Siva`s Recommendation : Must Have Softwares !

// December 6th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Nothing/Something, Tips

Hi !

Usually I find that many don’t have the very basic essential Software’s installed in their system or they would have installed a crap-ware or bloatware .. or a software which have seized to exist years back. Software is an area where there is a constant upgrades and new innovative features are introduced . Its always vice to stay updated. This topic/article after a year or even after few months may become obsolete. That is the nature of the software.

Many years back i was a big fan of Norton Anti virus(AV) , and used to wait for hours to get update (which where usually on Tuesday/Wednesday) , simply coz it was fun but now i would say a big “NO” to Norton AV. It was a bloated software at that time.. but we didn’t have many option. Other Av include Mcafee and Panda AV.
Fast-Forward 5 years … We now have hefty number of AV`s and each touting to be the best. I usually follow the AV comparison done on various reliable website. Each time a comparison is on the air , each time a new winner arises. Last time when Arstechnica did a comparison test , a new winner rose to the top spot and previous winner where around in 8th spot. But AV department is somehow complicated and with rising number of different worms and Trojan , its difficult to be on top.

Lets take another example, Video Player. 6 years back I had very few option like WMP or Reaplayer or Inter video Player. time zap to 2009 you find Video players in hundreds. And few software’s like Netscape ( Once top browser like Firefox ) have vanished.

Lets cut to the point. If you are new to the PC world and have a fresh laptop or PC , here is my recommendation of software which will help you a lot . I have worked around with many software and this list is the best as far as i know.

Media Player :

This is were many have different opinion , Few like Real player because it helps in Youtube downloading. But its a bloatware and there are many alternatives to it. Take it or not here are the best player at present

1.) VLC Player :

Why ?

It is very light weight and can handle nearly all music / video file formats. If you are interested , you can skin them too….

Where to Download ?

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

2.) K-Lite Codec :

Why ?

This is the codec pack to play nearly all existing video/music file on earth ! Even though support to RM files is poor , but still who uses the crappy RM files nowadays ?

Where to Download ?

http://www.free-codecs.com/download/K_lite_codec_pack.htm

Install these two software and you will have nearly all music and video file playability!

Browser :

Again many think Internet Explorer is the one and only and most reliable Browser , for your kind information , IE is a bloatware and no knowledgeable internet user use IE !

Firefox :

Why ?

Firefox is simply the best and almost 80% of tech savvies use Firefox. Firefox is first of all a open source software. and secondly mainly because of it hundreds of useful add-on which make ones life pretty easy on net , Many prefer FF .

Where to Download ?

http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Chrome :

Why ?

This is the new iteration from Google and currently gaining a good momentum with recent opening of the Add-on feature in chrome , Many have seen chrome as a good contender for Firefox . But still i would suggest all to go for Firefox !

Where to download ?

http://www.google.com/chrome

Worth mentioning Software :

Opera :

Why ?

Opera is the best browser in the area of fast page loading , if you using airtel gprs or bsnl or whatever , just install opera and enable ” Turbo ” mode at the left bottom , and see the speed increase !

Where to download ?

http://www.opera.com/

Anti-virus

This is a controversial area and suggestion is based solely in the performance of the software in the recent times. No AV is prefect and cant detect all virus/Trojan/worm. and there are always new worms and Trojan for which there are no signatures and no removal tools ! That said , protecting yourself at least against the current database should be the prior intention. Always install a AV and a firewall ( if you are on Windows 7 or vista , you can omit installing a firewall as the default one is pretty good ! ) if you going to hook your system to internet !

Kaspersky Anti-virus / Internet security :

Why ?

Kaspersky has shown a good result in recent comparison and its one dependable company . Go anywhere on the net and ask for a advice on AV , they would simply say kaspersky , even though it paid software , its not that costly either.for 500 Rs you get 3 license key which you can share with your friends for 1 year ! Thats a good deal if you ask me .More over the detection rate is pretty good . And constant updated also helps you in tackling the latest virus and other malware.

Where to download ?

This is trial version : http://www.kaspersky.com/trials
For Original : Get it from local dealer.
My best advice is to run the trial version for one month and as the month gets over go to the nearby dealer ands get the key and install , this way you will get 13 months of AV , instead of 12 months !

Worth Mentioning Softwares:

AVIRA AntiVir
G DATA AntiVirus 2010

These two are also good ones. Avira is a Free version (Personal Edition Alone )

Download Manager:

Download Accelerator Plus is good software , but its free version sucks a lot. Its best alternative are Orbit and Flashget Downloader. Both are free.But Flashget is pretty better than Orbit Downloader

FlashGet:

Why?

A Decent Download Manager with feature like inclusion within the browser , make youtube downloading easy.

Where to download ?

http://www.amazesoft.com/index_en.htm

Torrent Client :

Torrent is current hot topic in all colleges and among young teenagers. There are many option in this area

UTorrent :

Why ?

For starters to get started , this is the best one.It resembles a download manager and simplifies all the procedure for you. With under 500 KB size , this is the lightest app around !

Where to download ?

http://www.utorrent.com/downloads

Worth Mentioning Softwares :

VUZE :

Touted as “King of HD(High Definition) ” this is for more advanced users and for those who seek High definition.Its user community has loads of High definition contents from music videos to trailers to podcast , its fun filled community. If you want to expand your reach in HD , try VUZE!

Few other software’s which must be installed or worth installing are

[NOTE:All the download links are given within the Name , Click on the below names to download the softwares]

1.) CCleaner :

Helps in cleaning all those unwanted stuffs which gets piled up after some month of usuage !

2.) Auslogic Disk Defragger :

As time goes , the hard disk gets cluttered with data scattered all around making the Operating System and the Disk reader longer time in fetching the files . Use this software to increase the speed .. Useful after few months of usage ! not intially and also how much you store and delete stuffs from hard disk

3.) Foxit Reader :

Forget about Adobe PDF Reader , its a Bloatware , Install Foxit Reader which is free , open source and fast !

4.) Burnaware Writer :

If you think Nero is only burning software , you are wrong. Burnaware is a free software and does all the work nero does .Nero takes nearly 1GB of space and it consumes huge amount of memory . Give Burnaware a try and reply back …

5.) SUPER © :

If you ever thought that converting video to mobile , look no further than this software . This software supports wide range of inputs and can spit it into anything you want. just add the Video you want to convert and set the output at the top and this will do the rest. Even though the controls and UI are little complicated , feature wise its superior than the usual crap Xillisoft software. I will try to write a guide on how to use this software in near future..

6.) MyphoneExplorer :

Exclusively for Sony Ericsson User . This free app , is the best SE phone manager. It can do all the wonders . just connect your SE phone and sit back and do all the things from your PC / Laptop. Write msg , send it to multiple friends , start music player , transfer files , install java apps , backup phone books , check the battery status etc etc..

I have tried my best to stay on with free apps so that you wont need to spend money or uninstall after some trial period gets over.
If you are person who cant spend , they definitely choose the software which are free. Google is your best friend. If you are trying to install a app , just Google about it and see if there is any better free alternative to it . this way you can know that you wont be having trouble later on. My advice is always try to use Free- Open source software’s .Its always better on the long run.

Even though i have missed many useful softwares , i dont want to trash all the software on the system . Not many PC/Laptop are high end and installing too many apps will only make it much slower.

This is not a complete list . These are basic software you will need. A Antivirus ,Browser, Music/video Player , PDF reader , Video Converter, CD/DVD Writer , Phone Manager , Torrent Downloader and Download Manager

If i had missed anything , please do mention it in the comments below , so that i can add them.

Thanks again for reading through ..

-Urs Siva

Sony Ericsson W995 – Best of W and C series!

// August 20th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Reviews

Hi all again. I previously did a review on windows 7 , and also on PS3 , this time , its a phone and its the latest one from SE – W995.

But before i begin my review , i just want to clear few things out for all.

Things you should have in mind before buying a mobile :

I think todays world just goes by the hype and none is ready to stop and think what they and buying and why. How many times you have bought something and found it lying simply there , or you bought something which you don’t know how to use it to full potential or don’t know how to use it at all ? Here are the few things for now regarding mobile phone …

1.) What is your need ?

2.)Do you know wht is wifi ? If so do you have access to it ?

3.) Do you use GPRS ? if so how often ? ( may be nowadays all the phones comes with gprs , but remember , do you know how much it will cost for working with GPRS ? If you dont know , you better stay off , as nearly all the ISP/NETWORK in India are greedy and will scratch all your property.

4.)What is the size of the phone you are looking for ? This is important as many don’t like bulky phones , and some dont like to have small screen. So decide which one to go for.

5.) If possible try the phone and buy. Its sometimes feel good to be showoff with latest gadget , but being a “Early buyer” is like double edged sword. One thing is you can end up having a crappy product which is untested , unreviewed product. On the other side , you will have the latest product and get all the hi-tech features and take advantage , for example in case of 3G and Wi-Fi and other technology.

6.) Always do a back check on the company , and how the service is . Because of recent stories about Motorola going into bankruptcy has put a great concern both in buyer and sellers mind. Many sellers are opting out of it , that’s what i heard.

Ok Lets come to the Review part

Sony Ericsson W995

I am not going to list all the features from ability to send SMS , can take photo stuff , i am going to write about the features which i feel stands out .

1.) 8MP camera in a Walkman Phone , first Walkman to feature it and SE`s commitment towards integrating Walkman and camera series.

2.)Clear Stereo and Clear Bass for the new Media Player , which i think is the best in the whole phone.

3.)Really big screen , 2.6″

4.)Facebook Integration into Message section ( In New firmware R1FA035)

5.)New conversation mode for Messaging

6.)Flash Lite 2.1 Version

7.)8GB M2 Card.

8.)Fastest UI in a SE phone so far

9.)Last but not the least , its the first Walkman Phone to feature a 3.5mm headphone jack

Things i didn’t like much :

1.)Too much Keys on the side

2.)Awkward placement of  W(“Walkman”) button

3.)Short USB cable

4.)No lens Protection

5.)Nearly useless stand on the back.

6.)Slightly difficult to type.

Lets get into the details shall we ?

UI  -  The Best ever.

I am actually switching from K850 to W995 , previously i had K800, K750,K700,T610 , and i must say that UI , the interface we work on , the part which we use for most of the part , what makes one say ” Ohh That Phone is slow” , ” Hey that phone is really fast “. The UI here in W995 is almost same speed as of K750 , fast , reliable and totally cool.

When i got the phone , one of my friend asked me whether the phone restarts often , this idea of restart is basically due to the crappy UI of K800 and K850 ( latter being the worst ) , and now there is wide spread idea that SE phone restart a lot , hang and such things. Actually the real reason for it is when SE introduced the controversial A2 , which was mostly experimental and unstable in K850 , and i have to say that it has come a long way and been through vigorous programming and optimization . For one who switched from the initial A2 to more optimized A2 will know very first that UI is Fast and stable. Why i want to stress on this is , so far W995 has not restarted once . and i have put into many rigorous condition like running multiple games/apps along with Media player . And so far , the UI is very stable.

Update – A Curse :

I will talk about the updates here itself , I have so far updated the phone nearly 3 times , and each time , i don’t know for what reason the phone is completely flashed , i mean the phone contents are removed , everything , from sms to address book to word suggestion .. everything. this is annoying since when someone is using the phone for 3-4 months and get into it with personal word suggestion words for messaging , with a simple update , they can loose all the personal word suggestion , and there is no to backup those words. other things like SMS , and all other things can be backed up using given Phone Manager.  What happened to SE , why are they deleting the whole Firmware and reinstalling from the scratch each time ? May be they don’t want old files / corrupted ones to ruin the fun , so they are clean installing , and not doping a upgrade which they used to do previously.

Camera – A K Series within W ..

The 8MP , Autofocus camera is really a stand out in W series. It lacks a Flash which is the only let down , other than that , the camera features everything you see in the latest K series / C series . With Scenes , Macro Feature , Panorama ..etc. For those who want more from Camera can visit this link , where there is compilation of all Mods for W995.

here is few sample and comparison between my canon 7 Mp and W995 8MP

Media Player – The Best Walkman Ever ..

This is the first time i feel that i am hearing a really Walkman , know the old cassette Walkman we used to hear ? , those are the best , the quality is simply awesome , coz the data there is raw and a good Walkman like Aiwa , Sony will give you the best experience. Why i am comparing w995 to old Cassette Walkman ? , actually the Quality of sound is best on those cassette player ( Provided you had/have a good Walkman player ) . I had a Costly Aiwa way back and it the best Walkman for me so far , i mean for mobile music listening.  After a long time , I was able to immerse myself with similar quality of sound with W995. The sound is superb , Loud enough , the bass Very clear at peak , No distortion at what ever the volume is . My song collection are mostly above 128 Kbps. and I have few with 320kbps. The music and quality in W995 is outstanding , mostly because of the clear bass and Clear Stereo features .

the media player is similar to one you find in PS3 , XMB type.  The media player automatically scan for all the supported files , irrespective of which folder you put in your memory card. this is actually cool , coz you don’t to specifically put in certain folder so that the phone reads. And another sweet thing about SE phones compared to lame Apple products is , SE phones doesn’t need any specific software to upload the songs to the phone.

Connectivity and Other Features :

It comes with Wi-Fi and 3G support. The Wi-Fi handling by the phone is really smooth and easy. It also supports DLNA , meaning you can now stream your favourite songs to other DLNA device like PS3 , this feature is really cool coz , i used to load all my music files to perndrive and play it through PS3 which sounds better on my big speakers. Now with 8GB card , all my songs are on my phone and whenever i want to hear them on big speakers  i stream them through PS3.

Other features include GPS , Global postioning system , which i great , but most of the time you are going to be within your city / state and chances of getting lost i every minimum. Atleast for me , its less used feature. May be could come in handy when i go on a vaccation to some different place. GPS apps like google map , Wayfinder , NearMe , Navigation , etc are bundled up for convience.

W995 has the latest java 8.4 , and really helps in for gaming and other cool functions.

It also packs in latest Browser which is really fast . Youtube player is integrated into the Media Player , so next time you are on a public wifi or college wifi , watch all those funny videos on your phone .

As i said above W995 supports Flash lite 2.1 , meaning you can now have beautiful flash themes. for mroe details , i recommend you guys to visit www.se-nse.net and www.esato.com/board , its worth registering on those sites , as they have great contents and tutorials about SE phones.

Design and Build :

Not much to say on a slider design , but the key placements on the main panel , right below the screen , are very good , right distance , the key size and the two keys on the front row are very soft and they feel like touch keys and responseis really great. On the downside the key pad is little closely arranged and keys are very difficult to work with. And anyone comming from normal candy bar phone and messgaing with big keys will find it a little hard to message. But its not that bad.

Build of the phone is really top notch. The phone feels solid and in my case , feels like a real steel.

Messaging and Internet :

For the last two years , my messaging habit has gone to say 2-10 sms per day , mainly coz , sms are way too costly and i consider them as a old techs.. but W995 changed it all , with the new conversation mode. As you can see from the gallery i posted , the message now are stacked one upon other , this way the message from a friend is stacked above giving a feel of Gtalk/Yahoo messenger , this makes messaging a fun , rather than boring old SMS. ?Now my SMSing habit has gone past 20 per day. DAMN YOU SE !!!

I think i have covered most of the aspect , all i want to say is this phone is reliable and stable and if you are alone and looking out for a good music player , the best , i recommend you to go for W995 or atleast consider it , coz its really worth.

Take look at the Gallery …

Please leave your comments. Wrote this article on a hurry , i wanted to elaborate few things , which i couldnt , will try to update later. anyway if you have enjoyed the review  , please leave your comment.

Copyright : What side are we really?

// May 1st, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Revolution

Hi all ,
Hope you like articles thus far. Today i want to just discuss on some issues we netizens face every day. Copyrighted stuff! This is the hot topic at present throughout the internet. Whatever news pops out as top news contains some copyright stuff in it. Recently The Pirate Bay owners were sent to jail, but they have appealed to high court, that’s a different story. The pirate Bay stands tall among all the netizens. They worship TPB like anything, Why? Simply because these guys have the guts to face the Music and Movie industries Threats.

Today my question is, What side are we really on ?
We love Music, We love Movies, and we love games. We are fan boys for some cult! be it Star wars , or LOR, Matrix , PS3 , XBOX , Britney , Lindsay Lohan … etc. We are fans because of their awesome work. Are we really doing them any good by downloading their work for free?
One part of my brain says that, this free downloading has been my virtual Search engine for finding extra-ordinary musicians, movies, games etc…
I found Within Temptation because of the torrents. And i would surely say that i would buy her next album, not because i can’t download from the internet anymore, but more of like showing the artist a respect, a token of appreciation for their work.
But my other part of the brain says that you should stop downloading other artist which you haven’t become a fan…
Wait a second! , I can surely say that i have stayed away from some artist, because their works suck, or say, i don’t like their genre! But anyway, i am not going to buy a CD of some unknown anyway! So does my downloading really count? And needless to say the downloaded album will be deleted as soon as i hear them and find they suck!
Torrents have been the place where i discover many new works, like Office, Heroes, and Prison Break etc. Office and Prison Break haven’t been started yet here in India, but even if they start, they show them at some time and miss a episode or two in the middle, they simply don’t care what we see and they simply don’t know what they are doing. And top it all, nowadays every single program comes with a Subtitle! , Damn you morons! And those subtitles only distract us from seeing the actual serial. It’s like a audio book with visual text … It can’t get worst than it is now. Only thing they haven shown the subtitles is in the Advertisements! Do they think that we don’t English or what, i simply can’t understand? If they put a Hindi subtitle it’s ok for me, since it would be great for north Indians who don’t know English to enjoy these serials/ movies. But what if your damn viewer is a frequent movie goer, an addict… He will hate you like anything.
Actually I have stopped (nearly) watching movies on TV, simply because the subtitles kill the experience!
I think i have deviated too far!
Coming to the topic.

Actually there is also a bigger responsibility for the music companies, movie, game.. Etc, on their part.
Simply put, who would get a 3000 Rs game in India? Pricing is essential! You can’t simply price like that, you have to get a hold of the local culture and mind set. India is a place where people don’t get 1 item for 10 Rs, They bargain till death and get 5 items for 10 Rs. They simply won’t and can’t shed a 3000Rs Single title game!
If the big companies don’t realise this faster and soon, they will invariably going to help the piracy soar to new height all because of their greed for money. Simply put the same game/movie/music is cheaper to obtain from black market or download free off the net.
I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t download, this a broadband era. Download, but if you really like their work, please support them in any possible way. I loved Batman – Dark knight and i seriously got a Blu-Ray of the film. Not everyone can afford. But at least try not to focus on downloading and enjoying part alone. If these artist aren’t there, then the most important part of “ BroadBand Era “ life , The Entertainment won’t be there.
You could help them by writing a good review on EBay, Amazon, Post nice stuff on Forums, Blogs, Encourage people who CAN buy stuff.
Even though this isn’t the ultimate answer, but at least we can try to make ourselves conscious that we are doing something good to the artist / hero / developer…
I hope i made something or the other clear to you.
If you like this article, please leave a comment and if possible spread it to your friends.
Thanks a lot.
See you soon on another article!

10 Things You Should Have Stopped Way Before !!!

// February 23rd, 2009 // 8 Comments » // Tips, Uncategorized

There are certain things which I felt that everyone who is online should STOP doing these 10 things .. The following is the list on what not to do or should never do at all when you are online…

1. When on Orkut , DON`T EVER THINK its the most safe site in the whole God damn World… For your kind information its still in beta and Google is working hard to remove all those bugs…

2. So while on Orkut , don’t think that a funny looking image or a actress/ actor wallpaper comes in your scrap , its a genuine one… and don’t follow the link , i mean DON’T CLICK the bloody link … Why ? Coz most of these ” theme change ” scrap , nice looking cute graphics .. have hidden ” JAVASCRIPT ” or ” Link ” which has potential harmful code , which go from sending scrap to all your friends  to acquiring access to your account and possibly hack your account forever…

3. Again when there is some link which says you can scrap whole of the friends list with ” Happy New Year ” , ” Happy Diwali ” , or ” Happy Valentines Day ” .. Don`t fall for it.. coz as stated above , due to harmful link and code…

4. If you are on a Public system , i mean in a Internet Cafe , Stop accessing your personal sites like Yahoo mail , Gmail , Orkut , Picasa , Msn , Sify , Rediff etc.. coz who knows what they have installed on those system… because most of the identity theft takes place in these common place because of ignorance of the newbie’s…

5. Always LOGOUT and STOP leaving the system as such anywhere , anytime !!!!

6. If are going to follow a link ( i mean clicking the link ) .. and if you think its going to go for your personal account or you await to get logging into your account , just take a second and see the address bar and see if the link is either known or looks fishy ?? how to say ?? well i will give you all a situation. lets take a situation where you are in Orkut and your friend has sent you a link where it says you have got a mail in your yahoo inbox… so the current address ( website name in the address bar in your browser ) looks like                http://www.orkut.com/##############/############/####### and the link you have just clicked has address like http://red.te5juik.cjb/login.asp or whatever it may be .. but look close you don’t see ” http://yahoo.com or http://yahoomail.com anything that sort…. You got my point huh ??? Goooooodddd… !! If not feel free to ask in the comment system below.

7. Next in my list is in your inbox .! Ya that is where everyone is fooled.. very easily..even the most experienced netizen. So how to deal with it. You just need to know one thing ..- that is which , no IDIOT in the world is going to give YOU a million dollar or no IDIOTIC gal/boy is going to send a DATE email to YOU!!!( this off course excludes the friend in your friend list … hi hi….). So once you have understood this VERY basic stuff… all will go fine while accessing your inbox. Another thing you have to remember is DON`T go on seeing , clicking all the emails that arrives in your inbox .. and don’t think you are the special one to get a email like that… because those are called spam and they target people like you. BEWARE !!! Click email which are from your friend ( even that too has become difficult with intelligent hackers working around all known routes to get you trapped ) or you are awaiting a email from a site or company..

8. One thing most of us do is giving way email ID wherever we see a space with ” Your Email ID ” … DON’T do it… !! Simple!! Don’t Do it..Unless you are need of a registration .. don’t give email anywhere…anytime.. unless need comes . DON’T have one email for everything..have two ! one for your own personal use and others to dispose at sites where you are pushed to register…

9. DON`T have one password for everything… have at least 3-4 different password…because if one password is compromised , all  the other site like yahoo , gmail , orkut , facebook , msn , hotmail are also compromised..

10. Final One…. and the most important one… !!! DON`T be a BIG IDIOT by posting all your information right from email ID to phone number to Dogs name… You just have made the work of a hacker very  easy….Unless you are in search of a job .. don’t post your personal information online and even if the site asks you to give your details don’t waste your time by posting all the information online. And don’t think just by posting your phone no , the other sex will call you… they wont .. You are simply inviting trouble with a big red carpet!!

So all said and heard …. hope after reading this article You stop Doing things you were doing or planning to do..

Keep a look for more similar articles….