25 Terrible Mistakes of a Blogger

Probably everybody has tried to run his or her own blog. Someone does it for amusement, others to fulfill their hidden potential and some people make money on this. In any case there are lots of bloggers who make the same mistakes while launching their blogs and do not notice them for some reason. Let’s try to learn what dumps bloggers got on their heads and in what traps do the bloggers fall.

Mistake 1: Wrong Topic

Wrong topic of the post you’re going to post in your blog. In other words you have chosen the topic which has already been covered many times and is of little interest to the readers. Excessive personalization in any topic is a mistake as well. If you want to write only about yourself or focus on your interests and preferences, it will wok only if you are a super star or a public person at least. In all other cases the posts like “Why I prefer suede shoes to the leather ones” will hardly be interesting to anyone.

Mistake 2: No Paragraphs

Paragraph your text. To understand the matter, go to the site of Wiki and find there the description of an andron collider for instance. Now copy the whole text to the clipboard and paste it into MS Word, delete all the paragraphs and try to read it once more. How do you feel? I think horrible since it’s terrible to read a big passage of a text about unknown things. Hence, learn one simple thing: when you write a post everything seems clear to you, and even if you don’t want to paragraph the text in order not to interrupt the thought, do not do it. What is clear to you can be Greek to your readers. The reader needs the text that can be comfortable to read and to remember. One more important issue is that the readers like to mark some paragraphs that have interested them. Thus try to divide your posts into small passages. There is one more proven rule: the best size of the paragraph is not more than 5 lines.

Mistake 3: Spelling and Punctuation Mistakes

Make a rule for yourself: always check the post you have written. And it would be better if you do this in 20 minutes after you have finished writing. That 20-minutes break will fresh your thoughts and mind and help you to find even the most insignificant mistakes. So, for example, the professional writers who write the books follow this rule strictly. They take a break after each writing session and after some rest read everything they have written before. Well, 10 minutes spent for checking may save you hundreds of readers who one day will leave your blog being tired of your mistakes.

Mistake 4: Off Topic

Remember, no matter what are you writing about, if you digress from the topic chosen it may result in failure. Any person when reading a post always gets ready for some definite topic he or she is interested in. The reader keeps in mind some names and events you mention in your post and wants to get more information on the topic he/she is interested in. And if you decide to depart from the subject chosen your reader will scroll this passage at best, and then swear the author. And at worst you will lose the reader.

Mistake 5: Dry Expression of Opinion without any Sense of Humor

Use your sense of humor when writing your blog. Do not be afraid of cracking the jokes. However you should draw the line and never overstep it. Remember that humor let the readers feel at ease hence they may fall in love with your blog only because it grants them some positive emotions and a good mood.

Mistake 6: Difficult Navigation

This mistake is very common, and even the professionals make it. You should always think how to comfort the navigation not only on the main page but on the others as well. You can reach this by using all the opportunities of the modern CMS for blogs, and simply by watching at your blog through the eyes of your readers. Readers do not like when everything is lumped together, they like well-separated content blocks, bright headlines and various buttons that let them browse the site effectively.

Mistake 7: A Hidden Icon of RSS Feed or Email subscription

Unfortunately many bloggers think that people will not want to subscribe to their blog. That is a great delusion since most people do not like to waste time to check the updates on the site. For that reason try to place the orange icon of RSS feed subscription in a plain view.

Mistake 8: Unwillingness to Communicate with Other Bloggers

Surely nobody will make you communicate with other bloggers if it is unpleasant for you. However you should consider how useful and pleasant such communication can be. So, if you communicate with the people who cover the same topics as you do, you may share your opinions, argue or even to organize some writer duel where the readers will vote and find the winner. Besides when associating with other bloggers and adding more friends to your list you may find the people holding the same views who will cite your words and leave the links to your blog on various sites that finally will bring more traffic to your blog.

Mistake 9: No Graphics

If you like texts solely and do not accept any pictures, if you have an aversion for all the colors except white and black, it means that very soon you’ll be tired of writing your own blog. You should always remember that people perceive the graphic information better than of any other kind. Try always to put the pictures, work over the design of the blog and do not be lazy to create beautiful thing. To reach the optimal number of pictures on the page use a simple rule: not more than 3 pictures per each three paragraphs. It would be better if you put pictures in text. Try to do it so that readers could come to your blog not only to read some interesting things but to look at your blog project!

Mistake 10: Show them Big, Uncompressed Photos

Many webmasters show compressed photos on websites because it decreases the loading time as well as load on webserver. But some new bloggers often using MS-paint saves and upload photos in BMP format. Sometimes these uncompressed files are 10 time larger than their compressed JPG/PNG counterpart.

Mistake 11: Wrong Post Headlines

Perhaps, this mistake is one of the most important ones. Some professional journalists say that sometimes a headline brings 90% of success. Your post can be not interesting at all though if you have a talented headline that challenges to open the post and to read your thoughts it means that you have succeeded as a blogger. Try to choose not very long one (consisting of 5-8 words) which can be written as some provocative questions or, on the contrary, as the answers to some questions. So, for example, if you write about your dreams or tell your thoughts on such phenomena as a dream, and put a heading “Mystery of dreams was solved” the readership of your blog will be high.

Mistake 12: Only Thinking of Money

Stop thinking of getting money right on the start. I see a number of my friends who started blogging after seeing me thinking getting money is easier. My first 100$ came after 3 months . That's also a high efforts are needed for me to do that I put a lot of man hours those days checking the adsense websites and learning about SEO optimization.

Mistake 13: Multiple Area of Interests :

Stop writing about every thing if you are looking for some big thing in the future. Many of the new bloggers read about the keywords and the list compiled by some people and then write about each of them with topics related to insurance, pharmacy and all. But it's neither going to get you some good readers nor going to improve your earnings. Choose a particular area of interest in which you have prior knowledge and share your knowledge with others.

Mistake 14: Not Getting Indexed

Submit you blog to any directory or search engine you find.If you are lazy in submission, forget about the traffic then.

Mistake 15: Not Responding to Comments

If you don’t have time to post timely replies to your visitors my suggestion is to better remove comments sections from your website. A repeat visitor will probably go away from your site if his comment remain unanswered after 24-48 hours.

Mistake 16: Cluttered Slow Loading Sites

Does your site load in 3-5 seconds? Otherwise remove all the useless widgets and change your theme to a normal one. Also remove the useless flash and javascripts from your website/blog.

Mistake 17: Irrelevant Rush

Rushing just to add some content to the page will also effect your regular readers. Maintain quality. Come up with post titles which are relevant to the post and which are attractive. It will be better if your blog title is also relevant to your writing or is famous word. Take enough time to compose a post. One single post can make you famous. I take a lot of time compiling a single post.

Mistake 18: Pop up message like “Subscribe Us” or “Special Offers”

This is the mistake made by new webmasters. These webmasters shower the visitors with pop ups. Whenever they see some new scripts on Internet, they use it in their websites. It irritates your users and also increases loading time of your site.

Mistake 19: Apologizing for not Writing

Either create a posting schedule and stick with it, or decide to write when you feel like it and do that. But don’t go into the land of wishy-washy and spend the first paragraph of each post apologizing for not writing in days. No one cares all that much. Just write the post. An apology says, “I’ve already messed up bad.” Your readers rely on you to entertain them in some way. Don’t wimp out on them!

Mistake 20: Checking your Stats Hourly

Here’s the deal. Stats are a good barometer for some things. Especially if you have a clear-thinking mind. Or if you’re approaching your blog experimentally and viewing your stats with a marketer’s mindset. But if you’re mindlessly checking stats all the time, looking at your affiliate earnings every hour, then it’s time to step AWAY from the computer. Go play with your dog.

Mistake 21: Taking RSS Subscription Numbers Personally

RSS feeds will move up and down in small increments. And really, it’s not personal. Just keep posting and doing the work and your devoted peeps will find you! (And while we’re on the subject, you can subscribe to my blog here.)

Mistake 22: Embed Videos that Start without the PLAY button

These option is called as auto play. We know most of the visitors have limited bandwidth. Additional video data you force your visitors to download gets directly transformed into anger they feel toward your site/blog. They most probably close your website rather than searching for a pause button.

Mistake 23: Changing the Theme of your Site every Fortnight

With free WordPress themes and Blogger layout availble in abundance, resist the temptation of changing your theme regularly. If you want a new look do some minor changes in the theme but don’t change it completely every week or fortnight.

Mistake 24: Giving Up

Finally don't abandon your blog after sometime when you are not able to make some money. Have patience. Keep coming with good posts. Maintain your blog that way for a year or so. I guarantee you, some day your blog pays you all your hardwork back.

Mistake 25:

If you’re a blogger, feel free to share your own mistakes! (And if you’re not a blogger, well, you can still share some of your mistakes, too.)

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How to handle LCD screens

Your LCD television and monitor or laptop is designed with liquid crystal technology. These screens are very sensitive to the touch and can be easily damaged. Also, because the screens are not made of glass, ingredients typical to glass treatment agents, such as Ammonia, should not be used on your laptop or flat screen monitor. Dust can quickly accumulate on the display of your LCD HDTV, computer monitor, or laptop screen. That will strain reading ease and clarity. Clean your screen whenever it's necessary, but do it correctly to avoid scratches or degeneration of screen quality. These displays are not constructed to be touched. It is very important for you to exercise care in the handling of your liquid crystal display, because it is a liquid crystal display rather than a glass display. The tiny dots that make up the images on the screen are each a separate transistor/crystal. Pressure can "crack" pixels easily, and even the "rough" surface of paper towels may scratch the display surface. When the pixels are damaged, black spots fill those areas of your monitor.

Pressing and poking, whether with a dull object such as your finger, or a sharp object, such as a pen or knife, typically damages far more than one individual pixel. Imagine not being able to read lines of text on your screen, or loose image visibility in a section of your television!

Extensive damage will obliterate entire areas of imaging. Therefore, keep your fingers and other objects away from the display. If you need to point out text or image details to others, "point" them out electronically by using the mouse pointer. Alternately, add a computer filter over the surface which will help prevent accidental contact, or you can maintain a distance between any "pointer" and the display's surface.

When dust, pet hair, or other dirt builds up on the display, it is important to clean the surface. Prior to treating your unit, unplug it. Then, use a soft cloth such as soft, untreated eyeglass cloths or micro fiber cleaning cloths, rather than tissues. Also, use the correct solution. Be aware that you should not use any product containing ammonia or ethanol, as these components will degrade LCD screens. Make certain the commercial computer monitor cleanser you purchase specifically states that it is for use as a screen cleaner. Instead of buying a commercial cleaner, some people make their own solution using 50% isopropyl alcohol and 50% distilled water (tap water may leave mineral spots).

Spray the cloth, not the monitor. When cleaning LCDs, laptops, computers or televisions, make sure they are unplugged. Do not place or spray the liquid directly onto your notebook or TV. Instead, dampen the special cloth slightly with the cleanser and then gently wipe your screen in a consistent motion, such as counter clockwise, rather than haphazard motions. Use the cleaner sparingly to avoid the leakage of excess fluid into the keypad.

All these suggestions apply equally to laptop displays as well as your other LCD monitors.
"Read your manufacturer's cleaning suggestions. Check your owner's manual for instructions from the manufacturer regarding their suggested methods."

Using a protective computer filter minimizes opportunity for dirt or damage to your LCD. Placing a glare filter over your computer monitor or attaching a protective cover over your laptop display provides added protection against damage or the build-up of dirt. Check our Computer filter and Glare filters by clicking on the image below for information about the various glare, privacy, and protective filters available.

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Measures for Credit Card Users to Prevent Identity Theft

What is better than cash? A stolen credit card is the answer. The importance of protecting your credit card information is even more essential now, with the introduction of online shopping. As such, it’s wise to be proactive in preventing such thing from happening to you. Furthermore, the responsibility always lies with credit card holders to safeguard their credit cards. Here is a list of important "do’s and don’ts" to safeguard your credit card.

1. Treat your cards like cash.
2. One of the important thing is to scratch away the 3-digit Card Security Code and remember it. This way even it your card is lost, the thief would not be able to use it.
   
3. Keep your card number confidential.
4. Sign up your new cards as soon as they arrive and cut up the old cards when they expire.
5. Sign your credit card in permanent ink as soon as you receive it.
6. Ensure that your transaction is processed in your presence every time you make a purchase. Check your card when it is returned to you by the cashier to ensure that it is yours and that it has not been tampered with in any way.
7. Total your charge slip before signing in, as blank spaces serve as an invitation for unscrupulous individuals to add additional amounts.
8. Retain your receipts so that you can check them against your statement.
9. Inform your card issuer immediately if unfamiliar transactions are posted on your statement.
10. Keep your statements in a safe place - they contain sensitive information.
11. Shred all statements before disposing of them, even those for closed accounts.
12. Inform the card issuer when you are traveling overseas.
13. Notify the card issuer of any change of address, so new cards/statements are not sent to the old mailing address.
14. Inform the card issuer immediately if your card is stolen or lost. Always keep card issuer contact number at hand. Only provide your SSN(Social Security Number) and credit card information to parties with whom you have initiated the call.
15. The most primary step is always shredding credit card offers and any documents containing personal information before throwing them in the trash so that no one get your details.
16. Know where your important documents are kept, including your passport, driver's license, and social security card, and make sure they stay safe by checking everyday.
17. Immediately report the non-receipt or disappearance of any mail from your inbox which you should have received from a credit card issuer or your bank.
18. When credit card bills or banking statements arrive, look them over then and there and Contact your credit card company or bank directly if you spot any unusual or unauthorized charges.
19. Investigate any credit card or other bills, invoices, or receipts for good or services you have not ordered.
20. Get a copy of your credit report from all three major issuers and look for any items that are unfamiliar.
21. When moving, be sure to get your mail forwarded to your new address. Then, follow up by ordering a copy of your credit report two to three months after the move.
22. Keep a list of the phone numbers you need to call if credit cards or debit cards are stolen.
23. If you have a safe deposit box at the bank, consider storing valuable financial information there.

Hope these things might help you in preventing your credit card from being used by some fraud person. If you have any other suggestion for my readers,please post it as a comment

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Quick Tips for Organising Mailbox Better

Everyday we get lot of emails in hundreds ranging from news, personal messages,RSS feeds, instant messages, social bookmarking links. This becomes a problem if the numbers keep growing on continuously. When someday if you have to find a important email how will you find it??? Here are some tips which might come handy in organizing your email archive. [May be some services like Gmail give you enough space and search feature but nothing makes you feel good watching your Inbox than organizing it ]

Searching or Filtering or Tagging :

These three are the important features which you can use in organizing your inbox. Search in inbox is sometimes but most of times comes up with lots of results. People who don't like to sit and organize their inbox mostly prefer this searching. Filtering is better than searching as filtering shows all same type of mails in one folder. It sends the mails to their respective folders and when you search in a folder, the accuracy of result will also become more. If you spare sometime everyday for this, you can feel comfortable in later times. Tagging is something like labeling the mails for search so that search can find faster.

Organize your Folders :

If you are into filing and foldering your mailbox, take the time to think about what’s the most important dimension of e-mail recall for you. One failing of most current e-mail applications is that any given message can only be filed in a single folder. So think about what you’re most likely to remember when you want to search a message in the future. If it’s the sender, you should build your hierarchy based on people. If it’s the project, then a set of project folders makes sense. Avoid starting to build a system where you have some folders for people and some for projects

Using Desktop Search :

If you are a windows better, there are some applications which can help you index your mail box like Google Desktop, Windows Desktop Search. If you are a MAC user you have spotlight there. For windows users they have to check which one of the applications is better for them as each of them differs in terms of usability, showing previews and ability to search faster.

Email Organising Software :

Programs like Nelson Email Organizer and Omea Pro (both for Microsoft Outlook) provide an indexing and filing layer on top of your regular e-mail application. Typically these programs add features such as the ability to file a single message in more than one folder , more thorough indexing, faster searching, and their own system of applying meta data to messages. ClearContext IMS Pro (also for Outlook) combines automatic project-based filing with a system like automatic prioritization system for incoming e-mails.

Organize your Sent Items :

If you’re a big sender, don’t neglect that huge folder full of sent items. It might make more sense to create individual Sent Items folders for each contact, and file the appropriate messages where they’re easy to find.
Use Virtual Folders :

Mail calls them Smart Mailboxes. Outlook calls them Search Folders. In either case, the aim is same. You can set up a folder whose contents depend on criteria you set, rather than messages you file in it. Obvious uses include folders for unread mail, old but unanswered mail, mail from particularly important people, and newsletters identified by subject line. Virtual folders are another good way to create the illusion that things are filed in more than one place.

A Final Destination :

There is always this way waiting for spam mails, junk ones, office jokes, news letters, RSS updates... in your mail box. Just select them and press delete and you are done. Mails which are important to you like your project related ones or a mail from your sweet heart can be saved and its better to delete the rest junk messages as they can be a havoc in long terms

If you have any suggestions on organizing the mail box please post it as a comment.

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Sniff Files from FTP Network using NetworkMiner

If you do a little research on FTP security, you will find many articles saying that it is totally insecure because when you log in to your server via FTP to upload some files, it is actually sending the username and password in clear text, NOT encrypted. If you are getting your Internet connection from a direct modem or router, then you’re pretty much safe from this attack but if you get your Internet from a server in your local area network, it is possible for the server administrator to launch a packet sniffer to capture the login credentials when you connect to the FTP server.

I knew about this weakness long ago but today I just found out that not only your FTP login information can be captured but the files that you upload or download from FTP can also be capture and reconstructed! Let’s say you are uploading a sensitive Wordpress configuration file wp-config.php. I can use a packet sniffer tool to sniff, capture and then automatically reconstruct the wp-config.php that you uploaded WITHOUT even logging in to your FTP server!

Here is a tool called NetworkMiner which is a Network Forensic Analysis Tool (NFAT) for Windows. NetworkMiner can be used as a passive network sniffer or packet capturing tool in order to detect operating systems, sessions, hostnames, open ports etc. without putting any traffic on the network. NetworkMiner can also parse PCAP files for off-line analysis and to regenerate or reassemble transmitted files and certificates from PCAP files.
You would be surprised to know how easy it is to do it with NetworkMiner. Just download, extract and run NetworkMiner. I then selected the network adapter that I’ll be sniffing and click on the Start button to start sniffing. I connect to my server’s FTP and upload a file called CD-konboot-v1.1-2in1.zip. Now take a look at NetworkMiner. It managed to reassemble 2 files and one of it is CD-konboot-v1.1-2in1.zip. I just need to right click on the file and select either open file or open folder to access the file. If you look at the credentials tab, NetworkMiner also managed to capture the FTP username and password.


The purpose of NetworkMiner is to collect data about hosts on the network rather than to collect data regarding the traffic on the network. The main view is host centric (information grouped per host) rather than packet centric (information showed as a list of packets/frames).

NetworkMiner can extract files transferred over the network by parsing a PCAP file or by sniffing traffic directly from the network. This is a neat function that can be used to extract and save media files (such as audio or video files) which are streamed across a network.

Another very useful feature is that the user can search sniffed or stored data for keywords. NetworkMiner allows the user to insert arbitrary string or byte-patterns that shall be searched for with the keyword search functionality.

A feature the author wants to include in future versions of NetworkMiner is to use statistical methods to do protocol identification (protocol fingerprinting) of a TCP session or UDP data. This means that instead of looking at the port number to guess which protocol is used on top of the TCP/UDP packet NetworkMiner will identify the correct protocol based on the TCP/UDP packet content. In this way NetworkMiner will be able to identify protocols even if the service is run on a non-standard port.

FTP security is weak, that’s why there is SFTP. SFTP, or Secure FTP, is a program that uses SSH to transfer files. Unlike standard FTP, it encrypts both commands and data, preventing passwords and sensitive information from being transmitted in the clear over the network. Its functionally is similar to FTP, but because it uses a different protocol, you can’t use a standard FTP client to talk to an SFTP server, nor can you connect to an FTP server with a client that supports only SFTP.

There is another similar tool mainly used to capture and reassemble files uploaded or download from FTP called FTPXerox. It was written to demonstrate the fact that any “clear-text” file transfer protocol is susceptible to such attacks. It implements a full end-to-end TCP re-assembly engine that watches for FTP transfers. Once the engine detects an FTP file transfer, it grabs the file off the wire and stores it in a local file. It is quite intelligent in the sense, it can reconstruct exact file names and even grab binary files! FTPXerox is a very old tool released on year 2001 and it does NOT support PASV mode file transfers.

[ Download NetworkMiner ]

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Install and Run Windows XP from a USB drive

This guide is for installing and running Windows XP from a USB stick / HDD drive

Earlier I posted about installing Windows XP and Vista / Seven from a USB Pen Drive / HDD. Now here is a bit geeky method for installing Windows XP to a USB Target, i.e. Windows will independently install and run from a USB Device... Kool ? Read on...

What works?

Basically, everything as far as I can see. After completing this tutorial, your Windows XP install should directly boot off your USB-drive, and be fully upgradable, DirectX games will run, all apps I tested work like normal, speed is the same as with a real HDD (you need USB2 though) - so it is in fact a fine solution as far as i can see.

What is this about?

To keep the introduction short, Microsoft denies that booting Windows off a USB drive works.

See this page for example. It says:

Q: Can a USB storage device be the primary (and only) means of storage?
No. USB-based mass storage devices cannot be the primary hard disk storage solution on a regular system ...

Or this one from the microsoft newsgroups:

Windows cannot boot from an USB drive. If your computer supports
booting from such device, you can load a boot loader to the USB device
which starts Windows XP from the HDD.

Anyway, the web is full of those. I was wondering about the same thing, as i wanted to install Windows on my USB, and thought it was a good idea to run Windows XP off a USB Hard drive / Pen Drive that I just plug in when i need it, and boot from it. I wanted an easy guide that allows creating a modified version of the Windows XP CD, for painless and transparent installation to as many systems as you want.

Requirements

1. An existing Windows install for carrying out the steps in this tutorial
2. A USB2-compliant Hard disk drive (or a big USB2 stick, see remarks below)
3. An original Windows XP CD (tested only against SP1 so far, but reported to work on other versions)
4. A registered version of WinISO (or any other software that allows direct editing of ISO files)
5. The Microsoft CAB SDK
6. A CD-burning software that can handle ISO files. I like the free burnatonce

How To:

Summary:

We will dump the contents of your original Windows XP CD , extract a few files from the Image using ISO modification software, edit the files, and put the modified versions back on the ISO. The resulting ISO image is burnt back onto a CD media, and can then directly be used to install Windows on your USB drive.

I am also covering a few pitfalls that happened to me, in hope they will save you a bit of time.


1) Does your computer support booting from USB?

Usually, if its an option in your BIOS boot sequence menu, the answer to this is yes. If its not there, look for BIOS updates. If you are not sure, proceed and see what happens ;-)

2) Sorting out the "Bootability" of your USB-Drive

Connect your USB drive to your computer, directly, without a Hub. Then, shut down your computer, disconnect any other hard disk drives from it, and insert your original Windows XP CD into the drive. Start the installation, and proceed to the section where you are allowed to pick a hard drive. If it goes beyond the partition selection, your drive is already fine for booting Windows XP. If not (seems to be the cases with many of the Freecom USB HDDs for example), you will get an error like "Windows is unable to find your drive, partition, data etc bla". This is usually not a big problem. All you need to do is "properly" format the drive. Reboot into your normal Windows, and get this HP tool , and use it to format your HDD completely. I chose NTFS format, worked fine everytime i tried. After this, my drives are recognized as valid installation devices by the Windows XP installer.
(In fact, i did not manage to create a USB primary partition with FAT32 that was recognized as being installable)

3) Dumping the original Windows CD into an ISO File

Pretty easy one. Simply open WinISO, and select Actions -> Make ISO from CDROM, and save your CD image.

4) Extracting the files we need to work on

After the CD dump is done, close and reopen WinISO. Then, open the ISO file you just created using File -> Open. Now, click the I386 folder, and select the following files (Ctrl key to multi-select)

• TXTSETUP.SIF
• DOSNET.INF
• USB.IN_
• USBPORT.IN_
• USBSTOR.IN_

Select Actions -> Extract and put the resulting files into some folder to work on them.

5) Unpacking IN_ files

Use the Cab SDK (from the command line) for extracting the contents of the .IN_ files. Each of them contains exactly one .inf file. If you are unsure how to use the Cab SDK, here is an example command line: "cabarc x USBSTOR.IN_" . You should end up with three new files in the folder, called:

• usb.inf
• usbport.inf
• usbstor.inf

You can now delete the .IN_ files.

6) Editing the files

This is the main job. i ll also try to explain a bit whats happening. Use a simple Texteditor like Notepad.

6-A) TXTSETUP.SIF

This file is loaded on the initial install step by the Windows XP CD installer. In this file, we will change the way Windows treats USB devices during system setup -- the default is to only treat them as input devices during installation -- we will change this to include mass storage driver support (which needs to be loaded into the installer much earlier in order to work).

First, move the following entries from [InputDevicesSupport.Load] to the [BootBusExtenders.Load] section , as shown here

[BootBusExtenders.Load]
pci = pci.sys
acpi = acpi.sys
isapnp = isapnp.sys
acpiec = acpiec.sys
ohci1394 = ohci1394.sys
usbehci = usbehci.sys
usbohci = usbohci.sys
usbuhci = usbuhci.sys
usbhub = usbhub.sys
usbstor = usbstor.sys

[InputDevicesSupport.Load]
usbehci = usbehci.sys
usbohci = usbohci.sys
usbuhci = usbuhci.sys
usbhub = usbhub.sys
usbccgp = usbccgp.sys
hidusb = hidusb.sys
serial = serial.sys
serenum = serenum.sys
usbstor = usbstor.sys

... now the same for [BootBusExtenders] and [InputDevicesSupport]

[BootBusExtenders]
pci = "PCI-Bustreiber",files.pci,pci
acpi = "ACPI Plug & Play-Bustreiber",files.acpi,acpi
isapnp = "ISA Plug & Play-Bustreiber",files.isapnp,isapnp
acpiec = "Integrierter ACPI-Controllertreiber",files.none,acpiec
ohci1394 = "IEEE-1394-Bus-OHCI-konformer Anschlusstreiber",files.ohci1394,ohci1394
usbehci = "Erweiterter Hostcontroller",files.usbehci,usbehci
usbohci = "Open Hostcontroller",files.usbohci,usbohci
usbuhci = "Universeller Hostcontroller",files.usbuhci,usbuhci
usbhub = "Standard-USB-Hubtreiber",files.usbhub,usbhub
usbstor = "USB-Speicherklassentreiber",files.usbstor,usbstor

[InputDevicesSupport]
usbehci = "Erweiterter Hostcontroller",files.usbehci,usbehci
usbohci = "Open Hostcontroller",files.usbohci,usbohci
usbuhci = "Universeller Hostcontroller",files.usbuhci,usbuhci
usbhub = "Standard-USB-Hubtreiber",files.usbhub,usbhub
hidusb = "HID-Parser",files.hidusb,hidusb
serial = "Treiber f�r seriellen Anschluss",files.none,serial
serenum = "Enumerator f�r seriellen Anschluss",files.none,serenum
usbstor = "USB-Speicherklassentreiber",files.usbstor,usbstor
usbccgp = "USB Generic Parent Driver",files.usbccgp,usbccgp

Next, we also have to write several keys into the registry. Convieniently, the txtsetup.sif allows you to specify files that are parsed and instered into the registry at install time. Insert the following in the [HiveInfs.Fresh] section:

[HiveInfs.Fresh]
AddReg = hivedef.inf,AddReg
AddReg = hivesys.inf,AddReg
AddReg = hivesft.inf,AddReg
AddReg = hivecls.inf,AddReg
AddReg = hiveusd.inf,AddReg
AddReg = dmreg.inf,DM.AddReg
AddReg = usbboot.inf,usbservices

and also in [SourceDisksFiles]

[SourceDisksFiles]
usbboot.inf = 1,,,,,,_x,3,,3
bootvid.dll = 1,,,,,,3_,2,0,0,,1,2
kdcom.dll = 1,,,,,,3_,2,0,0,,1,2

Finally, save and close TXTSETUP.SIF. We are done with it.

6-B) DOSNET.INF

Now, open DOSNET.INF , and change the second [Files] section to look like this:

[Files]
d1,usbboot.inf
d1,_default.pif
d1,12520437.cpx
d1,12520850.cpx
....

6-C) usb.inf

Change the bolded lines in the [StandardHub.AddService] and [CommonClassParent.AddService] sections:

[StandardHub.AddService]
DisplayName = %StandardHub.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbhub.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

[CommonClassParent.AddService]
DisplayName = %GenericParent.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbccgp.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

6-D) usbport.inf

Change the bolded lines in the [EHCI.AddService], [OHCI.AddService] , [UHCI.AddService] and [ROOTHUB.AddService] sections:

[EHCI.AddService]
DisplayName = %EHCIMP.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbehci.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

[OHCI.AddService]
DisplayName = %OHCIMP.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbohci.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

[UHCI.AddService]
DisplayName = %UHCIMP.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbuhci.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

[ROOTHUB.AddService]
DisplayName = %ROOTHUB.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 0 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\usbhub.sys
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

6-E) usbstor.inf

Change / Add the bolded lines in the [USBSTOR.AddService] section

[USBSTOR.AddService]
DisplayName = %USBSTOR.SvcDesc%
ServiceType = 1
StartType = 0
Tag = 3
ErrorControl = 1
ServiceBinary = %12%\USBSTOR.SYS
LoadOrderGroup = Boot Bus Extender

6-F) new file: USBBOOT.INF

Create a new file called USBBOOT.INF in the same directory as your other changed files, and put the following content into it:

[usbservices]

HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","DisplayName",0x00000000,"USB Mass Storage Driver"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","ErrorControl",0x00010001,1
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","Group",0x00000000,"System Reserved"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","ImagePath",0x00020000,"system32\DRIVERS\USBSTOR.SYS"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","Start",0x00010001,0
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\USBSTOR","Type",0x00010001,1

HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","DisplayName",0x00000000,"USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller Miniport Driver"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","ErrorControl",0x00010001,1
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","Group",0x00000000,"System Reserved"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","ImagePath",0x00020000,"system32\DRIVERS\usbehci.sys"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","Start",0x00010001,0
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbehci","Type",0x00010001,1

HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","DisplayName",0x00000000,"USB2 Enabled Hub"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","ErrorControl",0x00010001,1
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","Group",0x00000000,"System Reserved"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","ImagePath",0x00020000,"system32\DRIVERS\usbhub.sys"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","Start",0x00010001,0
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbhub","Type",0x00010001,1

HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","DisplayName",0x00000000,"Microsoft USB Universal Host Controller Miniport Driver"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","ErrorControl",0x00010001,1
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","Group",0x00000000,"System Reserved"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","ImagePath",0x00020000,"system32\DRIVERS\usbuhci.sys"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","Start",0x00010001,0
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbuhci","Type",0x00010001,1

HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","DisplayName",0x00000000,"Microsoft USB Open Host Controller Miniport Driver"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","ErrorControl",0x00010001,1
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","Group",0x00000000,"System Reserved"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","ImagePath",0x00020000,"system32\DRIVERS\usbohci.sys"
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","Start",0x00010001,0
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbohci","Type",0x00010001,1

7) Repack the inf files into their original IN_ format

If you have not already deleted your extracted .IN_ files, do so now. They need to be replaced. Open a DOS shell again, and navigate to the folder with your changed files. Then exceute the following commands:

cabarc n USB.IN_ usb.inf
cabarc n USBPORT.IN_ usbport.inf
cabarc n USBSTOR.IN_ usbstor.inf

The three IN_ files should now exist again.

Congratulations. All out modifications are done.

8) Inject the changed files into the ISO

Open your Windows CD image again with WinISO. Navigate to the I386 folder, and delete the following files from the ISO, saving the changes to the ISO afterwards:

• DOSNET.INF
• TXTSETUP.SIF
• USB.IN_
• USBPORT.IN_
• USBSTOR.IN_

Just to be sure all is updated in the ISO, cloase and repoen the ISO in WinISO. Now, again go to the I386 folder and select "Add Files". Now add your changed files, in detail:

• USBBOOT.INF
• DOSNET.INF
• TXTSETUP.SIF
• USB.IN_
• USBPORT.IN_
• USBSTOR.IN_

Save the ISO. You are done.

9) Burn the ISO back to CD

Feel free to use any burning package you want. I used the free and simple Burnatonce

10) Install Windows XP from the CD

Shut down your computer. Disconnect ANY internal and external hard drives (so Windows cannot find them during installation and mess up their Master Boot Records hehe). Some computers will have trouble to boot without an internal HDD attached, check in your BIOS and, if possible, remove the HDD from the boot sequence and set the USB Harddisk as the first boot device, and the CDROM as second.

Also, now connect your USB Harddrive directly to the computer, without any Hubs in between.

Windows should install just fine, with the exceptions noted below.

Issues you will encounter during installation:

• During driver installation, the USB drivers will prompt you, as they are "not certified" - This is normal. Our changes invalidated the checksum, and therefore the driver is no longer signed. Just press "yes" a couple of times.
• Upon completion of the install, the system will complain once on the first bootup that the pagefile does not exist. You can ignore this for now, as Windows will work fine without it. People are looking at fixing this issue, but its not critical for now.

Once everything is up and running , shut down and reconnect all your drives.

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Directly upload, download and send files from your iPhone.

While using your iPhone, many times you demand for a large file storage, whether it be for storing text file, songs, video and images, or photos. Generally you save your file in the iPhone itself, which can result in reaching full-capacity storage limit of your iPhone. In such conditions, you would generally backup your contents to your computer or laptop. I have a better way around.

There are now services for online data storage which can be accessed directly from your iPhone. You can backup your data wherever you are and whenever you want. You can also share data with other users, directly from your iPhone. One of such service is FilesAnywhere.

All you need is to download FilesAnywhere desktop utility (available for PC/Mac) and you can easily drop files onto it, which then be transferred to online storage. The other great feature it has is Web-links, so it’s much easier to share uploaded files with your friends. Web-linked files are accessible for everyone.

This application while one of many iPhone apps, is important not only because it beats all other apps for storage and sharing but it brings in other really cool features of the service and helps really power up your iPhone. It is also already iPhone 3.0 ready.

It has 1GB of storage for free (with 10MB Per-File, 25 Files/Day limit), however there is also paid subscriptions which removes the limits and drastically increases the size.

Features:

1. Automatic Login
2. View FilesAnywhere folders and files, including photos, videos, music, documents, spreadsheets and more, directly from your iPhone. Zoom-in/zoom-out of documents and photos.
3. Upload files from your iPhone, including your iPhone photos and contacts.
4. Collaborate from your iPhone in seconds. Share your files or folders to any email address or iPhone contact, with no downloading and no email attachment!
5. Instantly access folders shared to you from other FilesAnywhere users.
6. Download files from your FilesAnywhere account to your iPhone. Access the downloaded files later, from an "iPhone Files" local storage tab.
7. Manage your FilesAnywhere account from your iPhone, including New Folder, Rename, Delete, Move, Copy and View Properties.
8. Send Faxes to any fax machine in the World directly from your iPhone, using your FilesAnywhere account.

[ Download FilesAnywhere App for iPhone ]

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Install Windows XP Using USB Flash Drive

Removable flash memory sticks are pretty much one of the most handy little pieces of technology to come along in the last couple of years. They come in various shapes and their storage size can range from a measly 128 MB to a whopping 32 GB. And you’re not restricted by what you are able to put onto these devices either. Which got me thinking today. I was looking for any way to increase the speed at which my work gets done without compromising quality, of course.

So I thought, with the speed of flash drives today, it could be possible to install Windows XP onto those PCs in a much faster time than with optical media (CD/DVD). Plus with all the motherboards I use, I always make sure that the motherboards support booting from USB as it’s a very handy feature.

Requirements:

• A copy of Windows XP Home or XP Professional.
• USB memory stick (2 GB recommended - 1 GB minimum)
• A motherboard that is capable of booting from a USB drive (check your motherboard manual if not sure). Most computers have this option.
  

Steps :

(1) Download this zip file from any of the link below :

Link 1
Link 2

(2) Extract it and open the folder : USB_MultiBoot_10
(3) Open the file : USB_MultiBoot_10.cmd


(4) Press any key to display next menu
(5) Choose the second option i.e. "H" by entering H and pressing enter. Don't close this window.


(6) A window will open. Choose File System as "NTFS" and uncheck other options. Click Start.

Note : This will completely erase all data. Backup data if necessary


(7) When the process completes, click Close. Go back to the command prompt window. We using Pen Drive as the source so we will not change the first option. Now we will give the path of Windows XP Source i.e. Windows CD Path.

NOTE : If you have the image of Windows XP, mount it on a virtual drive.

Enter "1" and press enter. In the window, select the drive having Windows XP setup. Click OK.


(8) In the dialogue box, click "Yes".


(9) Enter the Owner Full Name, Organization Name, Product Key, and other information as asked by the process. If you are unsure of any field, enter anything or use default value. In the final dialogue box, press OK.

(10) Go back to command prompt. Now select the option to choose USB Drive path by entering "2" and pressing enter.


(11) Choose the USB Drive in the windows and press enter.


(12) Go back to command prompt. Now select the option to start the process of making bootable USB Windows XP Drive by entering "3" and pressing enter.


(13) Standby as the process completes. If any dialogue pops up, press "Yes".


(14) After the process completes, your USB drive is ready to be used for installing Windows XP.

(15) Now, insert your USB Flash Drive/Flash Disk/Thumb Drive to your system. Go to BIOS and make USB HDD (or USB ZIP in some other machine) as primary boot device. For more information on how to boot from bootable USB :http://www.techquark.com/2009/06/boot-your-computer-from-bootable-usb.html

(16) Boot from the USB.

(17) Providing it boots from the USB flash drive, you will now be shown two options. One with the words GUI and one with the words Text Mode. Choose the Text Mode option first.

(18) Now you will see what you normally would see during a CD install of XP. Just follow the on-screen instructions as always. One note is that, if you need to create a new partition for your new Windows XP installation, once the partition is fully formatted, instantly turn off the PC as the install will need to be restarted so the flash drive can recognize the layout of your partitions correctly. Follow the instructions below:

1. Create a new partition and format it as normal
2. Once the partition is formatted, restart your PC and when the options come up again choose Text Mode
3. Highlight the newly formatted partition, press enter, move down to make no changes, and press enter

(19) Okay, now after that all goes through and the PC restarts, simply chose the GUI option on the menu and let the Windows XP install go along as it would normally do. I must advise that you DO NOT REMOVE the USB stick until you’re actually past the setup stage. Once you have just booted into Windows XP for the first time, you can go ahead and remove the USB stick.

(20) Congratulations! You have just installed Windows XP without the need for a CD/DVD drive.

The benefits of installing from USB are plentiful and, providing you take the time to follow the instructions above, you need never worry about scratching your Windows XP CD again and the install speed is very fast as compare to CD-ROM. I hope that the time I spent writing this guide will help you all to decrease the amount of time you spend having to install Windows XP when you have to.

How to Install Windows Vista / 7 Using USB Flash Drive ?

How to Boot system using Bootable USB PenDrive ?

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Boot your Computer from a Bootable USB Device

Follow these easy steps to boot from a flash drive, an external hard drive, or some other bootable USB device.

(1) Change the BIOS boot order so the USB device option is listed first. The BIOS is rarely setup this way by default. Enter the BIOS using the default BIOS key of your system.

If the USB port is not first in the boot order, your PC will start "normally" (i.e. boot from your hard drive) without even looking at any boot information that might be on your USB device.

Note: After setting your USB device as the first boot device, your computer will check it for boot information each time your PC starts. Leaving your computer configured this way shouldn't cause problems unless you plan on leaving the USB device attached all the time.

(2) Attach the USB device to your computer via any available USB port.

How do you know if a USB device is bootable? The easiest way to find out if a flash drive or external hard drive is bootable is to plug it in and follow the rest of these instructions.

Note: Creating a bootable flash drive or configuring an external hard drive as bootable is a task in itself. Follow any instructions given with the data that should be bootable.

Restart your computer.

(4) Watch for a Press any key to boot from external device... message.

On some bootable devices, you may be prompted with a message to press a key before the computer will boot to the flash drive or other USB device.

If you do nothing, your computer will check for boot information on the next boot device in the list in BIOS (see Step 1) which will probably be your hard drive.

Note: Most of the time when trying to boot to a USB device there is no key-press prompt. The boot process usually starts immediately.

(5) Your computer should now boot from the USB flash drive or USB based external hard drive.

Note: What happens now depends on what the bootable USB device was intended for. If you're booting to an old version of MS-DOS on a flash drive, MS-DOS will load. If you're booting to the DSL version of Linux, it will start. You get the idea.

If you tried the above steps but your computer did not boot from the USB device, check out some of the tips below.

Tips:

1. Recheck the boot order in BIOS (Step 1). The number one reason a bootable flash drive or other USB device won't boot is because BIOS is not configured to check the USB port first.
2. Didn't find a "USB Device" boot order listing in BIOS? If your computer was manufactured around 2001 or before, it may not have this ability. If your computer is newer, check for some other ways that the USB option might be worded. In some BIOS versions, it's called "Removable Devices" or "External Devices".
3. Switch to another USB port. The BIOS on some motherboards only check the first few USB ports. Switch to another USB port and restart your computer.
4. Copy the files to the USB device again. If you created the bootable flash drive or external hard drive yourself, which you probably did, repeat whatever steps you took again. You may have made a mistake before or missed an important file.

How to Install Windows Vista / 7 Using USB Flash Drive ?

How to Install Windows XP Using USB Flash Drive ?

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Install Windows Vista / 7 Using USB Flash Drive

This guide works 100% for Vista & Windows 7 unlike most of the guides out there. I have seen many sites/blogs that have “Install Vista from USB guide” but either with incomplete steps or not working guide. I have also seen some guides that don’t’ use proper commands in this guide. After spending many hours I have come up with this 100% working guide.

I just did this method on one of my friends machine and installed the new Windows 7 BETA. The main advantage is that by using USB drive you will be able to install Windows 7/Vista in just 15 minutes. You can also use this bootable USB drive on friend’s computer who doesn’t have a DVD optical drive.

The method is very simple and you can use without any hassles. Needless to say that your motherboard should support USB Boot feature to make use of the bootable USB drive.

Requirements:

• USB Flash Drive (Minimum 4GB)
• Windows 7 or Vista installation files.

How to make a Bootable USB :

Having a bootable USB is very essential, especially if you are a Netbook user. Using bootable USB to install an operating system (OS) not only makes the installation faster, but also saves a DVD.

Creating or using an USB drive to install Windows operating systems is very easy if you follow the below mentioned steps.

1. Insert your USB stick to the system and backup all the data from the USB as we are going to format the USB to make it as bootable.

Now here is a catch. Every tutorial on the internet requires you to have Windows Vista / 7 Installed to complete the steps. So i started Googling and I finally got this working on XP also after 7 hours of struggle and found out it was actually pretty simple.

So I have divided the first few steps for Windows XP and Vista / 7 users :

For Windows XP Users:

If you are on Windows XP follow the steps below :

2. Download the zip file: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?s=931703fec95c83bf4d634a2cfbeeff05&act=attach&type=post&id=1054 ( 2041.9 kB )
3. Run USB_MultiBoot_10.cmd. Press any key.
4. Choose option 2 i.e "H". In the windows, choose NTFS and format, not quick format. Follow this guide from step 5 and forward.

For Windows Vista & Windows 7 Users:

If you are on Windows Vista or Windows Seven follow the steps below :

2. Open Command Prompt with admin rights. Use any of the below methods to open Command Prompt with admin rights.

1. Type cmd in Start menu search box and hit Ctrl+ Shift+ Enter.
2. Go to Start menu > All programs > Accessories, right click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

3. You need to know about the USB drive a little bit. Type in the following commands in the command prompt:

First type DISKPART and hit enter to see the below message.

Next type LIST DISK command and note down the Disk number (ex: Disk 1) of your USB flash drive. In the below screenshot my Flash Drive Disk no is Disk 1.

4. Next type all the below commands one by one. Here I assume that your disk drive no is “Disk 1”.If you have Disk 2 as your USB flash drive then use Disk 2.Refer the above step to confirm it.

So below are the commands you need to type and execute one by one:

SELECT DISK 1

CLEAN

CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY

SELECT PARTITION 1

ACTIVE

FORMAT FS=NTFS

(Format process may take few seconds)

ASSIGN

EXIT

Don’t close the command prompt as we need to execute one more command at the next step. Just minimize it.

Common Steps for Windows XP and Vista / 7 Users :

5. Insert your Windows DVD or CD / Any Other Bootable CD or DVD in the optical drive and note down the drive letter of the optical drive and USB media. Here I use “D” as my optical (DVD) drive letter and “H” as my USB drive letter.

6. Go back to command prompt and execute the following commands:

D: and hit enter. Where “D” is your DVD drive letter.
CD BOOT and hit enter
BOOTSECT.EXE/NT60 H:

(Where “H” is your USB drive letter)

7. Copy Windows DVD contents to USB i.e. copy all files from Windows DVD and paste them to USB.

You are done with your bootable USB. You can now use this bootable USB as bootable DVD on any computer that comes with USB boot feature (most of the current motherboards support this feature).

How to Boot system using Bootable USB PenDrive ?

How to Install Windows XP Using USB Flash Drive ?

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Safari 4 released today, Offering 'Unparalled Speed'

Today at WWDC 2009, Apple removed the beta label from Safari 4 and released it for Leopard, Tiger, and Windows after the announcement of iPhone 3G S and New Macbook. There is a lot of news about browsers these days… Firefox 3, Opera 9.5, Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome and now its time for Safari 4. This finalized version of the browser includes Top Sites, as well as other new features that make browsing the web easier. Also, Safari 4 will increase the speed of surfing the web. Apple has claimed that users will notice that Safari renders JavaScript 7.8 times faster than Internet Explorer 8 and 5X faster than Chrome. It was also noted in the keynote that it passes the Acid3 test, whereas IE8 only gets 21%. There was also the usual bashing of IE8 as a browser that doesn’t adhere to web standards.

The newest version of the Apple created web browser Safari is now out of beta and available to Windows and Mac users. Apple has added about 150 features to Safari 4 with highlights that include a VoiceOver screen reader, zoom text, full page zooms, ARIA support, scriptable plug ins and smart address field.

Safari 4 joins an already crowded web browser market as many of the top names have recently released their newest versions. The beta version has been available for several months for Safari 4, but besides some minor graphics upgrades, the full edition has most of the same features.

Safari 4 is definitely super fast, supporting the claims of Apple developers. However, keep in mind that the speed will vary depending on your hardware and any other processes running. You can now download the full version of Safari 4 from the Apple website.

Safari 4 will be included with Snow Leopard and will take advantage of the 64-bit backend that will be in that version of the operating system. One of the new features that will be available on the Snow Leopard version of Safari 4 is Crash Resistance. This will help to make the application more reliable, especially when dealing with plug-ins. There is also the cover flow view of web history, and Top Sites lets you know when a site has updated.

You can download Safari 4 for Windows and Mac from here: Download Safari 4.

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Apple's Macbook, Pro, Air Gets Upgraded at WWDC 2009

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off yesterday and missing from the event, of course, was Steve Jobs. In his place was Phil Schiller to give the keynote filled with some major announcements. While Schiller did a decent job, he is certainly no Steve Jobs.Watching the announcements from Apple at this year’s WWDC was a bit less exciting than we had thought it would be, mostly because we had to sit through 2 hours of iPhone app demos and unimpressive Snow Leopard rhetoric before we got to the iPhone 3GS and Safari 4 announcements. But at the beginning of the event, Apple started out with some interesting new MacBook Pro specs. Check them out below.

The biggest announcements for MacBook fans were about the 15-inch MacBook Pro. It’s getting a new Lithium Polymer battery (still non-replaceable, sorry guys) that will last for 7 hours on a charge and charge at least 100 times.

The screen got an improvement as well, with 60% more color gamut. Possibly the most controversial move for MacBook fans will be the inclusion of an SD card slot instead of an ExpressCard slot. Phil Schiller explained the decision by saying cameras have standardized in SD, and he’s right.

Other than that you get a 3.06 GHz Dual Core processor with 6MB Level 2 cache, up to 8GB of memory and your choice of a 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD. The lowest version (2.53GHz, 4GB memory, 250GB hard drive) will cost $1699, and the high end machine will cost $2299.

A small surprise came when Phil Schiller also announced significant updates to the 13-inch MacBook that earned it the right to be a MacBook Pro. Really. Schiller said the 7 hour battery life, new display, SD card slot, 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD, backlit keyboard, up to 8GB of memory and Firewire port qualified it to fit in the Pro category. We’re inclined to agree with him.

The low-end version will be $1199, and it will run up to $1499. The MacBook Air got a price update too. The Air will now cost between $1499 and $1799, which is significantly cheaper than it was before.

Apple Macbook

The 13-in. white Macbook, which I presumptively said was a “legacy” model, is now the new standard Macbook. That is to say that the aluminum unibody models have gained a “Pro” and left the unadorned Macbook name to their shinier polycarbonate sibling.

So what’s inside? A 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, for one, with 2GB DDR2 memory (can be upgraded to 4GB for an extra $100), a 160GB hard drive (several upgrades to 500GB) and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics. Outside, a standard keyboard and the classic white polycarbonate shell. All this for $999, which is to say that it’s a very affordable Apple laptop.

Apple Macbook Pro

The 13-in. unibody Macbook has graduated to “Pro,” now sporting an SD card slot, a non-replaceable 7-hour battery and much lower prices.

The following two flavors are available:

• 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 160GB hard drive (upgradeable to 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD for lower prices than before)
• SD card slot
• Built-in 7-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• $1,199

and

• 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 250GB hard drive (upgradeable to 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD)
• SD card slot
• Built-in 7-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• $1,499

Meanwhile, the 15-inch Macbook Pros get a refresh, too, with the same SD card slot and 7-hour non-replaceable battery.

Three flavors:

• 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 250GB hard drive (upgradeable to 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD)
• SD card slot
• Built-in 7-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• $1,699

and

• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 320GB hard drive (upgradeable to 500GB HDD or 256GB SSD)
• SD card slot
• Built-in 7-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 256MB
• $1,999

and

• 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 500GB hard drive (upgradeable to 256GB SSD)
• SD card slot
• Built-in 7-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
• $2,299

Finally, the 17-inch Macbook Pro now stands alone as the be-all, end-all of Apple portable power. No surprises here — it’s the best of everything Apple’s got:

• 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 500GB hard drive (upgradeable to 256GB SSD)
• ExpressCard/34 slot
• Built-in 8-hour battery
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB
• $2,499

Finally, the Macbook Air got a refresh (note the solid-state drive in the second configuration) and a lower price point.

Two flavors:

• 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB RAM
• 120GB SATA hard drive
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• $1,499

and

• 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM (upgradeable to 8GB)
• 128GB SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• $1,799

Simply, it’s cheaper than ever to buy a Mac. And with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard announced as a $29 upgrade in September, a compelling one, too.

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Apple Launches iPhone 3G S: Built for speed

Apple has just announced a new version of the iPhone: the iPhone 3G S with new Macbook and Safari 4. The “S” apparently stands for “Speed,” with Apple indicating that the new device is “the fastest, most powerful iPhone yet.”

There will be two versions of the iPhone 3G S available: 16GB for $199, and 32GB for $299, and they’ll both be available on June 19th. Meanwhile, Apple also announced that it would be dropping the price on the current generation iPhone - iPhone 3G - to $99.

Speed

The "S" stands for "SPEED!" And according to Apple, it is faster launching applications or rendering Web pages. The iPhone 3GS has a new processor built-in. Apple claims that it is up to two times faster than the previous generation: Launching messages is 2.1 faster, load the NY Times in Safari: 2.9 times faster. It also consumes less, which has an impact on the improved battery life.

Camera

This is one of the strong points of the iPhone 3GS, according to Apple. They increased the resolution to 3 megapixels, which—judging from the shots they showed-seems much better quality under all conditions.

• 3 Megapixels sensor.
• New camera, with auto focus, auto exposure, and auto white balance.
• You can also tap to focus, changing white balance in the process. That is really neat, if you ask me.
• Special macro and low light modes.
• The camera also supports photo and video geotagging.
• Any application can access all the camera functions now.
• It supports video, 30 frames per second VGA with auto focus, auto white balance, and auto exposure.
• You can trim the video shot just using your finger, then share it via MMS, email, MobileMe and YouTube.
  

Connectivity

The other part of the "S" is the support for the faster 7.2 Mbps 3G standard, which in theory will deliver data faster to your iPhone.

• Three band UMTS/HSDPA.
• Four band GSM/EDGE.
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

3G

The iPhone 3G's support for AT&T's wireless UMTS/HSDPA wireless broadband network comes too late for original iPhone buyers who grew frustrated with the slow Web-surfing speeds over the 2.5G EDGE network, but it makes for a much more satisfying second-generation device. Safari consistently delivered speeds of about 300Kbps to 500Kbps and even faster at times in our tests. That's a huge jump over the typical EDGE speeds of less than 100Kbps. Web pages that used to take minutes took only seconds to load via 3G.

Graphics

• The new iPhone 3GS includes new 3D graphics support in hardware. This means faster and more complicated 3D games.
• Same 3.5-inch widescreen multitouch display, but this time it has a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating. I wonder if it will withstand a full frontal Shake Shack burger attack.

Design

• Same design as before, including the glossy finish of the back (so much for all the rumors about the matte back.)
• Same size as the old iPhone 3G: 4.5 x 2.4 x 0.48 inches.
• The weight increases a bit: One ounce to 4.8 ounces (135 grams vs 133 grams).
• Greener materials: Arsenic-free glass, BDF-free, Mercury-free LCD.

GPS

While the current iPhone location services find your position by triangulating among nearby cell phone towers and satellites, the iPhone 3G uses Assisted GPS supplemented by satellites, which better pinpoints your location. It also offers live tracking so that you can monitor your progress as you drive (or walk) along. We tested the GPS feature both in a car and on foot. When on foot, the tracking service from satellites was quite accurate. It pinpointed our location almost exactly, and the small blue dot that represented our location followed us as we moved along. What's more, we didn't lose the connection as we walked between tall buildings or under an overpass. Naturally, the satellite connection dropped out as we entered buildings, but it switched automatically to find the closest cellular phone tower or hot spot. That method isn't quite as accurate--at times it could only show a circle spanning several city blocks--but you get the general idea of where you are. There were times where we had to ask the iPhone to pinpoint our location again, particularly as we left buildings and switched back to a satellite connection. When riding in a car, the GPS wasn't quite as specific. The blue dot tended to jump block by block or as we came to stoplights.

New special features

• It has a magnetometer, which works with a Compass application, third parties, and it is integrated into the new Google maps app, showing your orientation with a small semitransparent cone.

• Voice control : Another new feature is voice control. Not only can now make calls simply by talking to the phone but you can also control the playback on the iPhone with your voice. If you say “play a song by the Killers,” it will work. You can also ask the phone, “what is playing now?” And it will say it. And you can also say “play more songs like this,” and iTunes Genius will activate. This looks awesome.
• Nike + support built in.
• Supports accessibility features, like zooming on text, inverting video, and voice over when you touch whatever text is on screen.

Language support

The iPhone 3G also brings language support and typing keyboards in French, Canadian French, U.K. English, German, Japanese (QWERTY and Kana), Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, and Polish. You can select as many languages you want by opening the "International" selection under the General tab of the main Settings menu. For Chinese, you choose from Pinyin or a graffiti-style application for writing characters. As you enter characters, suggestions will appear to the right. To change between menus, choose from the small globe icon next to the space bar.

Battery life

• One of the more important new features is the increased battery life.
• According to Apple, you will get up to 12 hours of talk time on 2G and 5 on 3G, with a up to 300 hour standby time.
• On 3G, it will deliver 5 hours of internet use.
• On Wi-Fi, Internet goes up to 9 hours.
• Video playback is 10 hours vs 30 hours for audio.

The Software

In addition to a number of features we saw at the iPhone OS 3.0 event earlier this year, like MMS, Push Notifications, Spotlight, and expanded language support, Apple SVP of iPhone software Scott Forstall also showed off the new video downloading features of iTunes, confirming previous rumors of this feature.

He also gave an impressive demo of a "Find My Phone" feature. This feature allows a user to log in to MobileMe to locate a lost iPhone using geolocation. Further, said Forstall, "If you lose your phone, you can send it a message from online or your home phone—it'll play a sound whether or not you left it in silent mode." The sound will allow you to find it in your house, or if you left it at a restaurant, for instance, help a waiter find it. And, if the phone is truly lost, you can send the phone a wipe command remotely using MobileMe—keeping your personal data safe from thieves.

Forstall also discussed iPhone OS 3.0's support for MMS messages to send multimedia messages as well as tethering an iPhone to a laptop to use it as a 3G modem. While he noted that 29 of the carrier partners will support MMS messaging at launch, the audience was noticeably upset about AT&T delaying support until later this summer. The audience loudly booed, however, when it was announced that AT&T was not one of the "lots" of carriers supporting tethering.

Forstall then demoed an improved version of Mobile Safari. The version included in iPhone OS 3.0 will execute JavaScript three times as fast as the current version. It will have HTML 5 support, including offline storage and support for streaming audio and video. HTML 5 audio and video support will also include automatic selection of the appropriate bitrate to use for streaming based on network speeds. Autofill can optionally remember usernames and passwords for logging in to your oft-used websites.

Like the iPhone OS 3.0 event this spring, a parade of developers were brought on stage to demo apps using iPhone OS 3.0 features. GameLoft showed off racing game Asphalt 5, ScrollMotion showed downloadable textbooks, TomTom demoed—to great applause—a GPS navigation app, ngmoco showed off its sci-fi tower defense game Star Defense and its additional level add-ons, Pasco demoed collecting science data using its sensors and its Spark app, Zipcar showed an app for reserving cars on its car-sharing service with integrated Google maps, and Line6 showed off a control app that can control its line of DSP-based amplifiers.

iPhone OS 3.0 will be available to all previous iPhone and iPod touch users worldwide beginning Wednesday, June 17. Developers attending WWDC are being treated to a 10-day head start on the rest of us and being given a GM version of iPhone OS 3.0 today.

Product Summary

The good: The Apple iPhone 3G offers critical new features including support for high-speed 3G networks, third-party applications, and expanded e-mail. Its call quality is improved and it continues to deliver an excellent music and video experience.

The bad: The iPhone 3G continues to lack some basic features that are available on even the simplest cell phone. Battery life was uneven, and the 3G connection tended to be shaky. Also, the e-mail syncing is not without its faults.

The bottom line: The iPhone 3G delivers on its promises by adding critical features and sharper call quality. The iTunes App Store is pretty amazing, and the 3G support is more than welcome. Critical features still are missing, and the battery depletes quickly under heavy use, but the iPhone 3G is a big improvement over the original model.

Price and Availability :

• $199 for 16GB version.
• $299 for 32GB version.

Available on June 19th. If you are "a valued AT&T customer," AT&T offers an "early iPhone upgrade with a new 2-yr commitment and an $18 upgrade fee." The price? $399.00 for the 16GB iPhone 3G S and $499.00 for the 32GB iPhone 3G S. It gets worse: For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $499 (8GB), $599 (16GB), or $699 (32GB). In India it would be available by August 2009.

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