I have been working on developing a product website for my new exciting project (of which you will hear soon) and I was searching the internet for a theme related to the site niche and I came across the theme Ebook by Templatic.

The theme is absolutely gorgeous with its vibrant colors and brilliant use of space. It has a highly customizable Settings Page. Other features are

• Two detailed color schemes
• One Click Auto Install
• PSD File Included
• Drop Down & Breadcrumb Navigation
• Gravatar Support & Threaded Comments
• Built-in Ad Manager
• Valid, Cross browser Compatible
• Search Engine Optimized

Although the theme is titled Ebook, it can be used to showcase other products as well. The theme is priced at 65$ for single-use license and 99$ for multi-use license.

View demo/ Buy Ebook

Twitter has finally launched its official tweet button yesterday. Through this, you will be able to tweet a news story/post directly from the website without visiting twitter. Most of the websites already has this functionality with most of them using TweetMeme for it. Tweetmeme will be the worst affected by this move. But apparently it seems that both that Twitter and Tweetmeme have made some sort of agreement to reduce the impact for tweetmeme.

In the latest blog post Tweetmeme has stated that they will be assisting Twitter with the technical aspects of the retweet button and they themselves will be focusing more on other intiatives such as the DataSift which was announced yesterday.

DataSift gives developers the ability to leverage cloud computing to build very precise streams of data from the millions and millions of tweets sent every day.
Tune tweets through a graphical interface or our bespoke programming language
Streams consumable through our API and real-time HTTP
Comment upon and rank streams created by the community
Extend one or more existing streams to create super streams

You can watch the new tweet button in action in the below video.

Souce: Twitter Blog | Tweetmeme Blog

Like many others I was also eagerly awaiting Apple’s press conference this friday . The outcome was somewhat expected – Steve Jobs trying to show that there’s no problem with iPhone 4 with all the facts and figures. They also announced that Apple will be giving out bumpers for iPhone 4 for free plus if any one is dissatisfied with the new iPhone, they can return the undamaged iPhone within 30 days and get a refund. That’s great! And the press conference would have been great if Steve Jobs had stopped it there. But even before announcing the free bumpers he went out against other mobile phone manufacturers in his little presentation and went on to show that the antenna problem was not just for iPhone but Blackberry, Samsung, HTC and Nokia phones have the same issue. Seriously you guys have been working your butts off for the last 22 days to show that other phones had the same problem ? Maybe you should have spend that time fixing the antenna problem rather than going against other companies.

Now RIM and Nokia has come up with statements against Apple’s foolish and ignorant statement,

Here’s the statement from RIM

“Apple’s attempt to draw RIM into Apple’s self-made debacle is unacceptable. Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation. RIM is a global leader in antenna design and has been successfully designing industry-leading wireless data products with efficient and effective radio performance for over 20 years. During that time, RIM has avoided designs like the one Apple used in the iPhone 4 and instead has used innovative designs which reduce the risk for dropped calls, especially in areas of lower coverage. One thing is for certain, RIM’s customers don’t need to use a case for their BlackBerry smartphone to maintain proper connectivity. Apple clearly made certain design decisions and it should take responsibility for these decisions rather than trying to draw RIM and others into a situation that relates specifically to Apple.”

And here’s the one from Nokia

“Antenna design is a complex subject and has been a core competence at Nokia for decades, across hundreds of phone models. Nokia was the pioneer in internal antennas; the Nokia 8810, launched in 1998, was the first commercial phone with this feature.

Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying human behavior, including how people hold their phones for calls, music playing, web browsing and so on. As you would expect from a company focused on connecting people, we prioritize antenna performance over physical design if they are ever in conflict.

In general, antenna performance of a mobile device/phone may be affected with a tight grip, depending on how the device is held. That’s why Nokia designs our phones to ensure acceptable performance in all real life cases, for example when the phone is held in either hand. Nokia has invested thousands of man hours in studying how people hold their phones and allows for this in designs, for example by having antennas both at the top and bottom of the phone and by careful selection of materials and their use in the mechanical design.”

Dear Apple next time you do a press conference, please don’t do anything stupid as this one and try to be a bit more responsible.

Source for quotes: Gizmodo

My Windows Club is a community website on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It has been developed by Tony John MVP, the founder of DotNet Spider and India Study Channel. MWC consists of a great resource section where members can post original articles and earn money through revenue sharing system of MWC.

My Windows Club also features a forum supported by knowledgeable persons where you can post any computer related query. Another great feature of My Windows Club is the Exam 70-680 section. The Exam 70-680 section consists of resources that would be helpful for people who are about to take the MCTS exam. Through the unique revenue sharing program you will earn money every time you post quality content in the forums or the resources section.

Here’s an overview of the Revenue sharing System at My Windows Club.

Revenue Sharing with the core members
The revenue sharing program of this Website is a unique one. At present this Website is in Beta version and is shaping in to one of the best technology websites with revenue sharing program. This Website shares 100% of its revenue generated during the first year with a core group of 10 members who are supporting the Website well along with sharing Cash Credits, Adsense Revenue and various awards / prizes.

Cash Rewards for content contributors
Content posted by members are evaluated by editors and are rewarded according to the quality. Each qualified resource is awarded some cash credits which is equivalent to real cash. When the cash credits reach a minimum payout level, the money is transfered to the member’s bank account, after raising an invoice.

So broadly speaking MWC is a great place to find/post resources and earn money.

Visit: My Windows Club

I am happy to bring to you the very first interview at Windows Geek Blog. And we are honored to have none other than the award winning author Ed Bott as our first guest. Ed Bott as you all know is one of the most recognized voices in the computing world. Ed has won twice, the Computer Press Award for his work on PC Computing’s groundbreaking “Windows SuperGuide”. He is also a three-time winner of the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Award. 

Me: You are one of the most reputed Tech writers in the industry with more than two decades’ experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. Tell us about how you started out and your journey to your current position.

Ed: I started my career as a magazine editor in the 1970s and became managing editor of PC World in 1986. That was my first job in the PC industry. I joined PC Computing in 1991 as Senior Editor and then Editor. We became famous for our coverage of Windows with the Windows SuperGuide an annual feature. I wrote my first books in 1994 and 1995, on Office 4 and Windows 95, respectively. When PC Computing went out of business in 2000, I started freelancing. I’ve been writing online columns ever since and am now at both edbott.com and ZDNet

Me: Bill Gates once said that one technology he is looking forward to is tablet computers. But unfortunately Microsoft’s operating systems couldn’t make an impact in the Tablet PC market – with HP replacing Windows 7 with WebOS in HP Slate and most others using Android or something else. The Windows platform definitely has more free/paid apps than any other OS plus the huge advantage of MS Office but still why do you think the PC makers prefer other OSes to Windows?

Ed: I’m not sure those PC makers actually do prefer other OSes to Windows. We are very early in the lifecycle of slate-type PCs. Most PC makers are still experimenting. I think by end of next year we’ll have a better picture of which platforms are popular. Android and iOS both have phones right now which have attracted developers, to be sure.

Me: A few weeks ago a confidential presentation on the next version of Windows from Microsoft was leaked to the net. Your thoughts!

Ed: I plan to write about that this week. It was a VERY interesting but also very narrow look at what might be coming. Remember that it was aimed at hardware partners and their specific concerns, and not at enterprise customers or consumers. So it was interesting as much for what wasn’t there as for what they talked about.

Me: Is there a specific feature that you would like to see in Windows 8 which is not present in Windows 7?

Ed: Hmm, yes there are several. Most important is a way to save and share settings (and apps) between different PCs. Would also like to see a touch-optimized UI. Currently Windows 7 is optimized for mouse and keyboard and supports touch.

Me: Regarding the touch optimized UI- as per the presentation Microsoft’s 3 main focuses for Windows 8 appear to be Slate, Laptop, and All-in-One. So could that make any difference in the slate category as i asked earlier. And what do you think about the omission of desktop?

Ed: Well, all-in-one is desktop. And the emphasis on slate this year will be with Windows 7, but they really need to build a new shell to fully optimize for touch. I think the old era of the tower CPU, monitor, etc is dying. People want efficient hardware configurations in terms of space and power

As for UI…

Right now it’s the same shell for touch and for keyboard/mouse. I would like to be able to shift to a completely different shell for touch. One that is truly optimized for use with a fingertip (or two or three). The key is to have both, depending on your hardware.

Me: And I guess that’s the reason (inconsistent UI) behind HP allegedly dropping windows 7 for WebOS..

Ed: Yes, although we will see what they actually do. So far it’s all just rumors.

Me: Microsoft has been asking users to upgrade but still definitely there is a significant amount of users who are still using IE6. Do you think that IE9 will be able to bring those to the other side of the road?

Ed: Two answers to that question. For consumers, a new browser comes with a new PC. The only people still on IE6 at home are using XP and are basically clueless. They have had many opportunities to upgrade already, and the fact they haven’t indicates to me that they don’t know or care. But that’s a small number.

For businesses and enterprises, the reason they stick with IE6 is because they have corporate applications that were written for IE6 and won’t work with a newer browser or non-IE platform. For them, one possible answer is virtualization, but the other is just rewriting those old apps, which takes time. The trend is definitely going to see IE6 down to very small numbers by next year.

Me: In a recent blog post you pointed out that Linux distros are getting more and more vulnerable. What are your thoughts on its future?

Ed: I see nothing that will move it out of its niche status and into the mainstream for consumers. It’s become increasingly polished and capable, and that’s good competition for Microsoft.

Me: After talking about Windows and Linux, we can’t leave out apple! What do you think about the recent shift on Apple’s marketing strategy (from I’m a Mac) ?

Ed: That strategy was very much tied to the public (negative) perception of Vista. When Windows 7 came out, it became irrelevant. I think today Apple is more interested in its new products, iPad and iPhone. And the Mac strategy is to pick up the “halo effect” from those devices.

Me: Talking about the iPhone, what are your thoughts on iPhone 4?

Ed: I haven’t used one. My wife has the new iOS 4 on her iPhone 3GS and has noticed it has lower battery life. Beyond that, I am amused to read about its technical problems as a phone.

Me: Do you think that the reception problem was taken care of badly by the apple PR?

Ed: Yes, without a doubt. It has been a case study in how not to do PR.

Me: Now coming to Windows Phone 7, did you get to play around with one? Do you think that Windows mobile has evolved the right way ?

Ed: I have played with one just a little bit. It looks very promising and I hope to have one soon. Microsoft’s experience with the Zune device has been great preparation. But they have to deliver first, and I will reserve judgment till I see how they work with their many partners.

I really can’t wait to get my hands on one and actually use it!

Me: Just weeks after release, Microsoft has killed its Kin phones supposedly due to poor sales. Do you think it will have any negative impact on Windows Phone 7?

Ed: Probably not. The Kin launch was a management blunder but should have little or no effect on the WP7 line.

Me: So do you think that MS should have actually killed the project that fast or should have waited a bit more?

Ed: They should never have launched it.

It should have been obvious that it was a failure months ago, but they had so much invested in it that they unwisely chose to push forward.

As a poker player, Ballmer knows not to throw good money into the pot when you have a losing hand.

Me: So according to you what actually went wrong? I had read somewhere that the plans were the villain.

Ed:  Oh, I only know what I’ve read, wouldn’t want to speculate on reasons. It was probably a good idea when it was planned several years ago but the market changed in the meantime.

Me: What are your latest projects?

Ed: I just finished (really, just this past weekend!) writing Office 2010 Inside Out for Microsoft Press and O’Reilly Media with my partner Carl Siechert. We’re reading page proofs right now. We will probably update Windows 7 Inside Out this fall. And I have a lot of blogging to catch up on. Did you know next week is the one year anniversary of Windows 7 release to manufacturing?

Me: wow never though about that. This anniversary might actually be a time to rejoice for Microsoft.

Ed: Indeed, I have to think they’ve been very pleased and relived with its success.

Me: By the way MS has announced a PDC (dont remember when exactly). But they always announce something special every time at PDC. Any idea on what it might be this year?

Ed: The dates will be Oct 28-29, 2010, IIRC. I hear it will be cloud-related. I expect to see a beta of IE9 in August, perhaps a larger release in October. That’s also a time for Windows Phone 7.

Microsoft has gotten very good at keeping secrets lately.

Me: Apart from technology what are the other things that interest you?

Ed: Music is probably #1 for me. And travel. My wife and I try to combine those two interests when we can. And of course our beloved pets, a pair of English Springer Spaniels and a very smart cat. All rescued from the animal shelter.

Me: Your twitter profile says you like rock music. which is your favorite artist/band?

Ed: Wilco, without a doubt. One of the most adventurous and interesting groups working today. And they take requests for every concert at their web site!

To read great articles from Ed, visit ZDNet or his personal blog edbott.com.

With MS Excel you can superscript a whole cell but not individual characters unlike Word. Here is a way to denote a square or cube of a number using the Find and Replace dialog box.

1) From the Home tab, select Find and Select and click Replace. Alternately you can press Ctrl + H to open the dialog box.

2) Enter the number that you want to superscript in the Find What box.

3) In the replace with box enter the base number and then by keeping the ALT key pressed, press 0 + 1 + 7 + 8 one by one to add the superscipt 2 and ALT and 0 + 1 + 7 + 9 for adding the superscript 3.

4) Click the Replace button and you are done.

This tip is for a cell with only numbers. If a cell consists of alphabets and numbers, you can easily superscript a number by first highlighting it and then by right clicking > Selecting Format cells and checking Superscript check box.

The most popular sporting event in the universe has been kicked off and it is the hot topic in both the outer world and the Internet world. So undoubtedly, this is one of those rare golden opportunities for spammers around the world to scam you. So its your job to stay away and be protected from all those scams. Here are a few tips from my side.

1 ) Don’t click on links from emails that promise free tickets, live streaming of the event and delete such mails without even opening it if its from a source you don’t know.

2) If an unfamiliar site promises to stream the live video and asks you to install a plugin, most probable its a Trojan or something similar.

3) Lots of fraudulent sites use Black hat SEO techniques to rank high in the search engines for World Cup related keywords. Hence the high ranking websites shouldn’t be legitimate all the time. So exercise caution when you visit an unfamiliar website.

4) Last but certainly not the least use a reputed and up to date antivirus software.

Stay safe and have a wonderful World Cup season

It looks like Hotmail and MSN’s Israel site has been hacked a few hours ago. Those who visited the site was shown a page that said that the site has been hacked by TurkSec. The following image was posted on the Neowin forums

At the time of writing of this article, it looks like the Microsoft engineers have regained control and we are getting  the following page.

Update: This is what actually happened according to Microsoft

Our investigation has shown that there was no attack against Microsoft properties or customers. In this case, attackers contacted a third party domain registrar posing as Microsoft and succeeded in having Microsoft-bound traffic directed to other, non-Microsoft systems.

Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 SP1 Beta will release this July. Bob Muglia, President of Microsoft’s server and tools business gave out the details yesterday during the opening of Tech-Ed Conference. Like last time, Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will have a combined single installer.

The SP1 will be a minor update for Windows 7 with no new features. It will include all the previously released hot fixes and a  few new ones. For Server 2008, it is a major update with a new feature being added called RemoteFX. To know more about RemoteFX, check this detailed post.

Image Credit: Long Zheng

Here are two videos of Steve Ballmer from Indimix 2010 that  took place on 28th May. The first video is a part from his keynote about the importance of cloud computing and the second one is from the Q & A which turned out to be quite hilarious. Take a look.

Thanks to Only Gizmoz for the videos.