The Intel Museum

Experience one of the most techy and fascinating museums of the world : The Intel Museum

The Intel Museum located at Intel's headquarters in Santa Clara, California, has exhibits of Intel's products and history as well as semiconductor technology in general. The museum is open weekdays and Saturdays except holidays. It is open to the public with free admission.


The museum was started in the early 1980's as an internal project at Intel to record its history.
It opened to the public in 1992, later being expanded in 1999 to triple its size and add a store.
It has exhibits about how semiconductor chip technology workks.



Museum address:
Robert Noyce Building
2200 Mission College Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95054,
U.S.A
Phone: 408-765-0503

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Add SafeBoot option to Windows Boot Menu

Many times we need to start out computer in safe mode when we have a problem in normal booting.

Following the steps below you can have the 'SafeBoot' option at the boot menu of Windows XP :


1. Open a command prompt

2. Copy the current c:\boot.ini to another name (just in case)

3. With your favorite text editor, edit c:\boot.ini

4. Copy then edit the current boot line to another line. For example:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

might copy and then change to:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional Safeboot" /fastdetect

5. Start MSCONFIG

6. Click on the BOOT.INI tab

7. Highlight the second line with the additional name of Safeboot

8. Check the /SAFEBOOT box with option you want

• Minimal - Minimal set of drivers
• Network - With Network Support
• Dsrepair - Directory Services Repair
• Minimal (Alternate Shell) - Standard Explorer Desktop

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Gmail Attachments Updated : Multi-select and Progress bars

Today when I was attaching some of the documents in gmail, I saw a progress bar on selecting the file. Suddenly I tried to check the file upload again. I came to see that multiselect option also enabled for gmail. This is one of the cool feature for me as I attach more than single files in most of my emails. I think most of the business people need this feature. Gmail is a feature rich web application, this app is now one of the addicted application for me. Gmail is using flash uploading mechanism to attain this.

If you use Google Mail for your email needs and get frustrated that you can't select more then one file at once well you can now rejoice because Google have enabled the feature in their service. The system works a bit like the flickr uploader where when selecting a file you hold down CTRL and select the other files you want to attach and what's even better when you attach them you can see each attachment uploading through the new progress bar. This is another great feature added to an already amazing email service.

Up until today, it's been a little tedious to send large or multiple attachments with an email. You had to select each attachment individually and you never knew how long it would be before those bigger files were ready to send. If you want to send a few files from the same folder, simply hold down the Ctrl key (Cmd on OS X) and click on each file you want to attach to your message. You can also hold down the Shift key to select a continuous list of files. A definite time saver.

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Top 10 Techo Hits of Decade

Presenting the Top 10 Techo Hits in the field of Innovation of The Decade

10th : Blackberry

9th : Oyster Card
8th : Skype
7th : Nintendo's Wii

6th : Chip & Pin Technology
5th : i-Pod
( It should have been i-Phone, what say :) )4th : Hybrid Cars

3rd : Sat Nav GPS System

2nd : Sky+ Setup Top Boxes with Pause and Record

Winner : WiFi ( Yeah !!! )

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Change the "Manufactured and Supported by" section Details and Logo

Many system manufacturers ( Dell, HP etc. ) change the look of System Property Window by adding their own logo and manufactured and supported by section . You can change the logo and information with custom info by following the tweak below.

To begin, first verify the registration details of your Windows computer. For Windows XP and Windows Vista click on Start and right-click on My Computer (just Computer). You will see the screen shown below ( Some fields blurred for security issues ). After applying this tweak the System windows will look somewhat like this ( Observe the changes ) :

Steps :

(1) Open System32 folder ( Generally "C:\windows\system32" )
(2) Find a file called "oeminfo.ini". Make a backup of this file and save a copy in a safe place. If your computer doesn't have this file, you can create a new one. Just follow the example below.

Open the oeminfo.ini ( or create one using notepad ) file by double-clicking on it. You'll see a list of items that looks something like this:

[general]
Manufacturer= ABC Mfg.
Model= ABC 4000

[support information]
Line1 = "Support Information Here"
Line2 = Call somebody other than us. Tech support is expensive!
Line3 = Seriously.
Line4 = We mean it!

(3) Change the information after the = sign with what you want. If you're creating a new oeminfo.inf file, just follow this format.

(4) Perform a Save As, and save the file as a .ini file (replace the oeminfo.ini file in the system folder).

(5) To change the logo create a BMP file with dimensions 180x114 or less and save it as "OEMLOGO.BMP" in the SYSTEM32 directory and you're all set. Overwrite this file it it already exists. Reopen the System Property windows to see the changes.

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Change the Registered User and Company Name in Windows XP / Vista

This tweak allows modification of the registered owner and organization of the Windows XP software.

Note: This tweak has nothing to do with Windows Product Activation (WPA) and will not allow you to register illegal XP software.

To begin, first verify the registration details of your Windows computer. For Windows XP and Windows Vista click on Start and right-click on My Computer (just Computer). You will see the screen shown below ( Some fields blurred for security issues ).


Steps to change Registered User and Company Name:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

3. To change the company name, do the following:
   
   In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOrganization. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
4. To change the name of the registered owner, do the following:
   
   In the right pane, double-click RegisteredOwner. Under Value data, type the name that you want, and then click OK.
5. Click Exit on the File menu to quit Registry Editor and open system property windows again to see the chnages.

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Comparison : Linux vs Windows

Comparison of the Microsoft Windows and Linux computer operating systems is a common topic of discussion among their users. Windows is the most prominent closed source operating system, while Linux is the most prominent operating system that is free software (note that many Linux distributions also have a small amount of proprietary components, such as compiled binary blob drivers provided by hardware manufacturers, for their default installation.) The two operating systems compete for user-base in the personal computer market as well as the server market, and are used in government offices, schools, business offices, homes, intranet and internet servers, supercomputers, and embedded systems.

Windows dominates in the desktop and personal computer markets with about 90% of the desktop market share, and accounted for about 66% of all servers sold (not used) in the year 2007. In server revenue market share (2007Q4) Windows achieved 36.3% and Linux achieved 12.7%. As of November 2007, Linux powered 85% of the world's most powerful supercomputers, compared to Windows' 1.4%. In February 2008, Linux powered five of the ten most reliable internet hosting companies, compared to Windows' two. In the same month, Windows powered one of the ten least reliable internet hosting companies, compared to Linux's five.

Linux and Windows differ in philosophy, cost, ease of use, versatility, and stability, with each seeking to improve in their perceived weak areas. Comparisons of the two tend to reflect the origins, historic user base and distribution model of each. Typically, some major areas of perceived weaknesses regularly cited have included the poor “out-of-box” usability of the Linux desktop for the mass-market and susceptibility to malware for Windows. Both are areas of rapid development in both fields.

Proponents of free software argue that the key strength of Linux is that it respects what they consider to be the users' essential freedoms: the freedom to run it, to study and change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes.

A GUI Decision

Linux is a kernel, an operating system—not a complete operating environment in the sense that Windows is a complete operating environment. The tradeoff is one of choice. Windows has a single interface (true, there are variations between versions, but those are largely transparent to users). In contrast, Linux has no built-in GUI interface. Users are free to choose among many commercially available or free GUI X-Window interfaces, such as Gnome, KDE, and Motif, each of which provides a different look and feel.

Unfortunately, to some degree differences in GUI X-Window interfaces extend to the programming interfaces as well, meaning that software developers must either support multiple GUIs or choose which GUI(s) they plan to support. Because the interfaces are slightly different, application developers generally target one or two primary GUI programming models. Supporting many GUIs isn't just a simple process of including one set of libraries or another; it's often a frustrating and error-prone exercise in writing GUI-specific code. While these applications may run on non-targeted GUI interfaces, vendors often guarantee support for only one or two.

The multiple-GUI problem illustrates a basic difference in Windows and Linux. Windows has one general GUI interface which has served many millions of people and works for many millions of different applications. The Mac (another successful consumer OS) is similar; one general GUI works across all Mac applications. Why is Linux different?

Freedom to Choose—Or Not to Choose

According to most open-source advocates, having multiple available GUIs translates into a desirable user choice. For example, http://www.uselinuxathome.com/ENgui.htm says that the "choice of GUI has been made possible by the open source nature of Linux," and that "The idea is...to find the one that's right for you..."

That's all well and good in a hobbyist world, where users are enthusiasts who are more than happy to handle manual configurations and endure inconveniences in order to maintain an open system where application developers target the GUI(s) of their choice. It's also fine in a locked-down, IT-mandated business situation where administrators and business needs dictate UI and application choices for users. But that approach isn't going to work for the general public.

The average user doesn't know—or care—about the underlying operating system, the idea of GUI interfaces, the various types of file systems, or about any other "technical" aspect of using a computer. (Jono Bacon tells an interesting story about how users perceive GUIs.) Many—perhaps most—home and small business users never alter their Windows system defaults, other than to perhaps download a different screen saver, add a peripheral, or install their preferred applications. Giving them choices isn't going to make them happy—they want something that works out of the box! And they want that single setup to work for all their programs.

Most of the major distributions aren't addressing this problem directly. For example, Mandrake ships with three different X-Window GUIs: KDE, Gnome, and IceWM. How much time should users spend exploring these different GUIs before they find the one that's "right"—and works with all their applications? One month? Five months? Are there more productive ways for users to spend their time than trying different GUIs? Developers, hobbyists, and large IT shops gain value from the ability to try and test a multiplicity of interface choices, but the average home or business user will not.

In fact, I suspect that many users wouldn't even know what a path is. If you tell them, they may not understand why it's important, and they won't know how to edit it. The fact is that average users don't know and don't want to know how to solve problems with their computers—that's why businesses hire IT and support staff, so that average users can concentrate on their work, not on their computers.

If the problem were limited to setting up just one specific GUI, it would be relatively easy to solve it by creating a robust installation, but it isn't. There are many GUIs, each with its own FAQ, its own procedure, and its own quirks.

Functions

Windows offers an easy user interface called a GUI (graphical user interface) but unlike Linux, only has one GUI for users to choose from. This fact in some respects could make the using of an operating system easer. For example if there was a work group it would be easier if they were all using the same GUI’s, then some choosing to use different types of GUI’s which would slow down the ability to effectively provides demonstrations from the tutor or person in charge of the work group.

One advantage of Linux over windows where it comes to the multie choice of GUI’s it that it can help provide a nice easy starting ground for either windows or Mac users. incidentally Mac and Windows both have totally different GUI’s where as Linux has many GUIs to choose from, including ones that represent the Mac GUI being gnome and ones representing the windows GUI being KDE. This makes it far easier for new, and starting off Linux users, aturly use linux as effectively as they would have been able to use there windows or Mac computers.

Windows and Linux both allow hardware to effectively communicate with Software in much the same way. However the compatibility problems of Linux can cause havoc when trying to install hardware drivers. Whereas with windows being one of the leading operating systems in the world, finding hard ware drives is a push over.

Security



Windows is more likely to be infected by a viruses due to it being the most attacked operating system in the world unlike Linux. Also the majority of viruses aren't compatible with Linux making Linux inherently safer.

Performance

Linux is less of a megalif of an operating system then windows is meaning that performance is greatly reduced in windows simply because there is less extra performance windows can utilize because the windows OS is taking up so much power unlike with Linux which doesn't use much power to run, Meaning there is much power available to be implemented by the user if needed.
Stability: due to the work all over the world by the millions users of Linux users which have full and free access to the source code in trying to make Linux more stable unlike the few 100,000 windows tec’s with a license to modify the windows source code. And also due to the fact that the Linux operating system has a more logical fileing system and that linux doesn't use much processor power to run inherently makes linux a more of a stable OS

Cost
For windows you have to pay for limited access to the OS and all software available for windows. Unlike with linux where for free you get full access to the entire operating system along with full access to all of the linux GNU software available which can be downloaded if it doesn't come with the distribution (for example debian linux comes with over 17,000 software packages which are optional and totally free, and SUSE linux gives u accesses to over 7,000 software packages freely, unlike windows where most software is optional and costs…)

Usability

Windows is one of the easiest operating systems to use due to the lack of things you can do with it along with the legal constraints. Windows is also the most widely spread operating system then linux and has the upper hand when it comes to personal computing. Linux is just as easy but due to the lack of confidence of computer users there's days not many people are willing to delve in the happy free world of linux.

Outcome

After many years of my own personal experience with the two operating systems along with the factors I have made above I believe linux is the best operating system with more pros then windows. One downside to linux is its compatibility however it is possible to emulate everything software on both operating systems making software compatibility not an issue, however as far as hardware computability is consend windows doesn't have the ability to work on the Power PC processors unlike linux. Although some people are skeptical about linux I have seen that the only resion for this is the lack of recherché they have done into the operating system to back up there skepticism.. The linux system is being implemented more and more by country's and organizations all over the world at a growing pace day by day and one day will be the biggest rival to windows if it isn't already in the server & business market.

Here is a tabular comparison b/w the two :

Topic	Linux	Windows
Price	The majority of Linux variants are available for free or at a much lower price than Microsoft Windows.	Microsoft Windows can run between $50.00 - $150.00 US dollars per each license copy.
Ease	Although the majority Linux variants have improved dramatically in ease of use, Windows is still much easier to use for new computer users.	Microsoft has made several advancements and changes that have made it a much easier to use operating system, and although arguably it may not be the easiest operating system, it is still Easier than Linux.
Reliability	The majority of Linux variants and versions are notoriously reliable and can often run for months and years without needing to be rebooted.	Although Microsoft Windows has made great improvements in reliability over the last few versions of Windows, it still cannot match the reliability of Linux.
Software	Linux has a large variety of available software programs, utilities, and games. However, Windows has a much larger selection of available software.	Because of the large amount of Microsoft Windows users, there is a much larger selection of available software programs, utilities, and games for Windows.
Software Cost	Many of the available software programs, utilities, and games available on Linux are freeware and/or open source. Even such complex programs such as Gimp, OpenOffice, StarOffice, and wine are available for free or at a low cost.	Although Windows does have software programs, utilities, and games for free, the majority of the programs will cost anywhere between $20.00 - $200.00+ US dollars per copy.
Hardware	Linux companies and hardware manufacturers have made great advancements in hardware support for Linux and today Linux will support most hardware devices. However, many companies still do not offer drivers or support for their hardware in Linux.	Because of the amount of Microsoft Windows users and the broader driver support, Windows has a much larger support for hardware devices and a good majority of hardware manufacturers will support their products in Microsoft Windows.
Security	Linux is and has always been a very secure operating system. Although it still can be attacked when compared to Windows, it much more secure.	Although Microsoft has made great improvements over the years with security on their operating system, their operating system continues to be the most vulnerable to viruses and other attacks.
Open Source	Many of the Linux variants and many Linux programs are open source and enable users to customize or modify the code however they wish to.	Microsoft Windows is not open source and the majority of Windows programs are not open source.
Support	Although it may be more difficult to find users familiar with all Linux variants, there are vast amounts of available online documentation and help, available books, and support available for Linux.	Microsoft Windows includes its own help section, has vast amount of available online documentation and help, as well as books on each of the versions of Windows.

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Lost city of Atlantis found on Google Earth ?

UK tabloid The Sun has an article claiming that someone found Atlantis using Google Earth. As someone who’s personally interested in ancient mysteries, paranormal phenomena, and cryptozoology, I’m really happy that a tabloid has this story because it totally gives credence to the idea that Atlantis does, indeed, exist and should definitely silence all the naysayers.

Surely I jest. The evidence is compelling, however; a grid of crisscrossing lines the size of Wales buried three and a half miles underwater is nothing to sneeze at. Remember, mother nature doesn’t make straight lines. Intelligent beings make straight lines. These lines are apparently 620 miles west of Morocco near the Canary Islands.

London's Sun tabloid proclaimed Friday morning that an aeronautical engineer from Chester in northwestern England had discovered the fabled lost city using the armchair geographer's favorite tool — Google Earth. A strange pattern in the ocean floor off the western coast of Africa looked a lot like an ancient city street grid, and the Sun even said it was in the location "seemingly suggested by the ancient philosopher Plato."

"Even if it turns out to be geographical, this definitely deserves a closer look," New York State Museum archaeologist Charles Orser told the Sun. But the jubilation was to be short-lived. Within hours, a Google spokeswoman told one of the Sun's rivals — it's not clear which one — that "what users are seeing is an artefact of the data-collection process."

According to a Google spokesperson, the lines are actually sonar artifacts from a boat gathering data for Google Earth’s new ocean feature:

“What users are seeing is an artefact of the data collection process.… Bathymetric (or sea floor terrain) data is often collected from boats using sonar to take measurements of the sea floor.… The lines reflect the path of the boat as it gathers the data. The fact that there are blank spots between each of these lines is a sign of how little we really know about the world’s oceans.”

Here’s a link to the spot on Google Maps. Now if we could just get one of those Street View cars made into a submarine capable of going three and a half miles deep, we’d be in business.

Researchers have been trying to uncover the secrets of Atlantis for years and have contrasting views on where it actually lies. Could the search finally be over?

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Save CPU and RAM: Disable the Indexing Service on Windows XP

Windows Indexing Service creates indexes of the contents and properties of all files on local and network drives in order to increase file searching speed. But the downside is that your PC’s general performance will slow down because it has to index files continuously. So if you are not very particular about the slight increase in search speed or if you use a third party search engine like the Google Desktop Search or Copernic, then you can safely disable the indexing service. There are more than one ways of doing that.

In Windows XP, it’s possible to turn off indexing of some or all hard disk drive (HDD) one by one or to disable indexing service altogether (which will turn off indexing on all drives). Searching is still possible after disabling of indexing, albeit more slowly.

Turn off indexing on particular hard disk drive

1. Open up “My Computer”. Or open “Windows Explorer” and then expand Computer tree.
2. Right click on the hard drive to disable indexing (i.e (C:) drive letter).
3. Select Properties on the contextual menu.
4. Click on General tab if it’s not already selected.
5. Untick (unselect) the check box for Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching option.
6. Click OK, and wait for the index removal process to complete, which may take a few minutes.
7. Repeat the steps for other hard drives if applicable.

Disable the Indexing Service in Windows XP

1. Open “Control Panel”, select “Administrator Tools”, and open Services applet. Alternatively, type services.msc in the Run text box from Start menu, and then hit Enter.
2. Scroll down and locate Indexing Service service, and then double click on it.
3. Click on Stop button to immediately stop the indexing service if the service status shows “Running.
4. Under the “Startup Type”, select Disabled to permanently disable the indexing service so that it won’t run again.
5. Click OK.

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IBM System x3100 : Cheapest IBM server

Highlights

1. Easy to set up and use, so you can spend your time managing your business
2. Value-added, simplifying daily business tasks to help you as your business grows
3. Built to last, protecting your investment by providing the latest server technologies

The IBM System x3100 is an affordable single-socket server that delivers performance, reliability and manageability for small and growing businesses. An ideal choice for companies purchasing a first server, the x3100 can be used for e-mail, file and print or business applications.

Simple and easy to deploy

IBM ServerGuide™ helps you set up and configure the system, so you can deploy your new server quickly. Leveraging the latest Intel® processor technology, the x3100 provides all the performance and features you need in a business server, without unnecessary complexity. This simplified approach means you spend less time managing your server.

Common features

1. IBM ServerGuide™ helps you get the server up and running quickly
2. Optional tape backup and UPS provide added protection to help avoid business interruption
3. Expandability through two PCI slots and two PCI-Express slots
4. Up to two high-capacity, low-cost Serial ATA hard disk drives provide large centrally maintained data capacity
   

Hardware summary

1. Tower form factor
2. Choice of processor-Intel Xeon and Intel Pentium dual-core
3. 512 MB or 1 GB standard memory/8 GB DDR II 667 MHz maximum memory via four DIMM slots
4. 160 GB internal storage standard/1.5 TB Serial ATA internal storage maximum
5. Integrated DVD-ROM

Specification

Form factor/height Tower Processor (CPU GHz/ L2 cache/front-side bus MHz max) Dual-Core Intel Xeon® 3065 (up to 2.33 GHz/4 MB/1333 MHz) and Intel Pentium® Dual-Core E2140 (up to 1.6 GHz/1 MB/800 MHz) Number of processors (std/max) 1/1 Cache (max) 4 MB (model dependent) Memory (max) 512 MB or 1 GB/8 GB DDR II 667 MHz via 4 DIMM slots Expansion slots 2 PCI, 2 PCI-Express (x8, x8) Disk bays (total/hot-swap) 2 Serial ATA (SATA) Maximum internal storage 1.5 TB SATA Other disk bays One 5.25" bay for DVD-ROM One 5.25" bay for optional additional optical or tape drive Network interface Integrated Gigabit Ethernet Power supply (std/max) 310W 1/1 RAID support RAID-0, -1 optional Ports Front: two USB Rear: four USB, one Ethernet, one serial, one parallel, one video Systems management IBM ServerGuide Operating systems supported Windows® Small Business Server 2003, Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003 Standard Edition/Enterprise Edition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux®, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Limited warranty 1-year customer replaceable unit and onsite limited warranty

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