Dummy Essentials

How To Activate And Enable Facebook Timeline Profile Right Now [Guide]

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:32:00 +0000

Today Facebook at F8 developers conference unveiled new features of Facebook that will totally transformed the Facebook. One of the key feature that were discussed at F8 was Timeline. Timeline will totally change the layout of your profile. It won’t be available for a few more weeks, only developers can access the new Timeline profile. We have just posted a detailed guide on how to get Facebook Timeline Feature in just simple steps. Facebook Timeline is only available for open graph developers and if you are not so you can become easily an open graph developer and can get the Facebook Timeline profile. Important note: - You probably don’t want to do this unless you’re actually a developer. Expect bugs. - Only you will see your timeline at first (unless you decide otherwise), but your timeline will take over your homepage after a few days. My timeline was automatically hard-set to go public on September 29th. - It seems that if you login into Facebook on another machine, Timeline gets disabled automatically on all of your machines. With that said, it seems you can get back to your timeline (but ONLY after following the steps below) by navigating to http://www.facebook.com/YOURUSERNAMEHERE?sk=timeline - You’ll need to have a “verified” account for one of the steps, which means you need a credit card or phone number attached to the account. Here’s how to Activate And Enable Facebook Timeline Right Now: - Log into Facebook - Enable developer mode, if you haven’t already. To do this, type “developer” into the search box, click the first result (it should be an app made by Facebook with a few hundred thousand users), and add the app. - Jump into the developer app (if Facebook doesn’t put you there automatically, it should be in your left-hand tool bar) - Create a new app (don’t worry — you wont actually be submitting this for anyone else to see/use). Give your shiny new app any display name and namespace you see fit. Read through and agree to the Platform Privacy agreement. This is the step you need to be verified for. - Ensure you’re in your new app’s main settings screen. You should see your app’s name near the top of the page - Look for the “Open Graph” header, and click the “Get Started using open graph” link. - Create a test action for your app, like “read” a “book”, or “eat” a “sandwich” - This should drop you into an action type configuration page. Change a few of the default settings (I changed the past tense of “read” to “redd” — again, only you can see this unless you try and submit your application to the public directory), and click through all three pages of settings - Wait 2-3 minutes - Go back to your Facebook homescreen. An invite to try Timeline should be waiting at the top of the page Now visit your profile page and Facebook will give you the option to switch to Timeline view

How to select all friends on Facebook for invite

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:05:00 +0000

In the age of Facebook all of us are involved in inviting friends for a page or guests for an event but it becomes so irritating and tedious of clicking on every friend to select. We feel that why doesn't facebook has a select all friends button in the pop up box that appears. But here at Dummy Essentials we have a solution for you.

javascript:elms=document.getElementsByName("checkableitems[]");for (i=0;i<elms.length;i++){if (elms[i].type="checkbox" )elms[i].click()};

Using this code will help you select all your friends without the hassle of checking on every box for every friend. Make sure you scroll down to the end of the pop up page so that all friends from A-Z appear on that box and then copy paste the code into the browser and press enter.

MS Excel: Change Sum to Average or Count in Pivot

noreply@blogger.com (Rashtra Bhakt) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 04:19:00 +0000

Pivot Tables is a very good tool in excel which helps to easily analyze and consolidate entire data into a reporting format or in a structural way. While creating a pivot table the fields that you drag into the Values section are by default either sum or count. Now in case we have around 50 fields to be dragged into the values section which in turn will come as different columns. Now in case we want to change the data columns from Sum to Count or from Sum to Average then we would need to do it manually as shown below for all the fields one by one.

Now doing this can be a very tedious task and also very time consuming. Instead we are providing you with a add-in which can help you to do all of this with just one click. Below is how to do it. Also this addin comes with a lot of many other options such as Count all, Max All, Product All. All of it you can use at your convenience. You can download this add-in from here Now take a leap in speeding up your working with pivots in excel.

What is Google GMMXLE ?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 11:36:00 +0000

Wondering what MMXL on Google Homepage is? This came up on 1-1-11. This is Google's way of wishing us a Happy New Year and their claim to be the best in 2011. Wonder how? Here is the explanation. Roman format M - 1000 X - 10 I - 1 and if you look at the logo carefully you could see the message is GMMXIe and not GMMXLe , so the fifth character is I and not L. So MMXI indicates 1000+1000+10+1 i.e 2011. MMXI - 2011 Well, Google might have thought in a different way also, enclosing 2011 in G and e, they symbolically indicates they are going to rule the internet in 2011.

Rotate Video using VLC Player

noreply@blogger.com (Rashtra Bhakt) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:36:00 +0000

Most of you would have faced this problem of viewing the videos when they are vertically shot. Now assuming, you have no clue on how to view or rotate that video. I atleast end up rotating my laptop to view it.

But here at Dummy Essentials we bring to you how can we rotate a video using VLC player. For instance if your video is as below:

You can easily rotate this video using VLC player as demonstrated. Click on Tools and select Effects and Filters. Alternatively you can also press Ctrl + E. A box pops up and under the Video Effects section and Basic tab as you see Transform checkbox unchecked. Click on the check box and the options below will get activated. Now select how you want to rotate your video and click close.

As soon as you press Close, the video will be rotated. Now you can enjoy your video.

Also in case your video is tilted in some randomly different manner as below. You can as well rotate that video.

In order to rotate such a kind of video. Under the Video Effects section in the Geometry tab. Click on Rotate check box and it will give you a wheel to rotate. Use the wheel to rotate and straighten your video.

And you are all done with your video ready to watch.

VPS Web Hosting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:26:00 +0000

Let’s learn what a VPS web hosting is, and how it helps us. VPS stands for Virtual Private Server. In simple terms, here one server is split into multiple virtual servers that can run on their own operating system as well as they can be rebooted individually. Out of the many VPS web hosting providers, some outweigh others for their high quality and low cost modern VPS solution. Now, before we go ahead and understand more about VPS, let us get a brief idea about the other two kinds of hosting services that are known: • A shared web hosting service • A dedicated hosting service In a shared web hosting, many websites reside on one web server, which is connected to the internet. Each site, here has its own separate partition on the server. In a dedicated web hosting, the entire server is given to one client and is not shared by anyone. Since, VPS web hosting falls between limitations of shared hosting and flexibility of dedicated hosting, it picks the best of both and bridges the gap between them. Let us highlight below, few of the advantages that stand out here. How a VPS webhosting is better than a Shared web hosting: High Customization Level: In VPS web hosting, you have the freedom to have your own IP address and a choice to reboot your VPS at any time. Besides that Web, Mail and Domains can be customized easily. It also provides a Server Level Customization, through which you get a better SEO and site ranking. Burstable Memory: This is a unique feature associated with VPS Web Hosting, where you are given extra memory beyond guaranteed memory. This extra bit of memory is known as burstable memory. Example if your VPS has 256 MB guaranteed memory and 1024 MB burstable memory, it means even after you have used all of guaranteed memory, you still have 768 MB burstable memory available, if there is enough free memory on host server. This feature is excellent for unexpected traffic spikes such as in Digg or Stumble. Scalability: VPS hosting is scalable. Whether you need a small allocation to run a email server or large one to support heavy traffic and database applications, you will find one of the VPS plans suitable for your needs. The Kind of Sites that would benefit from a Virtual Private Server Web hosting: Any e-commerce site with large and multiple database and high traffic would benefit the most along with other growing sites, that would like to enjoy the benefits of a dedicated server without having the need to bear the expenses of one. This is a perfect middle ground between a shared hosting and a dedicated server. VPS web hosting is an ideal solution to all who are serious about establishing a strong place in the web world. If you feel you cannot compromise on the SEO and other benefits, going in for a VPS web hosting is the best option for you.

Another Award For Dummy Essentials!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:06:00 +0000

Hello there, We have created a list of the best looking blogs throughout the web, something which your site has been noted for its striking and thoughtful design, along with the hard work you put into your site. http://www.warlockmedia.com/awards-one.html We appreciate how much work and dedication it takes into keeping up a blog which others find interesting, so we would like to personally congratulate you. Kindest Regards, Claire

This mail that we received a short while ago, took us completely by surprise, for being listed as one of the top 10 best looking blogs of 2010. It is indeed a sweet gesture by the team of Warlock Media, to have considered our blog worthy of this prestigious award. We are honored to be listed one among the top ten blogs there. More can be read on visiting the website page, The Warlock Media Awards by clicking on the image below. A screenshot of what is mentioned for Dummy Essentials is shown below. We would like to thank all for encouraging Dummy Essentials to reach for the best. Thank you, Claire.

Make Phone Calls via Computer Using Bluetooth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:00:00 +0000

Microsoft has come up with a wonderful feature in Windows 7. It allows you to make calls from your computer via your mobile using Bluetooth. Just to clarify this won’t help you to save bucks. It’s just that it will help you not to hold the phone and also keeps you away from the radiation as well as give relaxation to your hands Here is how you can use your PC to make calls: In the first place you need to add your mobile as a device on your computer. For this, click on "Start" menu and point to "Devices and Printers". Once you open the “Devices & Printers” add a device (mobile) to your computer as shown below: Once you click on "Add a Device" a window will pop up. Find your device and add it to your computer. Prior to that make sure that Bluetooth for both the devices is switched on. Once you add your device (mobile) to your computer it will show up under the devices section. As you see above the mobile is now added to the list. Now double click on the mobile icon and a window will pop up as shown. Put the number in the space provided you want to call and click on call as shown below. Now the call will be performed through your computer's Bluetooth while connecting it to your mobile's Bluetooth. So its basically the mobile making the call but you hear it on your computer. When you want to disconnect the call just click on Hangup. Enjoy the free style calling.

The Adobe flash plugin has crashed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:44:00 +0000

If you get this error message that "The Adobe flash plugin has crashed" and your Firefox browser crashes and shuts down, the problem is relatively new, and is being encountered by a lot of people using Firefox. At the initial phase we have figured out a piece of solution to give some relief.

Also this is what Adobe has to say about this issue "Our application, which has run fine for the last year on all browsers and flash combination, suddenly crash any time we try to load it. It was build using Flex 3 and hasn't generally had stability problems" Adding to this they have said "Flash 10.1 is the one which is facing this issue but is working fine with MAC and IE7"

Let's go ahead and try to resolve this issue.

We need to make a few changes in the configuration. This is how:

In the Firefox address bar, type about:config and press Enter.

You would probably get a certificate stating: This might void your warranty! You can ignore that message this time and click on the button: I'll be careful, I promise!

The following page would open up: Now, In the "Filter" box, type: dom.ipc.plugins.timeoutSecs Double click "dom.ipc.plugins.timeoutSecs", under the "Preference Name" and in the "Enter Integer Value" pop up window, set the value as: -1 and Click on "OK" This would disable hang protection of firefox browser.

Happy 1st Birthday, Dummy Essentials!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:25:00 +0000

Today, it's been a full year since Dummy Essentials team [Pooja and Ankit] first got on stage and on this date, a year ago, Dummy Essentials entered into the world of Blogosphere! This year has certainly been a fascinating ride. For the past year, we've had the pleasure and the challenge of bringing forth tutorials related to your PC in a completely new light. It has been a pleasure to place them in the 'dummy style', in an easy to understand manner, fit enough for novice and geeks alike and to solve PC related problems of all our readers, to the best of our ability.

Our Achievements in the last 1 year range from publishing 172 Posts covering a wide variety of topics to help you learn and cope with your PC better. Added to which we received hundreds of comments and emails from our readers to make our blog a more interactive one. This made our list of loyal followers and readers grow to 400 + each and we received close to 60,000 visits from all these countries.

Dummy Essentials won the Prestigious "Blogger's Choice Awards 2009" for 2 of its categories: The Best Geek Blog 2009 and The Best Blog Design 2009, besides being the First Runner-Up for the other 2 categories in the list: Best Blog About Stuff and Best Education Blog. We also won the About Web Search 2010 Reader's Choice Awards for the Best Blog of 2010 as an all rounder. Dummy Essentials featured in one of the leading online business publications of Romania, DailyBusiness.ro, for being one of the most popular blogs across. Dummy Essentials has a Google Page Rank of 4, at present. We hope to take it further up, in the coming months. We’d like to thank all the followers and readers of Dummy Essentials who have made this blog the success that it is today. We’d like to invite you back for another amazing year of learning computers, just the way you want to. And if you have not done so already, please subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed. We hope you’ll celebrate with us by taking a look back through the archives. Please use the comments section below to share links to your favorite posts and suggest future topics.

Using Large Function In MS Excel 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:30:00 +0000

Many of us would have faced this problem of sorting out the top 5 or top 10 or top x numbers from an array. One way to do is to sort it in a descending order. But this will involve additional work of putting those top numbers in a different place. Moreover this will alter the way the data is put up because the data will lose its actual position in the array.

For this we use the LARGE function in excel to select the top numbers in the array. Let us consider the data below for Daily Cash in order to bring out the Top 7 daily cash. Now in order to bring out the Top 7 daily cash let us write down numbers from 1 to 7 vertically. This will be helpful using the LARGE function. As you see above we have written down numbers from 1 to 7. Now let us use the LARGE function as shown below. The LARGE function is written as =Large(array,k). That means array is the range from which one needs to bring out the top numbers. Here is how we use and select the array. Once the array is selected we will put a comma and select the number next to our formula. This will suffice the ‘k’ part of the formula which means if I select 1 it will give me the 1st highest number, when I select 2 it will give me the second highest number and so on. Also make sure that one does the array an Absolute Cell Referencing. Once this is done. Press enter you will get the fist largest number. Now because we have done the Absolute Cell referencing for the array. Just copy paste the formula upto number 7 and you will get the Top 7 largest Daily cash. As you see above we have got Top 7 Largest Daily Cash.

Average In MS Excel 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 07:46:00 +0000

Let us learn how to calculate an average of any data. For this consider the table below:

As we see above we have data for 5 batsmen playing cricket along with the scores in every match. So the consolidated score for 3 matches is available. Now in order to calculate what is the average score for each batsman is, here is how we go about calculating: Put the =average formula and select the range of which you need to take an average. Now press enter and we arrive at the average score for the first batsman as below: As we can see above the average score of 1st Batsman is 50.3 runs. Now in order to calculate for the remaining, just copy & paste the same formula. Here you go. Now we have arrived at the average of the entire list of batsmen. We illustrated above how to calculate row wise, we can do the same column wise too (refer below): And then you can copy and paste the same formula in rest of the columns. Now you can easily calculate the average of any given data.

Make Your Laptop Last Longer Without Recharging

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Just a few quick tips on how to make your laptop last longer, without recharging! 1. Dim your laptop screen to minimum. 2. Avoid running too many background applications. 3. Stop using external devices if possible. 4. Hibernate instead of using the standby feature, when the laptop is idle. 5. Use the laptop in a cool environment. 6. Try not to use CD/DVD's when you want to preserve the battery for a longer usage. If you are shopping for a new laptop, try and get as much RAM as you can afford to. Avoid using virtual memory. Get solid-state drives which consume less power than regular hard disks.

Summation In MS Excel 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Dear Readers,
Taking into consideration, all the mails that we have been receiving from you, we will be coming up with short and easy tutorials on Microsoft Excel 2007 functions for naïve users. Watch out for our new series.

Let's start by the easiest and most used function: Summation! A simple excel function which most of us use and at the same time this has been a challenge faced by a lot of users who are new to Excel and its features. Let's understand, how you can perform summation of a particular data. Consider the data shown below, as an example.

Now if you want to find out the total amount that is to be paid, you would need to perform the "sum" function. The formula is simple and goes like this (as shown below):

=sum(range)

Once the range is selected, then press "enter" on your keyboard and you will get the desired output or the total cost to be paid.

That is all to the SUM function. Shoortcut: The shortcut for the sum function is "Alt + = " (without the quotes). Hitting these keys, will activate the SUM function and select the range, automatically.

Award For The "Best Blog - 2010" Goes To Dummy Essentials! Another One In The Row..!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:20:00 +0000

Well, this has taken us completely by surprise, because we weren't even aware of Dummy Essentials getting nominated for the "Best Blog" (overall) category for the "About Web Search 2010 Reader's Choice Category" (ref: HERE) and here we were informed sometime back by one of our readers, that we have been chosen as winners by the About Web Search for being the Best Blog for 2010. It honestly sounds too good to be true.. 2 awards in a row, followed by the excitement of winning 2 categories in the recent Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 for the Best Geek Blog and the Best Blog Design, just around a month back (ref: HERE) We would like to thank all our readers and for appreciating the work we do, because without you all, our blog couldn't have been a success. Here's the screenshot of the Award presented (on your left, you would need to click on the image to enlarge it) and if you would like to visit the link, you would need to CLICK HERE. We would say, its just the beginning and there is still a lot to come, with our promise to deliver the best to our readers. Thank you all! To see more of Awards that have been conferred on Dummy Essentials, you can visit the "Awards" page, HERE.

Dummy Essentials Scoops Another Award!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:17:00 +0000

The About.com Reader's Choice Awards 2010- Best of Google (ref: HERE) were announced yesterday and Dummy Essentials scooped another award for the top position, after the winning the Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 (ref: HERE) around a month back.

After the nomination followed by a whole month's assessment and voting by the readers of one of the biggest tech networks on the Web - About.com, Dummy Essentials won the award for excellence in the blogging world, once again. We would personally like to thank all the readers of About.com who found our blog interesting and helpful and in turn voted for us. Dummy Essentials was one of the five blogger blogs, selected for the 2010 Reader's Choice Awards. The read the details, kindly click the image below, else you can visit the website HERE. Following were the Poll Results: We are glad that we grabbed the honor again and the appreciation for our past efforts will encourage us to meet more challenges in the future. Thank you all! To see more of Awards that have been conferred on Dummy Essentials, you can visit the "Awards" page, HERE.

End Program Automatically At Shutdown

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:26:00 +0000

Does your PC take a long time to shutdown, when you actually want it to, within seconds? Here's a simple way to fasten the shutdown process, where all your active processes automatically end, with the click of 'Shutdown PC'. Let's begin by clicking on the "Start" menu on the taskbar. Followed which, click on "Run". In the "Run" window, type: regedit and click on "OK" Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT USER\Control Panel\Desktop On the right side of the window, locate the key titled "AutoEndTasks" and double click on it and in the "Edit String" pop-up window, change the value data to "1" and click on "OK" That's it and you are done! Close the registry editor, never to wait again for your PC to shutdown.

Apple iPad: A Super Sized iPhone?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:55:00 +0000

Apple Computer has just launched its touchscreen tablet computer that further obscures the line between a smartphone and a laptop. "More intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone", the iPad is intended to serve as an instant-on Internet device which can used for browsing and e-mail, an e-book reader, audio-video media playback, as well as computing and gaming.

The much-anticipated tablet offers a 9.7-inch, capacitive multitouch, LED-backlit glass display with a 178 degree viewing angle. Interaction, input and navigation is exactly the same as that on the iPhone or the Touch -through intuitive finger taps, swipes, pinches and stretches. There is no physical keyboard. Apart from 12 next-generation multitouch native applications, it has the ability to run most of the 1,40,000 apps available on the Apple App Store currently. Then there is a new iBooks app to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device and a new multitouch version of iWork (Apple's office suite). Like with the iPhone and Touch, the 0.5 inches thick, 1.5 pounds iPad employs iTunes to sync contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications etc. to a PC or Mac. All apps and content you download from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library. The iPad can be hooked to a new iPad Keyboard Dock if you want to use a full-size traditional (hardware) keyboard. The iPad will be launched in two versions: one with WiFi and the other with WiFi as well as 3G. The 3G version will be able to notch up speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. The iPad, powered by Apple's A4 claims to offer a battery life of up to 10 hours which is built for a 1,000 charge cycles lifespan without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan. The WiFi only iPad will be available in March 2010 worldwide. 3G models will be available April onwards. The iPad can't multi-task, offers no Flash support, wireless syncing, handwriting recognition, and has no webcam winking at you. Yet two factors give it a definite edge: a humongous library of existing apps and very good value for money if you are on the lookout for a netbook or an ebook reader... because it is both and more...

Facebook Privacy Tips!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:08:00 +0000

If Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckeberg has shielded his friend's list, events calendar and photos etc. to his immediate circle, shouldn't you?

The Internet is not a place where privacy is respected. When it comes to social network sites where you and your associates are constantly volunteering personal information and images, you need to be extra cautious. The implications could be far reaching and at times disastrous, to both your work and personal life. So log into your Facebook (FB) account right now. Go to Settings and then Privacy and examine each subsection: Profile Information, Contact Information, and Search etc. You will be able to control who can see your profile, post to your wall, contact you, what information is available to Facebook-enhanced applications and websites and who can see your FB search results etc. Avoid the "Everyone" setting everywhere. Don't accept Facebook's recommended settings. Unless you want your life to be an open book, of course. If you leave it at that, everything you post -- status, image, or link, will be visible to not just everyone of Facebook's 350 million users but also search engines like Google. By and large, and if in doubt, stick to "friends only". Don't add-on FB applications with careless impunity. Once you allow an application in, it has access to your account/profile and this can always be misused by that company. Which is why it is also vital that you don't skip the much ignored Applications and Websites section of Privacy Settings. Go to Settings > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites, then "What your friends can share about you - Edit Settings:" You can't hide the photos other people put up of you or tag, but you can restrict the audience to Only Friends. Go to Settings > Privacy Settings > Profile Information and tweak "Photos and Videos of me." If you don't want your phone number to be passed around among little people, please don't put it up on Facebook. The people within your immediate circle who matter will have it anyway. And the ones who need it, can send message you for it. If career is important to you avoid flaming your boss or work place on FB. You never know, something harmless today could well result in a lost job opportunity tomorrow. So, do this today. It won't take you more the 10-15 minutes but it could save you lifetime of heartache. If you are really in a soup, you can resort to a programme called Web 2.0 Suicide Machine (www.suicidemachine.org) to eradicate your entire existence from Facebook -- or even Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. But that's the last resort.

Dummy Essentials Features In Top Online Business Magazine DailyBusiness.ro

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:07:00 +0000

It is an honor for Dummy Essentials to get featured in a Romanian online magazine, DailyBusiness .ro one of the leading online business publications of Romania. Dummy Essentials was interviewed a few days after winning the prestigious Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 for two categories. To follow up on the excerpts taken from the interview, you may click on the image below:

Here's a snapshot captured from the article published in the magazine. Only the details mentioned for Dummy Essentials are shown. To check the original article, mentioning the other 3 sites and details about them, kindly visit HERE. (click on the image to read the original size) For those of you, who would be more comfortable reading the same in English, here's the translation: (The original Romanian text has been translated word by word. We have only translated the text related to Dummy Essentials): How to get to the real success and online: Las advice for Romania, from Big 4 international sites. How many local online entrepreneurs would not want to reach 2 million unique visitors per day, to win international awards, fame, money and default? DailyBusiness.ro discussed with representatives of large international projects to see where it comes from their success, which guides the strategic thinking and what advice i have for online site in Romania. We selected four projects that have blogs and international flavor that won awards and, over time, developed into real businesses online, surpassing the status of simple project or personal page. In short: - Dummy-Essentials.blogspot.com offers tutorials written in plain language to help users solve their technology dilemmas. The blog has been chosen as "Best Geek Blog" and "Best Blog Design" in 2009, following the votes received in a competition online. - If I write only tips `n` tricks, visitors would come, would read, would leave the next day. We offer concrete solutions, easy to enforce - founder - We should not promise "the salt sea" and then not get up to expectations. Even if the traffic will increase on time, it won't help in the long-term - We do not do reviews unless we really believe that the products are good, doing otherwise we would lose our readers. - You have to stay 'on topic' in a blog. If you get to write about anything you find interesting, that would just induce confusion among readers. Indian IT blog wants to conquer the world. In May 2009, two passionate about technology in India, one of the countries' twinned with Romania "the evolution of the Internet, have proposed to launch a blog to help people" of all "to resolve their everyday problems that related to personal computers. Thus, Dummy-Essentials.blogspot.com offers tutorials written in plain language to help users solve their technology dilemmas. Articles cover solutions on Microsoft Windows, Linux or MS Office 2007. The blog has been chosen as "Best Geek Blog" and "Best Blog Design" in 2009, following the votes received in a competition online. "Blogging, though, more than a financial source, is a hobby for us. In everyday life I work in software development and Ankit Srivastava is a financial analyst," says the DailyBusiness.ro Pooja Singh, one the co-founders blog. They consider that part of the beginning of the blog's good is because people can easily put into practice what they explain in the post. "If I write only tips` n `tricks, visitors would come, would read, and would leave the next day. If we place practical solutions, easy to implement, they are back and to read and follow" Says Pooja Singh, who they say have already begun to receive many emails and messages from readers who ask things. The blog has been noted by several institutions and educational sites in the world, among them Detentionslip.org largest U.S. educational blog. "Many other sites have put a link to us, helping us so clearly. 17% of traffic comes from Europe. "There's only one big 'secret' in blogging. To be interactive, to communicate with your readers. We should not promise" the salt sea "that then do not get up to expectations. Even if traffic will increase on time, not long-term help, "said the turn and Ankit Srivastava. The main sources of income for Dummy Essentials are advertising and paid reviews or promotion of new software products. "We do not do reviews unless we really believe that the products are good, otherwise we would lose our readers. As in Romania, Internet penetration in India grow stronger from year to year. Since 2000, the increase was 1500%. Currently, Internet penetration in India is 7% of the population, meaning about 88 million people. "It is an appropriate time for the start of online projects in India," say the two. Three tips `n` tricks on IT blogs Before writing any site-ul/blogul on IT, it is imperative that the owners themselves test the software or hardware. If limited to compile reviews as many other sites, might be tempting, but would lack the originality. "Only if you're writing from your own observations and you get something new , should you", say the two. Second, the bloggers should not blog everything they find interesting at the moment of its creators. "You have to stay 'on topic' blog. If you get to write about anything you find interesting you would induce confusion among readers. Third, it matters very much to succeed as effectively nisezi field of activity. "If you want a blog just about IT tips for the uninitiated, stay at that level all the time, otherwise your audience dissipate. When you choose what niche you want to approach, you must be 100% sure you like what you write, otherwise you will remain in short time without issues. As suggestion for start-ups like, Pooja Singh and Ankit Srivastava say "must start from below and slowly. Rome was not built in a day. Do not run to promote your blog anywhere, but choose sites where people really are interested in the topics addressed by you. In our case, the technology forums. Twitter is very fashionable these days, but one must be careful what messages you send. If you twit dozens daily, it would tire people reading those and in turn you would be ignored. Send only what is truly relevant to them. It goes for Facebook and other social networks too. The above are the excerpts from an interview with Dummy Essentials team, by Alex Goaga, editor of DailyBusiness.ro, The interview took place on 1st February, 2010 and was published in the magazine on 13th February 2010.

Reason Why Only One Anti-Virus Program Should Be Used On a PC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 07:38:00 +0000

An anti-virus program is a very advanced piece of software specifically crafted to detect advanced, sneaky, irritating viruses which are designed to hide deep inside the operating system. Anti-virus tools themselves are sometimes designed to be sneaky to help find these viruses. Due to this fact, the presence of two anti-virus tools, could lead to confusion, false detections and chew up significantly more CPU resources and therefore may slow down system performance, than if it were running by itself. Most anti-virus tools also have a database with virus "signatures" in it. Some anti-virus tools may think that this is actually an infected file and may force the user to do things which could later destabilize the system. Thus its advisable to stick to just one anti-virus program for your PC to respond to it better.

7 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 10:23:00 +0000

While the contemplation is still on whether it's a major re-work (as Microsoft wants us to believe) or an incremental "Vista service pack" (as critics insist), the fact remains that Windows 7 is a necessary upgrade for dwellers of the Windows world. Pedigree polished by perseverance now ensures that the OS doesn't take forever to power up and shut down, notifications don't nag you every now and then, it doesn't hog up precious PC resources and it's compatible with a vast array of peripherals and programmes. Yes, some even insist on calling it Vista, done right... With its 100 new features, Windows 7 comes in four flavors, including Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Seven good reasons to upgrade Windows 7 offers

Definite and measurable performance gains over Vista and XP. While the stress is on simplification, Windows 7 also promises speed, simplification, stability, security while improvements in productivity.
It is much faster than any Windows you have known so far - faster startups, faster operations, faster resumes (from sleep mode), and faster shutdowns.
Win7 betters battery life on laptops - almost a 15 to 25 per cent gain. However, netbooks users upgrading to Win7, though experiencing other benefits, can expect decreased battery performance.
Win7 boasts features like an improved Taskbar (the strip at the bottom of the screen where you can spy all the applications that are running), larger icons for easier viewing and click-ability, the ability to preset the order of preference or reorder, the preview thumbnails of all the various applications and browser windows that are open so you can simply go directly to the one you want.
Networking your PC is much easier. Right from setting up a local area network - wired or wireless - to sharing documents and files, Win7 is much friendlier than previous versions. Media sharing across devices enables you to play audio/video right off any PC on the network without copying files to yours.
The growing use of touchscreen computing has prompted Microsoft to go for enhanced finger-usability. Larger, more responsive touch-sensitive areas in the Start menu and taskbar aside, scrolling, resizing, media playing, panning, shrinking and zooming is now far easier onscreen. Better handwriting recognition and pen input improvements assure greater accuracy and faster speeds. Added now is the ability to create personalized custom dictionaries for handwriting recognition as well as the acceptance of mathematical expressions.
If you never upgraded from XP to Vista - due to hardware compulsions or have a lack of faith in the OS, go for Win7 as it runs everything from low-end 1GB RAM netbooks and beyond. Migrating from XP to Win7 takes 15 to 20 minutes but you'll have to reinstall your applications. Upgrading from Vista doesn't require the reinstallation of apps. Here's a step-by-step guide for both XP and Vista users.

Moving onto Win7 isn't really a bad deal after all!

Sort By Color In MS Excel 2007

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:25:00 +0000

Today we will explain how you can sort out data in Microsoft Excel 2007 with the use of colors. Not only does this technique organize your sheet but it also helps in easy access to data. Let's learn how, with an example here. Consider the data of the following team members, as shown in the figure. Now let us put up colors on the names as shown below: Next, if we need some specific color that we wish to sort out, this is how we go about it. After you apply the filters on your data, Click to sort as shown here: Choose "Filter by color" and select the color you wish to sort from the list. Once, you select your color, click on “OK”. And you are done. As you see above that the data has got sorted by the color we selected (in this case, Yellow).

Enhancing Your Desktop!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:35:00 +0000

Microsoft Windows 7 is here. And around 2 months back, on November 19, 2009 to be precise, the world got its first glimpse of Chrome OS, the much anticipated, lightweight operating system for netbooks from Google. Both insist that speed, simplicity and security are the names of game. And the mantra for the morrow is: decongest, uncomplicate and unclutter. If you live with a cluttered desktop crammed with loads of icons, Fences for example, allows you to organize icons into individual sections or `containers' so that you can find what you need more easily on the desktop. Further, you can label these containers and park programmes, files, or web links etc., together. You can group items by project too if you want. This nifty free programme has a quick hide feature that fades out all desktop icons on a double-clicking as well. Want a Mac-lookalike interface? Download ObjectDock, a free programme that can replace your Windows Taskbar with a Mac OS X kind of quick-launch animated dock of shortcuts, programmes and active tasks. Not an Apple fan? Never mind. ObjectDock has several other pretty `skins' your desktop can don. The task managercum-programme launcher allows you to pick custom icons and set various animation options during mouse-over. If you find yourself spending far too much time on FaceBook, Twitter or chatting and would like to discipline yourself by curtailing your social networking, check out a programme called TimeLeft. A desktop countdown, reminder, clock, alarm clock, tray clock, stopwatch, timer, sticky note, web countdown, working days countdown and a time synchronization utility -- time-telling apps all, and all rolled into one. Each of these is customizable and can be arranged on the desktop as per individual preference. The app again is gratis and the interface is really simple and intuitive. And if you've ever wanted to meddle with the Windows logon screen itself, get yourself a free copy of LogonStudio. This one lets you create, alter and apply Windows Vista and XP logon screens. While it comes with several pre-baked options, you can use the accompanying editor to conjure up your own. Or take your pick from the thousands available online on sites like WinCustomize. Happy tweaking!

Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 Announced! Dummy Essentials Wins "Best Geek" and "Best Design" Blog!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 10:50:00 +0000

The much awaited results for Izea's Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 are finally out!

Dummy Essentials wins the prestigious award in two of the categories - "Best Geek Blog" and "Best Blog Design". Dummy Essentials also stands second in the categories "Best Blog About Stuff" and "Best Education Blog". Winning this award is a dream come true and we would like to thank each and every voter who took out time and voted for us. Thankyou so much. Without you all, it wouldn't have been possible. Dummy Essentials as a winner in the following categories: Best Geek Blog: Best Blog Design: Dummy Essentials as First Runner-up in the following categories: Best Education Blog: Best Blog About Stuff: The list of winners in all the 36 categories for Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 along with the voting details can be found here: Blogger's Choice Awards 2009 Winners! We congratulate all the winners! To see more of Awards that have been conferred on Dummy Essentials, you can visit the "Awards" page, HERE.