Say goodbye to Netscape Browser

One of the first browser that many of us had once used will officially say goodbye on 1st Febuary 2008.

Netscape Navigator started in Oct 1994 and was took over by AOL on Nov 1998 for $4.2 billion.

But well there are still so many browsers available although internet explorer and firefox remain to be the most popular in these few years.

Eight features you didn’t know about in Ubuntu

Ubuntu has caused GNU/Linux based operating systems to have many reviews recently, most concentrating on the more flashy parts such as the infamous rotating cube or wobbly windows provided by compiz fusion, rather than the things that actually make it such a enjoyable operating system to use.

I tried to pick some features that I have not seen mentioned before - these are some of the things that change my everyday use of the computer, so I feel they are worth mentioning. Some of the below features are provided by Gnome, some by Compiz Fusion. All are not exclusive to Ubuntu, but as that’s what I have installed at the moment I’ll demo them on that.

1. Clicking on the date shows your calendar from Evolution. I have linked my google calendar, so that’s shown here. Although I love this feature, it’s really about the system wide integration that OSS seems to promote. Windows just tries to change the time when you click it’s clock.

2. Keep windows on top. I use this so often, whether it’s IM windows or when writing an assignment, it’s nice to have things kept on top. I often copy data from websites into a document using this technique.



3. Add emblems to files. Since using System 6 on the Mac and being able to label files I have missed this. There are loads of emblems that can be overlaid on file icons to remind you to do things. I often mark assignments as completed or work in progress using this.



4. The recently released Gnome Do. It’s awesome! This is new, but has a lot of potential. Try it!



5. Icons for removable media change to represent the media in question. I use this to easily distinguish between camera cards, iPods, and memory sticks. This is such a genius idea and makes things simpler when working quickly.



6. The scale plug in for compiz fusion rearranges your windows and scales them down to fit the screen. Useful when working with loads of windows. They are still updated in real time as well, so videos still play etc. Again, simple but effective.



7. Avant window navigator (AWN) provides a nice little dock that looks good and works well.



8. Representing virtual desktops as a wall seems more logical than a cube to me. Get this by pressing meta+E when running compiz fusion. Straightforward and easy to use.



source taken from : http://richbradshaw.wordpress.com/2007/12/10/featuresyoudidntknowinubuntulinux/

New Western Digital HD disabling Media transfer over network

Some product to give it a miss I would say.

image from : http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/images/2007/12/06/wdfmybook_world_1n_2.jpg

The new 1 TB Western Digital HD is disabling media file transfer over the network.
That means you are not able to transfer file formats listed here:
(ACC,AIF,AIFC,AIFF,AMF,ASF,ASXAVI,CDA,DVI,DVIX,,FAR,IT,ITZ,KAR,MDZ,MOV,
MP1,MP2,MP3,MP4,MPA,MPE,MPEG,MPG,MPGA,MPV2,OGG,OKT,PTM,QT,QT1,
VOB,VOC,WM,WMA,WMV

Basically all your common media formats are denied and even those not media linked format are being blocked too. I think one can only transfer powerpt,word,pdf,applications using this super ultra big 1 TB harddrive. Think perhaps it will really take us a few years of hard work before we can fill it up.

But one thing to take note is that I personally feel that the design of this hdd is rather nice :P

Facebook -- Increasing number of clone accounts

Written by: Windslash

As read previously from techcrunch, facebook currently increasing at a rate of 250,000 new accounts per day. But ever since a few months after they release their API. I have started to notice a new trend - clone accounts.

Why the increase of clone accounts in facebook?
Not as though people wanted to create clone accounts to cheat or scam but that due to the applications add-ons creating such an effect in users.

Especially in gaming where users get rewarded for recruiting new players in or that creating multiple accounts to gain an edge over other players.

A few examples would be the recently popular facebook gaming apps, WarBook and Dota.
In WarBook, players fight to gain more lands and to recruit more armies and golds. By recruiting a new player, you will receive 150,000 gold. Also, with multiple accounts, one would be able to use their "main" account to farm on their "bank" aka their multis.

While in Dota, the more allies one have the more likely you will win when verus-ing another player. Also, items would be cheaper if you get another player to buy and send to you. So, naturally, there will be player creating multiple accounts to give themselves a better stand over the rest.

So, I believe facebook accounts will be increasing at an exponential rate. But, unique visitors will not reflect that high. Just my point of view.

Google Pre-Launches New iPhone Interface

by Michael Arrington

We heard a rumor that Google was going to launch a new interface for users accessing the site via an iPhone in the next few days. But an anonymous tip let us know it actually launched without any warning or announcement this evening. If you visit Google.com from an iPhone, you now get a menu of services to choose from - home (search box), Gmail, Calendar, Reader and More (docs, sms, goog-411, news, photos, blogger and notebook). It’s basically all of the core Google services, accessible from a single easy to use menu. The new application has what is now considered a signature look for the iPhone. The look and feel of many of the interface elements are similar to those created by Joe Hewitt, whose sample framework and code have been used in dozens of iPhone applications (see his Facebook product here). I don’t know if Google used any of his freely offered code, but it certainly has the look of one of his applications.

Accessing the site through other mobile devices continues to deliver the old Google Mobile interface.

More pictures of the interface are below, created with a simulator. Real but poor quality images are here.



Source taken from : here

Interesting ads in google ads

what can you see in this google ad.. do not worry.. it's just a image..


<< facebook ads marketing










<< yahoo ads marketing



So facebook and yahoo have both taken a step forward to advertise their advertising ad in google adwords. So what if google was to advertise in facebook and yahoo ads?
so basically they are all just doing free marketing? since the money they earn from one will just be used to advertise back. Circular advertising.. sounds rather cool

source : http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/28/straight-out-of-left-field-google-experimenting-with-digg-style-voting-on-search-results/

Google Experimenting With Digg Style Voting On Search Results

If you saw this one coming, give yourself a very large prize. Google is experimenting with Digg style voting features on search results that allow users to vote up or bury search results they see.

The program, part of Google Labs, works like this:

This experiment lets you influence your search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results. When you search for the same keywords again, you’ll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you’ve made.

At the moment the results of the program will only be stored per user and not applied to the general search index, so that sites buried (”I don’t like”) will not appear in future results for the user, where as sites voted up will stay up. Google Labs notes that “this is an experimental feature and may be available for only a few weeks,” still, who would have thought that Google would even experiment with Digg style social voting.

Screen shot below directly from the programs site:
http://www.google.com/experimental/a840e102.html



source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/28/straight-out-of-left-field-google-
experimenting-with-digg-style-voting-on-search-results/

Window XP SP 3 outshines Vista SP 1 at twice the performance

After a long wait of Vista SP 1 two weeks ago. Devil Mountain Software, a Florida-based software development firm, reported that an upcoming update for Windows XP will offer substantial performance gains with their SP 3.

Running an Office productivity test suite on a preview version of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, Devil Mountain discovered a 10 percent performance boost over the current version of Windows XP even though SP 3 was supposed to be mainly for bug fixes. So it turns out to be a great bonus for current XP users.

New tests have revealed that Windows XP with the beta Service Pack 3 has twice the performance of Vista, even with its long-awaited Service Pack 1.

Vista, both with and without SP1, performed notably slower than XP with SP3 in the test, taking over 80 seconds to complete the test, compared to the beta SP3-enhanced XP's 35 seconds.


Windslash's comment:
Seems like Vista is still not doing so well despite the service pack upgrade, while XP surprisingly turns out to be even faster. And as both a Vista and XP user myself, I am greatly disappointed to how poorly Vista's performance is as compared to XP even though it did have some very nice interface and features

source 1: http://www.news.com/Windows-XP-outshines-Vista-in-benchmarking-test/2100-1016_3-6220201.html
source 2 :
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20071126/tc_nf/56872

My view on facebook overtaking Myspace in traffic

According to Alexa traffic statistics, we could see that facebook.com traffic has successfully overtook myspace.com on 21th Nov 2007 (was roughly on par on 20th Nov) as seen in the picture below.



So well congrats to facebook, you finally did it. :P
There's a few factors which contributes to facebook's exponential rise in traffic over the past few months.

Firstly, the 3rd party applications API that facebook has developed has on 27th November, 9000 over applications.
Lots of developers are starting to develop programs in facebook, personally I tried to create using the demo code found on facebook developers site but to no valid. Only today after talking to my webhoster that I realise that they did not upgrade my webhost to php 5.0 which they did so afterwards :P . Also, even schools have launched modules on facebook application development which greatly increases the traffic in facebook.

Secondly, for users , the large amount of applications attracted them to stay in the site for a long time. Certain games allow them to have referral credits which they would ask their friends to join facebook and the games which they are playing and of cos attract more users :P

But perhaps I'm a bit biased towards facebook because I'm living in Asia and Myspace doesn't create the impact in Asia as far as friendster and facebook has which I'm not sure why it is either.

Well, let continue to see these social networking war as how long the hype will last or will there be anymore competitors rising ?

Microsoft Brings Social Networking Style Feature To The XBox 360

by: Duncan Riley

An update due to be available to XBox 360 users December 4 will bring a social networking style feature to users of the XBox Live service.

Xbox Live, for those not familiar with the service, is Microsoft’s online gaming service that allows users to play online games with friends and others. The service has always supported a friends list, but the new changes will now allow users to see friends of friends, opening up gaming opportunities beyond current contacts.

Ars Technica calls the move “very MySpace” but social networking on XBox Live wont be in the same format. Online game collaboration on Xbox includes voice chat, so the social aspects wont resemble the profile pages and similar social networking aspects we’ve come to expect from social networking sites, but it will be a much more social service in a traditional sense of the word social.

The update will include privacy settings that will allow users to make their friends list available to everyone (members 18 or older), friends only (13 years and up) or blocked, which will be the default setting for users under 13 but available as a choice to everyone.

Windslash's Comment:

Social networking has reached console gaming.. !!! help! web 2.0 is invading Earth...pls save us..

source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/26/microsoft-brings-
social-networking-style-feature-to-the-xbox-360/

Promote Your Blog for Free

99 Ways to Promote Your Blog for Free

LINK BUILDING:

1. Exchange links with other bloggers


2. Use BlogRush


3. Submit to RSS directories


4. Submit to blog directories


5. Submit to general directories


6. Start a 2nd blog and link to yourself


7. Create and give away blog themes (with a link to your blog in the footer)


8. Create free plugins


9. Create link bait


10. Participate in blog carnivals


11. Comment on DoFollow blogs


12. WordPress Backlinks Plugin
    
    

    COMMUNITY:

13. Join communities at MyBlogLog


14. Join communities at Bumpzee


15. Join communities at Blog Catalog


16. Start a community at any of these sites


17. Comment on other blogs in your niche


18. Email your friends and contacts about a new blog post that may interest them


19. Email your readers to say “thank you”


20. Email other bloggers to introduce yourself


21. Link out to other blogs



SOCIAL MEDIA:

22. Digg


23. del.icio.us


24. StumbleUpon


25. Reddit


26. Netscape


27. Magnolia


28. MySpace


29. Facebook


30. YouTube
    

    FORUMS:

31. AuthorityBlogger


32. Bloggeries


33. SitePoint


34. Blogger Forum



35. BloggerTalk
    

    GROUPS:

36. Yahoo!


37. Google


38. MSN
    

    ARTICLE DISTRIBUTION:

39. Write a guest post for another blog


40. Ezine Articles


41. Article Dashboard


42. Go Articles


43. ArticleHub


44. Jogena


45. Marketing Seek


46. Article Avenue


47. Alumbo


48. Article Pros


49. eBusiness Articles


50. Syndication from Idea Marketers


51. Write for newspapers


52. Write for magazines


53. Scribd (document sharing)


54. Open Floodgate


55. Google Base
    
    

    SUBMIT A PRESS RELEASE:

56. PRBuzz


57. I-Newswire


58. Free-Press-Release.com


59. PR Free


60. PR.com
    

    FREE CLASSIFIED ADS:

61. Craig’s List


62. Oodle


63. Kijiji


64. INetGiant


65. Sales Spider
    

    FREE ADVERTISING

66. Yahoo! Search Marketing ($25 free advertising credit) (aff.)


67. Microsoft AdCenter ($50 free advertising credit through PPC Universe)


68. ABC Search ($100 free advertising credit through PPC Universe)
    
    
    PHOTO SHARING:
69. Flickr


70. Photobucket


71. DropShots


72. WebShots


73. Shutterfly
    

    USE GIVEAWAYS

74. Create a viral tool


75. Give away free icons


76. Create a PDF e-book


77. Write tutorials for something you know well
    
    

    CREATE SOME BUZZ

78. Get interviewed


79. Interview someone well known in your industry


80. ReviewBack (blog review exchange)
    
    
    
    SUBMIT YOUR BLOG TO DESIGN GALLERIES:
81. BestWebGallery


82. CSSimport


83. CSS Mania


84. CSSRemix


85. Screenalicious


86. Stylegala


87. CSS Vault


88. CSS Beauty


89. Unmatched Style


90. CSS Elite


91. CSS Heaven
    

    AWARDS:

92. Apply fr website awards


93. Apply for a Blogger’s Choice Award


94. Give away awards to other bloggers
    
    
    
    OTHER IDEAS:
95. Run a contest (this one isn’t always free, but you could give away links, ad space, or something else that won’t cost you money)


96. Participate in a group writing project with other bloggers


97. Create a podcast to go along with your blog


98. Pretend to put your blog up for sale


99. Show how much your blog is worth

source : http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/blog-promotion/99-ways-to-promote-your-blog-for-free/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hmm maybe I should start reading up on some of these and see if it really helps my blog?
but don't really think I will be spending lots of time to market my blog..haha

www.definr.com - Incredibly fast directionary

Just found out this site today.
Another dictionary site but claiming to be incredibly fast :P .
I checked out this site, a cute icon it has and tried searching a few words in it. The speed was rather fast but the result was pretty limited.
But one thing to take note would be their name - definr.com seems not such a easy name to remember as compared to define.com. But well it's seriously hard to get a proper domain name nowadays. Be sure to check it out

If You P2P Download In France: No Internet For You

A pact between the French Government, French ISP’s and the local music and film industry will see French users who download material from P2P networks losing their internet access.

French internet users will face a three strikes and you’re out policy, according to the NY Times. Users will receive a warning for each illegal download before losing their service on the third infringement.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed the deal with rhetoric that is bound to win him an Honorary Life Membership of both the RIAA and MPAA: “We run the risk of witnessing a genuine destruction of culture…The Internet must not become a high-tech Far West, a lawless zone where outlaws can pillage works with abandon or, worse, trade in them in total impunity. And on whose backs? On artists’ backs.”

The Far West of where? Perhaps I’m mistaken in believing that the far East (ie China) is the global hotbed of Internet piracy…or did he mean the wild west? lost in translation perhaps.

An independent authority supervised by a judge will manage the scheme and decide if and when users should lose their internet access.

Not surprisingly the recording and music industry loves the move, with the head of the IFPI (the international recording industry body) John Kennedy telling the Times that “this is the single most important initiative to help win the war on online piracy that we have seen so far..President Sarkozy has shown leadership and vision. He has recognized the importance that the creative industries play in contemporary western economies.”

source : http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/23/if-you-p2p-download-in-france-no-internet-for-you/

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

what if this happens to your country? how would you be affected?

But I believe this will surely stop a lot of P2P Downloads in France

discuss it at my forum at :
GameTradeX Forum

Tangler.com - A combination of forum and IRC ?

I have recently found out this newly start up site currently in beta version. It seems to me somewhat a combination of IRC and forums.
You can actually post images just like a forum and when you reply inside a topic, it acts somewhat like IRC. Quite interesting in my view. But one thing to take note of is that it feel quite laggy.

10 PS3 tricks Sony doesn't tell you

Got a PlayStation 3? For those of you that have picked up Sony's shiny black plaything, we've put together a Digital Home top ten of tips that you won't find in the user manual.

1) Play games from any country

Harbouring a desire to play Super Gaiden Ninja XI? Now you can. In fact, you can handily play any PS3 game from any country. On holiday in the States and spot the latest release at a bargain dollar-to-pound price? Help yourself. So far, at least, PS3 games aren't being region coded. That said PS2 and PS1 games are so you can't play a US title on a Euro console.

And let's not forget that Blu-ray movies are region-coded so the barriers aren't completely down yet.


2) The secret video reset

One of the most annoying aspects of the PS3 are its video settings. Take it up to the bedroom portable or round to a friend's house and there's a good chance that you won't be able to see anything onscreen because your 'new' TV is running at a different resolution or using a different cable connection. And - because you can't see anything - you can't change it. Until now. Shut down your PS3 then restart by pressing and holding the power button. This will reset your PS3 to its most basic 480p graphics mode so you'll be able to see enough to choose RGB SCART, component, HDMI or whatever from here.

3) See how much charge is on your pad

There's no indication of how much charge is left on the pad itself. Instead it appears on screen during games. Press and hold the PS button on any joypad. An indicator will appear, showing your pad's charge as a small battery. A full battery pic means a fully-charged pad. Neat.

4) Download game saves

Chances are someone out there has already beaten that boss for you and saved their game afterwards. Why not take advantage of it? Google 'PS3 game saves'. There are hundreds of finished and half finished game saves scattered all over the internet. Download the save you want - it'll come in a 'PS3' folder that you can lift onto a USB stick and put into your PS3. Go to the Game menu, choose your stick and the game save you downloaded should be right there. Press Triangle to copy it to your hard drive.

5) Make free video phone calls

You will need a USB headset (like the one you use for PS2 Socom) and an EyeToy camera. Plug in both via USB then go to your Friends menu. Choose a friend you've signed up earlier and press Triangle. Choose Start New Chat and type a message. Something like 'Videochat?' should do the trick. Now, providing they're in front of their powered-up PS3 (perhaps you could text them to tell them to be in position?) then they'll see your message and be given the option to accept your videochat.

Now, provided they too have a camera and headset, two windows will open, one showing you (so you can make sure you're looking your best), the other displaying your mate. Best of all you can hit Triangle again and invite more people to join your chat - up to a maximum of six. And the cost? Not a bean above your usual broadband connection charges.

6) Browse multiple Internet windows

Open the browser (go to Network) and surf to a page you want. Now open up the menu with a press of Triangle and choose 'Open In New Window'. Enter another URL and then do the same again. Keep going until you've got six windows open. Now press L3 (done by clicking down the left stick). You're now in multi-page mode. Move the left stick to flick through the web pages as though they were bits of paper, then click L3 again to zoom in.

7) Upgrade your hard drive

We took the drive out of our PS3 and found it to be a Seagate Momentus 5400rpm 60Gb 2.5inch SATA drive. We swapped ours out effortlessly for a Seagate Momentus 120Gb 2.5inch SATA drive and it worked perfectly. Remove the cover flap on the bottom of your PS3 with a fingernail. Undo the blue screw and slide the drive over to the right and out of your PS3. Undo the four screws on the 'caddy' and remove the old drive.

Put your new drive in the caddy (it should be exactly the same size, of course) and re-do the four screws. Slot it back in and slide to the left to make the connections. Re-do the blue screw, pop the cover back on and restart your PS3. Say 'yes' to the message on screen and voila - new super-size hard-drive. (Go to Settings, System Settings, System Information to check).

8) Share your bought downloads

You can download anything you've bought from the store to five PlayStation 3's. This is useful if you've got more than one PS3 (of course) and also if you've wiped your hard-drive and don't fancy paying for the same download twice...

However, you can also choose to share your download with your mates. The PlayStation Store logs how many times each download has been downloaded by each user. On your mate's PS3 Create New User and log onto the store with your ID. You'll now be able to go to your download and see that you've already downloaded whatever it was that you paid for. You can now download it again, using another of your downloads and giving it to your mate for free. Or a small optional charge...

9) Force a PS3 to show your files

Put your photos in a folder called 'PICTURE' or your videos in a folder called 'VIDEO' or simply *force* your PS3 to look at your files on your stick regardless of what you called them or where you put them. Insert your stick and go to the menu option you want (Photos, Music, whatever). Press Triangle to bring up a menu and choose Display All. This will show every file on the stick. It even works for a plugged-in iPod, though the multi-folder structure you'll reveal is a bit baffling. Still, your songs are in there if you've got the patience to find them.

10) Change your album art

When you import a music CD your PS3 automatically pulls down the album art and stores it with the tracks. Occasionally it gets it wrong, however, or it may simply not be able to find the art of your hipper, less commercial tracks. This is easily fixed however. Download a pic of the art you need as a jpg on your PC and put it onto a stick (in a folder called PICTURE, ideally). Copy it to your Photo menu (press Triangle). Now go to Music and select the album folder with the offending art. Press Triangle and select Information. Go to the Photo menu and select your new picture. Bingo.

Words by: Dan Griffiths
source: http://www.tech.co.uk/digital-home/general/blogs/2007/04/06/10-ps3-tricks-sony-doesnt-tell-you

Here is some interesting features of PS3 which are not listed in the manual.. so thought of sharing with you guys.. also feel free to talk about it.. in my site at http://www.gametradex.com/forums/index.php?topic=107.0