20 Things the average person doesn't know about XP

Very useful hints for Windows XP users. Click on the title to read the information. Found it on digg.

Our pitiful situation

 

"NaapiLakka poi paesi navanidhiyam thaedi

     nalamondrum illaadha nariyarai koodi

poopiLakka varugindra putreesal pola

     pulapulena kalakalena pudhalvargalai peruveer

kappatharkum vazhiyariyeer, kai vidavum matteer

     kavarpiLandha marathuLaiyil kalnuzhaithu kondae

aappadhanani asaithitta kurangu nilai polae

     agapatteer kidandhuzhala agapatteer neerae"

This song was written by a famous Tamil Poet 'Pattinathaar'. I came across this while I was doing some search on the net. I had read this way back in my school days. Then, I didn't bother about the meaning of this song too much. But now, when I read this, I wonder how true? how true?

 

How many of us are living such a life? We enjoy all the worldly pleasures, but yet fail to LIVE our life. we only care about surviving and not living. Cant write more now. Will do so, later.

Cheers

Joe

Introduction to 90 Online File Storage Services

Hi all,

I, so far, have been using eSnips for my file sharing needs. Now, from digg, I came across these whole lot of comprehensive list of services that I can use. I have not checked them personally. But still, would be useful for some of us.

You can use them to send big files, or backup your documentations. Some services can be accessed from your web browser, others may have a client program for you to auto-backup your hard drive.

Click Here to view them.

Cheers
Joe

Utilities: Comparing Text/PDF Files, Converting File Types

Hi,

My current job requires me keep on checking a specification document for changes and incorporating the changes in the software.. This is good when the specifcation is spawning over a few 10s of pages.. But still, I didnt wanted to do it manually though... Reading the new specification over and over again and identifying the word changes, however stupid it might be... That was a painful job to do it manually.. I wanted to do this automatically. I wanted a program where I can give the two copies of a document and boom, I should get the differences whatever it is....

So far, I have using a cute little software called WinMerge. It was good. I could compare two text files, compare contents of two folders, I could merge the text files in addition to just reviewing them.. Above all, it is a sourceforge project, which will explain its credibility to most of us. But this time, my challenge was a bit different. I had to deal with PDF files... Since Winmerge didnt support pdf files (well, as of July 2006, it didn't), what I did was copy the text contents of the pdf file to a text file and then again use winmerge. Yeah, I can hear you saying "How Stupid!!". Well, I was not so for long. I realized that there should be a utility to compare pdf files as I did with text files.

I googled it and bingo! I got myself into this, DiffDoc. Well, Its not just for comparing PDF files. It has a big list of utillity softwares for comparing different type of files, converting file types to other types you want. Trust me, you might want to take a look at this beauty of a software...

I tried only 'DiffDoc' from that set for comparing my pdf files. The interface is quite simple and neat and above all, very configurable...That is the part I like the most, Configurable. I dont like to stick to the way that somebody liked. I have my own taste and will want to change the way it looks, if not the way it works. Ok then, why dont you go ahead and take a look at it, while I get some work done...

Chill out!!!

Cheers
Joe

PS: Just in case if you didnt know, Sourceforge offers a big list of softwares that you might want to check out. Find it here.

eSnips - A Cool Sharing Site

Hi,

I had always wanted a cool online storage and sharing tool to keep all my stuff accessible from anywhere, anytime. Mostly photos are the ones that I wanted to share. You know, those fond memories of you with your loved ones. Its good to have access to them always. There might be a lot of photo sharing sites like, flickr and photobucket and ofcourse, many others.

But I got myself very much interested in eSnips.

The reason is its sheer easy to use interface and features. You can not only upload and share photos, but anything you want, if you can call it a 'file', in your PC. You can create albums, you can blog in your albums, share them with the world or with a private group. It also gives you a widget that you can place in your website or your friend's for others to visit your albums. The one coolest feature i liked in eSnips is that, you can upload stuff(again, anything) by email. You get an email with your account and when you send an email to that account with an attachment, the attachment is stored in the folder that you designate, the text portion is ignored.

The possibilities are quite huge. And recently after seeing that the users of eSnips are actually trying to sell and buy stuff online from other eSnips users, the site administrators have added a nice cool eCommerce functionality to the site as well. I havent yet checked that out personally, but it is there for the taking.

I have already uploaded some of the photos and below are some of my albums. If you want,
My Emailed Stuff
Trip to Ooty
Trip to Mahabalipuram

And hey, please dont blame me, if you cant find anything useful in the above albums. Those are pricely treasures for me, not necesarily for ya. Just get the idea of eSnips features.

You can read the techcrunch blog about eSnips, here.

Cool then, try it out...

Cheers
Joe

Learn Unix in 10 mins

A coolest tutorial I ve ever seen for any topic.. its not actually a tutorial. but jsut a web page... yeah, one single page, which can be used to brush up ur unix skills or as a reference point. This page below makes for a good unix tutorial for me, when i dont work much in unix and wanted to recall the commands to do something occasionally.

this is really cool.

Find the page here.

I think I should also mirror a copy of it somewhere... Dont know when someone will blow this off.

update: I have mirrored the page in my googlepages.

Cheers
Joe

Software Engineering Body of Knowledge

A decent guide to the software engineering for beginners. And I would recommend this as a must read or at the least, a must have reference material.

SWEBOK – SoftWare Engineering Body Of Knowledge.

The software engineering body of knowledge is an all-inclusive term that describes the sum of knowledge within the profession of software engineering. Since it is usually not possible to put the full body of knowledge of even an emerging discipline, such as software engineering, into a single document, there is a need for a Guide to the Software Engineering Body of Knowledge. This Guide will seek to identify and describe that subset of the body of knowledge that is generally accepted, even though software engineers must be knowledgeable not only in software engineering, but also, of course, in other related disciplines.

You can either visit the site here.

or

you can go ahead and download the PDF from here.

Cheers
Joe

Bypass BIOS Passwords

How to Bypass BIOS Passwords
[The original story goes here. I had reproduced it here just in case that page should go off in future.]
BIOS passwords can be add extra layer of security for desktop and laptop computers, and are used to either prevent a user from changing the BIOS settings or to prevent the PC from booting without a password. BIOS passwords can also be a liability if a user forgot their passwords, or if a malicious user changes the password. Sending the unit back to the manufacturer to have the BIOS reset can be expensive and is usually not covered in an a typical warranty. However, there are a few known backdoors and other tricks of the trade that can be used to bypass or reset the BIOS password on most systems.
Backdoor Passwords
Many BIOS manufacturers have provided backdoor passwords that can be used to access the BIOS setup in the event you have lost your password. These passwords are case sensitive, so you may wish to try a variety of combinations.
WARNING: Some BIOS configurations will lock you out of the system completely if you type in an incorrect password more than 3 times. Read your manufacturers documentation for the BIOS setting before you begin typing in passwords.
Award BIOS backdoor passwords:
ALFAROME           BIOSTAR           KDD                ZAAADA
ALLy                CONCAT           Lkwpeter           ZBAAACA
aLLy                CONDO           LKWPETER           ZJAAADC
aLLY                Condo           PINT                01322222
ALLY                d8on           pint                589589
aPAf                djonet           SER                589721
_award                HLT           SKY_FOX           595595
AWARD_SW           J64           SYXZ                598598
AWARD?SW           J256           syxz            
AWARD SW           J262           shift + syxz            
AWARD PW           j332           TTPTHA            
AWKWARD           j322                        
awkward                                     
AMI BIOS Backdoor Passwords:
     AMI                BIOS           PASSWORD           HEWITT RAND
     AMI?SW           AMI_SW           LKWPETER           CONDO
Phoenix BIOS Backdoor Passwords:
     phoenix           PHOENIX           CMOS           BIOS
Misc. Common Passwords
     ALFAROME           BIOSTAR           biostar                biosstar
     CMOS           cmos           LKWPETER           lkwpeter
     setup           SETUP           Syxz                Wodj
Other BIOS Passwords by Manufacturer
     Manufacturer           Password
       
     VOBIS & IBM          merlin
     Dell               Dell
     Biostar          Biostar
     Compaq          Compaq
Enox               xo11nE
     Epox               central
     Freetech          Posterie
     IWill               iwill
     Jetway          spooml
     Packard Bell          bell9
     QDI               QDI
     Siemens          SKY_FOX
     TMC               BIGO
     Toshiba          Toshiba
Toshiba BIOS
Most Toshiba laptops and some desktop systems will bypass the BIOS password if the left shift key is held down during boot
IBM Aptiva BIOS
Press both mouse buttons repeatedly during the boot
Using the Motherboard "Clear CMOS" Jumper or Dipswitch settings
Many motherboards feature a set of jumpers or dipswitches that will clear the CMOS and wipe all of the custom settings including BIOS passwords. The locations of these jumpers / dipswitches will vary depending on the motherboard manufacturer and ideally you should always refer to the motherboard or computer manufacturers documentation. If the documentation is unavailable, the jumpers/dipswitches can sometimes be found along the edge of the motherboard, next to the CMOS battery, or near the processor. Some manufacturers may label the jumper / dipswitch CLEAR - CLEAR CMOS - CLR - CLRPWD - PASSWD - PASSWORD - PWD. On laptop computers, the dipswitches are usually found under the keyboard or within a compartment at the bottom of the laptop.
Please remember to unplug your PC and use a grounding strip before reaching into your PC and touching the motherboard. Once you locate and rest the jumper switches, turn the computer on and check if the password has been cleared. If it has, turn the computer off and return the jumpers or dipswitches to its original position.
Removing the CMOS Battery
The CMOS settings on most systems are buffered by a small battery that is attached to the motherboard. (It looks like a small watch battery). If you unplug the PC and remove the battery for 10-15 minutes, the CMOS may reset itself and the password should be blank. (Along with any other machine specific settings, so be sure you are familiar with manually reconfiguring the BIOS settings before you do this.) Some manufacturers backup the power to the CMOS chipset by using a capacitor, so if your first attempt fails, leave the battery out (with the system unplugged) for at least 24 hours. Some batteries are actually soldered onto the motherboard making this task more difficult. Unsoldering the battery incorrectly may damage your motherboard and other components, so please don't attempt this if you are inexperienced. Another option may be to remove the CMOS chip from the motherboard for a period of time.
Note: Removing the battery to reset the CMOS will not work for all PC's, and almost all of the newer laptops store their BIOS passwords in a manner which does not require continuous power, so removing the CMOS battery may not work at all. IBM Thinkpad laptops lock the hard drive as well as the BIOS when the supervisor password is set. If you reset the BIOS password, but cannot reset the hard drive password, you may not be able to access the drive and it will remain locked, even if you place it in a new laptop. IBM Thinkpads have special jumper switches on the motherboard, and these should be used to reset the system.

Hi-Fi Car from GM

Came across an article about this new Hi-Fi car from General Motors, GM Hy-Wire. A different design… I like the basic concept of keeping the upper frame of the car clean… all the equipment goes to the mainframe of the car right under where you sit. And hey, is it a left hand drive or a right hand drive… Its up to you.. that’s the coolest feature I like…

Many beginners have problem with having to push the accelerator, break and clutch with their foot. Now drives Legs Free(Read, Legs Free Not Hands free).. Take a look at the video in the below location…

Play Video


Cheers
Joe

Blogging from WinWord

Blogging From WinWord

Hi,
        Just downloaded the blogger for word application and am trying it out now. I hope this cool little software should help me blogging continuously… after all, that’s not such a bad habit. Is it???

Luv
Joe