Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:
If you want to set an alarm in the Digital Alarm Clock for the same time everyday, just set the time and go to EDIT tab and select "Set Alarm On Startup". Also, take a look at the READ ME file for other instructions.

Tip 2:
While using CCleaner, bookmarks in your browser will NOT be lost even if you select HISTORY for cleaning. Yet, instead of adding bookmarks in your browser, using Only2clicks as your homepage to save the links of your favourite websites is a different experience altogether because of the thumbnail presentations!

What is a Bookmark?

Question Of The Week

What is a Bookmark?

In the web world, a Bookmark is not something a reader inserts into the pages of a book when he or she stops reading. In simple words, Web-Bookmarks are Internet shortcuts.

Most net-browsers allow you to save the address of a web site as "Add Bookmark" and most websites provide the option "Bookmark us" on top of their page. In Firefox, a Bookmark tab is provided in the menu bar. In Internet Explorer, Bookmarks are known as Favorites.

Web-based Bookmarking (Social Bookmarking) allow users save bookmarks on a remote web server in such a way that those bookmarks are not tied to one specific computer or browser. These shared bookmarks have become a means for users sharing similar interests.

Digital Alarm Clock

Program Of The Week

Digital Alarm Clock

First, I'll tell you why I needed an alarm clock in my PC. My internet connection has time limits for free downloads. If I continue downloading beyond that time, they will charge me extra (that too exponentially). So, I need an alarm to stop my downloads whenever I get involved with my browsing!

Although uTorrent is equipped with an easy-to-use scheduler, I thought you might need an alarm for other reasons if not for the same reason. This Digital Alarm Clock from Bluefive softwares can be set to display a message and play a sound at a time of your choice.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Website Of The Week

www.selfseo.com

This is another website which provides web-related tools (c.f.wgtools). SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. I am writing about this website because it helps to find the IP address of any website and the country from which that particular site is operating.

Since I was curious to find out some websites' origin, I thought that you would be interested in SEO too. The results provided by SEO are supposed to be correct because website servers will be using static IP address only and never a proxy. If a server uses a dynamic IP or presents a proxy, it can NOT be accessed by its viewers!

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:
MKVextractGUI is an additional plug-in tool available for MKVtoolnix. It can be used to extract audio streams and subtitles from a MKV file in a single click. Just place the MKVextractGUI inside MKVtoolnix folder in "Program Files".

Tip 2:

VirtualDubMod can extract subtitles from MKV files as SRT but it crashes most of the times during attempts to extract AAC audio streams. That's why you will need MKVextractGUI since MKVtoolnix per se won't do such extracting jobs.

Tip 3:

Unwanted communications to and from an IP address can be blocked by using firewall configuring programs.

Tip 4:

Whenever a user logs into a website, the site can determine the user's IP address and display a welcome message in the user's native language based on the country from which that IP originates from.

What is an IP Address?

Question Of The Week

What is an IP Address?

IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique number that distinguishes one device from another on the Internet. In layman's terms, it is the same as your house number. An IP address serves two principal functions; identification and location addressing. This enables one to communicate with other computers all over the world.

There are two versions of Internet Protocol.

IP version 4: Currently used by most of the network providers. However, with more and more computers accessing the internet, IPv4 addresses are running out quickly because they are limited to approximately four billion only (256 to the fourth power).

IP version 6: The replacement for IPv4 has a vast range of IP addresses, inexhaustible for all practical purposes. The estimated number of unique addresses in IPv6 is trillions of trillions!!

In IPv4, an IP address is made up of four numbers, each between 0 and 255. The general information is conveyed by the first number, and the specific identification of a computer within a network is usually made by the last number. The IP address 0.0.0.0 is usually reserved for the default network and the address 255.255.255.255 is used for broadcasts.

IP addresses can be permanent or temporary.

Dynamic IP Address: When a home PC dials the Internet service provider (ISP) through modem/ router, an IP address is temporarily assigned from a pool of available addresses for the duration of the call. This IP address is not static and could change the next time.

Static IP Address: An IP address that is fixed and never changes. A single or a block of static IPs can be obtained for a few extra bucks a month from most ISPs (usually meant for Email/ Website servers).

MKVtoolnix

Program Of The Week

MKVtoolnix

This is a video handling tool for MKV files. I wouldn't exactly call it a video editing tool because you can neither see the video frames nor re-encode them into other codecs/ filetypes like VirtualDubMod does.

Its installer creates a desktop icon named MKVmergeGUI. Once you open a MKV file in it, you can see the list of tracks (video, audio streams and subtitles) and chapters of video if available. Since MKV files can contain multiple audio streams and subtitles, you might want to retain only one audio stream and subtitle. Just select the tracks you want, then set the output file (see under FILE tab) and finally click on START MUXING. It takes less than a minute for a 700 MB file. So, the first important function of MKVmerge is Remuxing the tracks.

The second important function of MKVmerge is to Split/ Append MKV files (like VirtualDubMod does for AVI files). For Splitting, go to the GLOBAL tab, then ENABLE SPLITTING. You can select either a given size or duration or your own timecodes in HH:MM:SS. Do not select LINK FILES. Set the output file (see under FILE tab) and finally click on START MUXING. For joining two segments, click on APPEND under INPUT tab after opening the first segment and then set the output file (see under FILE tab) and finally click on START MUXING.

Buddys Forum

Website Of The Week

www.buddysforum.com

This is a discussion forum Related to Education, Health, Web Hosting, Broadband, DTH and Mobile services, Insurance, Jobs and what not? Naturally, you can expect a lot of personal opinions, guidance, reviews and recommendations. But, unfortunately, Buddys Forum is now in the budding stage and many of the sections are still waiting for a new thread. Perhaps... you can contribute!!

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

You can rearrange the thumbnails in Only2clicks.com alphabetically by using the buttons provided in the Left lower corner. Since I am having more than 30 thumbnails in my homepage, it helps me to locate a particular one quickly. You can also categorise the thumbnails into similar groups (Look for the tiny rectangular icon near the word HOME, just above ADD LINK).

Tip 2:

Nowadays, most of the software installations and even some websites are compelling the users to install their toolbar in our browser. While installing Orbit Downloader, it will ask your permission to install GrabPro which is actually a toolbar. Since GRAB++ (an integral part of Orbit) is what we need, it is upto you to select or omit GrabPro.

Tip 3:

If you want to check your bandwidth and download speed, there are many sites available in the web. But the first preference should be your own ISP's website. While doing the check, make sure that No Automatic Updates and No Downloader programs are running in the background. Obviously, beacuse they will interfere with the assessment!!

Bandwidth Vs Download Speed

Question Of The Week

Bandwidth Vs Download Speed

Are they same?

The answer is NO... because Bandwidth is the maximum traffic capacity of your Network and Download Speed is what you actually get. Let me explain...

Download Speed depends on two factors. One is Bandwidth. Another is Latency (Also called Delay). Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred during a second. It is normally expressed in bits per second.

Latency is the Round-Trip Time (Host Server -> Destination Server -> Host Server) taken for a small packet of data (usually 32 bytes) when you ping with CMD (Command Prompt). Pinging is a method to measure latency. Latency is normally expressed in milliseconds. Latency increases either if the distance between the Host Server (Your Computer) and the Destination Server (Any Website) increases or if there is a congestion in the traffic. But Latency will not necessarily decrease even if Bandwidth is increased. Why?

In simple terms, Bandwidth is like the width of a pipe. Latency indicates the time taken to cross a particular distance by the flow inside the pipe!! Both these factors together determine the end-result (Download Speed). Got it?

The next-time you communicate with your ISP (Internet Service Provider), don't forget to ask your actual Download speed!!

Orbit Downloader

Program Of The Week

Orbit Downloader

Although Orbit Downloader can be used as a general download manager, there is a specific reason for my mentioning it here. It supports all streaming media protocols and thus helps you to download media files (audio and video) whenever a website allows only online streaming and not user download.

After opening the webpage (in which your favourite media file is available for online streaming), start Orbit Downloader. Go to TOOLS in the menu bar and click on GRAB++ Now another window will open. Refresh the webpage and make sure that the media has started playing in the browser window. Now you will see the list of files in the GRAB++ window. You won't get any clue from the filename. Normally streamed media files are FLV (sometimes MOV). So, look for them under filetype. Highlght the one you want and click on DOWNLOAD. That's it. The download starts in the Orbit window.

Only2clicks

Website of the Week

www.only2clicks.com

Nowadays, most of the websites and even software installations are compelling the users to have them as the homepage for the browser. I have been using Only2clicks website for quite some time. You can view thumbnails of all your favourite websites in a single homepage. You just have to actively use the ADD, EDIT and DELETE buttons of thumbnails to make the homepage suitable to you. You can also group your favourite websites (if you have too many). Just check it out. I like it a lot. If you have something better, I am waiting to hear.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:
Of course, you can install both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows in your main PC itself by creating a partition in C Drive and boot whichever you want. But, it is a complex procedure and is meant for advanced users only. Moreover, you will need a lot of hard disk space (minimum of 20 Gb for 32-bit and 30 GB for 64-bit installations).

Tip 2:

If you want to enhance your gaming experience with 64-bit, it'll be better if you also upgrade your video card and update display drivers.

32-bit Vs 64-bit

Question Of The Week

32-bit Vs 64-bit

Which Is The Right Choice?

What Is 64-bit?

64-bit refers to the number of bits (the smallest unit of information on a PC) that can be processed or transmitted in parallel, or used as single element in a data format. The term is often applied to the following in a PC.

1. Microprocessor:

Indicates the width of the registers which are special high-speed storage areas within the CPU. A 64-bit microprocessor can process data that is represented by a minimum of 64 bits.

2. Operating system:

Refers to the minimum number of bits used to represent memory addresses.

Which Is The Right Choice?
Normally, the Operating system (OS) we are using in a PC is 32-bit version of Windows 7, XP, Vista, Linux or Mac. 64-bit OS gives multitasking ability (running many programs at the same time) with higher speed. Those users who fulfill at least the first 2 of the following criteria, can go for 64-bit version of their Operating system.

1. Those who own more than one PC!!

Always use 32-bit version of OS in your main PC. This is because most of the programs developed for 32-bit OS, won't work with 64-bit OS. Naturally if you have a second PC, you can try 64-bit OS in that.

2. 64-bit Compatible Hardware:

The PC on which you want to install 64-bit OS, should have a CPU capable of handling 64-bit data and a high capacity RAM (minimum 2 GB).

3. Crazy Gamers!!

If you are a great lover of PC games, 64-bit OS will give you a big time with large games specially created for 64-bit.

Unlocker

Program Of The Week

Unlocker

Have you ever tried to delete or rename a file or folder and got one of the following messages?

1. Cannot delete/ rename file: Access is denied.

2. There has been a sharing violation.

3. The source or destination file may be in use.

4. The file is in use by another program or user.

5. Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected.

If you are sure that no program running at that moment is using that file, you can try "Unlocker" next time you get such a message. After installation, Unlocker is added to context menu. Just right-click on the file or folder which you want to delete or rename and select Unlocker. If the file or folder is locked then a window will appear with a list of processes locking the file or folder. Click on "Unlock" and then you can delete or rename that file or folder. Alternatively, you can start Unlocker from the "Start Menu" or a desktop shortcut and choose the target file or folder.

Start64

Website Of The Week

www.start64.com

Are you planning to install 64 bit version of WINDOWS in your PC? This website will help you with Drivers, Program files, guidelines etc., All you have to do is think twice before installing 64 bit !!

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

If you enable "Clipboard Observation" in JDownloader Settings -> User Interface -> Toolbar Manager, whenever you copy a link from either a webpage or a text file, JDownloader's Linkgrabber will automatically parse the link. And, it doesn't matter whether you start JDownloader before copying the link or after.

Tip 2:

Java comes bundled with OpenOffice.org which means if you have installed OpenOffice in your PC, then Java is also there.

Tip 3:

I am using Windows XP Service Pack 3 without .NET framework. My PC is running smoothly with all programs except for a small problem. Scrolling through the menu of BS Player by a right-click becomes very slow while running videos in full screen.

What is .NET Framework?

Question Of The Week

What is .NET Framework?

Is it a Software Development Tool, Runtime Environment, Web Service Platform or Operating System? The answer is... it fits into each one in some or other way (For God's sake, don't ask me the explanations for those terms!! Kindly use GOOGLE SEARCH).

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a general-purpose software development platform, similar to Java, but built with internet in mind. It can be installed on computers operating on Microsoft Windows. It is a collection of tools and languages that all work together in a framework to build and deploy user programs. It includes a large library of coded solutions that address the common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the framework. Thus the .NET framework makes software development better, easier, and faster.

How does it concern the PC Users?

The answer is hidden in the above paragraph. In simple terms, if you want to use a program that has been developed with .NET framework, you should first install .NET framework in your Windows before installing that program.

But, it is not so simple to do it !! (That's why it became an issue to be discussed about). The complicating factors are large file sizes, frequent updates in the name of service packs and different versions which work in parellel.

Factor 1:
I know a program whose original file size is barely 2 MB, but it requires 200 MB of .NET Framework for its function!

Factor 2:
Frequent updates (service packs) to the .NET Framework are being sent via the Automatic Updates module of Windows. The problem is, if you want to format your C drive for some reason, then you'll have to lose sleep at least for a couple of nights to reinstall all these versions and updates correctly.

Factor 3:
Versions released so far are 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.5 and 4.0 and they work alongside each other. If a program has been developed with a particular version of .NET framework, you'll have to install that particular version of .NET framework in your Windows for that program to function properly. The result is just that you would be installing all of them.

If you want to install .NET Framework in your PC, here is the final piece of information. Windows Vista includes upto Version 3.0 and Windows 7 includes upto Version 3.5 while Windows XP includes none (Courtesy: Wikipedia). A consolation for Windows XP users is the fact that they can straightaway go for Version 3.5 (Web Installer) which will automatically install the previous versions also. But remember to reserve at least 1 GB in your C drive.

Java Vs .NET framework?
Although this is a valid question, it is beyond our scope. It can be discussed from two different views. The answer from the point of view of an ordinary PC user may be different from that of a software developer. My only suggestion is... if you haven't installed Java in your PC yet, kindly do it now!!

JDownloader

Program Of The Week

JDownloader

Do you prefer Direct Downloads over Torrents? This is a pretty good FREE software. JDownloader is open source, OS independent and requires Java Runtime Enviroment 1.5 or higher. Starting from Rapidshare and Megaupload, it supports downloads from nearly 250 file storage websites.

Just copy the download link and click on "Add URL" in Linkgrabber tab of JDownloader. If it is just a webpage (batch download for music files etc.), it will scan the webpage and will you the list of all files available for download in that page. You can right-click on whichever file you want and start the download.

Some websites may present the download links in a container file (CCF, DLC etc.,). Just download the container file and load it with "Add Container" button in the Linkgrabber tab.

Whozzat

Website Of The Week

www.whozzat.com

There are many websites in the net which offer free SMS service from PC to mobiles. When I tested a few websites for free SMS service, I found some problems.

1. Website's phone number in place of SENDER.
2. Website name in place of SENDER.
3. Advertisement following main message.
4. A preliminary message announcing that "The following user is trying to send you a message. Select REPLY after reading it".

Obviously a REPLY through the same path will cost more than an ordinary mobile to mobile SMS. It means that the website is earning from our friend for serving us free! Moreover, some websites ask our email's password! NEVER give and never visit that website again.

Whozzat doesn't have the above mentioned problems. It displays your mobile number in place of SENDER. This website offers Free SMS to Indian mobiles only and is one of the best in business. You can save your friends' mobile numbers in the PHONEBOOK.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

If you are attempting to record an online stream into MP3 file as I have described, you should be careful not to touch the VOLUME and MUTE buttons of your keyboard while the recording is going on. Since we are just redirecting the audio output into Mic, any changes unknowingly made by you by touching the VOLUME and MUTE buttons will affect the recording.

Tip 2:

Instead of Sony Audio Studio, you can also use Nero Wave Editor to record audio tapes and online streams into MP3 files.

Tip 3:

The displayed results in Speedtest.net mean only the BANDWIDTH for download and upload streams. The ACTUAL download and upload speeds will fall between 10 to 15% of the bandwidth. To find out the dfference between bandwidth and actual download speed, kindly click HERE.

How To Record Audio Tapes into MP3?

Question Of The Week

How To Record Audio Tapes into MP3?

Many a times, you would've wanted to download a particular rare song from internet. But it wouldn't be available. You might just have that song in your old audio tapes.
What would you do?
Very simple. Convert it into MP3!! All you need is a stereo cable with 3.5 mm stereo pins at both ends (and of course, Sony Audio Studio program).
Step 1:
Connect one end of the cable to HEADPHONES socket of your tape recorder. Connect the other end to MICROPHONE socket in the front panel of your PC.
Step 2:
Double click on the REALTEK Audio Manager Tray Icon in the task bar (Right Lower corner of Desktop). Go to Audio I/O -> Analog -> Connector Settings. Unselect "Mute Rear Panel Output When Front Headphone Plugged In". Then select "Disable Front Panel Jack Detection".
Step 3:
Right click on the VOLUME icon in the task bar. Click on ADJUST AUDIO PROPERTIES. A new window named SOUNDS and AUDIO DEVICES PROPERTIES will open up. Go to Audio -> Sound Playback -> Volume. Now another window named MASTER VOLUME will open up. You will find a series of Volume controls. Keep the MASTER VOLUME about halfway. See that MIC volume is not muted. If you don't find MIC volume at all, go to OPTIONS -> PROPERTIES of the MASTER VOLUME window and select MIC volume in the given list.
Step 4:
In the SOUNDS and AUDIO DEVICES PROPERTIES window, go to Audio -> Sound Recording -> Volume. Select MIC Volume and keep the window open... You'll need it.
Step 5:
Open your Sony Audio Studio. You'll find the menu bar starting with FILE, EDIT etc, as usual. Below that you can see two Icon bars. Click on the first icon of first icon bar. A new window named SOUND1 will open. Now, Click on the first icon of second icon bar. Another window named RECORD - SOUND1 will open. Choose the mode as MULTIPLE TAKES. Select MONITOR; it will show you the decibel levels of both channels of stereo.
Step 6:
Start playing your favourite song in the tape recorder. Now see the decibel levels in the RECORD - SOUND1 window. You should see two active greenish columns with a yellowish tinge on top. If you don't see active columns, kindly repeat Step 2 now. If you happen to see Orange/Red tops, go to SOUND RECORDING Volume Control window which we kept open in step 3. Adjust the selected MIC Volume until the decibel levels in the RECORD - SOUND1 window reach the desired levels (Greenish columns with a yellowish tinge on top). Then press the STOP button of your tape recorder and REWIND it to the starting point of the song.
Step 7:
Click on the RECORD icon in the RECORD - SOUND1 window. Then press the PLAY button in your tape recorder. When the song is finished, click on the RECORD icon again in the RECORD - SOUND1 window and CLOSE it. Now SAVE the SOUND1 file. That's it. Congratulations. You have converted your favourite song into MP3 successfully.
P.S:
You can open the saved file later to trim the edges (Unwanted recording before starting and after stopping the tape recorder). Read the HELP section of Sony Audio Studio to CUT, COPY and PASTE !!

Registry Defrag

Program Of The Week

Registry Defrag

Windows registry is the most often used part of your computer. All configuration data of both your hardware devices and software applications are stored in the Windows registry. Although CCleaner is an excellent program in cleaning the junk, it lacks an important functionality called Defragging the Registry.

Defragging is a short form of Defragmentation which means Rearrangement. It becomes necessary because after the removal of invalid registry keys by CCleaner, Windows Registry somewhat becomes fragmented (disarranged files). Fragmentation can cause problems in running some applications and thus slowing down your PC.

Registry Defrag is a FREE software. It analyses your registry and defrags it if the fragmentation is significant (more than 2%).

Speedtest

Website Of The Week

www.speedtest.net

You can test your bandwidth usually with your Internet Service Provider's website. If, for some reason, you want to test your bandwidth somewhere else, there are many sites available in the web. But, most of them are inaccurate because they do it with only one server located somewhere in the world. Since the Latency (pinging time) varies according to the distance between the server and the user, test results are usually atrocious.

Speedtest website utilises 100s of servers located all over the world and minimises the latency as much as possible and hence the test results are good. If you retain their cookie, you can even view all of your previous results, share them easily, and compare them to others in your immediate area or around the globe.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

In CCleaner Options -> Settings, "Wipe Free Space" is different from "Wipe MFT Free Space". Although the second one gains some space in hard disks which use NTFS file system, don't run it too often. May be, once a month will do. While performing it, you should also select the "Wipe Free Space" option in the advanced section of the cleaner module. MFT means Master File Table.

Tip 2:

You can use System Restore in SAFE MODE when your Windows has a booting problem. Restart your computer, press and hold F8 until you get to the boot menu. Use the arrow keys to select the SAFE MODE WITH COMMAND PROMPT option. At the command prompt, type

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

and then press ENTER. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to a functional state. But remember... when you restore your system through Safe Mode, the result will not be reversible unlike the System Restore function in Normal mode.

How To Use System Restore?

Question Of The Week

How To Use System Restore?

System Restore can undo harmful changes in your computer and restore your settings. Such a harmful change might come from a virus or you yourself might have done something inadvertently. System Restore returns your computer to an earlier time (called Restore Point) without causing you to lose your recent works, saved files, history etc.,

Although your computer automatically creates Restore Points, you can also create Restore Points using System Restore function (Start -> Programs ->Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore). Then if you want to restore your system, use the same path, select Restore my computer and choose the date and restore point. That's it.

System Restore is enabled on all drives by default when the operating system is installed. Since System Restore is essential only in C drive, you can turn it off in other drives (Start -> Control Panel -> System). In the System Properties dialog box, go to System Restore tab (System Protection in Vista). Now highlight each drive and turn it off. For C drive, allocate around 1 GB for System Restore. It will be taking 12% of your drive space by default but that much is not necessary.

Antivirus programs can affect whether your system can be restored to a previous point or not. If a restore point contains an infected file because the Antivirus program is not set to clean the file within the restore point, or if an infected file has been removed from a restore point by an Antivirus program because it could not be cleaned, System Restore will not recover the computer to this partial or infected state.

The final point is... all changes made by System Restore are completely reversible. Thus, if you are not satisfied with the changes after effecting System Restore to a particular Restore Point, you can simply revert the changes by a single click (Use the same path).

CCleaner

Program Of The Week

CCleaner

There are two important modules in this program. Its cleaner module finds out temporary and junk files in your PC and deletes them with our permission. Its registry module scans and removes the invalid registry keys from Windows Registry (Uninstallation of programs and deleting the stored files will result in Invalid registry keys).

It also has some optimisation settings of which I am impressed by... 1.TOOLS -> Startup Manager (You can disable unwanted applications starting with Windows) and 2.OPTIONS -> Cookies (You can keep important cookies).

I am using this program once in a week or so, to clean and speed up my system (If you are not using your PC frequently, once in a fortnight or a month will do). Once you know what this program is doing, you will become addicted to it. Just taste it. It's a FREE software. And it takes your PC to a new level of performance.

IPL

Website Of The Week

www.ipl.org

This is nothing about cricket. It is a merger of the Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians' Internet Index (LII). That's why it is named as IPL2. If you thought it is just another "...pedia" website, please wait! This website is not about indices of information but indices of website addresses!!

The idea sounds good. Ain't it? Website links are given for various topics ranging from Arts to Science. There is even a section for Newspapers and Magazines in which I found some of my local newspapers!! If you have a particular doubt, you can ask IPL2 Librarian. You can also suggest a website to be added here. This website is claimed to be maintained by students and volunteer professionals of renowned universities around the globe.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

If you visit the homepage of Guardster, you will find two more services there. But, of course, they are NOT free. One is SSL Proxy Subscription which differs from the Free Web Proxy service by being FASTER and ENCRYPTED. Although it is encrypted, it is not enough to provide secure connections for large data transfer. That's why there is a Secure SSH Tunnel & SOCKS Proxy service. This is useful to counter the throttling measures of ISPs with anti-P2P policy.

Tip 2:

There is a small danger in using Hotkey CD Eject. You may accidentally press the hotkey to eject the DVD drive during burn process. I will tell you what I have done. Unlock the number pad in your keyboard by pressing NUM LOCK (See LED Indicator or Tray icon). Then open Hotkey CD Eject Settings and choose NUM 0 in the number pad as the hotkey. Now, lock the number pad to guard against accidental hits. Of course, this makes two hotkeys in effect. But, this is faster than clicking on the graphic button in Nero Drivespeed because Nero Startsmart takes sometime to start its modules.

What is a Magnet Link?

Question Of The Week

What is a Magnet Link?

In recent times you would have seen the words "Magnet Link" frequently in your favourite torrent websites as an alternative for downloading torrent files.

Magnet link is just an inspiration of... or shall we say, adaptation of ED2K link. Such a link typically identifies a file not by location or name, but by the content; more precisely, by the content's cryptographic hash value (signature of a file) which is similar to an ISBN or catalog number. However, these content-based signatures (MD5 checksums) can be generated by anyone who already has the file, and so do not need a central authority to issue them.

That's why, magnet links do not need trackers. They just use DHT (Distrubted Hash Table). The biggest advantage of DHT is that you might be able to download the content of the torrent, even if the tracker is down or reserved for registered users only. Nowadays, most of the torrent programs support magnet links. If you enable magnet URLs in the settings of a torrent program, all you have to do to download the content of the torrent is just click on the words "Magnet Link" in your favourite torrent website.

Hotkey CD Eject

Program Of The Week

Hotkey CD Eject

This is a tiny but very useful program. It fixes a hotkey in your keyboard to Open/ Close the DVD drive (Not applicable for Lap-tops). After installing it, you will see its icon in the tray. Right-Click on it and press SETTINGS. The first option is DEFAULT DRIVE. If you have more than one drive, then you can fix a different hotkey for each drive. The second option is HOTKEY. Just Left-Click once in that box and ignore the Slash. Now press the any key which you want keep as the hotkey to Open/ Close the DVD drive.

The third option is AUTOCLOSE. You can either keep it DISABLED or choose something between 5 to 20 seconds from the drop-down menu. The final option is START WITH WINDOWS. If you are frequently using your DVD drive, then keep it checked. Otherwise, read MY POST on why you shouldn't enable START WITH WINDOWS for too many programs.

Guardster

Website Of The Week

www.guardster.com/free

Those who are already using proxy setup for their browsers can skip this post. This website helps those users who have a static IP address to browse the web anonymously and protect their identity from the sites they browse. Their requests appear to be coming from Guardster servers so that third parties can't find their IP (Internet Protocol) address. Just enter the website name you want to see, select NO COOKIES and click surf anonymously. That's it.

On the contrary, those who browse the web from behind their ISP (Internet Service Provider) servers, won't benefit much from this guarded browsing because such ISPs assign the users a different IP address randomly whenever they connect to internet. To check your IP address, Right-Click on your network icon after connecting to internet. See STATUS -> DETAILS -> CLIENT IP ADRRESS or simply click HERE.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

DeepBurner doesn't provide a proper Disc Information like Type of disc (CD/DVD, R/RW) and Size of disc (Used space and Free space) etc., You better make things sure before clicking on the BURN button.

Tip 2:

DeepBurner's GUI may not impress you at the first sight. After clearing the two mini-choice windows, you'll see 3 columns in the CD-1 window. Select CD/DVD files in the left column and then Right-click on "CDRoot" in the middle column and add files/ folders (change the volume name if you want to). The right side column shows the log. Skip AUTORUN and PRINT LABEL in the left column and go to BURN DISC straightaway unless you are creating a Bootable CD/DVD with a printed label.

eMule Vs uTorrent

Question Of The Week

eMule Vs uTorrent
Which is Better?

When you read last week's Question (ED2K Vs Kad), you might have thought if that was the logical question. TRUE!! The logical question is ED2K Vs Torrent OR eMule Vs uTorrent. The answer is simple. Use uTorrent for new and popular files and eMule for old and rare files!! There are some reasons for that.

1. For new and popular files, you'll get a variety of choices in terms of file size and quality. You'll find the description of the downloadable file in umpteen number of torrent websites. Even though eMule's SEARCH tab provides us file size, we won't get sufficient description to assess the quality.

2. Apart from the file description, you might also want to read comments from the users who have already downloaded the file. You will find such comments in most of the popular torrent websites. Even though eMule provides space for comments (Right-click on the file name after adding it for download), I don't find many comments there.

3. I have already told you that eMule is very keen about saturating your upload speed limit but not download limit. It usually maintains the upload: download ratio approximately about 1:5 and rarely it goes upto 1:10. This ratio won't bother DSL users since they have equal bandwith for uploads and downloads. In ADSL connections upload bandwith is only about 10 to 20% of download bandwith. Since some amount of upload bandwith is required for non-data transfer (Overhead), surely ADSL users will prefer uTorrent for new and popular files since it maintains the upload: download ratio upto 1:20 or even more. Download Speeds on uTorrent are typically higher, due to the fact that there are no queues for downloaders.

4. One last difference I want to mention is that we can't set download/ upload limits seperately for each download in eMule while it is possible in uTorrent which restricts the upload speed limit as low as 1 KB per file. This feature may be important for some users who would like to set different upload speed limits for different files.

DeepBurner

Program Of The Week

DeepBurner

If you are a big fan of Nero, kindly skip this post. Those who are uncomfortable with the price, file size and/or functions of Nero, please take a note of this program. It is a tiny DVD Burner program. It has the functions of Nero Burning ROM and Nero Express (Burn data CDs/DVDs, Burn AudioCDs, Create and burn ISO images, Bootable CD/DVD support) and it is FREE.

The only functionality missing is Burn Video DVDs. But I wouldn't bother much about it because of two reasons. First, most of the video files downloaded from internet are usually AVI, WMV, MKV, MP4 etc., and they can be written as Data DVDs. Second, you can still add AUDIO-TS and VIDEO-TS folders from Movie DVDs to be written as Data DVDs if they can be read by your standalone DVD player.

The creators of DeepBurner have also released a priced version called DeepBurnerPro which can Burn Video DVDs and make Disk-to-Disk copies.

The final statement is I myself am a big fan of Nero and I like most of its functions. At present, the only problem for me is my hard disk space. I am planning to buy a new hard disk sooner or later and then I would like to install Nero version 10 with most of its features.

Filehippo

Website Of The Week

www.filehippo.com

Last week we saw Oldapps in which old versions of free software are available. This week I present you with Filehippo which provides the latest versions of free and trial software. Similar to Oldapps, programs are presented under different categories for the users' convenience.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

In SERVERS tab of eMule, you'll see the list of known servers. If you hit the CONNECT button, eMule will randomly connect to a server. To update them regularly, go to OPTIONS -> SERVER and select "Update server list when connecting to a server". Uncheck the options "Update server list when a client connects and Autoupdate on startup". Next time when you go to SERVERS tab, click on FILES to show in descending order. Choose the top one (Usually eDonkey server No.2). Right click and then CONNECT. Always connect to ED2K Network manually like this.
Tip 2:

To connect to Kad network for the first time after downloading eMule, use the BOOTSTRAP button.

* Connect to the ED2K network.

* Queue up a few downloadable files

* Wait for eMule to find sources.

* Change to the Kad Tab.

* Activate "From known clients" option.

* Finally press the BOOTSTRAP button.

And remember that the BOOTSTRAP button is for first use only. After that, simply click on the CONNECT button whenever you want to connect to Kad network.
Tip 3:

In ED2K Network, you'll have to earn credits from other users by uploading to them. Only then you'll get to download from many sources at once, and that's when you'll start seeing truly decent download speeds.I am not sure if this credit system applies to Kad Network. So, it would be wise to connect to the ED2K Network first whenever you open eMule. Wait until your upload limit gets saturated by ED2K and then connect to the Kad about 5 minutes later.
Tip 4:

There is one more program called eMule Plus from the creators of eMule. It's main advantage is improved GUI (Graphical User Interface). But there are two big disadvantages. It provides support only for ED2K network, not for Kad. And you can't expect faster downloads without Kad. Secondly, it won't encrypt the data transfer (Obfuscation). In some countries, there are some ISPs (Internet Service Provider) with anti-P2P policies who will throttle the user's bandwidth if they find out P2P data transfer. That's why Obfuscation is necessary.
Tip 5:

If your internet connection has got time limits for free data transfer, be cautious in running eMule. Because, even if you don't intend to download anything (STOPPED all downloads), the moment you hit the CONNECT button for some other purpose (SEARCH), eMule will start uploading the shared files (all files in the download list are "shared" by default). Such uploaded data will be added to your ISP account and don't faint when you see the monthly bill !!

Tip 6:

Even though you can find old and rare files just with a single click in eMule's SEARCH tab, don't forget Google Search and Rapidshare. They still come to your rescue whenever you can't find a file in Torrents and eMule.

ED2K Vs Kad

Question Of The Week

ED2K Vs Kad

Which is more fruitful?

ED2K is a peer-to-peer (p2p) file sharing protocol. It allows sharing of all file types from multiple sources (similar to torrents). The ED2K network is not supported by any organisation and works fully supported by its users alone.

There are many programs that act as the user-clients of the ED2K network. The first one was eDonkey2000 (Currently eMule represents about 90% of all clients in the ED2K network). ED2K client programs connect to the network to share files. The network relies on central servers run by users willing to donate the necessary bandwidth and disk usage (most popular is eDonkey server) which act as communication hubs for the clients, allowing users to locate files within the network. Files on the ED2K network are uniquely identified using MD4 root hash (a cryptographic calculation or simply to say... signature of a file). This treats files with identical content as the same (file names don't matter).

Some websites (mostly European) list the hash of popular files in the form of an ED2K link. Some of these websites also have lists of active ED2K servers for users to update (peerates.net). As the number of servers and their addresses change frequently, client programs have to update their server lists regularly. If the biggest ED2K server collapses, the Network potentially could be crippled until more servers come to facilitate because ED2K depends on Servers to work. Since the ED2K servers were subjected to heavy traffic, the eMule Project developed a new network of their own called Kademlia (Kad).

Kademlia is a routing algorithm designed to find computers on a network that are closest to you out of a list of computers your client program knows about. Kad network has now grown up with more users and sharing more files than ED2K!! It helps to find more sources for quicker file download. But it also comes with a small price to pay. All clients have to contact each other for finding sources. Being connected to the Kademlia network does incur additional overhead for processing (Overhead is the bandwidth used to recieve/send non-data traffic, such as exchanging sources info). So which network is better? The answer is...

NEITHER!! In fact, the only difference between the Networks is how you connect and how source finding and searches are performed. The files on each network are not completely different at all. However, at times, one might have more users than the other making the amount of files higher. So, the wise users connect to both networks while running eMule.

eMule

Program Of The Week

eMule

When I started using Broadband, I learned about the torrent downloading program - uTorrent - during the first month itself. But, it took nearly two and a half years for me to rediscover a damn useful downloader program - eMule. I might have come across the name somewhere before... I'm not sure. But only a couple of weeks back, when I was searching for a rare movie in Google Search, I stumbled upon an ED2K link (see Question of this Week) and that made me read about eMule.

This is a downloader program using P2P (peer to peer) file sharing protocol similar to uTorrent. The main difference is... there is no need of a .TORRENT file and that automatically rules out the need of torrent websites and their trackers. But I started loving eMule for some other reason...

I used to search a lot of webpages to find download links of old and rare movies which are not available as torrents. After finding the download links (usually fragmented .RAR files), it will take quite a patient effort to download those files from file storage servers like Rapidshare. Now, eMule has eliminated both these problems for me to save time and energy.

Just click on the CONNECT tab in eMule and then type the filename (however rare it is) in the SEARCH tab. You will get the results in a few seconds along with some description. I usually check the runtime for movies (with that of IMDB), the filesize and then, the available number of sources. Just highlight the chosen file and click DOWNLOAD. I was overjoyed when I found out this program because we can PAUSE/ RESUME the download whenever we want, just like in uTorrent (Remember, we can't PAUSE/ RESUME the downloads from file storage servers except Megaupload).

Even though, eMule maintains its overall upload limit strictly rather than the download limit, it is not a nagging problem if you make multiple downloads at the same time.

Although the settings of eMule are slightly lengthier than uTorrent, they can be done. Just click HERE. If you still have some doubts, click on the HELP tab in eMule to read about the settings in its homepage.

Oldapps

Website Of The Week

www.oldapps.com

Do you strongly believe in the adage "OLD IS GOLD"? Well, so does this website. That's why it is providing downloads of old versions of popluar programs. And, of course, they are free. Since I prefer to use a couple of old versions too, I thought some of you might be interested to take a look at this website. Programs are presented in different categories for the viewer's convenience.

Tips Of The Week

Tip 1:

I wrote about Virtual Camera not only for its use but also to alert those new internet users who naively think that what they are watching from their so-called internet-friends, is LIVE. It may just be a recorded file being telecast through programs like Virtual Camera!!

Tip 2:

Apart from the Link-Checker, Web-Geek site offers some more utilities namely 1.ConvertText, 2.Password Generator, 3.Check Your IP Address. ConvertText is meant for advanced users only. According to me, IP Address thing is not a utility at all (I can find it in my network icon itself and yet many sites are offering it). Thus, the only other useful tool is Password Generator.

Tip 3:

There are (were?) two types of formatting; 1.High Level formatting (Erases drive/partition completely), 2.Low Level formatting (No data loss). There are some Low Level formatting programs available to mark and fix the bad sectors. But it is said that low level formatting cannot be done by the end user nowadays because modern hard disks undergo low level formatting at the factory only and they will ignore any commands sent to reformat them. If you still want to try without backing up, you are doing it at the risk of losing data!

What is a Bad Sector?

Question Of The Week

What is a Bad Sector?

Hard drives usually have several platters. The platters are the discs which are covered with magnetic material that is used to hold data. Platters are divided into a set of concentric rings called tracks. Hard drives have thousands of such tracks. Each of these tracks is divided into smaller storage areas called sectors. A sector is the smallest storage area on a disk. Hard drives contain millions of sectors.

It is very normal for some of these sectors to be bad sectors, even when the drive is first manufactured. In addition, a small number of sectors will normally go bad during the lifespan of a drive. When this happens, the data in those sectors may be lost.

There are two kinds of Bad sectors on hard disk; 1.Soft, 2.Physical or Mechanical. Physical bad sector is caused by hard disk damage due to dirt, fall, collision etc., Very often, it manifests as a result of failing "Read-Write-Head". Frequently, such bad sectors are early signs of disk crash as they tend to deteriorate over time. Soft bad sector can be caused by sudden power off when hard disk is busy or errors of operating system.

While running your computer, you may receive error messages suggesting that your hard disk might contain bad sectors. The errors are typically flagged as "CRC" or "Cyclic Redundancy Check". If the disk is still working well, important data should be backed up immediately to avoid further data loss. You would have frequently noted such Cyclic Redundancy Check alerts with scratched CDs/DVDs.

Replacing your hard disk is not the first/immediate solution. Before that, Formatting your hard drive might help. A full format (High Level) process should be able to mask the bad sectors (especially soft ones) or mark them in file allocation table. One could continue to use the disk while the operating system will take notice of the location of bad sectors and avoid them altogether. But remember, Mechanical or Physical bad sectors deteriorate sooner or later and need replacement.

Modern hard drives come with many spare sectors. When a sector is found to be bad by the disk controller, it remaps the logical sector to a different spare sector. CHKDSK utility provided by Windows Operating System may help to detect and mark the bad sectors.

Virtual Camera

Program Of The Week

Virtual Camera

Do you chat with internet friends? Don't you have a webcam? No need to worry. Virtual Camera is a virtual software camera that can be installed on Windows XP. It needs no webcam. It can use your media files like pictures and video clips to be broadcast to your friends. If you install a web cam, Virtual Camera can easily switch its input to your real camera if you want to. Virtual Camera coordinates with most of the popular chatting tools.

Web Geek Tools

Website Of The Week

www.wgtools.com

This website hosts a number of Web-Geek Tools. Among them, the most useful one I found was Link-Checker. As the name implies, it helps to find out if a given set of download links are working at this moment or not. It supports nearly 50 file storage websites starting from Rapidshare, Megaupload etc., Just copy the download links you found somewhere, paste them in the box provided and click on CHECK LINKS. It saves you time and energy because if one or two files are missing, other downloaded files will become a waste.