IT Masala

Nowadays everybody is becoming energy conscious.People have started using CFL's at their homes.But many just quote this "Save Energy" - and just leave it. Atleast from today onwards start using CFL's at home. There are many advantages of using CFL's , people just see the price of CFL's and avoid buying them; they don't understand the long range usefulness of the CFL's. Also look at our article on normal bulbs:  Do Your Bulbs Keep Blowing? .There are too many reasons why you should not use incandescent bulbs or any other normal bulbs. But now we will see why to use CFL's at home !

So, many just say CFL's - but what is CFL ?

A Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL), also known as a compact fluorescent light bulb or an energy saving lightbulb, is a type of fluorescent lamp that fits into a standard light bulb socket or plugs into a small lighting fixture.

Some Facts : 

- In comparison to incandescent light bulbs, CFLs have a longer rated life and use less electricity

- CFLs typically save enough money in electricity costs to make up for their higher initial price within about 500 hours of use.

-  CFLs are typically guaranteed for 8,000 hours. (Incandescent bulbs typically last 500 to 2000 hours, depending on exposure to voltage spikes and mechanical shock.)

A nice tabular comparison of CFL vs other bulbs in terms of power consumption :

luminous flux (light output)	consumption of electricity
	Incandescent	Compact fluorescent	CCFL lamp	LED lamp
200 lm	25 W	5-6 W	?W	1.8-2W
450 lm	40 W	8 W	?W	6-12W
600-700 lm	60 W	11–13 W	?W	?W
950 lm	75 W	18–20 W	?W	?W
1200 lm	100 W	20-25 W	?W	?W
1600 lm	125 W	26-30 W	?W	?W
1900 lm	150 W	35-42 W	?W	?W

Worried about porn on the net? Want to be on the safe side.. Block all porn and more with ScrubIT.

All you do is configure your router to use ScrubIT’s DNS servers. Alternately, Windows 2000/XP users can download a utility that tweaks the networking settings accordingly. When you’re done, any porn-ridden or potentially malicious sites, whether visited intentionally or accidentally, will be blocked.
Two hitches here :
First, you have no control over what sites ScrubIT blocks (unless you sign up for the beta program, which is the basis for a future paid version of the service).
Second, there’s no uninstaller for the DNS utility, meaning once you’ve run it, your system will face “scrubbed” sites indefinitely.

This tool is great for parents concerned about their children’s online activities and employers wishing to keep the workplace PCs clean… So log on to ScrubIT and have a clean and safe browing..
Download via [ ScrubIT ]

FREE Email SMS to Cell Phone anywhere in the world .This service is common all over the world , with almost all mobile networks supporting this facility.

The key is that most cell phones on major networks have a built in capability to receive emails, so everyone who has a phone has a mobile email address (almost true..). Take my provider, Airtel (karnataka) , for example; you can send a short text message to anyone on the Airtel(Karnataka) network by entering their phonenumber@airtelkk.com , i.e If you want to send a message to me , just send an email to 919945936759@airtelkk.com . And for example some foreign providers such as cingular network by entering their phone number @cingularme.com.
Here is a list with details of all the mobile network providers in india.email_sms_mobile_india.doc

Supported Networks in India: ( providers must have given this facility to almost every region now..check out- this is bit old list)

Airtel: Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chennai (Skycell), Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (West)
Hutch: Delhi
Escotel: Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Kerala
BPL Mobile: Mumbai, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Goa
Idea Cellular: Andhra Pradesh (Tata), Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat
RPG Cellular: Chennai
Aircel: Tamil Nadu
Celforce (Fascel): Gujarat

Want to have editing options at your easy reach ? Here are some steps to make it possible .

This lets you put the common editing icons like cut, copy, and paste onto your IE 7 toolbar…

1. Right-click on a blank area of the toolbar.
2. Select Customize Command Bar
3. Select Add or Remove Commands
4. Move (or Add/Remove) the buttons you want from the left column to the right column
5. Press Close when done.

Making phone calls from a computer should be as easy as typing a URL, and with the release of  GizmoCall.com - a new service from SIPphone - it is. Typing http://gizmocall.com/1800555121 2 is all it takes. And it's not just easy, but free. You can get 10 minutes of free calling per day to call just about any phone number in the world (sorry Antarctica). Before Gizmo Call, you had to download a big program, install it, register for an account and buy calling minutes. With Gizmo Call, you just install a Flash plug-in into your web browser and begin talking.

 

With Gizmo Call, people can call a wide range of numbers and devices.Gizmo Call lets you dial numbers for almost any country - even mobile phones - by typing them into the number field at gizmocall.com or simply typing a gizmocall.com URL into a browser. This will take you to the GizmoCall.com web site and load the flash plugin (if you don't have it), and you're ready to talk. It's the easiest way to initiate a call.

Conditions :

- Talking for 10 minutes per day is free to registered users with unregistered users getting 5 minutes per day.
- International users now even have access to previously blocked US 800/888 numbers with no per minute charge.
- Charge $4 for custom CallerID which you can set so that Gizmo calls will look like they are coming from your mobile or office phone.

There's no advertising yet on Gizmo Call which is why free calls are limited to just 10 minutes.

[ GizmoCall.com ]

Fact : Every 4th word in UK and US is either " Thank You " , " Please " or " Sorry ".

So the first thing in a mail is "be courteous" . A nice request will obviously please any person.And learn the art of courtesy by " Thanking " him/her for the work the help they have given.Use the three jewels " Thank You " , " Please " , " Sorry " more often .

Email Subjects lines always describe what the mail is about.Write detailed subject lines which should atleast describe what the mail is about .Don't use short letter words like " Hi " , " Hello ". Nobody can make out what the mail is about. And now such short titled mails go straight away to the junk/spam folder.So be careful and don't use such short titles.

Don't send large attachments , some might be on a slower connection or some companies might trash your mail as they might have a limitation on the size of attachments.Upload at sites like Yousendit and paste the link in the mail.

Do not request a Read Notification Receipt.

Keep you email message short and to the point.

Never send a mail without doing a proper spell check , it shows your negligence.

Always think before hitting the send button.Is the mail message useful ,relevant , helpful ..etc.. Don't just forward or send any email without knowing what is really in it.

And also here are some real nice tips by Laura Stack president of The Productivity Pro® .

Don't you wish that every person who received a new e-mail account had to agree to follow certain rules to use it? There are certain professional standards expected for e-mail use. Here are some things to keep in mind regarding professional e-mail conduct:

• Be informal, not sloppy.
• Keep messages brief and to the point.Use sentence case.
• Use the blind copy and courtesy copy appropriately.Don't use e-mail as an excuse to avoid personal contact.
• Remember that e-mail isn't private.Be sparing with group e-mail.
• Use the subject field to indicate content and purpose.Don't send chain letters, virus warnings, or junk mail.
• Remember that your tone can't be heard in e-mail.Use a signature that includes contact information.
• Summarize long discussions.

 

Many of my seniors who are now working in large firms always complain of people not able
to write a mail properly.One of my friends(is in Sun Microsystems) said he had got a mail from a junior in college to refer him for an interview( @ Satyam) where my friend had worked before.

The mail was so horribly written - it was almost like a set of chat messages put together.There was no sign of request or courtesy in the mail.It was almost like a command or order to refer him for the interview. " Is this how a professional works ? "

Later my senior asked me "Don't they teach students in college how to write a mail " In most of the colleges emphasis is given on written communication but rarely people give ears to it.

How to get music off your Ipod - Without downloading those annoying programs.

1. Plug the Ipod to the PC. Open iTunes. Click on the ipod. Check "enable disk use" if it isnt already.

2. Go to "My Computer", open the ipod drive. You should see some random folders like "calendars" "contacts" "notes" etc.

3.
In the tools menu(of the windows explorer), go to folder options. Click the "view" tab then
under "hidden files and folders" click "view hidden files and folders".

4. Now click ok, then click on the iPod_Control folder, and then the music folder.

5. You should see a bunch of folder named F01, F02 etc. up to a high number.

6.
Apple made it even harder for you though. They rename all the files and
randomly distribute them throughout these folders, just to make your
life miserable. But You can take care of that!

7.Now the step of identifying your songs. Apple stores your music files in the AAC format

Note: AAC format means its file extension is .m4a

 

 

 

Apple made it even harder for you though. They rename all the files and
randomly distribute them throughout these folders, just to make your
life miserable. But you can take care of that!

Apple stores your music files with weird names like these :

AETX.m4a  , AOEL.m4a , JPKU.m4a , QWQF.m4a , XLXW.m4a , YCHZ.m4a …etc…

 

So it becomes really difficult to know the title of the song.

9. So here’s a small step to be done."Enqueue" all your music files  from the folder to Winamp Music Player. Now you will be able to see the titles of the songs.

 

10.Now at the top menu of the folder (where the back button and stuff
is) click "search". There should be a little search thing on the left.
Click "all files and folders" then click "more advanced options".

8. Under more advanced options, click "search hidden files and folders" and "search subfolders"

 

 

9. DONT ENTER ANYTHING INTO THE SEARCH BOX - just click search.

10.
Under the "view" menu, select "details". Then go under the view menu
again. go to "choose details". Deselect everything except for "name"
"title" and "artist" - those three should be checked.

11.Again, under view, (assuming it stayed in detail mode) go to "choose
details" and uncheck everything except for name, title, and artist. you got it, the title and artist of everything you searched for.

13.Now create a new folder on your desktop or in any of your PC drive’s, called, for example, "Music from my iPod"

Note : Keep the Winamp player still open with the songs Enqueued, to check in case you have some doubt.

Enjoy your music station

You
can restart a Windows XP Pro and Home machine easily by creating a
shortcut with following path. (Assume you installed Windows XP on your
C: Partition) "c:windowssystem32shutdown.exe -r -f -t 00"
-r is for restarting the computer. -f is to force close all programs
without saving. -t 00 is used to restart in zero seconds. i.e. as soon
as you D.Click on the shortcut.

You can log off from a Windows XP
Professional or Home edition by running "C:windowssystem32shutdown.exe -l -f -t 00". Also you can shutdown a Windows XP Home or Professional edition by running "c:windowssystem32shutdown.exe -s -f -t 00".
You always have to turn from the CPU after running this command. (Same
with AT and ATX powered machines.)

If you want to turn down power of
ATX machine automatically, run "c:windowssystem32tsshutdn.exe 00 /POWERDOWN /DELAY:00" This is used to turn off a server. Even though your computer will be
shutdown
completely, this whole operation will take 30 seconds to finish. Even
though you don’t have networked computers attached to your computer,
this works.

WinRAR trick: how to PREVIEW video files without downloading all parts!

 

Guys, many movies posted are broken into many pieces using WinRAR. usually you have to download all parts before unzipping.

Now here’s a simple method to watch the movie without downloading all parts. First, download the first few parts (even
just the first part is enough) and start to unzip as normal (but
remember to check the ‘keep broken files’ check box first in the dialog
box !!!).

Now use VLCPlayer to watch the movie!!! (of course, only the downloaded part will be watchable

In the mayhem of "Da Vinci code " movie many ppl downloaded 700++ MB
documentaries which were named as davinci.part1.rar etc etc .After horrible hours of downloading the only thing they got was extreme frustration(some stepped ahead breaking the monitors).

 

Bottom Line : This is just a trick to know wether u r downlading the right thing or not.