How to open .docx files easily without Office 2007

As you might know - Microsoft Office 2007 introduced a new file format called the Microsoft Open Office XML Format (.docx). But unfortunately this format is not compatible with older versions of Microsoft Word(like Office 2003 / Word XP) or with alternative operating systems like Linux or Mac OS X. Nor is it compatible with other word processing applications like OpenOffice, Lotus 123, or NeoOffice.

Below are some easy solutions on how you can still open your docx files in other systems and also easily convert it to previous versions of Word.

• Install the latest version of Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack and it'll be able to detect the docx file format and help you convert it to .doc file format.
• Use the Online Solution found here to convert your docx to be used in other formats too.

How to prevent Web pages from Caching on the Client browser?

Today I was confronted by a strange problem which I needed to find a solution to. I needed to prevent a single web page in a web application for caching at the Client's Browser.

This situation would frequently arise when you have a web page displaying some real time data like Banking information, log-in details, etc.

So I finally found a simple solution to add a single attribute in the asp.net web page to help it from NOT caching.

<meta equiv="pragma" content="no-cache">

iPhones in France to be available with Orange

Apple has just announced that Orange will be the Wireless Carrier to support the iPhone's release on the 29th of November.

It has took sometime for Apple to come up with a deal along with Orange. Looks like this decision was taken due to the legislation problems in France that demanded from Wireless Carriers to unlock handsets after six months, at the users' request. It's a great task for Apple to keep the iPhone locked, it's rather surprising to see that they have given in to allow the sale of unlocked handsets.

I guess that France is the next location for Geeks to travel in order to buy a Legitimate iPhone that'll work with all carriers and without any OS changes. Don't you think that the Geek travel will increase to France just for this one reason apart from Soccer.

It's almost too good to be true. One thing that leaves a shadow of doubt over the iPhone's release in France is the fact that a price for the unlocked version has not been revealed yet. The locked version, however, will be available for USD 400, starting with November 29.

How to make your Elevator to go Non-Stop to any Floor you wish?

I found this very cool video which explains how you can make any(90%) Elevators in the world to go Non-Stop to any floor you wish to go.

The trick seems to be in Pushing the Button of the floor you wish to go and also the Close Button's simultaneously. This is a very cool trick as often we are struck in every other floor!!

Give it a try.

Now you can easily Configure Outlook 2007 to access Gmail using IMAP

If you'd like to access your Gmail Account from a mail client like Outlook 2007 and not from the gmail website then you have some news to cheerish on - Google has finally implemented IMAP support in Gmail! So you can now easily control the messages in your gmail account straight from your desktop.

For those of you who don't know what IMAP is all about - IMAP actually stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It creates a permanent connection between your computer and the Mail Server (your Gmail account). The main advantage is that every time you delete a message using your client it is also automatically removed from the web server (Your Gmail account). The other cool thing is that you can use most of the Gmail features such as 'Report as spam' and even 'Star' special messages straight from Outlook (or other email client) with all the actions getting automatically applied on your account.

The list of Clients that Gmail's IMAP is compatible with are:

• Outlook Express (on Windows)
• Outlook 2003 (on Windows)
• Outlook 2007 (on Windows)
• Apple Mail
• Windows Mail
• Thunderbird 2.0

To check whether the IMAP function was already implemented into your account or not, login using your username and password, click on 'Settings' and go over to 'Forwarding and POP/IMAP'. In case the IMAP function is not already there for you, the tab is named only 'Forwarding and POP'.

To enable IMAP in your Gmail account:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click Settings at the top of any Gmail page.
3. Click Forwarding and POP/IMAP.
4. Select Enable IMAP.
5. Click Save Changes.

How to easily Resize your Windows Vista Partition? Partition your C Drive

There are many products in the market like the legendary Partition Magic - but although it claims to work with Windows Vista, but the fact is that it doesn't does the job that well. So you may be wondering how to resize your existing partitions like c: , d: drives without losing any data. I'll help you out today to do just that and also without the need for any costly programs. I'll explain to you how Windows Vista can be used to manage your partition resizing with it's inbuilt tools.

Here are the easy steps to follow:

• Hit the Vista Start Button.
• Right click on Computer and select Manage.
• If you happen to get an User Account Control[UAC] dialog now - just click Continue(Vista's Inbuilt protection has kicked in).
• On the left pane, expand the Storage category and click on Disk Management.
• Now, you'll find all the partitions of your computer listed out. Right click on the partition you'd like to modify(Lets say d:).
• Select the option Extend Volume or Shrink Volume(Extend - to increase the size or Shrink to reduce the size) of the selected partition.

That's it - you're done. You have now successfully resized your existing Windows Vista Partition.

How to easily Speed Up your Firefox in 4 Simple Steps

Many of you have been asking me how to increase their browsing speeds with BSNL , MTNL, Airtel, Tata Indicom, Reliance , Sify , etc Broadband connections. As usual I have a trick up my sleeves to increase the speed your Firefox performance.

The below steps will hold good only if you have a Broadband connection - else it will make your browsing much slower. Let's now have a look at the simple 4 steps.

First of all Type “about:config” into the address bar in Firefox and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries and make the necessary changes.

You will need to enable Pipelining in Firefox. Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several request at once, which will substantially speed up your page loading times.

Alter the entries as follows:
1. Change “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
2. Change “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
3. Also, change “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to a number like 40. This in turn means that Firefox will make 40 requests at once.
4. Finally right-click anywhere in Firefox and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0″. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives - so we ask it not to wait even a second!!

You’ll now see that the webpages in Firefox load MUCH faster now!

How to configure "Open All in Tabs" in Firefox without closing existing tabs?

From the past few months I have been using Firefox and have completely removed Flock for my general browsing. But I was facing one big problem with Firefox - When I used to click on "Open All in Tabs" in a bookmark folder, it closes all the existing tabs.

I was wondering to find a fix for this and today I found it.

Here's how you can disable it.

1. Open a blank tab, and type about:config in the address bar.
2. Find the browser.tabs.LoadFolderAndReplace setting, and double click it to change it to false.

This will keep it from killing all the tabs you already have open. You will have to restart firefox to get it to take effect.

Got a Sony Ericsson K810i - The Cybershot Phone

I got a brand new Sony Ericsson k810i (The Cybershot Phone) about 2 weeks back and have been enjoying using it.

Well, let me give you a brief history of my love for Sony Ericsson phone - it all started 5-6years back with the T610 that my dad got me. Till then I was snubbed in the world of Nokia with the Nokia 6150(was a pioneer with IR support at that time and a legendary long antennae) and later Nokia 8310(a sleek and small phone - good battery support). But once I was introduced to the facinating world of Sony Ericsson - I never looked back(very truly).

My first SE phone T610 was an awesome handset for that time with cool features like bluetooth and a decent camera. Also, the ability to have your customized themes made it look afresh every few days. Later I got a k700i which I used (very rashly) for more than 2-3years and till the last day I had it in my hand - it performed like a star. The only problem used to be with the joystick acting funny during the monsoon's. Well, I don't want to bore you with the past - let's have a peek into my new Cybershot phone.

The Sony Ericsson K810i is called a Cybershot phone due to the powerful 3.2 Mega Pixel camera that it hosts. The camera is truly awesome and I love each snap that it takes. It has an in-build Image Stabilizer that results in truly flawless images. I have a Sony 8.2 Mega Pixel Camera for personal use but the images produced with my phone are pretty good to print too.

My handset came with a whooping 2GB M2 memory card - but I have already consumed almost 75% of it. I have put in many movies and transferred my song collections. Also, I have huge collection of mobile games - something to the tune of 200+ (not kidding).

Well, I'll keep you posted on the cool features of this wonderful gadget in the coming days.

Here are a few images taken from this phone (Click to enlarge the images).

How to display Date and Time (both) in the System Tray?

If you would like the date in the System Tray along with the time, right-click on the Taskbar (ensure that Lock the Taskbar is deselected) then drag the top edge of the Taskbar upward until it snaps to twice its normal height.

The clock displays three lines rather than one, showing the current time, the day of the week, and the current date. I found this accidentally and guess it helps someone out there.

How to display the Address Bar on the Desktop?

One of Internet Explorer's most powerful hidden tools is a universal command line, where you can launch programs, open folders; go to web sites, and more.

Here's how that can be done easily. Right-click on the Taskbar (ensure that Lock the Taskbar is deselected) and select Toolbars > Address. When the Address box shows up on your Toolbar, click and hold on the word Address and drag it to the top of the Desktop. Right-click on it and select Always on Top.

Now, when you maximize applications, they'll expand between your Address bar at the top and you Taskbar at the bottom.

Instant Eyedropper :: Easily Identifies colors on the web

Instant Eyedropper is a completely free desktop application that lets you identify any specific color on the web with a single click. The Best feature is that it automatically paste's to the clipboard the HTML color code of any pixel on the screen with just a single mouse click.

Supported color formats:

• HTML
• HEX
• Delphi Hex
• Visual Basic Hex
• RGB
• HSB

Something of particular note with this tool is that it allows you to ZOOM to the elements to copy exactly the color you are looking for, this is especially useful when you try to get a color within an image.

It is a fairly lightweight application(415KB) . So give it a try today!!

How to easily Add Dummy Text in Word Files?

Did you know that a simple programming language comes built into Microsoft Word. One Word Basic command can fill a page with dummy type.

Give this a try.

1. Open a new document, type =rand(x,y) in which x and y represent the number of paragraphs and sentences per paragraph respectively (valid for numbers between 0 and 200).

2. Press Enter, and you'll see the sentence "The quick brown fox jumped over the fence" repeated y times per paragraph in x number of paragraphs.

BioniX :: A Freeware Auto Wallpaper changer

BioniX Wallpaper is a cool Free Wallpaper Changer that supports JPG, GIF, BMP, ICO, EMF image files. This program lets you set the time interval at which your deskop wallpaper will be changed.

You can chose it between one second and a few years - time elapse gap. Also, the wallpaper manager has "don't disturb user" mode (through "automatic shut down" option): images will be changed automatically when Windows starts, then the program will close without user intervention. Like Winamp, it gives you the posibility to gather images from all over the hardisk in one playlist, without changing their physical location.

The images can be stored in different directories, on different harddisks, even on different computers. Also, you can make multiple tematic playlists and switch between them whenever you want to.

Download this cool Freeware here.

US Airways to accept PayPal as means of Payment

After Northwest Airlines which allowed its customers to use PayPal as a payment method for sometime now. It seems that another American Carrier - US Airways will follow suit.

US Airways has said that a popular request among its customers was now fulfilled with the ability to purchase airfare using the online payment service. US Airways will also promote PayPal through the "travel tools" section of its Web site.

Paypal is by far one of the safest methods to make purchases online, and estimates put out say that it currently counts about 153 million accounts worldwide (including me).

CNN IBN :: The Coolest news channel :: Live Streaming Feed for free

Rajdeep Sardesai has been a name to reckon with in Journalism for the past decade.The blue-eyed boy of NDTV raised a few eyebrows when he left them to start his own news channel.Few could have foreseen that he would tie up with one of the best news channels in the world and give even the best a run for his money.

Rajdeep says that his channel is built on the age old ethic that editorial sovereignty is inviolable and calls his channel ’journalist driven’. he has managed to conjure up a good team of professionals handpicked for the job. Anubha Bhosle, Sagorika Ghose and several others provide credibilty to the channel. He is also backed by the sound experience of TV 18’s news gathering techniques and infrastructure which provides a huge back up of sorts for the newsdesk apart from CNN’s huge eminent and extensive news network that provides global news to the Indian subscribers.

Also, CNN IBN has been one of the few Indian News Channels to allow a Live News Feed to be available online. You can access the feed via this link. The one pre-requisite is that you have Windows Media Player installed in your PC.

Consolidated List of Customer Support Contacts for Sony Ericsson

Here is a complete list of Sony Ericsson customer support numbers around the world. You'll never know when you'll need any of these numbers to reach for support.

Americas
United States : 1-866-766-9374
Brazil : 4001-0444
Canada : 1-866-766-9374
Chile : 123-0020-0656
Venezuela : 0-800-100-2250

Asia and Pacific
Australia : 1-300 650 050
China : 4008100000
Hong Kong : 8203 8863
India : Bangalore 080 - 57505555
India : Mumbai 022 - 56995555
India : General 39011111 (Any city)
Indonesia : 021-2701388
Malaysia : 03-78809800
New Zealand: 0800-100150
Philippines : 02-6351860
Singapore : 67440733
Taiwan : 02-25625511
Thailand : 02-2483030

Europe
Austria : 0810 200245
Belgium : 02-745 16 1
Croatia : 062 000 000
Czech Republic : 844 550 055
Denmark : 33 31 28 28
Finland : 09-299 2000
France : 0 825 383 383
Germany : 0180 534 2020
Greece : 801-11-810 810
Greece : (Mobile) 210-89 91 919
Hungary : 01 437 7300
Ireland : 1850 545 888
Italy : 6.48895206
Netherlands : 0900 899 8318
Norway : 815 00 840
Poland : 0 22 6916200
Portugal : 808 204 466
Romania : (+4021) 401 0401
Russia : 095 7870986
Slovakia : 02-5443 6443
Spain : 902 180 576
Sweden : 013-24 45 00
Switzerland : 0848 824 040
Turkey : 0212 473 77 77
United Kingdom : 08705 23 7237 Also -- 0208 7625800

Middle-East and Africa
Central Africa : +27 112589023
United Arab Emirates : 43 919880
South Africa : 0861 632222

Sony:
Sony Europe PR Office: press@eu.sony.com
Sony Europe Head of PR: Miss Maria Heavey
Sony UK general enquiry line: 08705111999
Sony UK Press Office: 01932816417
Sony UK Head of Press Office: Miss Emma Cross

Hope this rather extensive list helps you!

How to easily Change the Default File Location in Windows?

You can have Word, Excel, and PowerPoint open automatically into a folder you specify instead of the My Documents folder. To change the default file location, follow these steps for Word, Excel, or PowerPoint:
1. Choose Tools > Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, do one of the following:

• In Word, select the File Locations tab. In the File Types list, select Documents and then click Modify. In the Modify Location dialog box, navigate to the folder you’d like Word to use and click OK
• In Excel, select the General tab. Type the path name of the location you’d like to use as a default in the Default File Location text box
• In PowerPoint, select the Save tab. Type the path name of the location you’d like to use as a default in the Default File Location text box

3. Click OK in the Options dialog box to apply the changes.

How to create Custom Keyword Shortcuts in Windows easily?

With Microsoft Windows you can create shortcuts to documents, folders, and applications and place them on your desktop for easy access. But if you who want to avoid the mouse whenever possible, you can also launch these shortcuts using the Windows Run dialog box and a keyword you define.

Here’s how:

1. Create a folder for your keyword shortcuts (this is where you will drag and drop any newly created desktop-icon shortcuts). For example, my shortcuts are stored under C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows User ID]\My Documents\MyShortcuts .
2. Navigate to any program in the Start Menu (like Microsoft Word), right-click its icon and choose Send to Desktop (Create Shortcut).
3. Drag the new Microsoft Word shortcut from your desktop to the shortcuts folder you set up, rename the shortcut by selecting it, pressing F2, and typing wrd. Repeat steps 2–3 for any documents or folders you’d like to open via custom keywords .

Samsung FPT5084 Television and its Competitors

Which television is better clearly depends on your needs. The latest offering is called the FPT5084 from the Samsung stable. It is a full HD 1080p Television and has an anti glare screen so if you have alot of windows or lights on when you watch TV they will not effect the picture.

It's special screen uses glass to absorb lots of glare. Its Ultra FilterBright anti-reflection filter is one light bulb that shines onto a color wheel with mirrors to give you your picture. When the signal goes into the gas the millions of bubbles light up according the the signal and heat. Single bubbles can and will burn out after time.

That is why you hear the word image burn. When one image is left on the television for an extended period of time the gas bubbles producing that picture can overheat and burn up. If you are just watching tv and movie watcher Plasmas are great depending on the brand. The Samsung FPT5084 and many other brands like Pioneer , Sony Bravia can be reviewed here - They have a wonderful collection and side by side reviews with prices and specs across brands and technologies.

How to Modify Word Shortcut / Context Menus easily?

Word allows you to modify the Shortcut menus which appear when you right-click on an item within your document. As an example of the process you can follow to make changes, try these steps (assumes you want to change the Shortcut menu that appears when you right-click on text within your document):

1. Choose Tools > Customize. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected
2. Scroll through the list of toolbars, and select the Shortcut Menus item. A floating Shortcut Menus toolbar appears. The toolbar has three items on it. These items represent the three categories of Shortcut menus used by Word
3. Click on Text, then choose Text from the drop-down list. This displays the actual Shortcut menu that appears when you right-click on text within your document
4. Within the Customize dialog box, click on the Commands tab
5. Using the Categories list, choose the type of item you want to add to the Shortcut menu. This modifies the commands listed in the Commands list
6. Drag items from the Commands list to the position where you want them to appear on the Shortcut menu
7. To rename an item on the Shortcut menu, right-click on it and specify the name. Similarly, to delete an item on the Shortcut menu, drag the item off the menu
8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 to continue modifying the menu
9. Close the Shortcut Menus toolbar. Click Close in the Customize dialog box when you are done.

Wasn't that really easy :)

Clean your Computer use the cool Freeware :: CCleaner

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) is a freeware system optimization and privacy tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history.

It easily cleans the following Windows components:

* Internet Explorer
- Temporary File Cache
- URL History
- Cookies
- Hidden Index.dat files
- Last download file location
* Firefox
- Temporary File Cache
- URL History
- Cookies
- Download manager
* Recycle Bin
* Clipboard
* Windows Temporary files
* Windows Log files
* Recent Documents (on the Start Menu)
* Run history (on the Start Menu)
* Windows XP Search Assistant history
* Windows XP old Prefetch data
* Windows memory dumps after crashes
* Chkdsk file fragments

CCleaner was designed from the ground to be safe and secure to use. It has multiple levels of checks in place to ensure that it cannot delete any useful information or documents you may still need.

Best of all it is a Freeware.

You can download CCleaner here.

Some Quick E-Mailing tips in Outlook

Make a message unavailable to recipients after a specific date
To set the expiration date on a message you are composing, click Options.... Under Delivery options, select the Expires after check box, and then in the lists, select the date and time you want the message to expire.

Set a reminder to reply to a message
Right-click the message you want to set the reminder for, point to Follow Up, and then click Add Reminder. In the Due By list, click the date when you have to complete the reply. In the second list, click a time. In the Flag color list, click the flag color you want, and then click OK.

Make a folder available for online and offline use
Right-click the folder, click Properties, and then click the Synchronization tab. The folder must be on your network, not on your hard disk.

Quickly print search results from your Inbox
To print a list of your search results from the Advanced Find dialog box, press CTRL+P.

Check an e-mail alias against the names in your address books
To immediately resolve an e-mail alias in the To, Cc, or Bcc box, press CTRL+K.

Sketch your Thoughts Online easily using Sketchcast

Sketchcast is like a YouTube - but for drawing. The service enables you to create a “sketch” of just about anything that lurks your mind and easily publish it online.

Once you have clicked on the “Record” button, draw whatever you wish. You can also integrate your voice. Once you feel that you are done, go ahead and click on the "Stop" button. Once you are done you have an option to publish your video in the site. The site also provides code in HTML which is specifically to publish the video on your blog/site.

Below is one such Sketch I created!!

50 million FREE iTunes songs : Courtesy Starbucks Giveaways

Starbucks recently has announced a new plan to give away about 50 million songs Absolutely FREE from Apple iTunes library as part of a promotion to drum up interest in its wireless music service that will debut very soon.

The offer is valid from October 2nd only at Seattle and New York locations and in slated to be available in San Francisco later during November.

Here's how you can make use of this offer. When at Starbucks browse over to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Then you will be able to view and also download the currently playing song(at Starbucks) as well as the last ten played songs Absolutely Free.

Also, there is news that 1.5 million music cards will be given out each and every day in all of Starbuck's 10,000+ US stores from October 2 through November 7. Each Music Card will allow the customer to download a special "Song of the Day" at no cost from iTunes.

There is also information that the artists who will be featured will include :

• Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell (Hear Music artists),
• Dave Matthews
• Annie Lennox
• John Mayer.
  

Also, the first song that will feature as Song Of the Day will be "Joker Man" by Bob Dylan, and a new song will be given away each day.

Halo 3 - The much awaited Game from Microsoft Released Today!!

Halo 3 - the much awaited game on the Microsoft's Xbox 360 has over 1 Million+ pre-orders in North America alone and is all set to break day-one entertainment sales records today following it's launch.

I feel this will be a huge milestone for Microsoft Game Studios and the console Xbox 360 in this very very competetive market. Halo 3 is an attempt by Microsoft to mark a comeback in the console space. The game is the Xbox 360's so-called "killer app" - that piece of software or feature that sells the product.

Halo 3 game-line centers around the travails of a Master Chief, who leads a band of marines on a quest to save humanity from an alien invasion. The story is pretty much your classic first-person shooter game. It allows you to blast your way to rid the earth of these superb Alien creatures. You can also choose to play in multiplayer mode with a group of friends to finish the 'campaign,' or choose to play against one another.

Only time will really tell how Microsoft's Game plan for the Xbox 360 console plays out to be!!

How to Reset your Windows Vista Password easily?

Many a times you would have been caught up in an awkward situation where you have forgotten or simply mis-placed your Windows Vista Password. So here's how you can easily reset your Windows Vista Password, I'll touch upon two methods on how you can achieve it.

The easy method :
Download a piece of software from Petter Nordhal-Hagen’s website. But, before that be warned that this method involves the manipulating of Vista's SAM database which is always a bit risky. You will need to create a boot disk (CD) from the downloaded software and this will then help you to manipulate the Vista's SAM database.

I would like to re-assure you at this point that I have had to use this cool tool a couple of times on a Windows 2000 Server Box before and have never had any problem :) . Since, the new version of this cool software supports Windows Vista - so I can recomend the same.

The harder method:
In this method you will need to have a Windows Vista Password Reset Disk handy which will enable you to reset your password easily. But the point to note is that you should have created a Vista Password Reset Disk earlier in the first place.

This is how you can create a Vista Password Reset Disk:

• In the Vista's Start Menu search box type the word "user accounts". Click on the User Accounts Panel which will open.
• Click on the option Create a password reset disk found on the left navigation bar (The first one on the left - below Tasks).
• Run the Forgotten Password Wizard which will open. Insert a floppy disk or a USB memory disk.
• After you have inserted the storage device click on the Next button. Select your drive and then Next.
• Now you'll need to type your current Vista user account password and click Next.
• That's it the password reset disk will be created.
• Now keep the Vista Password Reset Disk in a safe location.

When you have forgotten your Vista Password - type the wrong password and press Enter.

• Just below the Error Message you will have a link saying Reset password. Click that link and follow the instructions. You're done!!
  

Some Cool Office Tips

WORD

Go Back to Where You Left Off in a Document
To return to the place where you last edited a Word document, press Shift+F5.

Quick Word Deletion
You can delete entire words with your keyboard. Just put your cursor at the beginning of the word and press Ctrl+Del together. This is very useful when editing.

Customize Line Spacing and Alignment
The Ctrl key is your best buddy when you want to experiment with line spacing and alignment variations. Ctrl+1 provides single spacing, Ctrl+2 provides double spacing and Ctrl+5 provides 1-1/2 line spacing. Ctrl+R right aligns a paragraph, Ctrl+L left aligns one, and Ctrl+E centers one.

EXCEL

Instant in-cell graphs
Use the repeat (REPT) function in Excel to create a bar graph inside cells. REPT looks like this: =REPT("text"; number_of_times). For instance, REPT("X"; 10) gives you "XXXXXXXXXX". For in-cell bar charts, the trick is to repeat a single bar "|". When formatted in 8 point Arial font, single bars look like bar graphs. Of course, number_of_times can also be substituted with a cell number.

POWERPOINT

Annotate during Presentations
While giving a slide show presentation, right-click in the active window then choose an annotation item from the Pointer Options submenu, such as Felt Tip Pen or Ballpoint Pen. You can write directly on the slides: underline words, draw a picture, whatever. To return to normal use, and move onto the next slide, select Arrow from the submenu.

Opera 9.5 version Available :: Coolest Browser

Opera is one of the oldest browser's in business. Opera has released a new version as an alpha release - 9.5 for Windows.

Opera 9.5 lets you surf the Internet in a safer, faster, and easier way. One of the most full-featured Internet power tools on the market, it includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat.

You can easily customize the look and content of your browser with a few clicks of the mouse(Just have a look at my screen shot below).

Give it a try and you'll know what I meant.

Click to Enlarge Screen shot

Missed the download link - sorry. Here's the link to download Opera Browser 9.5 alpha release - codenamed Kestrel

Complete List of Websites to Watch Tamil Movies Online for FREE

Here is a complete list of websites on which you can watch all the Tamil Movies online for Free.

Most movies are uploaded onto youTube or other video sharing websites.

Here we go with the list of websites:

• Videomasti
• Desivideos
• IdleMovies
• Tamilwire

Watch the Twenty20 20-20 Finals between India Vs Pakistan Free Online - Streaming Website Link

Most of you have already been geared up to watch the Grand Finale of the Twenty20 (20-20) Cricket Match between India and Pakistan. But for some reason if you are struck in office and have No access to the television set - here's help.

I have found the following website which provides live streaming of the cricket match for FREE.

The website is www.ulinkx.com/cricket

Let's wish both the teams all the very best!!

Related Link : Watch Cricket matches LIVE online for free

How to easily Move or Copy Files at Will in Windows

Intuitively, when you drag a file from one place to another, it would seem reasonable that the file will be moved, not copied. That is, when you see an object disappear from a location, it shouldn't still be there next time you look.

One of the worst inconsistencies in Windows is what actually happens to files when they're dragged. Dragging from one place to another on the same disk ends up moving the files, while dragging from one disk to another copies them.

If you're just dragging EXE files, a shortcut is created, and the file is neither copied nor moved. To cope with this, follow the following instructions:

• To copy a file under any situation, hold the Ctrl key while dragging.
• To move a file under any situation, hold the Shift key while dragging .
• To choose what happens to dragged files, drag them with the right mouse-button, and a menu will appear when the files are dropped
  

How to Create Users and Databases easily in PostgreSQL

After the good response to the last post on How to Install PostgreSQL easily on Windows Vista or XP?, lets today focus on how to Create new Users and new Databases easily in PostgreSQL. As mentioned previously we will use the techy psql which is the command line interface for PostgreSQL.

You will need to first connect to the user postgres from your localhost to create the database owner. The command prompt postgres=# indicates that you are connected to the postgres database. The # in the command prompt actually means that the user connected to is a database superuser[Sort Off like in Linux].

Creating a New User:

To create a New User(mynewuser) in PostgreSQL we will use the CREATE ROLE command as follows:

postgres=#CREATE ROLE mynewuser
postgres-#login
postgres-#password 'mypassword';


This will create a new user called 'mynewuser' with the password 'mypassword'.

Creating TableSpace :

Now we will move ahead to create the default tablespace for the new database. This is where the database’s files will be stored. Create a new folder structure as C:/myDB/mynewuser/system

The steps below will help you to create a new tablespace as mynewuser_system

postgres=# CREATE TABLESPACE mynewuser_system
postgres-# OWNER jason
postgres-# LOCATION 'C:/myDB/mynewuser/system';


Hers's how you can check if the tablespace was created. Just key in the following command.

postgres=#db+ mynewuser_system

Create a Database and the related Database objects:

Finally we will now create a new database and the associated database objects. It's very simple... so here are the SQL Statements.
postgres=# CREATE DATABASE myFirstPSQLdb
postgres-# OWNER jason
postgres-# TEMPLATE template0
postgres-# TABLESPACE mynewuser_system;

You can verify if the Database is installed properly by the following command.
postgres=#l+

Now we will finally create the related Database Objects.

First login into the Database:
postgres=# c myFirstPSQLdb

Then run your SQL script as follows:
myFirstPSQLdb=# i C:/myDB/myObjects.sql


Do let me know how this article helped too.

Related Articles : How to Install PostgreSQL easily on Windows Vista or XP?

How to use Group Schedules in Microsoft Outlook

Outlook lets you view the free/busy status of other users, either through Exchange Server or through a free/busy server such as the one offered by Microsoft or your own internal free/busy server. You're probably aware that you can view someone else's schedule when you create a meeting request, but you might not know that you can create and work with group schedules without creating meeting requests. This is handy when you need to monitor other people's schedules but not schedule meetings with them.

Here's how to create a group schedule in Outlook 2003:
1. Open the Calendar folder and click the View Group Schedules button on the toolbar
2. Click New, enter a name for the new group, and click OK
3. In the resulting group schedule dialog box, click Add Others and choose Add from Address Book
4. Select the people (or resources) whose schedules you want to include and click OK
5. Click Add Others and choose Add Public Folder if you want to add a calendar stored in a public folder

The dialog box should now show the free/busy times for the selected people and resources. If you do want to schedule a meeting, just click Make Meeting and choose an option to create either a new meeting request or a new message with a selected individual or all individuals in the schedule. Use the Zoom drop-down list to choose the amount of scheduling information to view.

How to turn-off User Account Control [UAC] easily in Windows Vista using the Command Prompt?

I has sometime back blogged on "How to disable the annoying User Account Control [UAC] feature in Windows Vista easily?", but then it required the installation of a 3rd party software and many annoying steps. Finally now I have found a very simple step to turn-off the User Account Control [UAC] easily in Windows Vista using just a few lines on the Command Prompt.

Follow the steps below and you should be able to turn-off the UAC feature easily.

• Just Enter "cmd" in the search Box under the Start menu
• Then right-click the highlighted result and choose Run as administrator from the contextual menu.
  
• Finally you will need to enter the following (as a single line):

reg.exe ADD HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersion
PoliciesSystem /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Also, incase you would like to turn ON UAC anytime in future. Put the code below instead
reg.exe ADD HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Why is Firefox browser Blocked on a few sites?

Did you know that the most rapidly growing and popular browser Firefox is blocked on a few sites. Well, you may be wondering what I am talking all about.

To give you some perspective on things - a website designer called Danny Carlton started it all to block Firefox on his website in order to boycott the Ad Block Plus extension of the browser. Now it seems that many other website owners have joined forces with him.

Firefox has an extension / add-on called Ad Block Plus which blocks most of the advertisements displayed on the website. This feature of the extension has irritated many website owners because the amount of money they receive was reduced since the users discovered the extension. Incase you didn't know this earlier - many of the website owners are receiving important funds from advertisements and now their business is strongly affected.

So Danny Carlton has created a special website called 'Why Firefox is Blocked'. He and many other Web designers / Website Owners need to just implement a special code in their content in order to restrict the access of the Mozilla browser. They are blocking Firefox as a whole since there's no way to block only the Ad Block Plus extension. Danny Carlton and others now fight against the entire application until the add-on is disabled.

I somehow feel(in my opinion) that Danny Carlton is right because many of the Website Owners are able to run and maintain their websites using the funds received from advertising. A website will need a lot of funds even in terms of hosting on dedicated servers, etc. Lets take AdSense, for example - Millions of registered members publish Google Adsense ads on their websites and, every time a visitor to the website clicks on them, a certain amount of money is automatically transferred into his account(although it is very small at most times). Since the Firefox extension blocks most of the ads, the website owner doesn't receive any money.

So let's watch out how this issue turns out in the end.

How to Unlink Every Hyperlink in a Microsoft Excel Document ?

After the last article "How to Unlink Every Hyperlink in a Microsoft Word Document ?", one of my friend's asked me for a solution to do the same in a Microsft Excel Document. Volla, here's how it can be done in an Excel file. The Macro code is changed - else all the steps are the same.

Running the following macro achieves the same result as selecting each hyperlink and choosing Remove Hyperlink from the shortcut menu.

Here we go with the steps:

• In Excel, click to Tools > Macro > Visual Basic Editor (or press F11)
• Right-click the ThisWorkbook icon , then select Insert > Module
• Paste the code below into the box. Click File > Save. Alternately, you can save this macro in a template of your choice

Sub RemoveAllHyperlinks()
ActiveWorkbook.ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Delete
End Sub

Run this macro in Excel from the Tools > Macro > Macros dialog.

Hope this helps.

Free Photoshop Online - To be available soon

Adobe will soon launch Photoshop Express which is a free, stripped-down version of its award-winning image editing software(Photoshop) that will be available online. Photoshop Express runs within the browser and is completely Flash-based, thereby eliminating the need to install any nasty softwares.

I feel that Photoshop Express isn't meant to duplicate / replace Photoshop CS3(in all it's flavors) or Photoshop Elements.

If you check the exclusive screenshot below you will notice that there are several functions included in the new product, starting from the basic features like crop & rotate, auto correct or white balance and more advanced features including tuning and many others.

Adobe has given no indication as to when Photoshop Express will be made available, only saying that it is still in development.

Click to Enlarge Screenshot

Tips to Recover scratched CD's easily

Don't you feel like crying every time you add another disc to your pile of scratched discs. Trashing that disc which contained your favorite songs, pics, files, games or videos is not easy.

Read-on, if you find yourself wishing for a miracle every time your favorite CD is scratched.

Home Remedy :
Here's an easy home remedy, which might give you the desired results. Rub a small amount of toothpaste on the scratch and polish the CD with a soft cloth and any petroleum-based polishing solution (like clear shoe polish). Squirt a drop of Brasso and wipe it with a clean cloth.

Technology to the rescue
There are many softwares available on the net, which enable the recovery of the CD data. BadCopy Pro is one such software, which can be used to recover destroyed data and files from a range of media.

Just a few clicks is all it requires to recover the disc from almost all kind of damage situation; be it corrupted, lost data, unreadable or defective.


General Tips:

• Always wipe the CD from the center outward with stratight spoke-like strokes. Wiping CDs in circles will create more scratches.
• Do not scratch the graphics layer as you cannot repair the disc.
  

HINT: Hold the disc up to a light with the graphics layer facing the light source. If you can see light thru the scratches at any point then the disc may be irreparable and or exhibit loading or playing errors.

• Clean your Disc players lens regularly with a suitable product to ensure optimal viewing pleasure.
• Make sure to use a soft, lint-free cloth to clean both sides of the disc. Wipe in a straight line from the centre of the disc to the outer edge.
• If wiping with a cloth does not remove a fingerprint or smudge, use a specialized DVD disc polishing spray to clean the disc.
• Only handle the disc by its outer edge and the empty hole in the middle. This will help prevent fingerprints, smudges or scratches.
  

Some Cool Statistics on CD Data Loss:

• Fingermarks/prints cause 43% of disc problems!
• General wear & tear causes 25% of disc problems!
• Player-related issues cause 15% of disc problems!
• User-related issues cause 12% of disc problems!
• PlayStation 2 machine scratches cause 3% of disc problems!
• Laser rot (a manufacturer error) causes 2% of disc problems!

The complete List of most commonly used Acronyms in Instant Messaging / Internet

A few days back, Vishal - a long time reader of this Blog suggested me to put an article on the most common Acronyms used in Instant Messaging / Internet. Thus, I have put up this article that may help others too.

Here are the most common abbreviations that you (U) might come across while IMing or simply Surfing the net. I have taken almost a week to come up with this list, please feel free to add other abbreviations / acronyms that I might have missed in the Comments section below. Most common ones are made bold.

AFAIC - As far as I'm concerned
AFAIK - As Far As I Know
AFK - Away From Keyboard
ASAP - As Soon As Possible
BBL - Be Back Later
BBN - Bye Bye Now
BBS - Be Back Soon
BF - Boyfriend
BRB - Be Right Back
BTW - By The Way
BWL - Bursting With Laughter
CID - Crying In Disgrace
CYA - See You (Seeya)
CYAL8R - See You Later (Seeyalata)
EMSG - Email Message
FC - Fingers Crossed
FTBOMH - From The Bottom Of My Heart
FYI - For Your Information
GAL - Get A Life
GF - Girlfriend
GFN - Gone For Now
GMTA - Great Minds Think Alike
GTSY - Glad To See You
H&K - Hug and Kiss
HAGN- Have A Good Night
HHIS - Hanging Head in Shame
IAE - In Any Event
IC - I See
IMNSHO - In My Not So Humble Opinion
IMO - In My Opinion
IMHO - In My Humble Opinion
IOW - In Other Words
JMO - Just My Opinion
KIT - Keep In Touch
L8R - Later
LHM - Lord Help Me
LMAO - Laughing My A$$ Off
LOL - Laugh Out Loud
LTNS - Long Time No See
MTF - More To Follow
NRN - No Reply Necessary
OIC - Oh, I See
OTOH - On The Other Hand
PM - Private Message
ROFL - Rolling On Floor Laughing
SO - Significant Other
SOT - Short Of Time
SWL - Screaming with Laughter
SYS - See You Soon
TA - Thanks Again
TGIF - Thank God It's Friday
TCOY - Take Care Of Yourself
TNT - Till Next Time
TOY - Thinking Of You
TTFN - Ta Ta For Now
TTYL - Talk To You Later
YBS - You'll Be Sorry

Do keep a copy of this for your ready reference.