Owner: Apu's Blog ... URL:http://apusay.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 13:55:05 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Computer,Internet, Blogging tips and tricks, Collection of tools, tutorials etc ... Site statistics:Click here
What's in a Logo? 2007-11-25 17:54:00 What's in a Logo? Or shall I rephrase it like how much a logo is worth? Well here's a hint for you. Sony Music is to pay Cleveland International $5m for missing its logo off Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell album as per a US court rulling.Sony claimed the logo omission was a mistake that was eventually corrected. Bat Out of Hell, which was originally released in 1979, has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, according to court records.
Wanna Be A Spy? 2007-11-24 06:23:00 This is not a guide on how to be a spy nor does it make you 007. It's an assortment of a few spying devices and softwares which some of you may be interested in. I don't own any of it neither do I intend to... but it still fascinates me just looking at those tiny marvels. So here it goes ....Undercover Digital Video Recorder, Sunglasses / Button Camera SetThis DVR surveillance kit includes a 256 MB mini Digital Video Recorder with a 2.5 inch TFT color screen. TFT monitor allows for playback in the field. Video power jack will allow you to interchange and power the sunglasses camera or the button camera as needed.Sunglasses Camera -Camera is cleverly concealed within a pair of sunglassesButton Camera -Camera is cleverly disguised as a buttonhttp://www.spytechs.com/spy_cameras/dvr-glasses-button-set.htmPen Camera This Pen Cam cleverly conceals a quality color video camera inside a working pen with up to 180 feet transmission range.http://www.spytechs.com/spy_cameras/pen_cam.htm
No P2P/ Illegal download in France - New Move Against Internet Piracy 2007-11-23 19:33:00 NYT reports of a new set of sanctions against internet piracy imposed by the French govt. It reports of a three-way pact between French Internet
service providers, the government and the film and music industry, which translates to users downloading music and movies illegally from the internet losing their internet access.French president Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed the agreement -- drawn up by a commission headed by the chief executive of FNAC, one of France
's biggest music and film retailers -- service providers will issue warning messages to customers downloading files illegally and the users account would be suspended or terminated altogether if he/she chooses to ignore the warning.No doubt the move would make the music industry happier and they may now start putting their effort in bringing in similar pacts in other countries. For now its bye bye illegal downloading for the French netizens.
Search both Google & Yahoo at the same time. 2007-11-22 18:03:00 Ever wished that you could perform a search from a single webpage which displayed results from both Google
and Yahoo
search on that very same page side by side? If you did, then your wish has already been granted. Frankly I don't know how long this website has been around (today I discovered it) but they do exactly the same.Search
Both.com shows you results from both Google and Yahoo on the same page side by side for your web search which is done from a single search box. Isn't it handy? Well for all you folks who may be interested to check it out the url ishttp://us.searchboth.net/
Tools and resources links for Android developers 2007-11-22 05:29:00 Some important links
for Android
developers. Android page at Google http://code.google.com/android/ Download the Android SDK http://code.google.com/android/download.html Participate in the $10million android developer contest http://code.google.com/android/adc.html Android Beginners Group http://groups.google.com/group/android-beginners Official Google blog on the much speculated gPhone http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/wheres-my-gphone.html Android Developers Blog http://android-developers.blogspot.com Android Portal & Community http://www.android-portal.com/ The Android Wiki. http://androidwiki.com/?gclid=CL_kkpCb8I8CFQhZTAodWWffFQ Android Freeware Directory http://www.android-freeware.org/ Hello Android http://www.helloandroid.com/ The OHA Magazine http://openhandsetmagazine.com/ Android Resource http://androidresource.com/ The Android Log http://theandroidlog.com/ Watch the Introducing Read more:Tools
Kindle reView - Different views on kindle 2007-11-21 18:38:00 So all the initial hype about the Amazon Kindle has now started to settle down and everyone has a better picture of the ‘wonder’ device. There have been both positive and negative reactions everywhere. A search through the blogosphere would reveal amazingly different reactions on the kindle. Like this funny but insightful article which compares the Kindle with a book. The story here discusses why the Kindle is from Amazon and not Apple with references to the iPod and iPhone. Anil Dash has a few thoughts about the Kindle . There is also one small discussion on how ugly the name Kindle is Then this article here tries to understand why there is so much hate talks about the kindle while another article argues why it could be a flop with business reader and this one here lists out 10 reasons why Kindle will fail while another one here argues why it should succeed.Anyway as you see I have had enough to read for now, so I leave you alone with all the links. Read more:views
Blog Tool & Resource - Blog Editor / Widgets / Templates / Themes / Poll / Blog Directories / Ping Services 2007-11-20 14:16:00 Desktop / Stand Alone Blog Editor
Well I usually use the online default editor. But for all of you out there desperately seeking much more our of your blog editor, there are plenty of options available ScribeFire (previously Performancing for Firefox) (Firefox Add-on/Free) http://www.scribefire.com/ w.bloggar (Windows/Free) http://wbloggar.com/ ecto (MacOSX ,Windows /Shareware) ecto is a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX and Windows, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType, Nucleus, SquareSpace, TypePad, WordPress http://infinite-sushi.com/software/ecto/ Qumana (Mac,Windows/Free) Qumana is a simple desktop editor for Windows and Mac OS that helps you write to multiple blogs all from one convenient interface. http://lycos.qumana.com/ Zoundry Blogwriter (Windows/ Free) http://www.zoundry.com/download.html Thingamablog (Windows,Mac, Linux/Free) Thingamablog is a cross-platfor Read more:Resource
, Templates
, Directories
, Services
About KML / KMZ files 2007-11-19 13:22:00 What is KML/KMZ files
?These file formats are associated with Google Earth and they are used for storing geographic data like placemarks, paths etc. KML stands for Keyhole Markup Language. If you don’t know yet, Keyhole was the name of the application before Google bought it from Keyhole Inc.KMZ are nothing but KML-Zipped.KML files can be created either using Google Earth’s user interface or using any XML editor or even notepad provided you are familiar with XML and KML syntax and structure.Below is a basic KML sample from the Google KML documentationThe structure of this file breaks down as follows:• An XML header. This is line 1 in every KML file. No spaces or other characters can appear before this line.• A KML namespace declaration. This is line 2 in every KML 2.2 file.• A Placemark object that contains the following elements:o A name that is used as the label for the Placemarko A description that appears in the "balloon" attached to the Placemarko A Point that specifies t
Lots of useful e-book & Tutorials 2007-11-18 13:16:00 Here's a list of some useful e-books with their download links. These are sourced from various sites while I was searching for some or the other book.Art/Graphics/PhotographyCreating The Right Website!A Mini Guide For Digital PhotographersDownloadCorelDRAW 12 UnleashedDownloadDigital Image Processing Using MatlabDownloadDigital Photography Workflow HandbookDownloadIncredible Visual IllusionsDownloadOn Being a Photographer: A Practical GuideDownloadHow to Do Everything with Your Digital CameraDownloadBeginning GIMP: From Novice to ProfessionalDownloadAdvanced 3D Photorealism TechniquesDownloadCartoon Cool: How to Draw New Retro-Style CharactersDownloadPortrait Painting in WatercolorDownloadColor Management for Digital Photographers For DummiesDownloadDraw 50 flowers, trees, and other plantsDownloadThe Watercolourist's Guide to Painting BuildingsDownloadMaster Lighting Guide for Portrait PhotographersDownloadDrawing and Sketching With MarkersDownloadWatercolour Landscapes CourseD Read more:Tutorials
Is Wikia Search Ready ? 2007-11-16 18:04:00 Is Wikia ready with its search engine? Well I just stumbled on this article which seems to suggest that it might be the case.Relevant Links :-http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2367254.ecehttp://search.wikia.com/wiki/search:Newshttp://search.wikia.com/wiki/Search
_Wikia
Tips n Tricks for Orkut - Fun Scripts 2007-11-14 18:19:00 Well I was just trying to find out something about orkut when I came across many tips and tricks resources about orkut all around. Thought it would be a good idea to share those resources for whoever may need it. But let me tell you beforehand that I haven’t personally tested all of them. So, if some of them don’t work.... well, never mind. So here it goes... I found some awesome scripts which can be used with many Orkut
pages for different effects. These can be found at http://www.orkutrix.com/javascripts.html Many other similar tips can be found at http://askwiki.blogspot.com/2006/09/orkut-tips-and-tricks.html http://www.orkutguru.com/ http://orkut4u.blogspot.com/ http://orkuttricks4u.blogspot.com/ Using Orkut From Mobile Devices http://www.devilsworkshop.org/2006/11/11/using-orkut-from-mobile-devices/ Lots of tips and scripts and other tools http://www.zeetab.com/orkut/orkut-tips-and-tricks.htm Read more:Scripts
Google announces $10 million awards for Android Developers 2007-11-13 05:16:00 Want $10m? Well, if you are a good coder you may just give it a try. Google
announced the 'Android
Developer Challenge' with a total awrad money of $10m.The award money will be distributed equally between two Android Developer Challenges: * Android Developer Challenge I: Accept submissions from January 2 through March 3, 2008 * Android Developer Challenge II: This part will launch after the first handsets built on the platform become available in the second half of 2008The 50 most promising entries received by March 3 will each receive a $25,000 award to fund further development.Google is looking for applications in the following areas - * Social networking * Media consumption, management, editing, or sharing, e.g., photos * Productivity and collaboration such as email, IM, calendar, etc. * Gaming * News and information * Rethinking of traditional user interfaces * Use of mash-up functionality * Use of location-based services * Humanitarian benefits * Applications in service of gl Read more:million
, Developers
Add This 2007-11-11 04:53:00 If you find your posts getting too clumsy because of the numerous buttons at the bottom which link to the various Bookmarking sites well there's one nice solution. Use 'Add This'. Add This displays only a single button which links to a page where you can select the bookmarking service you want. Want to know which Bookmarking services are supported, take a look at the image below. This is the page it takes you to when you click on that button. All you need to do is click on the icon of the bookmarking site you want and submit your story. And yeah don't forget to click the 'Add This' button below if you liked this story.
The mobile phone of our time 2007-11-10 17:15:00 2-3 years back, Philips came out with a handheld gadget prototype called the ‘Concept Readius’ which features a display screen that can be rolled out to make a 5” big screen with paper like viewing comfort. It has a monochrome display with four shades of gray. The 5-inch QVGA (320 pixels x 240 pixels) screen has a high contrast ratio for reading-intensive applications, including text, graphics, and electronic maps. The display can be rolled back into the pocket-size (100 mm x 60 mm x 20 mm) device when not in use. Currently, Polymer Vision, a company backed by Philips is working on roll-able display technology and is aiming for roll-able screens larger than the current 5" size which can handle full-motion images. It will have support for more colors besides being thinner and cheap. ----- Few years back Mitsubishi introduced ‘SCOPO’, a wearable display. The device resembles a headset with a small LCD screen th Read more:phone
Essential Orkut Tools .. 2007-11-10 14:15:00 Okay, so orkut has gone through some changes lately and some of the features of these tools are now integrated in Orkut
, but still they are worth a try and download!Orkut Cute With Orkut Cute you can easily access your account and quickly check your scraps. The program automatically logs in to Orkut creating an icon on the Windows system tray. All it takes to access your account is a double-click on that icon. It also allows for you to send scraps to all your friends at once and notifies you whenever someone sends you a scrap.Features:-- You can create several standard messages: they are stored in a database, so that you don’t need to type them all over again.- You can choose to which friends you want to send your message- Macroreplacement unique system. By placing the identifiers $nc$ or $nl$ anywhere on your message, they will be replaced by your friend’s name once the message is posted.- By activating the “random messages” option the program will search messages randomly on Read more:Tools
, Essential
New mobiles from Sony Ericsson - W890 Walkman and K660 2007-11-09 05:28:00 Sony Ericsson
has unveiled two new mobile phones ,the W890 Walkman
and K660.The W890 is an elegant Walkman® phone with a slim "stick" form factor and has a raft of entertainment options. The Walkman player 3.0 supports a range of audio formats and enables music tracks to be organized not just by artist or album but visually by album art. The SensMe feature automatically plots music by tempo and mood.W890 specs :-Radio Bands:W890i UMTS/HSDPA 2100, GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900W898c GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900Screen Display:240x320 pixels262K TFT, QVGAMemory:Heap size: Dynamic depending on available memoryInternal memory for storage: 28MB user free memoryExternal memory: Up to 4GB with Memory Stick Micro (M2)Max JAR size: Unlimited (but depending on available storage)Browser:WAP 2.0XHTMLAccess NetFront™ 3.4Multimedia Support:Video: 3GPP (H.263, H.264), MP4, RealVideo 8, WMVImage: GIF, JPEG, BMP, WBMP, PNG, SVG Tiny 1.2Sound: MP4 (AAC, AAC+, E-AAC+), MP3, M4A, 3GPP™ (AAC, AMR), AMR-NB, A Read more:mobiles
, Sony
Everex gPC TC2502 - Low cost linux PC 2007-11-08 17:33:00 Just came across this today, thought I'd share. Everex, has unveiled its latest PC featuring Ubuntu Linux-based open-source productivity software and Google-based Web 2.0 applications, for a mere $198.The Everex Green gPC TC2502 includes popular applications from Google, Mozilla, Skype and OpenOffice.org. It runs gOS Initial G (based on Ubuntu Linux 7.10) The company opted to use Enlightenment as the Desktopinterface because Enlightenment requires minimal hardware resources for its interface compared to KDE or GNOME.The gOS Dev Board is a Micro-ATX form-factor Via "PC-1" motherbased on a 1.5GHz Via C7 processor. The board's hardware specs are listed as follows: * Processor -- Via C7-D 1.5GHz * Chipset -- Via CN700 + VT8237R plus * Memory -- 2 x DDRII slots, for up to 2GB * Storage: o 2 x PATA interfaces (up to ATA133) o 2 x SATA interfaces (up to SATA150) o Floppy drive interface * Networking -- 10/100 Base-T Ethernet based on Via VT6103L PHY * V
IE Defender - Fraudware, Spyware 2007-11-08 05:13:00 IE Defender
is a fraudware which once infecting your system hijacks searches you input into the Google and Yahoo search engines. These hijacked searches will state that you are infected and that you need to install the IE Defender rogue anti-spyware program. You will also receive popups that state you are infected when browsing the web. The reality is that all of these messages and alerts are fake and should be ignored.Fake messages:-Google Error:"Your computer is infected! Some of your search results were changed by spyware. You have to clean your pc and we recommend to use our antispyware!"Yahoo Search Error!"Your computer is infected! Some of your search results were changed by spyware. You have to clean your pc and Yahoo Team recommend to use our ANTISPYWARE!"Also known as IEDefender, IE Defender 2.2 (or 2.3).To manually remove the spyware go through instructions here. However if you find manual removal too complicated allyou need to do is to download SpySweeper and run a full scan Read more:Spyware
Google Vs Symbian .... 2007-11-07 17:46:00 Google has a new rival and its Symbian
..Well! looks like Microsoft and Yahoo aren't the only company Google has rivalry with. With Google's entry in the mobile phone OS (more..) Symbian joins the club of Google rivals. Few days after Google's announcement of the new mobile platform Symbian has dissmissed Google's Android platform saying Google lacks experience in this field.John Forsyth, vice president of strategy at Symbian, said that making a "mobile OS is a very specialised form of rocket science. It's not search rocket science."He said the alliance formed by Google with another 33 firms to develop Android, the open platform for mobile phones, was yet another attempt to launch a Linux-based operating system to drive mobile phones."It's a bit like the common cold. It keeps coming round and then we go back to business. We don't participate in these full stop. We make our own platform and we are focused on driving that into the mobile phone market at large ever more aggressive Read more:Google
MoFuse - Create your mobile website 2007-11-07 17:21:00 Want to create a website
that can be viewed in your mobile. Well, you don't need to be a hardcore programmer for doing that. Here's this nice and simple tool which can take care of everything for you. MoFuse is an application to build mobile websites. Try it out, its real good. Whats more, its even freely available!Features of Mofuse:-Custom domain name - Use your own domain name or subdomain.SMS Widget - Place SMS Widget onto your blog so your readers can get your mobile link via SMS message.Automatic Redirect - Automatic Redirect code to detect and redirect your mobile visitors to your mobile site.Brand your mobile site - Upload your own image header/logo, grow your brands presence.Generate revenue Earn 50% of all advertising profits using Google AdSense Mobile and AdMob!It's 100% free!Below graphics shows a website built with MoFuseSo, build your mobile websitetoday,visit http://www.mofuse.com/
Screamer , Free Internet Radio 2007-11-06 17:19:00 Screamer Radio
is a free and easy to use internet radio player. I found it to be a decent enough software considering its free, in fact the quality is better than a few commercial radio players.Features--------------- * It's easy to use * It's not bloated * It's ad free * It has no spyware * It has a huge database of radio stations * It has a cool peak meter ;) * You can easily record what you're listening to * You can hide it in the system tray * You can play back on multiple soundcards * .. and it's free!Supported Stream Types * Shoutcast and Icecast MP3 Streaming * Icecast OGG Vorbis Streaming * WMA Streaming * AAC StreamingRecording Features * Recording buffer: start recording in the middle and still save the entire song! * Direct MP3 Audio stream saving, no loss of quality! * Direct OGG Vorbis stream saving, no loss of quality! * Or encode OGG Vorbis as MP3 using Lame * Encode WMA or AAC to MP3 using LameDownload it here Screenshots :- Read more:Internet
, Screamer
Google mobile - Google software to power future mobiles.. 2007-11-05 17:37:00 Google has unveiled its Android software (Android was bought by Google in 2005) which it hopes will power
the new generations of mobile phones. Its working with Samsung, HTC, Motorola and LG and the first phone based on google software is expected to come out in 2008. Google has formed the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), made up of 34 companies, including chip manufacturers and handset makers, a move seen as a major competition to Microsoft,Symbian.The software could lead to cheaper phones as it is designed to speed up the process of making mobile services. Read more:Google
, mobiles
, Google mobile
Guns n Roses Reunion? 2007-11-04 14:36:00 Is GnR going to be reunited. The classic line up of slash n axl? There are rumours all over and of all kinds but none of them concludes anything. i only wish that slash and Axl is back together to creat some great music again. Despite Slash recently claiming that he is at a loss as to where the Guns N' Roses
reunion rumors are coming from, it seems that they continue to slowly gain momentum. As was reported a little while back there was considerable talk suggesting that the so called 'classic' GNR lineup was to play last months' Download Festival in the UK, which of course, didn't happen. More ...Rumors of trouble in the VELVET REVOLVER camp have been swirling around the group for the past few months, with several reports suggesting that much of the strife between Slash and the rest of the camp stems from Slash's wife Perla's alleged involvement in the band's business affairs. The situation allegedly came to a head last week after an attempt was made by attorneys to mediate i
Love in the Present Tense - Catherine Ryan Hyde 2007-11-04 14:20:00 Pearl is the young single mother of Leonard, who has been brought up enclosed in the protective bubble of love set up by his mother. One morning, Pearl leaves Leonard with their next-door nrighbour, Mitch, and never returns; leaving Mitch to pick up the pieces and put them together in search for the truth. Mitch becomes Leonard’’s unofficial guardian and comes to adore him as his own son. All the while, Mitch is having an affair with an older woman.The story continues with Leonard becoming more and more involved in trying to find his mother. Amazon Read more:Present
, Tense
, Catherine
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón 2007-11-04 14:20:00 The story begins when with Daniel’s father, a book shopkeeper, takes him to a cemetery for forgotten books, in which he lets him have one book. Danielle chooses the book “The Shadow
of the Wind” by Julian Carax. From this moment onward Daniel’’s destiny is tied with the book. He tries to find details about Julian Carax, the author of the book, and he finds out that a mysterious disfigured person, who looks just like the devil in his book, is trying to eliminate any memory of him by destroying all of his books. Daniel learns that Carax and the man who tries to burn all of his book are somehow connected to the local ruthless police chief who hides dark secrets from his past.Daniel meets new people who help him investigate the mystery of the book and unravel the identity of the person who tries to eliminate Carax’’s bools. Daniel grows up, expereinces disappointments, first love and sorrow, and this while he delves deeper into the mystery of “The Shadow of the Wind”. Rev Read more:Carlos
Police lure criminals with free Xbox 360 2007-12-01 15:09:00 Looks like they found a new use for the Xbox
360 and quite a surprising one. The El Paso police made 115 arrests by luring criminals with free Xbox 360. Free stuffs never fail to draw crowds. Read the full story herehttp://gamernode.com/news/5227-el-paso-police-lure-criminals-with-free-xbox-360/index.html Read more:Police
Firefox 3 Beta 1 - The new features (a review) 2007-11-27 18:14:00 So, at last I installed the new FireFox 3 beta 1 yesterday and since have been checking out the new features
. And to sum it up – Though I am not awfully impressed, the new FireFox 3 beta has quite a few useful and neat tool and features which takes the FireFox experience to a new height and by the time it comes out of beta, it would be worth all the hype.First let me share an interesting development in FireFox .This feature when fully functional would protect users from sites which install malware and from web forgeries. So when you stumble upon a malware site FireFox would not open that site and would instead show a message like the following.http://en-us.www.mozilla.com/firefox/its-an-attack.html But don’t expect it to be working now. FireFox blacklist of malware sites is not yet activated. So we have to wait a little longer.FireFox claims to have gone through major architectural changes to increase the performance (read release notes). Well there is definitely some truth in that Read more:Firefox
, review
Kaioo- The 'real social community' helping charities 2007-12-06 18:07:00 They claim to be the first real social community
on the internet because they are “non-profit, democratic and independent”. It’s Kaioo, a new social network based in Hamburg. Founded by the Thomas Kreye and Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, all its advertising revenue will be donated to charities chosen by the users. It’s also been given a non-profit status.On why Kaioo is donating all its revenue to charity, this is what they have to say“Users of social networks create the content themselves – for example, by uploading photographs, posting messages and communicating with their friends. Even "winning new customers" is something that users do when they invite their friends to join. The operator of a social network, on the other hand, merely provides the platform, which entails minimal operating costs. If millions of users "work" virtually free for the operator of a social network that creates great value for the owner. As a non-profit organization, kaioo does what simply makes sense: kai
Top Blog Template Generators 2007-12-04 17:26:00 I stumbled upon this article in mashable which lists several template generators for various blogging platforms like Wordpress , Movable Type, Drupal etc. I haven't tried them all yet but their features looks impressing. Follow the link for the full storyhttp://mashable.com/2007/11/18/10-template-generators/ Read more:Generators
OpenID Resources - Tools,Tutorials etc.. 2007-12-17 19:22:00 This is in continuation to my previous post on OpenID
. Here you can find various resources like tutorials, guide, and tools to work with OpenID.Here goes the list ...A conversational introduction to OpenIDhttp://wiki.openid.net/IntroductionOpenID specificationshttp://openid.net/developers/specs/OpenID Librarieshttp://wiki.openid.net/LibrariesOpenID Identity Providershttp://wiki.openid.net/OpenIDServersOpenID Server softwarehttp://wiki.openid.net/Run_your_own_identity_serverDirectory of OpenID enabled Websites http://openiddirectory.com/Wordpress OpenID Pluginhttp://verselogic.net/projects/wordpress/wordpress-openid-plugin/Tutorial and GuidesA step-by-step tutorial guide for implementing OpenID consumer-side support with a web site that already has users with accounts.http://www.plaxo.com/api/openid_recipeThe target audience for this tutorial is people who are capable of adding autodiscovery links to their blog templates, may be able to install a small PHP script and/or know what a HTT Read more:Tools
, Resources
, Tutorials
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