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Thursday, 17 March 2011

Windows 8 Leaked Theme Aero Lite for Windows 7


There are rumors and leaks about the upcoming Windows 8 – the next version of Windows operating system after Windows 7. The first beta of Windows 8 is expected by September 2011 as Windows 8 final build is scheduled for 2012. As per some leaks, Windows 8 is going to have a metro inspired theme named “Aero Lite”. Theme will look similar to the current Windows 7 basic theme with few enhancements.

After the leak about Aero Lite theme for Windows 8, a guy started working on that theme developmentfor Windows 7. Here is what he has added till now,
  • Window Frame (Aero)
  • Window Caption Buttons (Aero)
  • Push Buttons
  • Combo Box
  • Radio Box
  • Check Box
  • Taskbar
  • Taskband
  • Start Menu (Aero)
  • Jump Lists
You can download and try installing this theme on your Windows 7 PC.


Firefox 4 RC Review–Clean UI, Improved and Faster Browser


Mozilla has released the Release Candidate of latest Firefox 4 i.e. Firefox 4 RC and is available to download and try.

What’s New in Firefox 4 RC

firefox-4-rcHere is what you will get new in the latest version,
- New UI i.e. look and feel
- Tab Organizer to manage opened tabs effectively
-  Firefox Sync
- Add-on Manager
Apart from these visible changes, there are few improvements in the browser to make it faster than the previous versions. Additional supports include HTML5 support, HD video and WebM format support, WebGL for 3D Capabilities and much more.
New avatar – Clean and Much Better UI
If you are using Firefox since a long time as your default and the most used browser, then you will see a new UI which looks much cleaner than the previous versions. Now a days people want better utilization of available display real state and Firefox 4 does the same by providing more space to the web pages. In this new UI, your focus will be on the opened pages and it is looking much better than the previous versions. Some people will raise eye brows on this change and have different opinion, but it looks much much better.

firefox-4-rc-main
Anyway, you can get the previous look and feel by customizing the browser.
Grouping of Tabs

firefox-4-rc-tab-1
You can organize opened tabs in Firefox 4 by grouping them. On the tabbing bar, you can see a small down arrow. Click on that to get the Tab Groups. Or you can use keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + E to open Tab Groups. There you can reorder the tabs by dragging them. This is a nice feature to have as you can open and close a particular group of web pages or tabs in single click.
Sync Firefox to have same feel on different devices

Like Google Chrome, you can sync the firefox browser to have the same data and feeling on different devices. Whether you are using Firefox on your home desktop or work laptop or other devices, you can just sync with your Firefox account and have the stored data and feeling on the new device. Firefox sync synchronizes Bookmarks, Settings, Installed Theme, Stored Password etc. on different devices. This very is very useful for those who use more than one computer to browse the web.
Manage Add-ons Effectively

firefox-4-rc-addon-manager-3
Firefox 4 is having a very rich add-on manager where you can see medium size icons of available add-ons. There are different sections like “Featured Add-on”, “Recommended for you” and Themes. There is a section called Featured Persona to install persona on your Firefox. New Add-on manager is much better than the previous one in looks and feel. Yes, of course there are more sections in this new manager but the basic feature is more or less same as the previous versions.
What’s Hot and What’s Not in Firefox 4
Firefox 4 is much better than previous versions in terms of looks, feel and performance. The hotter part of this update are new UI, Tab Organizer and Firefox Sync. What is not hot about this release is that still you need to restart the browser after installation of new add-on. Mozilla has released the option to create add-on on new SDK where the user will not have to restart the browser i.e. restartless add-ons but till now most of the add-ons are on old SDK. That means, still you need to restart the browser in most of the add-on installation. As compared to the Firefox, the installation and uninstall of extension in Chrome is much easier.
Apart from the add-on installation, Firefox 4 is having some serious issue related to CPU usage and memory consumption. Hope to not get this kind of problem after final release.
Overall the Firefox 4 seems much better than the previous versions and will keep Firefox going in the current browser market.


Autorun.inf Infected Memory Card, USB Drive, Digital Camera or Handycam Memory


Are you not able to open the picture or video folder of memory card? Is that throwing error as “Autorun.exe not found” or something related to Autorun? That means your memory card and computer is infected with Autorun.Inf virus. This problem is very common in memory cards, Digital Camera Memory, Handycams memory etc. Once you will connect these devices with your laptop or desktop and will try to open the folder, either you will see a shortcut of few folders or even not able to open the same. “My Computer” window will show you the size of folder as normal that means it is having the data, but that won’t open. This virus may come to your memory card from other computers those are already infected with viruses.
autorun-inf-virus-1As the problem of Autorun.inf virus is very common, the solution is also very common. There are few freeware system scanner available for removal of Autorun.inf virus. The most popular one is Autorun Eater. As the name suggest, it removes the Autorun.inf virus so that you will not get the error message while opening the memory card folder or browsing the data inside.
Install Autorun Eater on your computer (Windows PC) and now you can see an “orange” color icon in the system tray i.e. near to the Date-Time section of Windows (bottom-right corner). Now you need to connect your memory card or digital camera or handycam with computer’s USB drive. As the Autorun Eater is enabled for auto-scan, it will scan the USB drive automatically and will prompt you in case finds an Autorun.exe virus. If found, you need to click on the “Remove all” button on the window to remove Autorun.inf virus from the memory card drive.
Once the removal is done, you can go ahead and browse the USB drive folder. If you are able to see the folders and files, fine otherwise you will have to follow the below steps to change the attribute of the folders. Sometimes, Autorun.inf changes the folders and files attributes to make them hidden. Even the “show hidden files and folders” option in “Folder options” also doesn’t work in this case. You will have to change the attribute from Command Prompt.

Change Folder / Files Attribute from Command Prompt

Open Command Prompt by typing “cmd” in the Start search box. On command prompt, type [usb drive]: to go inside that drive. For example, f: to go inside the F drive (in my case the USB drive is F drive). If you are aware about the folder name for that you need to change the attribute, you need to type,
attrib –r –a -s –h *.*
This will change the attribute for each and every folder and files in the drive. If you are well aware about the name of the folder for which you want to change the attributes, you can mention the name as well. For example, I know that the folder named “DICM” is the one that I want back in the drive. I would type,
attrib –r –a –s –h dicm
Now the DICM folder will start appearing in the USB drive and I can browse the data inside that folder. This is how you can get rid of Autorun.inf virus on your computer or the memory cards. From next time onwards, take proper precaution before inserting the memory card in other’s computers as that may get infected again.



Relative and Absolute Cell References in Excel Formulas


One of the more important (and confusing) aspects of creating Excel formulas is relative and absolute cell references. Today, with your permission, we will dispel the confusion and bring you one step closer to becoming an Excel formulas master.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of referring to a cell when creating a formula, when to use relative or absolute reference, and how to easily change between them.
Relatively Wrong
For the sake of demonstration, let’s assume that we have been handed the following assignment from our fictitious manager at the fictitious XYZ Widget company: To calculate the weekly wages of some of our hour-based salary workers. Let’s look at the worksheet:
Absolute Cell References in Excel Formulas
Starting with John, we’ll add a formula to calculate the pay, which is: the hours worked times the hourly rate.
To do this we will:
  • Select cell C6
  • Enter the formula: =B6*B3
And we get John’s weekly salary:
Cell References in Excel

References in Excel
Hmmm, this doesn’t look right. We have an empty cell and an error value.
Introducing Absolute References
If we select cell C7 we’ll see that it contains the formula:
=B7*B4
B7 does contain the hours worked by Adam this week, but B4 is an empty cell. Note that it’s one cell down from the hourly rate cell (B3), which is the cell we wanted to use.
Selecting cell C8 shows =B8*B5. The hourly rate is now missed by two rows. So, it seems that using the fill handle went wrong here. The fill handle replaced the referred cells with a different reference, relative to the original cell.
But we need the hourly rate cell to stay the same. The way to do that is to use anabsolute reference rather than a relative reference; this way, when we use the fill handle, the reference will stay to the hourly rate cell.
So, instead of the original formula, we will now use the following one:
=B6*$B$3
Cell References
A very similar result; the only difference is that cell B3 is now referred to as $B$3. Excel uses the dollar sign to mark an absolute reference; in this case, both the column and the row are absolute (meaning this is a fully absolute reference).
Now, we’ll use the fill handle just as before, and:
Excel tutorial
Ah, that’s better. Note the formula in cell C7: the hourly rate part stayed as B3 (well,$B$3, but that’s the same thing in this case).
One final tip: You can use the F4 key to change the cell references between reference types.
Summary
In this article we discussed when and how to use absolute cell referencing. We also created a formula that combined both absolute and relative cell references. And we learned how to use the $ sign to create an absolute cell reference.
Now over to you … can you think of a use for absolute references which we didn’t cover here?
About the Author: Joseph Reese is the founder and chief formulas Expert at Excel-Formulas.com . If you want to improve your performance with Excel, head over to his website.

Ways of making money online

As my first post in the money making section, I would like to share the basic information regarding money making online. There are many ways to earn. All you need to know is the best suited way through which you can make easy money. 

The Internet is littered with opportunities to make a fast buck. While it rarely qualifies as a solitary source of income, the Net can easily help you supplement it. However, the amount you earn depends on the time and effort invested. We can divide them into 20 ways.


Blogging
If you're a passionate closet writer who wants to be published but can't find a way to do so, make each keystroke your way to wealth by penning your own blog. Starting a blog doesn't require extensive technical skills but it's important that you have expertise in the field you are writing on. This will attract visitors to your site. Building a large following will enable you to earn profit by luring advertisers, writing paid reviews or getting commissions for promoting other people's products.


Paid Writing

If maintaining a blog is difficult for you but you still want to indulge your passion for writing, you can jot down articles for other blogs or sites such as Weblogs, Helium or PayPerPost. Writing an e-book can also be a good option. E-books are investment free, with no cost for printing and shipping. If you have a strong command over languages, you can become a copy editor, where Webmasters will pay you to read articles and correct grammatical errors, sentence fragments, etc.


e-tuitions/Webinars

The demand for tutors is high and growing. So, if you like helping others learn, e-teaching could be the earning ticket for you. All you need to become an online tutor is expertise in your subject and a few spare hours per week. TutorVista, e-tutor, SmartThinking and Tutor.com are some of the sites you can enroll with. If you gain a good reputation as a coach, you could even conduct Webinars-lectures or seminars transmitted over the Net. College and university students are willing to pay to gain entry to a well-respected Webinar.


Affilliate/Reseller

For those who have the knack of selling, one of the best ways to make money online is to become an affiliate/reseller. An affiliate is a person who gets a commission for selling every product that he promotes, whether on his Website or through any other avenue such as eBay. You don't have to own the product. You only need to sign up for an affiliate program with a company and start selling its products under your referral link. Firms such as Commission Junction or Click Bank have a large pool of products.


Buying/Selling domains

Buying and selling domain names is another way to make money from home and requires very little investment or time. You can buy domains at their registration prices or even cheaper and trade them at a profit. However, always research on sites such as sedo.co.uk, afternic.com, ebay.com or other domain auction sites to get an estimate of the hottest selling names. The best way to find good ones is to use terminated domain lists, which contain several expired names that are back in the pool.


Freelancing for Professionals

Freelancing is a great option for professionals who are experts in their respective trades and know how to ensure customer satisfaction. Various freelancing and project-oriented sites allow companies that need help to describe their projects. Freelancers and small businesses offer bids, ideas or proposals, from which the buyers can choose what they find most suitable. Websites such as Elance cover everything from programming and writing to data entry and design, while RentACoder focuses on software programming.


Advertising

You can sell space on your Website or blog for advertisements and you earn when these ads are clicked by visitors to your site. The sorting and placing of ads is free. The profitability of pay-per-click advertising depends on the traffic level of the Website and, most importantly, on the clickthrough rate and cost per click. Google AdSense is the most popular option, while others are BidVertiser, Text Link Ads and Blogads. Direct banner and RSS feed are some other forms of online advertising.


GPT Programme

GPT or Get-paid-to sites are becoming increasingly popular among teens. You get paid for signing up for free Websites, newsletters, playing games and filling out online surveys. These are suitable for people who don't have a skill set but want to earn extra money. Taking online surveys is simple- register with a few legitimate, paid survey sites and answer questions. The topics range from shopping to politics. This might not help you make a living, but you can earn good pocket money. Contests2win is one of the trusted GPT Websites.


Online Marketing

Once a Website is created and optimised for search engine (SEO), the SEM or Search Engine Marketing begins. A treasure trove lies hidden here. An SEO/SEM expert, who is responsible for marketing a Website, can promote it in various ways. These include article marketing, writing press releases, forum posting, blog posting, submitting your site to directories and search engines, social bookmarking, etc. Most companies don't do this in-house and pay you to conduct the SEM for them.


Making themes

As more and more people seek an online presence, the demand for Website templates and WordPress (Blog) themes will keep increasing. If you are good at Web designing and coding, you can earn a lot from designing Web themes. In this segment, there are mainstream Websites, such as TemplateMonster and ThemeForest, which act as a marketplace where you can sell your themes. Templates are sold and priced depending on the rights and features that are bundled with them.


Selling photos

If you enjoy photography and are good with a camera, you could be sitting on a huge reserve of revenue. There are people who will be interested in your collection of images. Nowadays, it's easy to take your photos to the public, providing a convenient way to build a secondary income stream. Many stock photo agencies, such as Fotolia, Dreamstime and Shutterstock, offer incentives for people to earn from their photos.


Support & service

Providing coding or fixing other Webmasters' issues is another great way to earn extra bucks. There are simple jobs ranging from adding a script to setting up sites, but knowledge of Web coding is essential. One can offer support for Web CMS (content management systems) like Drupal or Joomla. After you are comfortable with your own installation, you can help other people to set these up and configure them.


Stock/forex trading

Joining the stock/forex market may seem a bit risky. However, you can start small and continue researching till you gain experience in this area. Once you do, it will be easy to earn from exchanging foreign currencies and/or stocks. Their rates fluctuate depending on supply and demand, and economic and political influences in the world. The aim of any trader is to spot which currency/stock is likely to rise or fall in value against another. The more time you put in, the more you will earn.


Selling your own brand

If you have a flair for designing cool images, don't bother about creating your own inventory. As long as your design can be printed on a product, you can pocket some money. You can upload designs on various Websites such as CafePress, and if somebody orders these designs, the company will print them and distribute the products. It could be designs for T-shirts, hats, bags, books, posters, calendars, greeting cards, etc. You will receive a commission for each sale. Other such sites include Lulu and Zazzle.


Virtual Assistant

Small businesses always need help in running their processes, but may not be willing to hire a full-time employee. As a virtual assistant, you are expected to perform practically any administrative task that a traditional secretary or assistant would, such as make travel reservations, handle expense reimbursements or pay bills. You can do it from the comfort of your home, interacting with clients either online or by phone. Your expertise will decide how much moolah you rake in.


Inbound call centre

Many companies, who are facing space constraints, especially those in metro cities, prefer to hire workers outside their offices or outsource certain processes. You can set up an inbound call centre at home to handle such jobs. Research different companies that are outsourcing their work as they may have opportunities for inbound call centre agents. You can work for more than one company. This can be either a part-time or fulltime engagement, depending on your need.


You Tube

If there's a dramatic performer hidden inside you who craves applause and adulation, upload yourself on YouTube. You can be a filmmaker, musician or comedian who wants a wider audience. Your earnings will come from ads displayed on your video page. This process is similar to the pay-per-click advertising program common to other Websites and blogs. Sites such as Flixya and Mediaflix can be helpful in this regard.


Researching for others

Don't be morose if you can't write, design or code. Lack of talent cannot stop you from making money online. If you're willing to work hard for a few hours a week, you can take up simple research jobs for other people who don't have the time to do it themselves. You could search for opportunities in organisations that provide funding for research and offer to assist them through online investigation.


Building Applications

With smartphones gaining popularity, the demand for their applications, or apps as they are popularly known, has also shot up. There are over 3 million apps for the iPhone and over a million apps in Google's Android market. Most of these are selling like hot cakes. Developing and selling your own smartphone app is becoming a lucrative way to make money on the Internet. Apps cost virtually nothing to develop and entail no storage or shipping costs. So they enjoy the best profit margins.


Transcription

Medical transcription involves making written copies of oral material dictated by doctors or other medical experts. These may include history and physical reports, clinical notes, consultation notes, reports, letters, psychiatric evaluation and so on. The dictated material needs to be transcribed swiftly and accurately, which is the most challenging aspect of the job. To become a medical transcriptionist, you need to have a good knowledge of medical terminology and a high typing speed along with accuracy.


Hope this information provides you the outlook on money making online. I will be giving you a detailed sketch on each and every method in my coming posts. Stay connected.



'Radiation' text message is fake


A fake text message warning people that radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant has leaked beyond Japan has been panicking people across Asia. The SMS message, purporting to come from the BBC, has been circulating around Asian countries since Monday. It warns people to take necessary precautions against possible effects of radiation. 

The BBC has issued no such flash but the hoax has caused particular panic in the Philippines. Some media reports suggest that workers and school children there were sent home after the rumours began to spread, prompting the Philippines government to issue an official denial. Disasters such as that currently unfolding in Japan often trigger a rise in scam texts and e-mails intended to fool users into downloading malware or simply to spread panic. 

The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) has told computer users to be wary of potential e-mail scams, as well as fake anti-virus and phishing attacks regarding the Japan earthquake and the tsunami disasters.

FAKE E-MAIL IN FULL

Japan Government confirms radiation leak at Fukushima nuclear plants. Asian countries should take necessary precautions. If rain comes, remain indoors first 24 hours. Close doors and windows. Swab neck skin with betadine where thyroid area is, radiation hits thyroid first. Take extra precautions. Radiation may hit Philippine at around 4 pm today. If it rains today or in the next few days in Hong Kong. Do not go under the rain. If you get caught out, use an umbrella or raincoat, even if it is only a drizzle. Radioactive particles, which may cause burns, alopecia or even cancer, may be in the rain.

"Such scams may contain links or attachments which direct users to phishing or malware-laden sites," it said.
In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology has held a press conference to reassure the public that they are safe even if radiation levels in Japan continue to rise.

On Tuesday morning, reactor 2 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant became the third to explode in four days. Radiation has reached harmful levels but there is no suggestion that it is affecting anything other than the immediate area. Officials have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30km (18 miles) to evacuate or stay indoors.

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Radiation fears after Japan blast

A one-year-old boy is checked for radiation exposure near the Fukushima plant  
As radiation levels near the plant rise, people are being checked for exposure
Radiation from Japan's quake-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has reached harmful levels, the government says.

The warning comes after the plant was rocked by a third blast which appears to have damaged one of the reactors' containment systems for the first time.

If it is breached, there are fears of more serious radioactive leaks.

Officials have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30km (18 miles) to evacuate or stay indoors.

The crisis has been prompted by last Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan.

On Tuesday morning, reactor 2 became the third to explode in four days at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
A fire also briefly broke out at the plant's reactor 4 on Tuesday and is believed to have led to radioactive leaks.

Reactor 4 had been shut down before the quake for maintenance but its spent nuclear fuel rods are still stored on the site.

Radiation levels in the Japanese capital - 250km (155 miles) away - were reported to be higher than normal, but officials said there were no health dangers.
In other developments:
  • A 70-year-old woman has been rescued alive from rubble in the coastal town of Otsuchi, five days after disaster
  • The Nikkei share index tumbled again, ending 10.55% lower, as the central bank pumped almost $100bn (£62bn) more cash into the financial system, a day after its record $183bn intervention
In a televised address, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: "There is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out."

No-fly zone
 
He said that those living within between 20km (12 mile) and 30km of the plant were at risk and should not leave their homes.
Residents within 20km have already been advised to evacuate, and the premier said anyone left in that exclusion zone must leave.

"Now we are talking about levels that can impact human health," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.
He told residents: "Please do not go outside. Please stay indoors. Please close windows and make your homes airtight.

"Don't turn on ventilators. Please hang your laundry indoors."

Japan also announced a 30-km no-fly zone around the reactors to prevent planes spreading the radiation further afield.

Radiation levels around Fukushima for one hour's exposure rose to eight times the legal limit for exposure in one year, said the plant's operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco).

The International Atomic Energy Agency said after Tuesday's blast that radiation dosages of up to 400 millisieverts per hour had been recorded at the site.

Exposure to over 100 millisieverts a year is a level which can lead to cancer, according to the World Nuclear Association.

On Monday, a hydrogen blast at the Fukushima plant's reactor 3 was felt 40km (25 miles) away. It followed a blast at reactor 1 on Saturday.

All explosions have followed cooling system breakdowns. Engineers are trying to prevent meltdowns by flooding the chambers of the nuclear reactors with seawater.

Japan's nuclear safety agency said it suspects Tuesday's blast may have damaged reactor 2's suppression chamber.

The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says that would make it a more serious incident than the previous explosions, which were thought just to have damaged the buildings housing the reactors.

Map showing effects of Japanese earthquake
The latest official death toll stands at about 2,400 - but some estimates suggest at least 10,000 may have been killed.

Thousands are still unaccounted for - including hundreds of tourists - while many remote towns and villages have not been reached.

More than 500,000 people have been made homeless.

The government has deployed 100,000 troops to lead the aid effort.

The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to warn against all non-essential travel to Tokyo and north-eastern Japan. British nationals and friends and relatives of those in Japan can contact the Foreign Office on +44(0) 20 7008 0000.