Now Why Scratchpad?

Why on earth will you need another note taking app when you already have excellent apps like Evernote, Springpad or even Microsoft’s own OneNote? Well I would go for the following simple yet  powerful features of Scratchpad for Chrome.

• It can sync your notes automatically to Google Drive, something missing in almost every popular note taking app present on the market today.
• Added bonus is ability to store the notes even when you are offline. A lot of note taking apps require the users to be logged in always to use it.
• Simple and very Intuitive UI with basic text formatting support, which is more than welcome and usually found missing in many apps which are littered with features so much so that it gets intimidating to use them.

Getting Around with Scratchpad

Once you install Scratchpad in Chrome, you can easily access Scratchpad by either

• Launching the Scratchpad icon in the New tab page (Apps) OR
• Accessing it from the Chrome icon present in the taskbar

In a cooler way, you can just create a shortcut of Scratchpad on your Desktop, Start Menu or Taskbar so that you can launch Scratchpad directly. To do so right click Scratchpad icon in the New tab page and select Create shortcut.

As mentioned earlier the interface is extremely simple and intuitive. I personally give extra brownie points to Scratchpad for the good UI coherence it maintains with Google Drive, which makes the whole experience with Google Drive Sync feel very natural.

Fullscreen mode is elegant, activate it by clicking on the "Send to tab" button present at the top.

The main editing interface features all the basic formatting options like Font selection, numbering, bullets, strike through, and more are all present. As soon as you finish editing your notes, they are seamlessly synced to your Google Drive account, so you can basically stop bothering about saving your notes.

The app does precisely what it advertises on the Chrome web store, and that makes Scratchpad an permanent entry in my list of best extensions developed for Chrome.

One nifty feature in scratchpad is that you can directly take notes by selecting text/image from Chrome and sending it to Scratchpad via the context menu (right click ). Of course you would be now glad to know that Scratchpad does support images. Though if you want to add images to Scratchpad you need to drag and drop the file directly to the Scratchpad window.

Scratchpad is one of the most useful extension you can get for Chrome, unlike many extensions in Chrome which end up being mere bookmarks with huge fancy icons. Anyone who wishes to be able to take notes with minimal fuss that is synced across different devices should definitely consider Scratchpad as a good solution.

Read the article on the Blog: Create And Sync Notes To Google Drive With Scratchpad [Chrome Extension]
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An interesting ‘IAmA’ discussion on Reddit had popped up by a person who proclaims himself as a malware coder and botnet operator. He explained his work as basically hacking into computers, stealing credit card & bank account details and selling them for money, huge money.

But why am I telling you about this? Because he claimed that there exists not a single AntiVirus that he cannot bypass, which is really scary!

Really?

Yeah, sort of. An Antivirus software usually uses a ‘scan & match’ technique where it scans your files and matches with its (regularly updated) database of virus dictionary. But what if a malware is freshly released for which they’ve no match in their database? Bang on! You’re infected.

But…

Although the person calls all the available Antiviruses incapable to his attacks, he did mention that Kaspersky is the toughest of them to crack in. He also advised to read Kaspersky’s blog to stay updated about new threats. Wondering why should one believe him? Because only a hacker can best guide you to stay secure from people like ‘him’.

There you go, I’ve lost faith in my current AV and I’m now planning to move on Kaspersky which has just released its latest product, Kaspersky ONE Universal Security– for protecting all your gadgets – Desktops (Win/Mac), Android phones and even tablets with a single license!

You can download and try out a 30-days trial version:

Important Tips to Stay Secure Online

The hacker also shared several tips to stay secure while using the internet, among which some are really important:

• Stop downloading pirated stuff from Warez websites and UseNet, specially 0day materials . They might be back-doored with botnets and other malwares.
• Don’t download any email attachment ending in .exe format.
• Don’t follow links on Facebook that lead to strange domains.
• Use your smartphone/tablet for shopping. There is not a single Android or iOS malware yet on the market that can steal your info.
• Keep your copy of Windows regularly updated.

Protip: Keep your Browser Secure

Plugins like flash, java etc., in malicious websites are the second most used technique to spread malware. The best way is to disable them and run only when needed:

Chrome Settings > Show advanced settings > (Privacy) Content Settings > Plug-ins

You can manually run the blocked content any time by clicking them.

Win a $400 Amazon Gift Card from Kaspersky

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$400 is huge, right? You can finally buy that gadget you’ve been keeping in your Amazon wish list for long like a smartphone or even a tablet!

If you’re like me, you’re addicted to your smartphone, tablet, maybe even your laptop. What is your best tip for keeping all of your devices protected? Comment below and you will be entered to win a $400 Amazon gift card from Kaspersky Lab.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KasperskyLab. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Read the article on the Blog: Tips from a Hacker: How to Secure a Computer from Online Malware + Win a $400 Amazon Gift Card from Kaspersky
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The Trick which most people used was to set USA as the default country and create an account, doesn’t seem to work any more. Guess, Apple has fixed the loophole now. The IP address of the user is now taken into consideration, so you may either want to us an US IP via a Proxy or perhaps use an easier method, if you aren’t particular about the country.

How do you create an Apple account with out Credit Card now?

Don’t worry, Apple seems to have made it easier to create an Account without a Credit Card, for all the countries.

If you try creating an Account directly you may not find the option “None” as the payment option, but there is a quick work around to get that option.

Open your iTunes, and go to any Free App/Game.

Now choose to download/install the App by clicking on Free App.

Now a dialog box will open asking you to Sign in or Create an account. Click on Create Apple ID

Choose to accept the terms and click on Continue/Next.

Now you will be asked to fill in the details of the Account: Email, Password, Security questions, DOB, etc. Fill in all those and continue to the next step.
Now You should be able to see the Payment Method Page. The major difference being, “None” option will be visible. India being chosen as the default country.

Choose None and you are done with Creating a new Apple ID.

I have tried it for other countries as well, haven’t faced any issues. For example, here is a screen shot showing Saudi Arabia.

Since Apple is still largely USA centric, some apps/features are US limited, so you may want to create an US Apple ID. For that you will need to use a Proxy, get an US IP then follow the same method.

Hope this solution comes as a relief to may people waiting desperately to create a free Apple ID. Do let me know if you face any issues, will be Glad to help you.

Read the article on the Blog: How To Create iTunes Apple ID without a Credit Card [Any Country]
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Meet MoneyTab, an amazingly simple app for Android to manage finances on the go. It can record all your daily financial transactions and help you keep an eye on your cash. Despite the fact that there are not less than fifty apps on the Play Store that do the same job, MoneyTab stands out of the crowd because of its minimal, intuitive and it-just-works interface.

For MoneyTab, minimal doesn’t equal to less features. It still manages to pack all powerful features that you will ever need for managing your finance.

The home screen of the app contains quick shortcuts options along with three custom slots at the bottom where you can add your favorite transaction categories. Adding a new transaction is quick and categories can be customized.

Adding a transaction is quick, tap on New Transaction, enter an amount, choose category and hit save. Recurring transactions can also be added that will get added regularly on a particular date, which is quite handy.

Next, history of previous transactions and statistics can also be accessed. Apart form these, there are a couple of preferences that can be customized like changing the currency sign, editing categories, exporting data to a CSV file which can then easily be imported into Microsoft Excel or Open Office etc.

MoneyTab can also be locked using a PIN in case you don’t want others to mess with your finances. The app will lock itself every time the phone is locked while the app is still running or when it is minimized. Extra security measure.

Missing Features

The app, I believe, was built with only keeping one aim in mind – managing finance, and not managing budgets. There’s no way one can set a budget and limit his expenditures. I wish the developer includes my suggestion in his future updates.

Cloud Sync is another much needed feature. I don’t want to lose my records when I change either of my ROM or my phone and accidentally forget to make a backup of my data into a CSV file. I want my data to always be in sync.

Lastly, there’s no password recovery option. So write down your password somewhere!

Competition

In terms of features, MoneyTab isn’t the best in class. There are apps like Mint, Lemon, mooLa! and YNAB which are more popular than MoneyTab. If you’re looking for an app for managing finance with an overload of features and fancy graphs, I’ll recommend that you check them out as well. Otherwise, MoneyTab should be the best option for you.

Overall, The app is simple, fun to use with different colors for different functions and comic bylines in the category list. The app comes with a price tag of 99 cents, but is worth every single penny.

Read the article on the Blog: Money Tab – A Simple yet Amazing Application to Manage Finance for Android
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Flipboard is a personalized social reader application and is massively popular on the iOS platform, currently available for the iPad & iPhone. The application was considered to be one of THE reasons to have an iDevice and we Android users were seriously jealous of this exclusivity. Seeing this as an opportunity, Samsung tied up with Flipboard to bring the app exclusively for some time to the Galaxy S III for the phone’s promotion.

Installation Steps

The APK has been posted on XDA by an fellow Android enthusiast. Using the above link, either download it on your computer and transfer it to your phone or directly download it from your phone and install it. Root is not required.

The application lets you browse your favorite blogs categorized by different topics. It also features some a beautiful User Interface and gestures. Apart from just reading blogs, it can also integrate with Google Reader, LinkedIn, Instagram, Flickr, Tumblr and even 500px.

Enjoy the application on your phone. However, I did not find any widget for the application on my S II. Maybe, it’s not available in the leaked app. Seems like that future Galaxy S III owners will after all have something exclusively available to them.

EDIT: For the widget to work, Flipboard app needs be installed as a system application, which requires your phone to be rooted. Using any file explorer that’s capable of accessing root directories, copy and paste the APK in the /system/app folder. Next, install it from there.

I highly recommend MIUI file explorer app (free) for this!

Creation of a New Account

For creating a new account, tap on the search icon / red ribbon on the upper left > Browse to Accounts > Flipboard Account > Create.

The app is not free of bugs yet. Unlike what other blogs are reporting, I experienced some crashes and few display bugs inside the app. But then, it’s an unofficial leak and so we have not a single reason to complain.

Goodbye Google Currents, Say Hello to Flipboard!

(via RedmondPie)

Read the article on the Blog: Flipboard Application Leaks out from Samsung Galaxy S III, Now Available for any Android Phone
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Its fairly simple to get started with it, simply head to www.drive.google.com and sign-in with your Google account. Instantly you would see a two pane interface with some files in the root “My Drive” folder. For any files that were shared with you in Google Docs, you can see them in the “Shared with me” folder.

However, does it really have the feature set that would make it a mass usage service? After spending a week using the service, here are 10 points that we loved in the service and 5 things that we hated.

THE GOOD

1. Price

25GB for a mere US$ 2.49 per month (less than INR Rs 150) makes Google Drive the best service in terms of cost per GB among its competitors. In contrast, the cheapest plan of Dropbox the current king of cloud storage, starts at $10/month for 50GB which is 50% more than Drive. This difference in the pricing further increases if you opt for higher plans.

If you are already a paid subscriber of other Google services, you automatically get 25GB storage in your Google Drive account without paying anything extra.

2. Extended support for file types

Although every cloud service allows you to save almost every type of file you want, Google Drive goes a step ahead by adding support for opening various file formats within the browser itself! The best part is that you do not even need to install the corresponding application on your computer to open the file.

For example, Google Drive supports opening of Photoshop files (.PSD), so one can view saved Photoshop files from within Google Drive even if you do not have Photoshop itself installed in your computer.

3. Intuitive User Interface

The user interface has absolutely no learning curve. Just like GMail or Google Docs, you will feel at home with the exact same two pane interface for viewing and working around with files. Even if you have never used Google Docs, the interface is very basic and takes just a few minutes to get comfortable.

4. Online Documents Editing Capabilities

Google Drive essentially replaces Google Docs. However, it is not eliminated, its just integrated with Google Drive. You can open and edit document files in the same manner as it worked on Google Docs. This online editing capability turns is very useful as it saves you from having to carry your laptop or download a document file again and again to edit.

5. Collaboration

As Drive has Docs integrated, it also allows for online collaboration work. Share the document files you want to collaborate on with other and you will be able to see changes made by others instantly. If you share any other format file with others, you can still view and add comments regarding the file and get notifications for the same.

6. Document Revision history

A little feature, but very useful for those who do a lot of online document editing. Every time you save data on any document file, Google Drive saves it as a revision, instead of overwriting the file. A user can then choose to go back upto 30 days to a revision copy of the documents if required.

7. Integration with Google Services

Seamless integration of Drive with other Google services is pretty amazing. On Google+ you can attach photos/videos already uploaded to your Drive account. You can even send a file directly as an email attachment and choose the viewing format of the file. For example, if you are sending an Excel file, you can choose to send it as a PDF if you do not want any changes to be made by the viewer.

8. Optical Character Recognition

Another interesting aspect is the integration of OCR (Optical Character Recognition) within Drive. Using OCR, Drive lets you extract text from any image with text and saves it separately. It turned out to be very useful for working with online forms that are usually un editable. From the files that we uploaded, Drive was able to extract over 80% of the text clearly – quite impressive.

9. Superior Search

With so much storage and multiple files uploaded, it becomes hard to find a specific file from the entire cluster. Drive makes it simpler by providing additional options in the search bar. Tap the drop down arrow on the right corner of the bar after entering you search term and it will give you options to filter out the results by file type, its visibility among your network and by the file’s ownership.

THE BAD

1. Lack of Support for iOS / BlackBerry / Windows Phone Devices

Google has given preference to its own Android platform and there is a Drive app from day one of its launch. However, the number of iOS/BlackBerry/Windows Phone and even Symbian devices is large and the lack of a dedicated app for these platforms is a turn off. (An iOS app is expected to arrive soon, but no fixed date has been announced)

(image credit)

2. Convert Files to Edit

As mentioned above, Drive lets you edit Google Docs files seamlessly, however if you want to edit a Microsoft office document, you will need to convert and import it first to Google Docs and only then you can edit it. We like Google Docs, but going through this process for ever document is just too tedious a process.

3. Security

The files uploaded on Google Drive are not encrypted for security and can be easily accessed using third party compatible apps. Google has its own clarification that OCR will not work on files if they are encrypted, but we will not be storing any important files on Drive for now.

4. No Support for Multiple Accounts

Currently, the desktop application supports only one Google account. Even if you use multiple Google accounts, you can only choose one account to sync with your computer using the application. Hopefully, this will be fixed soon by Google.

Conclusion

As a cloud service, Google Drive does offer a number of unique points that makes it better than the rest. However, it has its share of issues as well. We do expect Google to sort them up in the near future as most user’s would notice these and complain about them.

Will we shift completely to Google Drive?

No. It does offer a lot of things, but not everything and hence we would prefer to use it along with other existing service such as Dropbox, SkyDrive or Box.net. That said, for a first time user of cloud service, we would recommend Google Drive as the first choice owing to its simplicity, user interface and sheer value for money.

How many of you have used Drive? Do you use it in parallel to other services such as Dropbox or have completely shifted your files to it?

Read the article on the Blog: Two Weeks with Google Drive – 9 Things That We Love and 4 That We Hate
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While we had covered the awesome Mac OSX skin pack, the new Mountain Lion skin pack created by Hamed again, is the closest and the most authentic Mac OS X experience you can ever have on your Windows PC. This theme has a whole lot of eye candy features and dozens of useful utilities which let you customize your desktop to your heart’s content, to mimic the Mac OSX.

(creditsto Hamed for this skin pack.)

Stuff Inside

The theme is a complete compilation of all the utilities you will ever need, to get the closest Mac OS X experience on your Windows PC. This theme prominently contains among other numerous utilities

• Lion Window style, with Glass, and Dark alternatives
• Rocket Dock with OSX like stacks
• Switcher : For expose like effect on Windows
• VirtualWin : now you can have multiple desktops on your Windows desktop!
• XWidget : For Mac like widgets on your desktop
• Mac OSX boot  and login screen
• FinderBar : For explorer Global Menu Bar
• XLaunchpad : a Mac OS X Launchpad implementation on Windows, although I recommend WinLaunch as I found it better.
• Mac OSX Mountain Lion icons , logo and wallpaper

Installation

The installation is very straightforward, although I recommend to select the custom installation to avoid the installation of the annoying toolbar.

Also please make a note to NOT select the boot screen and login screen during installation, to insure minimal fuss.

Exploring the theme

The theme at 45 MB is pretty huge, and contains lots of tiny utilities, which I am sure you will spend a lot of time customizing. Hamed has done an excellent job in this theme pack and you can go on to the extent of recreating Expose, Spaces and Launchpad functionality of OSX in Windows.

However as a downside, you need to tinker for a fair time with these utilities to get the effects working according to your taste. Although I found the theme slightly bloated, the amount of polish, the grandeur and the amount of tweaks you can do with the bundled set of utilities more than offsets it. You can always handpick the components you want to install. The theme was checked for viruses and does not consume too much CPU or RAM as a bonus.

Expose using Switcher

Virtual Desktops using Virtualwin

Uninstallation

If you are bored with the theme for whatever reasons and want your original Windows theme back, you need to follow these steps carefully.

In the Skin Pack Menu look for Uninstall Pack.

During uninstallation, make sure you check all the items to uninstall otherwise you will be left with some jarring elements on your desktop.

You may want to check out other cool themes like the Metro Theme for Windows 7, Android ICS theme for Windows were made by the same author. Enjoy dressing your desktop

Read the article on the Blog: Download Mac OS X Mountain Lion Theme for Windows 7
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The wait is finally over and the Samsung Galaxy S III has been launched. The phone is a beast in terms of hardware specifications. Further, this time the company has put more focus on the its interface rather than just bumping hardware specs with lots of amazing new features.

However, A lot of people can be seen crying about being disappointed by the next Galaxy. I wonder what they had expected from the phone? A 10-inch screen or an Octa-core processor or a 20MP camera or the ability to turn rocks into gold?

Anyway, here are the best features about the S III which I think are truly amazing:

1. S Beam

Remember Android beam, a feature of Android ICS that uses NFC to quickly exchange files between two phones when held together? Samsung has brought the same technology for sharing files in S III, known as ‘S Beam’.

All that you’ve to do is to hold your Galaxy S III next to your friend’s phone (Galaxy S III too) and touch the screen. Sweet!

2. Wireless Charging

Rumors about this feature were flying since long and I was hoping that they turn out to be true. The Galaxy S III will be able to charge itself wirelessly out of the box for which they’ve also introduced a separate wireless charging kit.

Wireless charging is not a new thing and it was available in older phones such as Palm Pre and Touchpad, but still, it is nice to see the technology coming in newer phones. I’m sure Galaxy S III will lead to a much faster adoption of the technology in phones in the future.

3. Natural Interaction

Galaxy S III will be able to detect your eyes and recognize your eye movement while you use the phone. It will have a new ‘Smart Stay’ feature, which will detect if you’re looking at the screen, using the front camera, and increase the brightness for proper viewing and makes it dim when you’re looking away.

This is plain awesome considering the situations when the screen often goes dark after being idle for some time. But the Galaxy S III will detect when you’re looking back on the phone and bump up the brightness.

Sounds cool right?

4. Voice Unlock

Move aside Face Unlock, The S III features voice unlock which can even be personalized. For me, this is really a handy feature as I’m very fond of unlocking my phone without touching it. Voice Unlock will come to use at conditions where face unlock fails to work, such as in low light conditions.

5. Direct Call

Another very intuitive feature that you will see in S III is Direct Call. Hold the phone near your ears when you’re reading an SMS and Galax S3 will dial the sender of that message.

5. Smart Notifications

Missed a call or an SMS? Galaxy S III will vibrate and let you know of it when you pick it after a while.

7. Better Camera

The new camera boasts social integration and intelligent shooting enhancements. It’ll allow you to instantly share your photos with your friends on various social networks. The new camera app will be able to take photos in burst mode, a feature that was long available on third party apps for Android.

Then, there’s also a new ‘Best Photo’ mode which shoots eight consecutive photographs and highlights the best photograph.

8. S Voice – Voice Controls

S Voice is a voice command application, similar to that of Voice talk which was present in Galaxy S II, but it can respond to advanced commands. For launching an app, like the camera, all you got to do is say “I want to take a picture” and it’ll launch the camera. Say Cheese and it’ll take a photo.

Reminds of Siri anyone? Yeah, but hey you cannot call any voice command application to be an imitation of Siri just because Apple was the first to do it.

9. Face Recognition

The Galaxy S III will also be able to detect people you’ve tagged in photos and if they’re linked to you own social networks, you’ll be able to directly call, message or email them.

10. Pop-up Play

Multi-tasking in Android has always been amazing and Galaxy S III takes it to a new level. With Pop-up play, you will be able to play any movie in a small window on top of another application. For an example, you can both simultaneously browse the internet and watch a video.

11. Flipboard

Well this is not a feature but still is worth mentioning. The most popular social reader for iOS will now head to Android with Galaxy S III being the first exclusive phone to get the application. This news of release of Flipboard for Android was completely unexpected, I must say.

So, what’s your favorite feature in Galaxy S III? Will you be buying one?

(Image credits: Slashgear, TheVerge and FoneArena)

Read the article on the Blog: 11 Amazing Features of Samsung Galaxy S III That Will Blow You Away
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The most anticipated gadget of 2012 – Samsung Galaxy S III – has just been launched. After teasing us for more than two months with leaked images, specifications and teaser videos, Samsung has finally unveiled their next Galaxy phone at their ‘Unpacked’ event in London.

Undoubtedly, the Samsung Galaxy S III had reached a level of hype which no other Android phone has been ever able to. Most of the specifications of Galaxy S III is similar to what we’ve been hearing from rumors since long except the Camera, which is still at 8 MP. But hey, don’t go on the specs, the camera has actually been improved in Galaxy S III. Here are the detailed specifications:

The phone shares its design with the Galaxy Nexus and both look very similar with both having curved edges and curved screens.

Putting the design aside, the first commercial of the phone is already out and says a lot about the new features in the Galaxy S III:

What, Boring Specifications? UnImpressed?

I can already see so many people complaining about the phone. But I’m sure Galaxy S III will prove them wrong. This time, Samsung has focused more on features than just bumping up the hardware, which is a welcome change. The Galaxy S III packs in few features which have never been seen in any other phones. Here’s the complete list:

• Wireless Charging – Yes! The rumors about this feature turn out to be true. The Galaxy S III will be able to charge without wires!
• Detection of your eyes – It can recognize your eye movements
• Direct Call – Hold the phone near your ears when you’re reading an SMS and Galax S3 will dial that person.
• Better Camera App with advanced features for sharing photos with friends, termed as ‘Buddy Shot’, Best Photo Mode and Burst Mode.
• S Voice – Voice commands application, more advanced than the default Google voice commands app.
• Tap to Top – One of the very important features that the Android Browser was missing was a quick way to reach back to the top of a page. The TouchWiz browser will feature a button to quickly reach the top.
• Face Recognition – It’ll recognize people in your photos and pop up options to message, call or email them directly.
• S Beam – File sharing feature that uses NFC (Wikipedia link).
• Miscellaneous other features – Music Hub with over 17million songs, S Health – a personal wellness app, AllShare play for streaming videos on TVs etc.
• Flipboard – Hell yes! It is finally coming to android with the Galaxy S III being the exclusive at-first.
• MicroSIM only – The Galaxy S III is the latest phone to enter the list of phones which only support MicroSIM.

The phone will come in two color variants – Pebble Blue and White Marble and will go on sale on 29th May in Europe and will be followed by Asia, USA and other countries. People, mark your calendar!

(Sources: Slashgear)

Read the article on the Blog: Boom! Samsung Galaxy S III Has Been Launched
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Enough kidding. It is common sense that removing an external drive should not cause any problems. Why? This is because previous versions of Windows, like XP, used a feature known as ‘Write Caching’ for better performance of removable drives. This required users to safely remove hardware so as to avoid any data corruption. However in the latest version of Windows, this feature doesn’t need to be enabled anymore.

In short, you can remove your flash drives without safely removing them! But before you do that, follow the steps given below.

Oh Wait, What is Write Caching?

Write Caching essentially works like this – whenever you transfer some data on a removable drive, it is actually saved in a fast but volatile memory cache which is on your drive. But your program is fooled to believe that the file is actually saved on the removable drive. In reality, the data are actually saved on the removable drive only when it is ready to be written onto.

This should theoretically improve the performance of the drive but actually it does not. A recent test performed by Ciprian of 7Tutorial blog shows that modern USB drives easily do not benefit much from Write Caching.

Steps to Disable Quick Removal of Removable Drives

If you want to shave off some precious time spent in “safely removing hardware” and instead want to take your removable drive off without that annoying extra step, here is how you proceed:

Open Device Manager just by typing “device manager” in the start menu or alternatively right click the My Computer Icon on your desktop , select properties and then open device manager from there

In the Device Manager, go to the device which you want to plug off directly :

In the properties Window of the device , select the Policies tab :

Here you can see two options :

• Quick Removal : Make sure you select this if you want to use your removable drive without bothering to select “Safely remove” the drive every time you want to eject the drive. Theoretically you should get a performance loss due to disabling Write Cache , but luckily for most devices it is not the case.

• Better Performance : This enables Write Caching , which should will require you to go through the tedious process of safely removing your device every time. This is something not very desirable for most removable drives and you can blissfully ignore this option. Also there is a risk of data corruption in case of power loss.

On A Concluding Note..

With modern Windows’ “Safely Removing Hardware” is all but limited to a mere formality. With this little article, you may breathe a little easier, when you remove your external drive in a jiffy. But I would still want to warn you not to use Quick Removal for all your devices like an external Hard Drive, where speeds and performance do matter a bit. Nevertheless if you don’t care about that millisecond delay and rather wish your data not to get corrupted by any chance, you would be safe with Quick Removal .

Read the article on the Blog: Windows 7 Users, You Can Disable that Nasty ‘Safely Remove Hardware’ Feature
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