Thinggamajiggy

How to Update your Old ATI Graphic card, Support on how to update Mobility Radeon

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:02:00 +0000

Unfortunately, most of the Ati laptop manufacturer tailored their own mobility software/Ati catalyst to suite their laptops. Most the these Laptop Manufacturers doesn't bother much on releasing new drivers. That why, your mobility radeon cannot cope up with the new games and 3D programs.

So, what's happen when your driver is not up to date? what most of the mobility radeon users suffer is that they cannot run new games at all. Some complaints of artifacts, while some complains of inability to draw certain objects or the 3D objects appear to be null in the gaming process.

This often happens in those Mobility radeon 9000 series(9200,9600,9700), and Ati X00 series (x300, x600, x700, x800) and also some of the X1000 series (x1300, x1400, x1600, and x1700)Since Ati radeon has let the Laptop manufacturer to tailored their own mobility software, their latest ATI catalyst is no more supporting the older version of these graphic cards. However, some really smart guys has comes out with several alternative drivers to replace the original Ati driver for those outdated Graphic cards. Some says they are better, some says there are some bugs left...but generally, a lot of people still benefit from the driver which was released by these people.

One of these drivers is called Omega driver, however, it has a compatibility issues with some of the older graphic cards (9000series, and x000 series), where the aspect ratio was not able to tune to full screen during game play. Causing double Black Bar screen on the lateral side of LCD because it's running on 4:3 aspect ratio on a wide screen laptop. Some can be fixed by enabling the full screen expansion, but i also received that some ATi X600 doesn't support this features.

So, how to solve this problem?

Fortunately, Mobility Modder from driver heaven can solve this problem.

These are the list of graphic cards supported
Windows Vista
ATI MOBILITY FIRE GL T2/T2e
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V3100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V3200
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5000
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5200
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5250
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V7100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V7200
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9500
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9550
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 SE
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 XL
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1350
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1450
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1800 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1900
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X2300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2400
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2400 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X2500
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2600 XT
ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M Series
ATI RADEON XPRESS 1100 Series
ATI RADEON XPRESS 1200 Series
ATI RADEON XPRESS 1300M

Windows XP
ATI MOBILITY FIRE GL T2/T2e
ATI MOBILITY FireGL 7800
ATI MOBILITY FireGL 9000
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V3100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V3200
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5000
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5200
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V5250
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V7100
ATI MOBILITY FireGL V7200
ATI MOBILITY IGP 320M
ATI MOBILITY IGP 340M/345M
ATI MOBILITY IGP 9000
ATI MOBILITY IGP 9000/9100
ATI MOBILITY RADEON
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 7500
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9000
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9200
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9500
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9550
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9600/9700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X600 SE
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 XL
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1350
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1400
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1450
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1700
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1800
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1800 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X1900
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X2300
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X2300 HD
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2400
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2400 XT
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X2500
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON HD 2600 XT
ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M Series
ATI RADEON XPRESS 1100 Series
ATI RADEON XPRESS 1200 Series

Ok, let me have it, how do I use it?:
This is a step by step guide on how to run and use Mobility Modder on Vista AND XP, if you follow these instructions carefully in a step by step manner you will be fine. If you don't then you more than likely will end up with a driver that doesnt correctly work so you have been warned ! (Don't panic, even if you don't mod the driver correctly you won't hose your OS, the driver just won't install (like it did before you came to this page - so pay attention!))

Installation step by step guide
1: Download MSXML 4.0 from Microsoft. Install.1: Download the Mobility Modder:http://www.driverheaven.net/frontpage/modt...lityDotNET4.zipStep 2 is VISTA ONLY
2: Make sure UAC control in Vista is turned off. If you don't know how to do this then read this guide (method 4 is the easiest) or click the "disable UAC" in Mobility Modder.net - please note you MUST reboot after disabling UAC. If you don't want it disabled permanently, you can turn it back on after our mobility tool has finished, but it won't mod the drivers correctly with UAC ON.
3: Download the newest desktop drivers from www.ati.com (or get them from Driver Heaven Downloads). If you are using Windows XP make sure to download .net framework from Microsoft (this is built into Windows Vista so there is no need to install it).
4: Run the downloaded driver, let it extract into c:/ATI/SUPPORT - but cancel the installation once the driver is extracted.
5: Run Mobility Modder - browse to the driver in C:ATI/SUPPORT/ - an example of Catalyst 8.2 would be C:\ATI\SUPPORT\8-2_xp32_dd_ccc_wdm...- hit modify. Wait until driver is modified.
6: In xp, go to C:\ATI\SUPPORT\8-2_xp32_dd_ccc_....(Or whatever the driver installation folder was called), and run the SETUP.EXE. Please note you might see a "Driver is not WHQL certified", ignore this, as it is a side effect of the modification.
7: Wait until Install is finished and reboot. Enjoy the new drivers!

TERMS OF USE:
Driver Heaven is not responsible for any issues which might occur due to the use of modified drivers. You modify these drivers at your own risk. You can report bugs with the program or installation in our forum and suggest improvements, but we don't offer support for hardware failure or a wrecked operating system. If you aren't sure then DON'T run this tool, its free.

(source:driver heaven)

Funny pictures

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:10:00 +0000

Google search on Nokias

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 02:51:00 +0000

Nokia has announced that Google's popular search engine will be integrated with the Nokia Search application. The integration will begin in select markets with the Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 6220 classic. Google search will be extended to additional Nokia handset models in the future. Ultimately, Nokia will make Google search available to its customers in over 100 countries around the world, serving mobile owners speaking more than 40 languages.

Nokia Search, now with Google, offers fast and easy access to web information from the handset. In addition, Nokia Search also makes it possible for users to search content on their device and use local search engines for a complete search experience. Nokia Search is available on many devices and provides direct access with one click from the active standby screen, saving users time and steps in their searching. Once users have found the information they are seeking, Nokia Search enables users to act on that information by engaging device assets such as maps, messaging or the browser with just one click.

"Adding Google to Nokia Search provides mobile users with fast, relevant and comprehensive search experience that will be familiar to the people who use Google to search the web from their desktop," said Google's VP of Engineering and Products for Mobile Vic Gundotra. "Google search combined with the high quality applications on Nokia devices help make information available to Nokia device users wherever they are and provide an excellent overall experience."

How To: Protect An Idea

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 03:29:00 +0000

We live in a world where everybody’s looking for their golden goose -- that thing that’s going to take them from obscurity. We all want to contribute, we all make our world better and whether you’re a musician, a writer, a visual artist or you’ve invented the world’s first inflatable dart board, there is nothing better than finding that one idea that could change the world and set you up for lifelong success.

But if you think everything that comes out of that gray matter between your ears is gold, think again. Chances are that 99.9% of your ideas have already been thought of and that it has been done better by someone way smarter than you for more money. There’s nothing worse than coming up with an idea and spending all that time and money developing it, only to find that someone else already owns the rights to it.

You can save yourself a lot of headaches by doing a patent search that will show you all the patents in existence from 1971 onwards. Anything before that and you’ll have to visit your local patent and trademark depository library and search their electronic database while shelling out $30 to $80 an hour. If you can’t find your idea, it may not be because it’s special and unique, but because it’s so dumb no one was stupid enough to market it. So before you unleash that inflatable dart board on us all, do some market research and make sure it will garner the cash you think it will.

If you can surmount these major hurdles, it means you truly do have something special -- something that needs to be protected from opportunistic individuals. Here are some tips on how to protect an idea and reap the benefits.

Know what you need
An idea man’s biggest barrier to putting his brilliance on record comes in not knowing the difference between copyright, trademark and patent. To protect an idea, you need a copyright if you’ve developed a piece of creative work like a play, novel, TV show or piece of music, which gives you the right to copy and disseminate the work along with the credit for creating it. A trademark is used to distinguish the source of a product or service coming from one particular entity over another. It protects elements of marketing, such as a logo, a slogan, a symbol or a well-known characteristic against infringement. Finally, a patent is for inventions, like a product or a process. It allows the inventor to prevent others from selling, offering, importing, or using their invention.

Determine if your idea can be protected
Alright, smart guy, you know what it takes to protect an idea, but that doesn’t mean you’re protected against every clown who steals your concept. A copyright only protects the hard copy form of the way an original idea, like a script, is distributed. There’s also this little thing called “fair use” that allows the use of intellectual property for educational or nonprofit purposes, criticism, tribute or inspiration for a new and original work. Fair use also applies to a trademark. Someone can describe a competing product as purely clean because that description is protected by the First Amendment as long as they then don’t start claiming that description as a trademark themselves. They can also describe your product accurately in their own advertising.

Patents can not be acquired for natural processes or products and business methods are also off-limits. Once a patent or copyright expires, it reverts to the public domain and anyone can use it, so protect an idea by ensuring you've renewed the patent.

Document the development of your idea
If you have any hope of replicating your idea for the masses, you’re going to need to document its development. But there’s another crucial reason why you’ll need to monitor your idea’s creation so closely. You know those guys who were so supportive in helping get your idea off the ground? Well, your “partners” are going to be the first ones claiming that your billion-dollar enterprise was their idea first -- and they’d get away with it since they were there for every step, unless you do something about it. That means, videotaping, recording or otherwise documenting every interaction you have about your concept.

To protect an idea, have everyone who sees your blueprints sign and date them along with a nondisclosure agreement. Be careful, though: Some countries, like Australia, won’t even grant patents if you showed your idea to anyone, and some companies will get you to waive your rights before you show them any confidential information.

Hire a patent attorney
Patents are long-winded and complex documents. Any variation in the wording curtails their effectiveness in enforcing the rights you’re entitled to. That’s why it’s best to hire an attorney specializing in patent and copyright law. Not only can he go over your idea, determine if it’s marketable and make sure you’ve filled out all the documents properly, but he can also represent you when you’re taking on some opportunistic schmo in a courtroom. Patent lawyers charge a pretty penny, but when you’re raking in your cut from the copycats, it’s all worth it.

Pay the fees and apply
Before you can apply for a patent, you’re going to need to know how your idea is going to work. While you’re shopping your idea around you can apply for a provisional patent, which comes with the lower price tag, it’'s easier to fill out, and the drawings and the language used don’t have to be as perfect as in the full patent. However, the provisional patent only gives you a year to get your concept together before you have to protect it with the real thing. Even though the filing fees for patents and trademarks are relatively cheap. Copyrights are cheaper for basic papers, but depending on your requirements your papers and shipping of your work could run you hundreds of dollars.

Sue
What’s the point of getting your idea protected if you’re not going to enforce it? Inventors and creators make their money from the royalties and sometimes stock options offered as part of licensing requests by larger companies, but there are even more people who won’t ask permission and that’s when you have to hand out “cease and desist” orders. If you want to protect an idea, remember: No one is going to watch your back but you, so get yourself a lawyer (and maybe some muscle) for some exercises in creative persuasion. Most infringement cases don’t even make it to court, so if you hire a shark who can flash his teeth once in a while, you’ll always be collecting settlement money too.

bright ideas
Get through all these steps and your idea is guaranteed to be unique enough and marketable enough to have you rolling in dough for the rest of your life. There’s still heavy competition in a world where originality is the new conformity and all the sharks are looking to pounce on the next big idea.

Top 50 Emergency Uses for Your Camera Phone

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 02:45:00 +0000

Ways Your Camera Cell Phone Can Save Lives and Property

In an emergency you'll need to provide and receive help, and after it's over, you'll have to return, repair and rebuild. Central to this is communication and documentation.

Any camera could be used for some of these things, but the phonecam carries a distinct advantage. It can immediately transmit your pictures. Disposable cameras and digital cameras are acceptable. Below are 50 ways the camera phone can be used in an emergency to document, record, and relay important information. (Excerpted from http://www.disasterprep101.com)

. Last minute child ID. Whenever the family might be separated, take last-minute pictures of all family members, especially the kids, and pets.

. Send a map. Draw a map on paper, take a picture and send.

. Injury photos to the doctor.

. Suppose help isn't available, and someone's sick or injured. If there are visible signs or symptoms, relay pictures to medical personnel who can walk you through whatever treatment is possible.

. Damage documentation. In catastrophes, it'll be days before insurance adjusters get there to file claims. Photo all damage.

. Report suspicious activity. Upload pictures of suspects and the situation to the police.

. "Here's the landmark." Gathering the family is critical. If you don't have a fixed meeting place, send pictures of where and what you're near so others can find you. This also works well if you're lost in the wilderness and need to relay pictures of landmarks.

. "Meet us here." If you have a fixed rendezvous point, send a pic you already have on file so others will know where to meet.

. Photo shopping list. When stocking up in anticipation of an emergency, take a picture of your pantry as a quick shopping list.

. Driving directions. If you're trying to tell others where a certain location is, send a picture by picture set of directions.

. "Meet this person." If your family evacuates, send them a picture of the person they're to meet.

. Last minute property inventory. Snap quick shots of your property and to show the current condition of your property.

. "Adventure" journal. Take pictures to record what you do, where you go and people you meet during an evacuation.

. Situational severity. First responders will be overworked. They might not be available for what they consider a minor situation. Send a picture of how bad things are.

. Quick text messaging. You might not have time to type a message, and the lines might not be open long enough for a conversation. Write a note on paper, take a picture and send that.

. Minor traffic mishap. If told to swap info by authorities, photo the damage, people involved, witnesses and their tag numbers, and others involved to show their injuries (or lack thereof).

. Wallet backup. Take pictures of your wallet's contents (or important documents) to record numbers, and show that cards are or were in your possession. Be careful with this info as it's very sensitive and can be used for identity theft!

. Inclement weather reporting. Send a picture to the weather service.

. First Responder intel. The more first responders know about an emergency, the more rapid and appropriate a reaction they can make.

. Missing persons. Send picture of picture from your wallet.

. Relay property damage to or from neighbors who return home first.

. Help insurance adjusters find your property. Take current pictures of landmarks or unique damage near or at your property.

. Copy bulletin boards from an emergency shelter.

. Bus, subway or city map.

. Document your route.

Record medicines or food brands.

Ways Your Camera Cell Phone Can Save Lives and Property

. Record parking spot locations.

. Engine repairs. Send a pic to a mechanic who may talk you through a quick fix.

. Business or service function and hours. Copy posted business hours or listed service functions (and pricing) for later review and recall. You can also report price gouging.

. Child custodian. If you can't get to your kids at school or other function, relay a picture of the person who is coming to pick them up.

. Info on injured or hospitalized people.

. Hotel room number and location.

. ID your evac gear. Take a picture to prove ownership.

. Photo scavenger hunt. Give kids a short list of things they should take a picture of.

. Identify the close-up. Take a really close up picture of something while the kids aren't looking.

. Document your whereabouts.

. ID the rescuer.

. If a rescuer is picking up your child or pet, photo the rescuer (and the child or pet) and the vehicle they used, their name tag, registration numbers on helicopters, vehicle tag numbers or names of boats.

. Document your cleanup.

. Document expenditures. In addition to receipts, photograph the goods acquired, equipment being used, services being performed and the people involved.

. Property pics for retrieval companies. Some scenarios will see you unable to return home. Property photos will allow you to identify specific items you'd like retrieved.

. Evacuee status. Authorities will want to know who is injured, dead or missing, and who is okay and where they are.

. Overcome language barriers. Pictures make communication easier.

. Transmit road conditions.

. Relay traffic conditions.

. Crime scene evidence. People have returned to a home undamaged by a disaster, but later looted.

. Too much on the screen? Should the TV flash pertinent information and you don't have time to write, take a picture of the screen for later review.

. ID for doctors or pharmacies.

. Emergency supply information. If supplies are low, people can send a picture of the types or brands of items available at different spots.

. "Last Minute List" items and shutdown. In addition to a written list, create a photo file showing items you need to take and steps to secure the house before leaving.

. Evac atlas. Create a "travel atlas" of emergency assets available along evacuation routes.

Reaction plan for the reading disabled.

The reality of virtual machines

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 02:09:00 +0000

With Virtual Machine software you can easily test different operating systems and programs,
and also derive many other benefits. Read on to find out more. With Virtual Machine
(VM) software, a single computer can run more than one operating system, and switching between them is as easy as switching between applications.

And there are many reasons why you would want to run more than one OS all at once.

For instance, if you have recently switched to Windows Vista, you are bound to come across an application that is not compatible with the new OS.

Instead of losing hair over it or hunting for a PC with Windows XP, you could just install a VM app like Virtual PC 2007 and run Windows XP virtually on your Vista machine.

If you are a fan of older games, you may discover that they only work in Windows 98 or Windows ME. Using VMware Player, you can quickly create a VM running Windows 98, and avoid the need for a separate machine or dual-boot system.

Or if you are more adventurous and have installed the 64-bit flavour of Vista, you will find out sooner or later that it doesn't support 16-bit applications.

You will probably never need to run a 16-bit application, but if the need arises, then the easy way to do this is to run a 32-bit OS virtually.

Play safe

We live in a very dangerous online world and you should not be downloading just any application or game from the Internet and running it on your machine, unless that is your idea of fun.

Instead, you could plonk the application in your virtual OS to see if it misbehaves.

Even if it the app is a virus and ends up killing your virtual machine, it just takes a few clicks to restore the virtual OS to its pristine state.

Also, if you are like us and love to test beta software, you know that things can get ugly at times.

Instead of practising abstinence, you could just run it in a virtual machine and if things should go wrong, your PC won't be affected and your virtual machine can be easily restored to a pristine condition.

Hello Linux

Or maybe you are just tired of hearing your techie friends rant about what a great OS Linux is and how it is superior to Windows.

But you probably never had the chance to try Linux because you are not ready to abandon Windows or you don't even want to create another partition for Linux.

So now you can find out what the excitement is all about by installing it within a VM and if you find that your friends' claims are not true, you can nuke Linux without leaving a trace on your PC.

And if you happen to like it, then there are plenty of Linux distributions for you to check out and you can even run them concurrently in separate VMs.

Hardware considerations

There are plenty of other advantages to running VM software but there are issues to consider too.

Firstly, you should re-examine the license conditions for each OS you install under the VM software, even though you are installing the OS on the same machine.

For instance, if you only have one copy of Windows Vista then it is illegal to install the same copy on your virtualisation software.

Of course, this doesn't apply to Linux or any of the open source OSes, so you can install as many copies as your want.

Next, you should have a decent machine with ample RAM as the VM will not only share processor time but also need a chunk of RAM to run its OS.

To run a VM smoothly, we recommend a PC with at least an Intel Pentium 4 3GHz or AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processor and 1GB of RAM, although you will be a lot better off if you had a dual-core processor and more RAM.

However, no matter how fast a processor or how much RAM you have, some applications are still off limits – you are not going to be able to play any DirectX 9 or graphics-intensive games with current VMs.

If you plan to do this, you are better off installing the OS on a separate partition and creating a dual-boot system.

To get started with virtualisation, you will need a VM app – there are many available but the popular ones are Virtual PC 2007, VMware Player or Server, and Parallels Desktop.

For more information, you can also surf to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine.

Google launches its ‘let’s annoy Microsoft’ plan: Pings Yahoo and works regulators

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:01:00 +0000

Google launches its ‘let’s annoy Microsoft’ plan: Pings Yahoo and works regulators by ZDNet's Larry Dignan -- Google has reportedly reached out to Yahoo to thwart Microsoft’s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid. And in case that doesn’t work Google has already started working policymakers. Simply put, the games have begun (Techmeme). Get ready for the FUD fest folks. As noted on Friday just a few hours after Microsoft went public with its Yahoo bid [...]

Microsoft offering to buy Yahoo

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 12:46:00 +0000

Yep you read right. The big M is offering to buy Yahoo in order to challenge (who else but) Google's dominance in the Internet search services and advertising. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft made a made an unsolicited USD44.6 billion offer for Yahoo! Inc and Yahoo has actually responded that they are evaluating the offer 'promptly'.

A screenshot of the news on Yahoo News

Considering that Google has dominated the Internet search and advertising market in the last few years, it isn't actually surprising that Microsoft would take action to stem their dominance. This offer for Yahoo however, is a bigger action taken than Microsoft than I expected.

We'll keep things updated here on this ongoing development so stay tuned for more.

Sourced from AFP and Bloomberg.

A familiar face

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:56:00 +0000

The ubiquitous computer was once seen as a foreign object to be dreaded.

When personal computers first came to Malaysia, a very senior bank officer told the participants at a seminar that his son had one at home but he would not go anywhere near the contraption.

His candid remark drew chuckles from the participants. Most of them were in the same boat and readily sympathised with him.

That was more than two decades ago.

Today, if the same remark were made at any business meeting, people would be more shocked than amused.

The bank officer could be forgiven as, in those days, the PC was as foreign as Hollywood's ET, an extra-terrestrial with human intelligence that happened to drop in from outer space.

Most of the PCs then looked like 14-inch TV sets with a CPU that stored data and information, and a keyboard with a strange gadget called a mouse attached to it.

You could go online and get connected with a whole new world by moving and clicking the mouse on a piece of rubber called a mouse pad.

It was excusable then for one, especially someone from the older generation, to have a phobia towards the new gadget. After all, it was set to "infiltrate" every government department, commercial firm, auto workshop and even individual household 20 years down the road.

The invention of the computer ushered in a new era; communication became a whole new ball game, ever changing and ever improving.

But the computer was intimidating in the beginning. It was new, intelligent and could communicate in different languages. I must confess that, for a very long time, I merely used it as a word processor – nothing more like an electric typewriter, really.

But the digital revolution has been swift and has encroached into our lives – slowly but surely. Eventually, we gave in and embraced it with feeble resistance.

However, there are still people these days who are still intimidated by the computer. The fear causes a mental block that prevents them from taking the first leap across the digital divide.

So, while others are happily joining the Internet community, roaming online, playing games and getting connected with other Netizens, there are some who have dug in their heels and refused to learn.

The computer is here to stay. It will gain a stronger foothold and further impact our lives as it takes on more human functions, including surgery.

There is no doubt that teenagers have welcomed the computer age, and taken to computers like ducks to water. The teens may not be able to write meaningful essays but they sure can teach older folk a thing or two about computers.

How about those of the older generation who prefer to stay on the sidelines and miss out on all the fun? Will we keep giving the excuse that we are not computer-savvy, and then remain an observer forever?

A recent report from Singapore highlighted the increasing number of silver-haired geeks who are as passionate as teenagers about the latest gizmos.

Retired, and with money and plenty of time on their hands, they happily surf the Net and acquire the latest PDAs, handphones and digital cameras.

They are proof that, yes, the proverbial old dog can learn new tricks. You can, too, if you are willing to take the first step!

How will HTML 5 change the Web?

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:19:00 +0000

How will HTML 5 change the Web? by ZDNet's Dana Blankenhorn -- The process, which began back in October 2005, has now reached the point of a public working draft which reveals major changes to how the syntax, the language, and how APIs connect.

The real antivirus programs

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Deadly diseases outbreaks always seem to be grabbing the headlines, and many readers may be wondering if there is anything they can do to help counter these terrible threats.

Sure, you could donate to health charities or research institutions, or maybe even lobby the government for more health spending, but there's a more direct way you can help.

You could participate in various research projects which harness the unused processing power in millions of idle PCs located in homes and offices.

LOOKING FOR CURES: Drug Design and Optimization Lab (D2OL) is a distributed computing project with the goal of discovering drug candidates to fight SARS, avian flu, anthrax, and other diseases.

Pharmaceutical companies and research institutions are using an innovation called grid computing (also known as distributed computing), which runs life sciences research on millions of Internet-connected PCs owned by volunteers from around the world, thus creating a kind of "decentralised supercomputer."

There are currently grid computing projects to combat AIDS, cancer, SARS, avian flu, Ebola, smallpox, anthrax and other afflictions.

Anyone with a relatively fast computer and Internet access can take part in these projects merely by downloading and installing a small program (see Getting Involved).

Established method

While the use of grid computing for finding new drugs is relatively new, the underlying research methods are already well established. Scientists have used computer simulations in the drug discovery process for many years.

First, possible drug targets are identified from disease-causing microbes. Then scientists employ a process called virtual screening (also called silico screening or computational screening) which simulates the binding of millions of different drug molecules against a specific microbe, and identifies promising combinations that can potentially kill the microbe.

The approach is analogous to testing many keys to identify the one that will work with a specific lock – only in this case there are millions upon millions of molecular keys.

Until recently, researchers could only rely on expensive supercomputers or Unix clusters to attain the processing power needed to run these complex and time-consuming simulations.

By taking advantage of grid technology, researchers hope to tap into the combined power of thousands or even millions of PCs, resulting in significant time savings.

Better yet, all this processing power can be had at almost no cost if researchers can recruit volunteers from around the world.

"It's only fitting that a distributed computer platform allows global participation to potentially prevent a global pandemic," says Wolfgang Hinz, head of computational chemistry at The Rothberg Institute in Connecticut, United States.

The Institute has set up a grid computing project as part of its evaluation of potential drug candidates against various infectious diseases.

Proponents of grid computing say the technology has revolutionised computational biology and other life sciences; while solution providers are making inroads into financial services, engineering, and chemical research.

ET phone home

The concept of grid computing with home PCs is not new either. It first emerged in the late 1990s through a project aimed at finding signs of alien intelligence.

The SETI@home project used Internet-connected computers to analyse radio telescope data in the search for extraterrestrial life (SETI).

The project is still ongoing and currently has more than 670,000 participants, making it one of the largest grid computing projects in the world.

Dr David Anderson, director of SETI@home, said the project grew out of a realisation that the average computer user only uses a fraction of the processing power in today's machines.

The computing needs of users have not grown to match their increasingly powerful PCs, he said in an interview with Astrobiology magazine.

Consider, for example, that an "entry level" PC nowadays uses a minimum Intel Celeron D 331 2.66GHz processor or its equivalent AMD Sempron 3200+ AM2 processor.

"In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a gradual transition from a situation where computers were busy most or all of the time – like shared mainframes, or early slow PCs that laboured to keep up with basic tasks – to a situation where they were almost never busy," said Anderson.

Today, most people still use their PCs for wordprocessing, checking e-mail and web surfing – hardly taxing such powerful processors.

All that spare processing power is ideal for a grid computing project, be it the search for aliens or cures for diseases.

Some way to go

The potential power of grid computing was clearly demonstrated at the conclusion of the Anthrax Research Project in 2002, in which 3.57 billion molecules were screened for suitability as a treatment for advanced-stage anthrax.

Dr Graham Richards, chairman of the Chemistry Department at Oxford University, said the project was completed in only 24 days, and called the results "unprecedented."

"Had we done this using traditional methods, it would have taken years instead of less than four weeks," he said.

Still, participants in various life sciences projects should not expect quick cures to materialise from the current simulations. Virtual screening is only one of the early stages in a long progression of processes required to discover a new drug or therapy.

Once such drug candidates are identified using computational methods, they can be chemically synthesised in an actual laboratory, and are subjected to component analyses and tested in a battery of cell cultures.

This is then followed by years of testing for toxicology and side effects – a good biochemical reaction is not the sole requirement.

Very few molecules make it to the final stage of testing, which involves human trials conducted according to rigorous FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines in the United States, for instance.

If successful, the compound is finally released as a prescription drug.

Due to the necessarily long validation process, it is not clear at this point whether drug candidates produced from grid computing will ultimately result in cures or vaccines.

Still, most researchers agree that grid computing can significantly increase the speed and scope of molecular research.

"Many pharmaceutical companies are starting to realise that grid computing can be an important source of competitive advantage in drug research and development," said Piush Patel, United Devices' director of global grid services, in an interview with GRIDtoday.

Better yet, it gives ordinary citizens a chance to contribute directly to disease-fighting efforts and scientific research, instead of merely living in fear of an invisible and unpredictable threat.

Windows 7: The Anti-Vista?

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:02:00 +0000

Windows 7: The Anti-Vista? by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley -- Can Microsoft make everyone happy with Windows 7? Should it even try? What would you do, if you were on the team that's charged with "Shipping Seven"?

Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo; Plans open architecture spaceship

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:29:00 +0000

Virgin Galactic unveils SpaceShipTwo; Plans open architecture spaceship by ZDNet's Larry Dignan -- Virgin Galactic on Wednesday unveiled designs for SpaceShipTwo and the WhiteKnightTwo, two vehicles that are designed to usher in private spaceflight. The technology behind the system will have an open architecture “like Linux,” said officials. In an event at the American Museum at Natural History in New York (see gallery right), Virgin Galactic unveiled the first [...]

Could Windows 7 be the best Windows yet?

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:03:00 +0000

Could Windows 7 be the best Windows yet? by ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes -- Given all the feedback that Microsoft has had from Vista users (both negative and positive), could Windows 7 be the best version of Windows yet?

Webcams for Live Messenger

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 06:43:00 +0000

Tuesday January 1, 2008

Webcams for Live Messenger

MICROSOFT has optimised its latest LifeCam webcams for Windows Live Messenger.

The VX-7000 for desktops and NX-3000 for notebooks have a dedicated button that easily initiates a video chat session in Windows Live Messenger.

Users can also control the webcams from within Live Messenger and perform actions such as pan, tilt, zoom and face tracking as well as add video effects.

The webcams also has a One-Touch Blogging button that allows users to post photos on Microsoft’s blogging and social networking site, Windows Live Spaces.

Plus, they can use the Photo Swap feature to easily exchange pictures during a video chat session.

The VX-7000 has a 2.0-megapixel camera that captures high-resolution videos and still images, the company claimed.

The webcam also features a built-in unidirectional microphone for better audio quality, a wide-angle lens, and a universal attachment base that will fit most monitors.

The NX-3000 has a 1.3-megapixel camera and a swivel lens, which allows users to easily point it in any direction. It also comes with a carrying case to protect it from scratches.

The VX-7000 retails for RM329 while the NX-3000 goes for RM199.

www.microsoft.com/hardware

Why does the MacBook Air make so many so dumb?

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:44:00 +0000

Why does the MacBook Air make so many so dumb? by ZDNet's David Morgenstern -- Believe it, Apple's new ultralight notebook is perfect technology. It's an elite product, something that seems appears to drive populist Mac fans crazy. But this notebook will be Apple's next step in a strategy to infiltrate the enterprise.

Jerry Yang offers sneak peak of Yahoo’s future: Life!

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:48:00 +0000

Jerry Yang offers sneak peak of Yahoo’s future: Life! by ZDNet's Dan Farber -- Yahoo co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang made his inaugural CES appearance, outlining how he plans to evolve his company ahead of the curve and to become an indispensable starting point for consumers’ Web experience, which has become richer and more complex over the last decade. “We call this Life with an exclamation point,” Yang said. [...]

Say 'No' to bundled apps!

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Say “No!” to bundled apps! by ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes -- You've gotta be careful when you install software nowadays - you install one thing and you end up with a couple of applications that you didn't expect to get. Welcome to the world of applications bundling, and it seems that everyone is doing it nowadays.

Spyware & Browser Hijack removal & links

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 05:10:00 +0000

Guide to Removing Spyware

This article is more of a preventive measure than a fix and will harden internet explorers security but at the same time retaining the functionality that IE has.

First in tools, internet options, advanced uncheck "Enable Install On Demand (Internet Explorer)" and "Enable Install On Demand (Other)" and "Enable Third-Party Browser Extensions (Requires Restart)" and choose apply and ok. Also ensure your internet security setting is at least medium (unless you know what you are doing and have made it custom).

Goto http://www.windowsupdate.com and make sure you have all the latest updates.

Then download Suns Java JRE from http://java.com/en/index.jsp (the link you want to hit is the "get it now" in the top right). Running Suns Java protects you because it has less exploited vulnerabilities than microsofts Java. Lots of spyware use holes in Microsofts java to install thier spyware so switching to Sun's closes a lot of holes.

>> Download: Sun Java

Then download Spybot Search and Destroy from http://www.safer-networking.org/ run it and make sure to let it download the newest updates. Now goto Spybots immunize function and under "permanent internet explorer immunity" choose immunize, then under "permanently running bad download blocker for internet explorer" select "ask for blocking confermation and choose install.

>> Download: Spybot S&D

Next, download spyware blaster from http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html run it and ensure it's fully updated. Now choose "select all" and then hit "Protect Against Checked Items". Just for reference all the items that are in red are items that Spybots immunize doesn't protect you against that's why you should use both programs.

>> Download: Spyware Blaster

Both Spybot search and destroy's immunize function and spyware blaster are one time set things, these programs no longer have to be running to keep you from getting infected with the stuff they block against. What they do is disallow any activeX program that's was known to them at the time you immunized from even running. With both Spybot and Spyware Blaster it is important that you check for updates every two weeks or so and re-immunize yourself when new updates are released to stay current. Spybot's other immunize function ("permanently running bad download blocker for internet explorer") installs a BHO that will ask you for permission to block other known bad BHO's from installing. BHO's are really not needed and fairly rare and most people only have the adobe acrobat BHO. You could have set this option to always block but I chose "ask for blocking confirmation" for those people that use something that I do not that uses a BHO.

Now download both DSOstop2 and HTAstop2003 from http://www.nsclean.com/freebies.html and run both of those.

>> Download: DSOstop2. HTAstop2003

In addition there's another great free utility that you can run but unlike everything above it has to always be open just like an antivirus called spywareguard from javacool. You can download it and run it as well to further increase your security against spyware if you choose. It's available here: http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html

>> Download: Spyware Guard

That should beef things up considerably. Having a good antivirus is also helpful because many of them are starting to add spyware to thier definitions, for instance my McAfee 8 caught that spyware trying to install.

I hope this helps you guys because these settings are pretty solid but at the same time loose enough that you can still have active scripting enabled and activeX. Granted you could disable those as well but at that point you might as well go download an old version of Mosiac browser because it isn't worth using IE with everything disabled.

Ad-Aware Personal: freeware adware removal tool
Trojan Defense Suite >> discontinued
Pest Patrol
Free Online Spyware Scanner and Cleaner
Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner

HijackThis
A general homepage hijackers detector and remover. Initially based on the article Hijacked!, but expanded with almost a dozen other checks against hijacker tricks. It is continually updated to detect and remove new hijacks. It does not target specific programs/URLs, just the methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites. As a result, false positives are imminent and unless you are sure what you're doing, you should always consult with knowledgable folks (e.g. the forums) before deleting anything.
Download: Hijackthis
View: Homepage
View: Tutorial

CWShredder
A small utility for removing CoolWebSearch (aka CoolWwwSearch, YouFindAll, White-Pages.ws and a dozen other names). Spybot S&D and Ad-aware tend to forget essential parts of the hijack, so until they update, you can use this to completely remove the hijack. This program is updated to remove the new variants once they come out.

Download: http://www.trendmicro.com/ftp/products/onl.../cwshredder.exe

Browser Hijacking

Hijacking browser is a common problem for Internet Explorer users.
The browser had certain bug that allow people to modified the registry so that it will direct to some other page.
Hijacking browser is a serious matter.. But i learn a few tricks on how to fight no hijacking in no time at all.

Note: Hijacking browser only happen 99% in most cases for IE users.

How do you fall prey to a browser hijacking? There are numerous ways. Here are some common ones:

1. By installing software which changes your browser settings. This may happen with commercial software, but is much more common with freeware or adware.
2. By visiting a site which exploits a browser bug to change settings without your permission.
3. By visiting a site which persuades you to allow your settings to be changed, usually by offering freebies. When you accept the offer, your browser settings are changed or software installed. While such sites may tell you of their intentions, usually it’s in the fine print or couched in deceptive terms

And to the worst thing is spyware removal such as Spybot S&D won`t help much in repairing your hijack browser..

Reclaming hijack browser

These instructions involve editing the registry and other advanced techniques. Do not attempt these procedures without making proper backups (read Backing Up and Restoring the Windows Registry to learn how) and don’t attempt them at all if you’re not familiar with registry editing.

1. If you’ve been hijacked, you can reclaim your browser with a bit of work.
If your Control Panel’s Internet Options have been disabled, get them back by locating the file control.ini (use Start -> Find/Search to locate it). Open control.ini in Notepad and look for the lines:

[don’t load]
inetcpl.cpl=yes

Delete the second of these two lines, close and save the file and reboot your computer.

(IMG:http://www.geekgirls.com/images/Hijacked%20-%20Step%201.jpg)

2. Close any open Internet Explorer windows.
a. Click Start -> Run, type regedit and click OK to open the Registry Editor.
b. Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
If you find sub-folders called restricted or control panel, delete them.
Check for the same sub-folders in:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer and delete them, too, if they exist. Then close Regedit.

3. If your search pages have been redirected, re-establish the defaults:
a. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main
Change the Search Page value to:
http://home.microsoft.com/access/allinone.asp
and, if it exists, change the Search Bar value to:
http://search.msn.com/spbasic.htm
b. Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchURL and change the default value to:
http://home.microsoft.com/access/autosearch.asp?p=%s
c. Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Search
Change the SearchAssistant value to:
http://ie.search.msn.com/{SUB_RFC1766}/srchasst/srchasst.htm
and change the CustomizeSearch value to:
http://ie.search.msn.com/{SUB_RFC1766}/srchasst/srchcust.htm

4. Reset your home page to your chosen page:
a. In Internet Explorer, choose Internet Options from the Tools Menu and, on the General tab, type in your preferred home page.
b. Do a search for any files with the extension HTA. If you find any such files, open each in turn in Notepad and see whether they contain a reference to the site which has hijacked your browser. Delete any HTA files which contain such a reference.
c. Locate the file HOSTS (it has no file extension) and open it in Notepad. Once again, look for any reference to the hijacking site. If you find any references, delete the lines containing those references.

5.
a. Click Start -> Run -> msconfig and check the programs under the Startup tab. If you find an entry which contains regedit.exe /s disable it, and disable other programs you know to be suspicious.
b. Still in msconfig, click the System.Ini tab and click the + beside [boot] to expand the section. Look for a line reading shell=explorer.exe. The line should read exactly that; delete any following commands, but make sure you leave shell=explorer.exe intact.
Note: If you’re using Windows NT, 2000 or XP, this information is contained in the registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Shell
which should contain the value explorer.exe.
c. Click OK to exit from msconfig and reboot your system.

OK guys... There are alot of pop ups when you access certain says which says:-
Your Computer is not safe from Adwares or Spyware! Click here to download
Warning - if your computer has been running slower than usual, it maybe infected with adware or spyware.

Dun believe these links there are must probably adware or spyware itself. Just Ignore these popup and just close it.

One example is the attached picture

This post has been edited by benlye: Oct 4 2004, 09:26 AM

Attached thumbnail(s)

when all else fails you can install a trial of
Process Guard
it will then intercept each and every process that tries to start
(generally its installed on a known clean box and you just approve all these processes)
you can then allow, allow once, disallow or disallow once each process
this is enough to interrupt the most serious infection of not only spyware but truely serious malware infections

of course you need a clean or at least functional box to research which process is which
and then manually root them out (from the GUI, Safemode and sometime the commandline of the recovery console)

a list of potential startup processes > http://www.aros.net/~zaphod/startups.htm#A
Pest Patrol Research Library > http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestinfo/
googling individual processes is generally perferable however
Default Processes in W2K

How to manually unregister dlls (from Pest Patrol)

UnRegister DLLs

You can use the Regsvr32 tool (Regsvr32.exe) to register and unregister object linking and embedding (OLE) controls such as dynamic-link library (DLL) or ActiveX Controls (OCX) files that are self-registerable.

RegSvr32.exe has the following command-line options:

Regsvr32 [/u] [/n] [/i[:cmdline]] dllname

/u - Unregister server

/i - Call DllInstall passing it an optional [cmdline]; when used with /u calls dll uninstall
/n - do not call DllRegisterServer; this option must be used with /i

When you use Regsvr32.exe, it attempts to load the component and call its DLLSelfRegister function. If this attempt is successful, Regsvr32.exe displays a dialog indicating success. If the attempt is unsuccessful, Regsvr32.exe returns an error message, which may include a Win32 error code.

Example: To unregister Winshow's winshow.dll:

1. Click the Start button, and select Run
2. Enter this command line:

regsvr32 /u [systemroot]\winshow.dll

For example, in a Windows XP machine in which your systemroot was at c:\winnt, you would enter:

regsvr32 /u c:\winnt\winshow.dll

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
from the commandline you can also generally use %systemroot%

Good Luck, if a reinstall is the alternative,
be not afraid, and ruthlessly cull registry entries :P

the worse you can do is bork the registry
but its Ideal for you to have multiple backups of your registry
from a known good state, dig out the current infection and then replace
%systemroot%\WINNT\system32\config with your backup

Hottest Gadgets For 2008

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 01:40:00 +0000

Every year, gadgets come out that rock the foundations of what’s possible and bring us closer to the world of tomorrow. Last year’s top gadget was, absolutely, the iPhone, but this year we’re seeing glimpses of virtual reality, the beginning of the fully automated car, printing without ink, and the death of the written word. With that being said, here is a preview of the 10 gadgets that will have consumers reaching for their credit cards in 2008.

Number 10

Sony Network Sharing Camera

Where to get it: SonyStyle.com

What is it? This is a camera built for everyday life; it’s compact enough to take with you, it can shoot up to five hours of web-ready video and it switches to a 5-megapixel digital camera with the push of a button. The built-in software means uploading is easy, and you can transfer your videos to the web right away.

Hottest feature: The ability to shoot video and instantly expose it to an internet audience means any budding filmmaker can share his work right after the take.

Number 9

SanDisk Sansa TakeTV Video Player

Where to get it: BestBuy, Circuit City, Costco or Office Depot

What is it? Finally, you can take video from your computer and see it as it was meant to be seen -- on your TV. Just download the videos to the TakeTV flash drive and plug it into the TakeTV cradle for viewing. That’s it, no wires, cables or complicated hookups, just plug and play with the included remote.

Hottest feature: With the SanDisk Sansa TakeTV Video Player, your computer and your television become a harmonious unit. The ability to easily take video from your computer and watch it on your TV means that there are no more boundaries between these two technologies; leaving video to be seen as it was meant to be.

Number 8

Pantech Duo

Where to get it: In an AT&T store or online on the company’s website.

What is it? The Pantech Duo is a Windows Mobile 6 double slider phone that features a 12-key numeric keypad, a QWERTY-style keyboard that slides out of the device, and a 1.3-megapixel camera with 4x zoom. Enjoy e-mail, instant messaging and a full Microsoft Office Mobile package along with music and video at mobile broadband speeds. Lastly, the Duo’s data and voice capabilities allow you to talk and surf the web at the same time.

Hottest feature: The Pantech Duo is a full-service desktop computer fused with a multimedia phone. It’s the best of both worlds; for getting down to business during the week and then enjoying yourself with its entertainment capabilities, like the camera, music player and video player, on the weekends.

Number 7

Nike + iPod Sport Kit

Where to get it: The Apple Store or Nike Stores.

What is it? Stick the allotted sensor in your Nike+ shoes and during your workout you'll be able to track distance, time, pace, and calories burned. Plus, real-time verbal feedback makes your nano your personal coach, telling you milestones in your workout.

Hottest feature: In a country suffering from an obesity epidemic, there is finally an iPod accessory that has lasting benefits to overall health. The fact that the software can help coordinate your work out makes this the hottest iPod peripheral -- bar none.

The rest of the hottest gadgets for 2008...

Number 6

Slingbox SOLO

Where it’s available: A list of retailers as well as online purchasing details can be found at SlingMedia.com.

What is it? The latest model in the Slingbox arsenal, the SOLO allows you to watch your television television anywhere in the world, either through your laptop or your mobile phone. A streaming device that doesn’t require any monthly fees, the SOLO connects to equipment such as your DVR, satellite system or cable box to deliver HD-quality TV signals to anywhere in the world -- meaning you can watch your local news from a hotel in Bangladesh or a documentary on China in your office’s break room.

Hottest feature: The SOLO's easy-to-use software, SlingPlayer, allows laptop-users to watch their favorite programs and use programs like Microsoft Office at the same time.

Number 5

Intel Penryn

Where to get it: Initially, the Penryn is expected to be unleashed in next-generation Mac Pro desktop computers.

What is it? The Intel Penryn is the Core 2 Duo’s successor and the debut of processors clocked to 45 nm. It also includes the new SSE4 instructions, which speed up tasks -- such as video encoding -- to uncharted levels. Plus, it features the new Bearlake chipset and fabrication materials like the hafnium-dielectric. All of these elements combine to create a processor with a clock speed of 3.0GHz and an FSB of 1333MHz.

Hottest feature: Those who said processors couldn’t go any faster were wrong... so very wrong.

Number 4

ZINK Digital Camera/Printer

When you can get it: Go to ZINK.com to inquire about retailer locations.

What is it? Like a new-age Polaroid, the ZINK’s camera/printer allows you to take your digital shot, preview it and then print it on 2” x 3” paper, all in a matter of seconds.

Hottest feature: ZINK stands for “zero ink,” that means that there is no toner, ribbon or ink required. Instead, the camera heats the color-spectrum crystals embedded within the paper to bring the high-quality image to the surface. Like the Polaroid before it, this gadget could literally change how society takes and prints digital photos.

Number 3

Microsoft Sync

Where it’s available: Widely available on all high-end Ford and Mercury models, and standard on Lincoln models.

What is it? We’ve all seen the in-car, voice-activated phone, but Microsoft’s Sync kicks it up a few notches. For the first time, your iPod, cell phone, BlackBerry, and Zune can all be controlled with the sound of your voice -- thanks to an intricate voice-recognition system -- making for an entertaining in-car experience and a safe ride home.

Hottest feature: Now your car’s home entertainment system responds to your velvety vocal stylings, turning your car into possibly the closest we’re ever going to get to Knight Rider’s KITT.

Number 2

Wii Fit & Wii Balance Board

When it’s available: Expected to launch in North America in late 2008.

What is it? The active-play craze that began with Wii Sport now extends to the whole body with Wii Fit. Step onto the Balance Board and your Wii will input your body weight into its system and then allow you do to everything from aerobics to hula-hooping, while the character onscreen mimics your every movement.

Hottest feature: Work up a sweat on the Wii and, in the bigger picture, see home gaming technology move closer to fully realized virtual reality.

Number 1

Amazon Kindle

Where to get it: Amazon.com.

What is it? Weighing less than a paperback at 10.3 oz, Amazon’s new e-book reader includes 88,000 titles, with all bestsellers listed at $9.99. It can hold 200 titles at one time and has a battery life of up to a week without a recharge. It also includes exclusive subscriptions to top U.S. and international newspapers and magazines, 250 blogs, e-mail capability, and Wikipedia access. It’s a one stop shop for all things literary and it’s all delivered wirelessly in under a minute from the Kindle store.

Hottest feature: Not since the printing press has one product had the potential to affect the written word so drastically. With so many titles, blogs, newspapers, and the Amazon brand behind it, the Kindle could finally spell the death of the paperback as we know it.

the year of the gadget

So, there you have it, this year's hottest gadget is the Amazon Kindle, but there are still loads of questions to be answered: Will the Kindle take off and kill the book as a delivery system for information? Does Amazon really have enough brand recognition to finally make the e-book cool? Only time will tell.

Tech Tips From Teenagers

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 12:43:00 +0000

Teens are gadget-savvy because they have time to explore their gear without reading manuals. We asked them to share their top tips:

Say no to junk Minimise the spam you receive by using more than one e-mail address. ''I have an address for stuff I sign up to on the internet and one that I use properly,'' says Harry Browne, 15.

Clean up images ''My parents assume their camera's auto mode is all they need,'' says Rebecca Goldstein, 18. Instead, she advises using ''fill flash'' (activated via the lightning bolt button). This helps balance the amount of light when the subject is backlit or the contrast is too low or high.

Crush, then send Many adults e-mail photos without shrinking the resolution down to 72dpi (dots per inch), says Kate McCormack, 16. That's why a photo file can take forever to send. Make sure each attached file is 100kb or smaller.

Protect your phone ''Teenagers are always losing mobiles,'' says Natalie Sivolella, 16. ''Make a note of your phone's IMEI number.'' You can usually obtain this 15-digit code by typing *#06# into your phone. Quote it to your network to render the phone useless, even if the sim card is changed.

Just Like New PC

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 04:13:00 +0000

The PC you bought 18 months ago probably felt like the leading edge of technology. Yet today you're bombarded by ads ramming home the point that you can now buy more computing power, more extras and more memory or less than you paid.
That's the way with computer technology. It changes quickly, with components getting better and cheaper all the time. Economy of scale, intense competition, and economic factors in the producing countries also force prices down.

Here's the good news: you don't need the latest go-faster PC. What you've got will almost certainly do what you want. And even if you could use some more oomph, it is possible to give your system a boost on a modest budget. Here's what you can do to keep your PC trim:
• Regularly delete the temporary files that clutter up your disk. Remove fonts you don't use – they have to be loaded at every start up. Use a disk defragmenter every week.
• Check out the latest version of every bit of software you use. As well as bug fixes, the later versions usually offer performance improvements.
• Invest in a disk maintenance utility that extends and automates the housekeeping process.
• Open the hood and get out the screwdriver. Add more memory, a second hard drive, a faster graphics card, even a new processor.

Top 10 Romantic Christmas/New year give

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 04:42:00 +0000

Timeless romantic Christmas gifts
Despite what you men think, a woman’s idea of romance isn’t a kitchen appliance (too 1950s) a bottle of perfume (too cliche) or roses (too generic). And despite popular opinion, it’s not the price tag that counts, it’s the thought. The more time, effort and thought you put into her gift -- and the more you personalize it -- the gushier she’ll get. With those often-overlooked facts in mind, this year, make sure she’s bursting with cheer (and gratitude) by putting one of these top 10 romantic gifts under the tree.

Number 10

Membership to an "... of the month" club

This is truly the gift that keeps on giving, and it’s a monthly reminder of your love for her. Not only will you get points for romance, you’ll get points for originality and thoughtfulness, especially if you tailor it to her tastes.

If she’s a chocoholic, go with a chocolate of the month club. If she’s a wine snob, go with wine of the month. And it doesn’t stop there, ”of the month” clubs also center around cheese, coffee, candles, flowers, fruit, and movies; just log onto AmazingClubs.com and browse until you find the perfect match.

Number 9

A cashmere sweater

This isn’t just any sweater, it’s a cashmere sweater: A luxuriously soft and pricey piece of clothing that’s a true classic. Yes, it’s functional, but since it can be worn for life, it’s also a keepsake. Not all women love all sweater styles, so avoid trendy cuts in loud colors, and stick to classic cardigans or V-necks in black, brown, cream or navy.

Number 8

Lingerie

Not all lingerie is romantic; something like, say, crotchless panties, garter belts or anything that could be seen as more of a gift for you sucks the romance right out of it. When it comes to this gift, think sensuous, not slutty.

Stick with silk, satin and lace robes, camis, baby dolls, slip dresses, bras, and panties. And remember that part of feeling sexy is feeling comfortable -- if something is too snug or falling off, it defeats the purpose. So if you don’t know her size, include the gift receipt so that she can exchange it.

Number 7

Something inscribed

Books can be thoughtful and personal, but inscriptions take them to a whole new level of romance. Buy her a new novel that she’s been dying to read, a first addition of her all-time favorite classic or even a journal, the subject matter doesn’t have to be romantic, but your inscription does. This is the time to tap into your sentimental side. Of course, if all else fails, you could always quote a love sonnet.

Number 6

Something engraved

Although an iPod on its own isn't romantic, there is an easy way to elevate even the simplest gift into the ultimate romantic token: engrave it! By forever branding a bracelet, cell phone or even a key chain with your love seal, with your initials, anniversary date or a sappy sentiment, you’re sending her the message that you’re in it for the long haul -- and nothing is more romantic than commitment.

The best romantic Christmas gifts to give her this year...

Number 5

Show tickets

This gift is not about tickets for you (that means no Rage Against the Machine or Larry the Cable Guy), it’s about tickets for her. Yes, that means sitting through three hours of men in tights if she loves the ballet. Often better than a wrapped present, a shared experience like a concert, opera, play or holiday show brings you closer together. And don’t forget to save the ticket stub for No. 3.

Number 4

Something vintage

Antique stores are full of romantic artifacts, from decorative mirrors to classic vases. Most women love old-fashioned finds, but to personalize it, give her a photo of the two of you in an old-fashioned frame. The fact that it’s antique automatically imbues it with amore. And best of all, you can search for this gift from your living room, just surf eBay's “Antiques” section.

Number 3

A scrapbook

Don’t worry, we’re not suggesting that you cut and paste pictures into a scrapbook a la Martha Stewart, but there are, ahem, less feminine ways of preserving memories thanks to technology. Internet sites like Scrapo.com, Picaboo.com and Shutterfly.com let you create scrapbooks with the click of a mouse; just drag and drop photos, then add your own poetic sentiments and you’re done.

Granted, it’s a tad cheesy, but it’s about as close to a homemade gift as you can get -- and what’s more romantic than telling the story of your romance? For bonus points, throw in a ticket stub from your first movie or concert.

Number 2

A weekend getaway

Women love surprises and women love weekend getaways. This year, pair ’em up and you have a recipe for romance. Once you reach your lover’s locale -- whether it’s Napa Valley wine country, the Big Apple or even a nearby bed and breakfast -- keep the romantic theme going by taking her on a carriage ride, ordering room service for two and watching the sunset together.

Number 1

Jewelry

All women love jewelry, but not all women love all jewelry. If she doesn’t have her ears pierced, steer clear of earrings. If her style is simple and understated, bling isn’t your best bet. If she doesn’t wear a watch, don’t waste your money on one. The best thing you can do is look and listen to what she likes.

That said, buying jewelry doesn’t have to be intimidating; there are a few tried, tested and true trinkets, like Zales' Journey Diamond Squiggle Pendant in 10K white gold, that are sure to make her swoon.

guaranteeing christmas cheer

Love coupons are not romantic, but handmade cards are. No matter what you give her, by including a card and a personalized note, you automatically get romance points. If you don’t fancy yourself a Picasso, a store-bought card will do, just be sure the inscription comes from the heart.

Face Time

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:47:00 +0000

Let's face it, we're still trying to get the time to stop blinking on the VCR. So how many of us will actually use the video feature on our 3G phone?

There will be around 142 million 3G phone subscribers in Asia by 2009. Here's how to get ahead of most of them and phone someone to say hello face to face.

1. First, ensure you have a 3G SIM card in your 3G phone.

2. Under phone settings, select ‘Dual Mode' to access the 3G network.

3. Dial the number you want to call.
(Note: the person you call must also have 3G access.)

4. Go to ‘Options' and select ‘Call'. Then select ‘Video'.

5. Press the dial button and wait for your friend to answer and appear on your mobile phone.

6. Remember to smile.

Lost on buying a laptop?

hafidin@gmail.com (Joe) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 11:32:00 +0000

Here are some tips...

• Don't be seduced by super-fast processor speeds unless you're running graphics, intensive applications such as games or
design programs.

• If you want to watch DVDs on the move, buy a laptop with an internal DVD drive. An external drive could be a nuisance if you travel a lot.

• Buy a spare or higher-capacity battery for when you're not near a plug socket.

• Be prepared to pay extra for software. Even the basic Microsoft Office
is absent from many packages.

• Due to their rough life, laptops are more prone to failure, making it vital to back up data: a second, external hard drive makes this easier.

• Uploading digital pictures? You'll need a memory-card slot.

• Buy a decent and hardy laptop bag to protect your computer.