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Windows Installer XML (WiX) toolset

2006-06-14T11:05:00.000+05:30

Introduction

The Windows Installer XML (WiX) is a toolset that builds Windows installation packages from XML source code. The toolset supports a command line environment that developers may integrate into their build processes to build MSI and MSM setup packages.

More @ http://wix.sourceforge.net/index.html

Blu-ray Discs

2006-05-12T15:19:00.000+05:30

What is Blu-ray?
Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD) is the name of a next-generation optical disc format. The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. For more general information about Blu-ray, please see our What is Blu-ray? section.

1.2
Why the name Blu-ray?
The name Blu-ray is derived from the underlying technology, which utilizes a blue-violet laser to read and write data. The name is a combination of "Blue" (blue-violet laser) and "Ray" (optical ray). According to the Blu-ray Disc Association the spelling of "Blu-ray" is not a mistake, the character "e" was intentionally left out so the term could be registered as a trademark. The correct full name is Blu-ray Disc, not Blu-ray Disk (incorrect spelling)The correct shortened name is Blu-ray, not Blu-Ray (incorrect capitalization) or Blue-ray (incorrect spelling)The correct abbreviation is BD, not BR or BRD (wrong abbreviation)

1.3
Who developed Blu-ray?
The Blu-ray Disc format was developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers, with more than 170 member companies from all over the world. The Board of Directors currently consists of: Apple Computer, Inc. Dell Inc.Hewlett Packard CompanyHitachi, Ltd.LG Electronics Inc.Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Mitsubishi Electric CorporationPioneer CorporationRoyal Philips ElectronicsSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Sharp CorporationSony CorporationTDK CorporationThomson MultimediaTwentieth Century FoxWalt Disney PicturesWarner Bros. Entertainment

1.4
What Blu-ray formats are planned?
As with conventional CDs and DVDs, Blu-ray plans to provide a wide range of formats including ROM/R/RW. The following formats are part of the Blu-ray Disc specification: BD-ROM - read-only format for distribution of HD movies, games, software, etc. BD-R - recordable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.BD-RE - rewritable format for HD video recording and PC data storage.There's also plans for a BD/DVD hybrid format, which combines Blu-ray and DVD on the same disc so that it can be played in both Blu-ray players and DVD players.

1.5
How much data can you fit on a Blu-ray disc?
A single-layer disc can hold 25GB.A dual-layer disc can hold 50GB.To ensure that the Blu-ray Disc format is easily extendable (future-proof) it also includes support for multi-layer discs, which should allow the storage capacity to be increased to 100GB-200GB (25GB per layer) in the future simply by adding more layers to the discs.

1.6
How much video can you fit on a Blu-ray disc?
Over 9 hours of high-definition (HD) video on a 50GB disc.About 23 hours of standard-definition (SD) video on a 50GB disc.

1.7
How fast can you read/write data on a Blu-ray disc?
According to the Blu-ray Disc specification, 1x speed is defined as 36Mbps. However, as BD-ROM movies will require a 54Mbps data transfer rate the minimum speed we're expecting to see is 2x (72Mbps). Blu-ray also has the potential for much higher speeds, as a result of the larger numerical aperture (NA) adopted by Blu-ray Disc. The large NA value effectively means that Blu-ray will require less recording power and lower disc rotation speed than DVD and HD-DVD to achieve the same data transfer rate. While the media itself limited the recording speed in the past, the only limiting factor for Blu-ray is the capacity of the hardware. If we assume a maximum disc rotation speed of 10,000 RPM, then 12x at the outer diameter should be possible (about 400Mbps). This is why the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) already has plans to raise the speed to 8x (288Mbps) or more in the future.

1.8
What video codecs will Blu-ray support?
MPEG-2 - enhanced for HD, also used for playback of DVDs and HDTV recordings.MPEG-4 AVC - part of the MPEG-4 standard also known as H.264 (High Profile and Main Profile).SMPTE VC-1 - standard based on Microsoft's Windows Media Video (WMV) technology. Please note that this simply means that all Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support playback of these video codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios to decide which video codec(s) they use for their releases.

1.9
What audio codecs will Blu-ray support?
Linear PCM (LPCM) - offers up to 8 channels of uncompressed audio.Dolby Digital (DD) - format used for DVDs also known as AC3, offers 5.1-channel surround sound.Dolby Digital Plus (DD+) - extension of DD, offers increased bitrates and 7.1-channel surround sound.Dolby TrueHD - extension of MLP Lossless, offers lossless encoding of up to 8 channels of audio.DTS Digital Surround - format used for DVDs, offers 5.1-channel surround sound.DTS-HD - extension of DTS, offers increased bitrates and up to 8 channels of audio. Please note that this simply means that all Blu-ray players and recorders will have to support playback of these audio codecs, it will still be up to the movie studios to decide which audio codec(s) they use for their releases.

1.10
Will Blu-ray discs require a cartridge?
No, the development of new low cost hard-coating technologies has made the cartridge obsolete. Blu-ray will instead rely on hard-coating for protection, which when applied will make the discs even more resistant to scratches and fingerprints than today's DVDs, while still preserving the same look and feel. Blu-ray also adopts a new error correction system which is more robust and efficient than the one used for DVDs.

1.11
Will Blu-ray require an Internet connection?
No, you will not need an Internet connection for basic playback of Blu-ray movies. The Internet connection will only be needed for value-added features such as downloading new extras, watching recent movie trailers, web browsing, etc. It will also be required to authorize managed copies of Blu-ray movies that can be transferred over a home network.

1.12
Will Blu-ray down-convert analog outputs?
No, Blu-ray players will not down-convert the analog output signal unless the video contains something called an Image Constraint Token (ICT). This feature is not part of the Blu-ray Disc spec, but of the AACS copy-protection system also adopted by HD-DVD. In the end it will be up to each movie studio to decide if they want to use this "feature" on their releases or not. The good news is that Sony, Disney, Fox, Paramount, MGM and Universal have already stated that they have no intention of using this feature. The other studios, which have yet to announce their plans, will most likely follow suit to avoid getting bad publicity. If any of the studios still decide to use ICT they will have to state this on the cover of their movies, so you should have no problem avoiding these titles.

1.13
Will Blu-ray support mandatory managed copy?
Yes, mandatory managed copy (MMC) will be part of the Blu-ray format. This feature will enable consumers to make legal copies of their Blu-ray movies that can be transferred over a home network. Please note that "mandatory" refers to the movies having to offer this capability, while it will be up to each hardware manufacturer to decide if they want to support this feature.

1.14
When will I be able to buy Blu-ray products?
If you live in the US, you will most likely have to wait until June 25, 2006 when Samsung will introduce their Blu-ray player (was recently pushed back from May 23, 2006). Pioneer and Sony plan to introduce their respective Blu-ray players in July. While we've heard very little about the launch plans for the European market, we expect it to follow shortly after the US (some products might launch earlier).

1.15
What will Blu-ray products cost?
As with any new technology the first generation of products will likely be quite expensive due to low production volumes. However, this shouldn't be a problem for long as there is a wide range of Blu-ray related products ( players, recorders, drives, writers, media, etc) planned, which should help drive up production volumes and lower overall production costs. Once mass production of components for Blu-ray products begins the prices are expected to fall quickly. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, the overall cost of manufacturing Blu-ray Disc media will in the end be no more expensive than producing a DVD. The reduced injection molding costs (one molding machine instead of two, no birefringence problems) offset the additional cost of applying the cover layer and low cost hard-coat, while the techniques used for applying the recording layer remain the same. As production volumes increase the production costs should fall and eventually be comparable to DVDs.

Blu-ray vs DVD

Will Blu-ray replace DVDs?
Yes, that's the expectation. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. Seven of the eight major movie studios have already announced titles for Blu-ray, including Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate. The initial line-up is expected to consist of over 100 titles and include recent hits as well as classics such as Batman Begins, Desperado, Fantastic Four, Fifth Element, Hero, Ice Age, Kill Bill, Lethal Weapon, Mission Impossible, Ocean's Twelve, Pirates of the Caribbean, Reservoir Dogs, Robocop, and The Matrix. Many studios have also announced that they will begin releasing new feature films on Blu-ray Disc day-and-date with DVD, as well as a continuous slate of catalog titles every month. However, the two formats (Blu-ray and DVD) will most likely co-exist for quite some time until HDTVs become more widespread. For a complete list of the announced movies, please see our Blu-ray Movies section.

Will Blu-ray be backwards compatible with DVD?
Yes, several leading consumer electronics companies (including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp and LG) have already demonstrated products that can read/write CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs using a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical head, so you don't have to worry about your existing DVD collection becoming obsolete. In fact, most of the Blu-ray players coming out will support upscaling of DVDs to 1080p/1080i, so your existing DVD collection will look even better than before. While it's up to each manufacturer to decide if they want to make their products backwards compatible with DVD, the format is far too popular to not be supported. The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) expects every Blu-ray Disc device to be backward compatible with DVDs.

Why should I upgrade from DVD to Blu-ray?
The simple answer is HDTV. If you've ever seen high-definition (HD) video on an HDTV, then you know just how incredibly sharp the picture is and how vivid the colors are. In fact, HD offers five times the amount of detail compared to standard-definition (SD). The problem with today's DVDs is that they only support SD and don't have the necessary storage capacity to satisfy the needs of HD. That's where Blu-ray comes in, it offers up to 50GB of storage capacity and enables playback, recording and rewriting of HD in all of the HD resolutions including 1080p. The format also supports high-definition audio formats and lossless audio. In addition to the greater video and audio quality, the extra storage capacity also means there will be plenty of room for additional content and special features. This combined with the new BD-J interactivity layer adopted by Blu-ray will bring the menus, graphics and special features to a whole new level. For example, you will be able to bring up the menu system as an overlay without stopping the movie, and you could have the director of the movie on the screen explaining the shooting of a scene while the scene is playing in the background. The advanced interactivity combined with the networking features of Blu-ray will also allow content producers to support new innovative features such as downloading extras, updating content via the web, and watching live broadcasts of special events. Thanks to the greatly enhanced HD video and audio quality as well as the advanced interactivity and networking features, Blu-ray represents a huge leap forward in the DVD viewing experience and will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

What is the difference between Blu-ray and DVD?
Parameters
Blu-ray
DVD
Storage capacity
25GB (single-layer)50GB (dual-layer)
4.7GB (single-layer)8.5GB (dual-layer)
Laser wavelength
405nm (blue laser)
650nm (red laser)
Numerical aperture (NA)
0.85
0.60
Disc diameterDisc thickness
120mm1.2mm
120mm1.2mm
Protection layerHard coating
0.1mmYes
0.6mmNo
Track pitch
0.32ï¿½m
0.74ï¿½m
Data transfer rate (data)Data transfer rate (video/audio)
36.0Mbps (1x)54.0Mbps (1.5x)
11.08Mbps (1x)10.08Mbps (<1x) name="10aeb7363c929e04_bluray_replace_vcr">Will Blu-ray replace VCRs?
Yes, as VCRs don't support recording of HDTV programming consumers will soon need to replace them. Blu-ray recorders combined with hard drives offer a very flexible alternative for those that want to record HDTV. While HD-DVRs already allow consumers to record HDTV, the amount of HDTV programming that can be recorded and archived is limited by the size of the hard drive. Blu-ray recorders will offer a solution to this problem as they allow consumers to record the video to Blu-ray discs and then free up the hard drive. This should make them popular among people that want to archive a lot of their HDTV recordings. The Blu-ray recorders will also offer a lot of compelling new features not possible with a traditional VCR:
· Random access - instantly jump to any place on the disc
· Searching - quickly browse and preview recorded programs in real-time
· Create playlists - change the order of recorded programs and edit recorded video
· Simultaneous recording and playback of video (enables Time slip/Chasing playback)
· Automatically find an empty space to avoid recording over programs
· Improved picture - ability to record high-definition television (HDTV)
· Improved sound - ability to record surround sound (Dolby Digital, DTS, etc)

What about Blu-ray for PCs?
There are plans for BD-ROM (read-only), BD-R (recordable) and BD-RE (rewritable) drives for PCs, and with the support of the worlds two largest PC manufacturers, HP and Dell, it's very likely that the technology will be adopted as the next-generation optical disc format for PC data storage and replace technologies such as DVDï¿½R, DVDï¿½RW, and DVD-RAM.

Blu-ray vs HD-DVD

Is Blu-ray the same thing as HD-DVD?
No, HD-DVD (previously known as AOD) is the name of a competing next-generation optical disc format developed by Toshiba and NEC. The format is quite different from Blu-ray, but also relies heavily on blue-laser technology to achieve a higher storage capacity. The format is being developed within the DVD Forum as a possible successor to the current DVD technology.

What benefits does Blu-ray offer compared to HD-DVD?
Although both Blu-ray and HD-DVD are similar in many aspects, there are some important differences between them. The first is capacity. Because Blu-ray utilizes a lens with a greater numerical aperture (NA) than HD-DVD, the laser spot can be focused with greater precision to fit more data on the same size disc. This allows Blu-ray to hold 25GB per layer (50GB on a dual-layer disc), whereas HD-DVD can only hold 15GB per layer (30GB on a dual-layer disc). Blu-ray has also adopted a higher data transfer rate for video and audio (54Mbps vs 36.55Mbps). The greater capacity and data transfer rates for Blu-ray will allow the movie studios to release their movies with higher quality video and audio than the HD-DVD format. The second is content. The Blu-ray format has received broad support from the major movie studios as a successor to today's DVD format. Seven of the eight major movie studios (Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate) have already announced titles for Blu-ray, whereas HD-DVD only has support from three major movie studios (Warner, Paramount and Universal). This is an important difference because some of the studios might only support one of the formats, so you won't be able to get your favorite movies in the other format. Choosing the format with the most content support minimizes this risk. The third is hardware support. The Blu-ray format has broad support from the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers, including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Pioneer, Sharp, JVC, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, TDK, Thomson, LG, Apple, HP and Dell. The Blu-ray format will also be supported in the next-generation PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console. This means that you will have a lot of choice when it comes to players and hardware. The HD-DVD format has far less supporters, so the amount of players and hardware will be very limited. So far, Toshiba is the only company to officially announce a HD-DVD player and it will only support 1080i output, while the announced Blu-ray players will support 1080p.

What is the difference between Blu-ray and HD-DVD?
Parameters
Blu-ray
HD-DVD
Storage capacity
25GB (single-layer)50GB (dual-layer)
15GB (single-layer)30GB (dual-layer)
Laser wavelength
405nm (blue laser)
405nm (blue laser)
Numerical aperture (NA)
0.85
0.65
Disc diameterDisc thickness
120mm1.2mm
120mm1.2mm
Protection layerHard coating
0.1mmYes
0.6mmNo
Track pitch
0.32ï¿½m
0.40ï¿½m
Data transfer rate (data)Data transfer rate (video/audio)
36.0Mbps (1x)54.0Mbps (1.5x)
36.55Mbps (1x)36.55Mbps (1x)
Video resolution (max)Video bit rate (max)
1920ï¿½1080 (1080p)40.0Mbps
1920ï¿½1080 (1080p)28.0Mbps
Video codecs
MPEG-2MPEG-4 AVCSMPTE VC-1
MPEG-2MPEG-4 AVCSMPTE VC-1
Audio codecs
Linear PCMDolby DigitalDolby Digital PlusDolby TrueHDDTS Digital SurroundDTS-HD
Linear PCMDolby DigitalDolby Digital PlusDolby TrueHDDTS Digital SurroundDTS-HD
Interactivity
BD-J
iHD

Blu-ray players
Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Player

Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player

Philips BDP9000 Blu-ray Player

Blu-ray movies

Seven of the eight major movie studios have announced that they will release movies in the Blu-ray Disc format as soon as hardware becomes available. The movies will feature high definition video and audio as well as advanced interactive features. Compared to standard definition (SD), which is the resolution used in today's TVs and DVDs, high definition (HD) offers five times the amount of detail. A standard TV uses either NTSC which is 480i (640ï¿½480) or PAL/SECAM which is 576i (768ï¿½576). The "i" stands for interlaced, which means that only half of the lines are updated for each frame alternating between the odd and even lines. Blu-ray movies will be in 1080p (1920ï¿½1080), which is the highest of the HD resolutions. The "p" stands for progressive, which means that every line and pixel will be updated for each frame.

Blu-ray titles announced

Title
Studio
Info
50 First Dates
Sony
Release date: May 23, 2006
A Knight's Tale
Sony
Release date: May 23, 2006
Aeon Flux
Paramount

Amityville Horror
MGM
Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Angel Seekers
Air TBS
Japan only
Armageddon
Disney

Basic Instinct
Lionsgate
Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Batman Begins
Warner

Behind Enemy Lines
Fox

Black Hawk Down
Sony

Blazing Saddles
Warner
Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Sony

Bridge on the River Kwai
Sony

Brothers Grimm
Disney

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Warner

Chicken Little
Disney
Not a launch title, to be released later in 2006
Chronos
Goldhil
Documentary, Release date: May 23, 2006
Constantine
Warner

Crash
Lionsgate
Release date: May 23, 2006
Crimson Tide
Disney
Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Dark Water
Disney

Desperado
Sony

Devil's Rejects
Lionsgate

Dinosaur
Disney

Dukes of Hazzard
Warner

Dune
Lionsgate
TV miniseries aka Frank Herbert's Dune, Release date: June/July
Everest
Disney
Documentary
Fantastic Four
Fox

Fifth Element
Sony
Release date: May 23, 2006
Flightplan
Disney
Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
For a Few Dollars More
MGM

Four Brothers
Paramount

Full Metal Jacket
Warner
Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Goodfellas
Warner
Not yet announced, but packaging shown at CES
Great Raid
Disney

Green Mile
Warner
Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Guns of Navarone
Sony

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Warner
Not yet announced, but Warner has stated that they will release all their titles in both formats
Hero
Disney

Hitch
Sony
Release date: May 23, 2006
House of Flying Daggers
Sony
Release date: May 23, 2006
Ice Age
Fox

Incredibles
Disney
Not yet announced, but

What to Buy? PC or MAC?

2006-05-10T12:19:00.000+05:30

PC
----------
:) cheaper then MAC.
:) Completely starts in 28 minutes.
:) All of its parts are easily available in you local areas.
:) Speed is better than MAC.
:) Application support is better than MAC.(easily available.)
:) Easy to Fix.seen the test. thrown it from 1st Floor and then amazingly got that only Motherboard is affected.so got MB and some
other small parts in very less time and money.we fixed it in 3 hours...!great!

MAC
----------
:( More Price.
:)) starts in 17 minutes!amazing.
:( for some appalications,speed is lower than PC.
:) Best graphics and all releted to GUI(graphical user interface).
:( Low Application support then PC.
:( parts are not available due to license problems.
:( difficult to fix. seen the same test.Thrown its CPU from 1st floor and asked apple help line.They told that due to license problems, cant provide its parts directly.need to take the cpu and they fix it.All these takes 3 days around.!

So, if you want to buy for speed,easy repair and all then go for PC.
if you want to buy for style,looks,Graphics then go for MAC.

Note:Tests written here are seen on TV (Travell and leaving discovery,Gadgets of guys).And all information is according to the tests shown.

DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) Radio Vs Analog Radio

2006-05-10T12:17:00.000+05:30

DAB Radio
------
:) In this radio, you can get more stations (a lot more, we can not count it actually).
:( Quality of audio is not like CD as providers has reduced it.
:( And also u can not catch it while on travell in speedy car/train etc. or in some country side area.
:( Price is also more than analog one.

Analog Radio
------
:( Not more stations.(limited to 10 to 20)
:) In FM,good quality you can get.(upto CD)
:) You can catch it in most of areas and also while travelling.
:) Price is no matter here!

So,If you want to listen outside your home and anywhere you go, you should take analog one.
And if are at home, then you can listen DAB radio plugged in your home and many more options!

eSATA: Fast External Storage

2006-05-03T11:04:00.000+05:30

It may not seem like external SATA storage is anything new. After all, products like the CMS Velocity have been on the market for a couple of years now. While those drives were external SATA drives, they weren't eSATA hardware.

Part of the SATA I/O standard, eSATA isn't just internal Serial ATA slapped into an external box, but also defines the interconnect, signaling requirements and user features such as shielded cables and hot plug connections. The connector for an eSATA cable is different—you can't use a standard motherboard SATA cable. You can find more details, including white papers on various aspects of serial ATA, at the SATA-IO Web site.

Although eSATA products are now available, they're not yet widespread. It's certainly not universal on PCs yet, so if you want eSATA support, you'll likely need to install an expansion card. One interesting aspect of eSATA is its potential use in DVR products. Currently, the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD is the only shipping set-top box with an eSATA connector. Unfortunately, the eSATA feature is currently disabled, and there's no word as to whether any of the cable operators who supply the 8300HD will ever allow external hard drives to be used.

More @ Here

DAS Keyboard II Review

2006-05-03T11:00:00.000+05:30

We were all once, or still are, beginners with the keyboard or typewriter. Jokingly referred to as "hunt and peckers," we earned each sentence we typed--two fingers at a time, frustration included. And what can be even more frustrating than hunting for letters on a keyboard when even the keys have no characters printed on them?

Like the original Das Keyboard, the Das Keyboard II has an all-black exterior and completely blank keys, but its key action uses gold-plated mechanical switches. Pressing these "clicky" keys will conjure flashbacks of the old IBM Model M keyboards that provided very responsive tactile feedback. The 104-key USB keyboard also has five different weight zones in which different keys require different amounts of pressure to press down. This means that keys that we strike with our pinkies will require less force to press down compared with keys that we would press down with our index or thumb fingers.

Though the blank black keys are the main selling point of the keyboard, it isn't necessarily the only thing that makes the Das Keyboard an interesting input device. The build quality, tactile feedback, and sheer look and design are important considerations toward getting people to fork over some dough for this keyboard.

More @ Here

Xenoage Java Exe Starter

2006-04-27T11:26:00.000+05:30

In Java you can generate executable Jar-files. But most windows users are only familiar with Exe files. Moreover it is not possible to assign icons to a Java Archive. This program solves these problems by generating an Exe with an arbitrary icon, that starts the Jar when it is launched. You can also choose which JRE versions are allowed and you can pack the Jar into the Exe file so that you need only to deliver one single file.Xenoage Java Exe Starter is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

More @ Here

Kodak Ships Tiny Bluetooth Camera

2006-04-27T10:54:00.000+05:30

Eastman Kodak has launched a new Bluetooth camera and new imaging software.

Kodak also explained its work in face-recognition technology to develop software that will automatically sort through thousands of photos to find pictures of friends or family. This is one of several technologies the company is working on in its labs, it explained.

EasyShare V610 revealed

The new camera—the Kodak EasyShare V610 dual lens digital camera—is the "world’s smallest 10X optical zoom camera," the company claims. The 6-megapixel camera uses Bluetooth wireless technology, so camera users can send (or receive) images to any nearby Bluetooth device.

The camera combines two Schneider-Kreuznach C-Variogon all-glass, non-protruding prism lenses to deliver its long zoom range. The camera ships in June 2006 and costs 349.99 pounds (US$625).
The device will record TV-quality (VGA) video at 30 frames per second, using MPEG-4 compression for optimal quality and storage size. Built-in, video-specific image stabilization technology reduces on-screen shaking from unintentional hand and camera movement.

Alongside built-in image editing tools, the camera packs some powerful extra features, principally its in-camera panorama stitching mode, which will automatically combine three pictures into a panoramic photograph without the need for a computer.

There’s also a favorites mode, which places approximately 100 favorite pictures onto an on-camera album for instant retrieval and sharing anytime, anywhere.

More @ Here

Seagate Intros Monster HD

2006-04-27T10:44:00.000+05:30

Record-setting drive comes in at 750GB as company continues a shift to perpendicular recording.

Seagate on Wednesday announced the biggest desktop hard drive ever—a 750GB version of its Barracuda model, fulfilling a pledge to have most of its products use the industry’s new perpendicular recording technology by the end of the year.

The news is the latest in a string of product announcements made by the company in the past several months. Since January, Seagate has unveiled perpendicular upgrades to its 1-inch ST1 drives (12GB), 2.5-inch Momentus notebook drives (160GB), and the Cheetah line (300GB), designed for enterprise customers.

Perpendicular recording packs more information on disk drives by arranging bits of data vertically rather than horizontally. The innovation eventually could lead to a fivefold increase in the capacities of traditional drives.

“750 gigabytes, for us, is just scratching the surface,” said Seagate spokesperson Mike Hall. “We’re driving toward… 2.5 terabytes.”

High Performance

The current iteration of the Barracuda family, dubbed 7200.10, features 7,200-RPM drives in varying capacities. They will be targeted at PC users craving performance, whether for video editing, high-end gaming, or external storage.

The drives could also see use in digital video recorders and some enterprise storage applications. According to Mr. Hall, the company plans to announce an external version of the drive featuring a push-button backup feature next week.

The announcement has several high points, said iSuppli analyst Krishna Chander. In addition to the drive’s record-setting capacity, the move gives Seagate the honor of being the first hard drive manufacturer to introduce a desktop drive featuring perpendicular recording.

More @ Here

Learn CSS Positioning in Simple Steps

2006-04-24T14:52:00.000+05:30

This tutorial examines the different layout properties available in CSS: position:static, position:relative, position:absolute, and float.

1. position:static

The default positioning for all elements is position:static, which means the element is not positioned and occurs where it normally would in the document.
Normally you wouldn't specify this unless you needed to override a positioning that had been previously set.

  #div-1 {
   position:static;
  }

2. position:relative

If you specify position:relative, then you can use top or bottom, and left or right to move the element relative to where it would normally occur in the document.
Let's move div-1 down 20 pixels, and to the left 40 pixels:

  #div-1 {
   position:relative;
   top:20px;
   left:-40px;
  }

Notice the space where div-1 normally would have been if we had not moved it: now it is an empty space. The next element (div-after) did not move when we moved div-1. That's because div-1 still occupies that original space in the document, even though we have moved it.

It appears that position:relative is not very useful, but it will perform an important task later in this tutorial.

3. position:absolute

When you specify position:absolute, the element is removed from the document and placed exactly where you tell it to go.
Let's move div-1a to the top right of the page:

  #div-1a {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   right:0;
   width:200px;
  }

Notice that this time, since div-1a was removed from the document, the other elements on the page were positioned differently: div-1b, div-1c, and div-after moved up since div-1a was no longer there.

Also notice that div-1a was positioned in the top right corner of the page. It's nice to be able to position things directly the page, but it's of limited value.

What I really want is to position div-1a relative to div-1. And that's where relative position comes back into play.
Footnotes

* There is a bug in the Windows IE browser: if you specify a relative width (like "width:50%") then the width will be based on the parent element instead of on the positioning element.

4. position:relative + position:absolute

If we set relative positioning on div-1, any elements within div-1 will be positioned relative to div-1. Then if we set absolute positioning on div-1a, we can move it to the top right of div-1:

  #div-1 {
   position:relative;
  }
  #div-1a {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   right:0;
   width:200px;
  }

5. two column absolute

Now we can make a two-column layout using relative and absolute positioning!

  #div-1 {
   position:relative;
  }
  #div-1a {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   right:0;
   width:200px;
  }
  #div-1b {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   left:0;
   width:200px;
  }

One advantage to using absolute positioning is that we can position the elements in any order on the page, regardless of the order they appear in the HTML. So I put div-1b before div-1a.

But wait - what happened to the other elements? They are being obscured by the absolutely positioned elements. What can we do about that?
6. two column absolute height

One solution is to set a fixed height on the elements.

But that is not a viable solution for most designs, because we usually do not know how much text will be in the elements, or the exact font sizes that will be used.

  #div-1 {
   position:relative;
   height:250px;
  }
  #div-1a {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   right:0;
   width:200px;
  }
  #div-1b {
   position:absolute;
   top:0;
   left:0;
   width:200px;
  }

7. float

For variable height columns, absolute positioning does not work, so let's come up with another solution.

We can "float" an element to push it as far as possible to the right or to the left, and allow text to wrap around it. This is typically used for images, but we will use it for more complex layout tasks (because it's the only tool we have).

  #div-1a {
   float:left;
   width:200px;
  }

8. float columns

If we float one column to the left, then also float the second column to the left, they will push up against each other.

  #div-1a {
   float:left;
   width:150px;
  }
  #div-1b {
   float:left;
   width:150px;
  }

9. float columns with clear

Then after the floating elements we can "clear" the floats to push down the rest of the content.

  #div-1a {
   float:left;
   width:190px;
  }
  #div-1b {
   float:left;
   width:190px;
  }
  #div-1c {
   clear:both;
  }

Seagate Debuts Perpendicular Drives

2006-04-19T12:57:00.000+05:30

Seagate on Tuesday announced its first 3.5-inch hard disk drives to use perpendicular storage technology. The new offerings join the company's preexisting line of Cheetah drives that sport some of the fastest data transfer rates of any hard disk available.
The drives will sport data transfer rates of 73 to 125 mbps, 30 percent faster than their predecessor. Capacities of 73GB, 147GB and 300GB would be available on one, two, and four platters, respectively. Seagate is betting on perpendicular technology as a way to fit more disk capacity into a standard-sized drive.
Today's hard drives store data lengthwise across the hard-disk platter. However, with storage demands increasing, that method is meeting its limitations.
Hard disk makers say that the laws of physics will soon prevent bits of data from being stored any closer together, meaning standard drives will hit a ceiling in terms of storage capacity before their size must be increased.
In comparison, perpendicular recording drives store data like their name implies -- perpendicular to the disk platter. This method provides two benefits, say supporters. First, data is able to be stacked closer together, allowing for higer capacity. Second, data is more easily accessible, thus allowing drives with faster data transfer rates.
The Cheetah drives would be the second line of perpendicular drives from the company. Seagate began shipping its Momentus 2.5-inch drives last month in sizes ranging from 30GB to 160GB. A 1-inch drive with perpendicular recording was also introduced at 3GSM in February.

Source:www.betanews.com

Xvid 1.1.0 released

2006-04-19T11:19:00.000+05:30

Xvid 1.1.0 released

This is XviD 1.1.0 release.

This release is the long awaited 1.1.0. It is mostly API compatible with the previous stable release as we dropped support for reduced resolution coding. If your application didn't use that feature then the upgrade is totally compatible.

Changes since 1.0.3:

xvidcore:
Improved Low bitrate quality.
Improved VBV support
Rate-Distortion mode decision for bvops
New postprocessing functions, brightness and deringing
New PowerPC port by Christoph Naegeli
Brand new amd64 Linux 64bit port by Andre Werthmann
Various decoder and encoder speedups
A few bugs squashed
VFW frontend
Mingw/CygWin support
Various small improvements
A few bugs squashed
DShow frontend
Mingw/CygWin support
Support for brightness control
Various small improvements
A few bugs squashed

Changes since 1.1.0-beta2:

xvidcore
Field interlaced decoding
IEEE-1180 compliant SSE2 iDCT (disabled for safety)
Fixed misaligned reads on RISC platforms such as ARM
Completed GCC 4.0 support
Export only public API on GNU/Linux and Solaris
Work on the example apps. Support for AVS input in xvid_encraw
VFW frontend
Small updates
DShow frontend
Additional fourcc support

Link:Koepi's Xvid 1.1.0
or simply search "Koepi"/"xvid" in google and you are there!

Choose Proper Audio Format for DivX Video...

2006-04-13T12:50:00.000+05:30

Basically, most people use default mp3 128/96 kbps constant bitrate for Divx movie files.It is good in quality but of big size.
What i mean is, suppose your video is only some speech in the file then you need higher kbps enough to hear.when it is music or say some fast sequence in film then you need better quality andperfect sound.In CBR (Constant Bit Rate), it is constant at all the moments of file. In VBR (Variable Bit Rate), the algoritham decides what to do and what should be the quality for specific sequence.It lowers somewhat which is not needed in higher music which doen't affect you and it highers the audio when it needs to be hear perfect sound in speech.

And if you don't want to use mp3 then you can use ogg as yur audio format.It is free as well as good quality and less size.
Tools needed for video/audio conversion
1.VirtualDub/FlaskMpeg
2.lamecodec(mp3)/ogg codec
3.oggmux(To mix mute video and ogg file to make .ogm)

All these can be found on http://www.doom9.org

Get A Free Domain With Microsoft Office Live Basics Beta

2006-04-12T11:06:00.000+05:30

Believe it or not Microsoft is offering a free domain name with hosts of other features when you signup for Microsoft Office Live Basics Beta. Fortunately Microsoft Office Live Basics Beta is also free.
With Microsoft Office Live Basics Beta you get:
Your own domain nameEasy-to-use design toolsFive e-mail accountsWeb site traffic reports
But the only catch is that you need to provide your credit card details, though you wont be charged for it.
Go get your free domain here

The Basics Of DSL Internet Service

2006-04-04T16:36:00.000+05:30

The days of unreliable Internet connections, impatiently waiting for web pages to load, and waiting hours to download something from the Internet are quickly becoming obsolete. Dial-up Internet, which used to be the standard for those seeking Internet access, is rapidly being replaced by faster, more reliable Internet access technologies. One of those technologies, DSL Internet service, is one of the most popular and affordable options for the home Internet customer. There are things to be aware of though, if you are considering using DSL for your Internet access.

DSL, or digital subscriber line, is a form of broadband Internet technology, that has download speeds that span 128 Kbps (Kilobits per second) to 24,000 Kbps, depending on the level of service purchased by the customer and the particular DSL technology in use by the ISP (Internet service provider). The technology dates back to 1988, when engineers at Bellcore (formerly Bell Communications Research, Inc., now Tellcordia Technologies) developed a method of transmitting a digital signal along the unused frequency spectrum on the twisted pair cables that ran between the central office (in a phone company, the location that houses the equipment that connects phone calls) and customer locations. Using DSL allowed a regular telephone line to provide digital (Internet) service without getting in the way of existent telephone service on the line.

DSL did not take off immediately, because it was more profitable for local telephone companies to simply install a second phone line in a home in order to provide dial-up Internet service in addition to regular telephone service. However, when cable television companies began offering and implementing their new high-speed Internet technology (via cable modems) nearly a decade later, local telephone carriers jumped in with the competition and began offering up the DSL technology to customers. Today, DSL remains the primary competition for cable companies and their high-speed Internet technology.

Despite the more reliable connections and faster rates of data transmission, there are some potential drawbacks to be aware of regarding DSL Internet service. For starters, the farther your house is from the telephone company's central office, the less bandwidth you will have access to. This means slower data transmission rates, and therefore might mean less enjoyment for things like online gaming, video viewing, and picture uploading. Some might not notice the slower capacity for things like email and other basic uses, though.

Another drawback to DSL is the potential cost. There is equipment to purchase, such as the modem and DSL router, plus there are sometimes installation fees. The good news is that competition drives service providers to often offer incentives and freebies for choosing their services, such as free self-installation, rebates for equipment purchases, and large amounts of mailbox storage. However, if you are not satisfied with your DSL service, you are often contractually obligated to them for a certain period of time, and will probably be required to pay a hefty fee for canceling early (up to $200 sometimes). Monthly prices for DSL Internet service range from $14.95 per month for basic DSL to upwards of $49.96 per month for more advanced versions of the technology.

Yet another drawback to DSL Internet service is that customers often see a slower connection than promised by the ISP. This is due to some service providers oversubscribing their service. Their often just isn't enough bandwidth to go around. But ISP's make the argument that all of their customers are never online at the same time. This can be particularly frustrating for businesses using DSL that rely heavily on the Internet for their daily dealings.

Don't let the drawbacks keep you from exploring the possibility of DSL Internet service. As with any new technology, there are kinks, and ISP's work on a regular basis to make service to their customers faster and more reliable. There are also many ISP's that offer DSL for you to choose from, so the incentives and promotions for picking one over another can mean saving money and getting more extras. Though it can be frustrating and seem costly, DSL Internet service is still a more cost effective option than some of the other types of broadband Internet service, such as satellite Internet.

Important Linux Directories

2006-04-04T16:31:00.000+05:30

There are many variants of Linux used in different computer systems today. Luckily, most Linux developers employ a common naming and utilization scheme that makes different variants of Linux easy to use and maintain. This article will discuss some important and common directories in many popular Linux distributions.

/home

Each user of a Linux system is assigned a special directory, called "home" direectory, that represents their private space on the system. For example, if a user of the system is called tom, the home directory of tom will be /home/tom. Tom has the right to create any files and directories under his home directory. This is also the default location when tom logs into the system.

/root

This is the home directory of the adminstrator or super user.

/tmp

In addition to personal hard disk space in the home directories, users are also given special access to shared temporary space in the /tmp directory. Linux systems often implement quotas on user accounts to prevent anyone from using too much disk space. The /tmp directory allows all users access to additional space to meet short term needs without charging the space against their quota. All files placed in this directory are deleted automatically after a few days.

/etc

This directory stores all the configuration files needed for the operating system. For example, startup configuration scripts are found in /etc/rc.d and network configuration scripts are found in /etc/sysconfig. Normal users cannot modify the files in /etc./bin and /usr/bin

Most system commands are stored as binary files only in machine readable format. Commands appropriate for use by ordinary users are either placed in the /bin or /usr/bin directory. Core commands like rm, mv, ls, cd go into /bin while supplementary utilities like compilers, firefox browser and openoffice go into /usr/bin.
/sbin and /usr/sbin
Like /bin and /usr/bin, /sbin and /usr/sbin store commands to be used only by the super user, ie root user. These include commands for attaching and removing hardware, starting and stopping the system...etc.
/var
This directory stores all the frequently changed files in the system. For example, incoming, outgoing mails, system logs, websites, ftp file archives...etc. very
Conlcusion
There are only a few directories to know to really start using Linux. If you understand what the main directories are, then exploring the sub-direectories becomes much easier. If you are lost while navigating the directories, always use "cd /" to return back the the root, "cd .." to go up one level or use "pwd" to find out where you are. Another command "which xxx" tells you where certain commands are located.

The New Age of Optical Media

2006-03-29T17:07:00.000+05:30

DVD has long overtaken VHS as the medium for recording TV and pre recorded films. How long will it be before DVD is superseded by the next development? Capacity is the issue here. The possibilities in terms of audio and audiovisual quality created by HDTV will require a medium with greater capacity than can be afforded by today’s DVD disc.

The next generation of recordable media are being developed. Blu ray disc is currently being developed by a consortium of companies including Hitachi, LG, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Thompson. Dell and Hewlett Packard are also supporting Blu ray disc technology.
Blu ray disc has a capacity of 25GB per layer compared to DVDs 4.7GB.

This technology is being developed because of this greater capacity and this is being mainly driven by the expected explosion of high definition TV. The additional capacity will be nessercary to capture the enhanced quality feature of HDTV

At present Sony has launched a Blu ray recorder onto the Japanese market specifically for recording HDTV.

In parallel Toshiba and NEC are developing a rival format HD DVD, which although has less capacity than Blu ray (15GB) but the HD DVD is similar to Blu ray but the physical properties are closer to current DVDs and can be replicated on existing machinery. Blu ray on the other hand requires new manufacturing equipment.

Whether HD DVD or Blu ray disc become the established protocol remains to be seen, but either one could become the industry standard over the next few years.

Backup Software

2006-03-17T17:04:00.000+05:30

You won't have to worry about losing valuable data again if you find the best backup software for your home or office. Whether your main concern is to keep a copy of all your documents or to encode sensitive information, you can find the best backup software that contains the best of both of these features and more. Backup software may not always be cheap, but it is an essential investment for preserving and protecting valuable information.

If security is your main concern, there is backup software that has five different encryption alogrithms that protect your data against hackers. You can also have the file name encrypted for added security. It is easy to add new folders, and you can build your files at the click of a mouse.

The best backup software will:
• Create a backup program
• Choose files for backup
• Define compression settings
• Choose target of the backup

You can have all of your files backed up automatically, or you can pick and choose files to back up. Changes can be made constantly, and most backup software is flexible enough to accommodate multiple versions of the same document or selected revisions. If you want to conserve space, you can select the highest level of compression to make more room. It is also easy to choose which location you want you files stored, whether it is in:

• Hard drive
• USB stick
• Network Folder
• CD
• DVD
• Remote FTP Server

Most backup software employs automatic backup programs that will store your information as it is created. You can choose scheduled backup instead, if you prefer. It is possible to store multiple versions of a document and the wizard feature restores files to their original folders.

Backup software may also contain other features that are helpful, such as virus scanning and disaster recovery. Anti-virus features will help prevent file-destroying crashes from infecting your computer, and disaster recovery will help get your computer up and running again if it does happen to crash. Backup software will ensure that your files will be intact even if your computer temporarily ceases to function.

There are many who simply to backup their files manually on a floppy disk or a CD rather than purchasing backup software. However, these devices have a somewhat short shelf life, and will tend to wear out even if they are not used excessively. It would be a major disappointment to believe that your files are safely backed up when they fail to appear when needed. The sheer effort required to cut and paste and to edit your files for backup will probably cost you in terms of work hours much more than a rather modest investment in backup software. Everything is done automatically with backup software, and there is less likelihood that you will fail to backup certain files due to an oversight.

Backup software varies in price and quality, so it is worth doing substantial research before making your final investment. Some might find that security is more of a priority, whereas others are looking for backup software that will provide them with maximum space. Still others ar searching for the lowest prices on backup software. It is definitely worth it to take advantage of trial offers and demos when they are offered. This will enable you to decide on the backup software that is right for you.

How to Restore Old Photos with Photoshop

2006-03-17T16:55:00.000+05:30

There are times that people may have old photographs they would like to restore to save the memories. Photos usually get damaged through the times. The pictures may get blurred, the color fades and the picture might acquire marks and scratches. Thank the technology of today. People can now save and restore their old photos with the help of Photoshop.
Here are some steps to follow in restoring old pictures using the Photoshop.

1. The person may use the Elements in Photoshop, which are Dust and Scratch Filter to remove the marks, scratches an blots in the photo. The Dust and Scratches Filter is located on the Menu Bar and click on the Filter Tab. A drop down will list elements and then he can choose the Noise tab and select on the Dust and Scratches.

2. After clicking on the Dust and Scratches menu, a window will pop up with two control sliders. The first slider is for the Radius and the other one is for the Threshold. There will also be another window if the preview box will be checked. These are the main options that will be used in treating the picture.

3. Adjusting the Radius slider may remove the scratches. However, there is a tendency that overdoing it may make the edges blurred too. If that happens, the option is to adjust the Threshold slider and this will allow the details to go back and make the picture clearer with the scratches disappearing. The person should be careful not to set them too far or it will only create blotches on the picture.

4. In removing the marks, selecting the whole photo will not diffuse these marks. The option is to select only the part where the scratches are located. He may use the Lasso to do this.

5. He can then feather the edges of the selected area so that the selected area will not be obvious on the picture. He can do this by clicking the Feather option and click the Scratch and Dust Filter again. He can do the process again of adjusting the Radius and Threshold sliders to get the texture needed and remove the scratches.

6. It there are still visible marks on the other parts of the picture, he can do the technique again by selecting the areas he would like to adjust. To finish the process and make the picture presentable, he can crop the image enough to remove the cracks and torn edges of the picture. The canvas may be use to equally crop the image.

7. A person may add drama on the picture by adding a drop shadow on it. This will make the picture appear as if it has been lifted off the page. The color may also be removed using the controls Shift+Ctrl+U. He can then add color by putting a little amount of Sepia. He can do this with the Hue or Saturation tab. The contrast may be adjusted using the Levels option.

This is one easy way on how to remove the blotches and marks on an old picture. This is also a good way to make the picture look new but still appear classical. It will be a pleasant and easy way to display pictures kept on old albums and cabinets for a long time.

How To Identify Spoof/Phishing Emails - Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

2006-03-14T12:41:00.000+05:30

What is a spoof email?
Spoof emails (sometimes also called "Phishing") are emails that pretend to be from a company or bank. The most common often come from eBay, PayPal, Barclays Bank etc. These emails will then contain a web link, if you click on this link then you will be taken to a login page and asked to enter your details. Most of these scammers go a long way to try and get your details, most spoof emails contain links to identical websites and users are tricked into entering their personal information. If you submit your information through one of these spoof websites then the fraudster has all of your details and can commit crimes using your identity.

How do they get my email address?
You may wonder how the scammers got your address or knew you were a member of a particular bank or institution. Often it is just good luck on the part of the scammers. They normally do not target individuals, but send out thousands of scam emails to randomly generated email addresses, in the hope that just a few will be successful. They also trawl the web for valid addresses they can use, and swap this information with each other. If you have ever posted on an Internet forum or published something on the web, there's a good chance your address is out there somewhere just waiting to be found. If you have fallen victim before, your address is normally added to a list of 'easy victims', and you are likely to then receive even more scams.

How can I identify these emails?
Here are 4 simple tests that you can perform on any email you suspect is a spoof. Your email can only pass the test if it passes ALL FOUR of the tests. If your email passes all of the four tests then you can be 99.9% certain that it is a genuine email. If your email passes all four of the tests then we would also advise you to check the "Other Tips" section just to double check that your email is genuine.

If your email fails
If your email fails JUST ONE of the four tests then the email is a spoof and shouldn't be replied to and should be deleted immediately from your computer. Even if your email fails the test, I would still advise you to check out the "Other Tips" page for more good ways to spot a spoof email.

If you are still in doubt
Unless you are 100% sure that your email is genuine, DO NOT click on any links within the email. Contact the company in question (See the "reporting a spoof" page) and ask them to confirm if the email is genuine or a spoof.

Test 1 - Who is the email addressed to?
Have a look at how the email addresses you. Most spoofs will say something along the lines of "Dear eBay user". This is the very first thing you should look for in a spoof email. Any email that doesn't address you by your name is a spoof. Ebay, PayPal and banks always address you by the name you registered with on their site, they NEVER send out emails saying
"Dear valued customer", "Dear member" etc.
If your email isn't addressed to you personally then it is a spoof! If your email is addressed to you then move onto the next test to see if it is a spoof email. Some more advanced spoof messages have started to include your name or email address instead of the generic "Dear member" or "Dear user". So even if your email were addressed to you I would strongly advise you to carry out the 3 other tests.
Test 2 - Where does the link go?
Most spoof emails will contain a link telling you to verify your details. You can quickly tell if your email is a spoof by hovering your mouse over the link. When your mouse is over the link, look in the bottom left hand corner of your screen and you will see the "link destination". The destination of a spoof link will usually look something like this:
"http://slp.clinker.net.mx/.sh/.a/index.htm?SignIn&ssPageName=h:h:sin:us"
Compare this with a real eBay link:
http://k2b-bulk.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyeBaySellingSummary
And you can see the difference. You can easily check if you email is a fake by looking at the first part of the link destination, if the destination is a combination of numbers (102.382.54.23) or a link like the one in my spoof link above then the chances are that your email is a spoof.
Any non-spoof link will contain the name of the company in the first part of the link, eg:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ http://cgi.ebay.com/ http://cgi.paypal.com/
Please note: Some spoof links will contain the words "eBay" or "PayPal" in the final part of the link. These are also spoofs!
All real emails will only contain the company name in the very first part of the link; after http://. If you still aren't sure if you have a spoof email, move onto the next test.

Test 3 - Who really did send you the email?
This test may seem a little confusing but don't worry it isn't as difficult as it looks. What we are going to do is find out where the email came from. Most people don't know this but you can trace the origin of your emails in most mail programs. To do this we have to view the "FULL message header", here is how you do this in the following email programs. If your program isn't listed here please contact your email provider for instructions:
Hotmail 1. Click on "Options" 2. Click on "Mail display settings" 3. The 3rd option can be used to display the header settings, select "Full" from the check boxes 4. Click on "OK" to save your settings
Outlook Express 1. Right click on the email and select "Properties" 2. Select the "Details" tab
Now that we can view the message headers, here is how you identify a spoof:
Look in the part of the header that says "Received From". If the email has come from anyone other than the sender it's a spoof. I had a spoof email and performed this test and notice that the email had been sent from a Yahoo account. Obviously a real email from eBay would not have been sent from a Yahoo address!

Test 4 - Click on the link
Only try this if your email has passed the previous 3 tests. Some spoof emails have been known to contain viruses that are activated by clicking on the link. Please ensure that you have a good virus scanner installed on your PC before proceeding. If you have important data on your PC you may also wish to backup that data on a removable backup device.
When you click the link in your email a web browser will open and take you to what looks like a legitimate login page. There are two ways to identify a spoof login page, and I will show you both of them! Have a look in the address bar at the top of the login page. Have a look at the http:// part of the URL. Any genuine login page from eBay, PayPal or your bank WONT start with "http://" it will start with:
"https://"
The "s" in https:// stands for "secure" and is there to show you that you are about to submit data over a secure connection.
Any page not starting with https:// is a spoof. The second difference between the two pages is the padlock icon in the bottom right hand of the screen. Notice that the spoof login page doesn't have a padlock, and the genuine eBay login page does. This padlock appears to show you that you are about to submit data over a secure connection. If your login page DOESNT have a padlock icon in the bottom corner of the screen then it is a spoof!

Other Tips for spotting Spoofs
1. Punctuation Read your email carefully and look for any spelling mistakes. You can be sure that any genuine emails wont contain simple spelling mistakes.
2. Adverts? Real emails from eBay don't contain adverts for burger king!
3. Hotmail identity check A new feature in hotmail now warns you if a senderID could not be verified. Any spoof email will contain this warning. (please note that recently I received a genuine email from eBay that contained this warning, so don't judge an email purely by this method)
4. PIN number Any website asking for your PIN (personal identification number) is a spoof. Do not enter your PIN number! If you have entered and submitted your PIN then contact your bank immediately.
5. Popup boxes Some spoof sites will include popup message boxes like the one below. Genuine sites don't use popup boxes telling you to enter details.
6. False sense of urgency Most spoof emails will make you think that your account is at threat if you don't act quickly. This is not the case.
7. eBay Messages Any genuine email sent to you from eBay will also appear in the "My Messages" section of eBay. To access your eBay messages, login to ebay and click on "My eBay". On the left hand side of the screen you will see a "My Messages" link. Click on this; if the email you received in your inbox isn't listed there then it is a spoof email.
8. Ignore the email address Ignore the email address that the email was sent from. Almost all spoof emails will appear as if they are from a genuine address. Some of the emails I receive are "from":
service@paypal.com memberservices@paypal.com awconfirm@ebay.com safeharbour@ebay.com operator_862736743@halifax.com
9. Download the eBay toolbar The eBay toolbar is a great piece of software that can be used to spot spoofs. As soon as you enter a spoof website from eBay or PayPal the toolbar will give you a warning telling you that web page is a spoof. The Ebay toolbar is FREE to download.

Alcohol - How to make\burn images using alcohol?

2006-03-11T21:42:00.000+05:30

By:Parth Barot
Now a days, most of the people are using CD Burning softwares.But see many doesn't have CD writers.so, what to do for making CDs of games and other softwares which can not be run without CD in the drive?

Simple!Make image file of the CD in your Hard Disk Drive.It means make a same data file as CD,Load the file in virtual CD/DVD software and fool the operating system and the software/game itself that you are using the original CD!

Which software to use?ok we have some choices here.
1.Slysoft's Clone CD
2.Alcohol 120%
3.Nero

And many more available free/paid but these 3 are the most used for burning and etc.

1.Clone CD(.ccd) is good for bad CDs.make images in large sizes but you can use them.Supports most of image file formats.

2.Alcohol is the best one among these three.Because it suports all kind of image formats and also make images in Clone CD(.ccd) and Nero(.nrg) formats.It is fast and better as it scans the CD and tells you that can't make image and can't burn it!small size also. (I suggest this one as i am using it.)

3.Nero...The big one(New Nero 7 is about 100 MB setup size!Too big!)it has many other features but i think no need to use it if you only want to use for making images.

Here i am giving small tutorial for use of Alcohol

Making CD image-----------------------------
1.Install Alcohol 120% and let the PC restart if it wants it.Because it installs drivers for virtual CD drive.

2.Start Alcohol and click File-->Image Making Wizard.Wizard popups as shown below.

3.As shown in image above,choose your source CD drive from which you want to make image file.(Shown with Red A)

4.Then from 'DataType' combo box select Data format.If data cd then select what ever you want.If very bad and scratched cd then select 'video cd with bad sectors' as shown in Red B.

5.For skipping reading errors and scanning the disc, use the checkboxes given.

6.Click on next and then choose the location on your HDD to save image.

7.In file formats, select MDS (alcohol's own format)for best reduced size.If you think its a bad CD then you can select CCD(clone cd format) but it takes more size.

8.Then make the image by finishing the wizard.

9.Your image is in you drive.Load it in Alcohol's virtual drive and use it as you are using CD.

same like this you cam burn CD images to CDs directly by selecting the image files.And copy dics to dics also.

Keep Your Passwords Safe on Public Use Computers

2006-03-09T12:42:00.000+05:30

As you no doubt realize, passwords are the keys to our resources, our belongings and our online accounts, including our finances. While using our own home or office facilities, most of us work hard at keeping the possibility of having our information monitored or stolen at as low a level as possible. But the threat is still quite real. Part of our protection armor must include the use of protection software such as virus scanners and spyware scanners. It really is a very bad idea to use any internet connected computer today that does NOT have any means of virus or spyware protection. Almost all new computers sold today come equipped with some form of protection pre-installed. And a variety of alternate programs and services are available, many of them at no cost.

But what do you do if you are not at your home or office? This poses a much greater security risk to your password and account safety. Examples and accountings of hijacking of passwords, of tracking surfing activity and of capturing screen information of a user seem to be a common occurrence.
The best method of dealing with these facilities is to simply not use them for any medium or high security uses such as accessing bank accounts or other highly sensitive services you require.
But, of course we don't live in a vacuum and circumstances may dictate that you simply must do so at various times. So when it is essential, there are many steps you should take to ensure your own security. These steps will take a few minutes, but will increase your security by a wide margin and give you peace of mind that your passwords, accounts and information are not being compromised.
First, ensure that the computer you are using is free from spyware. The most vicious of spyware forms is “key logging” software that records your keystrokes. This will instantly compromise your passwords and everything those passwords allows access to. If the computer you are using has one of the brand name spyware scanners installed, run it to ensure there are no hidden threats lurking behind the scenes. On many public machines, the start menu will offer a virus or spyware selection. If there are none of these available on the machine, you can visit one of a number of websites to run a spyware scan without installing a complete application on the computer, which, since it is a public computer, is likely not allowed. There are a number of these out there and you can pick one (or more!) from an internet search for the words "online spyware scan". Most of these require a script be installed and run and will take a few minutes to identity the cleanliness of the computer. Follow the instructions given by the software vendor's website. If there are threats that cannot be easily removed by the software, move on to another machine and advise the owner of the problem.

The next step you should take is to ensure the browser you will be using will not store your usernames and passwords. For Internet Explorer, this function is called "autocomplete" and can be disabled through the options setting of the menus. It is good practice to test that this has actually been turned off by logging into one of your accounts with a phony password. Then close and restart the internet browser and start the login process again. If the system does not offer you a "remembered" password as you type in the same username and phony password once again, you know that it is not storing your passwords. You can then login with your real username and password. On the other hand, if it brings up a password or username before you have completed typing it, do not put in your real information, but go back and try turning off “autocomplete” once again. Otherwise, you should simply move on to another machine.

Once you have accessed your accounts and have completed your sessions, make sure you purge as much of your activity from the computer as possible. Be sure to delete all "temporary files" and all "cookies" from the machine. This is done from selections under the options setting of the browser you are using. This helps erase your tracks from any prying eyes after you leave the computer!
Our information, accounts, resources and the passwords that unlock all of them are too valuable to leave for granted or to chance.

Knowing how to use passwords away from home is only a portion of the methods and techniques we all need to know to protect our belongings, our security and our personal and family identities.
You too can learn how to simply and easily create a number of secure passwords that avoids being compromised by any number of methods, and at the same time will be easily remembered. Visit the "Easily Create and Remember Secure Passwords" web site at http://www.perfectpassword.com.

So,

1.Don't use autocomplete in nay browser.
2.Always deletes history and cookies when completes your work.
3.Deletes all temporary files and browser cache.
4.First,see in task manager that if any suspect programme/application is running?

Windows Linux DualBoot

2006-03-08T11:58:00.000+05:30

Windows Linux DualBoot Tutorial

This tutorial was written to help set up a dual boot on a SATA drive but it will also work for PATA so continue forward and I will let you know if you need to skip something. In order to have a fully functional dual boot system it is preferred that Windows be loaded first. After that you can load Linux and easily dump the boot configuration on Windows NTLDR file (comparable to Linux boot file).

At least one of the following scenarios exist and that is why you are here reading this tutorial;

You have a new Serial HDD (SATA) with no software installed,
You have a new Parallel HDD (PATA) with no software installed,
You have a HDD with Windows already installed, or
You have a HDD with Linux already installed.

I used the following software;

Windows 2000 Pro (this tutorial should work for 98 and XP also)
SuSe 10

1. Setting Up a New SATA Drive

Note: The most popular Windows platforms, Windows 2000 and Windows XP (pre SP1), were released before and during the release of SATA drives.

In order for Windows to recognize the SATA HDD you will need to get the SATA/Raid drivers and place them on a floppy. These drivers can usually be obtained at the web site of your motherboard manufacturer. Look for Raid drivers (usually the location of the SATA drivers also) in their driver download section. If you can search the site look for TXTSETUP.OEM. You absolutely need this file and it will more than likely be located with the drivers needed. If you are unable to find the drivers needed then see this article for information on integrating installation packs and service packs.

TXTSETUP.OEM is a must! Windows Install uses this file to search for the applicable drivers. Proceed to Install windows.

2. Setting Up a PATA Drive

If this is a brand new drive go ahead and proceed to Install Windows.

If this is an installed hard drive with only Linux loaded, then back up and copy all your configuration files to a floppy, cd, or another drive. After that is done and verified the files were copied you need to clean the hard drive so you can start fresh and load Windows first.

If this is an installed drive with Windows already loaded you need to ensure there is sufficient unpartitioned space for Linux to load on. You have two options.

Note: There is a difference in free space and unpartitioned space. Typically when users load Windows they select the C: drive and the whole drive is formatted to NSTF or FAT. Linux needs unformatted/unpartitioned space to install.

You can do a fresh install of Windows, or
You can free up unpartitioned space if you have a partition program.

More @ Here

VideoLan

2006-03-08T11:47:00.000+05:30

As far as marketing goes I guess this article may one day bring me some hate for teaching some dumbass to build online infomercials, but I assure you my motives are far less industrious.

If you live outside North America, like me, you might think watching your favorite TV provider back home was impossible. In fact for years I figured I was just stuck with crap TV and limewire downloads. Trailerpark Boys, Battlestar Gallactica, and Family Guy had become pleasures I relied on friends to send me in the mail, years after they aired. Until now...

I have been fiddling with this all day and I will say VLC (www.videolan.org) is one of the coolest open source programs I have come across in some time. Platform support is universal from Win32, *Nix to even long dead BeOS. These are also the people behind Google Video if that is any indication. VLC allows you to stream video online, multicast, save incoming streams, and do all sorts of cool things only people with lots of money should be able to do – like open your own TV station. The quality is really amazing and of course endlessly tweakable. Oh and ya did I mention it is completely free? Ok I did, onwards...

I tested VLC by getting a friend to stream DISH Network to me from the US and it was VERY watchable. Keep in mind this was streaming from Seattle, WA to Bangkok, TH. 18 hops.

Streaming using a Video Capture Card

What you will need:

- Operating System
- 1 Video Capture Card
- Drivers for Video Capture card (go to driversguide.com to find software drivers for video capture cards)
- DirectX 9.0c
- VLC (please get the nightly CVS version, a lot of good folks work really hard on this software, and PLEASE donate to them if you can)
- A network connection
- Windows Media Player
- A WHOLE LOT of patience

Step 1

- Install Capture Card (I use all ATI Wonder Cards and have no problem)
- Install or Update your DirectX (windowsupdate.com)
- Install VLC

Step 2 FOR NAT(using DHCP for home networks)/DSL/CABLE Routers

- Go to your router and click on Port Forwarding
- Enter your VLC server's IP address and the desired port for forwarding.
- Your router should accept the setting and tell you everything is ok

Step 3

- Fire up VLC
- Go to File > Open Captue Device > Video Device Name > Refresh.. (wait a moment) click on the default bar and then click on your capture device driver (the one that came with your card)
- Now click Stream/Save > Settings
- Click on Play Locally and MMSH. Insert YOUR LOCAL IP ADDRESS and DESIRED port (for folks using NAT thats 192.X.X.X that you forwarded on your router earlier)
- Click on Video Codec and select your Video Codec format (I use WMV since I am using WMP), then select a good bit rate like 192 or 128, then select the size of the picture in your player (1 - 2)
- Repeat the instructions above for audio
- One VERY IMPORTANT quality setting is TTL - Type 10 at a minimum. This tells VLC the number of routers your stream will probably go across.
- Click Ok and Click Ok again to start your stream

Step 4

- Open WMP and click on File > Open URL
- Type http://:9494
- Your video will take a bit to buffer but then you should see your pictures.

I would love to hear results from anyone else working with VLC. My next step is to setup a remote control with an external IRD box, so I can change channels - yes people ARE doing this! Check my official VideoLan Tutorial thread for updates on this project.

Inner-Browsing: Extending Web Browsing the Navigation Paradigm

2006-03-06T12:11:00.000+05:30

When you click a link on a web page, your web browser makes a request to a web server which usually results in a new web page as a response. That new page may have links that take you to other pages, which may in turn have more links, and so on. This model of web navigation is so common that most Internet users do little else. But as the Internet matures, this model has begun to show its age and its limitations. For web developers, for example, it provides less fine-grained control over the experience, and it can strain bandwidth and other resources. And for users it usually doesn't begin to approach the seamlessness and usability of good application user interfaces.

Recently, however, modern browsers and enriched web standards have begun to make new navigational and presentational models possible. One such model is Inner-Browsing, which is our name for a model in which all navigation occurs within a single page, as in a typical application interface. The single-page context and abstraction of data from the presentation can give your web applications new continuity, precision and control. This model is also interesting because is optimized to access contextual data instead reloading full web pages.

This article discusses the concept of inner-browsing and possible approaches for its implementation. It also provides two implementation examples using the model. The first one looks like a traditional DHTML ticker application and uses hidden IFRAMES and JavaScript to provide updates inside the webpage's ticker headlines section. This sample was made using IFRAMEs to illustrate a possible implementation. An implementation can also use other transport technologies such as SOAP-based remote procedure calls, XMLHTTPRequest interfaces, or DOM 3 Load. The second example shows a tabbed menu that dynamically loads news headlines into the current web page. This implementation uses XMLHTTPRequest.

The hypertext approach to developing web pages, in which developers format text layouts into pages and link those pages to related content, is analogous to a book or a magazine: readers view pages, go to other pages for more information, and view resources listed as references on that page. HTML and web standards have evolved and now offer flexible and fine-grained control to layout as well supporting DHTML, powerful programming languages like JavaScript, and additional media through embeddable third-party resources like Flash, Java, VRML, etc. Additionally, server-side technologies have also evolved, supporting and connecting different resources to different browsers.

Despite all the evolution, we still see the underpinnings of the original model in modern web sites. We still connect through a set of links that mostly drive us to a new page, and we still occasionally lose track of where we are. Also, on the server side, the server often has to rebuild all of the context of the user interface with each new request. Of course, this traditional approach is useful and easy to implement, which is why it is still so widely used. But the real showcase for new browser features and web standards like HTML 4.0 and DOM Level 2, and XML are models like inner-browsing, where these technologies can begin to be used in the way that they were envisioned. Many of the new web technologies in the HTML 4.0 specification, XML 1.0, DOM Level 3 were explicitly created with application-like behavior and more sophisticated navigational models in mind. In the next section we will introduce inner-browsing as an extension to the traditional model.

Let's start defining what we mean by inner-browsing. In this model, when a request goes to the web server, the current page is updated rather than replaced. Without leaving the page, the user browses new information and preserves the page's context. This new navigational method allows us to make HTML user interfaces behave similarly to non-web based applications such as contact management software. The basic implementation uses a resource such as the web page or the web application to control the navigation system. In other words, the page is the browsing device during the experience, and the user is "immersed" in that browsing device.

What does this mean, practically speaking? What does it look like? Good candidates for inner-browsing include a spell check application, in which the text entered in a web page is checked as it is typed; a webmail application that uses the inner-browsing model to display the separate messages and message lists in an integrated way, much like a client mail app; and a stock ticker that spools the information across the web page. See the table below for a description of how applications like this exemplify inner-browsing and how they might be implemented using the inner-browsing approach.

More @ devedge-temp.mozilla.org

Peer-to-Peer

2006-03-05T16:22:00.000+05:30

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-peer is defined as "networks that connect individual users with each other, allowing them to share files."

IRC rooms have allowed P2P file-sharing for many years, but it was Napster that made P2P networking rampantly popular.

There are a lot of different P2P (Peer-to-peer) apps available today. This guide will help you chose which one is best for you.

REMEMBER: NEVER PAY FOR FILESHARING APPS!

Anyone who charges is a scammer!

Kazaa (lite)

Kazaa Lite is one of the best file sharing apps available. It connects to the fasttrack network. The problem with this app is that organizations such as the RIAA have planted fake music files, and other users have planted viruses and other fake files onto the networks. These files spread and become popular, making most files fake or corrupt on the fast track network. The Kazaa Lite program has no type of error checking either, which worsens the situation.

I'd only recommend using Kazaa Lite to download rare files that can't be found elsewhere. DO NOT use the spyware infested Kazaa Media Desktop. You can download the spyware-free "Kazaa Lite" here. (if the link isn't working then post on the forum so I can find a working link...remember: never pay for filesharing!)

Bittorrent

Bittorrent is my favorite filesharing network. To use Bittorrent you need a tracker and a bittorrent client\app. You go to the tracker website, then search for the file you want to download. When you find what you want, you download a file called a torrent. This torrent then opens in your Client and the file is downloaded.

Bittorrent is recomended for new games, movies, and full music albums.
Some recomended Trackers are:

But there are so many out there it's impossible to name them all!

Some recomended Clients are:

Azureus

A very nice Java client that incorporates a full-featured GUI with extensive visualizations/statistics about the transfer. It can show multiple downloads in a single window. HIGHLY RECOMENDED!

The Shad0w's experimental client

Recommended! This client incorporates the codebase of the official version as well as alot more features making this bittorrent client one of the best.

Official client

This is the "official" client in that it is the latest supported version from Bram Cohen, architect of BitTorrent. It is very basic, but very stable. I wouldn't recomend using it.

ABC ("Another BitTorrent Client")

This client is sorta in between Azureus and the experimental client. Like Azureus, this program can show more than one download in one window.

If you have connection problems with Bittorrent downloads then it is usually caused by a firewall or router blocking the needed ports. Open the following ports on your firewall\router: 6881-6999. To find more information about Bittorrent click here.

LimeWire

LimeWire is a very popular filesharing program which runs on the Gnutella network. It's very good for music, as there are no "fake" .mp3's on the Gnutella network. LimeWire is also good for movies, and a few games, but not for full software downloads.

The Pro version of LimeWire can be downloaded here.

Emule

A guy named Merkur was dissatisfied with the original eDonkey2000 client and was convinced he could do better. So he did. He gathered other developers around him, and eMule Project was born. Their aim was to put the client back on track where eDonkey had been famous before, adding tons of new features and a nice GUI. It is now one of the most popular filesharing apps.

Emule can be downloaded here. Be aware that this version of Emule contains spyware\adware.

EmulePLUS

eMule Plus is a new generation eMule compatible client created to improve the original GUI and to bring you the best experience ever.

eMule Plus doesn't contain any spyware, adware or the like. It's open source and free for life.

WARNING! a "new" client was released with the name eMule++.
This client is breaking the GPL as the published sources doesn't match
the compiled program features. Please don't get fooled as it's an old
eMule Plus release modified in a way that can be dangerous.

More info can be found here.

What Is Next For Internet Browsers?

2006-03-04T20:49:00.000+05:30

With new browsers coming out all of the time, no one can really predict what the future holds for internet browsing. As of right now, most people who surf the internet use Internet Explorer (IE) as their browser of choice. Over the past years IE has not really changed that much, and since Internet Explorer has a monopoly over other browsers, it really doesn’t have to. The fact is though, that the Internet Explorer browser and some other browsers could be much better. There are many browsers to choose from on the internet, with a variety of features, but what we want is one browser that has it all.

The perfect browser would be one with great security and complete compatibility with all Web standards. It is very hard to make a browser that can display every website that uses old Web standards, and display new and more advanced websites using new Web standards. The perfect browser would be one that could seamlessly integrate with plug-ins and other add-ons that are available on the net today. The hardest part would really be designing a browser that runs ActiveX and other Web technologies without compromising files outside of the browser, without the user having to deal with security alerts and other nuances.

If a company were to get the opportunity to design a browser that actually suits everyone’s needs, they would have to balance between those who make Web sites and those who view them. Also, the ability to block pop up ads and other annoyances should be available at the touch of a key. Another feature that should be mandatory is the ability to download the Web sites text before the images. This will decrease your waiting time and make your internet surfing speedier.

Navigation is also a major area that current browser designers need to address. Many users go back and forth between many different web sites and as of right now just about every browser does not make this task as simple as it could be. For example, and tabbed and ordered navigation system along the left side of your browser would be perfect for locating pages that you have just viewed but need to get back to, and other pages that you have looked at in the past but don’t remember the exact URL of the page.

Searching is another very important factor of a good browser, and I don’t just mean the web. Wouldn’t it be nice if you browser could search your computer also! Then you would literally have everything available right at your fingertips, in one easy to use program. Another search function that browsers perform is a page search, which basically can search for a specific word or sentence on whatever web page you are looking at. To expand that, and make it better, they should also enhance the search and provide the ability to search for all grammatical forms of a certain word and other advanced search options that will allow you to find what you are looking for on a big web page with lots of content.

To sum things up, an integration of useful toolbars, better navigation of browsing history and other enhanced functions will be what makes the browser of the future that everyone will use. So watch out Microsoft, if you don’t get on the ball Internet Explorer will soon become a thing of the past. Remember, a good browser should be an information manager, since its primary use is to gather information.

So Opera,FireFox,Internet Explorer,Maxthon,Flock,Netscape are the main in the competition but Opera is winner i think because in next version 9 of opera there are many features included like Bittorrent client,Widgets and many more.And opera is Freeware now!

Then in second number FireFox is there and because it is freeware from starting it is there.And also opensource for it's extesions.

AVI to VCD with Xing MPEG Encoder

2006-03-04T13:24:00.000+05:30

By:Parth Barot

Download, install and register these applications:
DivX Operational Player
Xing MPEG Encoder
VCD Cutter

1) Open DivX Operational Player first. Load your divx movie. Select with BEGIN/END buttons maximal range. In Operational Wizard press Audio Fragment button.

2) Type filename of WAV file: for example, "MYAUDIO". Press Next. Select NO COMPRESSION. Press Extract.

3) Converting your newly created wav file into the right format for MPEG is quite simple.. Download and install Xing MPEG Encoder. Open Xing MPEG Encoder, Click on NEW. You will see a list of profiles for use chose the following: STREAM PROFILES/VIDEO CD/PAL, click NEXT. Chose the checkbox labeled AUDIO ONLY. Chosing this option will then grey out the video box. Chose the BROWSE button under AUDIO FILENAME and locate your AUDIO wav file ("MYAUDIO.WAV"), then click BROWSE again under TARGET FILENAME to chose where you wish to save your encoded audio file. Then click FINISH. Press the ENCODE BUTTON to start encoding your wav file.

4) Now we have an AVI file which is your divx movie and a .wav file and an .MPA audio file. You may wish to test your MPA file to see if the sound came out correctly. After you are happy with the new audio source you can now delete the huge wav file that is taking up valuable room on your hard drive

5) Again open Xing MPEG Encoder and click NEW. Once again click on VIDEO CD/PAL, click next. Chose the checkbox labeled SYSTEM this time because we are going to glue the audio with the video for the final conversion to MPEG. Chose the BROWSE button under VIDEO FILENAME you will have to copy your divx movie to your hard drive if you haven’t already done so, locate your divx movie on your hard drive. Chose the BROWSE button under AUDIO FILENAME and locate your AUDIO MPA file, then click BROWSE again under TARGET FILENAME to chose where you wish to save your encoded MPEG file. Then click FINISH. Press the ENCODE BUTTON to start encoding your MPEG file.

6) Download and install VCDCutter. Open VCDCutter and click on FILE/OPEN MOVIES or CTRL + O, chose your newly created MPEG. Move the slider bar to the start of the movie, go to the top tool bar and choose EDIT/CLIP MARK IN or F5. Now move the slider bar to roughly the center of the movie and chose a good spot to mark the out section example a fade to black transition or cut scene.

7) Once this is done go once again to the top tool bar and choose EDIT/CLIP MARK OUT or F6. once this is done press F7 to add the first selection to your CLIP LIST. Now where you have just chosen your mark out position this becomes your MARK IN position so again press F5. Once you have done this move the slider bar to the end of the movie and press F6 again for the MARK OUT position of clip two, now press F7 to add this selection to your CLIP LIST.

8) Now you should be looking at your CLIP LIST tab and see the two selections that you have made. Right click on the first clip and chose SAVE THIS CLIP to save it to your chosen location. (NOTE: the clips will save to the default save location unless you manually change the location by pressing F3, once you have pressed F3 go to the SETTINGS tab then BROWSE for the WORKING DIRECTORY of your choice, it’s a good idea to have a folder on a secondary partition on your hard drive for doing this. You should now have two MPEG files that can now be transferred directly into NERO Burning Rom. Download the latest from http://www.nero.com/

8) This step is perhaps the easiest step of the VCD creation. Open up Nero Burning Rom and go to FILE/NEW or CTRL + N. Select VIDEO CD, check the the boxes CREATE STANDARD COMPLIANT CD and USE CD-I APPLICATION. Next we go to the LABEL tab and name the fist disc under VOLUME LABEL. Now click the NEW button. In the FILE BROWSER, locate your two MPEG files. Drag and drop the first part of the movie to the VIDEO Window. The file you have just put in this window will then be analyzed for compatibility with VIDEO CD, once this part is complete (it doesn’t take too long) simply open the WRITE DIALOG box. Make sure that the two boxes WRITE and FINALISE CD are checked and then continue on to press the WRITE button. Repeat all of these steps for the second part of the movie.

You now have yourself a PAL encoded VIDEO CD that you can play on your home dvd player.

How to play video files in Winamp...

2006-03-03T20:33:00.000+05:30

By:Parth Barot

Now a days many players are there for playing video files but not any one is as good as winamp.
Winamp 5 has support for all kind of video files,but it requires more memory of your total memory of PC.So why not use older version for video?

Yes i am using Winamp 2.91 which is very older than winamp 5 and not taking more resources also.playin well all the files.ofcourse you need to install all codecs for that.This version is the first version of winamp which suuports video.We just need to change defalult file type extension for that.

Steps:

1.Start Winamp 2.91.

2.Press Ctrl+P.

3.Then Click on "Options" in treeview as shown below.

4.As shown in the image,change the value for "Default extension for unknown file types" to mpg,avi,wmv etc.Usually it is set to mp3 for audio files.

5.Done!

Now if you load .DAT file inwinamp then also it will play it.It will also play wmv,mpg,avi etc..For .RM you need to install real player alternative which is avaialble on Free-Codecs.

Links:

Winamp 2.91

AviPreview/VideoLan/DivFix - For incomplete video files...

2006-03-03T14:23:00.000+05:30

By: Parth Barot

I am very fond of downloading avi movies from net using p2p (peer to peer) softwares like Kazaa Lite k++,BitTorrent etc.I am using this for downloading new movies which are of full DVD quality and in very less size than the original DVD.They are comressed with Divx/Xvid codec in AVI file which is MPEG4 video compression format.And for Audio, different formats like mp3,ogg,AC3 can be used.Due to this, its size decreases in a big ratio of Bitrate per Second of both Audio-Video.So these files are of "MAX QUALITY MIN SIZE" we can say.

What the main problem here is we don't know about the quality of movies until we can see some part of it.I mean to say if we are downloading and say 15 MB downloaded then how you will see it?You have to see to know the quality of video and Audio.So here is the answer.

You can use AviPreview for viewing incomplete AVIs.Yes it is good tool because it is very small in size and no need to install.You just have to load the file in it.Before,you must stop downloading the file and then load it in AviPreview.And you are done!it will show you the movie upto it can.And you can decide what to do.

Now say AviPreview is not able to play the file at some point( At certain Frame in video if some error is there then it will stop playing file after that frame.).then what to do?I have the solution.

It is called DivFix.Yes,This tool is used for Re-Indexing of the AVI file.Don't need to install it.Just load the file and it will make new AVI file for you.Then you can see it and decide to stop download or not.

Another good player is VideoLan player.Setup of this player is about 10 to 19 MB.Yes too big but it is very useful.It contains all the codecs for Video-Audio and can play any file(Except .RM - real media files. May be newer version has inculded .RM support.).It can even play any file if it is incomplete. Yes you heard it right.it is avi/mpg/dat/wmv don't worry.VLC can play the file which is incomplete also.And it also plays direct streams from Internet URLs if your net connection speed is enough to take load of streaming!.

Links:
www.videolan.org
DivFix
Avipreview

Sigaba

2006-03-02T15:06:00.000+05:30

SIGABA SECURE EMAIL
Sigaba Secure Email is the premier enterprise secure messaging solution for business, financial institutions, governments, healthcare, and other organizations with a compelling need to protect confidential information. It is the first email solution to provide secure ad hoc business communication that is as simple as traditional, non-secure email.

Sigaba Secure Email places the security decision at the enterprise hub, so the individual user is not responsible for making security decisions. And because Sigaba Secure Email is built on the SigabaNet™ architecture, it gives organizations access to a completely integrated solution with robust and flexible policy controls and filters. To learn more about SigabaNet, see Architecture.

Sigaba Secure Email creates a protected channel for the exchange of information over email and wireless, within LANs and desktop-to-desktop. A variety of delivery options are available, based on policy and/or recipient profile: online push, off-line read, and online pull. Sigaba Secure Email also supports S/MIME capabilities for encryption and signing. For details, see Product Options.

Little-known Strategies to Maximize the Life of Your Hard Drive

2006-03-02T14:59:00.000+05:30

Maximizing the life of your hard drive If I asked you the question: which part of your computer is the most fragile, what would you say? What if I asked: which part is most important to you? Often, the answer to both of these questions is your Hard Drive. Your hard drive is likely one the most important things you own. It contains work data, school data, emails, photos, music, movies, tax information, etc… Incidentally, the hard drive is also one of only two moving components in your computer (the other being your optical drive). The following is a list of important maintenance and monitoring techniques you can use to maximize the life of your hard drive and prevent data loss. Hard drives are physically fragile – handle with care Statistics show that 25% of lost data is due to a failure of a portable drive. (Source: 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results) Contrary to its seemingly rugged appearance, your hard disk is a very delicate device that writes and reads data using microscopic magnetic particles. Any vibration, shock, and other careless operation may damage your drive and cause or contribute to the possibility of a failure. This is especially relevant for notebook users, as they are most at risk of drive failure due to physical damage, theft, and other causes beyond their control. That’s why we recommend regular backup of notebook hard drives, as often as possible. Possible solutions include external USB or Firewire drives (although these are prone to the same risks), desktop synchronization, or backup at a data center through the web. Hard drives write data in a non-linear way forcing it to become fragmented. When files accumulate on your hard drive, they do not just get written in a linear fashion. A hard drive writes files in small pieces and scatters them over the surface. The fuller your hard drive becomes and the more files you save and delete the worse file fragmentation can be. Hard drive access times increase with fragmentation since your drive must work harder to find all the pieces of the files. The more fragmented your data is, the harder the actuator arm has to work to find each piece of a file. A case in point: Disk fragmentation is a common problem for users of Outlook Express and database software. Each time outlook saves new mail, it does so in a different physical location from the previous time. This results in extreme fragmentation, causing longer hard drive access times and forcing more strain on the heads. This strain can eventually lead to a head crash, and often that means a virtually unrecoverable drive.Finally, in the event of a total crash, a fragmented drive is much more difficult to recover then a healthy defragged drive. Luckily, Windows makes it remarkably easy to defrag your hard drive, simply launch the Disk Defragmenter utility (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools), choose which disk or partition you’d like to defragment and set it to work overnight or while you are not actively using your computer. Defragmentation will speed up your computer and ensure a longer life for your hard drive. A very small power surge can fry a hard drive – use a UPS and turn off your computer when you can Another little-known fact about the fragility of your hard drive is its susceptibility to electrical failure. An electrical failure can be caused by a power surge, lightening strikes, power brown-outs, incorrect wiring, a faulty or old power supply, and many other factors. If a power surge enters your computer, it may do an unpredictable amount of damage, including destroying your hard drive’s electronics or crashing the heads and possibly resulting in total data loss. The best way to protect your computer from such dangers is to use a highly rated protected power bar or an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Although these devices won’t eliminate the chances of a crash, they will serve as effective protection in most cases. Also, you can minimize the danger of an electrical problem and reduce wear of your hard drive by turning off your computer or using power-save modes whenever possible. It’s a known fact that 100% of drives fail, the question is when will it happen and will you be prepared? Make sure to check out the knowledgebase section of our website for more detailed information on how electrical power affects your computer. Be SMART, monitor the health of your drive to prevent unexpected crashes All modern hard drives have a self-monitoring technology called SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology). What most people don’t realize is that the majority of hard drive failures do not have to be unexpected. Most failures occur as a result of long-term problems which can be predicted. By regularly monitoring disk health and performance, you can know about potential hard drive problems before you lose any of your data. Several excellent utilities are available, including DiskView and Stellar SMART for standard IDE and SATA desktop drives. Also available are tools that monitor the health of SCSI drives and full RAID Array systems. Ariolic Software offers a great utility called ActiveSMART. The only fool-proof way to prevent data loss is... Backup! If you only take one of the suggestions here to heart, let it be this one: always back up your important data. After all the monitoring and all the prevention measures are in place, one fact still remains: all hard drives fail. Backing up regularly will ensure that you’re never caught without your critical data. For individuals, the simplest solutions include external portable hard drives, dvd’s, and online storage. For businesses, we recommend renting space at a secure data centre and implementing a disaster recovery plan, regardless of the size of your business. I hope that the above techniques give you some idea of the importance of hard drive maintenance and provide some insights in how you can protect yourself from data loss.

Hard Drive Crash Prevention And Recovery Tips

2006-03-02T14:58:00.000+05:30

The hard drive in our computers right now stores all of our data, and our computer could not function without it. There would be no World Wide Web, email or even an operating system without hard drives. Since hard drives are so important, a hard drive crash is without a doubt the biggest problem that someone could face on their computer. Hard drive crashes can happen for many reasons, and usually the owner is not to blame. One reason your hard drive can crash is because of a hard ware problem. See your hard drive is a magnetic disc that spins and has an extended arm hovering over it, to access any area, and collect the data. If the motor overheats and stops spinning or the arm fails to function, then your hard drive will crash and not be accessible at all. Another way for your hard drive to crash is from corrupt system files, registry files and viruses. Viruses come in many forms as spy ware, ad ware, in emails and many other places all over the web. I recommend a good virus protection program from McAfee or Norton to stop those viruses and prevent your hard drive from crashing. Now let’s say your hard drive has crashed, how do you determine the problem and can it be fixed? Well determining whether the hard drive crash is mechanical of software related is actually pretty easy. The flashing light on front of your computer case, that blinks when the computer is busy, is a good tool to determine the problem. If you see the LED light flashing, but the computer will not boot up, then most likely it is a software related problem, which means an operating system glitch or a virus of some sort. Lucky for you this usually can be fixed and all of your files can be saved, but I recommend only letting a professional try and fix it since the average person might find it to difficult unless they have experience in formatting hard drives. Worst case scenario is if you don’t see the LED light flashing in the front of your computer case, this means your hard drive has not activity which basically means it is a mechanical problem. A mechanical problem in your hard drive can be fixed, but I imagine it is pretty expensive. It is cheaper to get a new hard drive then to fix it, but of course if you have important data stored on the broken hard drive that you must get back, then you really have no choice but to have a professional fix it. You local computer store should have the expertise to repair it, but if not just ask them who can. I should point out also though, that advanced hardware and software standards in today’s hard drives tell you when your drive is about to crash and gives you time to back up your important files. Overall, the best way to stop your hard drive from crashing is to not neglect it and take care of it. The most important care tip is to make sure you defragment your hard drive at least once a month. Your operating system should come with a defragmenting program that is easy to use. Performing a defragment on your hard drive basically takes your data and organizes it into more convenient places so that the mechanical arm can access data faster and with the least amount of movement. Another way to protect your hard drive from crashes is to purchase a good virus scanner, preferably by McAfee or Norton, and keep protection tools enabled and perform a full system scan of every file on your hard drive once a month. Some other minor precautions that you can take are to enforce a SPAM guard on your emails and delete your temporary internet files every once in awhile. You should also keep your operating system up to date by downloading updates for it as soon as they come out. Windows makes this easy, but I am not sure how easy other operating systems make this or if they even provide this option. If you are a person who downloads a lot of files from the internet, then you need to exercise caution in what you choose to download, as hard drive crashes are commonly associated with faulty software from unknown sources on the net. Of course the best way to save you a headache if a hard drive crash happens is to back up your data regularly. Data loss is the reason a hard drive crash is so hurtful, so if you back up your data daily or whenever you work on it, then if a crash happens you will have no sweat on your back. I recommend you save your files to a rewritable CD/DVD or floppy disc as soon as you get done working on it, especially if the data is business related.

TWiki - an Enterprise Collaboration Platform

2006-03-01T17:11:00.000+05:30

What is TWiki?

TWiki Release 4.0.1

Welcome to TWiki, a flexible, powerful, and easy to use enterprise collaboration platform and knowledge management system. It is a Structured Wiki, typically used to run a project development space, a document management system, a knowledge base, or any other groupware tool, on an intranet or on the internet. Web content can be created collaboratively by using just a browser. Users without programming skills can create web applications. Developers can extend the functionality of TWiki with Plugins. Tell a Friend

"We use TWiki internally to manage documentation and project planning for our products." said Eric Baldeschwieler, Director of Software Development of Yahoo! "Our development team includes hundreds of people in various locations all over the world, so web collaboration is VERY important to us. TWiki has changed the way we run meetings, plan releases, document our product and generally communicate with each other. We're great fans of your work!"

Compare TWiki, Confluence and XWiki, and see TWiki details on the WikiMatrix web site.

What does it look like?

TWiki looks and feels like a normal Intranet or Internet web site. However it also has a Edit link at the bottom of every topic (web page), everybody can change a topic or add content by just using a browser.

TWiki is hosted and developed here at the TWiki.org web site. You can surf and add/change content a to get an idea of how TWiki works. Start surfing at the WebHome topic, or learn about the platform in the Welcome Guest.

More @ Twiki

Free CD/DVDs on Net

2006-02-28T17:12:00.000+05:30

Free eBooks DVD/CD:

http://www.gutenberg.org/cdproject/dvdf-int.html

Free UBUNTU Linux CDs:

http://shipit.ubuntulinux.org/

Free PETA DVD of vegetarianism:

http://www.goveg.com/feat/chewonthis/order.asp

Free Photoshop Tutorials CD:

http://www.totaltraining.com/dnld/sampler.asp?mscsid=

Free 2 CDs on Bible and How the World Will End:

http://www.scripturessay.com/freecd.html

Free BIBLE and booklet on CD:

http://en.bibleinfo.com/gift/

Free MEDITATION CD:

http://www.meditationandtransformation.com/optin.html

Free WIN XP Service Pack 2 CD:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

Free Hindi/Tamil software tools from India Government:

http://www.ildc.in/

Aga-Rayburn free CD:

http://www.aga-rayburn.co.uk/AgaBrRequest.asp

Free Linux/Windows SEK CD sets:

http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/offers/sek/?S_TACT=105AGX22&S_CMP=DEMOS

Free Trend Micro evaluation CD:

http://www.trendmicro.com/download/free_cd/

Free Confucius Saying CD:

http://www.confucius.org/main03.htm

Free Keil CD:

http://www.keil.com/demo/cdrom.asp

Free Microsoft accesibility CD:

http://ms.kpcorp.com/msaccessxp/AspxFiles/OrderForm.aspx

Free Chipworks software demo CD:

http://www.chipworks.com/forms/CDROM_form.asp

Free RJCooper Software demo CD:

http://www.rjcooper.com/form.html

Free Nortel Networks CD:

http://www94.nortelnetworks.com/events/multimedia_collaboration_freecd/index.php

Free Daveschool Animation DVD:

http://daveschool.longtermsolutions.com/

Free ChemSoft DVD:

http://www.cambridgesoft.com/

Free NATO DVD and other wallcharts, booklets, etc. (DVD no longer available)

http://www.nato.int/docu/pub-form.htm

Free RAGNAROK Game CD:

http://www.level-up-games.co.in/freecd.php

Free Photoshop Academy CD:

http://www.photoshopacademy.com/free_cd.html

Some other links:

http://www.lynuxworks.com/

http://www.arteraturbo.com/

http://www.keil.com/demo/cdrom.asp

http://www.chrissummerhayes.com/Pages/free_cd!.htm

Spyware – What Is It? Why Should You Care?

2006-02-24T16:19:00.000+05:30

Not many disagree that the expansion of the internet and technology related to advances with the various aspects of interacting on the internet continues to accelerate at a dizzying pace. As with most advances, with the good side, also comes a not so good – dark side. More than ever, the criminal element continues to make great strides in finding ways to perpetrate mischief, mayhem, and mal-intended scams.

One of the latest growing ways criminals have employed to profit at the expense of unsuspecting internet users is the spread of spyware viruses. Spyware and adware quickly are becoming all too prevalent for anyone. It has become vitally important that everyone take precautions to protect themselves from the malicious effects through the use of virus protection software.

Spyware: What Is It?

By definition, a spyware virus includes a wide variety of virus, some of which are the good kind; some are relatively harmless in nature. For example some spyware programs are “documenters, or scribes” if you will. Their primary purpose is to keep a record of basic information on users’ activities. This can include such things as what websites and other actions you have taken over a period of time. This allows the program to target your IP address with advertisements (many of which are popups) that are related to the theme of the sites you frequent. Giving you what you want, based on where you visit on the internet is the general method for this type of spyware. Again, being a nuisance is the primary offense of this type of virus.

Spyware: Why Should I Care?

Spyware’s “evil cousin” is not so virtuous and clearly much more harmful. These types seek to target financial related information (all personal and private information of course), using the information for criminal purposes. Identity theft is the more common example of this type of spyware virus. The sheer number of attacks, severity of the attacks is growing at alarming rates.

And just when we thought identity theft was bad enough, another type of spyware virus is growing with even more damaging effects. These are essentially key logger programs. This type of spyware is designed to capture highly sensitive data (account numbers and passwords to online banking, financial records, etc.) by recording actual keystrokes by a user on the keyboard. This data is collected and reported back to the author – who in turn uses the information or gives the information to others to undertake criminal actions to steal all they can using this information.

What Can I Do?
By far, the best protection one can use against these kinds of spyware viruses is to obtain (and maintain) a reputable anti virus software program, combined with a good anti spyware program and spyware removal tool. More and more anti virus programs are incorporating spyware detection and removal into their products. However, many still feel that to be 100% safe, it is best to install several different products at once. Of course the best way to keep those spyware viruses off your computer is to run your anti virus software and spyware removal programs: 1) with the option of “real time coverage” whenever possible, and 2) run on a daily basis. Each program will then report back on problems it has found giving users the option of how to handle anything found.

It does not take much thought when you hear the horror stories of unsuspecting internet users who have “lost everything” because of the effects of spyware in its various forms to realize you must be proactive. To ignore the warnings of internet security experts and reports of the damage caused by spyware is truly a formula for disaster. Don’t let yourself be the next victim.

Computer Security – It’s Bigger Than Spyware And Viruses

2006-02-23T15:00:00.000+05:30

Computer security, in basic terms means keeping your computer and the data that’s in it safe and secure. More of our personal data is stored in or accessed from our computer, now more than ever before. Yet most people lack even the basic understanding of how to keep their computers safe and secure. By following just a few simple rules you can dramatically improve the overall security of your computer.

The first thing to understand is what exactly it means to be connected to the internet. Your computer connected to the internet is similar to your house in many ways. There are many ways into your house. Windows, doors, etc. The more windows and doors you have, the more ways someone has into your house. An open door doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to be robbed, but it does improve the chances. Complicating matters, the ones that you think are locked, may not be because the lock is faulty or even the door itself may have an as of yet undiscovered flaw that would allow an intruder easy access to your home.

Your computer has many windows and doors, not all of which are locked. New flaws are being found everyday, often with the fix not coming until days after. Just like you wouldn’t leave your front door unlocked, you shouldn’t leave your computer wide open either. The first two things we will discuss to help with this task are installation of a quality firewall and regularly updating your installed software.

Updating your software is becoming easier these days, especially your Operating System. We don’t have the time here to go into detail about the many ways to update the many software packages you may have or use, but generally speaking the software manufacturer will provide you a way to do this automatically via the internet. A good example of this is the Microsoft Windows Update feature. Be sure to get the updates for everything installed on your computer, nothing is too trivial.

There are two basic types of firewalls and both perform the same functions. One is hardware the other is software. A hardware firewall is probably included in your router if you are using one, while you may or may not have a software firewall installed. To continue our house analogy, a firewall is like building a wall and gate around your home and giving the guard at the gate instructions on who to let in and out. While this does give a great deal of protection, it is not all that is required. Someone may know a way around or under your wall, or even be able to coerce the guard into letting them in.

You yourself may unwittingly allow someone in. This could happen by simply opening an email or even simply surfing the net. Spyware, viruses, trojans and the like are ever more adept in their methods of fooling you and your guards. Emails may come from a trusted friend containing a dangerous virus without them even knowing it. This is where the next layer of protection comes in, anti-virus software.

Anti-virus software is a large category these days. Often these packages come as “suites” including a firewall and Spyware scanner. While most of these programs are very effective in their promised tasks, it is not wise to be lulled into a false sense of security by them. They are simply one layer in what should be a multi tiered protection plan for you and your computer. One last important note about anti virus software is to be sure that it updates on a regular basis. New threats come out daily so check its updates manually to be sure they have happened.

Back to our house analogy, we now have all of our windows, doors and other entry ways locked and fully updated. We have a wall around our house with a guard at the gate and we have software scanning everything that comes in past the gate. Sounds pretty good, but there’s one last security hole we need to address, you.

A large percentage of infections are caused by the computer user themselves. The internet is an ever changing place that requires it’s users to be educated about its use. I’m not suggesting that you need to be a computer expert to simply read your email. I am however suggesting that you take some time to educate yourself on some of the dangers that pop up everyday, and the precautions to take in order to avoid them.

In summary, your computer is a powerful machine connected to one of the greatest things ever invented, the internet. This vast resource can be a dangerous place if you are not properly prepared and informed. Regular software updates, a good firewall, anti virus software and a little education are the basics in computer security. Having and understanding these basics will make your computer safer, more secure and more enjoyable.

KGB Archiver

2006-02-23T14:53:00.000+05:30

KGB Archiver is the compression tool with unbelievable high compression rate. It surpasses even such efficient compression tool like 7zip and UHARC in terms of the abilities. Unfortunately although its powerful compression rate, it has high hardware requirements (I recommend processor with 1,5GHz clock and 256MB of RAM as an essential minimum). One of the advantages of KGB Archiver is also AES-256 encryption which is used to encrypt the archives. This is one of the strongest encryptions known for human.

More @ KGB

I2P

2006-02-02T16:39:00.000+05:30

What is I2P?

I2P is an anonymous network, exposing a simple layer that applications can use to anonymously and securely send messages to each other. The network itself is strictly message based (ala IP), but there is a library available to allow reliable streaming communication on top of it (ala TCP). All communication is end to end encrypted (in total there are four layers of encryption used when sending a message), and even the end points ("destinations") are cryptographic identifiers (essentially a pair of public keys).

How does it work?

To anonymize the messages sent, each client application has their I2P "router" build a few inbound and outbound "tunnels" - a sequence of peers that pass messages in one direction (to and from the client, respectively). In turn, when a client wants to send a message to another client, the client passes that message out one of their outbound tunnels targeting one of the other client's inbound tunnels, eventually reaching the destination. Every participant in the network chooses the length of these tunnels, and in doing so, makes a tradeoff between anonymity, latency, and throughput according to their own needs. The result is that the number of peers relaying each end to end message is the absolute minimum necessary to meet both the sender's and the receiver's threat model.

The first time a client wants to contact another client, they make a query against the fully distributed "network database" - a custom structured DHT based off the Kademlia algorithm. This is done to find the other client's inbound tunnels efficiently, but subsequent messages between them usually includes that data so no further network database lookups are required.

More details about how I2P works are available.

What can you do with it?

Within the I2P network, applications are not restricted in how they can communicate - those that typically use UDP can make use of the base I2P functionality, and those that typically use TCP can use the TCP-like streaming library. We have a generic TCP/I2P bridge application ("I2PTunnel") that enables people to forward TCP streams into the I2P network as well as to receive streams out of the network and forward them towards a specific TCP/IP address.

I2PTunnel is currently used to let people run their own anonymous website ("eepsite") by running a normal webserver and pointing an I2PTunnel 'server' at it, which people can access anonymously over I2P with a normal web browser by running an I2PTunnel HTTP proxy ("eepproxy"). In addition, we use the same technique to run an anonymous IRC network (where the IRC server is hosted anonymously, and standard IRC clients use an I2PTunnel to contact it). There are other application development efforts going on as well, such as one to build an optimized swarming file transfer application (ala BitTorrent), a distributed data store (ala Freenet / MNet), and a blogging system (a fully distributed LiveJournal), but those are not ready for use yet.

I2P is not inherently an "outproxy" network - the client you send a message to is the cryptographic identifier, not some IP address, so the message must be addressed to someone running I2P. However, it is possible for that client to be an outproxy, allowing you to anonymously make use of their internet connection. To demonstrate this, the "eepproxy" will accept normal non-I2P URLs (e.g. "http://www.i2p.net") and forward them to a specific destination that runs a squid HTTP proxy, allowing simple anonymous browsing of the normal web. Simple outproxies like that are not viable in the long run for several reasons (including the cost of running one as well as the anonymity and security issues they introduce), but in certain circumstances the technique could be appropriate.

The I2P development team is an open group, welcome to all who are interested in getting involved, and all of the code is open source. The core I2P SDK and the current router implementation is done in Java (currently working with both sun and kaffe, gcj support planned for later), and there is a simple socket based API for accessing the network from other languages (with a C library available, and both Python and Perl in development). The network is actively being developed and has not yet reached the 1.0 release, but the current roadmap describes our schedule.

More @ I2P.net

IMP InFo - Latest things in Softwares,Freewares,Open Source,Internet,Programming...

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Blu-ray Discs

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DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) Radio Vs Analog Radio

eSATA: Fast External Storage

DAS Keyboard II Review

Xenoage Java Exe Starter

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Learn CSS Positioning in Simple Steps

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Xvid 1.1.0 released

Choose Proper Audio Format for DivX Video...

Get A Free Domain With Microsoft Office Live Basics Beta

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Important Linux Directories

The New Age of Optical Media

Backup Software

How to Restore Old Photos with Photoshop

How To Identify Spoof/Phishing Emails - Protect Yourself From Identity Theft

Alcohol - How to make\burn images using alcohol?

Keep Your Passwords Safe on Public Use Computers

Windows Linux DualBoot

VideoLan

Inner-Browsing: Extending Web Browsing the Navigation Paradigm

Extending Traditional Hypertext Navigation

Peer-to-Peer

Peer-to-Peer

REMEMBER: NEVER PAY FOR FILESHARING APPS!

Anyone who charges is a scammer!

What Is Next For Internet Browsers?

AVI to VCD with Xing MPEG Encoder

How to play video files in Winamp...

AviPreview/VideoLan/DivFix - For incomplete video files...

Sigaba

Little-known Strategies to Maximize the Life of Your Hard Drive

Hard Drive Crash Prevention And Recovery Tips

TWiki - an Enterprise Collaboration Platform

What is TWiki?

What does it look like?

Free CD/DVDs on Net

Spyware – What Is It? Why Should You Care?

Computer Security – It’s Bigger Than Spyware And Viruses

KGB Archiver

I2P

What is I2P?

How does it work?

What can you do with it?