Saturday, May 16, 2009

Test Mobile Phones Online

The use of mobile phones have become so widespread all around the globe, that it has become a must have gadget for most people living on earth. Are you shopping for a new mobile phone? There are a wide range of devices available in today’s markets, catering to different usage needs.However, finding the right mobile phone, suitable for your needs, is always an arduous task. But do you know that you can now test mobile phones online?

How To Test Mobile Phones?

Yes, Tryphone.com is a web 2.0 site, that lets you test mobile phones online!!! Go to Tryphone.com and test-drive mobile devices including an Apple Iphone, Nokia N95, HTC Shadow, Palm Centro, BlackBerry Pearl 8100 and more, on this Mobile Test Platform which is still in beta.The site provides fully interactive online virtual handsets to test the mobile phones, right from the comfort and convenience of your own computer.

Tryphone.com also provides an overview and detailed specs for the various mobile phones. There are also a few mobile phone reviews by the actual end users.What is really cool about this mobile Test platform are the demos available for carrying out various tasks, using a mobile phone being tested.This includes tasks such as taking/saving a picture, sending picture messages, accessing voicemail, playing a video, downloading files, checking mails and more.If you are a person who doesn’t have the time or patience to read through the User Handbook, these demos are really handy.

Tryphone.com is truly an useful mobile test platform to test drive the mobile phones, before you actually go to the store to test and buy them.Test mobile Phones using Tryphone.com and enjoy!!!

Download Windows 7 RC

Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) is now available for download. This is a pre-release version of Windows 7 and is made available for free download until 30 July 2009.and

Windows 7 RC is a full-featured edition, similar to Windows Vista Ultimate. It is available for free download and once installed, it will automatically send information to Microsoft engineers, to help them check the fixes and changes they made based on Beta tests. As a user of windows 7 RC, you will get to know the complete features of windows 7!!!

What problems might occur on windows 7 RC?

Windows 7 RC is a fully tested version. But you might still face a few problems like,

  • Software that doesn’t install or work correctly, including anti-virus or security programs
  • Printers, video cards, or other hardware that doesn’t work
  • Problems accessing corporate or home networks
  • Files may become corrupted

Though windows 7 RC is a pre-release candidate, Microsoft does not provide technical support for it and the computer may crash and you may loose data, as it is not yet the final product.Hence it is advisable to download and test windows 7 RC, only if you are a reasonably experienced PC user, who knows how to back up the computer, format a hard drive, burn an ISO file to DVD, and install an operating system from scratch. You should also be comfortable troubleshooting problems on your own.

It is also better, if you backup all your data before you install windows 7 RC.Even better is to test it on a spare PC and not on your primary home or business PC.

How to upgrade to Windows 7 RC from Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 beta?

If you are already running the Windows 7 Beta or windows XP, you’ll need to back up your data (preferably on an external device) and then do a clean installation of the Windows 7 Release Candidate. After installing Windows 7, you will need to reinstall applications and restore your files. However if you’re running Windows Vista, you can install Window 7 RC, without having to back up and reinstall your programs and data.

If you want to upgrade to Windows 7 later on, you need to do a clean install.

System Requirements for Windows 7 RC:

  • 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 16 GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20 GB (64-bit)
  • DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Free download 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows 7 RC in English, German, Japanese, French, or Spanish from here.Note that windows 7 RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010. Download and enjoy Windows 7 RC until then!!!

XP Theme For XP To Get Windows 7 Looks

Make your Windows XP look like Windows 7 with the Windows XP Theme called Seven Remix XP 2.0. If you are geeky enough, you can download Windows 7 RC, available for download until 30 July 2009.

Though Windows 7 RC is a full featured edition, it is a pre-release candidate and Microsoft does not provide technical support for it. Hence it is advisable to download and use windows 7 RC, only if you are a reasonably experienced PC user. If you are not that geeky but still couldn’t resist getting the Windows 7 looks on your Windows XP, you can try the XP Theme Seven Remix XP 2.0.

Windows XP Theme, Theme For XP, XP Themes, Windows 7 Theme For XP

With this free Windows XP Theme, you can make Windows XP look like Windows Seven in just a few clicks. This XP Theme includes all the eye-candy features in Windows 7 including wallpapers, skins, cursors, system sounds, screensaver, the boot and logon screens. Seven Remix XP Theme pack is easy to install and its installation wizard walks you through the whole process, giving you options to choose exactly which elements will be installed and which not. As with most other XP theme packs, it creates a system restoration point before applying any changes, for further security.

Download the free Windows XP Theme, Seven Remix XP 2.0 from here and enjoy!!! However, you must remember that this XP theme does not give you the Aero effects, window preview or any other Windows 7 graphical features.It only gives you the visual changes to make your Windows XP look like Windows 7.

Fix svchost.exe application error

Are you nagged by SVCHOST.exe - Application Error in windows xp? i.e. do you get the following or a very similar error:

  1. svchost.exe - application error.
  2. The instruction at "0×009a8569" referenced memory at "0×00000000". The memory could not be 'read'.

Afer closing the above error, you probably would not be able to start anything on your PC. Moreover windows XP could even crash when you try to shutdown the PC. Definitely it is a frustrating experience. However you could try the following fix.

How to fix SVCHOST.exe Application Error in windows XP?

The SVCHOST.exe Application error is thrown because of a corrupted Windows Update in Windows XP.Infact, the only options that the error message allows are to click OK to terminate the program or click Cancel to debug the program.

But when the above error messages are thrown, do not close any of them i.e. neither click OK nor CANCEL. Windows XP will continue to work, if you do not close any of those error messages. Then you could carry out the following steps:

  • Click Start
  • Right click My Computer
  • Click Properties
  • Click the Automatic Updates tab
  • Choose Turn off Automatic Updates
  • Restart your computer
  • Connect to the internet
  • Click Start >> All Programs >> Windows Update
  • Manually update windows
  • Turn On Automatic Updates again

That is all folks!!! Next you get the error message again, follow the same steps as outlined above to fix the SVCHOST.exe Application error.

Generic Host Process Win32 Services Fix

Do you get an error on your PC that has the following message, “Generic host Process for Win32 Services encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience. If you were in middle of something, the information you were working on might be lost”.

Generic Host Process, Generic Host Process Win32

Here is a tool that lets you solve this problem with a few simple clicks.It is called Windows Worms Doors Cleaner and it detects all services enabled on your Windows PC by checking registry entries, the local open ports and the running services.

Since most of the viruses use known vulnerabilities in Windows services, which are enabled by default, and can’t be disabled via the operating system’s configuration, this tool is an excellent way of enhancing your PC Security.It also lets you solve the “Generic Host Process For win32 Services” problem easily.

Windows Worms Doors Cleaner

Features Of Windows Worms Doors Cleaner:

  • lets you disable the critical windows services exploited by the viruses
  • Thereby close the critical ports
  • Displays all the local opened ports
  • It is runnable with command line parameters
  • It Checks at start, the name of running processes to detect popular viruses
  • it also checks svchost memory usage

Free download Windows Worms Doors Cleaner from here and fix Generic Host Process Win32 Services Error.

Ultimate rapidshare download manager for free users

Download files and other content from rapidshare, with the free downloader Rapidshare Plus. Free users of Rapidshare, have to wait for a period of time, before they can download any desired content. These timers makes downloading multiple content, a very painful task.Aren’t they frustrating?

If you are a frustrated rapidshare free user, then here is a tool that you would adore, namely, Rapidshare Plus. This is a simple and user friendly utility that helps the free users, to download multiple content (files) from rapidshare automatically. Rapidshare Plus is a free download manager for rapidshare, and this has been built for the convenience of free users.

Do you have several download links for rapidshare? Don’t worry.Simply paste all those rapidshare download links on to this free download manager, select a download folder location on your PC/computer, and click “Download”.Then grab a cup of coffee or enjoy your favourite music, until the files/content get downloaded on to your PC.

free rapidshare download manager

Rapidshare Plus does not cheat on rapidshare, as it does not bypass the timers, imposed on free users, for content downloads.Rather it makes life simpler for the free users, to manage multiple downloads from rapidshare automatically. It also lets you know the status of downloads, by way of a progress bar.

Free download Rapidshare Plus and enjoy your free rapidshare downloads!!!

Free Rapidshare Downloads (Wait Time=0)

Rapidshare is a popular file sharing service where several thousands of people upload and download Rapidshare Files on an everyday basis. What amazes me, is the fact that we could almost find any file that we are searching for on the web, including music, songs, movies, videos, TV shows, templates, themes and more on Rapidshare.

Though People upload and download several thousands of files everyday, there is no good inbuilt Rapidshare Search Engine.However, we had earlier covered several good third party Rapidshare Search Engines. You can find working Rapidshare links to almost any file you search for on Rapidshare, via those Search Engines.

Free Rapidshare Downloads With Wait Time=0:

If you are a Free user of Rapidshare, here is a simple trick to beat the Wait Time imposed on Rapidshare Downloads for Free Users.

  • Open your web browser and paste the Rapidshare Link, for the file you want to download, in the Address Bar.Press Enter
  • Click Free User
  • Rapidshare Page will display a Wait Time counter
  • Copy and Paste the following to the browser Address Bar
    javascript:alert(c=0)
  • Press Enter

That is all folks!!! You would find the wait time disappearing immediately and you can enjoy Free Rapdishare Downloads!!!

You could also add the following link to bookmarklets and use it, whenever you want to cicumvent Rapidshare Wait Time.If you are using Internet Explorer, just right click on the link, and select Add to Favorites and save it to the Links folder. If you are a Firefox user like me, right click the link and select Bookmark This Link and save it to the Bookmark Toolbar Folder.

Rapidshare Free Downloads With SkipScreen

I recently came across this brilliant firefox add-on called Skipscreen, which is very easy to use.Though it may not be as powerful as the Free Rapidshare Downloader called JDownloader, it is wonderfully easy to use and is ideal for making those occasional free downloads from Rapidshare.Com.

Skipscreen lets you skip unnecessary pages on sites like Rapidshare, Megaupload, zShare, Mediafire, etc., when you download files from them.What makes your life easier is the fact that SkipScreen automatically clicks through the hoops, to get to the content you want.If you are looking to Download MP3 Songs or movies or Piano sheet Music, say, from Rapidshare, just do a Rapidshare Search for that file, and click through the resulting Rapidshare Links.SkipScreen will take care of automatically downloading the file for you. Though SkipScreen does not skip the imposed wait time, it doesn’t require you to wait for the download, and you can get busy with other tasks on hand.

Rapidshare Free Downloads

SkipScreen is an ideal firefox add-on for the firefox users who occassionally download files from Rapidshare.com or other file sharing sites like MediaFire, MegaUpload, DepositFiles, SendSpace, Divshare, LinkBucks, Sharebee and more.

Get SkipScreen from here and enjoy Rapidshare Free Downloads !!!

Download Google Chrome 2.0

Download Google Chrome 2.0.156.1 and enjoy the latest WebKit and a whole lot of new features, apart from several bug fixes. However you must subscribe to the Dev or Beta channel of Google Chrome to download this current version of Google Chrome.

By default, everyone is placed on the Stable channel when they first install Google Chrome. Thus what you download from Google Chrome’s homepage here is the stable version. But if you are one of those who would like to enjoy the latest features, then you can download the latest Google Chrome beta version by subscribing to the beta channel. But I wouldn’t recommend getting the Dev version by subscribing to the Dev channel, as it can be very unstable, though it would offer the most latest version.

How to subscribe to Google Chrome Beta channel?

  • Download and install Google Chrome from this link
  • Backup your current User Data\Default directory. This would be useful if you ever want to go back to the more stable channel, as your updated profile data might not be compatible with the older version. On Windows XP, You can find it in \Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default and on Windows Vista , you can find it in \Users\username\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
  • Next, download and run the Google Chrome Channel Changer from this link
  • Click the circle next to the Beta channel to get updates from it
  • Click Update to save your choice and Close
  • In Google Chrome, click the wrench menu and Select “About Google Chrome
  • Click “Update Now” to install the current channel’s release
  • Restart Google Chrome

Features of Google Chrome 2.0

  • Improved Webkit with some nifty CSS features
  • Form Autocomplete
  • Full-page zoom
  • Spell-checking improvements
  • Autoscroll
  • Docking dragged tabs
  • Import bookmarks from Google Bookmarks
  • New faster and more reliable SafeBrowsing implementation
  • Updated V8 Javascript engine
  • Google chrome’s own HTTP network protocol. Earlier it used windows Winhttp.dll, which caused a few Google Chrome errors
  • Experimental user script support like Greasemonkey. This can be enabled by adding a –enable-user-scripts flag to your Google Chrome shortcut
  • A new HTTPS-only browsing mode. Add –force-https to your Google Chrome shortcut, and it will only load HTTPS sites. Sites with SSL certificate errors will not load

Google chrome: The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)

Google chrome’s “application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005)error have some temporary fixes.Google chrome (chrome.exe) did not work for me initially, and I got the Google chrome error:

“The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005).Click on OK to terminate the application.”


I was disappointed and doing a search revealed that several people were reporting the same problem on various windows platforms including windows vista (SP1, ultimate), windows XP3 or windows XP2.So the error seem to have been triggered in different versions of windows vista and windows XP platforms and it is not specific to any one of them.Also, the bug was reportedly caused by “Symantec Endpoint Protection“, though in my case, I was not using any symantec product.

If you faced “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005).Click on OK to terminate the application.” error with google chrome (chrome.exe) and you are using symantec, then you could try the following steps:
  • Back up the registry on an affected system
  • Open the registry on the Agent system by entering regedit from a run prompt
  • Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SysPlant
  • Open the Start DWORD
  • Change the value to 4 to disable the drivers
  • Reboot the system to commit the changes
The above registry solution to fix the Google chrome error was issued in symantec forums.Read it here.

The other easier solution is to run Google Chrome with --no-sandbox (with two dashes before “no”). To run it with the above option, edit the property of the shortcut you use to launch Google chrome and add the above option at the end of the “target” line (after the path to the chrome exe) i.e. Right click your shortcut to “Google Chrome” and click Properties. In the target text field, add a space then add --no-sandbox (with two dashes before “no”) right after the ending quotation mark. Run using this shortcut.However make sure that there is a space in between the ending quotation mark and the --no-sandbox option that you add.You could find a shortcut to google chrome on your desktop.Also note that you should use two dashes before “no”.See the pic. below.

google-chrome-0xc0000005

You are in effect loosing the sandbox effect of Google Chrome.

What is sandboxing in Google chrome?

Sandboxing is a special feature in Google chrome, to prevent malware from installing itself onto computer/PC.It also prevents what happens in one tab from affecting the other tabs i.e each tab runs as a seperate process and for each of these processes, all the rights have been stripped.

processes sandboxed in google chrome

Hence, each of these processes are isolated and the websites/web applications you run via these processes can compute but they cannot write files to your hard drive or read files from sensitive areas like your documents or desktop.
From the above, it is clear that sandboxing has lots of goodness and one would not like to loose this feature of google chrome. However note that sandboxing is only an additional security feature in google.

Friday, May 15, 2009

BrassTacks: CIA's threats to Pakistan

A cutting edge analysis of the current scenario by Zaid Hamid. View all of the 5 parts of this show.

Zaid Hamid on Swat Operation & Provincial Autonomy

Zaid Hamid speaks on Pakistan Army's operation 'Rah-e-Haq' in Malakand Division, Northern Pakistan. Also discusses the reality of provincial autonomy for Baluchistan.



Friday, May 8, 2009

Improve Windows Vista Performance: Tutorial

The Many ways to improve Windows Vista performance :

In Windows Vista it is very easier to improve performance of the computer than previous version of Windows. It is just two step process


i.Rating Your Computer
ii.Improving performance of the computer

i. Rating Your Computer :

To Rate your computer means to check how is performing your computer. To do so Start Control Panel then click "Classic View" to switch Control Panel to Classic View then click "Performance Information and Tools" item.


A Window will be appeared on the screen and it shows about Windows Experience Index Base Score. Base score shows overall performance of your system including Memory (RAM), Processor (CPU),Primary Hard Disk, Graphics Performance and 3D Graphics capability (Gaming Graphics).If Higher the base score, Faster is your computer. Base score is determined by lowest subscore, subscore is rating of individual hardware component. The following picture shows about my pc's subscore and Base score.
The above picture is showing that Processor has 3.5 subscore, RAM 3.9, Graphics 1.9, Gaming Graphics 1.0 ,Primary hard disk 4.3. 1.0 is lowest subscore of Gaming Graphics among them so the base score of my pc is 1.0, means lowest subscore is base score of the computer so now it has become easier to rate our computer and improve performance.
Note : You can also get Base Score of your computer by Right clicking "Computer" option in Start menu.

ii. Improving performance of the computer :


Once you have rated your computer now it is become more easier task to improve performance of your windows vista machine. If subscore of processor is low you need to upgrade processor of your computer, same way if RAM has low subscore means you need to install more RAM in your PC. If Graphics has low subscore means you need to purchase and install a Graphics card with 128 or 256 MB of RAM. If primary hard disk has low subscore means you need to have a faster hard disk in your PC. By this way you can improve subscore of individual hardware if subscore of individual hardware is high the Base Score of your computer will be high and it perform faster than before. Keep in mind one thing too. If base score of Gaming Graphics is low, so it is not neccessary to buy a new Graphics card and install into your machine, until you have such type of higher graphics work to do on the machine. If your computer's base score is already high however also it is performing slower, so the problem is not related to hardware but it may be related to some setting in OS. Follow the given below steps and improve performance of your Windows Vista.

Whenever you work in Windows Vista, you need this experience quicker, smoother and enjoyable. follow these tips and tricks and take out best Windows Vista performance out
of it.


1. By disabling Startup programs :

startup programs are programs which are automatically started when Windows start and this process slow down Windows startup speed and it also takes memory. By disabling these startup program you can improve Windows vista's performance.

To disable startup program you have to start Windows Defender software. To do this click Start then All Programs then Windows Defender. Windows Defender gets start. then choose
"Startup Programs" from the catagory drop down list box and then choose the application
which you don't need start at startup and then click the "Disable" Button. By this way you can make disable all those application which you don't need to start at startup.


Note : if you run Windows Defender and get this window then click "Tools" then click
"Software Explorer".

You can't disable "Windows Defender", "Microsoft Userinit Logon Application", "Microsoft
Windows Explorer" because these application requires to run windows. so no need to disable them.

2. By using Disk Cleanup :

Disk Cleanup is a utility program throgh which you can remove unnecessary files, temporary file and system files and other items that you no longer need. And by this way you can improve performance of your Windows Vista computer. To do so click "Start" then "Computer" then Right click "Local Disk C:" drive then click "Properties" from the popup menu. "Disk Properties" dialogue box will be appeared on the screen.

Now click "Disk Cleanup" button from the dialogue box. Now "Disk Cleanup options" window
will be appeared on the screen.

it will ask you to choose which files to cleanup, choose the desired option and then
click. Then Disk cleanup will calculate that how much space you can free up on the
drive. Then a window will be appeared on the screen there select the check boxes which
files do you want to delete and then press "Ok" button. By this way you can cleanup all
the drives on your computer for temporary files and improve the performance of Windows
Vista.

you can also start Disk Cleanup By clicking Start : All Programs : Acessories : System
Tools : Disk Cleanup

3. By using Disk Defragmenter :

When you save files in computer, it saves randomly also when you update any files later it creates fragments. when you look for this files computer takes time to recollect it. To improve performance of the hard disk you need to defragment your hard drive time to time. You can shedule it or start it manually. To do so click Start : All Programs : Accessories : System Tools : Disk Defragmenter,
Disk defragmenter window will be appeared on the screen. Now click "Defragment now"
button to start difragmentation of your hard drive. it will take a few minutes to hours
depend on the condition of the hard disk. Once defragmentation is complete it will
improve the performance of Windows Vista.

4. Adjusting Windows Vista for Best Performance:

Step 1: Click Start>Control Panel.

Step 2: Then Click System and Maintenance > System > Advanced system settings. Windows Vista will ask for your permission to continue a dialogue box will be appeared on the screen. Click "Continue" button to go further.


Step 3: "System Properties" dialogue box will appear on the screen. Click "Advanced" Tab and then click "Settings" button under performance option.
Step 4: "Performance Option" Window will be appeared on the screen click "Adjust for the best performance" option button and then press "Ok" button to apply the setting and you are done.
This above settings will disable all these features of Windows Vista.

1. Animate controls and elements inside windows
2. Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
3. Fade or slide menus into view
4. Fade or slide ToolTips into view
5. Fade out menu items after clicking
6. Show preview and filters in folder
7. Show shadows under menus
8. Show shadows under mouse pointer
9. Show thumbnails instead of icons
10. Show translucent selection rectangle
11. Show window contents while dragging
12. Slide open combo boxes
13. Slide Taskbar buttons
14. Smooth edges of screen fonts
15. Use a background image for each folder type
16. Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop
17. Use visual styles o windows and buttons

After disabling all above features window will look like the following picture.

You don’t like this look Click "Let windows choose what's best for my computer” from "Performance Option" window and then press "Ok" button but it will again slow down Windows Vista's Performance.

5. Windows ReadyBoost to improve performance of Windows Vista Computer :

Windows ReadyBoost can use storage space on removable media/devices suchas (USB universal serial bus) flash memory, memory card, memory stick, USB pen drive etc as a memory cache and boost up computer performance. Through this you can improve performance of Windows Vista machine without installing more memory.

Here are the step to achieve this.

Step 1: When you plug any flash memory into your PC an autoplay dialogue box will be appeared on the screen as shown in the picture.


OR
Step 1: Right click "Remove Drive" and then choose "Properties" from drop down menu and then click "Ready boost" tab.

Step 2: Click "Speed up my system" option. "Removable disk Properties" window will be appeared on the screen to set the Windows Ready Boost settings.

Step 3: Click "Use this device" button to allow computer to use part of flash memory as a memory cache for your computer to inhance performace. Here also you have to mention, how much part of the flash memory do you want to reserve for the cache. In my case I have set 300 MB for this and then press "Ok" button. If you reserve 300 MB of flash memory for Windows Ready Boost then you can not use this space to store files.


In order use Windows Ready Boost your flash device must be of more than 256 MB.


If you don't have enough free space in your flash device then also you can not use it for Windows Ready Boost.


Step 4: Browse your flash memory, there you will find a filed called "Ready Boost" it is the file computer will use it as a memory cache.


Step 5: If you don't want to use this feature goto Removable disk properties and then click "Ready Boost" tab and then click "Do not use this device" option button. Then delete the Ready Boost file from flash memory. A confirmation window will be appeared on the screen. Press "Yes" button to delete the file.

Note : To get better performance use one to three times of RAM (Random Access Memory) capacity. For example if you have 1 GB of RAM then you can use 1 GB to 3 GB of flash memory for better performance.

It is not neccessary that all flash memory works fine for this feature. There are two types of flash memory are available one is slow and another one is fast. This feature will work only with fast type of memory.

Download Microsoft Windows 7 beta:

Monday, February 9, 2009

MicrosoftWindows7betaMicrosoft Windows 7 makes your work easier and faster. It allows you to work with it the way you want to. It has improved taskbar. It was built on feedback of people that what improvement they need. You may see lots of thing that you want. Now beta version of Microsoft Windows 7 is ready to download.

You can Download Microsoft Windows 7 beta version from microsoft.com by clicking the link below.

Download Microsoft Windows 7 beta


Download the Release Notes for Windows 7

Watch Video on Microsoft Windows 7 Installation and Features: (Video by : http://thetechlife.co.uk)

No Right Click script

No Selection Script