Wonderful Tech. Stuff

How Internet Service Providers Take On Bundle Packages

2012-02-08T08:42:00.000+05:30

Back in the good (or bad) old days, there was only really British Telecom. As the nation's telecommunications provider, BT had a head start on other ISPs when the internet revolution began. For many years, it was the only option for many internet customers and even when other providers such as Cable and Wireless started popping up, they mainly rented the equipment from BT to provide an internet service.

Unbundling the Bundle

When BT was forced to open itself up to competition under the monopoly regulations (do not pass go, do not keep all the customers for yourself), there began a process of local loop unbundling (LLU), which allows multiple telecoms companies to use the connections from the telephone exchange to the clients homes. It was designed to increase competition and drive down prices for broadband and telephone services. BT set up a company, OpenReach, which was charged with looking after its wholesale business and LLU activities.

By 2006, around a quarter of a million local-loop connections had gone through the LLU process and had been released from BT to other telecoms operators. A year later, this number had grown to almost 2 million. Broadband providers were keen to have their on their own services, rather than reselling BT's, to have greater flexibility in pricing and services. Despite the notion that these services would belong to the new broadband provider, for the most part they still used BT equipment and there were still charges to pay. Over time, there have been a few operators who have developed their own equipment and technology, enabling them to offer full unbundled services, but this has not been a trend that has grown fast.

Superfast Broadband

As dial-up has grown up and become broadband, we now see broadband moving into something else. No longer are we impressed by the 8Mbps service we get down our telephone lines. Now, thanks to the millions of pounds spent on upgrading the infrastructure to fibre optic, many homes can enjoy speeds of 50Mbps or more. Thanks to FTTH technology, these internet speeds are increasing all the time, with internet service providers claiming they will be able to offer speeds in excess of 300Mbps from 2013. Also on the horizon are the new 4G mobile services, promising mobile and smart-phone users unheard of hi-speeds and services.

As the internet evolves, so the providers have started to change their tactics. Just last year, Orange announced it was giving up on offering its own unbundled services in favour of reselling BT connectivity. Apparently, this would allow them to 'concentrate on taking advantage of technology developments', a move which is almost certain to be echoed by other ISPs as superfast broadband pushes its way into our homes and businesses.

The Future for Unbundled Services

For internet service providers, superfast broadband is triggering a complete market shift in the way things work at the provider level. Rather than worrying about maintaining costly equipment at the exchange, providers want to free up their cash to buy as much bandwidth as possible, so that they can offer their customers the cheapest, fastest and most unlimited broadband on the market. For BT, this means OpenReach could see a surge in services returning to its control. For the customer, its good news too as speeds and specifications improve while the price continues to drop.

Glyde - A Faster Cleaner Approach to Online Selling

2012-02-07T06:49:00.000+05:30

When you first think of selling things online, your old iPhone, iPod or first generation e-reader start to look like dollar signs. But than you find it more of a pain-in-the-butt than profitable. You've got to clean up your iPod to make it appealing, answer all those buyers questions, and get together all the packaging. And how much should you sell your item for? Will you pay for shipping and handling?

Thank goodness for Glyde - a faster, cleaner approach to online selling. Glyde suggests a price and provides images so you don't have to. Glyde sends you a pre-paid shipping envelope, so when your item sells you just pop it in that mailbox. And Glyde handles buyer questions, so your inbox stays squeaky clean. Sell your iPod, iPhones, or eReaders, and wait for the dollars to Glyde to you. Watch this video on "How to Buy and Sell on Glyde":

Lead Generation is An Ever-Evolving Force in the Advertising Community

2012-01-29T07:34:00.001+05:30

Every successful business needs a constant cycle of customers, and as the quote goes, "The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time." However, online lead generation is the combination of saving money and time.

Businesses used to buy leads from salesmen who set up a booth at a trade show, auctioning off some prize if you filled out a raffle ticket. Imagine, hours and hours spent for a hundred or so contacts. What used to be done in hours can now be done in minutes, and instead of hundreds, it's now a thousand leads or more per day. Still, online lead generation is quite elusive, and there are those companies who claim to have original formulas. There are some basics that can guide any business to yield more quality leads, yet you first have to understand more about this technology to really grasp its benefits.

One thing that many businesses commonly mistake lead generation for is spam. While spammers may use email spam for lead generation, it's not an accurate way to produce any quality results. True online lead generation simply generates an interest into a business’ product or services over the Internet. Basically, you place a form on a webpage with prospective consumer interests, potential customer enters contact information to signify interest, and you get a lead. Then, the lead helps to build an e-newsletter list, reward program database, loyalty program, or other list. Simply put, if you want someone to join your club, you need to reach the right markets, and that's where online lead generation truly works.

Of course, how you format the form, where you place the form and the type of language on the form are the important parts to successful lead generation. In general, customers enjoy a unique display on websites and can spot Google ads and keyword text from a mile away. Lead generators have to be careful of a high bounce rate, which means that target individuals are loading the page, then immediately leaving, usually because a website appeared fake, uninteresting or simply "shady". The best sites for lead generation simply appear as community organizations and offer the most information possible without blatantly advertising products. In this form, it is more about an interesting logo, page layout, keyword links and unique text—meaning that you actually say something instead of repeating a keyword over and over.

There are two types of advertising in online lead generation. CPL advertising, where advertisers pay for an interested lead containing the individual's contact information, is best for brand marketing and advertisers looking to create an interest with a newsletter, e-mail list, community site or reward program. The second type is CPA advertising, sometimes called affiliate marketing, where the advertiser pays for a sale that already has the credit card transaction. CPA focuses on customers wanting and buying the product precisely in the moment. This is where online lead generation gets very technical and has to create the right form for the right advertiser. In most cases, CPL advertising generates more leads. With a constant bombardment of online ads, experts have to be much more thoughtful and technical with lead generation technology.

In today's advertising marketplace, lead generation is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with multiple large companies that trade on public markets, such as Zillow, QuinStreet and Bankrate. There are also possibly thousands of smaller players. Both types of companies meet up annually at LeadsCon, the largest conference for lead generation. In just a few short years, LeadsCon went from 500 attendants to 5,000. Clearly, as the technology grows behind consumer marketing, so does online lead generation.

Why Shared Web Hosting is No Longer Popular for Technology Companies

2012-01-29T05:04:00.000+05:30

When it comes to web hosting, choosing the right deal can be a minefield, as there are so many different packages available to suit every budget and various sets of requirements. In the past, many businesses new to the world of web hosting made the choice of going with a shared web-hosting package. However, these days that option is no longer in favour. Could it be that the benefits of a cheaper hosting method just aren't enough for businesses that are now more technologically literate?

Advantages of Shared Hosting

Shared web hosting proved to be very popular until recently, with the obvious benefit of a competitively priced package being the biggest attraction. Shared web hosting means that a company's website will share its base on a computer server with other websites. Because the hosting costs are spread wider, this option is very cheap, especially for smaller sites that are just starting out.

Each site is given an IP address and a set amount of disk space and bandwidth as part of their package, so each site sits neatly with the others on the designated server. However, many customers have discovered that there are drawbacks to choosing this simple package and are choosing to look elsewhere.

What are the Disadvantages of Shared Hosting?

One of the biggest drawbacks lies within the whole idea of sharing in the first place. When you share a web-hosting server, you can literally be using the same space as dozens, maybe even hundreds, of other sites. As a rule, the latest technology used in hosting is pretty reliable, but you might find that your site could be affected by problems on other sites. For example, if another website experiences a sudden influx of traffic, it could cause a reaction that affects your own site.

You have no control over who you share with, so sites with high traffic or who take advantage of more than their share of bandwidth will have an impact on your site. In the worst cases, a very busy site could cause the server to go down, taking your site down with it.

Packages may be limiting, because you could be penalised for exceeding your bandwidth allowance, even having your site taken down as a result. The packages offered are quite rigid and rarely have room for expansion or upgrades. If you are looking to customise your account, make changes to your site or want to introduce new features or software, it often just isn't possible.

Viruses can also be a problem, as with so many websites sharing the same space they can spread quickly and easily. Of course, hosting services are ready for these kinds of events and can generally counteract any problems, but if one site gets a virus the others are quite likely to as well.

Is Shared Hosting All Bad?

There are, however, still some advantages to shared hosting. In fact, shared web hosting can be a good option for some businesses, especially those looking for a simple hosting package that is cheap. But before you make the final choice on how to host your site, make sure you look at the overall picture. If you think you will want to expand your site significantly in the future, shared hosting is probably not the best option for you.

About the Author:The above article is composed and edited by Eva K. She is associated with many SEO and Technologies communities as their freelance writer and adviser. In her free time she writes articles related to SEO, social media, internet service in my area related articles etc.

10 Valuable Alternatives to Google Adsense

2012-01-24T16:48:00.000+05:30

If you are a blogger then you can understand that one of the purposes for having blog is to make money online especially with Google Adsense.

Google Adsense is one of the well known revenue sharing Ads program which can be beneficial for you to earn money online. What if you don't have Google Adsense account, but you are still willing to earn money online. Here I have found 10 valuable alternatives to Google Adsense for you. If you use these programs I can say that they can be beneficial to increase your daily revenue.

Even there are many valuable companies which can be best alternative to Google Adsense. If they are not popular among the internet users, it does not mean that they are not effective. I have personal experience with couple of them and have found them effective. What I will recommend you is that you should search internet to find more companies for your needs after you are finished with the list below:

LinkShare

I found this website a year back and I can say that this can be a great website to earn more revenue, if you are running a blog. Once you register with LinkShare you can access huge number of offers to participate and there is no doubt you can start making money right away.

eBay

If you think that other affiliates programs are not working for you, you can also try eBay to earn some revenue. Even you cannot earn more with eBay but after all it can be effective for you. eBay can be a useful alternative to other famous programs available over World Wide Web.

Kontera

Are you looking for some useful alternative to Google Adsense revenue sharing program? Kontera can be the best solution for you.

Amazon

Every one who is using internet since couple of years or more will be familiar with famous online shopping platform Amazon. Amazon also shares revenue with the affiliate marketers. Sign up free for the account and you can place products and banners for each and every product on your blog to sell and earn commission.

ClickBank

ClickBank is another famous affiliate program that can be useful to generate revenue from the products sold by you. You sell their products and they pay your commission for it.

AdBrite

You are looking for some other CPC program that can be similar to Google Adsense then AdBrite is the best solution for you.

InfoLinks

Infolinks is one of the best alternatives to Google Adsense and is effective because of text ads.

Bidvertiser

If you are running a small website or blog, and willing to generate more then monetizing with Bidvertiser can be affective for you.

Chitika

Chitika is one of the well known platforms you can use as a best alternative for Google Adsense. The uniqueness with Chitika is that ads are targeted; ads are not displayed at the moment the web page is visited from search engine.

Media.Net

Media.Net offers any type of ads you can use to earn more money. They are content ads, search targeting, web bar, and mobile ads.

About the Author:
Junaid Iqbal is SEO Expert by profession offering affordable SEO services for clients from all around the globe. He's also running a Technology Blog. You can hire his SEO Services at affordable price. Mail him at smjunaidiqbal@gmail.com

Successful Business with Powerful Business Cards

2012-01-20T18:10:00.000+05:30

Success in business is something that everyone wants in his life. It is right to say that those who effectively advertise their business among masses earn from their business. Though majority of businessmen think that electronic media and print media are two main sources to advertise their business but printing custom business cards is still widely considered as powerful tool to remain live in society.

Now one may raise a question that if everyone is printing business cards then how it is helpful to get more than others? Answer is simple that print powerful business cards. Self employed person should keep one thing in his mind that powerful business cards are those who spent more time in customers' cards holders. So he/she needs to occupy a permanent place there.

Here I would try to dig out some realities about powerful business cards.

Custom Business Cards or Powerful Business Cards

Business cards are not printed simply to tell others your company name and contact numbers; in fact you need a lot more from your printed introductory cards. Simple and standard size business cards no doubt, are easy to print. Even there are many printing companies that print this stuff in 2 hours. But it is also a fact that as quick they are printed more quickly these are discarded by the customers.

Business cards are your personal and professional identity. Seeing your identity resting in trash box is painful. So don't go to print simple business cards. Just try custom business cards for once. It is common in man that he is amazed by anything that he hasn't seen in past. Printing custom business cards would definitely amaze your customers when they find them in their hands. Now one may ask that what custom business cards are?

Custom business cards are those powerful business cards that are different in size, shape, text, colors and designs from simple business cards. Another question might be asked that how to print custom business cards?
You may follow the following tactics to stand out from the crowd.

Die Cut Shape
Simple and standard business cards have conventional rectangular shape with one side printing. Don’t be stereotype businessman. Print die cut business cards. Die cut cards are those that have not regular shape. Their irregular shape will force your customer to see them regularly. For instance you are running stationery shop.

Why don't you print business cards having a shape of notebook? When you ask your printer to give your cards shape of notebook, it would need a die to get the desired shape. Surely die cut business cards are powerful business cards.
Embossed Printing
Your text and logo of the company on business cards have the ability to attract the customers. Print embossed logo or embossed text. Though it is little costly because embossing needs a die that is difficult to produce. Once the exact die is prepared then you would add a 'wow effect' on your business cards.
High gloss and UV Coating
If you want to amuse your customer, ask your printer to make your cards glossier or if your budget allows you, go for UV coating. Glossy or shinny look would spent more and more times in the hands of your customers.
Online Printing Company
Last but not least, choose online printing company to print your powerful or custom business cards with great efficiency and aptness

Author Bio:
It is Donald Smith Customer Relation Officer at Dow Printing an online printing company offering all the printing needs under one roof. Custom Business Cards, Brochures, Stickers and Envelopes are our hot products.

#Wikipediablackout - Stop SOPA and PROTECT-IP

2012-01-18T18:21:00.000+05:30

In protest against the two bills in US Congress: Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECTIP or PIPA), English Wikipedia is going on a blackout for 24 hours, beginning from January 18, Wed 10:30 IST to January 19, Thu 10:30 IST.

During blackout period, any English Wikipedia page shows a banner notice titled 'Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge' purposed for creating awareness about SOPA and PIPA and encourage users to speak-up on this issue with their elected representatives and via social media site like Google+, Twitter and Facebook.

And in case of emergency, content on English Wikipedia can still be accessible at Wikipedia mobile site using mobile devices or smart phones and on your browsers by completely disabling JavaScript option.

The main problem with SOPA and PIPA is, these two worrisome bills have provisions for copyright holders to take down entire websites and domains due to which, chances are that sites protecting free speech and exchange of information online like Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Reddit, Scribd, Tumblr and more could simply disappear from the web.

I support Wikipedia blackout and strongly oppose SOPA and PROTECT-IP which threatens free speech and open internet worldwide.

Come Speak-Up Now! Together we can preserve a free and open Internet.

Please show your support here and share this post with your friends. Thanks!!

Now Control Your Computer with More Advanced Mouse @Celluon EvoMouse

2012-01-14T08:38:00.000+05:30

If you are seeking evolution in PC mouse technology that can make all the difference in the way that you control your computer efficiently, then evoMouse from Celluon is your easy choice.

This latest technology portable input device can effortlessly perform all your common mouse operations and that too using your fingers, natural hand movements and gestures. It's so wonderful, isn't it?

iPhone 4S Retina Display Really Shows Off

2011-12-21T06:35:00.000+05:30

Apple keeps looking for new ideas ahead of times which makes their products smarter and better for each new release. With the launch of much advanced high resolution Retina Display for their latest release of iPhone 4S, Apple once again shows off for providing crystal clear display to its iPhone users.

With a 3.5-inch LED-backlit IPS(in-plane switching) 960x640 pixels resolution TFT screen, display on the iPhone 4S is bound to be crystal clear and ultra-sharp, which is powered by its Dual-core Apple A5 processor, in a design measuring 9.3mm and weighing just about 140 grams. iPhone 4S display panel with a pixel density of 326 pixels per inch, more or less promises to be closer to the human eye.

Full story at Apple

Let it Snow Easter Egg on Google Search

2011-12-18T12:45:00.000+05:30

Here is a latest surprise from Google: Go to google.com and in the search box type "let it snow" and leave the cursor there. Wait for the surprise..... !!

This new search Easter egg from Google, will make a flurry of snowflakes fall from the top of your browser screen and slowly the entire screen is frost covered with snow. Click Defrost and you're back with a cleaned up screen with tiny snowflakes drifting down.

How to Easily Change File Format in Windows

2011-12-15T13:59:00.003+05:30

It happens quite often when you're downloading stuff online that one of your favorite file gets saved with the file type your Windows cannot open as it fails to find the program which has created it.

And to open such a file, either you need to change the file to one of the recognizable formats by one of your programs or allow Windows go online, use the Web service to find the appropriate program. Let's go with the first option and learn how to easily change file formats.
For example, lets consider the following scenario - When downloading TeachAIDS video which is acutally a .flv file, it accidentally got saved to my PC as .org file instead of flv. Now, to open this TeachAIDS file using one of my video players supporting flv, first I need to change the file type (or file format) from .org to .flv and for easily achieving this task I'll be using Command Prompt commands.

How to Change File Types Using Command Prompt:

Click the Windows Start button ► Click Run... to open the Run dialog window.

Type cmd or command in the Run dialog to open command prompt window.

The command in use here for changing file extension type is REN which basically renames a file or files. The syntax for REN command is as follows:

REN [drive:][path of the file]filename1.extension1 filename2.extension2

So, to change TeachAIDS file from .org to .flv I give the command as below and hit enter: (All commands are case insensitive) ren E:\teachaids\videos\teachaids.org teachaids.flv

Here is the snapshot of the file changed to .flv after execution of the rename command.

That's it!! Successfully changed the file format and ready to watch TeachAIDS video. Are you wondering what is this TeachAIDS??

Well, TeachAIDS is a social venture founded by Standford graduate Dr. Piya Sorcar with the help of a team of world experts in various fields of medicine and health manily to promote HIV/AIDS preventive measures and education around the world. @TeachAIDS Piya and her team work relentlessly to develop medically-accurate, pedagogically-grounded, and culturally-tailored HIV and AIDS prevention animated software to optimze learning and retention.

Go to teachaids.org/software and enjoy watching the most effective HIV/AIDS prevention animation videos provided in various languages for free.

New Viruses on Facebook that Can Be Harmful - Virus Alert

2011-12-06T20:55:00.000+05:30

Thousands of online accounts are hijacked every day and Facebook is no exception. Recently on Facebook, users have been encountering stuff that is suspicious of being called a virus posing threat to their account security and privacy.

Given below are 4 new such type of viruses responsible for harming or slowing down your computer and possibly hijack your Facebook account, and thus should be protected against such elements being alert and aware on Facebook.

Be aware while clicking on any pop-ups from Facebook as web spammers who mask their web pages use these pop-ups for URL redirection to redirect users to malicious sites.

If you get a notification that a friend of yours reported your account for offensive behavior, just discard it.

Videos saying the lines - '99% of People can not watch this for more the 15 Sec' or similar, do not play/open it as it is a survey scam that directs you to external websites for completing a survey which is an absolute waste of your valuable time.

Discard all messages from your friends via chat saying click this link. These are suspicious links sent by malicious apps that can infect your timeline, messages, and even your friends' walls. If anyone is sharing a link on chat, always confirm with the sender that the link is safe and then proceed.

Always be careful while using Facebook and stay away from virus infections!!

uCertify - IT Training Certification Fastest Way

2011-12-05T05:30:00.000+05:30

uCertify was established 15 years ago by two brothers. They established this company with the idea of helping students who want to take the IT certification exams. The result was uCertify PrepEngine, an interactive software application that helped their students to learn, track their progress, identify areas of improvement and simulate the actual exam.

The continuously growing range of uCertify products include exam simulation PrepKits for MCTS, MCTIP, MCSE, MCSA, MCPD, OCA,OCP, A+, Network+, EC-Council, Security+, CIW Associate, CIW Professional, SCJP and many other certifications. uCertify PrepEngine is designed to offer the most sophisticated and realistic test simulation available in the market place. It hides complex technology from you and gives you a simplified interface so that you can spend your time in learning the subject instead of learning the software. Because of software interface it is simple to use, your learning time is maximized, as you start practicing almost immediately.

The PrepEngine features are:

Acceptable price
Simple installation
Comprehensive set of tools
Relevant and accurate study material
Flexible practice tests
Test result review process is excellent
Adapts itself according to your learning style
Comprehensive feedback
Extensive online help (24X7)

uCertify invites you to download PrepKits (preparation kit supported by PrepEngine) free of cost. The only difference in the demo version of fully functional PrepKit is the number of questions. You will also get 100% money back guarantee. If you don’t get certified in the first attempt, your full amount will be refunded. No questions asked! Online version is also there to try the PrepKit online with any operating system; like MAC, Linux, Windows before you actually purchase it: learn.ucertify.com/login.php

Alternatively, those who want to purchase the PrepKit can directly click on the 'Buy Now' tab on the particular exam page and the license key will be sent to the customer through email. That key can be used to unlock the PrepKit. The PrepKit basically range from $80 - $100 (depends on selected kit).

Wonderful Tech Stuff Starts on Google+ Pages - Add to Your Circles

2011-11-18T03:28:00.002+05:30

With the recent introduction of Pages for Google+, businesses and websites started getting their site on Google+ to build relationships and connect better with their customers. This much awaited feature on Google+ comes as a branded version of the normal Google+ with features that help online businesses, websites, blogs, brands and organizations to grow audience and improve their site's presence and identity on Google+
More on How-to Grow Audience with Google+ @Webmaster Central Blog

So, I just created a Google+ Page for my 'Wonderful Tech Stuff' blog to see how it looks and works. I uploaded my face as the default avatar (profile image) for better personal identity also including the blog banner in the center of scrapbook photos. Here's how it looks:

To keep up to date on what's happening on my blog,
add the Wonderful Tech Stuff Google+ Page to your circles.

As I am willing to communicate with my blog readers and customers on a regular basis through this page, just add us to your circles and even if I don't know you, I'll be adding you back to my circles for sure (no pun intended)!

Thanks You Very Much!! ♥

How to Track the Status of Your Google AdSense Check Sent on Blue Dart in India

2011-11-06T13:30:00.003+05:30

AdSense check on its way to your address in India delivery through Blue Dart can be tracked either by using the waybill number or the payment number given in the AdSense issued payment details. To track the status of your issued Google AdSense check you'll have to use TrackDart box, available on the upper left corner of every page on Blue Dart website.

Here's step-by-step how to track the status of AdSense payment delivered via Blue Dart in India:

You can see on the upper right side, Finalized earnings Details » | Click on Details.

For the last issued payment, view details and note the Payment Number removing the first 0.

So, the Payment Number we have to note from the issued payment details as shown in above image is 58168060.

Now go to Blue Dart website and in the TrackDart box on top left corner, select the "Ref no" option.

Enter your payment number in the box provided and click Go.

TrackDart - Tracking Details page dispalys the latest update on the status of your shipment.

That's it!! You've successfully tracked the status of your AdSense Check delivery through Blue Dart in India.

Hope this helps...

No One Can Hack Your Account Unless You Commit a Mistake

2011-11-03T18:14:00.001+05:30

No one can hack our accounts unless we allow doing so without putting necessary and preventive security measures in place. Although it's a never-ending game of cat and mouse for black hat hackers and security professionals, I will have to say that popular sites like Google, facebook and twitter etc, are providing all the required security settings to efficiently fight against snoopers, spy, social engineering and hackers etc., but without being aware of them and enabling them is like getting into trouble.

For instance, to efficiently defence your facebook account security, enabling secure browsing (https) and login approvals is recommended.

Login approvals send security code and notifications to your mobile device during facebook account login and it also supports sending of alert messages to email and mobile when an unauthorized computer is logged-in to our facebook account. Also for the enhaced security of facebook users, recently facebook security team has announced integration with the security firm Websense which works to protect people using those links on facebook that mislead them to malicious websites. And evidently facebook security team efforts are fruitful as each day it prevents at least 600000 attempts by hackers to break into user accounts.

Troubleshooting Tips for My Documents Self Closing and Not Responding Problems

2011-10-21T16:02:00.003+05:30

My Documents not responding and self closing problem occurs as explorer is crashing when it is trying to preview a corrupt video file or sometimes even a corrupt image file. Troubleshooting tip for this system error is to unregister (disable) the media preview driver first, and then delete the video file in the My Documents folder causing the problem which pays us the way to register (enable) the media preview driver file back again.

All of this can be easily done using simple commands in DOS prompt or directly tying them in Windows Run. Doing this way is the best possible solution rather than install/repair Windows from scratch again and can efficiently get rid of the corrupt video/image files which are forcing explorer to encounter error and closing the My Documents folder automatically.

Here is how to Unregister and Register Media/Image preview driver files that are implemented as DLLs in Windows operating system:

Click Start, Click Run...

Under Run window type the following regsvr32 (Microsoft Register Server) commands for registering and unregistereing shmedia.dll file and click OK.

►►Unregister media preview dll file using the following syntax:
regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll

►► Register media preview dll file using the following syntax:
regsvr32 shmedia.dll

If the problem causing file is a image file in My Documents folder, then use the following syntax:

To Unregister image preview:
regsvr32 /u shimgvw.dll

After deleting the corrupt and suspicious image files,
you can register image preview dll file again by typing the syntax:
regsvr32 shimgvw.dll

Even after following the above steps, if you still find difficulty in opening or viewing My Doucments folder then one can suspect that you've visited crap websites which may have infected your system with malicious software aka malware. In such a case, use Malwarebites Anti-Malware software and scan your PC for prevalent malicious software and help remove them if it is found necessary or quarantine atleast, protecting your PC from further infection.

Hope this helps...
Try it yourself and post in your feedback. Thanks!!

Best Firefox Addons for Math Enthusiasts

2011-10-04T12:52:00.000+05:30

If you are a Math Enthusiast and Firefox is your browser of choice, then you have got the power to customize your browser completely with several great add-ons that can give you access to everything from calculators to math encyclopedias.

Here are some of the best Firefox addons developed especially for Math lovers and geeks:

Wolfram MathWorld

Developed by Cauchy Schwarz, this is a search plugin which you can add to the list of engines available in your browser search bar and access from there the web's most extensive mathematics resource - Wolfram MathWorld straight away.

Open Mathematical Encyclopedia

Developed by Martin Marinov, Open Mathematical Encyclopedia is a great resource for school students learning math that contains all the theorems, basic problems and axioms.

FireMath

Created by Mr.Bont, FireMath is especially useful to upper-level students in math, physics and engineering. It is basically an equation editor based on MathML. The Mathematical Markup Language is used to best describe mathematical equations. Using FireMath you can easily and quickly generate mathematical, physical and engineering formulas.

avzCalculator

avzCalculator can be used as a simple calculator extension tool in Firefox. It is developed by Avhaz.

Graphing Calculator Toolbar

Graphing Calculator Toolbar is a wonderful Firefox addon developed by Jay Nick and using which you can enter up to five equations in its toolbar and see results graphed. It also allows rescaling the x and y coordinates and redefining the domain.

Converter 0.9.3

Created by Bogdan Stancescu, this Converter addon is a contextual unit converter, currency converter, timezone and temperature converter for Firefox. The Converter is a no-fancy tool and just aims to be intuitive for the average user during regular text reading.

Forex Currency Converter 1.5

Provided by FXware, this add-on is a web based service that can help you learn the current conversion for any currency in over 180 different exchange rates. With Forex Currency Converter in your browser you can convert any currency data on any webpage you visit to 180+ different currencies using up-to-date foreign exchange rates without the need to open another window or tab.

Best Firefox Addons for Science Students

2011-10-01T13:53:00.002+05:30

Science is the integral part of every students academic education which not only helps to increase their reasoning and logical thinking but also gives them the necessary knowledge, skill and ability to produce solutions to complex problems. Science is divided into 3 major categories viz. Natural sciences, Social sciences and Formal sciences that study wide range of extremely important subjects including biology, physics, chemistry, geology, sociology etc.

If you are a interested in leaning Science and Mozilla Firefox is your browser of choice then there are many wonderful addons developed just for you. Here are some of the best Firefox add-ons useful for science students:

Eccellio Science - Search Engine aims to get Google search results from quality websites related to the world of science. Powered with a cool new feature called "Faceted Classification", this search engine based add-on is a must use tool when doing science research so that you can easily find what you are looking for on the worldwideweb.

Life Science Dictionary Tool is a mouse-over dictionary that helps you to find definitions to life science terms. Besides being a powerful mouseover word dictionary, this tool can also immediately translate phrases made with multiple words giving meaning, related terms and examples.

By adding sequere.eu Science to the list of engines available in your search bar you can broaden your search for scientific research by enabling a search of scientific information, scientific articles repositories, publications, full-text articles, abstracts, music, video, patents etc. This search engine tool also helps to search by specific areas across Europe.

Medical Terms Dictionary addon for Firefox provides on-page definitions to tons of medical language terms in easy-to-understand explanations. Supported by medterms, this medical terms dictionary tool is the perfect choice for students interested in pursuing a future in the medical field. All you have to do to get the definitions, is to select the word -> right-click with your mouse & choose 'Define!'. Please note that this addon requires Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to be installed and running on your computer.

Make science easier with Labmeeting addon for Firefox as you can locate journal articles available in PDF and stay up to date on what's in the top journals. It is recommended to use this tool in combination with the Labmeeting site to easily collect and organize journal articles in various scientific disciplines.

Weather Watcher Live is a wonderful tool to learn about the weather and it's happenings as it provides you real-time weather information in your neighborhood from WeatherBug weather stations directly in your Firefox toolbar.

Play CityVille on Google+ Games

2011-09-29T13:01:00.000+05:30

CityVille comes as a new addition to the exciting list of games playable on Google's latest social product - Google+.

Developed by Zynga, CityVille currently is the most popular game played on facebook with well over 70 million monthly active users and people playing games on Google+ have been waiting for its inclusion since its lauch and now finally, this much awaited game is out as CityVille+. Join now to play CityVille+ and get on building the city of your dream along with your friends. Enjoy!

Autumn Anniversary of Modern Computing Honors Ancient History

2011-09-23T19:46:00.000+05:30

Late autumn, specifically in early December, is the anniversary time of what most people consider the birth of the modern computer. The first attributable device was invented by Konrad Zuse in 1936. His device begat the zeros and ones format called a binary system. His super-calculator enabled him to perform complex mathematical computations that had previously been, well, ruled by a slide ruler. Many of the intermediate computations found en route to the final answer were used more than once, and Zuse grew tired of tracking them. His device did that for him. But since mathematical equations were at the root of inspiration, was his actually the first mathematically-based device invented?

Reintroducing the Abacus

A simple device constructed from beads, reeds and often a wooden frame, the world as a whole was introduced to the abacus by the Chinese. Used and still used today for simple math equations, abacus experts can compute figures by moving beads up or down the rods almost faster than a modern calculator. However, the Chinese didn't invent the abacus: They just adopted it wholeheartedly around 2 BC and revised its format. Their earliest versions evolved into its current form of 13 vertical rods, bi-sectioned into differently sized areas. The upper area holds only two beads per rod. The lower portion holds five beads each. The Chinese call their abacus the Suanpan.

Early models of the abacus included a Roman version with eight vertical grooves which held varying numbers of balls in each groove. The model stylized with wax, as noted in Roman records, dates back to approximately 1 AD. But even that wasn't the earliest record of an abacus, for that was three years after the Chinese abacus was designed.

Enter: Mesopotamia

The exact origin date is unknown, but the earliest recorded use of an abacus to date was in Mesopotamia. Sumarians used an abacus-like device for the four centuries from 2700 to 2300 BC, which appeared as a tablet of successive columns, each with a value relative to their unique numbering system. Some scholars believe that the Babylonians later used an abacus symbol in their cuniform system.

From Mesopotamia, the abacus found its way into Egyptian, Greek, Persian and Indian culture. Each culture system adapted its principles to their own counting systems, but all used value-based balls or knots and manipulated them for calculations. The Koreans imported the abacus from China in roughly 2 AD, but the device didn't find its way into Japan until roughly the 1600s, and it again evolved to match local counting systems.

The Mayans are believed to use a similar system, called a nepohualtzintzin, that children were taught to use to track the sky. The approximated recreation of their design has shown extraordinary accurateness in computations.

Contemporary Status

Until as late as the 1990s, use of the abacus was taught in schools in Russia. The ancient mathematical calculators are still in wide use in Asia, Africa, Japan and elsewhere in the world.

The abacus is taught to blind people for tactile comprehension of mathematics, and the devices are often used for a lifetime. Complex computations on the device, once impossible, are now possible, compliments of construction revisions and improvements. Where the abacus was used originally for simple addition and subtraction primarily, it can now be used for computing square roots and even cubic roots.

A special abacus design, called the Binary abacus, is used to demonstrate the "on and off" positions of a computer in binary coding.

So as you use your keyboard and hear the clicking and clacking as you type, give homage to Konrad Zuse for moving us beyond the slide ruler and extra honors to the millenia of history behind the first calculating device known to Man — the abacus.

About the author: This article was contributed by Holly Miller, who writes for Coupon Croc. Looking to update all of your electronics? Save on the latest technology with an Argos discount code when you shop online.

Google Search Basic Tips and Tricks

2011-09-23T18:44:00.001+05:30

A Search Engine is an program designed to search for information on the World Wide Web that lets users to specify search words or queries and then it retrieves documents or pages on the web that matches to the words entered. The search results are usually presented in a list with the most appropriate result coming on the top. And over a time these search engines build a database of searchable terms that can be matched to websites.

Among all the Search Engines on the web, Google is by far the most popular and powerful search engine which has the ability to accept pre-defined commands as input and with its many special features it helps users find exactly what they're looking for. Using Google, you can search the world's information which includes webpages, documents, images, music, videos and more. Below discussed are some of the Google search basics you should know that can help you start off on the right track.

Simple is good when it comes to searching on Google and a search query need not necessarily be phrased as a question since stop words such as "what", "a", "is", "the", "for" etc., would be ignored by Google search. Also generally punctuations and other special characters including @#$%^&*()=+[]\ are ignored by Google search. All you have type in the search box is the specific keyword making sure your spelling is correct and Google will provide you with results that are most relevant to your search.

Boolean Query Usage in Google Search

Although generally the search queries are case insensitive, there are some exceptions as part of which you can use OR, AND operators (note that you have to type them in ALL CAPS).

For example, when you type a search query of the form,

x AND y it will show results of pages containing both x and y
x OR y will give you results containing either one of x, y

Google search can be used in tracking information of a package or item. Just put in the UPC code or barcode in double quotes and hit enter to get the information about that item. Also using "double quotes" around words comes very handy when searching for a particular phrase. When you put double quotes around a set of words in Google search, it will search pages matching for that exact words in that exact order you have typed.

Google Currency Converter and Calculator

Google search is a powerful currency converter, unit converter and calculator. For example, typing
1 dollar in Indian money (or)
10 usd in inr (or)
1 meter in centimeter or any other calculation you'd like to be done into the search box will give you the exact answer.

Search Weather and Time

Using Google search you can check the weather and time for many cities around the world. All you have to do is to type in "time" (or "weather") followed by the name of the city.
For example,
typing weather kakinada in Google search will show the weather for Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India (my hometown) along with the status of wind and humidity in the region.

Google Dictionary Feature

Google search is my first choice when it comes to finding a definition for a word or phrase. Type define(space)the word or phrase to be defined to get definition of that word or phrase as given in different websites. Alternatively, to get the direct definition I'll just type "define:" (without quotes) followed by the word or phrase.

Importance of '+' and '-' in Google Search

When you attach a + immediately before a word, it searches for that specific word or item. Generally if you type the Google in the search box, it ignores 'the' as it is a stop word and searches only for the object word i.e., Google. So, if you want to search for web pages containing 'the Google', you have to type +the Google

Likewise, attaching a - immediately before a word works quite opposite to +. It says Google to exclude those terms from the search results. For example, typing -the Hindu in Google search gives results of web pages and documents not containing word 'the' before Hindu.

Embed Image Technology for Image Owners

2011-09-18T18:47:00.000+05:30

With the increasing number of splogs and fake blogs that usually take away original images and republish it on their own website, it's getting difficult these days for Image Owners to benefit from their work. Like it or not this image piracy problem is a huge issue most blogs and websites are forced to deal with.

In general, as there are two solutions to any problem, one being straight forward primitive one which everybody can do and the second being the sophisticated knowledgeable one which requires a method of know how, this image piracy problem can also be solved either in the primitive or the sophisticated way.

The primitive solution to this problem is well known, which is nothing but disabling the right-click using JavaScript. Other widely used solution for this image copying problem which is also more or less a primitive one, is watermarking images by embedding information such as the original website URL. While the above methods may seem to serve the purpose, they aren't sophisticated and in any way useful to the image owner to get fully benefited. Contrary to the above primitive methods, the sophisticated knowledgeable solution that can help Image Owners is the new Embed Image Technology.

Released as a latest addition to the Embed Anything family, Embed Image Technology is all you need to fight Image piracy efficiently. Rather than making the images unavailable for reuse which doesn't do much good in terms of driving traffic back to you, this new Embed Image Technology will actually make all your images automatically embeddable with a link back to your website contained within each embed.

This is the best alternative you can provide to your readers preventing them from copying images without permission. It's clean, simple, and will bring a ton of SEO and additional traffic to your website. Other beneficial features of Embed Image Technology include:

Embedded images are clickable that will point back to the page where the original image was published on.

Overlay ad space provided on every embedded image where you can display your ad network of choice, or display your own promotion such as Twitter or Facebook Page.

Embedded Image

Ability to see which websites are embedding your images.

One click turn-off of unwanted image embeds on inappropriate websites.

Using Embed Image on your website or blog is as easy as it gets. All you have to do after creating an account is just drop a single line of code that contains your unique Publisher ID into your website's template, or install Embed Image WP Plugin if you have a WordPress blog. And That's it! From that point on all your images show a embed button upon mousing over them which when clicked by users gives a embed code to paste into their website HTML.

Try it yourself and post in your valuable comments.
No Spam Image Credit: buggolo

9 Interesting WordPress Plugins of 2010

2011-09-18T16:43:00.002+05:30

WordPress launches new plugins each day adding to their vast collection that intends to provide effectiveness and flexibility in user operations.

The following are the some of the newly added interesting plug-ins available for WordPress blogs amongst masses.

New Simple Gallery is the recent entry in Gopi's WordPress Plug-ins which is a useful plug-in for image lovers that automatically displays slideshows of user galleries.

The slideshow can be paused and resumed. Various fading effects can be applied to the images in the slideshows. When mouse is rolled over the Gallery a navigation control pops-up. The images can be set either in automatic or manual slideshow, images can be hyperlinked and associated description can be laid with the image.

123 Flash Chat WordPress Plug-in, is a very powerful tool which enables the users to create their own chat room in WordPress. The plug-in also allows the users to insert a chat-room to the sidebar making it quite flexible and easy to use.

The 123 Flash Chat WordPress Plug-in is quite easy to configure and with the user's desired user-name a own chat room can be created in no time and it is safely hosted by 123flashchat.com

LinkXL, developed by LinkXL.com, this plugin enables Wordpress bloggers to automatically monetize WordPress blog. In just a few steps bloggers can sell text link advertising within existing content on a page.

For each website you add, you can set the maximum number of keywords allowed for sale on each web-page, set your own prices and also choose automatic or publisher approval. Besides bloggers, this plugin can be quite effective for large corporations and top sites that are looking to provide relevant ads to their clients and make money online.

WP-GeoMap, a recently launched plug-in by Iain Cambridge displays the location of the author who is posting. The location of the author is shown on Google Maps. With the help of php extension, maxmind's city web service and web service on api.codeninja.me.uk, the author's geo position can be displayed.

Enable Media Replace is yet another popular and recently updated plug-in by Mans Jonasson which allows the users to easily replace any uploaded media file by uploading a new one. All you have to do is to first locate the uploaded file you want to replace and click the "Edit -> Upload a new file" link and follow the on screen instructions.

This helps to save time and energy from deleting of previous file, renaming and re-uploading the new file. Thus using this real timesaver plugin, you can replace the old file with the new one in no time! No fuss, no muss.

Disqus Comment System is a service and powerful tool used for comments and discussions. Disqus makes commenting more flexible, easier and interactive while connecting websites and commenters across ongoing discussions. The Disqus impeccably integrates with Disqus API and syncing with WordPress comments.

This plug-in can increase the exposure and readership as it makes comments indexable by search engines, provides Subscribe and RSS options, and also the has the provision of importing existing comments and backup of existing comments. Other useful features of this plugin includes:

Threaded commenting and reply option
Full spam filtering, blacklists and whitelists
Disqus community widgets support and much more!

HTML Javascript Adder, is an amazing and recently updated plug-in that allows the users to easily add HTML, JavaScript, Flash embed codes to sidebar of their blogs or sites irrespective of the number of widgets.

With this plug-in the user need not edit any part of code or file for adding new widgets. The users also can have access to various features and settings for each widget they use.

WP Super Cache is used for generation of static html files from the users WordPress blog. Once the generation of the file is taken place, the web server of the user will serve that file rather than processing of WordPress PHP scripts. The static files are used to serve the users who are not logged in, who have not commented or who have not viewed posts having password protection. Static files are quite useful as over 99% of people visiting site fall under the above category and the processing of WP PHP is expensive and heavy for processing.

Easy Favicon is an amazing plug-in developed by Loane that allows the users to add eye-catching and easily recognizable favicon which helps to better brand their blogs.

Users can add private images, logos, gravatar or can choose from several sets of included favicons.

How to Boost the Speed of Broadband Internet Connection in Windows

2011-09-12T15:22:00.000+05:30

Broadband having a high rate of data transmission is the high-speed access to the internet used by most net users worldwide. And the broadband internet technologies which are being used in most areas are DSL and cable modems. When using these Cable Modems or DSL Routers in combination with Windows operating system, you can fine tune the Tcpip registry entries to optimize and boost the speed of Broadband Internet Connection.

Note: Take great care while editing the registry because if you do it incorrectly, there are chances that can even render your computer unbootable.

Just follow the step-by-step instructions posted below carefully to successfully edit your registry and thus boost the speed of broadband internet connection. (caution - this is not for the faint of heart!)

1. To open Registry Editor, click Start -> click Run -> type regedit or regedt32 and click OK.

2. From the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the registry key

3. Now in the right pane, find the following DWORD values and edit their value data as shown below. If any DWORD value doesn't exist, then you'll need to create it by clicking on 'Edit -> New -> DWORD Value' and set the values.

DefaultTTL = "80" hex (or 128 decimal)
The default value for this is 32 or 64. Change it to 80 in hexadecimal mode.
DefaultTTL DWORD value specifies the default time to live (TTL) for TCP/IP packets.
GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize = "5ae4c" hex (or 372300 decimal)
The default value data for this entry is 32767 decimal or less. Increase the value to 93440, 186880, or 372300. This DWORD value specifies the system maximum receive window size advertised by the TCP/IP stack.
TcpMaxDupAcks = "2"
Set the value of this entry to 2 in hexadecimal mode. This entry is used only when the receiver supports the fast retransmit feature and it generally specifies how many duplicate ACKs for the same sequence number constitute a signal to retransmit a segment.
SackOpts = "1"
The default value for this entry is 0, now set it to 1 in hex to enables support for selective acknowledgements as documented by RFC 2018.
Tcp1323Opts = "1"
This entry controls RFC 1323 time stamps and window scaling options. The default value is "3" which enable both the options. Set it to "1" in hex mode to enable windows scaling only.
TcpWindowSize = "5ae4c" hex (or 372300 decimal)
TcpWindowSize specifies the receive window size advertised by the TCP/IP stack. The default value is "7FFF" hex. As most of you use secure network behind a firewall, you can increasing this value to 93440, 186880, or 372300 decimal.

4. Exit Registry Editor and restart Windows for the changes to take effect.

Hope this helps...
Try it yourself and post in your valuable comments.
Broadband Image Credit - Gavin St. Ours