Anonymizer

Want to surf the internet without revealing your IP address, cokies or any other information about the sites you visit? use the free anonymous browsing service on Anonymizers' home page, and it displays the page you want!

www.anonymizer.com

Rollyo

Rollyo is short for "roll your own search engine", which means, you can create a custom selection of search engines and topics and then share the resulting "roll" with others. The free site provides logged-in users some starter rolls of its own, as well as lists of topic targeted rolls created by celebrities and other "high rollers". You can add your Rollyo search rolls to Firefox's search engine toolbar and post your roll on your own blog or web site just by copying and pasting some HTML code.

Trend Micro HouseCall

If installing antivirus and antispyware isnt an option on your pc - or if you use the machine at an internet cafe, do yourself a favor, and visit this site. Trend Micros' software runs in your browser to scan and eliminate malware in your computer.

Panda Activescan

If your antivirus software is on the blink, dont despair. Just stop by panda softwares' site for a free system scan. You'll have to download an applet, surrender your e-mail address, and use internet explorer (or firefox with the activeX plugin, if there is one!) for the duration of the scan.Panda detects and disinfects most forms of malware and will alert you to (but not fix) spyware infestations.

Get it here :


www.pandasoftware.com/products/activescan.htm

Made in china? Bye bye logitech!

I am writing this article from my new keyboard, because the keyboard I have been using for the last 14 years had stopped working!I miss my old keyboard a lot, and the noise it used to make when I typed in glorious abandon. Anyways, the old keyboards not what this article is about. Its about the new keyboard.

I went to a couple of hardware stores today, and was fascinated at the variety of keyboards available. "Give me a keyboard thats cheap" is what I told the store guy. "Right away sir", he said, with a huge smile. I finally got my hands on my new keyboard. "How much?" I asked. "150" came the reply. 150 rupees is like $4 !I quickly opened the box, to find a fairly handsome piece of hardware in my hands.I was awestruck that such a good piece of hardwares' cost was so low. I turned over the keyboard to find the words "Made in China" written.

As soon as I saw that, I decided it must not be worth the money. So, I asked for a "branded" keyboard. "Logitech will do" I told the store keeper. I was flabberghasted to find the price of a basic keyboard was 450 rupees!! I went for the chinese model, and Im happy I saved myself the 300 rupees!

The moral of the story is that though "top brands" claim to produce quality hardware, there are many other vendors who are never noticed. These companies mainly cater to people like me, and what a bunch of happy customers we are!! Ive promised never to turn to logitech again. Oh, and did I mention?...The keyboard has a warranty of 5 years. Thats good enough for me!!

This is Why piracy is rampant :

I have heard the DMC (Digital Millennium Copyright) act didn't get on well with the pirates of cyberspace. Piracy is rampant through out the world right now, and worse, people don't even know they are involved. People think that there are no "legitimate" softwares and that every copy of windows comes for free. Maybe in western countries such as the United States, there is an awareness and a prosecution to take care of extreme cases, but in eastern countries such as India, Malaysiya, and pakistan, there are absolutely No anti piracy laws in place. This ensures that cybercrime is limited to duping people as in siphoning off funds from others' bank accounts. Its only such activities that are considered a crime. Piracy?? hell, even government employees use pirated software/operating systems, because the government outsources the work to private companies, and they being private companies would want to save a few bucks here and there, and would install the same copy of the OS on multiple systems with the same product key. Unless its an open source OS, ( A rare case these days, cause everyone is addicted to WINDOWS) its a crime. Even crime cells use the same method.

Adding to that is the notion that being bad is actually good! Yes, its like going up to ones' girlfriend and telling her you robbed a bank, in which case she would try to get away from you as soon as possible, and report to the police and later testify against you in court or whatever. But this is different. When you tell somebody you are into software piracy, the listener actually starts looking upto you, as if you are some uber geek persona. So, there are a lot of posers out there, and some really talented programmers who are on the wrong side. Some of them that are noticeable are :

> CORE : Challenge of reverse engineering

These guys are living legends. These guys came to the scene at a time when reverse engineering was the field of uber geeks, thats not to say these guys aren't!

> Deviance

Another group which is very good at releasing cracked unreleased games! Yes, sometimes you will find a game on the pirate bay that you haven't ever heard of. You try to get a proper review of the game before downloading it, but Google doesn't seem to have a clue! You download the game, and the next month when youre watching TV, this games' trailer is being shown! WTF?!

> Dopeman

Does this guy need an introduction? If you are a regular to the bay, you'll know him!

> AxxO

An article on piracy is never complete without a mention of this guys' name. Another living legend in the movie piracy circuit.
I personally dont blame people for downloading crap off the internet, but I really do encourage them to pay for the software they use, maybe its a small amount, but developers need it to continue their work... Atleast thats MY perspective!!

This is Why piracy is rampant :

I have heard the DMC (Digital Millenium Copyright) act didnt get on well with the pirates of cyberspace. Piracy is rampant throught the world right now, and worse, people dont even know they are involved. People think that there are no "legitimate" softwares and that every copy of windows comes for free. Maybe in western countries such as the United States, there is an awareness and a prosecution to take care of extreme cases, but in eastern countries such as India, Malaysiya, and pakistan, there are absolutely No anti piracy laws in place. This ensures that cybercrime is limited to duping people as in siphoning off funds from others' bank accounts. Its only such activities that are considered a crime. Piracy?? hell, even government employees use pirated software/operating systems, because the government outsources the work to private companies, and they being private companies would want to save a few bucks here and there, and would install the same copy of the OS on multiple systems with the same product key. Unless its an open source OS, ( A rare case these days, cause everyone is addicted to WINDOWS) its a crime. Even crime cells use the same method.

Adding to that is the notion that being bad is actually good! Yes, its like going up to ones' girlfriend and telling her you robbed a bank, in which case she would try to get away from you as soon as possible, and report to the police and later testify against you in court or whatever. But this is different. When you tell somebody you are into software piracy, the listener actually starts looking upto you, as if you are some uber geek persona. So, there are a lot of posers out there, and some really talented programmers who are on the wrong side. Some of them that are noticable are :

> CORE : Challenge of reverse engineering

These guys are living legends. These guys came to the scene at a time when reverse engineering was the field of uber geeks, thats not to say these guys arent!

> Deviance

Another group which is very good at releasing cracked unreleased games! Yes, sometimes you will find a game on the pirate bay that you havent ever heard of. You try to get a proper review of the game before downloading it, but Google doesnt seem to have a clue! You download the game, and the next month when youre watching TV, this games' trailer is being shown! WTF?!

> Dopeman

Does this guy need an introduction? If you are a regular to the bay, you'll know him!

> AxxO

An article on piracy is never complete without a mention of this guys' name. Another living legend in the movie piracy circuit.
I personally dont blame people for downloading crap off the internet, but I really do encourage them to pay for the software they use, maybe its a small amount, but developers need it to continue their work... Atleast thats MY perspective!!

Got a dial-up? Listen to internet radio

Ive got a dialup and am experiencing speeds that are right next to pathetic. Now , what do I do for entertainment? I listen to internet radio!

I had a broadband all these days, and I used to download movies, and songs during happy hours. I had a download limit of 2.5 gb per month. I recently shifted to a place where the telephone company didn't have land line connections.

I went in for a wireless telephone with a built in modem. And believe me, it was well worth the effort. For about 5.29 dollars /250 Indian rupees, I get unlimited download, and now what do I do with it? Its too slow for downloading movies, and itll probably take ages.

I hit upon this software called "boombox". Its a handy piece of software that has a listing of all major internet radio stations. There are various genres to choose from including comedy and 80's. I found the software to be very versatile. Although the software doesnt have a built in player, it can utilize your default player such as windows media player or winamp. Whats more, you can even select the bit rate to be sure you can play it with relatively fast buffering.

24 - 32 kbps radio has ought to serve the purpose.

As I do not have a download limit, this just manages to keep me entertained all day long.

One of my favorite radio stations is "Social Crime"

Im going freelance!

Finally, I found myself a means of income, that doesnt involve working for somebody, who is always breathing down your neck. Yes, Im talking about freelancing. Its the newest buzz on the internet. Maybe you should try it to supplement your income, or better yet, make it your sole means of income!

How it works :

> Firstly, you need to get yourself an account on any of the freelancing sites such as

Elance [ Pretty good, has been in the field for a while ]

workbuggy [ Extensive ! ]

freelanceswitch [ Good... ]

There are many others, that are better, but these are my favorites.

>Secondly, start trolling for projects on these sites. Generally, they offer a limited amount of "credits", or "connects" to get you started. These are the tokens that you can use to "bid" on projects. Bidding is a process wherein you, the "provider" are going to "quote" a price for a project that interests you. Make sure you quote the lowest price, so that you get the project. Once you get a hold of things, you can quote higher prices.

>Thirdly, start building projects after deciding the means of payment. And remember, the more money you spend on memberships, the better your earnings will be. The site will start listing your name in premium categories, so that customers will be able to easily get in touch with you.

It amazes me that people/companies are willing to spend upto $500 - $1000 for a simple web page project. NO dynamic pages, NO complicated flash, for just pure HTML and a couple of images, that they will provide you.

Well, Im off to freelancing, until I can find myself a suitable job. Im considering it an important career option.

The hunt for a job ...

These past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride for me, so haven't been able to get myself to write articles for this blog.

The job offer I had got from Sapient, is almost a distant dream now, as they have "postponed" the joining dates to NEXT july! This comes as a shock to me and many of my friends who were looking to get our BE degrees and go onto join companies as software developers. Our previous batches which had got placed in other companies have been asked to go "home", thanks to the US Dollar recession.

We've been waiting at the tips of our toes to join the companies and what do the seniors tell us?..That they have been kicked out of the companies for no reason whatsoever. The companies are quick to ascertain that their companies arent the only ones doing it... Its like the whole industry has come crashing down!

I got a call 2 weeks earlier from Sapient informing me of this "unfortunate" situation. I asked the HR person to honestly tell me whether or not I would really get a job as promised by them. She said in a confident manner that my employment with them was valid for life, unless I was caught for bad behavior, or ill performance, both of which cannot occur since I havent yet joined their company!

Weeks, After getting a satisfactory answer from them, I got a letter which said, all the things I mentioned above, and went on to drop a bomb at the end :

"......

But your employment with Sapient cannot be guaranteed. Thank you. ..."

Now, I have decided to bring into action my contingency plans. I had almost completed a GNIIT course which guaranteed me a developers job. It was a 3 year course and Ive already completed the 2 years. The third year is supposed to be an industry orientation, in which we'll be sent to a company for onsite projects, and if lady luck shines, we'll get placed in the same company. Im just waiting for my degree, after which I can do this...The results ought to come out by the next month...

How to Move from Windows to Linux

1. Choose a Linux Distro. Research is key.
   Look into what distribution of GNU/Linux would be best for you.
   Everyone is different, and all Linux distributions are different,
   but there will probably be one (or two) that appeals to the most.
   If you're new to the operating system, it's probably best to go for
   something PCLinuxOS,
   Mandriva or Ubuntu - these
   distributions of Linux are aimed at inexperienced users and will
   help you along the way. The Ubuntu distribution will send you a set
   of CDs free of charge, there are other sites on the internet which
   charge a small fee for postage.
2. Try the "Live CD" versions first, assuming your computer will
   boot from the CD drive; most will. Most distributions offer Live CD
   ISOs on their website, which you can burn to CD. A Live CD means
   that Linux will run entirely from a CD and will not touch your
   Windows installation - this allows you to test out some of the
   functionality Linux offers without wiping your existing Windows
   install.
3. Use Linux applications that have been ported over to Windows.
   Fine example are Inkscape and the
   GIMP. Using these will get you used to the kind of applications
   available on Linux (Although there is a school of thought to the
   effect that the GIMP is a bad piece of software). Using open source
   applications will be a real boost when you actually switch over, as
   it will be relatively painless for, say, an XChat user to use XChat
   on his new system, rather than a mIRC (Or other Windows-only IRC client) user having
   to learn an entirely new program.
4. Back up your important data before you do anything else. If you
   make a mistake while installing Linux, it's possible you'll have to
   format your hard drive to put things right. In which case, you will
   lose all data on it. It is very important you back up if you need
   to.
5. Get hold of a Linux install CD - when you boot from this, it
   will take you through the steps required to install Linux. Some
   distributions, like Ubuntu, actually install from the Live CD, so
   you do not need to download an additional CD image.
6. Partition your hard drive into two partitions, one containing
   your existing Windows install, the other containing the Linux
   installation. Under Windows, this can be easily done with various
   partitioning tools (Partition Magic, Paragon Partition Manager and
   others) preserving both Windows installation and existing data.
   Note that Windows Vista comes with a partition tool.
7. Choose which operating system to boot into when once the Linux
   installation has finished. This is called dual-booting. It is wise
   to do this before completely converting to Linux to give you
   something to fall back on if something goes wrong.
8. Get comfortable with Linux. As time goes on you will find you
   need to boot into Windows less and less. Using Linux is a learning
   experience, make sure you make the most of the "community" help
   which is available from most distributions of Linux. There is
   usually a wide community which you can ask questions and there will
   be people more than willing to help you out with any problems
   you've got. Make sure you use Google and the "search" functions on
   community websites because people may get irate at answering the
   same questions all the time in forums and on irc. Visit your
   distribution's support page or FAQ.
9. Wipe your Windows partition (devote your entire hard disk to
   Linux) once you're comfortable with Linux. You'll probably never
   look back!

Ever dreamt of becoming a graffiti artist?

Did you ever felt within yourself when you saw some graffiti, the
desire to spray one by yourself? But you don’t want to spray something
at other people buildings, or you don’t have the money to do so. Or you
even want to stop to do it, then here is the website for you.

The Website Vandalsquad.com

I just found today this cool website, VandalSquad
,by accident. It have been around quite awhile, since 2002 to be
correct. On their website you have the possibility to spray graffiti.
The site is made like a Blacklist of Graffiti sprayers which are
searched by the LRPD, you can view at their website also 2 million
graffiti(as they tell) created by other sprayers, the graffiti can also
be voted. The more popular you’re the more you’re searched…

Spray the hell out of yours

You have two possibilities to spray, the first one is online and the
other one is as application which you have to download before.

Spraying Online

The online Graffiti spraying somehow didn’t work, but as much as I
have read it should be the same as the download version, just with one
limitation that you don’t have that much graffiti backgrounds.

Spraying Offline

After you downloaded and installed the Software, you can start
spraying. You have just one graffiti Background, which should be enough
for the beginning to see if you like to spray graffiti. If you want to
make more graffiti after the first one you can go online and grab
around 20 different surfaces for it. Most of them shows trains or
buses, but you have also a helicopter, tank, and a so called wallman
available for download.

You can have the choice out of around 50 colors, which can be
sprayed in different thickness as well as distance. And you can use a
pen to make more filigree jobs. If you sprayed something wrong, that’s
not worse you can simply undo it.

At any time you can preview your work to see how it will look as a
whole, as most graffiti Surfaces are too big to fit in as whole.

When you’re finish with your work you can Save it, which will just keep
it local on your hard drive but not as jpg or so. It’s stored within
the surface file or so in some format you can’t use. You also have the
possibility to upload your graffiti it to vandalsquad.com so other
sprayer can view your masterpiece, and maybe you get the most wanted
graffiti sprayer once?

BOOMBox rocks!!

I got my hands on the BOOMBox software today. Im stuck with a dialup connection, and felt I had a broadband when presented with what BOOMBox had to offer!! Man...This thing ROCKS!!! Take it from me...I dont give that rating just to any software I come across.

Though, the software doesnt have a bundled player, it does a good job of indexing various radio stations throughout the internet. Whats more? It allows you to search according to the genre you're interested in!

It indexed radio stations that winamp, and real player missed out on!.This is the real deal.

Check their site here.

Iam recommending this software to all my friends and to you! Until the next article, chao!