Five reasons Android is superior to the iPhone

While on vacation, I was reminded (yet again) how superior the Android platform is to the iPhone. How this happened was simple — during my large family gathering, I had to work on several iPhones but no Android phones. As I worked on the iPhones, it hit me just how inflexible the iPhone platform is and in how many ways the Android mobile is superior.

As with any listing of this nature, every point here could be argued, but I wanted to try to keep this particular listing to facts and not just opinion. So, let’s dig in and see how that goes.

1. Application options. With the Android platform, all you have to do is tap the Menu button to get to the application options, even while the application is running. This is very much in line with how PC applications work. However, on the iPhone, you have to go through Settings to get to the application options. Sometimes this is circumvented when iPhone app designers add an Options button within an application — but this leads to inconsistency, because not all applications have options.
2. Updates. For me, this one is the deal breaker for the iPhone. In order to get updates (especially firmware updates) the iPhone must be connected to iTunes. Android, on the other hand, offers two ways to get updates: OTA (Over The Air) or using a third-party tool that allows the upgrade to be installed via a PC. The third-party tool will depend upon the maker of the handset, but most of them work very well. The OTA updates also work almost flawlessly. The only bad experience I’ve had with OTA updates is with AT&T, because they only allow you to check for updates every 24 hours. This can cause some serious frustration when you KNOW there’s an update available, but your handset has yet to see it. But generally speaking, when your provider makes the update available, it will appear and be ready for installation.
3. No iTunes. I have always been very vocal about this. I have a great dislike for iTunes, and there are a lot of reasons for this. It’s not intuitive, it’s a resource hog, and it’s forced upon you by Apple, when you want to fully manage your iPhone. With the Android platform, there is not one single application required to manage your device. In fact, a single Android device can be managed by multiple applications and in multiple platforms.
4. Multitasking. That’s right, the Android platform does true multitasking. Sure, Apple claims the iPhone does, but I challenge you to actually manage multitasking on the iPhone platform. With Android, all you have to do is hold down the Home button to see a list of your running applications. From that list, you can switch between apps at any time. There are even third-party Android applications (such as Power Strip) that can be installed that make the task of multitasking even more powerful.
5. Application installation. With the Android platform, you can install apps from the Android Market, from your PC by simply copying the file to the mobile, or even transferring via Bluetooth. In fact, you can install home-grown applications just as easy as “official” applications created by Android developers. For developers, this is a real boon, because you don’t have to rely solely on an emulator to make sure your application works properly. Some people argue that this opens up Android for possible malware, but if done carefully, it won’t be an issue.

There are many reasons why I personally feel that Android is superior to the iPhone, but the above entries tend to float to the top for me. Yes, there are aspects of mobile life that the iPhone does quite well, but for anyone that prefers a sense of true freedom with their devices, Android is — far and away — the platform of choice.

How Insurance Works

While it may seem complex, insurance is really quite simple: The payments (or premiums) of the many pay for the losses of a few. Your premiums go into a large pool, if you will, at your insurance company. The claims of the few are paid from that pool. Because there are more people contributing to the pool than there are making claims, there is always enough to pay the claims – even large single claims like when someone is permanently disabled as a result of a car collision, or many smaller claims like those resulting from a natural disaster. (The 1998 ice storm that hit parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick resulted in an estimated 700,000 claims for damage totalling $1.4 billion.) However, large disasters (such as the ice storm) do come close to emptying the pool. 

 

Insurance for insurance companies

Even when the pool comes close to emptying, there is another pool from which insurance companies can draw to pay claims. Some of your premiums are used by your insurance company to buy reinsurance – insurance for insurance companies. Sometimes losses are so big – like those resulting from an earthquake – that there is no way that an insurance company can cover the costs. Reinsurance is an extra layer of protection against large losses.

Annual replenishing

Your insurance is an annual contract, so the pool operates for only one year at a time. Your premiums and the premiums of others are based on how much money the insurance companies think they will need to pay the coming year’s claims. Your premiums do not build up over the years – unlike the premiums for some types of life insurance. 

How premiums are calculated

Within reasonable limits, some of which are prescribed by law, your premium is calculated to reflect the probability that you will make a claim – that is, that you will draw funds from the insurance pool. Those who are unlikely to draw from the pool pay less than those who are more likely to draw from it.

Insurers take many factors into consideration to determine the likelihood that you will make a claim. A common misconception is that a policyholder who has never made a claim should pay less, little or nothing for insurance. While it is true that past claims history is important, a more reliable indicator of how likely a person or business is to make a claim is the statistical group to which he/she/it belongs.

Industry earnings

Insurance companies generally do not make money on the premiums gathered from policyholders. In 2005, insurance companies paid more than $21 billion in claims while taking in $35 billion in premiums. The difference between the premiums and claims, in this case $14 billion, is used by the companies to pay salaries and taxes ($6.2 billion in 2005), and to cover the overhead costs (such as electricity bills) of running a business. It is also used to pay the administrative costs of settling a claim. 

Insurance pays for …

Insurance pays for only those types of losses described in your contract. It is very important that you read your policy and/or talk to your insurance representative about what you are covered for and what you’re not. Insurance will not pay for every problem that you may encounter, nor is it a maintenance contract. Insurance is generally intended – and priced accordingly – to help policyholders cope with the financial consequences of unpredictable events that are "sudden and accidental."  If, for example, you live on a floodplain by a river, flooding of your property in the spring is not sudden or accidental; it is inevitable and, therefore, uninsurable. 

How Stock Market Works

In my effort to further educate newbies in the field of stock market, I initiated this article for stock market beginners. You may call it Stocks 101 or Stocks for Dummies.

First and foremost, what is the stock market? A stock market is an avenue for companies and corporations to offer their shares in the public. Once a company listed their shares in the stock market, then the public is free to buy and sell those stocks. It works in a similar way to how you might sell and buy gold. So what’s the pros and cons of a company in listing their stocks publicly?

Pros:

1. To raise capital. Companies hire an advisor called underwriter to formulate the Initial Public Offering (IPO) price of the company’s stock depending on several factors. Then executives of these companies will conduct a roadshow usually out of the country to entice foreign investors to buy these shares. The IPO price is the starting price of the company’s stock in the stock market when it first traded publicly. An oversold stock mean that it did well in its initial public offering. It means that a lot of investors bought the stock. It can be twice or thrice oversold depending on the turn out of the IPO.

2. To know the market value of a company. One way to easily know the market value of the company is by knowing the price of its stock. This in turn will be multiplied by the total outstanding shares that the company holds. Here in the Philippines, the largest company in terms of market value is PLDT.

Cons:

Since the company’s stock is now open for public, it can be subject to several external factors. Investors can now play its stocks. It can now be a subject for scrutiny by investors and analysts. Also, it can be a subject for manipulation. A company that did well, meaning, it beats analysts estimates on its earnings and profits will probably go higher as investors buy these shares. In contrast, those that did not meet or has some problems in liquidity, credit, labor, compliance, etc. will be dumped by the investors that will lead to the so-called ‘equity dry up’. This led to the recent bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

So much for the pros and cons, we will now get into the basics of the stock market.

Once a company listed its shares in the stock market, this will be represented by a so-called Ticker Symbol. A ticker symbol is a short-cut name of the company. You won’t see the long name Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company in the stock market. It may be hard to memorize and to recall. Instead, it is represented by the ticker symbol ‘TEL’.

An index tracks the movement of the stock market. The ups and downs of an index depends on the movement of the price of the stocks. You usually hear the index went up or down by so and so points. Different countries have different names for their indices for easy identification. In US, there are three indices. These are called a.) Dow Jones Industrial Average or DOW or DJIA. b.) NASDAQ and c.) S&P 500. In Japan, they called their index ‘Nikkei’. In Hong Kong, they call it ‘Hangseng’. In UK, they call it ‘FTSE 100′. In Germany, they call it ‘DAX 30′. Here in the Philippines, they call it ‘Phisix’.

Someone asks, is there a minimum amount to buy stocks? The answer is yes! Here in the Philippines, it usually takes a capital of Php 25,000 to open an account but some online trading platforms require just Php 5,000. All stocks have a minimum number of shares that each investor needs to comply. This is called Board Lot. The purpose of this is to avoid ‘odd lots’ and to facilitate easier trading. This depends on the price of a stock. Here in the Philippines, a stock with a price of 101 and up per share requires a board lot of 10 shares. A stock with a price of 10.25 to 100 per share requires a board lot of 100 shares. A stock price of 1.02 to 10 per share requires a board lot of 1,000 shares. So this mean that you cannot buy just 10 shares of a stock with a price of 10 per share.

The movement of stock prices is also subjected to ‘fluctuations‘. This is also dependent on the price of a stock. Here in the Philippines, a stock with a price of 101 and up per share is subject to a fluctuation of 1.00. It means that it can move to a multiple of 1, lower or higher, but it cannot move 0.25. Therefore, you cannot buy or sell it at 101.25 or 101.50.

When you buy or sell stocks, you placed a so-called Order. A ‘buy order’ mean that you requested to buy a stock at a specified price. A ’sell order’ mean that you requested to sell the stocks that you currently holds. Every order is represented by a price and volume. By volume, it refers to the number of stocks that you want to buy or sell. By price, it refers to the buy or sell price that you want. All these orders will be requested thru a stock broker. A stock broker will receive all these requests and will post it in the stock exchange. Once an order materialized, it is called ‘matched order’. Meaning, if you posted a buy order of 100 shares of TEL stocks at the price of 2,000, then another person posted a sell order of 100 shares of TEL at the same price of 2,000. And so your order has been matched! If you posted beyond the trading hours, then it’s called ‘off-hour order’ and your order will be exercised the next trading day. If you don’t have sufficient funds to buy a stock, then it will be a ‘declined order’.

Stock market is like any normal store. It has operating hours called trading time or trading hours. Depending on the country, the stock market normally operates from 9:30AM to 12:30 Noon. Some countries like Japan operates from 9AM to 3PM.

You’ve been hearing a lot about bear and bull markets. What do these terms mean? A bear market is a stock market where there are a lot of sellers than buyers. By law of supply and demand, since there are a lot of supply, in this case sellers of stocks, then the stock price will be bound to go down. Why is it called a ‘bear’ market? Just look how bear attacks. It fights by using its claws in the ‘downward’ position. In contrast, a stock market called a bull market is characterized by a lot of buyers than sellers. This is again by using the law of supply and demand. Why is it called a ‘bull’ market? Just look at how bulls attack. They have this set of thorns in the ‘upward’ direction when they fight with an enemy. When there is a bull market, stock ‘rally’.

A blue chip stock is a stock of a well-established company having stable earnings. The term ‘blue chip’ came from casinos where blue chips represent counters with the highest value. During trading, a stock can be called ‘most active’, ‘top gainers’ or ‘top losers’. A stock belonging to the most active list is a stock with a lot of buyers and sellers. These set of stocks are also called ‘movers’. Top gainers’ list are stocks with the highest gain in a single trading day while top losers are stocks with the highest loss in a single trading day.

A stock that belongs to the list of most active, top gainers and top losers is usually determined by its market volume and market value. A market volume refers as to how many shares were traded in a particular trading day. A market value, on the other hand, refers to the monetary value of all those traded stocks. You usually hear reports of, for example, 3 Billion shares with a value of 1.5 Billion ’shook hands’.

You usually notice a color associated with a stock during the trading. This indicates the movement of a stock. A color red means that the stock is going down. A color green means that the stock is going up. And a so-called unch, meaning a stock that did not went up or down, is represented usually by a black or white.

Now why do investors buy stocks? Well aside from the ‘buy low and sell high’ strategy called capital gains of making nice income from it, a stock gives ‘dividends‘. These are profit shares given by the company for investors who bought their stocks. All companies listed in stock exchange disclosed their dividend pay-out. This declaration commonly involves two dates: The ‘Ex-Date’ and ‘Payment Date’. The Ex-date is the date on which you should have acquired the said stock. The Payment date is the date at which the dividend will be paid. Dividends may come in two forms: Stock dividend and Cash Dividend.In order to illustrate more of this, let’s view the example below:

- Ayala Corp. (AC) declared to give 20% stock dividend declaration ex-date June 1; payment date July 31. Cash dividend of Php 5.75 per share ex date September 1, payment date October 30.

- As an investor, if you want to take advantage, acquire as much stock as you can before the ex-date. If the investor bought 100 shares of AC before September 1, the he/she will have 120 shares by June 1. Aside from this, if he/she retained the said stocks then he/she could have probably earned an additional Php 690 come October 30.

One last way of earning from stocks is the so-called ’stock rights’. It is the the option given to the present shareholders to buy additional shares of stock at a price lower than its market price. This is an additional opportunity for those who hold stocks of a company and one way to raise additional capital for the company.

Historical values of a stock also play an important role in assessing whether the value of a stock is cheap or expensive. A 52-week high means that it is the highest price of the stock achieved in a span of 1 year. Consequently, a 52-week low means that it is the lowest price of the stock achieved in a span of 1 year. A Year-To-Date (YTD) Yield represent just how much the stock moved up or down starting from the start of the year which is January 1. These two are both dependent on the present date and the closing price of the stock (the price of the stock when the stock market closed). To illustrate more of this, let’s view the example below. Consider the following prices as the closing price:

- SM Investments had a 52-week high of 400 and 52-week low of 185. If for example the date today is November 10, 2008, then the stock of SM achieved its highest price of 400 and lowest price of 185 from November 10, 2007 to November 10, 2008, a span of 1 year. In the case of YTD Yield, let’s say today the company has lost 35% of its value. This just means the stock has fallen 38% of its value since January 1, 2008.

Aside from the gauge of historical values of stocks, one way of assessing if a stock is cheap or expensive is thru its Price-Earning Ratio or so called ‘P/E Ratio’. This is the ratio of the stock price to the company’s earnings. The higher the P/E Ratio, the higher the profitability of the company. BUT do not solely rely on this ratio. It may indicate that a high P/E ratio means that the stock is overpriced.

You also hear the term ‘Technical Analysis’. This refers to the technique used by brokers and analysts to predict the future direction of a stock. They use charts and graphs and is usually based on the historical value of the stock. In using this, they can somehow know when a stock is cheap or not. However, this is not 100% accurate as no one can really predict the movement of the stock market.

Ok, we will now go to some terms that are used by analysts in stock trading:

Cost averaging - This means adding or buying more shares at a cheaper price and disposing it at a modest price so that the cost will eventually average out with the profit leaving a break even or a little income. This was a strategy to lessen losses. To illustrate it, let’s see the example. I bought 200 shares of AC at 250 per share. The stock went down to 150 per share. To take advantage of it, I will buy additional 200 shares. And so when the stock moved to at least a price of 200 per share, then I am break even. If I had not done it, then I will incur a loss when I sell it at 200 per share.

Window Dressing - It is another strategy used by fund managers towards the end of the year or fourth quarter. They buy stocks with attractive values and sell those ones with beaten prices so that their portfolio will look good to their clients. To illustrate this, a mutual fund company buys a stock whose trend is up and sell some of its shares in another stock whose trend is down, even at a loss.

Short Sell - This means that you sell stocks that you don’t have at the time of the sell. It is done with the intent of later buying the share at a lower price for a profit. Traders usually do this when there is an expected decline of a stock. When the stock price really went down, then the trader is well off. In contrast, when that expectation did not materialize, then the trader loses money. Recently, this practice was banned by Securities and Exchange Commission for manipulating the stock market.

Volatility - The volatility of the stock refers to its price movement. The larger the movement of the stock, the more volatile it is. This means that a stock which moved from 150 t0 350 then back to 250 per share in a span of 3 days is more volatile than a stock which moved from 150 to 200 to 175.

Why Google+ has a winning Chance..

The world doesn’t need another social network. Especially when you have one that already has 750 million highly active users in it.

The reasons why Facebook overtook MySpace was because it was different and solved a different set of problems. Facebook introduced “real identity” to the web. And, the “newsfeed” created a whole new distribution channel for sharing on the web that now rivals with likes of search for traffic.

But, now with 750 million users, with 4 billion things being shared everyday, noise has taken over the channel. Therefore, you don’t get to see the content you want to see; Facebook decides what you should see. This becomes a fundamental problem that causes frustration and where Google+ got it right with Circles.

On my Facebook account I have 474 Facebook friends. These range from family, close friends, co-workers, passive contacts, and acquaintances. However, when I log into Facebook – my newsfeed isn’t relevant. I rarely see my family and close friends – it’s basically about everyone else. Not a week goes by, when I have to hide connections from showing up on my feed. And that’s the bigger problem of the social web. Everyone loves the concept of the social graph, but the real defining graph – is your “implicit graph.”

While it took me some time to get used to, I now understand why Google+ forces you to organize your social graph into circles: Friends, Family, Acquaintances, Following and any other circle you wish to create. The first two groups are your “implicit graph”, Acquaintances becomes your “extended social graph”, and Following becomes your “interest graph” much like Twitter. Even though, not many people are on it yet (10 million vs. 750 million)– I already love the organization of the feeds. It makes sense, I get to now control the information I want in the circles I create, and I get to see my implicit graph come to life on a social network. This is a key difference and behavioral insight that gives Google+ a real chance to compete with Facebook.

I’ve always been a big believer that the “social graph” was just our explicit graph – an index of our address book of connections. But, the Holy Grail is going to be whoever can ascertain our “implicit graph” to show the content, messaging, and social experience consumers really want. It seems Google+ will be bringing that to a social network.

Courtesy :  www.TechProceed.com

How To Lock Your Computer With USB Drive

Tired of people starting your computer when you are not around and messing up custom settings? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could lock your computer by just removing your USB stick from it? I’ll show you how you can use your USB stick, Flash Drive or Pen Drive what ever you call it to lock your computer, among other things…

Boot Lock
 

This trick will allow you to use your USB to BOOT into Windows. If someone tries to start the computer without your USB stick, it will display boot errors. Before begin, you playing with the BIOS and boot files of your computer may result in you not being able to boot into your Windows partition; so continue at your own risk! 

Things you need: A 64MB or larger sized USB Stick, Windows Recovery Disk (just in case). Unhide hidden and protected files : Go to Tools > Options > View, check Show hidden files and un-check Hide protected system files.

• From the drive where Windows is installed (normally C:\), copy the files boot.ini, ntdlr and NTDETECT.COM to your USB Stick.
• Now, we need to go into your BIOS, so restart the computer and keep jabbing [F8] as soon as the computer starts.
• Once in the BIOS, enable USB Drive as the first boot device. You might have to enable USB Legacy  Support on older BIOSes.
• Restart your computer, if all goes well, you should be able to log into Windows. If not, then unplug the USB Stick, return to the BIOS and change the First Boot device to your hard disk drive and repeat the steps above.
• Once you are logged into Windows, go to your Windows drive and rename boot.ini to boot.bak.
• To check if you have setup everything correctly, eject your USB stick and reboot the computer. You should get error messages on the screen such as Invalid Boot.ini” or “Windows could not start”.

That's it !   :)

How To hack Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, Hotmail passwords ?

Updated :: After receiving some harsh comments by some idiotic morons who don’t even bother to read the full post let me tell you I am not here advocating any hacking here ..Read the post carefully before commenting… don't try this… this technique was used by some cheap hacker on ORKUT… I am just mentioning it so that you people don't try it. If you try this you will lose your own password. There are many sites which says you can hack Gmail, Yahoo,  orkut or any other site just by following the steps like these I have given below.. Ironically you will get yourself hacked by following these steps.

Well, yesterday I was going through one of the hacking communities just for checking if any new hacking script has come up or not. I saw a topic named "How To hack Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, Hotmail passwords ?" Out of curiousity when I opened it, it made me laugh aloud. I mean some anonymous guy posting a topic like that seemed totally absurd and that too a cheap phishing technique probably used during the early ninties :)

check out what was posted in that topic..

How To hack Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Orkut, Twitter, Hotmail passwords ??

~~~

It is possible and it is easy. This way of hacking into any kind of account was brought to my attention by my friend working in microsoft,in animation cell. you have to just…

    STEP 1- Log in to your own Gmail/ Yahoo or hotmail account. Note: Your account must be at least 1 weeks old for this trick to work.

    STEP 2- Once you have logged into your own account, compose/write an e-mail to: ############################# (removed the mail id which was written because ppl were actually trying it )..depending on which account you want to hack..These is the mailing address to the automated server that sends out passwords to users who have forgotten them. What you are going to do is trick the server into thinking that it is sending your password to you but it will send you the pass for the account you are trying to hack instead.

    STEP 3- In the subject line type exactly: “userpassword retrieve” (case sensative, without the inverted commas)
    STEP 4- On the first line of your mail write the email address of the person you are hacking.

    STEP 5- On the second line type in the e-mail address you are using.

    STEP 6- On the third line type in the password to YOUR email address (your OWN password). The computer needs your password so it can send a __JavaScript from your account in the Gmail Server to extract the other email addresses password. This works because you are sending your password to a machine not a person. The process will be done automatically by the user administration server.

    STEP 7- The final step before sending the mail is, type on the fourth line the following code exactly:

2SUGm9qwM482SUGm9qwM48

~~~

This is a cheap technique to lure innocent people who want to learn hacking or want to hack someone’s mail.  These types of posts actually are posted in forums or some other sites asking people to send some details along with their own password to a email address which looks like an admin mail address. The truth is that the given email address itself is created by the person who posts the technique. So when people try to send the mail address they want to hack along with their own password they themselves get hacked because the password is sent to the person’s mail. So the Hunter gets hunted.

Some points before you comment here:

I am not a hacker so please don't leave a comment asking me to hack that mail for you.  I am least bothered if your girlfriend / Boyfriend betrayed you,  I am not going to hack any emails for you. This Post was just to inform you guys that if you people try to hack Gmail / Yahoo or any other email through the above method your account would get hacked .

So Be careful  before you try all the nonsense that you read. Stop Searching for things like hacking Gmail, hacking Yahoo. These are well secured sites and you cant  hack through them just by following some lame steps given in a site or a forum. You cant hack just overnight,  It takes years to master the art of hacking so please please please stop thinking that you would be able to hack through accounts just by Googling it over the web.

99 of the best Windows freeware programs you may not know of

Because of the popularity of my previous article on TechProceed.com entitled 99 ways to make your computer blazingly fast, I’ve decided to write another list post with 99 items, but this time on Windows freeware programs that you may have not heard of.

If you search for “best freeware programs” or “top freeware apps”, you’ll get lots of lists, but mostly with programs everyone has already heard of: AVG anti-virus, 7-zip, Firefox, OpenOffice, etc, etc.

That’s all nice and fine, but what about all those little gems programs that work great, but don’t get all the headlines? In this article, I will try my best to mention as many small name freeware programs as I can that can help make you more productive!

As usual, I write for TechProceed.com, so I will be linking to old posts throughout if I’ve written about it or else I will link out to the main website for the program.

These are written in no particular order! Again, I’m sure there are hundreds of programs that I won’t mention, so if you feel I’ve really missed a great program, mention the name of the app and what it does in the comments!

If you like this post and think it would be useful to others, feel free to share it!

Here it goes :

1. We’ve all heard of 7-zip, WinRAR, and WinZip, but what about other great zipping programs like PeaZip, TugZip, and Jzip?

2. What’s the best Notepad replacement out there? Notepad++ right? We all know that! Ever heard of XML Notepad? It’s a free XML editor and works great! Or what about PSPad? It’s a very nice code and text editor also.

3. If you use Windows, then you know and love the Windows registry! CCleaner may be the most popular system maintenance tool out there, but what about other registry cleaners and tuners, such as Comodo registry cleaner and Eusing registry cleaner?

4. Ever accidentally delete a file that you really needed? You can try a program called Pandora Recovery to recover lost or deleted files or Recuva, a useful file recovery app. But that’s not all! Ever heard of Recover My Files?

5. Speaking of file recovery, ever accidentally delete all the pictures off your memory stick!? It happens more often than you would think. In that case, you can use Art PLus Digital Photo Recovery to get back deleted photos.

6. Ever forget your Outlook password? Or your email password for Eudora, Thunderbird, or some other email program? If so, you can use a cool program called Mail PassView to reveal passwords and account details for many email clients. You can also use PSTPassword to recover a lost PST password.

7. What if you need to get the password for your or someone else’s Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger IM client? If you’re looking for a cool instant messenger password recovery tool, check out MessenPass.

8. Since we’re talking about passwords, ever run into the case where you forget a password, but it’s still saved in your application, but it’s hidden? If you even run into that situation, use Asterisk Logger to reveal any password that uses asterisks.

9. Continuing on with passwords, did you know you could password protect EXE files? Yes it’s possible with a program called Empathy! Pretty neat eh?

10. What about password protected Excel files? I’ve definitely run into those and you can use a program called Excel Password Remover to get rid of any password-protected Excel workbook or sheet.

11. With all this password talk, ever thought about using a free password manager? Ever heard of Secure Data Organizer? What about Billeo Password Manager? Or Password Safe? Or KeePass?

12. Enough about passwords, let’s talk media players! We’ve all heard of VLC media player and Windows Media Player, but what about KM Player and GOM player, both are great media players for Windows. What about ALSong?

13. Those media players will take care of just about every codec out there, but if not, you can always use a program called CodecInstaller to help you determine which audio and video codecs are needed to play a video.

14. If you take a lot of home videos, you probably need to edit and stitch them together right? Don’t worry about Adobe Premiere, you can use other free programs like Windows Live Movie Maker, a product from Microsoft. If not that, you can also check out VideoSpin and BrushVideo, two great video editing programs for Windows.

15. Speaking of videos, there are many times when you need to convert from one format to another. You can use Pazera Free Video to convert videos to FLV or SWF format. Or you can convert DVDs to iPod format using Movie2X DVD Ripper or HandBrake.

16. But that’s not all! You can convert movies to MP4 format using ImTOO DVD Ripper or convert Powerpoint presentations to DVD video, flash, or PDF using free tools like authorPoint and CutePDF Writer.

17. Work with PDF files a lot? Ever heard of NovaPDF Pro? It’s a free program for creating encrypted PDF files. Or what about PDF-XChange Viewer? It has a bunch of features and is actually better than Foxit!

18. If you want to create PDFs fast, there are a bunch of programs like CutePDF, PrimoPDF, Bullzip, doPDF, and lots more! Check out this post on seven free PDF writers that you might be interested in. One more is PDFCreator.

19. Switching topics, I’m sure you back up your computer regularly right? If not, you should check out Easeus Todo Backup, a free program that lets you backup and clone your hard drives. Another program is Hinx Backup Easy. Ever heard of AceBackup?

20. If you just want to backup your data and not image your entire hard drive, you can use Karen’s Replicator to backup files and folders to network drives or external drives on a schedule.

21. Whether you know it or not, you probably have a bunch of duplicate files on your computer! It just happens. You can use Duplicate Cleaner to find and remove those duplicate files. You can also use other programs like Easy Duplicate Finder and Duplicate File Finder!

22. If you want to save more hard drive space, you should look into a program that will analyze hard disk space usage, like TreeSize or Space Sniffer. Other programs include FosiX Lite and WinDirStat.

23. Tweaking Windows can get you a decent performance boost if you know what you’re doing. Some programs that make it easy are TweakUI, MZ Vista Force, and Tune-Up Utilities. You can also check out a program called Handy Tweakers.

24. Been looking for a good free photo editor lately? Check out Photoscape, Irfanview, Paint.NET, or Phantasmagoria! If you prefer an online photo editor, checkout PicResize and Picnik.

25. Speaking of photos, you can create some cool photo albums using free software. Check out Jalbum and Vicman, both free tools to create web photo albums. Other programs include Photo! 3D Album and Thumb Studio.

26. If you’ve got a ton of pictures and videos like me, you might want to store your data online. MediaFire is a free online file storage service and so is Drop.io, Windows Live SkyDrive and Dropbox. You can even use Gmail for file storage!

27. Ever had to send a large file to someone, but your email client wouldn’t allow more than 10 to 20 MBs? You can share large files with friends and family using a program called Gbridge. Other programs include Docstoc OneClick, HTTP File Server and Fileai.

28. One really awesome notes application is Evernote. It’s free (there is a paid version too) and syncs with your mobile phone and the web. Never forget anything again.

29. If you have an FTP server or a website, you will probably need a good FTP client program like WinSCP, which supports secure FTP also. Another good program is FileZilla.

30. If you’re paranoid about your data, you might want to encrypt your computer hard drive with a program like AxCrypt or TrueCrypt.

31. If you want to be even more careful, you can actually create secured and locked text files using a program called LockNote.

32. If you want to hide specific folders in Windows, you can use a program called Free Hide Folder, which makes it completely invisible.

33. And if you want to hide just a few files, did you know you can hide files inside pictures using a free zipping program?

34. If you constantly use the same programs over and over, it might be a good idea to download a quick program launcher. You’ve all heard of Launchy, but what about RocketDock, FreeLaunchBar, JetStart, and Executor?

35. One of my favorite file and application launchers, however, is Find and Run Robot, aka FARR. Weird name, but awesome launcher.

36. Ever wanted to automate a certain task in Windows? Maybe you want to have your computer turn off every day at 10pm? Or certain keystrokes you want to record and repeat over and over again? Whatever the case, AutoHotKey is an awesome program for automating many tasks in Windows.

37. I personally don’t mind the Start Menu in Windows, but Vista Start Menu is a program that adds a crapload of features to your Start Menu like the ability to use tabs, resize the menu, and much more.

38. Ever needed to sync one folder with another folder on the same computer? If you need to keep two folders in sync, check out SyncToy.

39. If you need to sync data between two different computers, then you might want to check out a free program called Allway Sync.

40. While on the topic of syncing, sometimes it’s really useful to sync your bookmarks between computers also. You can check out a program called Zinkmo to sync bookmarks between different browsers and across multiple machines.

41. If you have a lot of bookmarks, you might be able to manage them much better by using Tidy Favorites. It’s one of the best bookmark managers out there and it syncs, backups, and helps you search through bookmarks!

42. If you have a lot of music, you might want to consider a music management program like Media Jukebox. Another good program is aTunes.

43. If you’re worried your computer might crash and you’ll lose all your music, you can back it up to an online MP3 file storage service like MP3Tunes. What’s cool about this rather than just backing up music files onto a USB hard drive is that you can access your media files from anywhere via streaming.

44. If you’ve recently bought a new computer, you can use a program called PC Decrapifier to get rid of all those useless programs that can come bundled with the PC and slow everything down.

45. After you have a computer for a while, there are always going to be programs that you don’t use anymore and that can be uninstalled. Revo Uninstaller will get rid of any program whether it likes it or not.

46. Even if you use Google for searching the Internet, there are many times when a site listed in the top 10 results is spammy or contains malware. However, I always like using extra tool such as WOT (Web of Trust) or McAfee SiteAdvisior to protect myself when browsing the Internet.

47. If you have sensitive data on your computer that you want to permanently delete from your hard drive, I would suggest using a program called Eraser.

48. Now if you’ve deleted something and need to get it back, then you need to check out a program like Undelete Plus, which helps you recover accidentally deleted files. (in addition to #4)

49. What’s one thing in Windows that everyone does all the time? Open and save files. FlashFolder is a really cool app that adds a small toolbar to your Open and Save dialogs so that you can quickly access favorite destinations on your hard drive.

50. The other most used feature in Windows is probably Windows Explorer. Direct Folders is a another program that enhances Windows Explorer by adding quick links to favorite folders and also a list of recently open folders.

51. If you’re looking for a straight-up Windows Explorer replacement, check out Q-Dir, which adds some useful features to the basic built-in Windows Explorer.

52. Vista Breadcrumbs is a cool app that gives you the Windows Vista style breadcrumbs look in Windows XP.

53. Do you have a lot of programs that load when Windows starts? Does it take several minutes for your computer to become useable? If so, check out Startup Delayer, a program  that delays the startup of programs so that your computer loads faster.

54. In #27, we talked about how to share files by creating your own file server, but you can also use a cool program called Gbridge to share files between two computers easily.

55. In #39, I mentioned using Allway Sync to keep files on two computer in sync, but you can also use a program called FolderShare from Microsoft.

56. You’ve all probably heard of CrossLoop for remotely sharing your desktop, but you can also use Mikogo or Remobo.

57. Everyone knows that FastStone can be used to capture screenshots of your desktop, but you can also check out Screenshot Captor, Screen Hunter, PicPick, and uTipu.

58. If you think you might have bad memory installed in your computer, you can check for bad memory using memtest86.

59. Ever wish you could rearrange the list of open programs on your taskbar? Using Taskbar Shuffle you can drap and drop buttons on the taskbar to any position.

60. Speaking of the taskbar, you can use a program called TrayIt to minimize any application to the system tray instead of the taskbar, thereby freeing up space.

61. And if you want to spruce up your Windows XP taskbar, you can install Visual Task Tips, which gives you the thumbnail previews for running programs in the taskbar like in Vista.

62. If you’re like me, you probably have an IM account on GTalk, Yahoo, AOL and ICQ. If so, you can use Digsby to chat with all your buddies from all networks in one window!

63. One of the worst things that can happen to your computer is for it to become infected with Spyware. HijackThis is an awesome program that you can use to find and remove spyware, especially really nasty spyware.

64. Everyone has heard of Spybot for removing spyware, but another really good program is SUPERAntiSpyware.

65. In #14, I talked about free video editing programs, but you may also need to use a program like VirtualDub to convert a video to another format or to resize it, etc.

66. If you are one of those people that love to arrange icons all over their desktop in pretty patterns, you may want to use Icon Restore to save your desktop layout.

67. If you ever need a free CD/DVD burner program, check out CDBurnerXP. It also has a portable version you can run off your USB stick.

68. If you ever need to burn an ISO image to a CD or DVD, then you should use a free program like ImgBurn.

69. Burning ISO images is cool, but what if you want to create your own ISO image too? You can use Folder2ISO or LC ISO Creator to create an ISO image from a folder in Windows or from a CD or DVD.

70. Ever run into the problem where you are trying to delete a file in Windows and it says that the file is in use and cannot be deleted? You can use Unlocker to delete any file that is locked by a process.

71. Though you might not have to do this often, there are times when you need to change the file extension of many files at once. You can use Extension Renamer to batch change file extensions easily.

72. Speaking of batching, you can also use a program called ReNamer to batch rename thousands of files at once. Useful for digital photos that all start with the same nonsense text like DSC00203, etc.

73. But let’s not stop there. What if you have thousands of images and you want to perform some kind of change on all of them like resizing or adding a watermark or rotating? Use can use MODI to batch modify images. Cool!

74. In #19 and #20, I talked about software to backup your computer, but forgot to mention DriveImage XML, an awesome program you can use to create an image of your hard drive.

75. Windows Live Writer is a free program from Microsoft that you can use to write blog posts in a Word type of editor. It also has plugins that enhance the functionality.

76. Ever head of Blender? It’s a pretty amazing program and it’s free. It lets you create 3D worlds, 3D animations and 3D games. Check it out.

77. Format Factory is one my favorite programs out there because it’s a universal transcoder that can convert between many videos, audio and graphic formats.

78. Looking for a really good partition manager? Check out Gparted, probably the best not-heard-of partition manager out there.

79. With Windows, you normally have to keep your drivers up to date otherwise the OS can crash or blue screen. Use RadarSync to automatically find the most recent drivers for your system.

80. If you need to reformat your computer, you can use a program called DriverMax to automatically backup all your drivers and then restore them after the install.

81. Looking for a file on your computer? Default Windows search sucks? Well, why don’t you try out Index your Files or Everything, two really awesome Windows file search tools.

82. Wish your clipboard could store more than one item at a time? Well you should check out ClipX and Ditto clipboard extension, two cool clipboard manager programs.

83. Most people who work in offices uses Microsoft Outlook for their main email. If you do, you have to check out Xobni, an awesome program for organizing and searching your Outlook email.

84. Speaking of Outlook, ever heard of AttachmentOptions? It’s sweet. It basically lets you configure the list of “blocked” or “unsafe” attachments so that you can receive EXE files, .reg files, or whatever you want.

85. If you like to listen to Internet radio stations, you can use a program called FreeCorder to record music that you play off the web.

86. Since we’re talking about only Windows freeware programs, you might be interested in Disk2VHD, a program from Sysinternals that will let you convert your current PC into a virtual machine that you can then load into Microsoft Virtual PC.

87. If you do a lot of buying online, such as through Amazon, eBay, etc, or checking of your bank accounts, etc, you might want to check out KeyScrambler, a cool program that protects against keyloggers.

88. Ever had to split a large file into a couple of pieces? If so, check out GSplit, a nitfy utility for splitting and re-joining files.

89. Been in a situation where you needed to compare two files and see the differences? WinMerge is a cool program that will let you compare and merge two files.

90. As for merging, ever had to merge several Powerpoint presentations together? Well you can use PowerPoint Joiner for that.

91. Or what about merging multiple PDF files together? If so, check out pdftk, a toolkit that lets you merge, split, and repair PDF files.

92. Wish you could listen to your home music collection while at the office or away from home? Check out Sockso, a personal home streaming music server.

93. Most browsers will download stuff to a default download folder, after which you have to manually move the files to where you want them. Download Mover is a really nice app that will monitor a folder for new files and automatically move them based on the rules you create.

94. Have you ever wondered if there was a way to password protect EXE files? Let’s say you didn’t want your kids to ever open Yahoo Messenger without typing in a password. You can password protect programs using Empathy.

95. Ever needed to figure out the RGB value or hexadecimal value of a color that is on your computer screen? ColorPic is a nice utility that lets you determine the hexadecimal RGB color for anything on your screen.

96. If you have a lot of MP3 files, you probably need to edit the tags and metadata so that everything shows up properly in iTunes or Winamp. You can use MP3tag or Picard to edit MP3 tags.

97. If you have just one monitor for your computer, you can use a virtual desktop manager like Dexpot to have several desktops on one computer. Another good one is 360 Desktop.

98. Have you ever had to copy a folder in Windows that had a bunch of sub-folders and files? You can use Unstoppable Copier to copy folders without any annoying Windows pop up messages.

99. Ever want ted create your own photo mosaic like they do in TV commericals? AndreaMosaic is cool program that will use your current photo collection to create a great looking photo mosaic.

Whew! That was probably way more than a hundred freeware programs, but hope you enjoyed it! I’m sure there are lots of great programs I missed, so if you have a favorite freeware app, add it to the list via the comments! Enjoy!

What is the best operating system and why?

Note: Both Mac OS X and Windows have come out with newer versions as of the writing of this answer. Some details may be different from what is written below, and the answer should be updated accordingly

The best desktop operating system to use depends on what its intended use will be and who will be using it. There is no specific operating system which can be called "the best" overall, and since most current operating systems share most common and advanced features there is much debate on the topic. A few of the most popular operating system, their pros and cons, and some of their best uses are described below. 

Microsoft Windows

Pros:

• The largest library of programs and applications.
• Some commercial games work only with Windows and DirectX.
• Almost all hardware has drivers which are compatible with Windows. 
• Most widely used. 

Cons:

• Prone to viruses, spyware, and adware if proper steps not taken such as installation of internet security software, which reduces performance speed.
• Requires regular maintenance to avoid system errors and reduced performance.
• Even with maintenance, issues can slowly accumulate requiring a re-installation of Windows to restore performance and fix software issues.
• Purchasing a Windows license/install disk can be relatively expensive
• Windows Vista, the most recent version of Windows, has high system requirements.

Notes: 

• Windows Vista has relatively high system requirements compared to its Windows XP and other operating systems. This has caused many individuals and businesses to continue using the older Windows XP. 
• The two most common versions of Windows are Windows XP and Windows Vista. Vista, although it has some issues, does have some new features such as search-as-you-type search and a 3D-accelerated desktop, features up until now only found in Mac OS X and some versions of Linux.
• With the introduction of Virtual-machine software, Windows has become a popular add-on for Mac and Linux in order allow those computers to support Windows-only software or hardware when needed.
• The Windows market share has seen some decrease in recent years and months.

Best uses:

• Gamers
• People who must use Windows-only software for work or school.
• People or businesses looking for an inexpensive computer yet do not have the ability to use Linux.

  

Mac OS X

Pros:

• Relatively simple and intuitive interface with many advanced features. 
• Not a target for virus or malware attacks, generally: there are no Mac OS X viruses in the wild, and with its UNIX base, it is fairly resilient. There are a small number of trojans (malicious software) which have been known to take effect through applications running in Mac OS X, though they are almost always found on illegal-content-based websites and are not of significant concern. Apple has begun integrating malware blacklists into Mac OS X to prevent infection. 
• Second-largest selection of software, with many high-quality Mac-only programs in existence, such as those found in iLife. Although at one point software for certain tasks were not Mac-compatible, most software is now either Mac-compatible or has an equivalent that is. Most advanced games have also recently became compatible with Mac OS X.
• Reliable and high performance. 

Cons:

• Limited to Apple-manufactured hardware.
• Some hardware does not have Mac-compatible drivers, though the number of this hardware has recently become small and negligible.
• In some cases, it may be difficult to do cross-platform network hardware sharing for a Mac OS X based computer in a Windows network or visa-versa. For example, a printer's Mac driver may not support cross-platform printing to a Windows-connected printer, and replacement drivers may or may not exist.
• Smaller library of applications in comparison to Windows. 

Notes: 

• Macs occupy the medium-range to high-end computer market and as such are not sold for the same prices of some low-end PC brands (e.g. the low-end Mac Mini costs $600 USD yet many mainstream low-end PC brand desktops can be purchased for around $400-500). As a result, Macs are popularly considered to be more expensive than PCs, however Macs have been shown to have competitive pricing to comparable PCs (e.g. the Lenovo Thinpad X300 costs about $2,500 while the MacBook Air runs between $1,800 and $2,700 and outperforms the Thinkpad, or the Dell XPS One prices at about $150 higher than a comparable iMac. Additionally, the following factors can cause the total price of owning a Mac to be even less compared than that of a PC: Apple iWork is relatively inexpensive compared to Microsoft Office, PCs experience hardware or software failures more frequently than Macs, increasing service and replacement costs, Macs do not require the frequently expensive internet security software subscriptions.
• Though Mac OS X suffers from relatively very few real-world hacks, security holes in Mac OS X do exist, just like in any other operating system. Also like in other operating systems, they are fixed with software updates upon their discovery. 
• With a relatively low market share compared to Windows, there are still individual programs which are only Windows compatible. However, virtual machine software with a Windows installation or compatibility layer software can allow those programs to run even on a Mac.
• The Mac has seen significant market share increases in recent years and months, something which has also increased the amount of Mac-compatible software. 

Best uses: 

• Students who are not required to use Windows-specific software (though Windows can easily be installed to use Windows software). A recent study indicated that the number of American students intending to purchase Macs has neared that of Windows-based PCs. 
• Home users looking for an easy and reliable computing experience who are willing to pay more than low-end PC prices.
• Graphic designers and photographers.
• Scientists. 

Linux and other UNIX-based

Pros:

• Low number of viruses and other malware, similar to Mac OS X 
• Usually free
• Large selection of Linux distributions to choose from. 
• Has a large amount of free and open source software equivalents to commercial Windows and Mac software
• More easily customizable
• Can run many Windows programs with the use of a compatibility layer such as Wine. (Programs such as Cedega can be used to run many Windows games) 
• Reliable with good performance and low requirements. 

Cons:

• Advanced use and installation of some software may require more advanced knowledge than is required for use of Windows and Mac.
• Many commercial programs do not support Linux
• Small commercial game library

Notes: 

• There are a few main types of Linux: Debian, Fedora, Red Hat, and SUSE. Ubuntu, a type of Debian, is highly popular among home users, as is SUSE, to a lesser extent. Fedora is more popular among businesses.
• There are many other (non-Linux) UNIX-based operating systems (with the same UNIX base as Linux), including Mac OS X and SunOS (which are based on Free-BSD). There are also some UNIX-like operating systems. 
• Through customization and software like Beryl, Linux can be made to have advanced desktop effects similar to Aero on Windows Vista or Aqua on Mac OS X.
• "Dependency hell" can make installation of certain programs on Linux difficult even for advanced users.

Best uses: 

• Experienced computer users looking for a good, free operating system.
• Businesses looking for reliable and affordable computing, so long as they do not need Windows-only software and have a competent IT manager.

Bottom line

Though there is no one clear best operating system, each does have its advantages and disadvantages, and different people will be best using different ones. Microsoft Windows is the most common operating system and is a reasonable choice for most people. Mac OS X is second-most popular (and gaining market share) and is an excellent operating system for those who can purchase a Mac. Linux is a very good advanced operating system available for free and is recommended for experienced users. 

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Mobile Operating Systems

Aside from the main question of which OS to use in your home or work computer, lightweight mobileoperating systems are also used (and almost always pre-installed or even hard-wired) in mobile devices such as cell phones, smartphones, PDAs, and Internet Notebooks/Superportables (which are similar to downsized laptops with low specifications). There is not a great deal of choice among these, and features differences are based more on the mobile device itself, and less on the operating system. Windows Mobile is usually used in Pocket PCs and Smartphones; iPhone OS (based on Mac OS X) is used in the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch; Symbian is used in Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, and other cell phones; and Linux-based mobile OSes are common both on cell phones and small Internet Notebooks.

37 Seconds To Read: May Change Your View For A Lifetime

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room’s only window

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats.. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band – he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.’

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.

‘Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .’

The origin of this letter is unknown, but it positve energy expands when you share this.

Facebook vs. Orkut vs. Twitter vs…

For the longest time I wondered what Orkut had done wrong. Initially, I thought maybe it was Facebook’s college affiliations that won over credibility and stole the crowds. Then I mused on how the difference could be Facebook Apps, a definite unique selling point over Orkut in 2006. But now I have a completely different view. I beleive the global shift to Facebook (barring Indians and Brazilians who seemingly are the only inhabitants of Orkut left) was because of Orkut’s inability to scale in its baby days. The frequent “no donut for you” message may have been an expression of Google’s typical sense of humour but it certainly didn’t leave much to laugh about as Facebook gave everyone their..umm..donuts.

The explosion of social community websites has completely flipped the web paradigm. Where in the nineties, we had elite companies spoon-feeding us content, we now have a concept of generating content on our own through massive collaboration, individual creativity and social experiences. People themselves are the central content. People want to know other people are doing, what pictures they are taking and what videos they are getting embarassed in.

With this ongoing battle from friendster to MySpace to what not, I stand at this point wondering how the race track looks like in the world of socialy community websites.

So, I picked five of my favorite social sites that I had accounts on and compared the number of unique visitors that they attracted per month. I used compete.com to get the stats and found out that the leaderboard looks like this:

For June 2009

 

1. Facebook – 122 Million

2. Twitter – 22 Million

3. LinkedIn – 12 Million

4. Hi5 – 2.3 Million

5. Orkut – 0.5 Million

Well, no surprises there except for the fact that Orkut’s approval ratings seem to be waning even when compared to Hi5 – which I don’t believe to be a showstopper app thats caused many waves in the market. In fact, Hi5 trounces Orkut’s visitor count by nearly 5 times so either Orkut’s completely lost out or Hi5 is smartly marketing their product to a loyal niche. And the more recent Twitter phenomenon has truly made a ground-breaking entrance to the market, sweeping millions into its tweeting influence.

Also, Facebook’s undisputed and gargantuous kingship is reinforced by the gaping hole between Facebook’s trend line and the cluster of ‘others’ beneath it. This is what I call extreme pwnage. And it looks like Zuckerberg’s precious is not going stop there – the line’s getting steeper !

If you really want to know how rampant Facebook’s popularity is, then the following will give you an idea:

I compared other popular websites with FB including myspace, flickr, Digg and the search Giant Google.com. 

The rankings came out like this:

1. Google

2. Facebook

3. MySpace

4. Digg

5. Flickr

Notice how Facebook was trailing behind MySpace till late last year but then it kick started its jet pack and simply took off like an airplane to a point that it now has twice the amount of users i.e. it doubled its count in just 5 months ! Moreover, FB s just 30 thousand visitors behind Google and their trend lines are well on their way to converge. That speaks volumes. Never knew that virtual socializing could surpass the universal need to find information.

So, whats’ next ? Will Facebook evenutally monopolize ? Will Twitter catch up ? Will Google throw out a curve ball to unsettle things in the social sphere ? Is there something else out there that will turn the tables around ?

I guess time will tell.

Restore GRUB2 after installing Windows

How I Restored GRUB2 after a Windows 7 Install. GRUB2 (Grand Unified Bootloader)  is a universal bootloader used by Ubuntu and other Linux Distributions. If you have a Linux Distribution installed on a partition, and attempt to  install Windows alongside it, your GRUB bootloader will be overwritten by the Windows bootloader, and your computer will only boot into Windows.

Recovering the GRUB2 Bootloader after a Windows Install  is simple. When finished, your Bootloader should detect all installed Operating Systems and automatically add a bootable menu item for each of them.

Note: This GRUB2 Installation process assumes that a Linux Partition still exists. If you overwrote Linux with Windows, this tutorial will not work for you, as there is no Linux system to recover boot.

How to Restore GRUB2 after installing Windows:

1. Boot from an Ubuntu Live CD or Live USB
2. Once up and running, Open a Terminal 
3. Type sudo su (press enter after typing each command)
4. Type fdisk -l 
5. 
6. Note which device contains your Linux partition (IE: /dev/sda1) 
7. Type mount /dev/sdx# /mnt (replacing x# with your actual device and partition number)
8. Type mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
9. Type mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
10. Type cp /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/etc/resolv.conf
11. Type chroot /mnt
12.  
13. Type grub-install --recheck /dev/sdx (replacing x with your actual device)
14. Type reboot (to reboot your PC) 

Make sure to remove your Live USB or CD. Upon reboot you should be presented with a GRUB2 menu. However, Windows is missing. Now, I show you how to fix that.

Making GRUB 2 detect Windows Installs:

1. Proceed to boot into your Linux environment.
2. Open a terminal and type sudo update-grub (enter your root password when prompted) 

If all went well, grub should have updated it's menu entries to reflect what it detected. Including existing Windows partitions.