Back to Vista!!!

For the past 6 months, i was using Windows XP as i had problems in accessing the network shares of my LAN in Vista. XP has been my favorite OS and recently i read an article that its performance has improved 10% with the service pack 3. The reason why i switched to Vista is that i downloaded a new game which would give me a better experience with the directX 10 available in Vista. And also, i wanted to check whether the bug of LAN access has been fixed with the Vista SP1. For these reasons, i installed Vista SP1 and i should say that my LAN access is very much improved. The NTLM proxy authentication software 'ntlmaps', which created problems with IE7 in Vista now works fine. And also the gaming experience is great when compared to XP. I think i should continue with Vista SP1 for some time. But the bad news is, i could not dual boot Mac OsX Leopard with Vista. :( Hoping to find a solution for this.

Intel's Bioelectronic chip for Chemical Detection

Imagine if you could get a lab test in the doctor’s office and see the results before you left. The Intel Bioelectronic chip might one day make that possible. The chip was an experimental project that the world’s biggest chip maker showed off at its annual Research@Intel day. The chip resembles diagnostic chips that companies such as Affymetrix already make. But the chip doesn’t use optical technology to sort through various chemicals it comes into contact with. Rather, it uses silicon electrical sensors with something called a field effect device to detect DNA or other chemical traits more easily. Udi Virobnik, the Intel researcher behind it, said that such chips could be used as universal diagnostic machines, detecting a wide range of health risks, rather than just a single-test diagnosis, as is the case with chips already in use.

Top 5 computer problems

If you have a PC, then you have most likely suffered from computer problems. Most people have accepted that there PC will eventually crash due to a virus or some massive error. However this is a myth. Your PC is built to last more than a decade. However you must keep well tuned for it to make its third birthday. Nevertheless, most people would rather buy a shiny new PC rather than spend an hour trying to fix computer problems on there 2 year lap top or desktop. After another two year after their purchase lack of maintenance will cause their new PC to lose its performance speed. Whats next you guess, $3000 Windows Vista Ready PC. This is known as the consumer vicious cycle.

Why have does your computer have problems?

Well, the biggest problem that your computer has is its owner. More than 80% of computer problems stem from neglecting to perform simple maintenance task such as cleaning your registry, emptying your cache files and updating software regularly. If these task a perform diligently. You would be reading this article from a five year old machine running on Windows 98 operating system. So, lets take a look at the top five computer problems and how to avoid them.

1. Computer's performance has slowed.

This is the number one complaint from most users. There are several reason why this has occurred. However, most can attributed to lack of maintenance. Fragmented data, corrupted registry, spyware, and load of unnecessary programs and services running can all eat away at your PC speed and performance. Manage your programs and cleaning your registry would easily award you a 30% gain in performance speed. Check out The 4 ways to speed up my computer 

2. Lockup, freezes, and blue screens of death.

This is a another common computer problem. However, this particular issue is a bit more serious; therefore, it needs a few diagnostic steps. In most cases this problems are caused by spyware. To avoid this problem update your anti-spyware program daily. Having the most up to date signatures will help you avoid having a serious spyware problem. However, if you have concluded that your PC is spyware free. You should update your hardware drivers. The computer cannot communicate with various hardware components without an up to date driver. When it cannot find a driver, the CPU locks up. Also, increasing your virtual memory can also help to avoid freezes. Virtual Memory will allow to you get more use out your computer's RAM. Check the resource box for more info on the subject.

3. The computer spontaneously reboots or turn itself off.

This computer problem can be usually attributed to a hardware issue. Usually its the power supply is dying or in most cases a dirty or defective cooling fan. The computer trying to cool itself by automatically switching off. So, if you feel a bit of extra heat coming out the computer. Clean the fan and make sure it running properly. If your fan is functional, check your power supply. Also, you will be surprised how many people fail to make sure the cables are attached tightly. This be the cause of this particular computer problem

4. Strange noises and vibrations.

This is almost totally a hardware issue. You computer is made up of thousands of parts. Its not unheard of that one of them can become unhinged. Overheating can cause expansion of wires and melt some sensitive. High pitch noises such as squealing or whining sounds can be cause electronic components. Whatever the reason, you conduct a small investigation. Remove the case and run the computer to discover the origin of the computer problem. If its not a simple matter such as a loose wire or fan issue, it may be time to call a computer tech.

5. Your home page, default search engine, or web browser has changed itself.

This is also known as "high-jacking". Spyware has been installed on your computer via social networking or from email link. This action has allowed spyware to install a java script into your web browser. The spyware then sends a message to your browser to change your user settings. For example change your home page to another web page.

As you have discovered from reading the article, the most common computer problems can be handle quite easily by simple maintenance of your PC. Next time you are suffering from computer problems, take a few minutes to run some diagnostic test before rushing out to computer technical center claiming your PC is broken. What all you need to do was just make sure it was plugged in. 

Fix Apple Boot Camp's Heating problem!!

hey guys for those of you who haven’t got a hand on boot camp, here is a brief explanation of the problem

The problem

When you install windows onto your apple system, the boot camp devs have somehow managed to 'forget' that there requires some interface with windows to the firmware so the cooling fans can be controlled. This leads to a state where after an hour or so especially of gameplay or cpu/gpu/hdd intensive operations the heat inside builds up to around 90 C this is when the firmware realizes that its hardware is going to DIE, the self defense mechanism kicks in and the fans turn to 'leaf-blower' mode. From the entire web searching and tinkering i did i came across a blog, that stated how to deal with this problem as it is a big issue!!

this is quite easily noted in mac books and pros!

The fix

There appears to be a bug in a program developed for OsX - the prg is smsFanControl (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049). The bug is that if u change the settings for the fan in OSX and reboot (not shut down or anything else) the settings remain when u reboot into windows XP.

The program lets u set the min fan revs for each of the cooling fans, it has a default setting and a high-rpm mode (min 4000 rpm). So when you are going to windows for some hardware intensive programs change this setting!!!

And yea there is this other program i came across, but didnt give it a go till now!

Its called Input Re-mapper (http://www.olofsson.info/)

hope dis is useful!!

Garminnuvi 880

Say hello to the 880, the newest member of Garmin’s nüvi family. And when I tell you to say hello, I mean it: The nüvi 880 is the first portable GPS device to boast full speech recognition capabilities. You can access almost all of its functions using your voice infact, only a few tasks require the touch screen. I found it a truly amazing (albeit expensive) experience that works surprisingly well. With a list price of $999.99, the Garminnüvi 880 is positioned at the very top end of the GPS market. But it has nearly every feature I’ve come to expect in a luxury navigator, including text-to-speech conversion,multisegment routing, an excellent Blue-tooth phone interface, and even integrated media players and travel tools. There’s built-in support for Microsoft’s MSN Direct service, too, providing useful information such as live traffic, weather, movie times, and even local gas prices. The real showstopper here, though, is the amazing speech recognition functionality. On my tests, the unit comprehended my voice commands with astonishing accuracy, despite the acoustically challenging environment of a noisy car.Frankly, I’m hooked.  This is the GPS device I want on my windshield.

Alternate fuel vehicles

In chennai, one litre petrol costs almost rupees 50 and yet there is a great demand for petrol which make us think that in few years petrol might go costlier than gold. Though most of the nations are trying to figure out to meet the demands of fuel, a few techies have made vehicles tat use alternate energy resources. Of which, i like few of them.

Venturi Fetish
This limited edition convertible was the first electric sports car to reach production. Though it wasnt meant for mass production, it took designing of alternate fuel vehicles a step ahead. It became popular because of its high performance. Coming from renowned sports car makers, it is a very interesting machine.

Tesla Roadster
This is a revolutionary car because it not only worries the fellow car makers but also the oil companies. It was built in England by Lotus. It has a very good chassis and amazingly spruced up stuff under its hood. It is not cheap, 'cos of its cutting edge technology and very great things found in it.Twike
The Twike doesn't look like a normal car. Running on 3 wheels, its a great choice in those cities where the pollution level is very high. Powered by an electric motor, it has low carbon emission standards and the best thing about this car is that it is easy to control. The controls are by means of a joystick with fingertip access to acceleration, steering, brakes, turn indicators etc.

With these type of technologies rapidly evolving, the future demand for petrols could be met easliy, i think. Anyway lets hope for science to lead us to a great future.