Monday, December 1, 2008

Home Networking with Unmanaged Ethernet Switch

I have two computers and the internet connection is setup as following:-
"Cable Modem --> Unmanaged Ethernet Switch --> Computers (#1 & #2)"



The problem with this setting is the Cable Modem assigns different Subnet Masks to the two computers. Having the same Subnet Mask is mandatory to have a Network between the computers. The solution is to disable DHCP and manually set the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, Preferred DNS Server, Alternate DNS Server. To do it first make a note of the above parameters by using the command "ipconfig/all" at "Command Prompt" on both the Computers.

On both the computers goto "Start Menu --> Settings --> Network Connections --> (Right Click) Local Area Connection --> Properties --> (General Tab) Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) --> Properties". Select "Use the following IP address:"



Enter the following:-
On Computer #1
IP address: = IP Address of Computer #1
Subnet mask: = 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: = Default Gateway of Computer #1
Preferred DNS server: = Preferred DNS Server of Computer #1
Alternate DNS server: = Alternate DNS Server of Computer #1

On Computer #2
IP address: = IP Address of Computer #2
Subnet mask: = 255.255.255.0
Default gateway: = Default Gateway of Computer #2
Preferred DNS server: = Preferred DNS Server of Computer #2
Alternate DNS server: = Alternate DNS Server of Computer #2

Click OK, OK.

Friday, November 7, 2008

US eqivalent words, phrases

USINDIAN
Mortgage Housing Loan
Gasoline/Gas Petrol
Okra Ladys Finger
Pepper Capsicum
Egg Plant Brinjal
Soccer Football
Restroom Bathroom
Affirmative Action Reservation
Subway Metro
Elevator Lift
Dormitory/Dorm Hostel
Apartment Flat
Cab Taxi
Bill Note
Check Bill
Text Message SMS
Trash Can Dustbin
Fluorscent Tube Tubelight
Janitor Sweeper/Cleaner
Mailman Postman
Cop Police
Bike Cycle
Chopper Motorcycle
Chopper Helicopter
Fire Station Fire Brigade
Correction Center Jail
Perfume Scent
Yogurt Curd
Cookie Biscuit
DMV RTO
Social Security Pension

Friday, October 10, 2008

Ways to Transfer Money between Domestic Banks

Mode of TransferFeesInitiated ByTime Taken
Physical TransferPersonal ChequeFreeYou2 Weeks**
Cashiers Cheque$6 Flat or per Transaction*Bank1 Week
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)Online ACH Transfer$3 Flat or per Transaction*You3 Business Days
Bank Wire Transfer (BWT)$20 Flat or per Transaction*Bank3 Hours**


*Fees vary from Bank to Bank, but mostly it is a flat amount for any amount of money transferred. Also there could be restrictions in the amount of money you can transfer per transaction, per day, per week, per month and per calendar year.

**For Personal Cheque, time taken is the time required for the cheque to reach the other bank by mail and then to clear the money.
**For Cashiers Cheque, time taken is the time required for the cheque to reach the other bank by mail.

Personal Cheque
Its a cheque that you write in your name and then mail it by post to the bank where you want to transfer the money. The check is then cleared by the both the banks and your money is credited. Hence the time required for the transfer is the time for mailing and clearing.

On the Front of Cheque Write
Name - Full Name

On the Back of Cheque
Put your Signature
Write your Account Number
Write - "Deposit Only"
Mail the Cheque to the respective Bank with Attn: Membership

Cashiers Cheque
Its a cheque that it endorsed by the bank from which the amount is debited. Hence the check clearing step in the other bank is eliminated. The process is initiated by the Bank and then you are required to mail it to the other bank by post. Hence the time required for the transfer is the time taken in mailing only.

Online ACH (Automated Clearing House) Transfer
Its a online transfer initiated by you. First your bank account is verified by the bank from which the money is debited. Then you transfer the money through "Online Banking".

Bank Wire Transfer (BWT)
Its a transfer initiated by the bank from which the money is debited.

For all the above, information required are:-
1. Account Number, for both Banks
2. Name of account holder/s
3. ABA (American Bankers Association) Routing Number of both banks

For international wire, transfers information required are:-
1. Account Number, for both Banks
2. Name of account holder/s
3. Name of the overseas bank
4. Country of the overseas bank
5. SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) Code of the overseas bank

Fees for international wire transfers could be around $40.

Broadband Modem Admin Settings

Ambit Cable Modem Model: U10C018

Login Details:
Web Address: http://192.168.100.1/

User:
Username - user
Password - user

Admin:
Username - admin
Password - cableroot

To reboot goto Modem -> Reset

ZyXEL ADSL Modem Model: P-660R-T1 v2

Web Address: http://192.168.1.1/

User:
Username - N/A
Password - Default

Admin:
Username - N/A
Password - 1234

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Word Macro Error

When you open Word 2003 you might get the following error
"The document contains macros. Macro language support for this application is disabled. Features requiring VBA are not available. Would you like to open this document read-only?"



The most possible reason is Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is not installed on your computer.

If VBA is not installed, it is not possible to accept certificates of trust attached to VBA macros. Therefore, any VBA macro attempting to run, even with an attached certificate of trust, cannot be run because the necessary macro interpreter is not installed on the system. Two scenarios can cause this error:

Your administrator chose not to install VBA
The version of Office you are running does not install VBA by default

If you are running an instance of Office that does not provide VBA as an installable feature, you will need to upgrade your version of Office to run VBA macros.

If some items— such as templates (template: A file or files that contain the structure and tools for shaping such elements as the style and page layout of finished files. For example, Word templates can shape a single document, and FrontPage templates can shape an entire Web site.) (including default templates like Normal.dot in Microsoft Word), add-ins, wizards, or custom commands— do not function the way you expect, you may be running a Microsoft Office program with the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) (VBA: A macro-language version of Microsoft Visual Basic that is used to program Windows applications and is included with several Microsoft applications.) shared feature disabled. Many features in Office are created in VBA or depend on VBA support to function correctly. If you choose not to install the VBA feature, these dependent applications and features will be disabled or not installed.

To re-enable VBA, follow these steps:
1. Run the Office Setup program again.
  1. Quit all programs.
  2. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon in the Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • If you installed your Office program as part of Microsoft Office, click Microsoft Office in the Currently installed programs box, and then click the Change button.
    • If you installed your Office program individually, click the name of your program in the Currently installed programs box, and then click the Change button.
2. Select "Add or Remove Features. Change which features are installed or remove specific features". Click Next.


3. On the next screen check the box "Choose advanced customization of applications". Click Next.


4. On the Advanced Customization window, click the plus sign (+) next to Office Shared Features. Click Next.


5. Select Visual Basic for Applications, click the red cross (x) next to your selection, and then click Run from My Computer. Click Update.


If someone else set up your Office installation for you, contact your System Administrator or Information Technology (IT) Professional to see whether you are running Office with VBA disabled.

----------------------------------------
Help protect Office without removing functionality
To help protect against macro viruses, you should purchase and install specialized antivirus software. To further help protect yourself from macro viruses, you can use the following procedures:
Set macro security levels to High

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Under Macro Security, click Macro Security.
4. Click the Security Level tab, and then select the security level you want to use.

Clear the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box
Depending on your macro (macro: An action or a set of actions you can use to automate tasks. Macros are recorded in the Visual Basic for Applications programming language.) security setting, when you open a macro, you will receive a warning and the macro may be disabled for installed templates (template: A file or files that contain the structure and tools for shaping such elements as the style and page layout of finished files. For example, Word templates can shape a single document, and FrontPage templates can shape an entire Web site.) and add-ins (add-in: A supplemental program that adds custom commands or custom features to Microsoft Office.) (including wizards).

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Security tab.
2. Under Macro Security, click Macro Security.
3. Click the Trusted Sources tab.
4. Clear the Trust all installed add-ins and templates check box.

Note All templates, add-ins, and macros shipped with Microsoft Office 2003 are digitally signed by Microsoft. Once you add Microsoft to your list of trusted sources for one of these installed files all subsequent interaction with these files will not generate messages.

Clear the list of trusted sources
To perform this procedure, you must have Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or later installed on your computer.
1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Security tab.
2. Under Macro Security, click Macro Security.
3. Click the Trusted Publishers tab.
4. Click the source you want to remove from the list.
5. Click Remove.
----------------------------------------

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Reset ECU (Clear Check Engine Light) in Nissan Altima

To clear all Check Engine light codes you need to reset the ECU (Engine Control Unit). The ECU is located on the driver's side on the right of gas pedal below the steering wheel. It is covered by a plastic piece. You will need to remove the plastic cover to get access to the ECU. You can pry open the the plastic cover. It does not have any screws. The ECU looks as in the picture below and has a Flathead screw.



Follow the steps below.
Do not start the engine ever during the entire procedure.

Procedure Start:
1. Turn ignition key to the "ON" position but do not start the engine. (The ignition key will remain in this position throughout the entire procedure)
2. Turn the ECU switch fully clockwise, wait two seconds.
3. Turn the ECU switch fully counter clockwise.

Now you are in the trouble diagnostic mode with the check engine light blinking. To determine the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) code number see below.

Continue on to resetting ECU:

4. Turn the ECU switch fully clockwise again, wait two seconds.
5. Turn the ECU switch fully counter clockwise again.
6. Turn ignition key to the "OFF" position.
Procedure End:

Note: Never start the engine in the entire procedure.

You can note down the ECU codes by reading the Long & Short flashes in the Check Engine Light. To determine the MIL (Malfunction Indicator Lamp) code number use the following rules to decode the flashes:
1. Long flashes (0.6 second) are the first digit.
2. Pause (0.9 second).
3. Short flashes (0.3 second) are the last digit.
4. Pause (2.1 seconds).
Next code (if present)
The long flashes will occur before the short ones. If there are multiple error codes, then there will be a noticeable pause (2.1 sec) before the next code starts. The ECM code repeats itself until you turn the ignition key to the OFF position, at which point the ECM resets itself to standard get-in-and-drive-mode. Additionally, if you get four blinks of ten (0000), the ECM is indicating no malfunction.
Use the following table to correlate the MIL code with ECU code
Ref: http://www.troublecodes.net/Nissan/

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Connect to Remote Oracle DB using various SQL Editors

You want to connect to a remote Oracle DB using various SQL Editors but do not have or want to install Oracle DB. How do you do that?
Below is the syntax to connect to remote Oracle DB with various SQL Editors

Some Editors may require Oracle Instant Client. Oracle Instant Client can be found at http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/index.html
Download the Instant Client and unzip it to a directory. Set the library loading path in your environment to that. On Windows, PATH should be used.
To set Environment Variable Right Click on My Computer, goto Advanced Tab -> Environment Variables -> User variables for <user> -> New.
Enter PATH in Variable Name: and <path to Instant Client directory> in Variable value:
Click OK, OK, Apply, OK.

Editors that require Oracle Instant Client
1) TOAD Freeware: Enter <IP address>:<port>/<SID> in Database box.

2) TOAD Licensed:
Option #1. Enter <IP address>:<port>/<SID> in Database box.
Option #2. In Direct tab, enter <IP address> in Host box, <port> in Port box, <SID> in SID box.

3) SQLPlus: Enter connect <username>/<password>@<IP address>:<port>/<SID> at SQL prompt.

Editors that do not require Oracle Instant Client
4) OraCmd: Enter connect <username>/<password>@<IP address>:<port>:<SID>; at OraCmd prompt.

Note: You could also enter Host Name in place of IP Address

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Prevent auto completion of hyphens, asterisks, etc in MSWORD

MSWORD has a default setting, in which if you key in a series of tilde (~), crosshatch (#), asterisk (*), underscore (_), equal sign (=), hyphen (-), they get converted to a respective border automatically as you type. This can be very annoying.

To prevent it, goto Tools->AutoCorrect Options->AutoFormat As You Type, uncheck "Border lines" under "Apply as you type"

Friday, July 4, 2008

Update or refresh Vmware "Physical Drive" list


# Extent description
RW 498015 FLAT "\\.\PhysicalDrive3" 0

Change the number in PhysicalDrive to the correct one as seen in "Disk Management"

Remove disks appearing at boot due to internal multi card reader

Removable disks appear on booting Windows when you have a internal multi card reader. They appear in "Disk Management" (diskmgmt.msc) and in "My Computer". If there are no cards in them (which in mostly is) these drives do not open. You can't do anything with them. They just lie there. Its a nuisance to me.
The following steps describe way to prevent that from happening.

Steps:
1. Open "Device Manager" (Run devmgmt.msc). With the drives appearing it should look like this



2. Right click on "Universal Serial Bus controllers->USB Mass Storage Device" and click "Disable". You should get a pop-up message like this.



Click "Yes"
Your "Device Manager" should look like this now

Monday, June 30, 2008

Console window appears & immediately disappers on running code

When you run a code, the console window appears and immediately disappears. So you don't get a chance to see the result or enter and user inputs. This happens with some Windows based compilers.
The solution to this problem is to include either of the following statements at the end of your C/C++ code.

getch(); (Press any key to exit)
or
getchar(); (Press Enter to exit)
or
getc(stdin); (Press Enter to exit)
or
fgetc(stdin); (Press Enter to exit)
or
#include <stdlib.h>
system("pause");
(Not recommended)

Example

#include <stdio.h>
{
printf("Hello, World");
getchar();
}


Online C/C++ compiler: http://www.techbugs.org/wiki/OnlineCompiler

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Format drives larger than 32GB using FAT32 in Windows

Microsoft states
"You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than 32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32 volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk and use the Format tool included on the disk.

NOTE: When you attempt to format a FAT32 partition that is larger than 32 GB during the Windows XP installation process, the format operation fails near the end of the process, and you may receive the following error message:
Logical Disk Manager: Volume size too big."

Ref: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314463

To format a drive/volume larger than 32GB use the following tools

1. fat32format

Steps:
1. Download it HERE
2. Extract the fat32format.exe file to somewhere suitable
3. Open command/DOS prompt and navugate to where you extracted fat32format.exe
4. Use the command "fat32format X:" (where "X" is the drive label of the drive)

2. Linux mkdosfs for Windows NT/2K/XP

Steps:
1. Download it HERE
2. Exctract the downloaded mkdosfs.zip to somewhere
3. Open command/DOS prompt and navigate to "mkdosfs" folder
4. Use the command "mkdosfs -v -F 32 X:"(where "X" is the drive label of the drive)

3. Fat32Formatter

Steps:
1. Download it HERE
2. Exctract the downloaded Fat32FormatterEN.zip to somewhere
3. Run the exe

4. H2Format

Steps:
1. Download it HERE
2. Exctract the downloaded h2format.zip to somewhere
3. Run the exe

NB: You can also convert a FAT16 volume or a FAT32 volume to an NTFS file system in Windows XP retaining all your data.
Read HERE

Monday, June 23, 2008

Access or Delete folder created when you merge partitions using Partition Magic

When you merge two partitions using Partition Magic you have to create a folder where you have the option to copy all the contents of the partition to be merged. After the partitions have been merged you cannot access that folder or do anything with it.
The reason behind this is Partition Magic reassigns permissions on that folder.
To solve it do the following:-

Steps:
1. Goto "Start->Settings->Control Panel->Folder Options"
2. Goto View Tab
3. Put a check on "Show hidden files and folders"
4. Uncheck "Use simple file sharing (Recommended)"
5. Right click on the folder that you which to access and select "Properties"
6. Goto Security Tab
7. Click on your user type and select "Full Control" under "Permissions"
8. Click Apply & OK

Now you will be able to access the folder and do whatever you want with it.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Install boot loaders to MBR of a disk/drive from within Windows/DOS

This tutorial explains the steps to install Syslinux and GRUB to the MBR of a drive to make it bootable.

Syslinux

Steps:
1. Extract the contents of syslinux to a folder
2. Open command prompt and navigate to the syslinux folder
3. Run "syslinux -sfma X:" [where "X" is the drive letter as seen in Disk Manager]
-s = Safe, slow, stupid; uses simpler code that boots better
-f = Force installing
-m = Mbr; install a bootable MBR sector to the beginning of the drive
-a = Active; marks the partition used active (=bootable)

Download: Link
Faq: Link

grub4dos

Download stable version (grub4dos, grubinst, wingrub): Link
Download latest version (grub4dos): Link1 Link2
Download latest version (grubinst): Link
Faq: Link

Commandline
grubinst (FreeBSD, Windows NT family OSs (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista) and Linux)
Steps:
1. Extract the contents of grubinst to a folder
2. Open command prompt and navigate to the grubinst folder
3. Run "grubinst (hdX)" [where "X" is the disk number as seen in Disk Manager]

bootlace.com (DOS, Pre Windows NT family OSs (Windows 95/98/Me) and Linux)
Steps:
1. Extract the contents of grub4dos to a folder
2. Navigate to the grub4dos folder
3. Run "bootlace.com 0x8Y" [where "0x8Y" is the BIOS drive number(hex 0xHH or decimal DDD), and where "Y" is the disk number as seen in Disk Manager]. It is 0 for the first floppy, 1 for the second floppy; 0x80 for the first hard drive, 0x81 for the second hard drive, etc.

GUI
grubinst GUI (Windows NT family OSs (Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista))
Steps:
1. Run grubinstGUI.exe
2. Select the drive you want to install grub
3. Leave everything as default
3. Click OK

Install gfx enabled grub4dos to the MBR of a drive
Steps:
1. Download grub-gfx from Here or Here
2. Install grub4dos either using grubinst, grubinst GUI or bootlace.com
3. Delete grldr that was present by default in the drive
4. Copy & paste grldr from the downloaded grub-gfx to the root of the drive
5. Copy & paste menu.lst to the root of the drive
6. Boot

You could also try grub2
Download: Link
Faq: Link

Graphical boot menu with various boot loaders

Boot LoaderConfig FileGraphicsImage/Graphics FileSyntax in Config File
Isolinuxisolinux.cfgdisplaymessage.msg/boot.msg
or
splash.lss
display <path to message.msg>
or
display=<path to message.msg>
Syslinuxsyslinux.cfg defaultvesamenu.c32display <path to vesamenu.c32>
or
display=<path to vesamenu.c32>
menu backgroundsplash.c32
or
*.png
or
*.jpg
menu background <path to *.png>
or
menu background=<path to *.png>
GRUBmenu.lst splashimage*.xpm.gzgfxmenu <path to *.xpm.gz>
or
gfxmenu=<path to *.xpm.gz>
gfxmenumessage (cpio)gfxmenu <path to message>
or
gfxmenu=<path to message>
gfxbootbootlogo (cpio)gfxboot <path to bootlogo>
or
gfxboot=<path to bootlogo>
LILOlilo.conf bitmap*.bmpbitmap <path to *.bmp>
or
bitmap=<path to *.bmp>
messagemessage (pcx)message <path to message>
or
message=<path to message>

Image Constraints

Boot LoaderImage SizeNo of ColorsFile Size
LILO640 x 480 pixels255??
GRUB640 x 480 pixels255??
Syslinux640 x 480 pixels255??
Isolinux640 x 480 pixels255??

Saturday, June 7, 2008

My Linux Notes

Frequently used commands
cat /proc/asound/modules
cat /proc/asound/cards
aplay -l
chmod a+rwx
rpm -qpil {filename}.rpm
mount 
umount
autoexec=xconf;kdm
./configure && make
make install
modprobe {modulename}
Untar commands
tar -yxf {filename}.tar.bz2
tar -xvf {filename}.tar
tar -xvzf {filename}.tar.gz
tar -lxvf
tar -jxvf
Program to remove application in Slackware based distros
pkgtool
removepkg
Program to convert tgz to lzm
tgz2lzm
Installing and uninstalling a program
sudo apt-get install {programname}
sudo apt-get remove {programname}
sudo apt-get --purge remove {programname}
sudo apt-get autoremove {programname}
Path to firefox
/usr/lib/mozilla
/usr/lib/firefox
/usr/lib/mozilla-firefox
Path to fonts
/usr/local/share/fonts
Grub Install
sudo grub
device (hd3) /dev/sda
root (hd3,0)
setup (hd3)
quit
sync
Realplayer Issue
Embedded Realmedia doesn't work with Firefox. The pop-up player opens and keeps loading for ever, but never starts to play.
Path to Realplayer
/usr/local/Realplayer
Open realplayer executable from 
/usr/local/bin/realplay
in text editor and edit the following line
"REALPLAYBIN="/usr/bin/aoss $HELIX_LIBS/realplay.bin"
LD_PRELOAD="$LDPRELOAD:/usr/lib/libaoss.so"
export LD_PRELOAD
Then run the command
sh postinst.sh

Choppy audio I am experiencing choppy audio/video or no audio at all. How do i fix this? RealPlayer currently uses OSS to output sound to the speakers from the sound card. ALSA is an alternative that does the same job for applications in a slighty better way. AOSS is a script for OSS emulation through ALSA. You will need to install the RPM for alsa-oss through Yast or from your media if available. Once you've done that, launch RealPlayer using the following syntax

/usr/bin/aoss RealPlayer.

To make this change permanent, open /usr/bin/realplay in your favorite text editor (an example i use is vi)
vi /usr/bin/realplay

Locate the section in the file that has the following line of text:
REALPLAYBIN=$HELIX_LIBS/realplay.bin and replace it with REALPLAYBIN="/usr/bin/aoss $HELIX_LIBS/realplay.bin" Q. How do i uninstall RealPlayer? Uninstalling an RPM RealPlayer installation: To uninstall, run the following command as root: rpm -e RealPlayer Uninstalling a BIN RealPlayer installation: To uninstall, download and run the following script: https://player.helixcommunity.org/2005/downloads/uninst.sh
The uninstaller script is currently unsupported. Use it at your own risk. No Audio Issue
Type
alsamixer
Scroll using the right arrow key to "External Amplifier". Mute or Unmute using the "M" button in keyboard.

/usr/bin/aoss
audio/x-pm-windows-acm
audio/x-wav
sudo convert -resize 640×480 -colors 14 7samurai1.jpg splashimage.xpm
sudo gzip splashimage.xpm

convert -resize 640×480 -colors 14 wallpaper.png splashimage.xpm && gzip splashimage.xpm

convert -resize 640x480 -colors 14 wallpaper.png splashimage.xpm && gzip splashimage.xpm


http://www.slax.org/forum.php?action=view&parentID=8629

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

I wonder what do they do now?

These once a flick "stars" are nowhere to be found now. I wonder where are they now, what do they do now, how do they make their livelihood?

Actors:
Armaan Kohli
Atul Agnihotri (Sir fame)
Avinash Wadhwan (Mera Ka Mohan fame)
Ayub Khan (Mashooq fame)
Boy Mukherjee (Son of Joy Mukherjee)
Deepak Tijori (Ashiqui fame)
Faisal Khan (Mela fame)
Harish (Prem Quaidi fame)
Jas Arora (Dushman fame)
Jugal Hansraj (Papa Kehte Hain fame)
Kamal Sadanah (Bekhudi fame)
Karan Kapoor (Bombay Dyeing fame)
Kishan Kumar (Bewafa Sanam fame)
Kumar Gaurav (Love Story fame)
Kunal Goswami
Mukul Dev (Darar fame)
Prithwi (Dil Ka Kya Kasoor fame)
Puru Rajkumar (Bal Bhramachari fame)
Rahul Roy (Ashiqui fame)
Rajeev Goswami (Son of Manoj Goswami)
Rohit Roy ( Ronit Roy (Jaan Tere Naam fame)
Sanjay Kapoor (Raja fame)
Tariq (Yaadon Ki Baraat fame)
Vicky Arora (Yaalgaar fame)
Vivek Mushran (Saudagar fame)

Actresses:
Anjala Zaveri
Anu Agarwal (Ashiqui fame)
Anu Goel
Ashwini Bhave
Mayuri (Papa Kehte Hain fame)
Neha (Kareeb fame)
Pooja Batra (Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak fame)
Priya Gill (Tere Mere Sapne fame)
Ritu Shiv Puri
Sanjana Kapoor (Hero Hiralaal fame)
Zeba Bakhtiyaar (Henna fame)

Monday, April 14, 2008

Tax Fundas for Non Resident Indian Citizens in US

Tax Calendar Year = 1st January - 31st December
Tax Filing Deadline = 15th April
Penalty for not filing by deadline (a) Late filing penalty (b) Failure to pay dues (if you owe money to IRS)
Non resident alien status = F1 for 5 years
Resident alien = H1B for the whole tax calendar year, F1 for more than 5 years
Dual alien status = F1/OPT plus H1B for more than 181 days in the same tax calendar year

1) Exempted from FICA (Social Security & Medicare) Taxes for a period of 5 years
2) F1 is a non resident till a period of 5 years
3) Non resident need to fill in Forms 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ
4) India US tax treaty Article 21(2) entitles them a standard deduction of $3400 and personal deduction of $5300
5) Taxable income = Gross income - 3400 - 5300
6) Tax on your taxable income = See table 8 IRS Pub 519
7) Incorrect filing (form or amount) affects the process in Green Card processing
8) If there is mistake in filing you could file for a correction back to a maximum of 3 years of filing by using form 1040X
9) If a student is on F1 for more than 5 years or on H1B in the calendar year for taxation (1st January - 31st December) he/she is considered a resident alien and needs to file form 1040 or 1040A or 1040A-EZ
10) If a student is on F1/OPT and on H1B for more than 181 days in the calendar year of taxation, he/she is considered dual status and needs to file 1040NR as well as 1040
11) If you have incurred moving expenses not borne by employer, it is fully deductible

Friday, March 21, 2008

Access Linux Partitions from Windows

ProgramTypeFile System Types File AccessPriceComment
Ext2FsdDriverExt2, Ext3Read, WriteFreeBest
Ext2 Installable File System for WindowsDriverExt2, Ext3Read, WriteFreeBad
Ext2 IFSDriverExt2, Ext3Read OnlyFreeBad
Explore2fsProgramExt2, Ext3Read OnlyFreeGood
Virtual VolumesProgramExt2, Ext3, ReiserFS, LVMView OnlyFreeBad
Ext2FS AnywhereDriverExt2, Ext3Read, WriteCommercialBetter

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

HTML code examples

HTML Line Breaks
Use the <br /> tag if you want a line break (a new line) without starting a new paragraph.
Even if <br> works in all browsers, writing <br /> instead is more future proof.

Mailto Links
<a href="mailto:staraphd@gmail.com">Mailto Test Without Subject </a>
Mailto Test Without Subject
<a href="mailto:staraphd@gmail.com?subject=Testing Mailto Links">Mailto Test With Subject </a>
Mailto Test With Subject

Code Box as in forums
<p style="border:2px inset;width:300px">www.smashitsusa.com</p>

www.smashitsusa.com

Create tables
<table border="1">
<tr><th align="center"> Bold Heading</th><th align="center">Bold Heading</th></tr>
<tr align="center">
<td>(1,1)</td><td>(1,2)</td></tr>
<tr align="center">
<td>(2,1)</td><td>(2,2)</td></tr></table>

Bold HeadingBold Heading
(1,1)(1,2)
(2,1)(2,2)

Combine Rows
Bold HeadingBold Heading
Combined (1,1) & (2,1)(1,2)
(2,2)

Combine Columns
Bold HeadingBold Heading
Combined (1,1) & (1,2)
(2,1)(2,2)

Hyperlink to open in a new window/tab
<a href="http://www.staraphd.blogspot.com" target="_blank">http://www.staraphd.blogspot.com</a>
http://www.staraphd.blogspot.com

Insert Images
To insert images from image hosting sites use the "direct link to image" and the following code
<img src="http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/1501/xpaudiocontrollersettinpb8.jpg" />

In a table, add a non-breaking space (&nbsp;) to empty data cells, to make the borders visible
To display HTML code in an HTML document, replace the (<) with (&lt;) (less than) and (>) with (&gt;) (greater than).
If you want to display <>,replace only one of the symbols with corresponding (&lt;) or (&gt;)
To display (&) ampersand in an HTML document use (&amp;).

References:
http://www.w3schools.com

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Easiest way to load songs to your Toshiba Gigabeat Mp3 player

Myths:
1) The only way to load songs into Gigabeat is either using their crappy Gigaroom software or by synchronizing it with Windows Media Player 10.

2)The Mp3's that are loaded into the Gigabeat are encrypted. So they can't be copied back onto your PC.

These myths make it seem that you just cant use the Gigabeat as a normal Hard Drive, where you could create new folders, browse the Mp3's, delete, copy & paste them to your PC.

Well the fact is, YOU CAN!!

Connect your Gigabeat to your PC through the cradle and use it in Windows Media Player mode and you can do all the above without the use of any software.

Steps:
1) Connect the power adapter to the cradle
2) Power on the Gigabeat and put it in the cradle. The PC connections settings should be in the "gigabeat room" mode and not in "Windows Media Player 10" mode
3) Connect the usb cable from the cradle to the PC
4) Push the switch from line out to USB in the cradle
5) The PC would install the necessary drivers and wold appear as "GIGABEAT" drive in "My Computer"
6) Open the drive and you can see all the Mp3's intact as Mp3's
7) To delete Mp3's just select the Mp3's and right click and delete
8) To add Mp3's..select them in your PC and copy (not cut) and paste them to your Gigabeat
9) To create a folder with Mp3's, create that folder and add the Mp3's in your PC first (make subfolders, put more Mp3's and do whatever way you want). Now just copy (not cut) and paste it in the Gigabeat.
10) When everything is done, left click on "Removable Disk" icon and remove it. Unplug the USB cable from your PC.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

ASCII character set

Alt+0 = � Alt+1 =  Alt+2 =  Alt+3 =  Alt+4 =  Alt+5 =  Alt+6 =  Alt+7 =  Alt+8 =  Alt+9 = Alt+10 = Alt+11 = Alt+12 = Alt+13 = Alt+14 =  Alt+33 = ! Alt+999 = ϧ

How to add bullet points in Notepad

Ever wondered how to make bullet points in Notepad?
Well here is the way. Press & hold Alt button and enter any of the numbers below from the numeric keypad at the extreme right of your keyboard (not the number keys below the function buttons), then release the Alt button.

4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 175, 249, 250, 254, 0149

You will get different styles of bullets depending on the number you choose. Choose whichever style suits you. Your font setting in Notepad would also affect which kind of bullet style appear upon entering the above numbers in your Notepad document.

Monday, January 7, 2008

How To Take Screenshot Thumbnails Of Videos At Specific Intervals

http://www45.brinkster.com/antworkz/media/Image_Grabber.zip
http://www45.brinkster.com/antworkz/media/ImageGrabberII.zip
http://midocus.net/download.aspx?download=ImageGrabberII_NET.zip
http://gixli.aowc.net/user/59305/Image%20Grabber.NET.zip
http://www45.brinkster.com/antworkz/

Sunday, January 6, 2008

How To Create Password Protected Rar Archives

Rar files have 128 bit encryption which is extremely difficult to break. There are two types of password protection in rar archives.

Type I - You can open the rar archive and view the contents or individual files, but to extract the individual files you will need the password.
Type II - You cannot open the rar archive without the password, hence cannot even view the contents or individual files without the password.

Here I will show you how to create these two types of rar archives.
Open Winrar and click on Wizard. Select "Create a new archive".



Press "Next".



Select the files to be added to the archive and press "OK".
Give the desired name for the archive



Press "Next".



Now the most important step. Press "Set password".



For Type I rar archive follow the steps below.
For Type II rar archive Tick "Encrypt file names".

Here you can set the password in two ways.
1) Set password will be in asterisks. You cannot see the set password, hence you will need to enter it twice for confirmation.
For this just enter the password you want to set twice.



2) Set password can be seen, hence it needs to be entered only once.
For this Tick "Show password" and enter the password you want to set only once.



Press "OK". You will return to the following window.



Click "Finish". Your password protected rar archive will be created in your Desktop.

Type I rar archive will open. It will show an asterisk just beside the files indicating that it will need password to extract the files.



Type II rar archive will need the password even to open the archive.

Install Common Application Efficiently & Save System Resources

Most of the applications or softwares come with default installation settings. These settings in a majority of cases are not efficient for the overall running of the application thereby consuming lot of system resources. So, if you are like me who likes applications to run with the minimum amount of system memory or resources without caring too much on eye-candy, then follow these guidelines.

Yahoo Messenger

During Installation of Yahoo Messenger you will get the following window



Click on "Custom Install" and use the settings as shown in the image below



Press Next, Next in the following windows and complete the installation. After installation is complete, log on and use the following settings

Goto Messenger -> Show/Hide -> Uncheck everything
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> General -> Untick everything
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> Appearence -> Change Skin->Select Classic
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> Display Image -> Untick everything
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> Live Words -> Untick everything
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> Messages -> Untick "Enable IMVironments"
Goto Messenger -> Preferences -> Privacy -> Tick ONLY "Show me as "IDLE" if I don't use the computer for" and "Showing my webcam, and display this message;"
Press "Apply" and "OK"

CCleaner

During Installation of CCleaner you will get the following window. Use the settings as shown in the image below



Press Next, Next in the following windows and complete the installation. After installation is complete, use the following settings

Goto CCleaner -> Windows -> Tick all the items
You may get a similar pop-ups while you try to tick the items under "Advanced".



Just press OK to all of them.
Goto CCleaner -> Applications -> Tick all the items
Goto Options -> Settings -> Untick all the items
Goto Options -> Advanced -> Tick ONLY "Close program after cleaning"

Firefox

During Installation of Firefox you will get the following window.



Select Custom

In the next Window, Untick both the items.



Next you will come across the following window. Use the setting as shown in the image below



Press Next, Next in the following windows and complete the installation. After installation is complete, Goto Tools -> Options and use exactly the following settings.







Next Right click on a empty space in the Menu Bar and select "Customize". You will get the following window.



Drag and drop the "Google Search Bar" from the right of the "Address Bar" to the "Customize Window". Drag and drop "New Tab" from the "Customize Window" to the left of the green "Back Button" on the "Address Bar".
Put a tick on "Use Small Icons". Press Done.

Irfanview

During Installation of Irfanview you will get the following window. Use the settings as in the image



Next you will get the following window. Click on "Images Only".



In the next Window use the settings as shown in the image below



Press Next, Next in the following windows and complete the installation.

Winrar

During Installation of Winrar you will get the following window. Use the settings as shown in the image below



Press Next, Next in the following windows and complete the installation. After installation goto Options -> Settings and use the settings as shown in the image below