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!!