Dushyantha's Blogs

Step By Step Guide to Install Oracle 11g on UNIX

2011-02-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

Installing Oracle 11g on UNIX

Step By Step Guide to install Microsoft SQL 2008 on Windows XP

2011-02-13T05:07:00.000-08:00

Installing SQL 2008 on Windows XP

HOWTO: BLOCK WEBSITES USING THE HOSTS FILE

2010-05-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

What is the HOSTS file?

The HOSTS file is a list of web addresses. It basically tells your computer where to look for a certain website. When you type an address in the address bar of your web browser, it checks for instructions on the HOSTS file; if no record about a website is found, it opens a website for you. Otherwise, it opens a website from an IP address defined on the HOSTS file. If the address leads to 127.0.0.1, you won’t be able to access the website, because 127.0.0.1 is an IP address of your computer. If 127.0.0.1 is set as an address of a website, you will only be able to see it if your computer is a server.

Blocking ad servers and malicious websites is a tough task these days. There are so many tools out there to keep ads blocked, remove spyware, and scan for viruses. Most of this unwanted content comes from known ad servers and known malicious websites. You can harness the power of the Windows’ HOSTS file to actually block some of this stuff.

In a nutshell

For your version of Windows, the HOSTS file is located in

Windows XP:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\

Windows 2000:
C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\

Windows 98/ME:
C:\WINDOWS\

It does not have an extension — it is just called hosts. The purpose of the HOSTS file is to allow you to manually enter IP addresses associated with websites, so the DNS server can quickly resolve an address. Say you know that google.com is the IP address 64.233.187.99 — you could enter that into the HOSTS file so when your machine requests google.com, it will immediatly know to go tohttp://64.233.187.99/. Instead, we can take known ad servers, and tell them their IP addresses are 127.0.0.1. For those of you that don’t know, 127.0.0.1 is your local machine, if you were running a server on it. So say, some ad server hosts a banner ad athttp://www.adsite.com/ads/23bh3.jpg. If you redirect this server to your lcoal machine in the HOSTS file, when a website calls that hosted image from the ad server, it will try to loadhttp://127.0.0.1/ads/23bh3.jpg. Since that folder and that image don’t exist on your computer, the image won’t show, and you’ve blocked the ad from showing on that website.

Putting it together

This first line of the HOSTS file should list the local IP address:

127.0.0.1 localhost

That tells the rest of the file, 127.0.0.1 is your local machine, like I explained above. You could also use 0.0.0.0 instead of 127.0.0.1 — either will work, but whatever you use for localhost, use below. After that, enter known ad servers and use your local IP (whichever you chose at the top). You can find maintained HOSTS files online or start to build your own. Here’s a little snippit of what my HOSTS file looks like:

127.0.0.1 localhost127.0.0.1 92.132.206.rev.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 a-con1.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 a-lbs.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 a-pwr.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 a-sw1.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 aa1-1.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 aa1.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 aa2-1.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 aa2.adknowledge.com 127.0.0.1 aa3-1.adknowledge.com

Extra step: Windows XP/2000 only

In XP and 2000, the DNS Client (a system service), will make your machine come to a grinding hault if your HOSTS file is too large. This service is unnecessary and can be stopped and disabled. Go toStart > Run > enter “services.msc” then hit [Enter]

Navigate to DNS Client, right-click it, select Properties, under Start-up Type, select Manual. ClickApply. Then below that, click the Stop button. You should do this before you save a large list of servers to your HOSTS file.

Disabling/Enabling the HOSTS blocking

If you ever need to disable the blocking, just rename the hosts file to anything. I usually rename it tohosts.disable. After you do that, you need to restart your browser to see the changes. To enable it again, just rename it back to hosts.

You could also write a script to do this for you. An example called disable.bat:

cd C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc && ren hosts hosts.disable

And another example called enable.bat:

cd C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc && ren hosts.disable hosts

Google Search Secrets

2010-02-06T09:29:00.000-08:00

1. Use quotation marks to search for the exact phrase “co-op board rejection”

2. Use the pipe (|) for an either/or search (or use the word “or”): fsbo|by owner.

3. Use two periods (..) to find information within a number range, including years: worst housing markets 1980..2006.

4. Use a minus sign (-) to exclude search results: worst housing markets 1980..2006 -best. (since the search without the minus sign usually includes best and worst, use the minus sign if you only want the bad news)

5. Find similar terms with the tilde (~): ~cheap homes. You get auctions, foreclosures, etc.

6. Use the wildcard star (*) if you don’t know the missing word: a man’s home is his *.

7. Get a list of definitions with “define:” define:foreclosure.

8. Use Google as a calculator (good for figuring a commission): 548,000 x6%.

9. To search a term in a particular blog or website use “site:”. Useful if a website or blog doesn’t have a search box: site:blog.sellsiusrealestate.com zillow. (Dang, 960 Zillow posts. We must have a crush on Zillow.)

10. Type in the area code to find out the city: 646.

11. The space and minus sign ( -). This eliminates duplicate search results. Google will ignore all search results that contain a phrase or word you put in quotes. Find a unique word or phrase that always appears in repetitive results. Let’s say you’re searching a company and keep seeing their Press Release that says “Announcing”. Just type the company name (space) -”Announcing” and you just weeded out all those repetitive PRs from your search results. Note: If you forget the space, Google gets you back and gives you ONLY those repetitive results.

12. The hyphen (-). Pulls results for terms that have spelling variations. Example: left-handed pulls left-handed, left handed and lefthanded. (Yes, the minus sign and hyphen are one and the same.)

13. The pole (l). (It’s above the backslash) Serves as an OR. Good for first name, last name searches. Example: Frank Zappa | Zappa Frank. [If you added the hyphen (-), you'd find Frank Zappa, Zappa Frank, FrankZappa & ZappaFrank.]

14. Time & Weather. Time Hong Kong gives you the time in Hong Kong.Weather Hong Kong (or weather zip code) gives you the weather.

15. Local Movie times. Type the movie and your city or zip code: I am Legend 10022.

16. Track FedEx, USPS & UPS packages: skip the log in and just type in the tracking number.

17. Flight information: Delta flight 2456.

18. Comparisons: type in quotes: “better than___”, “worse than___”, or ” ___ sucks” (for bad reviews). “better than ipod”.
19. Reverse lookup. Type in a phone number and Google gives you the address and/or identity of the owner.

20. Conversion tool for currency and weights and measures. 100 US dollars in British Pounds. Square feet in an acre. Ounces in 5 pounds. Even time: days in 5 years.

21. Search for pdfs, Word docs or Excel spreadsheet: after the search term type filetype:pdf (“real estate commission” filetype:pdf )

22. Highlight search terms in a search result: Click “cache” in a search result and Google will highlight your search terms in that result.

Windows 7 tips, tricks and secrets

2010-02-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Windows 7 is out and if you've either just installed it or bought a new PC running Windows 7, then we're here to help you get the most from it.

Look beyond the headlines about interface tweaks and you'll find Windows 7 is crammed with lesser known, but still important, new and enhanced features, which taken together deliver improved performance and productivity, better troubleshooting, stronger security and a whole lot more.

We've updated our Windows 7 tips with a bunch of new ones, including the Windows 7 God Mode (see tip 17). Read on for 67 ways in which Windows 7 will make a real difference to your PC

Click Here to Free Download Windows 7 Enterprise Edition

1. Problem Steps Recorder

As the local PC guru you're probably very used to friends and family asking for help with their computer problems, yet having no idea how to clearly describe what's going on. It's frustrating, but Microsoft feels your pain, and Windows 7 will include an excellent new solution in the Problem Steps Recorder.

When any app starts misbehaving under Windows 7 then all your friends need do is click Start, type PSR and press Enter, then click Start Record. If they then work through whatever they're doing then the Problem Steps Recorder will record every click and keypress, take screen grabs, and package everything up into a single zipped MHTML file when they're finished, ready for emailing to you. It's quick, easy and effective, and will save you hours of troubleshooting time.

2. Burn images
Windows 7 finally introduces a feature that other operating systems have had for years - the ability to burn ISO images to CDs or DVDs. And it couldn't be much easier to use. Just double-click the ISO image, choose the drive with the blank disc, click Burn and watch as your disc is created.

3. Create and mount VHD files
Microsoft's Virtual PC creates its virtual machine hard drives in VHD files, and Windows 7 can now mount these directly so you can access them in the host system. Click Start, type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter, then click Action > Attach VHD and choose the file you'd like to mount. It will then appear as a virtual drive in Explorer and can be accessed, copied or written just like any other drive.

Click Action > Create VHD and you can now create a new virtual drive of your own (right-click it, select Initialise Disk, and after it's set up right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume to set this up). Again, you'll be left with a virtual drive that behaves just like any other, where you can drag and drop files, install programs, test partitioning software or do whatever you like. But it's actually just this VHD file on your real hard drive which you can easily back up or share with others. Right-click the disk (that's the left-hand label that says "Disk 2" or whatever) and select Detach VHD to remove it.

The command line DISKPART utility has also been upgraded with tools to detach a VHD file, and an EXPAND command to increase a virtual disk's maximum size. Don't play around with this unless you know what you're doing, though - it's all too easy to trash your system.

4. Troubleshoot problems
If some part of Windows 7 is behaving strangely, and you don't know why, then click Control Panel > Find and fix problems (or 'Troubleshooting') to access the new troubleshooting packs. These are simple wizards that will resolve common problems, check your settings, clean up your system and more.

5. Startup repair
If you've downloaded Windows 7 (and even if you haven't) it's a good idea to create a system repair disc straight away in case you run into problems booting the OS later on. Click Start > Maintenance > Create a System Repair Disc, and let Windows 7 build a bootable emergency disc. If the worst does happen then it could be the only way to get your PC running again.

6. Take control
Tired of the kids installing dubious software or running applications you'd rather they left alone? AppLocker is a new Windows 7 feature that ensures users can only run the programs you specify. Don't worry, that's easier to set up than it sounds: you can create a rule to allow everything signed by a particular publisher, so choose Microsoft, say, and that one rule will let you run all signed Microsoft applications. Launch GPEDIT.MSC and go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Application Control Policies > AppLocker to get a feel for how this works.

7. Calculate more
At first glance the Windows 7 calculator looks just like Vista's version, but explore the Mode menu and you'll see powerful new Statistics and Programmer views. And if you're clueless about bitwise manipulation, then try the Options menu instead. This offers many different unit conversions (length, weight, volume and more), date calculations (how many days between two dates?), and spreadsheet-type templates to help you calculate vehicle mileage, mortgage rates and more.

Don't take any Windows 7 applet at face value, then - there are some very powerful new features hidden in the background. Be sure to explore every option in all Windows applets to ensure you don't miss anything important.

CALCULATE MORE: The new Calculator is packed with useful features and functionality

8. Switch to a projector
Windows 7 now provides a standard way to switch your display from one monitor to another, or a projector - just press Win+P or run DisplaySwitch.exe and choose your preferred display. (This will have no effect if you've only one display connected.)

9. Get a power efficiency report
If you have a laptop, you can use the efficiency calculator to get Windows 7 to generate loads of useful information about its power consumption. Used in the right way, this can help you make huge gains in terms of battery life and performance. To do this you must open a command prompt as an administrator by typing 'cmd' in Start Search, and when the cmd icon appears, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.

Then at the command line, just type in 'powercfg -energy' (without quotes) and hit Return, and Windows 7 will scan your system looking for ways to improve power efficiency. It will then publish the results in an HTML file, usually in the System32 folder. Just follow the path it gives you to find your report.

10. Understanding System Restore
Using System Restore in previous versions of Windows has been something of a gamble. There's no way of telling which applications or drivers it might affect - you just have to try it and see.

Windows 7 is different. Right-click Computer, select Properties > System Protection > System Restore > Next, and choose the restore point you'd like to use. Click the new button to 'Scan for affected programs' and Windows will tell you which (if any) programs and drivers will be deleted or recovered by selecting this restore point. (Read our full Windows 7 System Restore tutorial.)

11. Set the time zone
System administrators will appreciate the new command line tzutil.exe utility, which lets you set a PC's time zone from scripts. If you wanted to set a PC to Greenwich Mean Time, for instance, you'd use the command

tzutil /s "gmt standard time"

The command "tzutil /g" displays the current time zone, "tzutil /l" lists all possible time zones, and "tzutil /?" displays details on how the command works.

12. Calibrate your screen
The colours you see on your screen will vary depending on your monitor, graphics cards settings, lighting and more, yet most people use the same default Windows colour profile. And that means a digital photo you think looks perfect might appear very poor to everybody else. Fortunately Windows 7 now provides a Display Colour Calibration Wizard that helps you properly set up your brightness, contrast and colour settings, and a ClearType tuner to ensure text is crisp and sharp. Click Start, type DCCW and press Enter to give it a try.

13. Clean up Live Essentials

Installing Windows Live Essentials will get you the new versions of Mail, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery and others - great. Unfortunately it also includes other components that may be unnecessary, but if you like to keep a clean system then these can be quickly removed.

If you left the default "Set your search provider" option selected during installation, for instance, Windows Live will install Choice Guard, a tool to set your browser home page and search engine, and prevent other programs from changing them. If this causes problems later, or you just decide you don't need it, then Choice Guard may be removed by clicking Start, typing msiexec /x and pressing [Enter].

Windows Live Essentials also adds an ActiveX Control to help upload your files to Windows Live SkyDrive, as well as the Windows Live Sign-in Assistant, which makes it easier to manage and switch between multiple Windows Live accounts. If you're sure you'll never need either then remove them with the Control Panel "Uninstall a Program" applet.

14. Add network support

By default Windows Live MovieMaker won't let you import files over a network, but a quick Registry tweak will change this. Run REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Live\Movie Maker, add a DWORD value called AllowNetworkFiles and set it to 1 to add network support.

15. Activate XP mode

If you've old but important software that no longer runs under Windows 7, then you could try using XP Mode, a virtual copy of XP that runs in a window on your Windows 7 desktop. But there's a big potential problem, as XP Mode only works with systems that have hardware virtualisation (AMD-V or Intel VT) built-in and turned on. If you've a compatible CPU then this may just be a matter of enabling the option in your BIOS set-up program, however some high profile brands, including Sony Vaio, disable the setting for "security reasons". And that blocks XP Mode from working, too.

One solution has emerged, but it's a little risky, as essentially you'll have to alter a byte in your laptop firmware and hope this doesn't have any unexpected side-effects. Gulp. If you're feeling brave then take a look at theFeature Enable Blog for the details, but don't blame us if it goes wrong.

A safer approach might be to use VirtualBox, a virtualisation tool that doesn't insist on hardware support, but then you will need to find a licensed copy of XP (or whatever other Windows version your software requires) for its virtual machine.

16. Enable virtual Wi-Fi
Windows 7 includes a little-known new feature called Virtual Wi-Fi, which effectively turns your PC or laptop into a software-based router. Any other Wi-Fi-enabled devices within range - a desktop, laptop, an iPod perhaps - will "see" you as a new network and, once logged on, immediately be able to share your internet connection.

This will only work if your wireless adapter driver supports it, though, and not all do. Check with your adapter manufacturer and make sure you've installed the very latest drivers to give you the best chance.

Once you have driver support then the easiest approach is to get a network tool that can set up virtual Wi-Fi for you. Virtual Router (below) is free, easy to use and should have you sharing your internet connection very quickly.

If you don't mind working with the command line, though, maybe setting up some batch files or scripts, then it's not that difficult to set this up manually. See Turn your Windows 7 laptop into a wireless hotspot for more.

17. Explore God Mode
Windows 7 has changed Control Panel a little, but it's still too difficult to locate all the applets and options that you might need. God Mode, however, while not being particularly godlike, does offer an easier way to access everything you could want from a single folder.

To try this out, create a new folder and rename it to:

The first part, "Everything" will be the folder name, and can be whatever you want: "Super Control Panel", "Advanced", "God Mode" if you prefer.

The extension, ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C, must be entered exactly as it is here, though, including the curly brackets. When you press [Enter] this part of the name will disappear, and double-clicking the new folder will display shortcuts to functions in the Action Centre, the Network and Sharing Centre, Power options, troubleshooting tools, user accounts and others - more than 260 options in total.

18. Right-click everything
At first glance Windows 7 bears a striking resemblance to Vista, but there's an easy way to begin spotting the differences - just right-click things.

Right-click an empty part of the desktop, for instance, and you'll find a menu entry to set your screen resolution. No need to go browsing through the display settings any more.

Right-click the Explorer icon on the taskbar for speedy access to common system folders: Documents, Pictures, the Windows folder, and more.

And if you don't plan on using Internet Explorer then you probably won't want its icon permanently displayed on the taskbar. Right-click the icon, select 'Unpin this program from the taskbar', then go install Firefox, instead.

19. Display the old taskbar button context menu
Right-click a taskbar button, though, and you'll now see its jumplist menu. That's a useful new feature, but not much help if you want to access the minimize, maximize, or move options that used to be available. Fortunately there's an easy way to get the old context menu back - just hold down Ctrl and Shift as you right-click the taskbar button.

20. Desktop slideshow
Windows 7 comes with some very attractive new wallpapers, and it's not always easy to decide which one you like the best. So why not let choose a few, and let Windows display them all in a desktop slideshow? Right-click an empty part of the desktop, select Personalise > Desktop Background, then hold down Ctrl as you click on the images you like. Choose how often you'd like the images to be changed (anything from daily to once every 10 seconds), select Shuffle if you'd like the backgrounds to appear in a random order, then click Save Changes and enjoy the show.

DESKTOP SLIDESHOW: Select multiple background images and Windows will cycle through them

21. RSS-powered wallpaper
And if a slideshow based on your standard wallpaper isn't enough, then you can always create a theme that extracts images from an RSS feed. For example, Long Zheng has created a few sample themes to illustrate how it works. Jamie Thompson takes this even further, with a theme that always displays the latest BBC news and weather on your desktop. And MakeUseOfhave a quick and easy tutorial showing how RSS can get you those gorgeous Bing photographs as your wallpaper. Or you can watch our custom theme video tutorial.

22. Customise the log-on screen
Changing the Windows log-on screen used to involve some complicated and potentially dangerous hacks, but not any more - Windows 7 makes it easy.

First, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\Background in REGEDIT, double-click the DWORD key called OEMBackground (not there? Create it) and set its value to 1.

Now find a background image you'd like to use. Make sure it's less than 256KB in size, and matches the aspect ratio of your screen as it'll be stretched to fit.

Next, copy that image into the %windir%\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds folder (create the info\backgrounds folders if they don't exist). Rename the image to backgroundDefault.jpg, reboot, and you should now have a custom log-on image.

Alternatively, use a free tweaking tool to handle everything for you. Logon Changer displays a preview so you can see how the log-on screen will look without rebooting, while the Logon Screen Rotator accepts multiple images and will display a different one every time you log on.

23. Recover screen space
The new Windows 7 taskbar acts as one big quick launch toolbar that can hold whatever program shortcuts you like (just right-click one and select Pin To Taskbar). And that's fine, except it does consume a little more screen real estate than we'd like. Shrink it to a more manageable size by right-clicking the Start orb, then Properties > Taskbar > Use small icons > OK.

24. Enjoy a retro taskbar
Windows 7 now combines taskbar buttons in a way that saves space, but also makes it more difficult to tell at a glance whether an icon represents a running application or a shortcut. If you prefer a more traditional approach, then right-click the taskbar, select Properties, and set Taskbar Buttons to "Combine when taskbar is full". You'll now get a clear and separate button for each running application, making them much easier to identify.

25. Remove taskbar buttons
One problem with the previous tip is the buttons will gobble up valuable taskbar real estate, but you can reduce the impact of this by removing their text captions. Launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics, add a string called MinWidth, set it to 54, and reboot to see the results.

26. Restore the Quick Launch Toolbar
If you're unhappy with the new taskbar, even after shrinking it, then it only takes a moment to restore the old Quick Launch Toolbar.

Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars > New Toolbar, type "%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch" (less the quotes) into the Folder box and click Select Folder.

Now right-click the taskbar, clear 'Lock the taskbar', and you should see the Quick Launch toolbar, probably to the right. Right-click its divider, clear Show Text and Show Title to minimise the space it takes up. Complete the job by right-clicking the bar and selecting View > Small Icons for the true retro look.

27. Custom power switch
By default, Windows 7 displays a plain text 'Shut down' button on the Start menu, but it only takes a moment to change this action to something else. If you reboot your PC a few times every day then that might make more sense as a default action: right-click the Start orb, select Properties and set the 'Power boot action' to 'Restart' to make it happen.

28. Auto arrange your desktop
If your Windows 7 desktop has icons scattered everywhere then you could right-click it and select View > Auto arrange, just as in Vista. But a simpler solution is just to press and hold down F5, and Windows will automatically arrange its icons for you.

29. Disable smart window arrangement
Windows 7 features interesting new ways to intelligently arrange your windows, so that (for example) if you drag a window to the top of the screen then it will maximise. We like the new system, but if you find it distracting then it's easily disabled. Run REGEDIT, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop, set WindowArrangementActive to 0, reboot, and your windows will behave just as they always did.

30. Browse your tasks
If you prefer the keyboard over the mouse, you will love browsing the taskbar using this nifty shortcut. Press Windows and T, and you move the focus to the left-most icon on the taskbar. Then use your arrow keys to change the focus to other icons, and you get a live preview of every window.

31. Display your drives
Click Computer in Windows 7 and you might see a strange lack of drives, but don't panic, it's just Microsoft trying to be helpful: drives like memory card readers are no longer displayed if they're empty. We think it's an improvement, but if you disagree then it's easy to get your empty drives back. Launch Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View and clear 'Hide empty drives in the computer folder'.

32. See more detail
The new and improved Windows 7 magnifier offers a much easier way to zoom in on any area of the screen. Launch it and you can now define a scale factor and docking position, and once activated it can track your keyboard focus around the screen. Press Tab as you move around a dialog box, say, and it'll automatically zoom in on the currently active control.

33. Hiding the Windows Live Messenger icon
If you use Windows Live Messenger a lot, you'll have noticed that the icon now resides on the taskbar, where you can easily change status and quickly send an IM to someone. If you prefer to keep Windows Live Messenger in the system tray, where it's been for previous releases, just close Windows Live Messenger, edit the shortcut properties and set the application to run in Windows Vista compatibility mode.

34. Customise UAC
Windows Vista's User Account Control was a good idea in practice, but poor implementation put many people off - it raised far too many alerts. Fortunately Windows 7 displays less warnings by default, and lets you further fine-tune UAC to suit your preferred balance between security and a pop-up free life (Start > Control Panel > Change User Account Control Settings).

35. Use Sticky Notes
The Sticky Notes app is both simpler and more useful in Windows 7. Launch StikyNot.exe and you can type notes at the keyboard; right-click a note to change its colour; click the + sign on the note title bar to add another note; and click a note and press Alt + 4 to close the note windows (your notes are automatically saved).

36. Open folder in new process
By default Windows 7 opens folders in the same process. This saves system resources, but means one folder crash can bring down the entire shell. If your system seems unstable, or you're doing something in Explorer that regularly seems to causes crashes, then open Computer, hold down Shift, right-click on your drive and select Open in New Process. The folder will now be launched in a separate process, and so a crash is less likely to affect anything else.

37. Watch more videos
Windows Media Player 12 is a powerful program, but it still won't play all the audio and video files you'll find online. Fortunately the first freeware Windows 7 codecs package [shark007.net/win7codecs.html] has been released, and installing it could get your troublesome multimedia files playing again.

38. Preview fonts
Open the Fonts window in Windows XP and Vista and you'll see the font names, probably with icons to tell you whether they're TrueType or OpenType, but that's about it. Windows 7 sees some useful font-related improvements.

Open the new fonts window and you'll find a little preview for every font, giving you a quick idea of how they're going to look.

The tedium of scrolling through multiple entries for each family, like Times New Roman, Times New Roman Bold, Times New Roman Bold Italic and so on, has finally ended. There's now just a single entry for each font (though you can still see all other members of the family).

And there's a new OpenType font, Gabriola, added to the mix. It's an attractive script font, well worth a try the next time you need a stylish document that stands out from the crowd.

39. Restore your gadgets
Windows 7 has tightened up its security by refusing to run gadgets if UAC has been turned off, so limiting the damage malicious unsigned gadgets can do to your system. If you've disabled UAC, miss your gadgets and are happy to accept the security risk, though, there's an easy Registry way to get everything back to normal. Run REGEDIT, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Sidebar\Settings, create a new DWORD value called AllowElevatedProcess and set it to 1. Your gadgets should start working again right away.

40. New WordPad formats
By default WordPad will save documents in Rich Text Format, just as before. But browse the Save As Format list and you'll see you can also save (or open, actually) files in the Office 2007 .docx or OpenDocument .odt formats.

41. Protect your data
USB flash drives are convenient, portable, and very easy to lose. Which is a problem, especially if they're carrying sensitive data. Fortunately Windows 7 has the solution: encrypt your documents with an extension of Microsoft's BitLocker technology, and only someone with the password will be able to access it. Right-click your USB flash drive, select Turn on BitLocker and follow the instructions to protect your private files.

PROTECT YOUR DATA: Your USB flash drives can easily be encrypted with BitLocker

42. Minimise quickly with shake
If you have multiple windows open on your desktop and things are getting too cluttered, it used to be a time-consuming process to close them all down. In Windows 7 you can use the Aero Shake feature to minimise everything in seconds, using a cool mouse gesture. Grab the title bar of the window you wish to keep open and give it a shake, and rejoice in a clear desktop area.

43. Configure your favourite music
The Windows 7 Media Centre now comes with an option to play your favourite music, which by default creates a changing list of songs based on your ratings, how often you play them, and when they were added (it's assumed you'll prefer songs you've added in the last 30 days). If this doesn't work then you can tweak how Media Centre decides what a "favourite" tune is- click Tasks > Settings > Music > Favourite Music and configure the program to suit your needs.

44. Customise System Restore
There was very little you could do to configure System Restore in Vista, but Windows 7 improves the situation with a couple of useful setup options.

Click the Start orb, right-click Computer and select Properties > System Protection > Configure, and set the Max Usage value to a size that suits your needs (larger to hold more restore points, smaller to save disk space).

And if you don't need System Restore to save Windows settings then choose the "Only restore previous versions of files" option. Windows 7 won't back up your Registry, which means you'll squeeze more restore points and file backups into the available disk space. System Restore is much less likely to get an unbootable PC working again, though, so use this trick at your own risk.

45. Run As
Hold down Shift, right-click any program shortcut, and you'll see an option to run the program as a different user, handy if you're logged in to the kids' limited account and need to run something with higher privileges. This isn't really a new feature - Windows XP had a Run As option that did the same thing - but Microsoft stripped it out of Vista, so it's good to see it's had a change of heart.

46. Search privacy
By default Windows 7 will remember your PC search queries, and display the most recent examples when searching in Windows Explorer. If you're sharing a PC and don't want everyone to see your searches, then launch GPEDIT.MSC, go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Explorer, double-click "Turn off display of recent search entries..." and click Enabled > OK.

47. Tweak PC volume
By default Windows 7 will now automatically reduce the volume of your PC's sounds whenever it detects you're making or receiving PC-based phone calls. If this proves annoying (or maybe you'd like it to turn off other sounds altogether) then you can easily change the settings accordingly. Just right-click the speaker icon in your taskbar, select Sounds > Communications, and tell Windows what you'd like it to do.

48. Rearrange the system tray
With Windows 7 we finally see system tray icons behave in a similar way to everything else on the taskbar. So if you want to rearrange them, then go right ahead, just drag and drop them into the order you like. You can even move important icons outside of the tray, drop them onto the desktop, then put them back when you no longer need to keep an eye on them.

49. Extend your battery life
Windows 7 includes new power options that will help to improve your notebook's battery life. To see them, click Start, type Power Options and click the Power Options link, then click Change Plan Settings for your current plan and select Change Advanced Settings. Expand Multimedia Settings, for instance, and you'll see a new "playing video" setting that can be set to optimise power savings rather than performance. Browse through the other settings and ensure they're set up to suit your needs.

50. Write crash dump files
Windows 7 won't create memory.dmp crash files if you've less than 25GB of free hard drive space, annoying if you've installed the Windows debugging tools and want to diagnose your crashes. You can turn this feature off, though: browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashControl, create a new DWORD value called AlwaysKeepMemoryDump, set it to 1, and the crash dump file will now always be saved.

51. Find bottlenecks
From what we've seen so far Windows 7 is already performing better than Vista, but if your PC seems sluggish then it's now much easier to uncover the bottleneck. Click Start, type RESMON and press Enter to launch the Resource Monitor, then click the CPU, Memory, Disk or Network tabs. Windows 7 will immediately show which processes are hogging the most system resources.

The CPU view is particularly useful, and provides something like a more powerful version of Task Manager. If a program has locked up, for example, then right-click its name in the list and select Analyze Process. Windows will then try to tell you why it's hanging - the program might be waiting for another process, perhaps - which could give you the information you need to fix the problem.

FIND BOTTLENECKS: Resource monitor keeps a careful eye on exactly how your PC is being used

52. Keyboard shortcuts
Windows 7 supports several useful new keyboard shortcuts.

Alt+P
Display/ hide the Explorer preview pane

Windows Logo+G
Display gadgets in front of other windows

Windows Logo++ (plus key)
Zoom in, where appropriate

Windows Logo+- (minus key)
Zoom out, where appropriate

Windows Logo+Up
Maximise the current window

Windows Logo+Down
Minimise the current window

Windows Logo+Left
Snap to the left hand side of the screen

Windows Logo+Right
Snap to the right hand side of the screen

Windows Logo+Home
Minimise/ restore everything except the current window

53. Drag and drop to the command line
When working at the command line you'll often need to access files, which usually means typing lengthy paths and hoping you've got them right. But Windows 7 offers an easier way. Simply drag and drop the file onto your command window and the full path will appear, complete with quotes and ready to be used.

This feature isn't entirely new: you could do this in Windows XP, too, but drag and drop support disappeared in Vista. There does seem to be a new Windows 7 complication, though, in that it only seems to work when you open the command prompt as a regular user. Run cmd.exe as an administrator and, while it accepts dropped files, the path doesn't appear.

54. Customise your jumplists
Right-click an icon on your taskbar, perhaps Notepad, and you'll see a jumplist menu that provides easy access to the documents you've been working on recently. But maybe there's another document that you'd like to be always available? Then drag and drop it onto the taskbar icon, and it'll be pinned to the top of the jumplist for easier access. Click the pin to the right of the file name, or right-click it and select "Unpin from this list" when you need to remove it.

55. Faster program launches
If you've launched one instance of a program but want to start another, then don't work your way back through the Start menu. It's much quicker to just hold down Shift and click on the program's icon (or middle-click it), and Windows 7 will start a new instance for you.

56. Speedy video access
Want faster access to your Videos folder? Windows 7 now lets you add it to the Start menu. Just right-click the Start orb, click Properties > Start Menu > Customize, and set the Videos option to "Display as a link". If you've a TV tuner that works with Windows 7 then you'll appreciate the new option to display the Recorded TV folder on the Start menu, too.

57. Run web searches
The Windows 7 search tool can now be easily extended to search online resources, just as long as someone creates an appropriate search connector. To add Flickr support, say, visit I Started Something, click Download the Connector, choose the Open option and watch as it's downloaded (the file is tiny, it'll only take a moment). A "Flickr Search" option will be added to your Searches folder, and you'll be able to search images from your desktop.

A multitude of other ready-made searches, such as Google and YouTube, can be downloaded from the windowsclub.com website.

58. Schedule Media Centre downloads
You can now tell Windows Media Centre to download data at a specific time, perhaps overnight, a useful way to prevent it sapping your bandwidth for the rest of the day. Launch Media Centre, go to Tasks > Settings > General > Automatic Download Options, and set the download start and stop times that you'd like it to use.

59. Multi-threaded Robocopies
Anyone who's ever used the excellent command-line robocopy tool will appreciate the new switches introduced with Windows 7. Our favourite, /MT, can improve speed by carrying out multi-threaded copies with the number of threads you specify (you can have up to 128, though that might be going a little too far). Enter robocopy /? at a command line for the full details.

60. Load IE faster
Some Internet Explorer add-ons can take a while to start, dragging down the browser's performance, but at least IE8 can now point a finger at the worst resource hogs. Click Tools > Manage Add-ons, check the Load Time in the right-hand column, and you'll immediately see which browser extensions are slowing you down.

61. An Alt+Tab alternative
You want to access one of the five Explorer windows you have open, but there are so many other programs running that Alt+Tab makes it hard to pick out what you need. The solution? Hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the Explorer icon. Windows 7 will then cycle through the Explorer windows only, a much quicker way to locate the right one. And of course this works with any application that has multiple windows open.

62. Block annoying alerts
Just like Vista, Windows 7 will display a suitably stern warning if it thinks your antivirus, firewall or other security settings are incorrect.

But unlike Vista, if you disagree then you can now turn off alerts on individual topics. If you no longer want to see warnings just because you've dared to turn off the Windows firewall, say, then click Control Panel > System and Security > Action Centre > Change Action Centre settings, clear the Network Firewall box and click OK.

63. Parallel defrags
The standard Windows 7 defragger offers a little more control than we saw in Vista, and the command line version also has some interesting new features. The /r switch will defrag multiple drives in parallel, for instance (they'll obviously need to be physically separate drives for this to be useful). The /h switch runs the defrag at a higher than normal priority, and the /u switch provides regular progress reports so you can see exactly what's going on. Enter the command

defrag /c /h /u /r

in a command window to speedily defrag a system with multiple drives, or enter defrag /? to view the new options for yourself.

64. Fix Explorer
The Windows 7 Explorer has a couple of potential annoyances. Launching Computer will no longer display system folders like Control Panel or Recycle Bin, for instance. And if you're drilling down through a complicated folder structure in the right-hand pane of Explorer, the left-hand tree won't always expand to follow what you're doing, which can make it more difficult to see exactly where you are. Fortunately there's a quick fix: click Organize > Folder and Search Options, check "Show all folders" and "Automatically expand to current folder", and click OK.

65. Faster file handing
If you hold down Shift while right-clicking a file in Explorer, then you'll find the Send To file now includes all your main user folders: Contacts, Documents, Downloads, Music and more. Choose any of these and your file will be moved there immediately.

66. Create folder favourites
If you're regularly working on the same folder in Explorer then select it in the right-hand page, right-click Favourites on the left-hand menu, and select Add to Favourites. It'll then appear at the bottom of the favourites list for easy one-click access later.

67. Disable hibernation
By default Windows 7 will permanently consume a chunk of your hard drive with its hibernation file, but if you never use sleep, and always turn your PC off, then this will never actually be used. To disable hibernation and recover a little hard drive space, launch REGEDIT, browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power, then set both HibernateEnabled and HiberFileSizePerfect to zero.

POP3 vs. IMAP

2010-01-28T07:23:00.001-08:00

POP3 and IMAP Demystified

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are two different email protocols. Both allow you to access your emails offline from your preferred email client.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Inbox Display

· POP3 downloads all emails into 1 mail folder called "Inbox".

· IMAP preserves your folder structure in a main folder called "imap.gmail.com".

POP3 vs. IMAP: Multi-Computer Access

· POP3 is useful if you only access your email from one computer, since the email is typically downloaded locally (this is the default and can be changed).

· IMAP allows email to be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Storage

· With POP3, your emails can be automatically erased from the server after they are downloaded freeing up space in your account.

· IMAP keeps all emails on the server until you erase them.

Things You Should Know About Your Laptop Battery

2009-12-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

Connect the computer to external AC power under any of the following conditions:
(WARNING! Do not charge the computer battery while you are onboard aircraft.)
When you are charging or calibrating a battery
When you are installing or modifying system software
When you are writing information to a CD or DVD

When you connect the computer to external AC power, the following events occur:

The battery begins to charge.
If the computer is turned on, the battery meter icon in the notification area changes appearance.
When you disconnect external AC power, the following events occur:
The computer switches to battery power.
he display brightness is automatically decreased to save battery life. To increase display
brightness, press the fn+f8 hotkey or reconnect the AC adapter

Calibrating a battery

Calibrate a battery under the following conditions:

● When battery charge displays seem inaccurate
● When you observe a significant change in battery run time

Even if a battery is heavily used, it should not need to be calibrated more than once a month. It is alsonot necessary to calibrate a new battery.

Step 1: Fully charge the battery

To fully charge the battery:

1. Insert the battery into the computer.
2. Connect the computer to an AC adapter, optional power adapter, or optional expansion product,and then plug the adapter or device into external power.The battery light on the computer turns on.
3. Leave the computer plugged into external power until the battery is fully charged.
The battery light on the computer turns off.

Step 2: Disable Hibernation and Sleep

1. Click the battery meter icon in the notification area, and then click More power options.
– or –
Select Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Power Options.
2. Under the current power plan, click Change plan settings.
3. Record the Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep settings listed in the On
battery column so that you can reset them after the calibration.
4. Change the Turn off the display and Put the computer to sleep settings to Never.
5. Click Change advanced power settings.
6. Click the plus sign next to Sleep, and then click the plus sign next to Hibernate after.
7. Record the On battery setting under Hibernate after so that you can reset it after the calibration.
8. Change the On battery setting to Never.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Save changes.

Step 3: Discharge the battery
The computer must remain on while the battery is being discharged. The battery can discharge whether or not you are using the computer, but the battery will discharge faster while you are using it.
● If you plan to leave the computer unattended during the discharge, save your information beforebeginning the discharge procedure.
● If you use the computer occasionally during the discharge procedure and have set energy- saving timeouts, expect the following performance from the system during the discharge process:
◦ The monitor will not turn off automatically.
◦ Hard drive speed will not decrease automatically when the computer is idle.
◦ System-initiated Hibernation will not occur.

To discharge a battery:
1. Unplug the computer from its external power source, but do not turn off the computer.
2. Run the computer on battery power until the battery is discharged. The battery light begins to blink
when the battery has discharged to a low battery level. When the battery is discharged, the battery light turns off and the computer shuts down.

Step 4: Fully recharge the battery

To recharge the battery:
1. Plug the computer into external power and maintain external power until the battery is fully recharged. When the battery is recharged, the battery light on the computer turns off.
You can use the computer while the battery is recharging, but the battery will charge faster if the computer is off.
2. If the computer is off, turn it on when the battery is fully charged and the battery light has turned off

Step 5: Reenable Hibernation and Sleep

CAUTION: Failure to reenable Hibernation after calibration may result in a full battery discharge and information loss if the computer reaches a critical battery level.

1. Click the battery meter icon in the notification area, and then click More power options.
– or –
Select Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Power Options.
2. Under the current power plan, click Change plan settings.
3. Click Restore default settings for this plan, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Conserving battery power

● Select low power-use settings through Power Options in Windows Control Panel.
● Turn off wireless and local area network (LAN) connections and exit modem applications when you are not using them.
● Disconnect external devices that are not plugged into an external power source, when you are not using them.
● Stop, disable, or remove any external media cards that you are not using.
● Use the fn+f7 and fn+f8 hotkeys to adjust screen brightness as needed.
● If you leave your work, initiate Sleep or Hibernation, or shut down the computer.

Storing a battery

CAUTION: To prevent damage to a battery, do not expose it to high temperatures for extended periods of time.

If a computer will be unused and unplugged from external power for more than 2 weeks, remove the battery and store it separately.To prolong the charge of a stored battery, place it in a cool, dry place.

NOTE: A stored battery should be checked every 6 months. If the capacity is less than 50 percent,

recharge the battery before returning it to storage.
Calibrate a battery before using it if it has been stored for one month or more.

Test the Detection Power of your VIRUS GUARD

2009-09-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

After installing VirusScan, you may logically wonder, how do I know if it's working?

To test your installation, copy the following line into its own file, then save the file with the name EICAR.COM. More detailed instructions are found below.

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

The file size will be 68 or 70 bytes.

If VirusScan is running and configured correctly, when you try to save the file, VirusScan will detect the virus. If VirusScan is not running, start it and scan the directory that contains EICAR.COM. When your software scans this file, it will report finding the EICAR test file.

Note that this file is NOT A VIRUS. Delete the file when you have finished testing your installation to avoid alarming unsuspecting
users.

Creating Eicar.com

1. Click on Start.
2. Select Run.
3. In the Open box type: notepad
4. Maximize the window.
5. Highlight the following on the following line of text:
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
6. Right click on the highlighted text and choose 'copy'.
7. Switch back to Notepad.
8. Right click anywhere inside of Notepad and select 'paste'.
9. Click the File menu and select 'save as'.
10. Change the 'Save as Type' to 'all files'.
11. Name the file eicar.com.

Check your virus guard NOW !!!

2009-09-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Advantage of AHCI

Hot-Plugging (will not cover here as it will not affect computer performance)
Native Command Queuing (might improve computer/system/hard disk responsiveness, espcially in multi-tasking environment

Will it slow down my computer

Several websites claim, NCQ (one of AHCI component) will cause performance degradation in single threaded benchmark, but other author claim otherwise. Let put our think hat here.

Their claims might correct at certain extent, but it is hard to prove that those single threaded benchmark will reflect real world application. Nowadays, hard disk is the slowest component in any modern PC (except we are using SSD). Antivirus, firewall, anti-spyware, windows update, background defragmentation, indexing (search), user applications (firefox, word, media player) ; all contribute to super multi-tasking, which I believe NCQ (AHCI) will show it advantage. So, in order to have better understanding on how NCQ (AHCI) could improve system responsiveness, let see what is NCQ actually is.

So, what is NCQ?

In principle, Native Command Queuing is relatively simple. It allows the drive to execute write /read commands that are transmitted randomly in order to optimise the movement of the reading head.

Speed is increased but there is also an impact on power consumption and noise level which is reduced. Of course, applications don’t have to work simultaneously and don’t have to wait for the previous result to send the next command. This of course isn’t always possible. Another possibility in using NCQ is multitasking in the case where you run two very heavy applications simultaneously from the drive point of view.

To better explain this situation, imagine an elevator, in which two people enter simultaneously on the ground floor. The first pushes the 12th floor button and the second the 2nd floor. It would be counterproductive to go to the 12th floor and then to the 2nd floor. The principle of NCQ was already in the ATA norm since 1997 with TCQ (Tagged Command Queuing). This heavier protocol could sometimes lead to significant performance losses in the case of low loads (no or very little command reorganisation to do) and has been integrated in a limited number of controllers. Hitachi supports it on 7K250 drives, like Western and the Raptor WD740GD, while on the chipset side, we can count on NVIDIA but not Intel.

SATA 3.0 Gbits /s defines a new speed of data transmission for the Serial ATA interface. Initially, SATA reached up to 1.5 Gbits /s, which really corresponds to 150 mega-octets per second as 20% of information is dedicated to error correction. The transfer rate is now increased to 300 MB/s but we have to keep in mind that this is the interface speed. It has nothing to do with disc speed alone. At most, cache speed would be affected.

For NCQ to be enabled, it must be supported and turned on in the SATA host bus adapter and in the hard drive itself. The appropriate driver must be loaded into the operating system to enable NCQ on the host bus adapter. Many newer chipsets support the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI), which should allow a generic driver supplied by the operating system to control them and enable NCQ. In fact, newer mainstream Linux kernels support AHCI natively. Unfortunately, Windows XP requires the installation of a vendor-specific driver even if AHCI is present on the host bus adapter. Windows Vista corrects this situation by including a generic AHCI driver.

Benchmark Time J

Note : Intel and nVidia Standard mean these hard disk were benchmark using Intel and nVidia chipset without AHCI technology. Intel AHCI and nVidia Driver mean these hard disk were benchmark with AHCI turned on.

We start with a performance index based on figures obtained with the « XP Startup », « Application Loading » and « General Usage » profiles of PC Mark 2005.

The first thing to notice is that all drives benefit from the change to AHCI or the installation of NVIDIA’s driver. These two parameters allow the activation of NCQ…even for Western drives that do not support this functionality! With Intel’s platform, the most important gains due to AHCI are noted with the Samsung, Maxtor and Seagate drives. With NVIDIA it’s mainly the Raptor 150 GB and Samsung. For Maxtor and Hitachi, however, they are just noticeable.

If you focus just on drive performances, the Western SE16 dominates followed by Hitachi. Seagate ends up last behind Samsung.

Perfs – file copy

Performances – file copying

The next test is file copying. We measured reading, writing, and also the copy of the following files on hard drives: 2 big files for a total of 4.4 GB, plus 2620 files which total 2 GB, and finally 16046 files which weighs 733 MB. The source or target for reading or writing on the disc are two Raptor 74 GB in RAID which are capable of ensuring a transfer rate of 110 MB/s without restrictions.

This type of information is uninteresting of course because if the sequential transfer rate gives an idea of performances during the copy of big files, things will be different with small files. We copied the files in two different ways: whiting the same partition in the beginning of the disc and from this partition to a second one that begins at the middle of the disc.

First surprise, for unknown reasons the activation of AHCI on the installation of NVIDIA drivers notably reduces some of the reading performances: it is the case of the Raptor 150 GB in AHCI and the Seagate and Maxtor drives with NVIDIA’s drivers. These two use Agere controllers. Only the Western SE/SE16 really benefit from the modification which is in fact the installation of NVIDIA’s drivers. Except for these cases we noted that the Maxtor and Samsung provide the best transfer rates here whereas Western and Seagate are the slowest.

For writing however, AHCI/Driver NVIDIA gains are significant except for Seagate and Hitachi’s drive with NVIDIA’s platform. We noted the excellent performances of Samsung’s drive and the opposite for the Maxtor, which was really good for reading. Fortunately, gains obtained by the AHCI and NVIDIA’s drivers for this disc compensate for this.

Whether it’s for close or far copy, one drive is here very surprising when used with an AHCI controller. The Samsung drive is much faster than a Raptor and 30% ahead of the closest 7200 Rpm competitor. We made several tests to confirm these results and we always obtained the same figures. The other surprise was the performance drop recorded on the Maxtor with NVIDIA’s drivers.
We also noted that a better access time doesn’t guaranty better performances for extended copies, because Hitachi’s performance reduction is more significant with a close copy than other discs. Except for Samsung and the Raptor, it’s the Western SE16 which is the fastest here.

Perfs – IOmeter per platform

Performances – IOmeter per platform

IOMeter is used to simulate a load in a multi-user environment. It’s a load type file server comprised of 80% reading and 20% writing, which is 100% randomly accessed on the disc. In this case, the NCQ can be particularly useful. We tested the IOMeter with a number of concurrent commands from 1 to 128 and of course for a single command, the NCQ doesn’t bring any improvements. The performance gap with the Raptor is much more significant, because this drive is particularly well suited to this type of use.

As the volume of data is rather significant we decided to represent it first per platform then below per drive with and without activation of the AAM on Intel’s platform.

For Intel and without AHCI, Western drives are ahead whatever the number of simultaneous accesses. Seagate is very close but loses ground beyond 16 accesses, even though the Hitachi and Samsung are relatively close. The Maxtor’s performances are clearly lower, however, despite a gap that tends to diminish as the load increases.

The activation of AHCI changes things. The Maxtor drive sees its performances increasing from 2 concurrent accesses to come in first (except of course for the Raptor). Maxtor can say thank you to NCQ. If Seagate also benefits from the NCQ, it isn’t really the case for Hitachi. Of course, it doesn’t change the Western SE/S16’s performances, because it simply doesn’t support this function. However, this doesn’t prevent them from reaching very high performances.

Without NVIDIA’s drivers, performances with NVIDIA’s platform are relatively similar to those obtained with Intel.

With NVIDIA’s drivers, the situation is different, because the NCQ really seems to work with 8 concurrent accesses and above. This is quite a lot and it doesn’t often happen in the case of a single user. Maxtor’s drive is strongly impacted even if it doesn’t stop it from being in the lead with 128 accesses (5% faster than with Intel’s platform).

Perfs – IOmeter per disc & AAM

Performances – IOMeter per drive & AAM

Here are now performances obtained per disc. In addition we added results obtained with AAM (Automatic Acoustic Management) activated on Intel’s platform.

For Hitachi, the NCQ doesn’t bring much whether it’s on an NVIDIA or Intel platform. We noted that with this type of access the AAM strongly reduces performances. The gap tends to reduce with the increase in number of simultaneous accesses.

We noticed with Maxtor’s drive that if NCQ based performance gains are visible from the start on the Intel platform, they only appear beyond 8 concurrent accesses on the nForce. It then immediately catches up and even results are even better. It’s rather unfortunate however, because in practice this type of drive will be of use for personal computers or with a limited amount of concurrent accesses. Here we can easily see the benefit of the NCQ to counter the negative effect of the AAM as from 4 simultaneous accesses the NCQ compensates completely.

Like with Samsung’s drive it is only from 16 concurrent accesses that the interest of NCQ is noticeable. Performances from this figure are much higher however than the one obtained with Intel’s platform. We noted that the activation of AAM leads to less significant performance reductions than with the Hitachi or Maxtor in this area.

With Seagate’s drive it isn’t possible to activate the AAM, which isn’t too critical. Once again, we have to wait until more than 8 accesses for the nForce NCQ to bring performance gains.

NCQ isn’t on the two Western drives and this is the reason why performances are similar between NVIDIA and Intel with or without AHCI / Driver. Once more we noted that even without NCQ, the gap due to the AAM tends to diminish with the increase of the number of concurrent accesses.

Here now is the Raptor 150 GB, which is in a totally different league except for NVIDIA’s NCQ performances.

Perfs – Perfs index & files with AAM

Performances – Applicative index & file copy with AAM

If performances with the IOMeter are strongly affected by AAM activation (because of the 100% random nature of disc accesses) we should take a look at the level of performances in less extreme situations.

As you can see, the performance drop is almost invisible on the Hitachi and isn’t huge on the Maxtor and Samsung. It’s greater for Western Digital. The Seagate 7200.10 doesn’t allow the user to modify the noise level whereas its adjustment with the Raptor doesn’t change anything.

We could have expected such a result. Whether it’s with reading or writing, performances don’t change much with or without noise management as heads don’t have to move a lot.

For copying the performance loss is notable for some of the discs such as the Western and slightly so with the Samsung. Hitachi and Maxtor’s performances remain almost unchanged. At times we even recorded a slight performance increase but this is most likely a testing error.

Warning (Potential Problem with AHCI)

Common problems switching to AHCI under Windows :

Enabling AHCI in a system BIOS will cause a 0×7B Blue Screen of Death STOP error (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE) on installations of Windows XP where AHCI/RAID drivers for that system’s chipset are not installed. Switching to AHCI mode requires installing new drivers before changing the BIOS settings.
For Intel chipsets (for example, Intel ICH9) drivers are available from either an OEM board or computer manufacturer. For the Intel versions, the driver must be loaded before loading the OS (by pressing F6 as setup starts).The Intel drivers will work for both XP and Vista. Also, in the case of ICH9, an unsupported method to enable AHCI on ICH9 is available.
When attempting to install Microsoft Windows XP or a previous version on an AHCI-enabled system will cause the setup to fail with the error message “set up could not detect hard disk drive…”. This problem can only be corrected by either using a floppy disk with the appropriate drivers, by slipstreaming the appropriate drivers into the Windows XP installation CD or by turning on IDE emulation in the BIOS settings if available (usually called as COMPATABILITY or ACPI).
Enabling AHCI in a system BIOS with Windows Vista already installed will result in a BSoD if SATA has been running in IDE mode during Vista’s installation. Before enabling AHCI in the BIOS, users must first follow the instructions found at Microsoft Knowledge Base article 922976.
Enabling AHCI in a system BIOS on installations of Windows XP or Windows Vista will cause SATA Optical drives to disappear. A Hotfix for Windows Vista is available under the title: “SATA optical drives are not available after you start a Windows Vista-based computer.” This problem is also fixed in Vista SP1.

Common problems switching to AHCI under Linux :

AHCI controller does not work on AMD/ATI RS400-200 and RS480 HBA when MSI is enabled due to a hardware error. In order for AHCI to work users must provide the “pci=nomsi” kernel boot parameter. With MSI disabled in this way, the PCIe bus can only act as a faster PCI bus with hotplug capabilities. This is also true of the Nvidia nForce 560 chipset.
AHCI controller on AMD/ATI SB600 HBA can’t do 64-bit DMA transfers. 64-bit addressing is optional in AHCI 1.1 and the chip claims it can do them, but in reality it can’t, so it is disabled. After that it will be forced to do 32-bit DMA transfers. Thus DMA transfers will occur in the lower 4 GiB region of the memory, and bounce buffers must be used sometimes if there is more than 4 GiB of RAM.

Verdict :

These extensive benchmarks clearly show to us, AHCI (NCQ) definitely could improve computer system responsiveness, transfer rate, number of IO per second and the list goes on. Enough to say, it will make your hard disk more efficient (and indirectly reduce it wear and tear). Notice that, not every hard disk with NCQ turn on could provide positive performance gain at every single benchmark. I believe this phenomenon explain why certain author claim NCQ improve their benchmark score while others don’t.

As for DELL VOSTRO 1310, I realize, AHCI or NCQ improve my system (Vista) responsiveness espcially when I am using several programmes. Background activity such as anti-virus, spyware, defrag or event torrenting seem lighter than before (IDE). For the record, my DELL VOSTRO 1310 use WesternDigital SATA 300 with NCQ mobile hard disk.

My personal recommendation, turn on AHCI if your system permit you to do so. For Vista user, you can turn AHCI support without reformat your system. What you need to do is, enable Vista standard AHCI driver (provided you install Vista in IDE mode, so AHCI driver is not activated) using regedit.

Convert SATA IDE to AHCI on Vista?

2009-09-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Consider the following scenario. In the BIOS setup of a Microsoft Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer, you change the Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) mode of the boot drive to use the Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) specification. You then restart the computer. In this scenario, you receive the following error message:

STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE

This issue occurs if the AHCI driver (Msahci.sys) in Windows 7 and Windows Vista is disabled. This driver must be enabled before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive.

Important in This method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

To resolve this issue, enable the AHCI driver in the registry before you change the SATA mode of the boot drive. To do this, follow these steps:

Exit all Windows-based programs.
Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.

During the Windows 7 or Windows Vista installation process, any unused storage drivers are disabled. This behavior speeds up the operating system's startup process. When you change the boot drive to a driver that has been disabled, you must enable the new driver before you change the hardware configuration.

For example, assume that you install Windows Vista or Windows 7 on a computer that contains a controller that uses the Pciide.sys driver. Later, you change the SATA mode to AHCI. Therefore, the drive must now load the Msahci.sys driver. However, you must enable the Msahci.sys driver before you make this change.

This issue affects only the boot drive. If the drive that you change is not the boot drive, you do not experience this issue.

AHCI provides several features for SATA devices. These include hot plug functionality and power management functionality. For more information about the AHCI specification, visit the following Intel Web site:

http://www.intel.com/technology/serialata/ahci.htm

APPLIES TO

Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Starter
Windows Vista Ultimate
Windows 7 Enterprise
Windows 7 Enterprise N
Windows 7 Home Basic
Windows 7 Home Premium
Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Professional N
Windows 7 Starter
Windows 7 Starter N
Windows 7 Ultimate
Windows 7 Ultimate N

Advanced Host Controller Interface(AHCI)

2009-09-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

The Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) specification describes the register-level interface for a host controller for Serial ATA. The specification includes a description of the hardware/software interface between system software and the host controller hardware. This specification is intended for hardware component designers, system builders and device driver (software) developers.

Implementation of the Advanced Host Controller Interface specification requires a license from Intel. Contributors of the Advanced Host Controller Interface specification for Serial ATA have signed the Advanced Host Controller Interface specification for Serial ATA - contributors agreement in order to be licensed to use and implement this specification. This contributors agreement provides Contributors with a reciprocal, royalty-free license to certain intellectual property rights from Intel and other Contributors for their products that are compliant with the licensed versions of the Advanced Host Controller Interface specification for Serial ATA.

Intel intends to continue including suitable inputs, comments and suggestions from contributors to refine and update the Advanced Host Controller Interface specification through a series of specification releases that will be marked as being revision 1.x of the specification. Licensing of the applicable final specification of the AHCI Specification (as defined in the contributors agreement) allows the implementation of both discrete and integrated compliant AHCI host controllers. Licensing of the applicable draft version of the applicable specification level (also defined in the contributors agreement) will allow the implementation of compliant, discrete AHCI host controllers only.

The latest revision of the specification is revision 1.3. Subsequent revision 1.x levels of the specification will be completed by Intel at its discretion as time and circumstances permit.

How to Choose the Best Web Browser

2009-08-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Today's Web browsers are faster and more feature-rich than ever before. If you're not sure which one you should use, our look at the most popular options will help prep you for prime surfing.

The recent launch of Firefox 3.5 was just the latest in a crescendo of activity on the browser front over the past few months. We've seen Google tout speed with its bare-bonesChrome 2. We've seen Apple's Safari 4 bring on both the speed and all the interface eye candy we've come to expect. Opera has come in with not only a beta of its feature-packed version 10, but also an alpha of an app called Opera Unite that makes the browser a server as well as a consumer. Starting it all was that juggernaut Microsoft, coming out withInternet Explorer 8, which the company claimed was more compliant with open Web standards.

But it turns out that standards are a far murkier issue than they may first seem. Firefox's promoters will brand IE as a completely behind-the-times, non-standards-supporting browser, but the standards Firefox supports haven't yet been ratified by the organization that's been the official keeper of the standards, the W3C. Firefox's support for the tag is a good example: Though the tag itself is adopted by the W3C, the Ogg Theora video codec Firefox supports with the tag is anything but.

Rendering speed is another issue to consider when choosing a browser. Though all browsers today are much faster than they were a few years ago, the clear winner—at least as far as JavaScript rendering—is Chrome. JavaScript rendering is important for modern sites, which are behaving increasingly like applications rather than static pages. Chrome performed best in my tests using the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark, finishing in just 1,503 ms. But Safari isn't far behind, at 1,707 ms, and Firefox is right in the mix, at 2,413 ms. The once-snappiest Opera trails at 7,974 ms, and IE8 is left in the dust with a 10,281-ms time.

In terms of features and customizability, Firefox, IE, Opera, and Safari all outshine the stripped-down Chrome. But no browser can come close to Firefox in both its extensions and theming capabilities. Mozilla's "Fashion My Firefox" and "Personas" tools make it simple for novice users to customize the browser to their hearts' content. IE also has an add-on capability, but there's nowhere near the ecosystem for it as there is for Firefox. True, only IE offers WebSlices and Accelerators, which deliver up-to-date data to you with little fuss, right inside the browser, but few sites currently support WebSlices.

One thing's for sure: There's no lack of choice in today's market, with speed, site compatibility, and convenience features abounding in free browsers both from the large software companies and open source projects. And if the big players aren't to your taste, there are interesting lesser-known browsers, such as the recent Japanese import, Lunascape 5, which actually combines the rendering engines of Firefox, IE, and Safari. Whichever you choose, your browsing is bound to be smoother than it was even two years ago. Here are our takes and links to reviews of the top recent entries to help you make your choice.

Firefox 3.5

With version 3.5 of its browser, Firefox shows its willingness to champion emerging Web standards and continue to improve speed. Add the new private browsing mode, improved tab handling, and incredible customizability, and you have a winning combination.

Google Chrome 2.0

This version of the speediest browser gets even faster and adds a few features its more mature competitors already offer. But Chrome still trails in convenience and customizability.

Internet Explorer 8

The latest version of the world's leading browser delivers category-leading security and adds some pretty slick browsing aids, such as WebSlices and Accelerators. It defaults to a more standards-compliant mode, but still offers a backward compatibility button. A predictive address bar brings it closer to Firefox, but the lack of a download manager and robust extension ecosystem hold the browser back.

Opera 9.5

This version of Opera is faster, has better standards support and includes lots of unique browsing helpers. But some sites still don't play well on the Opera stage. Version 10 is available in beta form, but you can already read ourOpera 10 beta hands-on. Another remarkable Opera project is Unite, which turns the browser into a peer-to-peer server, although this feature is still in alpha.

Safari 4

Safari offers plenty of eye candy, with its Cover Flow history display. Some clever interface innovations, near-Chrome speed, and site compatibility make it a good choice overall. For Mac users, the Safari 4 upgrade is a no-brainer, but Windows users will probably prefer Firefox or Chrome as IE alternatives.

The folks at Mozilla have deemed the changes in this incarnation of the popular Firefox browser significant enough to skip the planned version 3.1 and instead bump up the release number to 3.5. And I agree—it's a big improvement. By its appearance, you'd be hard pressed to tell how Firefox 3.5 differs from 3.0, but it's what's inside that counts. The new version speeds up JavaScript performance and catches up with other recent browsers like Internet Explorer 8, Opera 10, and Safari 4 by adding a private browsing mode. And 3.5 builds on everything that made the previous versions of Firefox great, like the myriad extensions and themes and the "awesome" address bar for quickly getting where you're going on the Web. The result? An impressive piece of software gets even better.

How to make strong, easy-to-remember passwords

2009-08-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

One of the best ways to protect your online security is to have strong passwords that you change periodically. But that's easier said than done. Coming up with hard-to-guess passwords is hard enough, but it's even harder to have separate passwords for different sites and to remember new ones after you change them.

One way to create a password that's hard to guess but easy to remember is to make up a phrase. You could type in the entire phrase (some sites let you use spaces, others don't) or you can use the initials of each word in the phrase, for instance, "Igfsliit2010" for "I graduated from Srilanka Institute of Technology in 2010." You get the idea--upper case numbers, letters, and symbols that are seemingly meaningless to everyone but you. Microsoft has an excellent primer on passwords and a password strength checker.

But even if you do come up with a clever and hard-to-remember password, don't use it for every site. Since lots of people do that, there's the risk that a sleazy site operator--or a sleazy person who works for a legitimate site--could use it to break into your accounts on other sites.

Password managers
One solution is to use a password manager. There are several available programs and Web storage services, but the ones I'm most familiar with are RoboForm and Lastpass. These programs can generate passwords for you and remember them so you don't have to. Both programs are, themselves, password protected, though you have the option of running RoboForm without a password or having Lastpass remember its own password on your PC. That's OK as long as no one else has access to your machine. I recommend that you manually enter your master password on a laptop that could more easily fall into the wrong hands.

RoboForm has a free trial version that's limited to 10 passwords after the trial ends. Lastpass is free.

RoboForm has been around for a long time, but Lastpass is a relatively new offering. Company CEO Joe Siegrist describes the program as a hybrid because it stores your passwords and usernames both on your machine and on the Web. You can download the browser plug-in to a PC or a Mac to work directly with Firefox on either platform or Internet Explorer on Windows, but there are also ways to use it with Safari and Chrome. Because it has a Web interface, it can work with any Web-enabled device, but the plug-ins for IE and Firefox make it easier to use.

On Firefox and IE, Lastpass records your usernames and passwords when you first enter password-protected sites and then enters them for you automatically for subsequent visits. Passwords are stored in a "vault," which is actually a Web page stored on your PC, as well as the company's servers, so you can access it from any device, including a borrowed machine. The password vault on your machine is automatically synchronized with the server, so you don't have to worry about synchronizing or backing up your data.

Password data, according to Siegrist, is encrypted on the PC and on the servers. He said that no one--himself included--can decrypt them without the master password that only you know. Assuming the encryption is as good as he says it is, this should protect your security even if their servers are compromised. The company provides a lot of security information on its FAQ.

There are also versions for Blackberry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Android as well as a Web site for phones and browsers that aren't supported directly.

Download Accelarator Addon For FireFox ...DownThemAll! 1.1.4

2009-07-19T09:14:00.000-07:00

Add to Firefox

recommended

Version	1.1.4
Works with	Firefox: 3.0 – 3.5.*
Updated	June 30, 2009
Developers	Federico Parodi, Nils Maier, others
Homepage	http://www.downthemall.net/
Rating	Rated 5 out of 5 stars 732 reviews
Downloads	28,823,132 Statistics

The first and only download manager/accelerator built inside Firefox!

More about this add-on

DownThemAll is all you can desire from a download manager: it features an advanced accelerator that increases speed up to 400% and it allows you to pause and resume downloads at any time.

DownThemAll is fast, reliable and easy-to-use! It lets you download all the links or images contained in a webpage and much more: you can refine your downloads by fully customizable criteria to get only what you really want!

DownThemAll is absolutely freeware and open-source. No Adware, no Spyware.

For more information,
http://www.downthemall.net/howto/features/

Image Gallery

Support

Support for this add-on is provided by the developer at http://www.downthemall.net/howto/faq/#faq5

What You Need to Know About Network Attacks

2009-07-17T23:03:00.001-07:00

’ve already introduced you to some of the most common network attacks like the IP address sweep, port scanning, and IP spoofing.

I have also recently covered the ping of death and other network attacks, including the SYN flood, UDP flood, ICMP flood and the teardrop attack.

Now that we have the basic Denial of Service Attacks (aka DoS attacks) and the Reconnaissance Attacks out of the way, let’s talk about other types of network attacks.

Today I’ll focus on:

Access Attacks
Worms, Viruses and Trojan Horse attacks
Application Layer Attacks

I hope that this article, along with my previous ones, will shed some light on vulnerabilities in security and help you with your concerns regarding your network’s security needs. It may even inspire you to get your CCNA Security Certification.

Access Attacks

Access attacks are performed by intruders that illegally gain access to account databases and any other type of personal and confidential information. In order to achieve their destructive intentions, access attackers try to “dig” in well known “holes” of all basic text messages that might occur during an FTP or web service.

Keep in mind that not all attackers originate from the outside world. A lot of intrusion incidents have been reported as jobs from within the organization. So don’t think that all attackers have to first overcome the constraints of accessing the system’s boundary.

They may already be logged into the system. They may be the people sitting right next to you, sharing the same resources, asking you for advice.

The main types of access attacks are:

Password attacks
Port redirection
Man-in-the-middle attacks

Let’s examine each one of these malicious attacks in more detail.

• Brute-Force Attacks

The attacker is repeatedly trying to guess the administrator’s password with the help of sophisticated software that uses time-consuming, advanced computational methods to compute the encrypted password.

The end result is that the attacker equipped with the decrypted administrator password is now capable of fulfilling all of his malicious plans.

• Port Redirection

IP redirected traffic has been always a security headache. An attacker that is familiar with the network of the victim could install a special application on a user’s computer that could redirect traffic towards a specific user via the hacked user. This is accomplished without violating firewall rules in the network.

• Man-In-The-Middle Attack

This type of attack can be implemented when someone working for your ISP gains access to all the traffic that originated from your network towards any other network. And if you didn’t implement security protocols, then the attacker could examine and analyze your traffic in order to obtain information regarding your network and users in it.

But that’s not all the attacker is capable of. Corruption of transmitted data is something even worst, and the attacker can even alter your data.

In my opinion, password attacks are extremely dangerous. They’re all about obtaining a user account password, and having the password at hand the attacker can invade the system pretending to be an authorized user and cause catastrophic effects on the system’s operations.

I have a few suggestions for minimizing the chances of being exposed to these types of attackers. But before we move on to that, let’s take a look at more network attacks — worms, viruses and Trojan horse attacks.

Worms, Viruses and Trojan Horse Attacks

Last year I wrote an article on the best ways to battle viruses, worms and Trojan horse attacks so if you’re not familiar with these types of network attacks, take a look at the article now.

What you need to remember about viruses and Trojan horses is that they can be effectively eliminated with the use of an up-to-date antivirus system, or even better by implementing a host-based intrusion prevention system (HIPS) like Cisco’s Security Agents (CSAs). CSAs is a specialized software that monitors all kinds of activity performed on a given host and protects the host by implementing a state of the art antivirus and network firewall.

Application Layer Attacks

Unfortunately, application layer attacks cannot be completely eliminated. More and more application vulnerabilities are constantly being discovered, which in turn provides more and more harmful capabilities to attackers.

Application layer attacks are actually like any other attack on your network. The purpose of this attack does not differ from others; it’s nothing more than exploiting the network of the victim, acquiring access and performing malicious plans on the system.

What actually differs is the method of performing the attack. Attackers try to take advantage of well-known application vulnerabilities like for example sendmail or FTP.

More and more software weaknesses are discovered. The software production companies take correction measures against these weaknesses but unfortunately the evil mind of an attacker is always capable of discovering fresh new software malfunctions.

5 Network Security Tips To Live By

Do you think that danger is all around your network? Do you feel that you are about to be the next victim of an attackers malicious plot? Do you fully understand the consequences of overlooking your network’s security needs?

I hope you will take this article along with all other security related articles really seriously for the sake of your network and your career. I would like to close this article with a quick reminder about all those little things that MUST be followed if you want to be able to sleep peacefully at night and your network to operate safely.

ALWAYS keep your operating system and antivirus software up-to-date
Keep your eyes open — make sure that you’re aware of the newly discovered vulnerabilities and don’t hesitate to request advice and guidance from others
Pay attention to your system — observe and analyze your system’s log files (operating system logs, network device logs etc) on a daily basis
Don’t use plain text passwords — encrypt your passwords where possible using strong encryption algorithms and keep your passwords safe. If you need to have them in an electronic file or even on a piece of paper make sure you keep them in a safe place, somewhere where only you have access to.
Set appropriate policies to both host computers and network devices to lock login accounts after 3 consecutive unsuccessful login attempts. This way you eliminate the chance of having someone continuously try to resolve the password.

If you have any good tips for securing your network share them in the comments.

How to Prevent Threats and Attacks on Your Cisco Network

2009-07-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

Most network attacks are well documented and investigated. The behavior of these attacks and the various stages that these attacks are progressing have already being examined and clarified. In this article I’ll provide you with all the necessary details concerning the behavior and attack strategy of the most dangerous malicious attacks that could invade your system and cause harmful irreversible effects.

Getting to Know Your Enemies

The few minutes that you’ll spend reading this article will save you hundreds of minutes and possibly hundreds of dollars that you might need to repair the ruins that your attackers leave behind — if they find you unprepared for them.

Today I’ll focus mainly on the reconnaissance methods that the attackers exploit and present in detail how these methods achieve their goals (which in this case is about how the enemy learns about YOU!)

The Various Stages of an Attack

All malicious attacks go through a couple of stages.

In the first stage, the attacker collects and evaluates information from the prospective “victim.” In the second stage, the actual attack is performed while at the same time the attacker tries to hide evidence about its operation.

You’re probably wondering “what kind of information does the attacker try to collect?” Just to give you an idea, below is a small list of information about a given network that would make an attacker really happy:

IP addresses of active hosts
The actual port numbers that are active on the active hosts
The topology of the network
The operating system of the hosts

Let’s start by introducing basic Reconnaissance Techniques that attackers exploit.

Reconnaissance Methods

• IP Address Sweep

A malicious agent is sending continuous ICMP packets (echo requests) to different hosts within a defined interval (5 milliseconds is the default). The purpose of this is to have at least one host replying back, thus exposing itself to the attacker.

The easiest way to preclude an attacker from performing an IP address sweep is to disable all ICMP traffic., but this could mean that you lose network diagnostics. More advanced systems can monitor sessions and identify IP address sweeps by monitoring the rate of transmission of ICMP messages originating from a particular source.

• Port Scanning

An attacker is trying to find an active service on a remote host by sending TCP SYN segments to different ports at the same destination IP address within a defined interval.

Similar to an IP address sweep, this can be avoided by applying access control lists. Sophisticated systems (such as Cisco IPS) can monitor the number of ports scanned by a given remote source and block all further requests when the number of port scans reaches a predefined value within a defined interval.

• Network Reconnaissance Using IP Options

IP standard supports a set of options that provide special routing functionality and diagnostics. These options are rarely used and if they are, they are probably added for evil use.

Therefore, in a secure network it is advisable to drop IP packets that contain IP Options headers. Cisco Intrusion Prevention signatures can identify such packets and discard them. You can find more details about the intended use of these options in RFC 791.

• Discovering Victim’s Operating System

A great advantage for an attacker is to discover the Operating System of its potential target. Equipped with this knowledge, the attacker could launch the appropriate vulnerability. A few ways exist for identifying the os of a host:

1. SYN and FIN Flags Set

Those of you who didn’t read my article on TCP-IP, now is a good time to do so to refresh your memory about the TCP header.

Normally, in a given TCP segment, the SYN and FIN flags are not set together. A SYN flag is used when initiating a TCP connection and a FIN flag is used when terminating a TCP connection. Therefore, a TCP header with both these flags set is an up normal situation which causes various responses from the recipient host based on the operating system.

An attacker could set these Flags on, as seen in the figure below, causing the recipient party to reveal its operating system and open the way for the attacker to launch the next possible vulnerability attack.

2. Only FIN Flag is Set

Normally, TCP segments with the FIN flag set also have the ACK flag set to acknowledge reception of the last packet. Having a FIN flag without ACK flag is an up normal behavior which may lead in revealing the recipients operating system according to the response provided.

3. No Flag is Set

A normal TCP header has at least one flag set. Having a TCP segment with no Flags set is again an up normal condition leading to various responses according to the operating system.

• IP Spoofing

An old method of malicious attacks is having a source host injecting a fake IP source address pretending to be a trusted host. This is called IP Spoofing and the most common way to deal with it is to properly configure an ACL to block traffic from the untrusted network that has a source address which should reside in the trusted network.

Sinhala Dictionary ADDON for Firefox

2009-06-20T00:07:00.000-07:00

EnSiTip 1.9.9

English-Sinhala-English instant word translation for Firefox

Language Support

Updated June 25, 2008

Let me install this experimental add-on. What's this?

Add to Firefox

Download Now

Rated 5 out of 5 stars 19 reviews

340 weekly downloads
5,882 total downloads

Long Description

EnSiTip is an easy-to-use popup dictionary add-on for Firefox. After installing this extension, just hover the mouse on top of an English word and a popup will appear with suggestions of possible Sinhala equivalents.

Works with:

Firefox: 1.5 – 3.0.*

See All Versions

Homepage

http://www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk/ltrl/projects/EnSiTip/

Support

Support for this add-on is provided by the developer at http://www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk/ltrl/projects/EnSiTip/ or by sending an e-mail to raw@ucsc.cmb.ac.lk

Advanced Details

Version 1.9.9 — June 25, 2008 — 996 KB

EnSiTip now works with Firefox 3! This is a beta release and expect the EnSiTip2 (code name - EnSiTip AR) by 11-07-2008.

Features introduced in this release:

* Supports Firefox 3
* Custom font support - Now you can choose your favorite font: Potha, LKLUK, Malithi Web
* Custom dictionary support: You can add your own dictionaries (this means, EnSiTip is now universal and you can add other languages too).
* Automatically translate text inside controls (e.g. buttons)
* Easy translation with context menu suggestions
* Fixed errors in Sinhala entries
* Improved efficiency

View statistics

Panasonic to Announce CULV-Based 10.4-Inch Laptop

2009-06-07T08:32:00.002-07:00

The ongoing craze around Intel's latest CULV platform for ultra-light, portable computer systems appears to have reached consumer electronics maker Panasonic, which has decided to roll out its latest portable computer system, interestingly dubbed Let's Note Light R8. Powered by a low-power Intel processor and coming with a fast Solid State Drive (SSD) storage solution, this new ultraportable PC comes to provide users with an alternative to some of the already unveiled CULV-based laptops, such as MSI's X-Slim series and Acer's Timeline family.

According to the available specifications of Panasonic's new “Let's Note Light” laptop, users will be able to take advantage of the performance delivered by the system's integrated Core 2 Solo SU3500, which has been set to run at a low-power frequency of 1.4GHz. In addition, the system has been equipped with 2GB of RAM memory and a 64GB SSD that promises read speeds of 220MB/s. For a plus of performance, the memory can be increased to a total of 4GB, thanks to the support enabled by Intel's low-power chipset.

Unlike most of the other CULV-based laptops, this latest release from Panasonic doesn't appear to boast a really slim-line design. On the other hand, unlike other CULV laptops, the Panasonic Let's Note Light features a smaller 10.4-inch form factor, which could place it as a competitor for other 10-inch, Atom-powered netbooks.

Additional features that will be available for those looking for a Panasonic laptop include the usual array of connectivity options, such as Gigabit Ethernet and WiFi. Despite the smaller form factor, the system is said to be featured with a battery that can provide up to 9 hours of runtime on a single charge.

Unfortunately, there's no word on when it will be released worldwide, but the company plans to introduce it on June 24th in Japan, with a starting price tag of US$1750.

NEC Intros Large 43-Inch Curved Display

2009-06-07T08:32:00.001-07:00

Coming to deliver support to users in the professional graphics industry, NEC Display Solutions has just announced the introduction of its new 43-inch CRV43 ultra-widescreen desktop monitor, designed to provide a large viewing space and a new curved display. Due to be showcased at the InfoComm 09 event, the latest display release from NEC stands out from the crowd thanks to its large form factor and unique curved design feature. The overall design of the new NEC monitor allows for a more

comprehensive viewing experience.

“The NEC CRV43 curved display provides an excitingly immersive viewing experience for any type of user,” said Keith Yanke, director of product marketing for NEC Display Solutions. “Its lightning-fast response time coupled with its seamless curved screen provides enhanced comfort, decreased frustration and increased productivity. The monitor eliminates the bezel and screen gap issues that have complicated users’ work environments for years.”

According to the company, its new 43-inch display has been featured with support for a native resolution of 2800 by 900 pixels, double WXGA with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. Additional features include a brightness of 200 cd/m², a 0.02ms response time, single link DVI-D and HDMI 1.3 input connectors, USB 2.0 connectivity and front panel controls. For a better management of the monitor's features, the CRV43 adopts an On Screen Display (OSD) and software-based GUI, which will enable its users to tweak and control the various options available.

Due to its large form factor and overall design features, the new NEC CRV43 will meet the requirements of consumers in the professional graphics, higher education, government, financial, command and control and home office environments. These users are most likely to benefit from what NEC's latest display can deliver. However, these consumers could also be the only ones that will be able to acquire one such beast. According to NEC, its new CRV43 monitor will be available starting next month, for a price tag of US$7,999.

Globalfoundries Is on Track for 28nm by 2011

2009-06-07T08:31:00.001-07:00

According to recent reports, Globalfoundries is on track to ramp up production of the 28nm manufacturing process by 2011. In addition, Tom Sonderman, Globalfoundries vice president of manufacturing systems and technology, has confirmed that the company is ready to break ground for this new facility (Fab 2) at the Luther Forest Technology

Campus in New York, as early as July. The VP has also announced that the yields for 45nm technology have matured and that the company is now heading towards the next-generation 28nm.

The recently founded Globalfoundries is already seen as a potential competitor for the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), just a few months since its debut on the market. One of the main reasons for this comparison is that the Globalfoundries is currently planning to ramp up production of the next-generation 32nm and 28nm manufacturing technologies, consequently providing support for AMD's next-generation processors.

In a recent news-article on Digitimes, Tom Sonderman has said that the company is currently planning to ramp 28nm at Fab 2, as it has already seen mature 45nm yields. It is also planning to migrate all production of 40/45nm to Fab 1 by the end of this year, consequently paving the way for sub 28nm production. According to Sonderman, Globalfoundries is aiming to advance its process technology to sub-45nm class ahead of the world's leading chip maker, Intel.

In an additional note, AMD has just announced that is has successfully ramped up production of its new graphics chips, using TSMC's 40nm node, meaning that the company is on schedule to deliver the new cards before the end of this year. These new GPUs are said to provide users with support for Microsoft's next-generation DirectX 11 API, which AMD has recently demonstrated during a presentation at Computex in Taiwan.

Intel's Lynnfield Is 5GHz-Capable

2009-06-07T08:30:00.001-07:00

According to recent reports, citing sources at the Taiwanese motherboard manufacturer, the upcoming Lynnfied processors from Intel will provide an excellent overclocking platform. These CPUs will reportedly be able to hit clock speeds of 5GHz, using air cooling solutions. Although the rumors are yet to be officially confirmed by the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker, the prospect of a 5GHz-capable CPU might just appeal to some computer enthusiasts, which could upgrade to Intel's next-generation

processors due to this unique feature.

In a recent news-article, Tim Smalley from bit-tech cites sources near the motherboard maker in Taiwan, saying that Intel's next-generation mainstream processors, codenamed Lynnfield, will be capable of reaching impressive speeds with the help of their integrated Turbo mode. According to an Intel spokesperson, this feature alone will enable the company's upcoming processors to provide users with more than 500MHz of speed boost over the CPU's standard clock frequency.

Different reports indicate that Intel's Lynnfield CPUs could easily provide up to 600MHz increase in performance over the factory-set clock speeds. This would enable the much rumored high-end 3.2GHz Lynnfield processor to hit speeds of approximately 3.8GHz, which should deliver some performance increments using an air-cooling solution. Despite no official word from Intel regarding the overclocking capabilities of the upcoming Lynnfield CPUs, users might benefit more if they wait for the official unveiling of Intel's next-generation mainstream processors.

There have been a series of reports in recent days, regarding Intel's upcoming processor update. As it turns out, Chipzilla has been stating that the Core i5 branding is nothing more than a rumor and that its upcoming Lynnfield CPUs will be named differently. As of recently the only thing certain about these new chips is that they will boast a four-core, eight-threaded architecture and have one less memory channel than Intel's current Core i7 platform. Expected to become available by the end of this year, Lynnfield will also provide users with the aforementioned Turbo Boost feature, designed to increase the performance of the CPU.

MD Demonstrates World’s First DX11 GPU at Computex 2009

2009-06-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices has just announced the world’s first demonstration of a DirectX 11-capable graphics processing unit, featuring the company’s next-generation 40nm GPU. The world’s number two chip maker has taken the opportunity offered by Computex to demonstrate its capability to provide users with support for the latest technologies, before its main competitors. A series of demonstrations took place at the event, where AMD showcased some of the unique features that will be enabled through the adoption of Microsoft’s next-generation DirectX 11 API. In addition, AMD also announced that its first DirectX 11-ready GPUs would be ready for market debut even before the end of 2009.

“AMD has a long track record of delivering pioneering features that have gone on to become mainstays in the DirectX experience, and we’re doing it again with two mature, AMD-developed technologies in DirectX 11 – tessellation and the compute shader – both of which enable a better DirectX 11 experience for consumers,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president, AMD Products Group. “Today, we’re previewing AMD’s DirectX 11 graphics processor to build enthusiasm for this key technology so developers will have games available at launch and shortly thereafter. With the benefits it delivers to gaming, applications and Windows 7, developers are lining up to get their hands on our hardware, and we’re confident that consumers will too.”

Despite the series of demonstrations made to showcase AMD’s capability to become an early adopter of new technologies, the chip maker hasn’t delivered any significant details regarding the technical specifications of its next-generation GPUs. These details are still kept under wraps, as AMD will try to unveil its upcoming graphics chips before the end of this year, probably in time for the debut of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system, which has been confirmed for October 22.

With the announcement AMD also provided a series of videos demonstrating some of the features enabled by DirectX 11. Be sure to check them out below to get a glimpse of what is to come.

Intel to Soon Phase Out Most Core i7 Processors Only 3.33GHz 975 model remains

2009-06-07T08:21:00.000-07:00

According to recent reports, Santa Clara, California-based Intel is planning to phase out the majority of its Core i7 processors, including the recently launched 950 model. This first wave of Nehalem-based chips will soon be replaced by Intel's much anticipated Lynnfield models, which will be introduced alongside a new platform, featuring the new LGA1156 socket. The only high-end CPU that appears to have a longer life on

Intel's product line is the new 3.33GHz Core i7 975 part.

In a recent news-article, bit-tech claims to have had access to documents showcasing Intel's processor roadmap, as well as getting multiple confirmations that Intel's Core i7 920, 940, 950 and 965 processors will be end-of-life (EOL) by the end of next-year. These are part of the chip maker's initial wave of Nehalem-based CPUs, providing users with an increased performance level and a new high-end platform.

The Intel Core i7 975 and the upcoming LGA1366-capable 6-core processors will be available for Chipzilla's current flagship desktop platform, as an upcoming wave of Lynnfield processors and new platforms will provide users with support for the mainstream market segment. Unfortunately, there are no specific details as to when Intel plans on phasing out the aforementioned products. However, according to bit-tech, users interested in purchasing a new desktop computer, should hold on until September 1, when the first series of Lynnfield processors are due to arrive.

Intel's current Core i7 processors are available in quad-core configurations and reach clock speeds of 3.33GHz, with the recently introduced Core i7 975. On a performance level, these CPUs have no direct competitor from AMD, which has tried to better compete with Intel with the help of its latest Phenom II series. As far as pricing goes, Core i7 are among the most expensive CPUs on the market, available only to computer enthusiasts.

What is ADSL2 Broadband ?

2009-06-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

ADSL2 and ADSL2+ offer even faster connections than regular ADSL broadband. With 24Mb download speed and 1Mb upload speed, depending on the distance of one’s connection from the exchange.

ADSL2 broadband in technical terms

ADSL2 is also known as ITU G.992.3- which is an ITU (International Telecommunication Union) standard. ADSL2 and ADSL2+ extend the capability of regular ADSL by doubling the number of downstream bits; this can lead to connection speeds offering up to 24 Mb/s downstream and 1Mb/s upstream depending on the distance of the DSLAM (DSL Access Multiplexer) from the customer’s home.

Local conditions can vary, especially beyond 2km, but the closer you are to the DSLAM the higher your Mb/s will be. A DSLAM is a network device that enables telephone lines to have faster connections to the internet. It collects digital signals from its multiple modem ports and combines them into one signal through a process called “multiplexing”.

In this way the DSLAM allows telephone companies and ISPs to provide fast copper wire internet connection technology (DSL) with the fastest backbone network technology (ATM, asynchronous transfer mode).

4G (Fourth-Generation)

2009-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

4G is the short term for fourth-generation wireless, the stage of broadband mobile communications that will supercede the third generation (3G). While neither standards bodies nor carriers have concretely defined or agreed upon what exactly 4G will be, it is expected that end-to-end IP and high-quality streaming video will be among 4G's distinguishing features. Fourth generation networks are likely to use a combination of WiMAX and WiFi.

Technologies employed by 4G may include SDR (Software-defined radio) receivers, OFDMOFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) technologies, UMTS and TD-SCDMA. All of these delivery methods are typified by high rates of data transmission and packet-switched transmision protocols. 3G technologies, by contrast, are a mix of packet and circuit-switched networks. (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing),

When fully implemented, 4G is expected to enable pervasive computing, in which simultaneous connections to multiple high-speed networks provide seamless handoffs throughout a geographical area. Network operators may employ technologies such as cognitive radio and wireless mesh networks to ensure connectivity and efficiently distribute both network traffic and spectrum.

The high speeds offered by 4G will create new markets and opportunities for both traditional and startup telecommunications companies. 4G networks, when coupled with cellular phones equipped with higher quality digital cameras and even HD capabilities, will enable vlogs to go mobile, as has already occurred with text-based moblogs. New models for collaborative citizen journalism are likely to emerge as well in areas with 4G connectivity.

A Japanese company, NTT DoCoMo, is testing 4G communication at 100 Mbps for mobile users and up to 1 Gbps while stationary. NTT DoCoMo plans on releasing their first commercial network in 2010. Other telecommunications companies, however, are moving into the area even faster. In August of 2006, Sprint Nextel announced plans to develop and deploy a 4G broadband mobile network nationwide in the United States using WiMAX. The United Kingdom's chancellor of the exchequer announced a plan to auction 4G frequencies in fall of 2006.

4G technologies are sometimes referred to by the acronym "MAGIC," which stands for Mobile multimedia, Anytime/any-where, Global mobility support, Integrated wireless and Customized personal service.

Objectives

4G is being developed to accommodate the quality of service (QoS) and rate requirements set by forthcoming applications like wireless broadband access, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), video chat, mobile TV, HDTV content, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), minimal services like voice and data, and other streaming services for "anytime-anywhere". The 4G working group has defined the following as objectives of the 4G wireless communication standard

A spectrally efficient system (in bits/s/Hz and bits/s/Hz/site),
High network capacity: more simultaneous users per cell,
A nominal data rate of 100 Mbit/s while the client physically moves at high speeds relative to the station, and 1 Gbit/s while client and station are in relatively fixed positions as defined by the ITU-R,
A data rate of at least 100 Mbit/s between any two points in the world,
Smooth handoff across heterogeneous networks,
Seamless connectivity and global roaming across multiple networks,
High quality of service for next generation multimedia support (real time audio, high speed data, HDTV video content, mobile TV, etc)
Interoperability with existing wireless standards,and
An all IP, packet switched network.

Principal technologies

Baseband techniques
- OFDM: To exploit the frequency selective channel property
- MIMO: To attain ultra high spectral efficiency
- Turbo principle: To minimize the required SNR at the reception side
Adaptive radio interface
Modulation, spatial processing including multi-antenna and multi-user MIMO
Relaying, including fixed relay networks (FRNs), and the cooperative relaying concept, known as multi-mode protocol

4G features

According to the 4G working groups, the infrastructure and the terminals of 4G will have almost all the standards from 2G to 4G implemented. Although legacy systems are in place to adopt existing users, the infrastructure for 4G will be only packet-based (all-IP). Some proposals suggest having an open internet platform. Technologies considered to be early 4G include Flash-OFDM, the 802.16e mobile version of WiMax (also known as WiBro in South Korea), and HC-SDMA (see iBurst). 3GPP Long Term Evolution may reach the market 1–2 years after Mobile WiMax is released.

An even higher speed version of WiMax is the IEEE 802.16m specification. LTE Advanced will be the later evolution of the 3GPP LTE standard.

Access schemes

As the wireless standards evolved, the access techniques used also exhibited increase in efficiency, capacity and scalability. The first generation wireless standards used plain TDMA and FDMA. In the wireless channels, TDMA proved to be less efficient in handling the high data rate channels as it requires large guard periods to alleviate the multipath impact. Similarly, FDMA consumed more bandwidth for guard to avoid inter carrier interference. So in second generation systems, one set of standard used the combination of FDMA and TDMA and the other set introduced a new access scheme called CDMA. Usage of CDMA increased the system capacity and also placed a soft limit on it rather than the hard limit. Data rate is also increased as this access scheme is efficient enough to handle the multipath channel. This enabled the third generation systems to use CDMA as the access scheme IS-2000, UMTS, HSXPA, 1xEV-DO, TD-CDMA and TD-SCDMA. The only issue with CDMA is that it suffers from poor spectrum flexibility and scalability.

Recently, new access schemes like Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), Single Carrier FDMA Interleaved FDMA and Multi-carrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) are gaining more importance for the next generation systems. WiMax is using OFDMA in the downlink and in the uplink. For the next generation UMTS, OFDMA is being considered for the downlink. By contrast, IFDMA is being considered for the uplink since OFDMA contributes more to the PAPR related issues and results in nonlinear operation of amplifiers. IFDMA provides less power fluctuation and thus avoids amplifier issues. Similarly, MC-CDMA is in the proposal for the IEEE 802.20 standard. These access schemes offer the same efficiencies as older technologies like CDMA. Apart from this, scalability and higher data rates can be achieved. (SC-FDMA),

The other important advantage of the above mentioned access techniques is that they require less complexity for equalization at the receiver. This is an added advantage especially in the MIMO environments since the spatial multiplexing transmission of MIMO systems inherently requires high complexity equalization at the receiver.

In addition to improvements in these multiplexing systems, improved modulation techniques are being used. Whereas earlier standards largely used Phase-shift keying, more efficient systems such as 64QAM are being proposed for use with the 3GPP Long Term Evolution standards.

IPv6

Unlike 3G, which is based on two parallel infrastructures consisting of circuit switched and packet switched network nodes respectively, 4G will be based on packet switching only. This will require low-latency data transmission.

By the time that 4G is deployed, the process of IPv4 address exhaustion is expected to be in its final stages. Therefore, in the context of 4G, IPv6 support is essential in order to support a large number of wireless-enabled devices. By increasing the number of IP addresses, IPv6 removes the need for Network Address Translation (NAT), a method of sharing a limited number of addresses among a larger group of devices, although NAT will still be required to communicate with devices that are on existing IPv4 networks.

In the context of 4G, IPv6 also enables a number of applications with better multicast, security, and route optimization capabilities. With the available address space and number of addressing bits in IPv6, many innovative coding schemes can be developed for 4G devices and applications that could aid deployment of 4G networks and services.

“Sayurusara” ,the quarterly magazine published by the Media Unit of the Sri Lanka Navy

2009-06-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

“Sayurusara”, the quarterly magazine published by the Media Unit of the Sri Lanka Navy, celebrates its first anniversary on the 27th June 2008. Its anniversary issue has now been released.

Launched on the 27th June 2007 under the patronage of the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, the magazine has earned accolades from many naval personnel for its sincere efforts to cater to their needs.

During its maiden voyage over a year’s span, Sayurusara’s Editor, Captain S Punchiheva, assisted by its editorial staff, has been able to steer the magazine’s course to reach the shores of excellence in its presentation and wider acceptance among its readership with the able guidance of the Navy Media Coordinator, Commander DKP Dassanayake .

The anniversary issue carries many special articles to mark the occasion. It also contains messages from the Commander of the Navy, Chief of Staff of the Navy, Area Naval Commanders and readers expressing their congratulations on Sayurusara’s success and offering words of encouragement for its continuity.

The magazine contains a wide range of articles catering to a wider section of its readers as well as contributions from a large number of naval personnel who have shown a keen interest in the magazine which gives them space to express their creativeness and share their experiences.

Since its inception, “Sayurusara” has been drawing a large readership that is eagerly awaiting its next release due to the richness of the reading material on offer in its colourful and attractive pages.

Congratulations, “Sayurusara”! Well done!

Wish you smooth sailing for many more years to come!

ICC World Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2009

2009-06-04T06:06:00.000-07:00

The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 is a Twenty20 cricket tournament scheduled to take place in England in June 2009. It will be the second ICC World Twenty20 tournament, following the inaugural event in South Africa in September 2007. As before, the tournament will have 12 teams compete - the Test-playing nations and three qualifiers.

Live Cricket Match and Hasan Online Sports will cover the whole tournament and publish live cricket match streaming links, broadcast online streaming players, match summary, point tables, results and much more. Please keep visiting our website and get the latest news of ICC World Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2009.

June 2009
Fri 5 17:30 local, 16:30	1st Match, Group B - England v Netherlands Lord’s, London
Sat 6 10:00 local, 09:00	2nd Match, Group D - New Zealand v Scotland Kennington Oval, London
Sat 6 14:00 local, 13:00	3rd Match, Group C - Australia v West Indies Kennington Oval, London
Sat 6 18:00 local, 17:00	4th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v India Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Sun 7 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	5th Match, Group D - Scotland v South Africa Kennington Oval, London
Sun 7 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	6th Match, Group B - England v Pakistan Kennington Oval, London
Mon 8 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	7th Match, Group A - Bangladesh v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Mon 8 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	8th Match, Group C - Australia v Sri Lanka Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Tue 9 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	9th Match, Group B - Netherlands v Pakistan Lord’s, London
Tue 9 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	10th Match, Group D - New Zealand v South Africa Lord’s, London
Wed 10 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	11th Match, Group C - Sri Lanka v West Indies Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Wed 10 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	12th Match, Group A - India v Ireland Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Thu 11 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	13th Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Trent Bridge, Nottingham D1 v A2
Thu 11 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	14th Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Trent Bridge, Nottingham B2 v D2
Fri 12 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	15th Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Lord’s, London B1 v C2
Fri 12 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	16th Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Lord’s, London A1 v C1
Sat 13 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	17th Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Kennington Oval, London C1 v D2
Sat 13 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	18th Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Kennington Oval, London D1 v B1
Sun 14 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	19th Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Lord’s, London A2 v C2
Sun 14 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	20th Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Lord’s, London A1 v B2
Mon 15 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	21st Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Kennington Oval, London B2 v C1
Mon 15 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	22nd Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Kennington Oval, London B1 v A2
Tue 16 13:30 local, 12:30 GMT	23rd Match, Group F - TBC v TBC Trent Bridge, Nottingham D1 v C2
Tue 16 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	24th Match, Group E - TBC v TBC Trent Bridge, Nottingham D2 v A1
Thu 18 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	1st Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Fri 19 17:30 local, 16:30 GMT	2nd Semi-Final - TBC v TBC Kennington Oval, London
Sun 21 15:00 local, 14:00 GMT	Final - TBC v TBC Lord’s, London

ඔවුහු යදින්නේ ජීවිතයයි!

2009-06-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

උතුරේ යුධ මුක්ත කලාපයේ සිට පැමිණ කන්තලේ මූලික රෝහලේ ප්‍රතිකාර ලබන සහෝදර ජනතාව විශාල සංඛ්‍යාවකට ඔවුන්ගේ මූලික අවශ්‍යතා සපුරාගැනීම පිණිස එම රෝහලෙන් දන්වා එවූ අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය ද්‍රව්‍ය ලැයිස්තුවක් මේ.

රෝහලෙන් දන්වා එවන ලද ද්‍රව්‍ය ලැයිස්තුව-

Dust Bin (Large) - 20
Rubber slippers (Size 4 - 10) (Size 5 - 10)
Combs (large) - 100
Lactogen 1 (dark blue packs) - 10
Anchor Full Cream Milk Powder - 50 packets
Shampoo packets (Sashay) - 150
Hair oil - 50 bottles
Ordinary colongue - 10 bottles
Sanitary pads - 50 packets
Coconut oil - 2 bottles
Bed Jackets (large) - 10
Skirts and blouses - 50
Baby dresses (under 12) - 25
Sarongs - 100
Shirts - 100
Bed sheets - 290
Underwear (S,M & L) - As much as possible
Tooth paste - 200
Tooth brushes - 270
Lifebouy Soap - 300
Baby Soap - 40
Nestomalt 400g - 12

නෙක දුක් ගැහැට මැද යුද ගින්නෙන් දැවුණු මේ මිනිසුන් වෙනුවෙන් ඔබට කළ හැකි අවම උපකාරයක් හෝ වේ නම් කරුණාකර හැකි ඉක්මනින් අප අමතන්න.

දුර ඇමතුම්- 071 2424709 (සංඛ)

McAfee's new family shield

2009-06-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

On the heels of Symantec's OnlineFamily.Norton released earlier this year, security stalwart McAfee jumps into the family protection game with a new home-oriented protection program. Called McAfee Family Protection, the program offers many familiar tools to parents in the hopes of fostering conversation while protecting children from harm.

McAfee Family Protection protects children based on multiple levels of technology.

(Credit: McAfee)

McAfee Family Protection offers blocking, monitoring, and parental notifications for most computer-based activities. The program allows for up to 10 users on three different machines, utilizing several layers of algorithms to monitor behavior. Parents can outright block or merely monitor Web sites, social-networking behavior, and instant messaging including Facebook IM and multi-protocol chat clients, according to Javed Hasan, vice president of McAfee Product Management.

In addition to blanket blocks for subject matter and specific Web site blocks, parents can customize rules so that they can block all of YouTube, or just YouTube videos that have specific tags. Web sites protected by secure protocol, https, can also be blocked. They can also set up roadblocks that prevent specific applications from opening, such as peer-to-peer clients or media players, and parents can receive brief SMS notifications alongside more detailed e-mail reports.

The program also can restrict computer usage based on cumulative time used or by time of day. It uses a server-based clock, so tampering with the local system-based clock shouldn't affect this feature.

McAfee says that Family Protection uses about 20 MB of RAM when idle and can run on systems with as little as 128 MB of RAM. It's available as a 30-day trial, after which a three-computer license costs $39.99.

Intel gets official with new Core i7, mobile chips

2009-06-04T05:48:00.001-07:00

Intel has updated its price list with new processors, including new Core i7 chips and a bevy of mobile models.

HP m9600T features the top-of-the-line Core i7 975

(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Many gamers have been waiting for the update of the "Nehalem" Core i7, which was introduced last November. Intel's update Tuesday includes the newly minted i7-975 (8M L3 cache, 4 cores, 8 threads, 3.33GHz, 6.4 GT/s QPI). This is priced at $999.

For the uninitiated, threads effectively double the number of tasks a processor can do, GT/s stands for giga transfers per second, and QPI is Intel's new Quick Path Interconnect technology.

But there's more. The i7-950 boasts identical specifications except for a lower 3.06GHz clock speed and 4.8 GT/s. It is priced at $562.

Hewlett-Packard's m9600T tower can be configured with the i7-975 and a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 graphics card for just over $1,900.

Other vendors such as Falcon Northwest offer decked-out systems at a big price. The Falcon Northwest Mach V is priced at more than $4,000 with 6GB of memory, 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTS 250 graphics card, and a 256GB solid-state drive.

Equally anticipated are the new Intel ULV (ultra-low-voltage) processors. Though some of these were were listed at the end of March (such as the 5-watt, single-core SU3500 and 10-watt, dual-core SU9600), the 10-watt Pentium architecture-based SU2700 (1 core, 2M Cache, 1.30 GHz, 800MHz front-side bus) is new. Intel is not listing this chip, nor is it publishing a price. Though notebooks with this chip are expected to go as low as $499, according to Intel.

Laptops using the ULV chips include the ultra-thin Asus UX30, which will feature the 1.6GHz SU9600, among other chips, and the MSI X340 X-Slim, which sports the SU3500.

Intel also listed new mainstream mobile processors, including the 35-watt T9900 (6M L2 cache, 2 cores, 2 threads, 3.06GHz, 1066MHz FSB). This goes for $530.

Also listed as new is the 28-watt P9700 (6M L2 cache, 2 cores, 2 threads, 2.80GHz, 1066MHz FSB). This lists for $348. The existing T9600 (2.8GHz) fell in price 40 percent to $316 from $530.

Future of Netbooks, laptops unfolds at Computex

2009-06-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

While many eyes are on E3, Taiwan's Computex conference is more quietly generating some interesting news on the future of Netbooks and laptops that will eventually make their way stateside. For a peek into the crystal ball of mobile computing, let's take a look at what's been announced in Taipei, Taiwan, this week.

Mobile-phone-based Netbooks are growing: "Smartbooks," as they're being called by companies like Qualcomm, seem to be this year's Netbook. It's mostly a naming convention shift: ARM processors based on smartphone chips, like Qualcomm's Snapdragon, were demoed on Asus Eee PC Netbooks--running Android, no less. While Snapdragon competitor Freescale Semiconductor, who makes an ARM-based iMX515 processor, predicts hybrid Smartbooks that will look like tablets, others see them being even more portable Netbooks.

Regardless of the processor, companies are finally announcing the release of honest-to-goodness Android Netbooks, running a laptop-based version of the Google-created smartphone OS, later this year. Acer took the leap by confirming their release of Android Netbooks by the third quarter of this year, suddenly accelerating the "Android on Netbooks" argument we've been having on CNET. Is Android really a better OS solution? The point may be moot for laptop manufacturers such as Acer who are also entering the smartphone space, and are mostly likely interested in targeting Google for an across-the-board mobile OS option on their future devices. According to Acer, "a majority" of their Netbooks will run Android as an alternative to Windows.

Where does this leave Linux, then? In a tough place. Linux's relatively brandless environment has been a challenge in an app-store world, although this week's RealNetworks' announcement of RealPlayer being preinstalled on Linux Netbooks and Instant-On OS platforms Ubuntu Moblin Remix, the next graphical interface evolution beyond Ubuntu and a possible candidate for an OS specifically geared towards ultramobile PCs such as Netbooks. is a big step for Ubuntu being able to keep up with the easy media-playing capability of Netbook machines, and adds some brand recognition and codec consolidation. Shown at Computex were several Moblin Linux-based Netbook prototypes, as well the announcement of

Future technology for screens, touch pads: Regardless of whether Apple gets into the Netbook space, Windows Netbooks are heading toward MacBook-like touch pad interfaces. Synaptics' ClickPad version of their next multitouchpad was shown off this week, being targeted mainly at future Netbooks with smaller keyboard areas. Finding a way to fit buttons into small Netbook frames has been a challenge, and going button-free would also allow the touch pad to be made even larger. Whether Windows 7 supports the ClickPad as well as Apple supports their MacBook single-button multitouchpad remains to be seen. And, taking a page from the easy-to-read reflective e-ink screens of e-readers, Pixel Qi demonstrated a highly reflective LCD screen on an Acer Netbook that can be used in daylight with no backlighting. The hybrid screen can switch between e-readeresque and full-colored brightly backlit states for battery conservation.

Intel, Microsoft ready to leave Netbooks behind? As Intel continues supporting their Core 2 Duo-equivalent CULV energy-efficient mobile processors, the focus on Atom seems to be waning. That's not the case, according to Intel, especially with new Atom processors on the horizon, but the market's getting crowded fast. Microsoft has also said that they'd rather not use the Netbook name anymore, choosing "low cost small notebook PC" instead. As ULV and CULV processors take over the mobile Centrino space to create lower-cost, thinner laptops, and smartphone-evolved ARM processors begin to chip away at the Atom-based Netbook category, the days of Netbooks as we knew them may already be numbered.

We have our wish list of what we'd like to see in future Netbooks, and some of those already seem to be coming true.

Top 15 Ways to Extend Your Laptop’s Battery Life

2009-06-03T10:04:00.001-07:00

Laptops tend to lose their charm quickly when you’re constantly looking for the nearest power outlet to charge up. How do you keep your battery going for as long as possible? Here are 15 easy ways to do so.

1. Defrag regularly - The faster your hard drive does its work - less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly. (but not while it’s on battery of course!) Mac OSX is better built to handle fragmentation so it may not be very applicable for Apple systems.

2. Dim your screen - Most laptops come with the ability to dim your laptop screen. Some even come with ways to modify CPU and cooling performance. Cut them down to the lowest level you can tolerate to squeeze out some extra battery juice.

3. Cut down on programs running in the background. Itunes, Desktop Search, etc. All these add to the CPU load and cut down battery life. Shut down everything that isn’t crucial when you’re on battery.

4. Cut down external devices - USB devices (including your mouse) & WiFi drain down your laptop battery. Remove or shut them down when not in use. It goes without saying that charging other devices (like your iPod) with your laptop when on battery is a surefire way of quickly wiping out the charge on your laptop battery.

5. Add more RAM - This will allow you to process more with the memory your laptop has, rather than relying on virtual memory. Virtual memory results in hard drive use, and is much less power efficient. Note that adding more RAM will consume more energy, so this is most applicable if you do need to run memory intensive programs which actually require heavy usage of virtual memory.

6. Run off a hard drive rather than CD/DVD - As power consuming as hard drives are, CD and DVD drives are worse. Even having one in the drive can be power consuming. They spin, taking power, even when they?re not actively being used. Wherever possible, try to run on virtual drives using programs like Alcohol 120% rather than optical ones.

7. Keep the battery contacts clean: Clean your battery’s metal contacts every couple of months with a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. This keeps the transfer of power from your battery more efficient.

8. Take care of your battery - Exercise the Battery. Do not leave a charged battery dormant for long periods of time. Once charged, you should at least use the battery at least once every two to three weeks. Also, do not let a Li-On battery completely discharge. (Discharing is only for older batteries with memory effects)

9. Hibernate not standby - Although placing a laptop in standby mode saves some power and you can instantly resume where you left off, it doesn’t save anywhere as much power as the hibernate function does. Hibernating a PC will actually save your PC’s state as it is, and completely shut itself down.

10. Keep operating temperature down - Your laptop operates more efficiently when it’s cooler. Clean out your air vents with a cloth or keyboard cleaner, or refer to some extra tips by LapTopMag.com.

11. Set up and optimize your power options - Go to ‘Power Options’ in your windows control panel and set it up so that power usage is optimized (Select the ‘max battery’ for maximum effect).

12. Don’t multitask - Do one thing at a time when you’re on battery. Rather than working on a spreadsheet, letting your email client run in the background and listening to your latest set of MP3’s, set your mind to one thing only. If you don’t you’ll only drain out your batteries before anything gets completed!

13. Go easy on the PC demands - The more you demand from your PC. Passive activities like email and word processing consume much less power than gaming or playing a DVD. If you’ve got a single battery charge - pick your priorities wisely.

14. Get yourself a more efficient laptop - Laptops are getting more and more efficient in nature to the point where some manufacturers are talking about all day long batteries. Picking up a newer more efficient laptop to replace an aging one is usually a quick fix.

15. Prevent the Memory Effect - If you’re using a very old laptop, you’ll want to prevent the ‘memory effect’ - Keep the battery healthy by fully charging and then fully discharging it at least once every two to three weeks. Exceptions to the rule are Li-Ion batteries (which most laptops have) which do not suffer from the memory effect.

Folder Lock 6.2.4

2009-06-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

Folder Lock is a fast file encryption software that can also password protect folders, lock files and protect USB Drives and lock CD/DVDs. Folder Lock creates encrypted storages called 'Lockers'. You can keep as many of your private files and folders in your Locker and password protect it with a single click. You can transfer, secure and backup these Lockers. Lockers are portable, you can keep them in USB Drives, CD/DVD, & notebooks or transfer them via email or upload. These Lockers are undeletable on the computer where Folder Lock is installed. You can create as many Lockers as you want. Different users can create different Lockers with different passwords as well. With Folder Lock, you can choose either to encrypt using 256-bit AES on-the-fly encryption or lock files, folders and drives anywhere on your computer. Each Locker can contain your encrypted files as well as your personal list of locked items. Furthermore, Folder Lock's options like hack monitoring, stealth mode, data shredding, history cleaning, auto protection, portable USB autoplay feature & virtual keyboard can enhance file locking and encryption beyond anything ever achieved. In addition, a locker's delete, move and rename are password protected to prevent data loss.

Version 6.2.4 is the most stable version released by the company, comes with support for all 32-bit and 64-bit Windows platforms with full functionality.

MacBook Air review

2009-06-03T09:46:00.000-07:00

It fits in a manila folder, you can slide it under a door, and if you threw it hard enough you could probably chop someone in half with the thing. It's the thinnest, and if we may say so, sexiest laptop around today: the MacBook Air. But looks aren't everything to everyone, and despite all the rhetoric about being a no-compromises ultraportable, Apple did leave plenty on the cutting-room floor in its quest to make an absurdly thin ultraportable that doesn't skimp on a full size keyboard or roomier 13-inch display. But, as many potential buyers have been asking themselves since last week, is the Air right to be your next machine? Read on, we'll tell you what we think.

Hardware
It's hard to take lightly (har) the purposeful design that went into the Air, it's simply and without a doubt the most beautiful laptop we've seen in a while. Sure, there have been thinner, lighter laptops that take up fewer cubic centimeters -- but that's not really on trial. The goal of the Air was clear: create a Mac that frequent fliers wouldn't be ashamed of, or in physical pain to lug around. But therein lies the rub. The Air simply doesn't have the power to be many users' primary machine, while also lacking many of the features considered necessity by business travelers. More on that in a minute, though.

Gallery: The MacBook Air has landed

There are a lot of things that the Air gets right, and a decent amount of horsepower is one of 'em. Apple didn't take the easy route and go with an etiolated Ultra Low Voltage (read: ultra low performance) chip, they actually pushed Intel to repackage a slower version of its full-on Core 2 Duo processor. We were a little disappointed when Steve announced this wasn't the new power-efficient, lower-heat 45nm Penryn chip design, but in the time we've played with the Air, it's still rarely managed to output enough heat to raise an eyebrow. This is actually a laptop that belongs on your lap -- without any fear of sterility. Of course, as our Mac-on-Mac benchmarks showed, the 1.6GHz chip is still a little on the slow side, but the Air is by no means unusable. It's not really one of Steve's "screamers" -- but ultraportables aren't really intended to be.

The 13-inch LED backlit screen not only sips power where larger CCFL backlit displays guzzle, it also looks amazing: crisp, bright, and vibrant. Where other small laptops use 8-11-inch screens that are nigh-unreadable by many a squinty Engadget editor, for a laptop of this size the Air gives plenty of screen real estate to get things done. Unfortunately, Apple only offers this display with a glossy finish, so if you're fond of the matte or work outside or near a window, be forewarned. The bezel around the display is a little thick for our tastes, and the lid might not tilt back as far as we'd like due to the physical constraints of the joint design, but these are relatively minor complaints.

Also rare for an ultraportable is the Air's full-size keyboard, which adds some (worthy) width to the body. Those fond of the ridgeless, separated key design as found in MacBook and iMac / Mac pro keyboards will feel right at home. We're not too into this design, but unlike almost every ultraportable we've owned, the Air's keyboard feels thoroughly solid and sturdy. The keys are tactile, not at all mushy, and backlit to boot. Typing on the Air is a pleasure, not a chore. The keyboard also happens to be where the MacBook Air emits audio -- beneath right home row keys (k, l, ;, ') is the Air's tinny mono speaker, which seems and sounds more like an afterthought.

The Air's integrated 802.11n worked well with our stock D-Link 802.11n router, and transferred data at about 3-4MBps -- we were certainly satisfied with its wireless performance. The Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR as a standard option is also nice, but it's immediately clear the Air needed some integrated 3G, especially considering its lack of an ExpressCard slot.

Where a lot of other machines might have ports and protrusions along their edges, the Air has none -- it swoops inward from the edge to the base with only two spots for plugs, a new, 90-degree angled MagSafe power connector on the left underside, and a clicky, extremely sturdy-feeling foldable door that is impossible to open while resting on the table, and basically requires picking the entire machine up. This exposes the Air's only three ports: one USB 2.0, one micro-DVI, and one headphone. But here we begin with the design sacrifices, and at the top of the list is the lack of a user replaceable battery.

Gallery: Apple MacBook Air first hands-on

For some this might be an issue, but for others -- especially those on the road for long periods of time without access to a power outlet -- a deal-breaker. The Air uses a 37 Watt/hour lithium polymer (compared to the MacBook Pro's 60WH lithium-ion), and using our normal tests -- full screen brightness, WiFi and Bluetooth on, no attached peripherals -- under medium usage (light browsing and watching a 1:20 h.264 movie) we got a mere 2 hours and 25 minutes. Under lighter usage (browsing, some audio playback, no movies) we got closer to 3 hours and 35 minutes. Not bad, but still nowhere near the 5 hours Apple promises (under ideal conditions, surely).

Thankfully, the Air's power adapter is as impressively proportioned as the laptop, so taking it with you won't be much of an issue. But users of current generation adapters be warned: the Air's MagSafe implementation won't always work with your current MagSafe adapters simply because the angle and location make it physically impossible to accommodate when used on a table. Hardly a huge issue, we know. But things get worse on the connectivity side. The USB port is recessed enough that, while we're sure it meets USB Implementers Forum's design spec, it realistically won't accommodate most 3G modems without a USB extension cable, and some flash drives, as we learned yesterday. Even the headphone port had a difficult time accommodating our Shure E4C phones. We got stereo audio, but a high pitched hissing from not being fully plugged in and grounded. (This went away when we used a better-fitting audio extension cable.)

Gallery: MacBook Air review (misc)

The micro-DVI port is also not physically compatible with the mini-DVI port on your MacBook and previous Apple laptops, so it requires some new connection accessories for VGA and DVI out, which are thankfully included in the box. Since the Air doesn't have a powerful (but space and power-consuming) discrete graphics adapter, you'll only be able to drive a 24-inch display, although for many that should probably be sufficient. (Games and movie watching also suffer because of the integrated graphics, since some of that visual load is taken on by the CPU.) Also integrated is the Air's 2GB of RAM, built directly into its insanely small motherboard; processors rarely need to be swapped in laptops, but are you willing to bank on a couple of years' use without having to upgrade your RAM? Perhaps a lot of people are, but we're not.

The Air also uses a slower 80GB 1.8-inch drive, the same kind that powers many portable media players. While probably sturdy enough to withstand normal use, it's nowhere near as fast as your average 2.5-inch laptop drive, and will always be behind in storage should you chose to upgrade later. If you can afford to spring for the 64GB SSD option, we highly suggest it -- your machine's reliability, performance, and battery life will all get a boost (at the expense of 16GB of space and a ton of cash, naturally). Oddly overlooked for inclusion is the Apple Remote; the Air certainly has the necessary sliver of an IR sensor for making use of one, but the remote isn't included, despite being found in the box of just about every other Apple machine. Oh, and for those wondering, the Air's built-in iSight is the VGA variety.

Despite its shortcomings on the hardware and specs side, though, it's hard to say enough about how well made the Air feels -- a particularly important point when you're taking your machine everywhere. Whereas most smaller laptops try to cut weight with inner metal frames and flimsy plastic bodies, the Air bulks up a bit with an all-metal enclosure that looks and feels like it was carved out of a single piece of aluminum. Only time will tell if metal in the Air's wrist rest area will pit out and blacken like MacBook Pros and PowerBooks of years past, but the machine definitely gets extremely high marks for its the physical engineering. And no, we're not at liberty to drop test Apple's review unit, sorry!

Software

Just like every other Apple machine, the Air runs Leopard -- albeit a slightly different build (9B2324). The only changes made have to do with taking advantage of the machine's oversized touchpad, which now supports multi-finger gestures in system prefs. Apple thoughtfully actually includes in-line instructional videos for learning how the gestures work (and how to make them), like the three-finger sweep for backward and forward in Safari, or using two fingers to rotate an image in iPhoto. This is just the beginning of touchpad-based multi-touch, and while it's not always the most practical way to do things (cmd+R or L seems to us an easier way to rotate a photo), it's intuitive and well-integrated.

Apple also hasn't released any information for third party developers on how to integrated touch gestures into their apps, so until they do, only Apple apps will be able to take advantage of the new input methods. It's obvious that, with time, Apple will be rolling out multi-touch on their other machines, but for now they claim that current hardware cannot support this input, so don't expect to see any (official) software updates to enable multi-touch.

Another feature rolled out is Remote Disc, Apple's new system for sharing the optical drives of networked Macs and PCs with the drive-less Air. As we quickly learned, you should be prepared to have as much bandwidth as possible between the Air and your host machine, -- and don't be disappointed when you can't do everything with Remote Disc that you can do with a regular drive. There's no commercial media playback, no HD support, no ripping, no burning -- it's really only meant for installing apps, downloading data, or reinstalling the OS (more on that in a second). On the upshot, it did work seamlessly when we tried it.

Still, we think the Air's external USB SuperDrive (which only works with the Air, mind you) is a necessity. There simply isn't any way to transparently replace all the functionality of an optical drive yet, so we're kind of bummed Apple didn't just include the thing in box. [Also, disclosure: we had a pool running and I bet against a non-bundled optical drive and lost ten bucks. Thanks, Apple!] There's no question that a laptop really doesn't need an optical drive at all times, and we've always been happy to omit them. But having to shell out $99 to buy the drive separately just doesn't sit well with us.

Wrap-up
The Air is a tough call. On the one hand it proposes to be a no-compromises ultraportable, but on the other hand it compromises many (but not all) the things road warriors want. We're all about removing unnecessary frills and drives (we rejoiced the day the original iMac bucked the floppy), but laptops are increasingly becoming many users' primary -- often only -- machines, which is why the Air's price doesn't do it any favors, either. It's hard to justify almost two grand for a second laptop (or a third machine) just for travel needs -- and even then, that's only easily done if all your data lives in the cloud. Given those sacrifices and that higher-end sticker, it's more than likely not going to replace most peoples' current workhorse laptop.

This all might look a bit different if the Air was a little closer to MacBook price range, though. We're thinking $1500 could be a sweet spot, especially if bundled with the wired Ethernet dongle

Given its stripped down, one-piece design, some are calling the Air the iPod of laptops. The point is debatable as to whether this machine could have the same appeal to computer users, but if there is one clear upshot to the Air, it's that Apple's learned to take the next step in miniaturizing their portable computers. While not all Mac users are going to stand in line to get this latest machine, Apple is doubtless welcomed back into the ultraportable laptop market by the technology world. Perhaps the largest side-effect of the Air won't be ditching optical drives, though; for the rest of Apple's consumer base it's now just a matter of time before other Mac laptop lines benefit from the technical and engineering advances that made this thing so thin and light. Give us the lovechild of the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro, and it's all over.

Top 10 ways to improve Windows Vista security

2009-06-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

lthough Windows XP was Microsoft's preferred desktop operating system for an unprecedented length of time, it became something of a PR nightmare for the software giant. Windows XP is full of security holes and is very easy to compromise. When Microsoft created Windows Vista, its primary goal was to address all of the security problems that have been plaguing Windows XP for so many years.

Although Windows Vista security is far stronger than that of Windows XP, even running an out-of-the-box configuration, you need to know how to use some of the new security features in order to get the most out of the OS. This list of the top Vista security tips can help you run a truly secure Vista installation.

1. Use Network Access Protection (NAP) to keep your network clean

NAP is actually a feature that's built into Windows Server 2008. It allows you to create a network health policy that defines what criteria Windows Vista workstations need to meet in order to be considered healthy. For example, you can require that Windows Vista workstations have the Windows Firewall turned on or that they have to be running a specific security patch. When a user attempts to log on to your network, NAP checks the user's machine to see if it meets the health criteria that you have established. If it doesn't, then you can either fix the problem on the spot or deny the user access to the network. NAP is complicated to set up, but in my opinion it is probably the best security feature that Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 have to offer.

2. Turn on the phishing filter

Make sure the phishing filter is turned on for all of your desktops. The phishing filter's job is to help users distinguish between a legitimate website and a fraudulent website that is posing as a popular website. Unfortunately, the phishing filter's website database is not comprehensive, but it does include enough legitimate and fraudulent sites to make it useful. Just be sure to train your users on how to use it.

3. Keep Vista up to date

Although beta testing for Windows Vista went on for a really long time, it is inevitable that additional bugs and security holes will be discovered over time. Once a security exploit has been made public, you can bet that hackers will be all over it. That's why it's so important to stay on top of the patch management process. Don't make the mistake of thinking that just because Windows Vista was designed to be secure that it doesn't need to be frequently patched.

4. Know how to check the update history

It's important to know which patches have actually been applied to your OS. To check this, open the Control Panel and click on the Programs and Features link. Then, click the View Installed Updates link to see which patches have been applied to the machine.

5. Use a Windows Server 2008 domain controller

For many years now, Group Policies have been the primary security mechanism for Windows OSes. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Windows Vista contains hundreds of Group Policy settings that did not exist in Windows XP. You always have the option of applying these Group Policy settings at the local computer level, but if you would prefer to manage the new Vista-specific Group Policy settings at the Active Directory level, then you will need a Windows Server 2008 domain controller on your network.

6. Make use of network profiles

Prior to the release of Windows Vista, Windows treated all network connections equally. In Vista, however, you can use the Network and Sharing Center to designate a network as public, private or a domain network. Networks are designated as domain networks automatically when the machine uses the network to log on to a domain.

It is important to select an appropriate network profile because Windows implements various security features based on the type of network you're connected to. For example, Vista disables the network mapping feature if you are connected to a public network. The Windows Firewall also contains network profile-specific settings.

7. Understand that there is more to the Windows Firewall than meets the eye

One of the things that always strikes me as odd about Windows Vista is that, on the surface, the Windows Firewall looks almost exactly like the one that came with Windows XP. The truth of the matter is that your options for configuring the Windows Firewall are very limited if you use the Control Panel. However, Microsoft provides a dedicated management console that allows you to have far greater control over the Windows Firewall.

8. Use the 64-bit version

The 64-bit version of Vista is far more secure than the 32-bit version. The 64-bit version contains a security feature called Address Space Layout Randomizer, which causes a random offset to be applied when system files are loaded. This means that unlike the 32-bit version of Vista, system files are rarely located in the same memory location twice in a row. This randomization foils many of the exploits that are commonly used against Windows XP.

Another security feature found only in the 64-bit version is Data Execution Prevention. This feature keeps executable code from running in certain areas of the system's memory. The 32-bit version of Vista includes a less sophisticated version of this feature that is implemented through software, but the 64-bit version enforces Data Execution Prevention at the hardware level.

9. Don't use encryption until you understand the consequences

Every week hundreds of people send me e-mail messages asking me questions about various technical problems they are having. By far the question I am asked most often involves recovering encrypted data when the encryption keys have been lost. Unfortunately, there is no easy way of recovering your encrypted data if you have lost the encryption keys. In many cases, data recovery is impossible. That being the case, I would encourage you to hold off on using EFS encryption or BitLocker encryption until you understand how the encryption process works and how to protect yourself from data loss.

10. Don't underestimate Windows Defender

Windows Defender is Microsoft's own antispyware application, and it's included with Windows Vista. Microsoft has had a history of including very weak applets with the Windows operating system. Systems administrators have traditionally understood that the applets that ship with Windows are usually sufficient to get the job done in a pinch, but that they are usually better off using third-party applications.

In spite of this, Windows Defender is actually pretty decent. It's not perfect, but my own personal experience has been that it works well for cleaning up all but the worst spyware infections.

Laptop Battery Doubler මෘදුකාංගය ගැන දැන ගනිමු.

2009-06-03T09:28:00.001-07:00

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Battery Doubler Main Menu

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එලෙසම Processor Cycling මගින් CPU එක භාවිත විම අවම කරන නිසා CPU එකේ උෂ්ණත්වයද අඩුකරයි.

Enble Turbo Charge මගින් ඔබට ඉතාමත් ඉක්මනට බැටරිය ආරෝපනය කර ගත හැකිය. එහෙත් මෙම වරණය තොරා ගත යුත්තේ ඔබ පරිගණකය භාවිතා නොකරන අවස්ථාවකදි පමනි. මක් නිසාද යත් මෙමගින් බැටරිය ආරෝපනය කිරිමෙදි පරිගනකය ඉතාමත් මන්දගාමී තත්වයකට පත්වේ.

මෙහි ඇති wizard මෙනුව හරහා ඔබට තවත් අත්‍යවශ්‍ය තෙරිම් කිහිපයක් ක්‍රියාත්මක කල හැකිය.

Recalibration

මෙ මගින් ඔබට බැටරියේ ආරොපන තත්වය නිවැරදිව දැනගත හැකිය. මොකද සමහර විට බැටරිය ආරොපනය කලත්, ඉතා ඉක්මනින්ම ආරොපනය අඩුවිය හැකිය. මෙවැනි වැරදි තොරතුරු Battery Doubler විසින් නිවැරදිව හදුනාගනි.

Compare Autonomy

මෙමගින් ඔබට ඔබගේ බැටරිය ආරොපනය පිළිබදව පොඩි අදහසක් ගත හැකිය‍. Battery Doubler මගින් කොපමණ ප්‍රමාණයකින් ඔබගේ බැටරිය වැඩිපුර ප්‍රයෝඡනයට ගත හැකිද, එසේ නැතිනම් ඔබ‍ගේ බැටරිය සාමාණ්‍යයෙන් ප්‍රයෝඡනයට ගත හැකි ප්‍රමාණය කොපමනද යන වග දැන ගත හැකිය.

Autonomy

මෙ මෙනුව මගින් ඔබට ඔබගේ බැටරියේ ආයුකාලය සම්බණ්ධව ඉතා වැදගත් සැකසීම් කිහිපයක් සකස් කළ හැකිය.

Maximum Autonomy

මෙ තේරීම මගින් පරිගණකයේ CPU එක භාවිත වන ප්‍රමානය අඩු කිරිම හා දෘඩ තැටිය හා තිරය සදහා අඩු විදුලියක් භාවිතා කිරිම මගින් බැටරියේ ආරොපනය වැඩි කලක් රදවා තබා ගනි. (මෙ මගින් පරිගනකය ටිකක් මන්දගාමි විය හැකිය.)

Balance

මෙ මගින් CD හා DVD තැට් ධාවක මන්දගාමි කිරිම හා දෘඩ තැටිය හැකි අවස්ථා වලදි නැවත් විම මගින් විදුලි භාවිතය අඩු කිරිම.

Maximum Performance

මෙ තේරීම මගින් Battery Doubler පරිගනකයේ වෙනස් කමක් සිදු නොකරන අතර එහෙත් හැකි සෑම විටම බැටරියේ ආයුකාලය වැඩි කිරිමට උත්සහ දරයි.

Options

මෙ මෙනු‍ව හරහා ඔබට වැඩි මනත් සැකසීම් ඔබගේ අවශ්‍යතාවය අනුව සිදුකල හැකිය.

එනමුත් මගේ තේරීම අනුව නම් මෙ සැකසීම් කළ යුත්තේ ඔබට එය අවශ්‍ය නම් පමණි. මක් නිසාද යත් එමගින් ඔබගේ පරිගනකය මන්දගාමි වන නිසාය, එය ඔබගේ කාලය හා කරන කර්තව්‍ය අනුව එ අවස්ථාවට පමනක් සිදු කල හැකි නම් හොද බවයි මගේ නම් හැගිම.

Dell Vostro 1310 Laptop Computer (Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 160G/2GB)

2009-06-03T09:15:00.000-07:00

General

Recommended Use Small business
Built-in Devices Wireless LAN antenna , Speaker
Embedded Security Fingerprint reader
Width 12.5 in
Depth 9.5 in
Height 1.5 in
Weight 4.6 lbs
Notebook type Thin-and-light (4-6 lbs.)
Wireless capabilities IEEE 802.11g , IEEE 802.11b

Processor

Processor Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 / 2.0 GHz
Multi-Core processor technology Dual-Core
64-bit processor Yes
Data bus speed 800.0 MHz
Chipset type Mobile Intel PM965 Express

Cache Memory

Type L2 cache
Cache size 2.0 MB

RAM

Installed Size 2.0 GB / 4.0 GB (max)
Technology DDR2 SDRAM - 667.0 MHz
RAM form factor SO DIMM 200-pin
RAM configuration features 2 x 1 GB

Environmental Parameters

Min Operating Temperature 32.0 °F
Max Operating Temperature 95.0 °F
Humidity Range Operating 10 - 90%
Shock Tolerance 142.0 g @ 2ms half-sine pulse (operating) / 163.0 g @ 2ms half-sine pulse (non-operating)
Vibration Tolerance 0.66 g @ RMS (random) (operating) / 1.3 g @ RMS (random) (non-operating)

Storage Controller

Storage controller type Serial ATA
Storage Controller / Serial ATA Interface Serial ATA-150

Storage

Floppy Drive None
Hard Drive 160.0 GB - Serial ATA-150 - 5400.0 rpm
Storage Removable None
Hard drive type Portable

Optical Storage

Type DVD+/-RW - Integrated
CD / DVD read speed 8X

Optical Storage (2nd)

2nd optical storage type None

Card Reader

Card reader type 8 in 1 card reader
Supported flash memory cards MultiMediaCard , Memory Stick , SD Memory Card , Memory Stick Pro , xD-Picture Card , SDIO

Display

Display Type TFT active matrix
Max Resolution 1280 x 800 ( WXGA )
Widescreen Display Yes
Color Support 18-bit color
Features Anti-glare
Screen type Widescreen

Video

Graphics Processor / Vendor NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS PCI Express x16
Video Memory 128.0 MB

Audio

Audio output type Sound card
Audio codec Realtek ALC268
Audio output compliant standards High Definition Audio
Audio Input Microphone

Notebook Camera

Camera Type Integrated
Notebook Camera / Sensor Resolution 1.3 Megapixel

Input Device(s)

Input device type Keyboard , Touchpad

Telecom

Modem None

Networking

Networking Network adapter
Networking / Wireless LAN Supported Yes
Wireless NIC Dell Wireless 1395
Data link protocol IEEE 802.11g , Ethernet , Gigabit Ethernet , IEEE 802.11b , Fast Ethernet
Networking standards IEEE 802.11b , IEEE 802.11g

Expansion / Connectivity

Expansion Slots Total (Free) 1.0 ( 1.0 ) x Memory - SO DIMM 200-pin , 2.0 ( 0.0 ) x ExpressCard/54
Interfaces 1.0 x Microphone - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX/1000Base-T - Mini-phone 3.5 mm , 1.0 x IEEE 1394 (FireWire) - VGA - 4 pin FireWire , 1.0 x Network - Line-out/headphones - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) , 4.0 x Display / video - Input - 4 pin USB Type A , 1.0 x Hi-Speed USB - RJ-45 , 1.0 x Audio - Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm

Miscellaneous

Features Security lock slot (cable lock sold separately)

Power

Power device form factor External
Voltage Required AC 120/230 V

Battery

Technology 6-cell Lithium ion
Installed Qty 1.0
Battery capacity 58.0 Wh
Mfr estimated battery life 5.0 hour(s)

Operating System / Software

OS Provided Microsoft Windows Vista Business Edition
Software UPEK Protector Suite QL , Adobe Reader 8.1 , Dell Automated PC Tuneup (1 year subscription) , Microsoft Works 9.0

Manufacturer Warranty

Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Technical support - Parts and labor - 1 year - Pick-up and return ( Delivery and returns charges by manufacturer ) - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday , Product info support - Web support - 1 year - availability: 24 hours a day / Monday-Sunday , Limited warranty - Phone consulting - 1 year

Product description from manufacturer

Dell Vostro laptops are designed for small business and made for life. Packed with customized features, the Vostro line delivers easy-to-use technology with a thin, durable design. When your business demands time, your technology shouldn't. The all-purpose Vostro 1310 includes a comprehensive portfolio of small business support services and features. Enjoy simplified system set-up, management and maintenance. Even small business demands big results. The multi-functional Vostro 1310 delivers lightning-fast processing and crisp images - all at exceptional small business value. Expertly designed Vostro laptops offer heavyweight performance - without the weight. Thin and highly portable, and the compact 13.3" display delivers vibrant widescreen images in a convenient, road-ready size. When business extends beyond the desk, Vostro 1310 is designed to enable secure connectivity - from virtually anywhere, anytime. This notebook is bundled with with Roxio Creator and 10GB for 1 year online backup by Dell DataSafe.

SLIIT makes history. It wins the Microsoft Imagine Cup for 2009

2009-06-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

LIIT has marked its name again, grabbing the First Place at the Imagine Cup 2009

Let’s get our hands together to congratulate them, to welcome them and to wish them.

Wish You All the Best!!

	Akila Jayasooriya
	Chanakya Jayasinghe
	Lakkana Perera
	Dunith Dhanushka
They were supervised by Dr. Koliya Pulasinghe, Dean Research and Mr. Nuwan Kodagoda, Head IT Department at SLIIT.

Project MISEEFA (Minimum Sufficient Equal healthcare For All)

MISEEFA (Minimum Sufficient Equal healthcare For All) is an approach to improve the healthcare around the globe uniformly. The system provides a general healthcare solution focusing on total healthcare areas that are underserved.

The system evolves around a unique, low cost, mobile hardware device called the "Medical Chair" and a rich set of applications that ensures a better user experience when consuming the services of the chair. The data gathered during a "channeling session" is handled intelligently to improve the health level of the community.

ටෙක් කතා.. ටෙක්නොලොජි ගැන සිංහලෙන්..

2009-06-03T08:29:00.000-07:00

ටෙක් කතා.. ටෙක්නොලොජි ගැන සිංහලෙන්..

ඔබට එදිනෙදා ඇතිවන තාක්ෂණික ගැටලු වලට විසදුම් ලබාදීම සහ නවතම තාක්ෂණික පුවත්, තාක්ෂනයන් සහ නව නිපැයුම් පිලිබද සාකච්චා අරමුණු කොට ආරම්භ කල පොඩ්කාස්ට් වෙබ් අඩවියයි මේ. මේක BlogRadio එකක් ලෙස තමයි කරන්නේ. ඒ කියන්නේ පොඩ්කාස්ටින් (Podcasting) හා සිංහල බ්ලොග් මුසුවක් ලෙස නැවුම් අත්දැකීමක්.

ඔබගේ ගැටලු, අදහස් හෝ යෝජනා ඔබේ හඩින්ම techkatha වෙත යොමු කිරීමට මෙම පුරුක භාවිතා කරන්න. නැතිනම් සිංහල යුනිකෝඩ් හෝ ඉංග්‍රීසි භාවිතා කර ඔබේ අදහස පැහැදිලිව ලියා info [at] techkatha.com වෙත යොමුකරන්න. එසේත් නැතිනම් මෙතැන ඇති ෆෝරමයේ සදහන් කරන්න. හැකිනම් ඔබගේ Skype, Yahoo messenger, Google Talk ID එක හෝ දුරකතන අංකය techkatha වෙත ලබාදෙන්න.

අපේ ටෙක් කතිකයෝ..

Huawei E220, Unlock කරමුද?

2009-06-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

ඉස්සෙල්ලාම කියන්න තියෙන්නෙ මේ කරන දේ පිළිබඳව හෝ ඉන් ඇතිවන අතුරු ඵල සම්බන්ධව වගකීම තමන්ම භාරගත යුතු බවයි.

ඕනෙ කරන දේවල්.
E220 firmware update
QMAT - QC Mobile Analysis Tool
A Hex Editor ( like XVI32 )
E220 Simlock Unlocking tool

ඔක්කොම Download කරල ඉවර වුනාට පස්සෙම වැඩ පටන් ගන්න එක නුවණට හුරුයි.

ඉස්සෙල්ලාම E220 Firmware Update එකෙන් Firmware Update කරගන්න. ඒකෙන් තමයි Modem එක සිරා 7.2Mb/s modem එකකට Upgrade වෙන්නේ.

කරල ඉවරයි නම් පහලට යන්න

‍‍(මෙම යාවත්කාල කිරීම සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම කිරීම අත්‍යවශ්‍ය නොවන අතර අවශ්‍ය නම් පමණක් අවසාන වනතුරු සිදුකල හැක. කෙසේ‍ වුවත් මෙය Run කර මොඩමය detect කරන තුරු සිට වසා දැමීම Unlock ක්‍රියාවලිය සඳහා ප්‍රමාණවත් වේ )

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දැන් QMAT (QC Mobile Analysis Tool) එක විවෘත කරන්න.

එහි ‘Hardware Forensics’ මෙනුවේ ඇති ‘Use Com/USB Port’ හරහා QC Com Diag Window’ එක විවෘත කරගන්න.
එවිට පහත ආකාරයේ වින්ඩෝවක් දිස්වනු ඇත

එහි ‘Select Com Port:’ හි ඔ‍බගේ මොඩමය තෝරා ගන්න. (අංක 1) [ COMX – HUAWEI Mobile Connect – 3G PC UI Interface (COMX) ]

උදා: මෙහි COM4 – HUAWEI Mobile Connect – 3G PC UI Interface (COM4)

මෙහි Send CMD ක්ලික් කර, මෙම වින්ඩෝවේම පහළට වන්නට (අංක 2) ඇති Status වෙනුවට Successfully send command. යනුවෙන් දිස්වන තෙක් බලා සිටින්න.

අනතුරුව Com Functions (all in hex) හි ඇති Drop Down මෙනුවෙන් ‘Read EFS’ තෝරා ‘Lets go’ ක්ලික් කරන්න.

එහිදී මතුවන Save as වින‍්ඩෝවේදී Filename එක ලෙස ‘efs.bin’ ලබා දී Save ක්ලික් කරන්න.
දැන් ඔබගේ මොඩමයේ File System එක read කිරී‍ම ආරම්භ වේ.
මේ සඳහා මිනිත්තු කිහිපයක් ගත වේ. මන්ද මෙය මෙගා බයිට් 32ක (32MB) ගොනුවකි.

වැදගත් :
- මෙහිදී යොදාගනු ‍ලැබුවේ QMAT හි Register නොකරන ලද සංස්කරණයකි. එම නිසා මෙය මිනිත්තු 10ක් අවසානයේදී ඉබේම Close වී යයි. එසේ සිදු වුවහොත් නැවත උත්සාහ කරන්න. මූලික පියවරයන් වේගයෙන් කිරීම මඟින් කාලය ඉතිරිකරගත හැක.
- සාමාන්‍ය තත්වයන් යටතේ QMAT හි සියළු කාර්යයන් මිනිත්තු 10 තුලදී අවසන් වේ.
- දිගින් දිගටම Read කිරීම සම්පූර්ණ කරගැනීමට අපොහොසත් වුවහොත් මොඩමය Disconnect ‍කර නැවත Connect කර උත්සාහ කරන්න.

QMAT එකේ වැඩ කටයුතු අවසන්.

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දැන් XVI32 Hex Editor එක විවෘත කර QMAT වලදී save කරගත් efs.bin ගොනුව විවෘත කරගන්න.
එහි Search මෙනුවේ ඇති Find වෙත ගොස් Hex String හි ’53 64 2c 00’ යනුවෙන් සඳහන් කර සෙවීම ආරම්භ කරන්න.

සෙවීම අවසන් වන්නේ ‘53 64 2c 00′ ඇති ස්ථානය සොයාගැනීමෙන් අනතුරුවය.

එම ‘53 64 2c 00′ ඇති ස්ථානය කෙලින්ම දකුණු පැත්තේ ඇති වින්ඩෝවේ ඔබගේ මොඩමයේ Unlock code එක සඳහන් වී ඇත.
(බොහෝ විට එහි ලකුණට (මෙය හතේ ඉලක්කම නොවේ) පසුව Unlock code එක ඇත) මෙය ඉලක්කම් 8කින් යුක්ත අංකයකි. එම වින්ඩෝවේ එක පෙලට අංක 8ක් ඇත. අනිත් සියලු අංක එක පෙලට ඇත්තේ 3ක් හෝ 4ක් පමණි. එක පෙලට ඇති අංක 8 ඔබගේ Unlock Code එකයි..

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දැන් ‘E220 SimLock UnLock’ විවෘත කර ඔබ ලබාගත් unlock code එක ඇතුල් කරන්න.

ඔබ සාර්ථකව සියළු පියවරයන් ඉටු කලේ නම් ‍මොඩමය unlock වූ බව තිරයේ දිස්වෙනු දැකිය හැක.

Smallest Intel Atom processor

2009-06-03T07:33:00.000-07:00

Intel® Atom™ Processor

Intel's smallest chip. Built with the world's smallest transistors¹.

"This is our smallest processor built with the world's smallest transistors. The Intel® Atom™ processor is based on an entirely new design, built for low power and designed specifically for a new wave of Mobile Internet Devices and simple, low-cost PC's. This small wonder is a fundamental new shift in design, small yet powerful enough to enable a big Internet experience on these new devices. We believe it will unleash new innovation across the industry."

– Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney

As Intel's smallest and lowest power processor², the Intel® Atom™ processor enables the latest Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), and another new category of devices for the internet called netbooks and nettops.

Newly designed from the ground up, 45nm Intel® Atom™ processors pack an astounding 47 million transistors on a single chip measuring less than 26mm², making them Intel's smallest and lowest power processors.¹ All this while delivering the power and performance you need for full Internet capabilities.+

Get a new range of power-efficient devices with excellent performance enabled by all new hafnium-infused 45nm high-k silicon technology
Increase energy efficiency in smaller more compact designs with a thermal design power specification ranging from less than 1W to 2.5 watts for mobile devices
Extend battery life in select devices with an incredibly low idle and average power allowing the device to stay powered on while also conserving energy

Based on an entirely new microarchitecture, the Intel® Atom™ processor was developed specifically for targeted performance and low power while maintaining full Intel® Core™ microarchitecture instruction set compatibility. Intel® Atom™ processors also feature multiple threads for better performance and increased system responsiveness.

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