that is, hiding by blending in with crowds ala Assassin's Creed).

Now thats I call a Google Video

2008-07-26T05:33:00.003+05:30

This video is about the Creative Sandbox at San Fransisco 2008. Creative Sandbox was designed to spark the imagination of agencies by showing the best uses of Google products and creative possibilities in a high energy environment. -

This video gives a glimpse into the “Creative Sandbox” event which was “designed [by Google] to spark the imagination of creatives by showing the best uses of Google products and creative possibilities in a high energy environment.” Obscura Digital Inc., San Francisco, provided the display technology.

This is very impressive. In watching this video I am convinced that the iPhone platform, coupled with Google location based services, will play a major role in bringing location based learning to the masses.

Shocking good Mac software

2008-07-25T11:19:00.000+05:30

While wandering on internet I stumbled upon a great site for Mac OS users. Froom this they can easily download and install various good Mac softwares, just by dragging the any application icon from the website. Must have a look ...

The best video game wedding cake ever

2008-07-25T11:07:00.000+05:30

I’ve seen plenty of video game cakes in my time - but they pale in comparison to this amazingly detailed piece of 100% edible art. I think I’d feel guilty eating a piece.

" Best Internet Browser " shoot-out

2008-07-25T10:49:00.001+05:30

Here is a shoot-out between the various browsers available for download from internet over the honor of the " Best Internet Browser ".
Lets look at each of the contestant..

iPhone 3G Out in India Next Month!

2008-07-24T05:17:00.000+05:30

Here we have it folks, an exclusive on the iPhone's availability in India. When, how much, what features, software -- everything you ever wanted to know about the iPhone 3G in India! We know you want to get to the meat of the matter, so without further ado, here's what you need to know:

> iPhone 3G Availability: Vodafone to have a 15 day launch advantage (available August '08 through Vodafone, and late Aug/September '08 through Airtel)
> Model: Initially, the 8GB version only

> Price: Rs. 11,500 to Rs. 12,000 (note: U.S. price of the 8GB iPhone 3G is $199)

> Applications: App Store will be available

> App prices: Application prices may see a revision to suit Indian market

> 3G: No fixed date for 3G availability; expected sometime later this year

> GPS: Present on the Indian version as well

> Grey-market availability: Almost nowhere to be seen. One store expects to sell it next week at Rs. 50,000

There has been a lot of speculation over the price of the iPhone. Initially, only the 8 GB version of the iPhone 3G will be officially launched in India and it is expected to cost between Rs. 11,500 and Rs. 12,000 which is more as compare to the $199 price tag of the 8GB version in the U.S. On top of that this price will not include the data plan costs that a user will have to bear every month. But the full details will only be out by the 15th of August.
While all of the above is largely good news, the bad news that nobody seemed willing to place a date on 3G availability in India, the arrival of which is still a rather nebulous 'sometime late this year'.But however the GPS (a feature through which the iPhone 3G can track your location) would be a present in the Indian avatar of the Apple iPhone 3G.
So there you have it! Mostly good news for those of us who have waited for the release date of this product.

Size Of GooGle

2008-07-23T01:13:00.000+05:30

The blogosphere was amazed earlier this year when it realised the true size of Google. Think Google is the King Kong of search? Think a million King Kongs and you’re getting close. Google processes 20 Petabytes of a data a day. Don’t know what a Petabyte is? Check this out:

An MP3 is about 3MB. The Beatles recorded 214 singles- that’s close to just one gigabyte. 1024 gigabytes makes a Terabyte and 1024 terabytes makes a petabyte. Lost and confused? We were too.

Our poor mortal minds haven’t been so boggled by the ‘big numbers’ since a legendary wag fooled his elders out of ‘quite a lot’ of rice by using a chess board a few hundred years ago. We’ve used the same unit of measurement – grains of rice – to try to put Google’s electronic brain power into perspective.

Let’s relate a grain of rice to a byte. A byte is normally eight binary bits, eg ‘10011000’. It can also be written as a two digit hexadecimal number. In terms of data, a byte is generally used to store a letter. One byte = one letter = one grain of rice.

Bearing this new representation in mind, we can now look at a kilobyte (1024 bytes) as a small bowl of rice. It’s about half a portion, not enough to fill you up – and in data terms a kilobyte would only be a few paragraphs of text – not much to mentally stimulate you there either.

Next up is the megabyte – which is around the size of all the text on an average website, or a short novel. On the rice scale, a megabyte would be a 25kilo bag of rice; enough to feed over 420 people in one sitting, if you have enough chairs.

1024 times larger still is the gigabyte. Back in 1995, I bought a PC with a gigabyte of hard drive space, and managed to store everything I needed on there for the next few years.

To store a gigabyte of rice I’d have needed a bigger garden…. the size of two shipping containers to be more precise. And I could have treated all of those curry-loving Mancunians to a meal. The equivalent of finding a single word in a gigabyte of text is finding a few grains of rice somewhere inside those two containers.

Moving up the scale again we reach the terabyte, equivalent to 1024 gigabytes. I have a terabyte drive sitting in front of me – it’s the size of a small shoebox. But to search through all that data – even on my most powerful desktop machine – would take longer than my patience could bear.

To transport a ‘terabyte’ of rice we’d need to hire this container ship. We could use its contents to feed everybody in the EU.

Finally, we arrive at the mighty petabyte. At this stage, we’re well beyond the size of data that most individuals or small companies handle, and into the realms of some of our Enterprise clients. It’s the same as 210 of the largest container ships that have ever been built, EIGHTY bowls of rice for every person on the planet, or…

…what you’d need to cover central London in 1 metre of rice!

Remember, Google processes 20 petabytes of data every day; or if you prefer – over 4,000 gigantic ships bursting with rice, 1,600 bowls for everyone on the planet, or central London drowned in 20 metres of the stuff. This is spread over 72,000 jobs each taking an average of 7 minutes to complete. Their data processing capability is a big contributor to their position at the top of the online world, and also no doubt to their estimated £1million monthly electricity bill.

Top 20 Best Free Linux Games To Download

2008-07-22T17:17:00.000+05:30

If you use Linux as your primary OS, then you already understand why it is so great. But, do you game on it? Ever try to convert your Windows friends to Linux? More times than not, the dreaded first question is, "Can I game on it?"

For some reason, there is a constant mindset that there are not many games for Linux when in fact there are many. I don't mean the small ones that are included with GNOME or KDE, but full blown projects that deliver captivating and deep game play experiences. There are even a few good commercial games out there for Linux, but that's not the topic of today's article.
Instead, here is a top 20 list of free games you should have installed.

1. Battle For Wesnoth

David White who started Wesnoth back in 2003, had a vision of a free open source strategy game that had very simple rules, uses a strong artificial intelligence, challenging and fun. Wesnoth has already passed the 1 million mark for downloads. As of March 2007, the game is available in 35 different languages.

A normal Wesnoth player has
* 200+ unit types
* 16 different races
* 6 major factions

to choose from. Actually, you can even make your own custom units, design your own map, scenarios or even campaigns. It’s all up to your creativity. The most interesting part of any game is the ability to multiplay. You can challenge up to a total of 8 friends in multiplayer fantasy battles.

2. Nexuiz

Nexuiz is a free, cross platform, first person shooter distributed under GNU General Public License by Alientrap Software. It started back in May 31 2005 with version 1.0 using DarkPlaces, a significanlty modified quake engine. The current version, 2.2.3, was released on January 26, 2007. Nexuiz’s logo is based on the chinese character “力” which means strength.

Several notable features of the game include
* ability to multiplay up to 64 players
* ability to generate bots for practice sessions
* dynamic lighting system similar to Doom 3

3. America’s Army
America’s Army is a tactical, multiplayer, first-person shooter owned by the United States Government and released as a global public relations initiative to help with U.S. Army recruitment. The first version, Recon, was released on 4th July 2002. The current version 2.8.1 was released on 22nd Mar 2007.

It’s the first well known computer game used for political aims. The game is used as a playable recruiting tool and critics have charged the game serves as a propaganda device. A counter on the homepage of the PC version shows over eight million registered accounts as of 2007. GameSpy tracked the game usage and reported an average of 4,500 players at any one time between 2002 and 2005. It is enough for America’s Army to rank in the Top 10 Online Games chart.

4. Enemy Territory : Quake Wars

It is a first-person shooter follow-up to Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. It also has the same science fiction universe as Quake 4, with a story serving as a prequel to Quake II. Quake Wars is the second multiplayer-only game in the Quake series after Quake III Arena. The gameplay is almost the same as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but with the addition of controllable vehicles and aircraft, asymmetric teams, much larger maps and the option of computer-controlled bots. Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is being developed by Splash Damage for the PC using a modified version of id Software’s Doom 3 engine and MegaTexture rendering technology.

At E3 2006(Electronic Entertainment Expo), the game won the Game Critics Award for Best Online Multiplayer.

5. Tremulous

Tremulous is an open source team-based first-person shooter with a game play that is similar to Gloom(a quake 2 mod) and Natural Selection (a Half-Life mod). The game features two teams, humans and aliens, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The game has been downloaded over 200,000 times and was voted “Player’s Choice Standalone Game of the Year” in Mod Database’s “Mod of the Year” 2006 competition.

6. Tux Racer

Tux Racer is a newbie friendly, open source, 3D computer game starring the Linux mascot, Tux the penguin. Like many open-source games, the replay value of Tux Racer is extended by easy modification of the game. New maps can be created by making three raster images to indicate height, surface, and object placement. The last release of Tux Racer was version 0.61, 29th October 2001.

7. World Of Padman

WOP is a new and free comic style game that uses the Quake 3 engine. The game was recently featured in 3 German magazine covers; PC Action, ‘BRAVO Screenfun’ and ‘Linux Intern’.

8. Vendetta

It is a first person twitch based MMORPG. New players get an 8 hour trial which is enough to get anyone hooked to it. After that, you gotta pay $5 a month which is quite worthwhile, especially considering the incredibly communicative development of the game. It has a native linux installer as well as one for Macs and Windows.

9. Alien Arena 2007

Alien Arena is a completely free FPS started by COR Entertainment in 2004 comprising of a science fiction ambience and a Quake like gameplay. This game is playable in single player mode against bots, but the action and thrill lies at the online multiplayer mode. Features of the Alien Arena 2007 include an internal server browser for finding other people to play online and an external program that acts as an IRC interface. There are 6 game types and 6 game mutators that changes the gameplay. Cattle Prod is a new game type that requires you to herd robotic cattle to earn points. Alien Arena 2007 is playable in Windows, Linux and FreeBSD.

10. Urban Terror

A mod of Quake III Arena, Urban Terror focuses a lot on realism. Number of weapons and gear that can be carried is limited. Accuracy is reduced when fired while moving and magazines require reloading upon expension. Damage areas are identified throughout the body. Wounds require bandaging and slows down movement significantly if the damage is not bandaged. Even a stamina bar is present to indicate if the player is able to sprint or jump. Released on 1st April 2007, Urban Terror 4 introduced 4 new features namely, ‘powersliding’, new weapons, player models and improved hit detection. It also supports anti cheating tools like PunkBuster, BattleEye and RunDMC.

11. A Tale In The Desert

Set in Ancient Egypt, ATITD focuses on society rather than combat. Actually, there is no combat system whatsoever. The fun of the game lies in economic development. Most of the players are from the US and Europe and the variety of social activities encourages a lot of interaction. Players are to participate in building, community, research and test themselves through challenges called ‘Tests’. The male to female players ratio is considerably equal compared to other online games and the game is also noted by many to have high levels of civility and generosity. The first 24 hours is free, after that a monthly fee of $13.95 is required to continue playing.

12. Second Life

Second Life is an online virtual world that allows ‘Residents’ to explore, meet each other, socialize, participate in group activities, trade items and services. It’s creators, Linden Lab, intends to create a world like the Metaverse described by Neal Stephenson in his novel, Snow Crash. In this Metaverse, people can interact, have fun and do business. The current currency is Linden Dollar (L$) and is EXCHANGEABLE for US$ in a marketplace consisting of residents, Linden Lab and real life companies. It is hardly considered a game as tt does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels or an end-strategy. More than 7 million accounts have been registered since its conception. Basic accounts is free but Premium account is US$9.95 if you want to own lands.

13. Savage 2

This fantasy / science fiction, real-time strategy, fps, rpg game is a sequel to to S2 Games’ Savage : Battle for Newerth. Both teams of human and beasts are pitted against each other in a gameplay where strategy, agility and alertness is needed. The game is downloadable for free but online access requires a one time account purchase of US$29.99. Activities such as kills, deaths, assists, building razes, damage and score points are tracked. All Savage 2 matches are saved and thus searchable in the form of replays. The automatic replay network is a system that will greatly increase the skill levels of overall player populations and competitiveness.

14. Warsaw

Warsaw is a free FPS based in Qfusion 3D engine playable on Windows and Linux developed under the motto ‘by gamers for gamers’. Beta testers from the community goes through internal testing sessions and gives feedback on public releases where the main developers will carefully judge suggestions and comments made. Gameplay is focused a lot on agility. Weapons picked up will have weak ammo until a new ammo pack is found. Graphic effects are minimal, clear and visible.

15. TrueCombat: Elite

TC:Elite happens to be a total-conversion modification of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory by Team Terminator and Groove Six Studios. The game is free and playable across all platforms. Notable features include iron sights aiming (no crosshair), multi layer object penetration, letterbox / wide screen view modes, lag compensation, client side bullet prediction and support for PunkBuster, the anti cheat software.

16. Frozen Bubble

The latest version 2.0 includes an adjusted launcher speed, new scoring system, 4 lives and online multiplayer mode, but only available to Linux users at the time of writing. Version 1.0 of the game is available across all platforms including Symbian Series 60 line of smartphones and a single player Java applet version. Written in Perl, the free to play Frozen Bubble features 100 levels and a cute penguin (I think it’s supposed to be Tux) who shoots to form bubbles of the same color.

17. The Open Racing Car Simulator

TORCS is an open source 3D racing simulator using OpenGL technologies. It is runnable on all Linux, FreeBSD, MacOSX and Windows platforms. There are 50 different cars, 20 tracks and 50 opponents to race against. The multiplayer mode can accommodate up to 4 human players. Several of the simulation include damaged models, collisions and aerodynamics like ground effects, spoilers, etc. Development is currently being carried out to enable online racing mode.

18. FlightGear

Since 1996, FlightGear has been a collaborative project that aims to create a sophisticated open source flight simulator framework. FlightGear uses the SimGear simulation engine. Some of the aircraft models available in FlightGear include gliders, helicopters, airliners, fighter jets, etc. Weather effects such as clouds, lightning effects and time of the day is illustrated.

19. Frets On Fire

Winner of the Assembly Demo Party 2006, Frets on Fire is a music video game that uses the keyboard to play along with scrolling on-screen musical notes to complete a song. The player has to imagine the keyboard as a guitar and pick it up to play. One hand will be used to press the ‘frets’ (F1 to F5) and another will be used to press the ‘picks’ (Shift or Enter). Colored markers that appears are to be played by pressing ‘frets’ of the correct color and ‘picks’ at the correct moment. There are also song editors and tutorials featured in the game. This game was addictive once I got the hang of it.

20. Scorched 3d

Scorched 3D is a 100% free turn-based artillery game modeled after the classic DOS game Scorched Earth ‘The Mother Of All Games’. Operatable across all operating systems. What started as a 3D landscape generator has now become a cool 3D game that requires skills to master. Players are supposed to take turns homing in to hit the target by adjusting the angle, rotation, power and a weapon of choice every other turn. Hits and kills will generate income for you to buy better weapons and items. Note that items are as important as weapons.

21. ManiaDrive

ManiaDrive is a free clone of Trackmania, the great game from Nadéo studio, and is an arcade car game on acrobatic tracks, with a quick and nervous gameplay (tracks almost never exceed one minute), and features a network mode, as the original. Lots of crazy driving involved.

How to make Windows XP last for the next seven years instead of Windows Vista using programs and softwares

2008-07-21T22:51:00.000+05:30

Windows Vista may be shiny and brand new, but as plenty of PC users will tell you, sometimes newer isn't better. Many PCs simply don't have the horsepower to run the new operating system, and even those that have the juice may get bogged down by processor-and RAM-hungry Vista.

If you've got Windows XP, worry not -- you can keep it running on your hardware for years to come. As with an old car, though, if you plan to keep XP around for a while, you're going to have to spend some time maintaining it. Here are a list of softwares using which one can feel the good things of Vista on XP only.

Antispyware
Windows Vista is protected from spyware by Microsoft's Windows Defender -- and the same program is available as a free download for Windows XP users as well. Windows Defender is exactly the same on Vista as it is on XP, so you're not losing anything by not moving to Vista.

It's a good idea to have more than one piece of antispyware on your PC, whether you use Vista or XP. So double up for safety and add Lavasoft AB's Ad-Aware or Spybot Search & Destroy -- or even both -- to your arsenal.

Firewall
As for a firewall, XP's built-in firewall has one major limitation compared with Vista's -- it doesn't include outbound protection. There's a great deal of debate about whether Vista's firewall includes true outbound protection, but if you want a firewall with true, configurable outbound protection for XP, get the free Comodo Firewall Pro.
Get inbound and outbound protection from Comodo.

As Computerworld online editorial director Scot Finnie points out in Slim is in for Windows desktop firewalls, Comodo Group earns the top firewall rating for security from the independent testing site Matousec and offers a good balance between security and convenience.

Parental controls
Windows Vista includes built-in parental controls that let you filter Web sites and otherwise limit how your children use the computer. You can get similar technology for XP, although you'll have to pay for it. There are quite a few programs and services out there, but two good bets are SafeBrowse.com's Safe Eyes, which costs $50 for use on three computers, and Webroot Software Inc.'s Child Safe, $40 for use on three computers.

Sidebar and Gadgets
One of Windows Vista's niftiest features is the Sidebar and its Gadgets -- little applets capable of gathering, displaying and using live information from the Internet or from your PC. But there are plenty of ways to get the same things for free on Windows XP.

Desktop Sidebar gives XP a full-blown sidebar like Vista's, with numerous built-in gadgets, including a clock, weather gadget, performance monitor, mail checker, media player, stock tracker and more.

Two other good choices from well-known search companies are Google Desktop Gadgets and Yahoo Widgets. To use Yahoo Widgets, you'll first have to download the software. It comes with a variety of widgets, such as a weather checker, CPU monitor, stock checker and so on. But you're not stuck with just those -- there are more than 4,000 widgets available. In fact, you'll have a greater choice of Yahoo Widgets than you'd have it you were using Gadgets for the Vista Sidebar. Yahoo Widgets run in a Sidebar-like application, but can also be placed anywhere on your Windows desktop.

Google's Desktop Gadgets require that you download and use Google Desktop, which may be problematic for some people because Google Desktop is a big piece of software, primarily used for searching your PC. It includes a live indexer that runs all the time, which could possibly slow down your PC. But if you're already a Google Desktop user or want a good searching tool, the Gadgets are a nice bonus. They live in a sidebar that looks and works a lot like Windows Vista's Sidebar. You'll find plenty of Gadgets, including Real Simple Syndication readers, a stock checker, to-do list creator, weather watcher and more -- although not as many as Yahoo Widgets.

Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D replacements
Two of the more useful new features in Windows Vista are Windows Flip and Windows Flip 3D. With them, when you switch between windows or applications using Alt-Tab (for Windows Flip), or Windows key-Tab (for Windows Flip 3D), you can see a preview of the windows, making it easier to decide to which window you want to switch. As the name suggests, Windows Flip 3D shows you the open windows in a three-dimensional view, a very nice piece of eye candy.

You can get the same features in Windows XP using a couple of software add-ons. Microsoft's free Alt-Tab Replacement Power Toy is your best choice for the Windows Flip replacement. It's two-dimensional only.
If you must have the 3-D look, you'll have to pay for it. Top Desk is shareware from Otaku Software that gives you the equivalent of Windows Flip 3D on XP. You can try it for free for 14 days. If you want to use it after that, you'll have to fork over $18.

Transparent windows and other interface tweaks
For many people, the niftiest feature of Vista's Aero interface is its transparent windows. You can get the same thing in XP, with AbsoluteWay's TweakWindow. In fact, TweakWindow gives you far more transparency-related features than Windows Vista. You can make entire windows -- not just borders -- transparent, and you have a great deal of control over the degree of transparency.

There are plenty of other extras as well, such as the ability to hide windows, to control transparency on a window-by-window basis, and even turn windows into "ghost" windows that stay on top of other windows, are transparent, and let you click through to other windows beneath them. It's shareware; registration costs $21.
If you want to go the whole hog and replace your entire desktop and interface, you can download and use Stardock Corp.'s WindowBlinds. It lets you make all kinds of changes to XP's user interface, including transparent windows and a lot more. Install the program, and you can apply a skin that makes it look like Vista, such as the Arrow skin. WindowBlinds is shareware, and costs $20 to register.
You can get much the same thing for free with Softpedia's Vista Transformation Pack. It changes the Start button, the Control Panel, system dialogs and more so that XP looks like Vista. The programs aren't exact duplicates, so you get some things with WindowBlinds that you don't get with Vista Transformation Pack, and vice versa. For instance, Vista Tranformation Pack won't give you transparent windows or Vista applets. But you can use the two programs in concert with each other to get all their features.

Be aware that installing the Vista Transformation Pack is not for the weak of heart. Follow the installation instructions extremely carefully -- they'll take some time. And just to be safe, we suggest creating a Restore Point before you begin, because you'll be mucking about with system files.
When you first install the Vista Transformation Pack, it may not look like Vista. To get the Vista look, right-click the Desktop, choose Properties --> Appearance, and from the "Windows and buttons" drop-down list choose Windows Aero. You can also use Vista wallpaper by clicking the Desktop tab and scrolling through the backgrounds. Note that the Vista wallpaper will have odd numbers, such as "img19," instead of names.

Desktop search
Vista's built-in search is vastly improved over XP's and may well be the operating system's biggest productivity booster. You can get the equivalent with any one of a number of free desktop search programs, including Google Desktop, Copernic Desktop Search or Microsoft's own Windows Desktop Search.

Network management
Vista includes plenty of networking improvements over XP, including the superb Network Map that displays every object on a network and provides detailed information about it. You can't get the exact equivalent of this in XP, but you can come close with free Network Magic from Pure Networks Inc.

It includes a Vista-like network map, as well as plenty of other extras, such as wizards that walk you through the process of adding network devices and fixing broken network connections. In fact, in some ways, it goes beyond what Vista does, including creating reports of your network activity and testing bandwidth. There are also for-pay versions of the software, but you don't really need them, unless you want advanced features such as remote access to your network's files.

Start-up screens
Finally, if for some bizarre reason you're a big fan of the Windows Vista boot and log-on screens, you can mimic them in XP with some free tools from Stardock. First, download Logon Studio, which lets you customize your log-on screen. Once you do that, you can apply a Vista-like log-on screen called Vista Reaction. To mimic Vista's boot screen, get BootSkin and use the Real Vista boot screen.

HP’s Voodoo Omen

2008-07-21T17:00:00.000+05:30

HP introduces its new Voodoo Omen Desktop. HP aims at the segment of consumers who prefer mixture of personalized styling, luxurious quality and innovative technology. The new HP portfolio is all about striking features, elements and extensive options of personalization.

“The new Voodoo portfolio is designed to appeal to consumers who have very high expectations for form, function and looks,” said Mike Perkins, vice president and general manager, Voodoo Business Unit, HP. “Our new Voodoo systems exemplify technology excellence while also looking like they would fit as well at an art gallery as on a desk.”

The Voodoo Omen supports upto four graphic processing units and also has an advanced thermal engineering. It is a perfect blend of art and technology. It features LCD auxiliary screen, integrated copper liquid cooling pipes and runs quietly even while performing at high levels.

Voodoo offers its customers with an extensive palette of Allure paint that adds the finishing touch. The Omen offers advanced cooling, quiet acoustics, LCD with full function secondary display, the components can be removed without using tools, improved access to cable connections and you can upgrade the system even when the system is powered off, thanks to its battery powered interior lighting.

The starting price of the Voodoo Omen is $7000.

Other key features include:

* Vertical diffusion thermals - the power of natural convection currents is
harnessed for advanced cooling and quiet acoustics.
* Auxiliary LCD - a 7-inch (diagonal) built-in auxiliary LCD is a full-function
secondary display.
* Advanced liquid cooling - copper cooling pipes embedded in the chassis,
aircraft-quality quick-release hose connectors, and more combine in one of
the most advanced liquid cooling systems on the planet.
* Tool-less architecture - side panels, hard drives, video cards and other
critical components can be removed without tools.
* Top-loading cables - cables plug into the system under a removable top
panel, improving access to the cable connections and contributing to the
clean exterior design.
* Interior lighting - battery-powered interior lighting gives users visibility
to upgrade components when the system is powered off.

Ten Free Mac OS X Programs that Make the PC to Mac Switch a Breeze

2008-07-21T05:03:00.000+05:30

With more and more attorneys adopting Macs throughout their offices every day and the business world raving about the cost effectiveness of Mac OS X, today Macs are an accepted and feasible alternative to Windows in the legal community. Having recently made the switch to a Mac myself, I’ve put together a list of the top ten free Max OS X programs that made switching from a PC to a Mac a breeze.

1. Quicksilver
Quicksilver is a program launcher that uses simple commands to rapidly bring up any program, file, folder, or website. Quicksilver learns what files and programs are most often accessed and adapts so that those items are pulled up almost instantaneously when the user starts typing the name of the item in the Quicksilver interface.

For example, in screenshot below, I pulled up the Quicksilver interface with a single keystroke and then by typing in “ex” brought up Excel. Using the tab key I was able to bring up specific commands such as the option to open a specific excel document, move a document to another folder, or email a specific file. Quicksilver is very intuitive and allows users to execute specific commands so quickly that using the built-in OS X dock to open a program seems slow by comparison.

2. Anxiety

Anxiety brings the iCal task list to your desktop. It provides easy access to your to-do list so that tasks can be added or marked as complete without opening your full calendar. Anxiety stays in sync with iCal and disappears when not in use.

3. Caffeine

OS X has a great power saving feature built-in: after a short period of inactivity the screen automatically dims. Caffeine allows you to turn this feature on and off with a single click so that presentations can be run without interruption. It also prevents your Mac from going to sleep or starting the screensaver.

4. Growl

Growl provides unobtrusive notification messages from various programs that run on OS X, including Adium, Firefox, and iTunes. They simply pop up as semi-transparent notifications on the top right corner of your screen and then disappear.

5. Adium

Adium is by far the best instant messaging program I have ever used. You can seamlessly send messages to your friends using various protocols including AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and MSN Messenger. Adium also supports tabbed conversations so you can keep all your conversations in a single window.

6. Smultron

While there are a number of free text editors available for OS X, my favorite is Smultron. Smultron allows you to have multiple documents open at the same time in an easy-to-use tabbed interface. Another popular free text editor for OS X is TextWrangler while users who want a word processing application with features closer to what Word or Pages offers, Bean is worth checking out.

7. Skim

Skim is a PDF reader that is cut above Preview, the default viewer in OS X, because of Skim’s enhanced markup capabilities. You can easily add notes, highlight portions the document, and quickly jump from one marked-up section to the next through a convenient side panel. Skim also allows you to create presentations and then run the presentations using the Apple Remote.

8. VLC

VLC is media player that supports most modern digital video formats including the DVD format and various streaming protocols. Installing VLC will save you the trouble of having to find a compatible player every time you need to play a new media format.

9. iStat Menu

One of my favorite features in Vista is the pop-up calendar that is displayed when you click on the time in the taskbar. iStat Menu brings that feature to OS X. It also allows you to display multiple time zones, open your iCal calendar, and add additional menus that display everything from the temperature of your Mac to the remaining space on your hard drives.

10. Rachota

Rachota allows users to track the time spent on various projects. Rachota can also summarize how much time was spent on each project and provide helpful time-maximizing tips.

Cool Wallpapers

2008-07-21T03:36:00.000+05:30

Here is my collections of wallpapers that I like very much. Hope you all will also enjoy it. And please leave some comments also.

Lose The Wikipedia Crutch: Alternate 100 Places to Go for Good Answers Online

2008-07-19T20:58:00.000+05:30

While Wikipedia isn’t likely to lose its status as the first place people look for quick answers anytime soon, there are loads of other sites out there that can provide you with information, some of which may even be better and more accurate. Whether you’re researching for a paper or just settling a bet with a friend, here are 100 places you can find all the answers you need quickly and easily online.

General

Find answers to all kinds of questions through these sites.

1. InfoPlease: Visitors to this site will be treated to an almanac, atlas, encyclopedia, dictionary and much more, which should be more than enough to find information on just about anything you’d need.
2. Fact Monster: Run by Infoplease, this site is geared towards the younger crowd, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find some great information here. Find answers to basic math, science, history and sports questions.
3. About.com: This site provides articles on a huge variety of subjects, many of which provide useful information or can link you to sites that have what you’re looking for.
4. Refdesk.com: Billed as a "fact check for the Internet," this site provides a range of resources that make it easy to search the web, check an encyclopedia or dictionary, read the news and much more.
5. Reference.com: Part of the Dictionary.com site, this online resource provides access to many encyclopedia articles, as well as the accompanying dictionary and thesaurus.
6. Answers.com: Answers.com provides visitors with access to articles from sites and journals all over the Web.
7. Factbites: Called a cross between a search engine and an encyclopedia, this site is designed to make searching for information easier by filtering out information and only giving you the most relevant results.

Library and Reference

Search through library archives and do research through these sites.

8. Oxford Journals: Look through all the journals published by Oxford and find many articles that are free to read and download.
9. eBrary: Many libraries give full access to eBrary’s collections, but if you don’t have one near to you that does, you can use this page and still enjoy looking through loads of books and journals.
10. ibiblio: This site is full of public domain information including maps, books, pictures and much more that you can use in your next research project.
11. LibrarySpot: Find a myriad of library resources on this site as well as links to other authoritative sites and encyclopedias online.
12. WorldCat: Save yourself a trip to the library and find out if a library has the information you need before you go. This site allows users to find libraries in their area that have the books and materials they need.
13. Internet Public Library: This site puts together a great repository of links to authoritative sites all over the Web on topics like history, law, computers and more.

User Contributed

Like Wikipedia, these sites draw their information from user contributions.

14. Scholarpedia: This site looks and functions very similarly to Wikipedia with some major differences. Each article is written and edited by an expert in the field, and all articles must be approved before they become part of the site, helping to ensure the information you get is accurate.
15. WorldBrainBook: WorldBrainBook provides a means by which everyday people can share what they know on a wide range of topics, from arts and crafts to extreme sports.
16. Open-Site: Open-Site is a free online encyclopedia that is user contributed and monitored by editors, and can be a good alternative source of information to Wikipedia.
17. Duno: This site allows authors, amateur and professional, to write and publish articles and get paid for them through an advertising program. Visitors to the site can browse through the articles to find helpful information.
18. Internet Encyclopedia: Also called Wikinfo, this site provides a similar format to Wikipedia but with some different ideas when it comes to editing, often encouraging independent research and the mandate that articles represent the topic in a positive or objective manner.
19. Conservapedia: Feeling that Wikipedia had a liberal bias, this site was created, giving the conservative perspective on a wide range of topics.
20. Citizendium: Citizendium aims to create a user contributed encyclopedia that focuses on quality and readability rather than quantity, and it encourages visitors not only to read articles but to collaborate as well.
21. WikiHow: The Wikipedia of how-to manuals, this site provides step by step instructions from other users on how to do just about anything you could imagine.
22. Instructables: Taking the idea of a user-contributed how-to site one step further, Instructables provides visitors with a huge number of user-created instructional videos.
23. Veropedia: Want to only read the best of what Wikipedia has to offer? This site can help, filtering out the best articles from Wikipedia and placing them on this site.

Encyclopedias

Look up just about anything in these online encyclopedias.

24. Encyclopedia Britannica Online: Search through millions of entries in this large online encyclopedia or check out timelines, an atlas and more.
25. MSN Encarta: MSN provides this online reference site with loads of articles, an atlas, dictionary and most importantly, an encyclopedia.
26. Medical Encyclopedia: Find answers to all your medical questions through this large medical encyclopedia from MedlinePlus.
27. Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Browse through information related to all the of vast collections held by the Smithsonian on this informative and useful site.
28. Encyclopedia.com: This HighBeam site combines information from sources like the Oxford University Press, Britannica, and the Columbia Encyclopedia.
29. Classic Encyclopedia: Look through the articles from this 1911 version of an encyclopedia and get a historical perspective on your information.
30. Probert Encyclopedia: This free online encyclopedia contains over 235,000 cross-referenced and interlinked sites and 15000 illustrations, and it focuses on a few key topics.
31. OpenTopia: Browse through encyclopedia articles here or enjoy access to a variety of webcams, online tools and more.
32. Questia: While not entirely free, this site can prove to be a great research tool, with articles on hundreds of topics.

Science and Math

Find answers to all your math and science inquiries here.

33. HowStuffWorks: Whether you want to know how your toaster works or learn about nuclear power, you’ll find all the details on this highly informative site.
34. PhysLink.com: Answer all your questions about physics with a little help from this site.
35. NatureServe Explorer: Here you can look up information on all kinds of species of birds, butterflies, mammals and more.
36. Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences: Make sense of your math with this easy to search site.
37. Encyclopedia of Life: This site contains a huge archive of information on numerous plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and all other kinds of living things.
38. PlantCare.com: Find out why your houseplants are shriveling up and learn to take care of them with help and information from this site.
39. Encyclopedia of Earth: Find articles that relate to all the life, geological processes and much more that make up the environment of our planet in this great online resource.
40. Physics Encyclopedia: Look up physics terms and information through this helpful site.
41. The Internet Encyclopedia of Science: Astronomer David Darling maintains this site which is an A-Z reference for a wide range of science related topics.
42. Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics: Look up astronomy terms and people of interest with this informative online encyclopedia.
43. Wolfram MathWorld: Find help with everything from number theory to basic geometry on this site.
44. PRIME Mathematics Encyclopedia: This site is a great reference for almost any question related to doing or teaching mathematics.
45. Scirus: This search engine will give you results related only to science, making it easier and faster to find the information you need from journals and science websites.
46. Botany.com: Not sure if that’s poison ivy growing in your backyard? This site provides loads of photos and information on plants from all over the world.

Social Studies

These reference sites deal with social studies and historical issues.

47. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Find the names of many philosophers and their ideas in this helpful encyclopedia from Stanford University.
48. glbtq: Look up information about the gay, lesbian, transgender and queer culture in this encyclopedia.
49. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Here you can find everything you ever wanted to know about philosophy in one easy to search place.
50. Encyclopedia of Psychology: Learn all about mental illnesses, famous psychologists and theories through this online resource.
51. HyperHistory: This site attempts to cover 3,000 years of world history. Browse by people, places or events to find what you need.
52. LookLex: Formerly known as the Encyclopedia of the Orient, this resource specializes in information from North Africa and the Middle East.
53. Perseus: Find all you ever wanted to know about Greek history and Mythology on this site, loaded with articles and pictures.

Fine Art

Find information on all kinds of art through these sites.

54. The Artchive: This site provides an easy way to find out about numerous artists, their work and their time period as well as to browse images.
55. Oxford Music Online: This site provides a gateway into music research and a place to get new and forthcoming Oxford music reference articles.
56. Artcyclopedia: Search for a particular artist, painting, period and much more on this helpful and informative site.
57. Instrument Encyclopedia: Find out more about any kind of instrument on this University of Michigan site.
58. Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Learn about music from all over the world through the information provided by this reference site.
59. ArtLex: Find out the meaning behind any art related word in this art dictionary.
60. DancePedia: Here you’ll be able to access all kinds of information on different styles of dance and famous dancers.
61. Musicals101: Lovers of musicals will appreciate this reference site, with hundreds of entries on stage and movie musicals.
62. Improv Encyclopedia: If you’re into improv yourself or just want to find out more about it, you’ll find games, a reference resource and an online glossary here.
63. Internet Movie Database: This site is the ultimate resource for those looking for information on anyone in the film business from directors to stunt doubles.
64. All Music Guide: Learn about new and old bands as well as information on all kinds of music-related issues on this site.

Language and Literature

Whether you need to know what a word means or want to look up a work of literature, you’ll find help with these links.

65. WordReference: Look up words in English, Spanish, Italian and French using this great online site.
66. Bartleby: This site provides loads of books to students and researchers with information on poetry, fiction and nonfiction at your fingertips.
67. AskOxford: Based off the Oxford English Dictionary, this site provides reference material as well as tips to improve writing and a chance to ask questions of experts.
68. BrainyQuote: Find out where those famous quotes came from with this great online quotation resource.
69. Merriam Webster: Look up just about any word in this free online dictionary.
70. Dictionary.com: This easy-to-use dictionary can help you find the meaning or spelling of any word. As a bonus you’ll get access to a crossword dictionary and fun games as well.
71. Urban Dictionary: Keep up with the slang the kids are using these days with this site which provides an easy reference point for looking up words.
72. Visual Thesaurus: Get a visual map of synonyms and antonyms using this different take on the thesaurus.
73. BookRags: Get study help and information on literature with the study guides, summaries, essays and biographies from this site.
74. Encyclopedia Mythica: If something has been written about mythology, religion or folklore, you’ll be able to find it here with this helpful online search engine and resource collection.

Technology

Tech jargon can be confusing, but you can find help through these sites.

75. WhatIs.com: Find definitions of thousands of technology and computer terms here, as well as helpful glossaries and cheat sheets.
76. TechEncylopedia: Find definitions and help on over 20,000 IT related terms on this TechWeb site.
77. Webopedia: Use this site the next time you’re feeling clueless as to what all those techie abbreviations mean.
78. Internet Archive: Learn about the history of the Internet and much more on this informative site.
79. WebReference: Web dwellers will enjoy the reference material from this site, which provides archives of news, advice and how-to articles.

Question and Answer

If you have a question that needs answering, you can ask it and get help on these sites.

80. Yahoo! Answers: Ask any question that comes to mind and get answers from others online using this Yahoo! sponsored site.
81. AllExperts: Ask your questions that need the help of an expert on this site.
82. The Straight Dope: Cecil Adams answers a weekly question on this site with topics that range from the reasons for hiccups to reality TV show inquiries.
83. wiseGEEK: This site provides a place to ask your tech related questions and find answers from over 24,000 articles.
84. Answerbag: Find answers to questions on social, medical, local and shopping questions on this user contributed site.
85. Microsoft Live QnA: Here you can ask any question, serious or silly, and get answers from other users.
86. Yedda: Yedda allows users to ask a question on any topic and "get personalized answers from relevant people."
87. Wondir: Ask questions and get the answers you need from other users on this site.
88. Askville: Sponsored by Amazon, this site allows users to ask a question on any topic and get and give answers to others.
89. Cornbrain: If you have a few bucks to spare, you can get researched and professional answers from this site.
90. Ask a Librarian: Have a question on research, literature or anything else a librarian could help you with? Find the answers you need using this site.

Miscellaneous

These sites are full of all kinds of information to help you.

91. Acronym Finder: Not sure what all those letters stand for? Figure it out using the information on this site.
92. eHow: Learn how to do just about anything on this instructive site from sewing in a zipper to putting up wallpaper.
93. FreeAdvice: If you’ve got a legal problem you need help with and want a little information first, you can find loads of it at this site.
94. Snopes: Find out whether or not that email your aunt sent you was for real or unravel a host of other urban legends through the information you’ll find here.
95. timeanddate: Want to know what happened today in history? Check out this site for information.
96. Symbols.com: Find information about thousands of symbols from their history to uses today through this informative site.
97. Catholic Encyclopedia: This site provides visitors with a wealth of information on the Catholic religion.
98. The Educator’s Reference Desk: Teachers can find thousands of reference materials here to help them plan lessons, manage classes and much more.
99. Physician’s Desktop Reference: This reference site will help you to find information on a wide range of medial conditions, medications and illnesses.
100. Baseball Reference: Find all kinds of baseball stats and historical information for players, teams and the sport as a whole using this reference.

Very Unusual Watches

2008-07-19T05:17:00.000+05:30

Nowadays, watch designers come out with very weird models which need users to think. Some are easy to ‘learn’, but some are very difficult which requires user to do the calculation. I thought watches are suppose to be showing the time as obvious as it can, be it analog or digital. Just show me the number, I mean show me the TIME.

Anyway, you might wanna see how weird and unusual are those watches.

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The Lego Wall-E Trash Collecting Robot

2008-07-19T05:10:00.000+05:30

Check out this amazing Lego Wall-E trash collecting robot from NXT Mindstorms hacker, BlueToothWiki.

lego Wall-E

This cool Lego Wall-E robot uses an ultrasonic sensor, it spots the trash and then verifies that it is trash, it then opens up and scoops the rubbish away, here’s a video of it in action.

This is a pretty awesome Lego Wall_E robot, if you are interested in making your own, full instructions can be found on the Lego NXT site and BlueToothWiki’s website.

Blackle

2008-07-18T12:30:00.000+05:30

Blackle was created by Heap Media to remind us all of the need to take small steps in our everyday lives to save energy. Blackle searches are powered by Google Custom Search.

Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black. "Image displayed is primarily a function of the user's color settings and desktop graphics, as well as the color and size of open application windows; a given monitor requires more power to display a white (or light) screen than a black (or dark) screen." Roberson et al, 2002

In January 2007 a blog post titled Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year proposed the theory that a black version of the Google search engine would save a fair bit of energy due to the popularity of the search engine. Since then there has been skepticism about the significance of the energy savings that can be achieved and the cost in terms of readability of black web pages.

We believe that there is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Secondly we feel that seeing Blackle every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.
How can you help?

We encourage you to set Blackle as your home page. This way every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. Remember every bit counts! You will also be reminded about the need to save energy each time you see the Blackle page load.

Help us spread the word about Blackle by telling your friends and family to set it as their home page. If you have a blog then give us a mention. Or put the following text in your email signature: "Blackle - Saving energy one search at a time".

Have a look at our energy saving tips page for ideas on steps you can take to save energy.

There are a lot of great web sites about saving energy and being more environmentally friendly. They are full of great tips covering the little things that we can all do to make a difference today. Try Blackling "energy saving tips" or visit one of the many great blogs dedicated to environmental awareness.