Saturday, February 23, 2008

War Over !!!


The final shots have been fired in the high definition format war, and as the battlefield falls silent Blu-Ray emerges victorious, leaving HD DVD battered, broken and defunct.




In a high-def rerun of the VHS/Betamax conflict of the 70s and 80s, the two rival formats have sluged it out over the last two years in a battle for our hearts, minds and wallets.

Japanese manufacturer Toshiba launched HD DVD confident that the format, which was based on existing DVD technology, would be perfectly placed to take advantage of the rise in sales of high-def TVs.

After all, they reasoned, even though HD DVD weren't able to store quite as much data as a Blu-ray disc, the discs and players were cheaper to produce than Sony's format, and the pictures and sounds were just as good.

HD-DVD was also, just, first out the traps and initially had strong support from Hollywood. But the expected sales never materialised, just one million in total, as consumer indifference and confusion set in.

PS3And of course, there was Sony's trump card.The Blu-Ray playing Playstation3 may have underperformed commercially as a gaming console, but in the past 18 months they have managed to get six million of them into our living rooms.

More and more movie studios got behind Sony's format, and Warner Brothers' announcement at the beginning of the year that it would exclusively support Blu-Ray effectively signalled HD DVD's demise.

The final nail was hammered into the format's coffin earlier this month, when the worlds largest retailer, Wal-mart, threw its considerable weight behind Blu-ray.

So, Toshiba and its partners will now cease producing HD DVD hardware and Blu-ray is left with a clear run at the high- def market.

UNIX Introduction

What is UNIX?

UNIX is an operating system which was first developed in the 1960s, and has been under constant development ever since. By operating system, we mean the suite of programs which make the computer work. It is a stable, multi-user, multi-tasking system for servers, desktops and laptops.

UNIX systems also have a graphical user interface (GUI) similar to Microsoft Windows which provides an easy to use environment. However, knowledge of UNIX is required for operations which aren't covered by a graphical program, or for when there is no windows interface available, for example, in a telnet session.


Types of UNIX

There are many different versions of UNIX, although they share common similarities. The most popular varieties of UNIX are Sun Solaris, GNU/Linux, and MacOS X.

At shools and colleges, people use Solaris on servers and workstations, and Fedora Linux on the servers and desktop PCs.


The UNIX operating system


The UNIX operating system is made up of three parts; the kernel, the shell and the programs.

The kernel

The kernel of UNIX is the hub of the operating system: it allocates time and memory to programs and handles the filestore and communications in response to system calls.

As an illustration of the way that the shell and the kernel work together, suppose a user types rm myfile (which has the effect of removing the file myfile). The shell searches the filestore for the file containing the program rm, and then requests the kernel, through system calls, to execute the program rm on myfile. When the process rm myfile has finished running, the shell then returns the UNIX prompt % to the user, indicating that it is waiting for further commands.

The shell

The shell acts as an interface between the user and the kernel. When a user logs in, the login program checks the username and password, and then starts another program called the shell. The shell is a command line interpreter (CLI). It interprets the commands the user types in and arranges for them to be carried out. The commands are themselves programs: when they terminate, the shell gives the user another prompt (% on our systems).

The adept user can customise his/her own shell, and users can use different shells on the same machine. Staff and students in the school have the tcsh shell by default.

The tcsh shell has certain features to help the user inputting commands.

Filename Completion - By typing part of the name of a command, filename or directory and pressing the [Tab] key, the tcsh shell will complete the rest of the name automatically. If the shell finds more than one name beginning with those letters you have typed, it will beep, prompting you to type a few more letters before pressing the tab key again.

History - The shell keeps a list of the commands you have typed in. If you need to repeat a command, use the cursor keys to scroll up and down the list or type history for a list of previous commands.


Files and processes

Everything in UNIX is either a file or a process.

A process is an executing program identified by a unique PID (process identifier).

A file is a collection of data. They are created by users using text editors, running compilers etc.

Examples of files:

  • a document (report, essay etc.)
  • the text of a program written in some high-level programming language
  • instructions comprehensible directly to the machine and incomprehensible to a casual user, for example, a collection of binary digits (an executable or binary file);
  • a directory, containing information about its contents, which may be a mixture of other directories (subdirectories) and ordinary files.

The Directory Structure

All the files are grouped together in the directory structure. The file-system is arranged in a hierarchical structure, like an inverted tree. The top of the hierarchy is traditionally called root (written as a slash / )




In the diagram above, we see that the home directory of the undergraduate student "ee51vn" contains two sub-directories (docs and pics) and a file called report.doc.

The full path to the file report.doc is "/home/its/ug1/ee51vn/report.doc"


Starting an UNIX terminal

To open an UNIX terminal window, click on the "Terminal" icon from the drop-down menus.


An UNIX Terminal window will then appear with a % prompt, waiting for you to start entering commands.

Cleaning a virus manually

To get rid of a virus manually you will need a little knowledge on command line instructions/cmd..

  1. Get a hijackthis program from download.com
  2. select "Do a system scan only". Here you will see those processes that run on startup and those that were added to the registry.
  3. Next, know those annoying filenames of .exe that triggers the virus' actions. These are considered or often found at the startup. Viruses evolve but their filenames are all the same.
  4. if you can access the task manager, end task all processes that are connected to the virus. If not, use the process manager in the hijackthis.Do the same,kill those processes that are connected to the virus.
  5. Open the cmd.exe. Here manually delete the executable files that will run on startup. To find it easier to delet, try searching all filenames that you wish to delete. Those files that should not be on that path will be deleted.
  6. Restart and repeat step 4 if not resolved.
Just don't worry as computers can still be repaired. Just don't delete the system files...

Thursday, February 21, 2008

NVIDIA 9600 GT Reviewed: Best Low-Cost Gaming Card With Anti-Aliasing


NVIDIA's first GeForce 9 series card officially launched today, the budget 9600 GT, which is based on a shrunken version of the G92 graphics processor in their mid-range 8800 GT and the newer GTS cards.

It's actually extremely similar to the 8800 GT, but smaller and more efficient. It has half the number of stream processors but at a higher frequency, so Tom's Hardware says you're looking at a 38 percent drop in raw processing power vs. the 8800 GT cards. However, in the real gaming world, performance was only about 12 percent lower than the 8800 GT. So while it's not enough of a departure to warrant being branded a 9 series card, it's the "the best card in its price range for performance with antialiasing enabled."

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Connecting to a remote computer using Telnet

Telnet allows you to use your computer as a terminal for a remote computer (typically a mainframe or Unix-based computer). With telnet, you can search a database, access an online catalog, read your e-mail or participate in interactive games like multiuser dungeons (MUDs). You can log in according to the permissions that the remote host has given you. Now follow the steps below:
1. Install a telnet program (client) on your computer. HyperTerminal, included with Windows, will perform many telnet operations. You can also locate an array of freeware, shareware or commercial telnet clients from various software Web sites.

2. Open your telnet program.

3. Enter the telnet address in the address box. Click OK.

4. Enter your login ID. If you have been given special permission, your host will have provided you with a login ID. If it is an anonymous site, you may be able to log in as "guest" or by using your e-mail address.

5. Once you are logged in, the procedure varies depending on how the host has been set up. Follow instructions that appear on the screen.

Tips:
  • You may be able to access your telnet program directly from your browser if you have configured your software correctly. To use your browser, type the telnet address in the address bar. It may be something such as "telnet: far.away.computer.com" or "telnet far.away.computer.com."
  • Some telnet programs require a colon between "telnet" and the address. Others require a space.
  • Telnet is typically used to turn your computer into a terminal for a mainframe or Unix-based computer. Don't expect to be able to use Windows or Macintosh commands.
  • Telnet can be a useful way to access your e-mail away from home, because you don't need to remember SMTP or POP server names. Not all Internet service providers (ISPs) allow telnet access, however, and you will probably need to use a Unix-based e-mail client this way.
  • If one letter is typed incorrectly, the telnet search will fail.

Download Free C & C++ Programming ebooks

Click on the links, then click on proceed.

Making a GUI in JAVA


Here in this tutorial you will be showed how to make a GUI in JAVA ...i.e.. how to make frames, panels, buttons and how to display dialog boxes.



The 2 most important things you will need :--
  • Basic knowledge of JAVA.
  • A JAVA compiler (like BlueJ or Eclipse)
Now just follow these steps:
  1. A JAVA GUI Program should be designed like the diagram below (at least it's what I think): - main() - Frame -- Content Panel --- Buttons --- Text Areas --- Menus --- and so on
  2. Import some important files. import java.awt.*; import java.awt.event.*; import javax.swing.*;
  3. Create a new class, extend it to ActionListener and create the main Method. public class HelloGui implements ActionListener { public static void main(String[] args) { } }
  4. Under the main method create an instance of the class itself. HelloGui myProgram = new HelloGui();
  5. Create buttons and attach action listeners. JButton ladiesButton = new JButton("Ladies"); ladiesButton.setActionCommand("clickfromLadies"); ladiesButton.addActionListener(myProgram); JButton gentsButton = new JButton("Gents"); gentsButton.setActionCommand("clickfromGents"); gentsButton.addActionListener(myProgram);
  6. Create an instance of the JPanel JPanel contentPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
  7. Add the created buttons in the content panel and create a window/frame. contentPanel.add(ladiesButton); contentPanel.add(gentsButton);
  8. Create an instance of the JFrame to give your GUI Program a window. JFrame mainWindow = new JFrame("Hello Java GUI Program by Rooseveltrp.com");
  9. Add the content pane in the window. Rebuild the window and then display it. mainWindow.getContentPane().add(contentPanel); mainWindow.pack(); mainWindow.setVisible(true);
  10. Create a new method called public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e).
  11. Inside the method actionPerformed enter the following codes to control the clicks from your button. public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { if(e.getActionCommand().equals("clickfromLadies")) { JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Roosevelt Loves Ladies!"); } else if(e.getActionCommand().equals("clickfromGents")) { JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Honestly, Roosevelt doesn't care about men!"); } }
  12. If you've done everything well your codes will look just like below: import java.awt.*; import java.awt.event.*; import javax.swing.*; public class HelloGui implements ActionListener { public static void main(String[] args) { HelloGui myProgram = new HelloGui(); JButton ladiesButton = new JButton("Ladies"); ladiesButton.setActionCommand("clickfromLadies"); ladiesButton.addActionListener(myProgram); JButton gentsButton = new JButton("Gents"); gentsButton.setActionCommand("clickfromGents"); gentsButton.addActionListener(myProgram); JPanel contentPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1)); contentPanel.add(ladiesButton); contentPanel.add(gentsButton); JFrame mainWindow = new JFrame("Hello Java GUI Program by Rooseveltrp.com"); mainWindow.getContentPane().add(contentPanel); mainWindow.pack(); mainWindow.setVisible(true); } public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) { if(e.getActionCommand().equals("clickfromLadies")) { JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Roosevelt Loves Ladies!"); } else if(e.getActionCommand().equals("clickfromGents")) { JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null, "Honestly, Roosevelt doesn't care about men!"); } } }
  13. Program should output the following results.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Make firefox 10x faster

1. Type "about:config into the address bar and hit enter. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"
Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

See the difference for yourself...

Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Sony Ericsson Z770

z770

This is a phone we've seen in the wild on a couple occasions, but we had one detail dead wrong: the model number. It turns out that Sony Ericsson's newest Z series flip is actually the Z770, not the Z660 we'd heard before. The company is billing the Z770 as a phone fit for people who need access to the internet (web and email, specifically) but aren't necessarily interested in stepping up to a full-fledged smartphone, featuring "easy" email setup, zoom / pan features in the web browser along with an actual mouse pointer (anyone familiar with S60's browser will get the idea here), and integrated support for Exchange ActiveSync. The GSM / EDGE 900 / 1800 / 1900, HSDPA 2100 handset will hit shelves in the second quarter in Vogue Red, Graphite Black, and Exquisite Gold.

Free Apps for Words, Screen Capture, and Sudoku

Write Freely for Free
jarte

Talk is cheap, but Word is expensive. Fortunately, Jarte is free. This clever little word processing program from Carolina Road Software lets you open, modify, and save files in common formats.

Jarte fits onto a small, 64MB USB drive with room to spare for a couple of documents, making it perfect for travelers who want to work on projects and might not have Internet access for using Web-based alternatives.

Jarte's tabbed interface makes it easy to work on several files--in several formats--at once.

Free Shots of Your Screens!


EasyCapture lets you capture screen images in a variety of sizes and formats. This free program adds a few nifty extra functions, too.

To nab a screen with EasyCapture, you select the desired area type (full screen, region, window, and so on), move your cursor to select the area, and click. Thanks to a tabbed interface, you can take several screen shots in short order and deal with each at your leisure. A smattering of graphics tools lets you perform simple tasks such as adjusting brightness and contrast; converting to grayscale; and adding text and simple included graphics such as lines, arrows, and word balloons. You can save your work as BMP, GIF, JPEG, PCX, PNG, and TIFF files.

Get a Clue for Sudoku Puzzles


Strategies for solving these number-placing brain-teasers can be complex, but reader Ernie Jellinek of Voorhees, New Jersey, has a tip: Do the puzzles in SudoKlue. This clever freebie analyzes puzzles and provides cell-by-cell solution instructions, setting you on the path to sodoku mastery.

SudoKlue generates random puzzles or lets you input your own. Use the pencil tool to mark the possibilities, then the pen tool when you're sure you know the solution. SudoKlue can give hints, find errors, and solve individual cells for you.

Sony Ericsson's XPERIA X1 QWERTY with Windows Mobile and HSUPA

xperia

It's here, the XPERIA X1 QWERTY from Sony Ericsson. Yes, full QWERTY to make the most of that Windows Mobile 6 operating system. SE's new XPERIA brand will focus on multimedia and mobile web communication. The X1 then, brings a 3-inch wide VGA (800 x 480) touchscreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera (with photo light), A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, WiFi, and microSD -- just 400MB on board. On the phone side you've got quad-band GSM/EDGE, and 900/1700/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA (or 850/1700/1900/2100MHz in what must be a US-bound model). Navigation is accomplished via touch, arc-sliding QWERTY, 4-way key and optical joystick. Now just replace that Internet Explorer Mobile browser with Opera Mobile 9.5 or Skyfire and the 110 x 53 x 16.7-mm X1 is ready to live up to its potential. You know, when it ships in "select markets" in the second half of 2008.

How To Block Websites Without Software

Steps:

1] Browse C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc
2] Find the file named "HOSTS"
3] Open it in notepad
4] Under "127.0.0.1 localhost" Add 127.0.0.2 www.sitenameyouwantblocked.com , and that site will no longer be accessable.
5] Done!

-So-

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.0.2 www.blockedsite.com

-->www.blockedsite.com is now unaccessable<--

For every site after that you want to add, just add "1" to the last number in the internal ip (127.0.0.2) and then the addy like before.

IE: 127.0.0.3 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.4 www.blablabla.com
127.0.0.5 www.blablabla.com

Real Transformer , No Doubt it's from Japan...