Play Mafia Wars on Nokia N82 or S60 devices

To play mafia wars (facebook) on your Nokia N82, download and install Opera 10 Mobile browser on your mobile. There are no extra settings that you require to do and you can instantly start browsing and playing mafia wars.

The Opera 10 beta browser is the best one I have used on Nokia N82. The interface, speed and features are excellent.

Review of Tata Indicom Wimax in Mahim, Mumbai

Preliminary review:

I migrated from Tata Indicom Wired broadband service to Tata Indicom Wimax in Mahim area of Mumbai (Plan Power On and On 6-384 prepaid to [plan yet to be finalized])

Cost of installation - NIL

The transfer was a smooth process and apart from external installation of the antenna, it wasnt much time consuming thing.

Please note that Wimax doesnt mean free of all cables. The only cable that goes is the one that comes from Tata to your building. Instead, a receiver is installed on your terrace and it goes into a device which Tata provides you. Then a wire from that device comes out which goes into your computer (a wifi router can be installed so that the wire coming out of the device connects to the router)

Speed:
There is hardly any noticeable difference in the speed between the wired broadband service and the Wimax.

Update: Using Belkin wireless router N150. Installation was very easy. Just had to connect the cable to the router and thats it......

Update - 13th November, 2009:
The connection is performing flawlessly and I haven't faced any issues (except for some minor disconnection on 2 occasions which was sorted out on the call itself). The rains did not affect the performance at all.

The call center remains easily accessible and the representatives seem to have upto-date knowledge.

I will definitely recommend Tata Indicom Wimax connection for people in Mahim, Mumbai.

Play Mafia Wars on Blackberry

For people who are addicted to Mafia Wars and want to play it on their Blackberrys, here is an easy way:

You will need to download Bolt browser and you can start using mafia wars on your blackberry.
Website

I am using it on Blackberry 8900.

Though the display is little messed up and slow, you can still do some jobs and fighting though it is not recommended for hitlists.

For Vodafone users in Mumbai who do not have GPRS package, use the Bolt browser using wifi.

Connect to PC internet through wifi using N82

Here is a simple procedure for connecting your Nokia N82 (or other nokia handset with wifi) to internet using PC wifi.

I shared Tata Indicom Broadband Connection (through cable) on my PC to my Nokia N82 handset using wifi.

The procedure is simple and will just take a few minutes.

The procedure is for Vista and with appropriate modifications, it can be used with Windows XP as well.

Procedure:

1. Right click your Network icon in the system tray - Network and Sharing Center;

2. Go to your internet connection icon (in this case Tata) - View status - Properties - Sharing - select Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection and clear the Allow other users to control.... option;

3. Now go to Network and Sharing Center - Setup a connection or network - Setup a wireless adhoc (computer to computer) network ;

4. You can give your adhoc network a suitable name and select the appropriate security settings in the next steps (for trial purpose I would suggest to do without the WEP / WPA security);

5. Just turn on the wifi on your Nokia N82 handset, connect to the adhoc network and start browsing from your handset...

[Info] Organ timings

Some useful information relating to organ timings - click here

Evaluation copy watermark on Vista SP2

Have you updated to Vista SP2 and are getting a "Windows Vista (TM) Evaluation Copy. Build 6002" watermark on your desktop? Well that's how it is meant to be... Careful reading during installation of the SP2 will reflect:

Service Pack Information

SP2 Beta is pre-release code which will change before the final release of SP2

Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Beta is time-limited software that will operate until May 1^st, 2010 - Un-install Windows Server 2008 SP2/Windows Vista SP2 Beta before May 1^st, 2010

After SP2 installation your desktop may display the text "Evaluation Copy". This does not mean that your system is no longer "Genuine", only that you have installed a test version of software which is time-limited

After installing the service pack, the "Evaluation Copy" text may show up on the 2^nd boot

After un-installing the services pack, the "Evaluation Copy" text may remain during the first boot, but will disappear after the next reboot

Starting any Windows Server 2008 SP2 or Windows Vista SP2 installations will result in Microsoft collecting information about the installation process

To remove the watermark - read here.

However, I haven't still figured out a way to make the updates work... My updates have somehow got disabled and my system crashes on trying to update.. Even the defender updates don't work.. Plus there is no uninstall option in add / remove programs..

Waiting for a solution... Will update this post once I find a solution.

[Freeware] Pazera Video Converters Suite 1.2

Pazera Video Converters Suite 1.2



Pazera Video Converters Suite is a collection of portable video converters which helps you to convert between almost all video formats like AVI, MPEG, MP4, MOV, WMV, FLV, M4V, 3GP. The package also includes specialized converters to convert audio and video files for Zune, iPod and PSP players. In addition, the collection contains audio extractor & converter, which allows you to extract audio tracks from video files and convert audio files between the most important audio formats (MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, AAC, AC3, FLAC).

All converters have a very similar interface and they are simple to use, even for novice users.

To install, just extract archive Pazera_Video_Converters_Suite.zip to any folder on a hard disk or USB drive, then run StartPVCS.exe file.

Download here
SIZE: 29.74MB

Remove Personal Information from Office Documents

Source - TweakVista (Steve Sinchak)

Microsoft Office and other Windows Applications store all sorts of personal information when you save a file. Your name, computer name, company, date and time last edited are all examples of data included in a simple Word document file.

If you are concerned about your privacy there is an easy way to strip this information from a file.

1. Right click on the file and select Properties
2. Click on the Details Tab
3. Click Remove Properties and Personal Information on the bottom of the window
4. Select Remove the following properties from this file option and check all the items you want to remove. I suggest using the Select All button.
5. Hit OK and you are finished. All personal information is now removed.

Microsoft Fixit Solutions

Microsoft Fixit Solutions

If you have issues with or want to:

Reset security settings back to the defaults
Uninstall Internet Explorer 8;
Show Internet Explorer desktop icon;
Delete Media Center database;
Disable Internet Explorer script debugging;
Reset Internet Explorer Settings;
Disable feature restrict about protocol wizard;
Fix Windows Update error 0x8000FFFF;
Enable WinHlp32 Macros;
Unblock HLP Files on intranet site;
Restore Recycle Bin;
FixIt_DisableAddon_AskToolbar;
FixIt_DisableProcessStartup_GoogleDesktop;or
Enable Hibernate and Hybrid Sleep Feature,

Visit here.
For sidebar gadget download here

Review: Tata Indicom Broadband

After lots of research (airtel, mtnl, tata, photon, etc.), I finally selected Tata Indicom Broadband service in Mumbai (no specific reason for selection although Tata has lots of negative reviews).

Its just been a few hours that I am using it and here is the review (which will be updated from time to time).

After I send an inquiry to Tata Indicom for a broadband connection and after fixing up an appointment with their representative, this is how the process was:

Day1:

I filled up the requisite forms for the new connection and the representative was quite helpful. I chose the Power On and On 6-384 i.e. I will get speed of 384kbps with unlimited downloads for six months.

Cost: Rs.8340 all inclusive (no installation charges, etc.)

With the Fair Usage Policy (FUP) doing rounds of every forum and being a major cause of concern for the heavy downloaders, to be on safer side, I added to the application form and the terms and conditions form that I have selected the plan only on the representation that FUP does not apply to this plan and that there will be no restrictions / limit on the downloads.

Day 2:

I get a call from Tata for fixing a time for the cabling work (no modem or router required). The installation time is fixed for the next day at 10.30 a.m.

Day 3:

The representative arrives on time, finishes off his work in 30 minutes and my connection is already working!.

After installation, I checked the speed at speedtest.net and got result of 0.43 mbps for downloads and 0.38 mbps for uploads. Downloading from torrents was also speedy.

Day 5:

The connection goes kaput. I cant login to broadband dialer, ping the gateway, nothing can be done though the LAN cable is showing some activity.

Reaching the customer care was easy - 020- 60607070. Complaint was lodged, complaint no. was given and solution within 24 hours was assured.

Day 6:

No call from customer care or engineers of tata. I again call up customer care and they assure solution asap and that engineers are looking into the complaint.

No solution - broadband still not working.

The representative and the engineer who came for installation have suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. Their mobiles are "switched off"

Day 7:

Finally the engineer gets the problem solved and net is working again. Seems to have been some problem at Tata's end.

The connection is at its best again and no issues since Day 7.....

Somehow broadbandforum.in is inaccessible with my connection.. Negative reviews of Tata may be the cause....

Its been a month now that I have been using Tata Indicom Broadband. I have downloaded over 75GB and am satisfied with the service and speed.

The only grievance that remains is the disconnection. The service gets disconnected at any point of time and you have to login again to resume. This is painful considering that you queue things for download before leaving for office and after coming back you realize that your connection dropped soon after you left.

Rating: 8.5/10

Devils Workshop - must visit before buying a new mobile

If you are considering buying a new mobile, check out the Devils Workshop.

In a simple and well laid out manner, it provides with links to mobile websites which will help you buy the right mobile at right price and from the right place.

The content is reproduced as it is. All the credits go to the author of the post at Devils Workshop.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buying a New Mobile? Check Out These Sites!

For how many times you want to buy a mobile (or for that matter any other gadget) but you are in a dilemma. Don’t worry since we live in WEB 2.0 era, so you can utilize the web by following these simple steps:

STEP 1- Check the prices of mobile through these sites considering your budget.
http://www.fonearena.com/mobile_phone_pricelist.html
http://www.india-cellular.com/Handset-Prices.htm
http://www.indiagsm.com/phone_prices.php
http://mobilephone-price.blogspot.com/

STEP 2- Read detailed specs of your shortlisted mobiles & distinguish them on this basis.
http://www.indiagsm.com/
http://www.compareindia.com/products.php?sectionid=23
http://www.fonearena.com/brands.php
http://www.gsmarena.com/

STEP 3- If you are still on crossroads, see expert reviews of the mobiles.
http://www.mobile-review.com *
http://www.mobileburn.com/
http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/
http://www.phonearena.com/ *
http://www.gsmarena.com/reviews.php3 *
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/reviews/phones/
http://www.trustedreviews.com/mobile-phones/
http://www.tech2.com/india/mobile/
http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/list.jsp?list=prodcat_review_cathome&prodcat_id=451
http://www.phonegg.com/

(*-Recommended)

[Linux] Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

If you are new to Ubuntu and need some guidance, try reading the ebook by Keir Thomas. It is a very well laid out book and is easy to understand. Most of your queries will get solved in no time after reading the book.

Keir Thomas - Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference

Download here

[Freeware] Winamp Full 5.55 Beta

Winamp Full 5.55 Beta



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Nullsoft Winamp is a fast, flexible, high-fidelity music player for Windows. Winamp supports MP3, CD, WMA, Audiosoft, Mjuice, MOD, WAV and other audio formats, custom appearances called skins and audio visualization and audio effect plug-ins. Download and enjoy it free of charge, free of guilt.

Features:

* Basic controls: play, pause, stop, forward song, previous song, select new song
* Built-in spectrum analyzer and oscilloscope
* Track info: author, title, bitrate, sample rate, time, etc.
* Additional controls: position slider, balance, volume, equalizer, playlist, shuffle and repeat
* Can run in unobtrusive windowshade mode.
* All windows dock seamlessly.
* Drag and drop playlist editing
* Create and save new playlists or load a previous playlist.
* Edit song information via ID3 tag editor.
* Sort by title and filename or randomize.
* Playlist displays current song duration and complete playlist duration for easy dubbing.
* Playlist can run without the main window, and includes mini-controls, time display, and visualization.
* Ten band graphic equalizer and built-in pre-amplifier
* Create and save new pre-amplifier and equalizer settings or load previous setttings.
* Create and save song-specific pre-amplifier and equalizer settings.
* Get up to the minute in information on Winamp.
* Browse Winamp´s Plugin and Skin collection to customize your copy of Winamp.
* Support for .wsz files in your skin directory as well as .zip files
* Bookmark playlists and SHOUTcast streams

The Lite version Plays MP3s, AAC, WMA, and more; Compatible with Winamp Plug-ins; and has Full Support for Classic Skins.

New Features:

* A Completely Redesigned Interface, including Album Art
* Multiple device support, including iPods
* Access and Share Your Music and Videos with Winamp Remote
* Play and Playlist the Best Music on the Web with Media Monitor
* Get Artist & Concert News, Videos & more with Smart Search
* Enjoy Dynamic Song Recommendations
* Experience MP3 Surround Sound Support
* Access to Thousands of Internet Radio Stations, Videos and More!
* 50 FREE MP3 Music Downloads compliments of eMusic's 2-week Trial
* Auto-Tagger provides automatic updates to file information
* Control Winamp From Your Browser with the Winamp Toolbar

What's New in version 5.55 Beta:

* New: Turkish, Portuguese & Romanian installer translations and language packs
* New: WBM system for lazy-loading of *.w5s files
* New: [Bento skin] Playlist tab (optional)
* New: [ml_impex] iTunes-compatible Media Library database import/export plugin
* Improved: [gen_ff] Faster & no flicker when loading/switching skins
* Improved: [gen_jumpex] New 'Add to Library' shell menu item & other tweaks
* Improved: [gen_ml] Optional alternating row colors for list views
* Improved: [gen_ml] Optional skinned menus
* Improved: [in_mod] Experimental ExtendedRead support (transcoding, burning, etc)
* Improved: [in_mod] Now uses global Playback config for thread priority
* Improved: [in_mp3] APEv2 tag editing/creating tweaks
* Improved: [ml_local] Media Library searches now ignore diacritics
* Improved: [ml_local] New 'Category' and 'Lossless' database fields
* Improved: [ml_online] New toolbar and various other tweaks & optimizations
* Improved: [ml_online] Support for 3rd-party Services
* Improved: [vis_milk2] Pixel Shader 2.0 & 3.0 support tweaks
* Improved: [vis_nsfs] Unicode title display for currently playing track
* Fixed: Accessibility fixup for Format Info string in Alt+3 dialog
* Fixed: New version check can't be disabled when anon statistics is enabled
* Fixed: Rare crash when closing vis window
* Fixed: Small memory leaks in in_wm, gen_dropbox, ml_local, ml_pmp and tagz.w5s
* Fixed: Various issues when starting/stopping/switching vis plugins
* Fixed: [gen_jumpex] Shell Options, B Hotkey, Send To menus & other misc bugs
* Fixed: [gen_ml] Library button resize glitch
* Fixed: [in_cdda] Potential cddb Disc null pointer crash
* Fixed: [in_mp4] Empty genre metadata field (eg. when transcoding from flac to m4a)
* Fixed: [in_mp4] Long hangs on slow network drives
* Fixed: [ml_disc] Potential crash on exit
* Fixed: [ml_local] Broken 'Create Playlist' button functionality in local media
* Fixed: [ml_local] Remove missing files broken with some older/corrupt databases
* Fixed: [out_ds] Logarithmic volume control dB display glitch
* Fixed: [ml_pmp] Crash when deleting playlists/files from a P4S portable device
* Fixed: [pmp_ipod] Deletion of non-existent files from database
* Fixed: [pmp_ipod] Reading of Play Count statistics
* Misc: More miscellaneous general tweaks, improvements, fixes and optimizations
* Misc: New "Send Feedback" item in the Help menu
* Misc: Note that changes made to the ml database are not backwards compatible!
* Misc: Removed some older Milkdrop presets and added some newer ones
* Misc: Separated vlb.w5s and nsvdec_vp3.dll decoders from in_mp3 and in_nsv
* Misc: Separated timer from gen_ff into timer.w5s
* Updated: Gracenote CDDB/MusicID v2.6.0.6
* Updated: Sonic Burning Engine v4.10.32.502
* Updated: [gen_jumpex] JTFE v1.0.2
* Updated: [in_mp3] Fraunhofer Decoder v4.3
* Updated: [lame_enc] LAME 3.98.2
* Updated: [vis_avs] AVS v2.82

Download here
Size: 9.21MB

[Freeware] Ubuntu 8.10

Ubuntu is a community developed, Linux-based operating system that is perfect for laptops, desktops and servers. It contains all the applications you need - a web browser, presentation, document and spreadsheet software, instant messaging and much more.

Version 8.10

Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition delivers the features you need for an increasingly mobile digital life, including 3G wireless support and guest sessions that lets users temporarily share computers without compromising security. Ubuntu 8.10 Server Edition consolidates its support for virtualization with an integrated Virtual Machine builder, and brings with it a fully-supported Java stack and support for per-user directory encryption

System Requirements

The minimum memory requirement for Ubuntu 8.10 is 256 MiB of memory. (Note that some of your system's memory may be unavailable due to being used by the graphics card.)

With only the minimum amount of memory available, the installation process will take longer than normal, but will complete successfully, and the system will perform adequately once installed. Low-memory systems may be able to use the desktop CD to install by selecting "Install Ubuntu" from the boot menu to run just the installer, rather than the whole desktop started by selecting "Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer".

The Ubuntu promise

* Ubuntu will always be free of charge, including enterprise releases and security updates.
* Ubuntu comes with full commercial support from Canonical and hundreds of companies around the world.
* Ubuntu includes the very best translations and accessibility infrastructure that the free software community has to offer.
* Ubuntu CDs contain only free software applications; we encourage you to use free and open source software, improve it and pass it on.


Download Ubuntu
Request free Ubuntu CD

Windows 7 Beta

Windows 7 Beta

Microsoft Windows 7 is the next release of the Windows client operating system, built on the secure foundation of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Performance, reliability, security, and compatibility are core tenets of this release as we collect your feedback to meet our engineering goals of making Windows 7 the best-performing and most stable Windows operating system to date. New innovations in the product are designed to augment your ability as an IT professional to better provision and manage increasingly mobile PCs, protect data, and improve both end-user and personal productivity.

For a limited time, Microsoft is making this pre-release version of Windows 7 available to the first 2.5 million people who download. Ready to take a test drive? You can get one by trying the Windows 7 Beta. We think you’ll have the best experience if:

* You are willing to participate as an active beta tester and provide feedback to help us complete Windows 7.
* You have an extra computer available to dedicate to testing beta software.
* You can back up your PC, install and reinstall Windows, and reconfigure your home network connection.
* You’re comfortable troubleshooting your own PC problems. There’s no technical support available for the Beta.
* You understand how to burn an ISO file to a DVD using your computer’s DVD burner.
* You have a system recovery disc and know how to use it.
* You enjoy participating in an interactive community of beta testers, sharing experiences and feedback in real-time.

Microsoft isn’t providing technical support for the Beta and isn’t responsible for business-related downtime. Don’t install the Beta on your primary home or work computer. When the Beta expires on August 1, 2009, you’ll need to reinstall a released version of Windows to keep using your computer.

These are the Microsoft minimum hardware recommendations for systems that will be running the Windows 7 Beta. These recommendations are specific to the beta release and are subject to change:

* Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
* Memory: 1 GB of system memory
* Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
* Video card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
* Drive: DVD-R/W drive
* Internet connection (to download the Beta and get updates)

Note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of “touch”, may require advanced or additional hardware.

Microsoft requires users to login with their Windows Live ID and register prior to downloading Windows 7 Beta. The download link will redirect you to the Windows 7 registration and download page.

Download here
SIZE: 2.2GB

Map a FTP drive / folder in Windows Vista

Map a FTP drive / folder in Windows Vista:
Source and credit: WinVistaClub - This is yet another helpful trick from the amazing site for vista. I was searching for something related to FTP and found this useful article.

You can create or map a drive directly to your FTP site from within Windows Vista. For that you dont need the help of any third party software. It could be done in XP and it can be done in Vista too.

Open Explorer > Computer > Click Map Network Drive.

Next click Add network location wizard.

Select Choose a custom network location - Specify the address of the website, network location or ftp site.

Uncheck log on anonymously and give the username & password.

You will now be connected to your website www.website.com .

This is quite useful if you store files online or run a website.

[Freeware] Free OCR 2.6

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Free OCR is a complete scan and OCR program including the Tesseract free OCR engine v2.03. It includes a Windows installer, it is very simple to use and supports multi-page tiff´s, fax documents as well as most image types including compressed Tiff´s which the Tesseract engine on its own cannot read. It has Twain scanning included and support for multipage Tiff documents. Best of all it is totally free!

Requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0.

What's New in version 2.6:

* Minor bug fixes to PDF rendering code (from v2.5)
* PDF button - can now open and OCR scanned PDF files
* Images from a scanned document can be selected and placed on the clipboard
* Scans can be cropped before OCR
* Added button to remove line breaks from the OCR'ed text
* Fixed some bugs causing FreeOCR to crash when opening PNG's
* Improved user interface

Download here
SIZE: 4.38MB

[Freeware] FotoSketcher 1.8

FotoSketcher 1.8



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FotoSketcher is a 100% free program which can help you convert your digital photos into art, automatically. If you want to turn a portrait, the photograph of your house or a beautiful landscape into a painting, a sketch or a drawing then look no further, FotoSketcher will do the job in just a few seconds.

Thanks to FotoSketcher you can create stunning images to make original gifts for your friends or relatives. Create birthday cards, season's greetings stationary or simply print your work of art and hang it on the wall.

Different styles are available: pencil sketch, pen and ink drawing, various painting renderings. You can also improve your original photo with simple tools (enhance contrast, sharpen, simplify image, increase luminosity, color saturation etc...).

FotoSketcher is completely free and does not contain any adware, spyware or virus.

Download here
SIZE: 2.56MB

Browse WAP sites in Firefox

View WAP sites in your Firefox browser -

If you want to view websites for mobile on your PC and are not happy with WAP emulators, try WMLBROWSER, a firefox addon.

With WMLBROWSER, you can view WAP sites in your Firefox browser.

Download here
More info on WMLBROWSER.

Some sites you can try browsing with the addon:

wap.tagtag.com
m.yahoo.com