Google Reader gets an update, more Feed Actions !

Google Reader shows more contextual actions for each feed. Now you can rename the feed's title and change the tags without going to the settings. And if you do go to the settings, Google Reader Team says everything will load faster.

If you subscribe to a feed, you'll see a text that says: "You have subscribed to [this feed]. Add to a folder." Hopefully, all your feeds will be categorized. (And hopefully, someone will decide between tags, folders and labels.)
The new features were available last week for a while, but some problems with Internet Explorer 6 caused a roll back until they were fixed.

If you have suggestions for Google Reader, check this wiki at Google Groups.

Picasa 2.6 Build 35.65 relased !!

Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC. Every time you open Picasa, it automatically locates all your pictures (even ones you forgot you had) and sorts them into visual albums organized by datewise.

Download at, http://picasa.google.com

Google closes Google Answers !!!

Ask a question. Set your price. Get your answer. That is what Google Answers is all about. I was surprised to read that Google Answers is Shutting Down. They are not accepting any new questions and will stop accepting new Answers to questions by the end of the year.

“Google Answers was a great experiment which provided us with a lot of material for developing future products to serve our users. We’ll continue to look for new ways to improve the search experience and to connect people to the information they want.”

Though there are several knowledge groups, niche forums and ask an expert sites online, Google Answers team had over 500 carefully screened researchers (experts on every subject) who answer your question for as little as $2.50 and usually within 24 hours. The answers were usually well researched with links to find the answer you were looking for. Since you paid for the answers, your satisfaction was completely guaranteed. These Frequently Asked Questions will tell you all about the service.

Meanwhile Yahoo Answers is taking big strides, organizing contests, and you can even find Oprah asking questions there. It is sad to see Google Answers is signing out of the web…

Free Disposable Email Address Expires in 10 Minutes

10 Minute Mail provides you a temporary email address for 10 minutes only. Any e-mails sent to that address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them, click on links, and even reply to them till the email address expires after 10 minutes.

“Why would you use this? Maybe you want to sign up for a site which requires that you provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe you don’t want to give up your real e-mail address and end up on a bunch of spam lists. This is nice and disposable. And it’s free.”

Now that is a truly disposable email address. Just click on the link and you get an autogenerated email address like
mail80131@10minutemail.com
which you can use for ten minutes. If you are stuck with a slow internet connection, or need more time, you can click to ask for 10 more minutes and extend it till you require it…

Major Update in Google Spreadsheets

Google Spreadsheets continues to be surprising and miles ahead of the other half of the package, Google Docs. This is probably the biggest update since the product has been launched.
Now you can publish a spreadsheets in every imaginable format (HTML, PDF, XLS, ODS, CSV) or as a feed. What's great is that the file is automatically updated, so you'll be almost certain that someone gets the latest version. You can also publish all the sheets or only some of them. But the coolest thing you can do is to embed a spreadsheet into your blog or site. The spreadsheet you can see here shows the top 20 queries for this blog's search from April 1st until yesterday.

Google Spreadsheets shows you all the revisions of a spreadsheets, so it's easy to go back to an earlier version. And there are two new functions that use information from the web:

• GoogleFinance("symbol", "attribute") that returns information about a stock. GoogleFinance("GOOG", "price") returns the current price for GOOG.
  
• GoogleLookup("entity", "attribute") that returns answers to simple questions like: population of Italy, Jay Leno's date of birth, that usually appear at the top of search results in Google.com. GoogleLookup("Italy", "population") will return the population of Italy.
  

Don't forget to place an equal in front of the function name.

Mystery of Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is one of the wonders of the World.It is a mausoleum built by Shah Jehan for his beloved wife.However there is a deep thinking about the concept, design and artistry of Taj. This BBC documentary tells the story of one of the world’s most beautiful and recognizable structures, the Taj Mahal.

Built by Shah Jahan, Muslim ruler of the wealthy and sophisticated Mughal Empire in India, the mausoleum was dedicated to his favorite wife and constant companion, Arjumand Banu Begum. The construction of the Taj Mahal took from 1632 to 1654. A council of architects from India, Persia, and Turkey designed it; 20,000 workers labored daily for 22 years to build it. Made of marble, the Taj Mahal is decorated with geometric designs and verses from the Koran written in fine calligraphy.

A Tribute to Beauty.

As a tribute to a beautiful woman and as a monument for enduring love, the Taj reveals its subtleties when one visits it without being in a hurry. The rectangular base of Taj is in itself symbolic of the different sides from which to view a beautiful woman. The main gate is like a veil to a woman’s face which should be lifted delicately, gently and without haste on the wedding night. In indian tradition the veil is lifted gently to reveal the beauty of the bride. As one stands inside the main gate of Taj, his eyes are directed to an arch which frames the Taj.

The dome is made of white marble, but the tomb is set against the plain across the river and it is this background that works its magic of colours that, through their reflection, change the view of the Taj. The colours change at different hours of the day and during different seasons. Like a jewel, the Taj sparkles in moonlight when the semi-precious stones inlaid into the white marble on the main mausoleum catch the glow of the moon. The Taj is pinkish in the morning, milky white in the evening and golden when the moon shines. These changes, they say, depict the different moods of woman.

Different people have different views of the Taj but it would be enough to say that the Taj has a life of its own that leaps out of marble, provided you understand that it is a monument of love. As an architectural masterpiece, nothing could be added or substracted from it.

Google's Ranking Algorithm

Many people have tried to find how Google ranks web pages. While the algorithm is still secret and in continuous change, we know it uses more than 200 signals, one of the most important being PageRank.

As Google explains... "the heart of our software is PageRank, a system for ranking web pages developed by our founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. And while we have dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect of Google on a daily basis, PageRank continues to provide the basis for all of our web search tools."

Compiling the opinions of webmasters, search engine optimizers and Google's explanation, Google Ranking Factors - SEO Checklist is a long list of positive and negative factors that may influence a page's ranking. While the list contains a lot of interesting observations and suggestions, you should take everything with a grain of salt.

See this guy !! dont try to do that on your body!!!

God's amazing creation, isnt it?

Something secret !!!

GFXFMNC16191736
http://jigar-mehta.blogspot.com/2006/11/something-secret.html

Where should I find acronyms !!!

Many a times i have found the problem where, I get confused with some acronyms and search here and there (of course, google helps a lot !!) to find the exact meaning, and solution to that, today I found a site which can help a lot !!

http://www.acronymfinder.com

Find acronym for whatever you want !!!

Want to convert your own XP to Vista without doing vista setup? Read here..

Want to convert your own XP to Vista without doing vista setup? Read here..
http://namhuy.org/2006/11/25/vista-transformation-pack-6-rc1-is-released/ 

Its really cool, i tested it.. gives look close to vista !!

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 due in Q3 2007 !!

Longhorn Server RTM/ Windows Vista SP1 RTM

Originally Planned : Second half of 2006/first half of 2007 (Client RTM + 6 to 9 months) ......... so expecting it in Q3 2007 ;)

• GPMC Integration
  • GPMC is the one-stop shop for managing Group Policy (has been our recommendation for almost 3 years)
  • Why Integrate GPMC Into The Operating System? The perception is…
    • -“It’s just a little utility”
    • “Great, but it’s not part of the Operating System”
    • “What’s GPMC?”
• Will be available on client and server – no need to download/install
• No major feature updates; Just bug fixes and localization
• Some feature updates will be available in “Longhorn” Server (Vista SP1)

Want to send some suggestions to gmail?

Here is the link where you can submit your suggestions for gmails !! I have filed some.. 

Link to Gmail suggestions page

SearchMash Remixes Search Results

Remixing the search results might be the answer for a better search engine. SearchMash, Google's playground, has been updated and now includes results from blog search and video search, which are displayed on-demand in the right sidebar. Now when you choose to see the results from a certain type of search, you can still view the top results from the other search types.

While Google's experiments are interesting, I think a better idea would be to integrate other search flavors into the main index and enable them if the query is appropriate.

Google Puts Ads on the Map

Ads on maps !! Where will google stop !!

There are new ads on Google Maps. Until now you could see sponsored links similar to the ones from web search, that sent you to a web page. But this new breed of ads is visible on the map and also has a distinctive icon. When clicked on the ad from the left sidebar, Google shows you information about the business and locates it on the map.

While they have different icons and there's a clear label for "sponsored links", organic search results and paid results are treated the same.

Source: Google Puts Ads on the Map
Originally published on Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:28:00 GMT by noemail@noemail.org (Ionut Alex. Chitu)

What would happen, If Google Didn't Exist...

• Our mail account would still have 2MB or 4MB of storage and we would be happy about that.
  
• We would find a mail by manually reviewing each subject and sender.
  
• We would pay for software like Picasa, Keyhole (now Google Earth), Sketchup.
  
• Many startups would not exist without Google AdSense, so there would be less innovation.
  
• Opera would still be shareware and ad-supported.
  
• Our homepage would be a portal, or about:blank.
  
• Our search engines would be cluttered, would mix ads with organic results and wouldn't care about the users.
  
• We wouldn't look for a search bar in every site.
  
• We would think beta software is just for the testers and it's dangerous.
  
• Tchnology news would be less exciting.

Preview Gmail Conversations inline !!

Mihai Parparita from Google created a brilliant Greasemonkey script last year. The script lets you right-click on a Gmail conversation and get a preview in a bubble. This way, you can read your mails faster, especially if you only want to read some of them.

The new Yahoo Mail and Windows Live Mail have a reading pane where you can preview your messages, but that takes a lot of space. This solution has the advantage that it's available on demand.

I know this is far from being new, but I've always wanted this feature in Gmail.

Greasemonkey details:
You need to have Greasemonkey in Firefox or Trixie in IE
Then install the script

CodeRoom : Episode 3

In this episode of The Code Room a small group of rogue hackers finds its way into the systems for High Roller Player's Club at the famous Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas Nevada. When the Casino finds out they call in the "A Team" to get to the bottom of this. Watch the games as the Black Hats go for high stakes against the White Hats and the games unfold in this episode.

• Episode 2
• Episode 1
  

Download the Video
Watch the Video

Windows XP Easter Egg Hidden Secret Trick

 Dont know, how many ester eggs are there hidden in these products :-)

If you’re using Windows XP operating system, try this little hidden and secret trick which reveals sort of easter egg or bug by using Notepad.

1. Open Notepad by clicking on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Notepad.
2. Type “bush hid the facts” or “this fun hit video” (without quotes and do not hit Return or Enter key, either one will work, but not both).
3. Save the file by clicking on File then Save. You can put any filename to the saved text file in .txt
4. Close the Notepad.
5. Open again the saved text file by relaunch Notepad and clicking on File then Open and choose the saved document, or simply double click on the saved text file from Windows Explorer.
6. Check what happen to the text that you have just typed.

You will see the text of “bush hid the facts” or “this fun hit video” has been changed to small square or some weird and funny Chinese characters if you have installed East Asian languages support.

Source: Windows XP Easter Egg Hidden Secret Trick » My Digital Life

How To Bypass The Zune’s WiFi Sharing DRM

Zune WiFi Sharing DRM is bypassed !! Matter of concern for content owners !!

 Check this out and use it while you can. How long before Microsoft issue a patch to “fix” this?

We knew it would be done sooner or later, and now that we have the mod to use your Zune as a portable hard drive, a method to bypass the Zune’s WiFi sharing DRM is finally here.

Source: Gizmodo

Technorati tags: Gizmondo, Microsoft, Zune, DRM

Source: How To Bypass The Zune’s WiFi Sharing DRM
Originally published on Sat, 25 Nov 2006 19:00:22 GMT by Gary

What's a SQL Injection Bug?

Worth knowing!! 

I tried to sign up for an online site.

The signup page wanted a secret question and secret answer. For the secret question, I put “what is aunt Vera's cat's color”. It complained about the apostrophe in the question. OK, fine. I deleted that apostrophe.

For the secret answer, I put “Aunt Vera doesn't have a cat.”

And I got this:

1064: You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 't have a cat', 'male')' at line 1

This means that the programmers are in the habit of taking strings that they got from the user (i.e. GET or POST parameters) and concatenating them together with other bits and pieces of SQL to generate SQL statements.

For example, in PHP with PostgreSQL:

$x = pg_query("select * from accounts where name='" . $_GET["name"] . "'");

(For non-PHP programmers: “.” is the string concatenation operator).

I'm not surprised that they are in the habit of doing this; a lot of programming books, tutorials, and documentation use examples like this.

Unfortunately it's a gigantic security hole called SQL injection.

The user, if malicious, can close the string that you opened, finish your select statement, put in a semicolon (the SQL statement separator), and then type any SQL code they want, and it will run.

So, for example, if the user supplies this as name:

foo'; delete from accounts --

... the SQL statement executed will be:

select * from accounts where name='foo'; delete from accounts --'

... which will do exactly what it looks like: it will delete the entire table of accounts.

This is an extremely common problem: Michael Sutton did a little research project and found that 11.3% of web applications have SQL injection vulnerabilities.

Not loving your job? Visit the Joel on Software Job Board: Great software jobs, great people.

Source: What's a SQL Injection Bug?
Originally published on Wed, 01 Nov 2006 17:21:37 GMT by Joel Spolsky

Gritwire - A Set of useful Tools for People who use the Web Daily

 Give it a try !!

Gritwire Is web based desktop alike that provide you with some nice tools to help you organize your feeds,content and other daily reading all into one place.
On Gritwire tool set you'll find:

• SpeedFeed Reader - Organize feeds into folders, read and save content, or rate feeds and feed items.
• Inbox - When you getting an invite from a friend or a recommendation to a feed you'll be notified through your inbox.
• Gritcast Player - Play Podcasts or Videocasts in Gritwire media player.
• QuickLinks - Add your favorite links, organize them into folders.
• Wikis - Use wikis to track notes or whatever information you'll want easily accessible. (you can easily share or edit them later with your friends)

Gritwire screenshots:



Sign up free.

Source: Gritwire - A Set of useful Tools for People who use the Web Daily
Originally published on Sat, 25 Nov 2006 19:04:13 GMT by Orli Yakuel

Do You Like the Office 2007 UI?

Its nice that we can use the office 2007 UI without paying any royalty in our software too !! 

Yep, me too. But did you know you can get a royalty free license to use that UI in your own software? No? Well pop over to Jensen Harris’ blog and find out more.

Technorati tags: Microsoft, Office 2007, UI, License

Source: Do You Like the Office 2007 UI?
Originally published on Thu, 23 Nov 2006 10:18:50 GMT by Gary

Orcas December CTP will replace ADO.NET with LINQ

Another significant information I wanted to share with you is, Orcas December CTP is going to replace ADO.NET with LINQ. About LINQ,

The LINQ Project is a codename for a set of extensions to the .NET Framework that encompass language-integrated query, set, and transform operations. It extends C# and Visual Basic with native language syntax for queries and provides class libraries to take advantage of these capabilities.

Read more about LINQ here

Read more about Orcas December CTP information here

Looking for google job in India? No worries..

Many people are studying hard with one clear objective - to get a job at Google India. They love Google and wants to work at Google only. Maybe they are inspired by these top 10 reasons to work for Google, TIME photo essay on life in the Googleplex or pics of the new New York Mini Googleplex.

Anyway, Google India offers several job opportunities. The fine print at bottom reads that Google does not accept recruitment agency resumes and Google seeks to hire only the best.

“At Google, our strategy is simple: we hire great people and encourage them to make their dreams a reality. We believe in hard work, a fun atmosphere, and the sort of creativity that only comes about when talented people from diverse backgrounds approach problems from varying perspectives.”

Googlers love their jobs, especially with all the Google India employment benefits. Beside the usual paid vacations, there are some good offers on Mediclaim Insurance (cash hospitalization benefits), Life Insurance, Business Travel Accident (BTA) and Personal Accident Insurance. Read more about life at Google Bangalore.

Though, if I compare benefits at Google India with My Microsoft, I think I have something more !!

BTW you can even get a Google job on the moon!

What is a trackback ??

Today, while surfing internet in my idle time, i came across the word trackback (on few blogs) and I thought its good to give some time and find out what this word exactly mean and how it works technically.

So, after half an hour of research, my understanding says, "Trackback" is to link back other reference articles which might give more information or which articles/blogs you have referred while writing this blog post.

More information about trackback can be found on following link,

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trackback
• http://www.cruftbox.com/cruft/docs/trackback.html - Very good one !!

Good, isnt it?

Have got a cool feature you want to suggest to GMail Team?

Is it that while using GMail so frequently you have got a feature that you want to suggest to GMail team? Dont worry, I was also searching for such link where I can try to make GMail even more better !!

Go here,
https://services.google.com/inquiry/gmail_suggest/

And tell them as much as you can.. on the right side, you can even see what all suggestions they have already made it into GMail, may be you can get your own feature in next version of GMail !!!

Want to check if the email was sent only to you or whole group? GMail has that functionality..

Gmail displays arrows, or 'personal level indicators,' next to messages in your inbox so you can tell if a message was addressed to you, a group, or a mailing list. A single arrow (>) appears next to a message when it is sent to you, and a group of others. Double arrows (>>) indicate that a message is addressed only to you. Arrows won't appear next to messages sent to a mailing list.

Here's how to enable personal level indicators:

• Log in to your Gmail account.


• Click 'Settings' at the top of any Gmail page.


• Select 'Show indicators' in the 'Personal level indicators:' section, and click 'Save Changes.' (If you'd like to disable personal level indicators, just select 'No indicators' and click 'Save Changes.')

College student creates Paper based storage system where single paper can store 450 GB data !!

24-year-old Sainul Abideen thinks he's come up with an alternative to CDs and other data storage options that'll allow for greater storage capacities and be cheaper and biodegradable to boot, using a fancy printing technique he's devised to cram loads of data onto a plain old sheet of paper. The trick is to first convert the data into a so-called "Rainbow Format," which is made up of various geometric shapes that can be densely printed onto a sheet of paper; that can then be read by a computer or other device using a Rainbow Card Reader. From the sound of it, the system appears to be somewhat similar to QR Codes and other newfangled bar code-type technologies currently in use in parts of the world other than here, but Abideen's "Rainbow Versitile Disc" can apparently store far more amounts of data than those -- between 90 and 450GB, according to The Arab News. Demonstrations of the technology, however, seem to have only shown much smaller amounts of data being Rainbowfied, including a 45 second video clip and 432 pages of "foolscrap" being stored on a four-inch square piece of paper. Still pretty darn impressive if you ask us, and it sure looks a heckuva lot better hanging on a wall than a CD.

Really revolutionary, isn't it?

Calgoo, Desktop tool for managing Google Calendar !@!

Freeware program Calgoo offers desktop integration with your Google Calendar, meaning, most significantly, that you don't need to be online to view or schedule upcoming events.

Read more here

Login through multiple GMail accounts in GTalk !!

If you’ve got many Gmail accounts and don’t want to keep logging on and off them every time you switch, a simple command line parameter in the Google Talk shortcut can solve your problem.

• First, create one copy of the Google Talk shortcut on your desktop - leave the original intact.
• Right click on this shortcut and choose Properties. The Target box will show you the path of the EXE for Google Talk - something like “C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe”
• Change this to: “C:\Program Files\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe” /nomutex

and click OK.

Now you can login with as many gmail accounts as you like. Hurray..!!

Google Book gets upgrade !!

Google Book Search has a completely new interface that uses AJAX. Unlike before, you can read a book without clicking on the "next page" button. You can just use the scrollbar or the arrow keys, like in Adobe Reader. There are new options: zoom in, zoom out that increase / decrease the size of the text in a book, and there's even a full screen mode.

The table of contents is displayed in the right sidebar, so it's easy to go to another section. Searching inside a book is much faster, as the results are displayed without reloading the page.

Google offers for each book a dedicated page (like this one) where you can find the description, related books, references from books and scholarity works and some key terms that may help you discover other interesting books.

Now you can actually read books in Google Book Search (of course, if copyright laws allow you).

Happy birthday Windows !! Microsoft Windows is 21 year old today !!

Website Connected Internet has a great article on today’s birthday for Microsoft Windows - celebrating 21 years. Microsoft Windows 1.0 was released on November 20th, 1985.

They have some interesting trivia questions (21 to be exact) on Microsoft Windows over the years such as how Bill Gates originally wanted to name Windows something else: “Interface Manager”. I agree that I’m glad they chose Windows :-)

I can’t say I’ve been using Windows since day 1 unfortunately but have been using it since the days of Windows 3.1 and have enjoyed seeing Windows progress into what we have today - Windows Vista, an ultimate product. I certainly can’t wait to see what Microsoft has up their sleeve for improvements to Vista as well as their goals for the next version of Windows. There is a high level of excitement regarding future development of Windows. Microsoft has new management coming in to lead the next version (Jim Allchin is due to retire once Vista ships) who need to figure out what the next steps for Windows will be. With the next version be a point release like XP was from Windows 2000 (XP was Version 5.1, Windows 2000 was Version 5). Or will the next release be a full version release - Windows Version 7.0?

But let’s look at Windows Vista in the “here and now” - Vista is a operating system developed and designed so that Microsoft can continue to improve the user experience over time through Windows Update and Ultimate Extras. Windows Vista RTM’d earlier this month but Microsoft still has some surprises for consumers when it hits the market in late January.

I have not gone anywhere !! I'm here only !!

Got stranged after not seeing any blog posts for many days !! Thinking I have gone somewhere? Nope, I am here only !!

Due to some technical problems (in my Google account), I was not able to blog.. After communicating with Google a lot of times, have got my account back !! So, from tomorrow, everything regular !!

Many things has happened in last few days, hope you are aware of them !!

Click to call project deployed, can also be misused !!

Google finished rolling out their click-to-call functionality on Google Maps today, but after reading an article on Valleywag about how to prank call other people with the service, I got thinking about how else the service could be abused.  Although it's almost certainly against the terms and conditions, the new feature could theoretically allow users to make free long distance phone calls to any North American number.

Since every business listing on Google Maps has the "click-to-call" feature enabled, the only thing you need to do is get listed.  Now instead of dialing a long distance phone number on your phone, you "dial" it through your own business listing on Google Maps.

What can Google do to prevent this from happening?  Honestly, I don't think there is a solution unless Google starts charging businesses to have the "click-to-call" feature enabled.  But with Microsoft Live Local providing the same feature at no cost, there isn't much chance that will happen any time soon.

Vote to get XBox 360 in just $100..

Go to Amazon.com they are having a vote. And if enough people vote for it, they will be selling 1,000 of these guys at $100. keep in mind these are core systems, but josh, that is cool. Well, get to clicking!

Image test.. !!!

Implementing new method for image blogging from today !! So, testing that .. Test Blog.. !!

Avaya buys software company Traverse

Avaya Inc., a business telecommunications equipment provider, said Thursday that it has acquired Traverse Networks, a privately held company that makes software for mobile phones.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Traverse, based in Fremont, Calif., focuses on software that enables users to manage office voice mail through their mobile phone, Avaya said.

Avaya also said that it plans to release products that include Traverse's technology in the second half of 2007.

Shares of Avaya dropped 33 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $13.05 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

What the hack is .NET Remoting?

If you have ever worked with DCOM or CORBA, then you have an understanding of how to work with Remote Objects and how to deal with application communications across boundaries. .NET Remoting is Microsoft’s new infrastructure that provides a rich set of classes that allow developers to ignore most of the complexities of deploying and managing remote objects. In .NET Remoting, calling methods on remote objects is nearly identical to calling local methods. Here, I give a very brief introduction about .NET Remoting. Remoting is a framework built into the common language runtime (CLR) that can be used to build sophisticated distributed applications and network services. When a client creates an instance of a remote object, it receives a Proxy to the class instance on the server. All methods called on the Proxy will automatically be forwarded to the remote class and any results will be returned to the client. From the client's perspective, this process is no different than making a local call. To use .NET remoting to build an application in which two components communicate directly across an application domain boundary, you need to build only the following: A remotable object. A host application domain to listen for requests for that object. A client application domain that makes requests for that object. Even in a complex, multiclient/multiserver application, .NET remoting can be thought of in this way. The host and the client application must also be configured with the remoting infrastructure and you must understand the lifetime and activation issues that the remoting infrastructure introduces. Proxy objects. When a client creates an instance of a remote object, it receives a proxy to the class instance on the server. All methods called on the proxy will automatically be forwarded to the remote class and any results will be returned to the client. From the client's perspective, this process is no different than making a local call. Any exceptions thrown by the remote object will automatically be returned to the client. This enables the client to use normal try and catch blocks around sections of the code to trap and deal with exceptions.

Object passing. All objects created remotely are returned by reference and have to derive from MarshallByRefObject. Objects passed as parameters to a remote method call can be forwarded by value or by reference. The default behavior is pass by value provided the object in question is marked by the custom attribute [serializable]. Additionally, the object could implement the ISerializable interface, which provides flexibility in how the object should be serialized and deserialized. Objects that are not marshal by reference or marshal by value are not remotable.

Activation models. Remote objects can easily be created from a client by calling new. The framework contains enough "intelligence" to realize you are dealing with a remote object and will ensure an instance of the object gets created in the relevant remote application. Creating instances of remote objects is not limited to default constructors; you can even do this using a constructor that requires one or more parameters. The Activator class contains two methods, CreateInstance and GetObject, that can also be used to create an instance of remote objects. The former can be used in place of new to create an object instance while the latter is normally used to connect to an object at a specified URL.

Stateless and Stateful objects. The framework makes a provision for creating remote objects as stateless. When an object is configured as SingleCall, it will be created when a method is called on that object. The object processes the call, returns an optional result, and is then collected by the garbage collector. This way the client is always connected to a fresh object with each call. Configuring an object as a Singleton ensures that all clients will be connected to the same object whenever a call is made to that object. ClientActivated objects allow the client to pass parameters to the constructor of a remote object when it gets created. Each activation request for a client activated object (Activator.CreateInstance or new in combination with entries in the configuration file) on the client results in a new object on the server.

Channels and Serialization. When a client calls a method on a remote object, the remoting framework automatically serializes any data associated with the request and transports the data to the remote object using a channel. Some of the more popular channels supported are HTTP, TCP, and SMTP. In the case of HTTP, the framework uses the SOAP protocol to transport data in XML format from the client to the server and back. The default serialization formatter for HTTP is a SOAP formatter. Since programmers can create custom formatters for use with any channel, the remoting framework can be configured to work with any external .NET Framework on other platforms. The TCP channel uses plain sockets and Binary Serialization by default and can be used to communicate with any object on a remote server. Of course, .NET remoting is in itself a full 500 pages book, this is just a starter and can be used generate interest for development. Share your thoughts.

Google Desktop 4.5 Released..

With new sidebar, google released Google Desktop 4.5.

Read more about it here

Microsoft to release two new Windows server technologies

Microsoft has been putting a considerable amount of effort in their server products over the last few years, and have been rewarded with ever-increasing sales in that division. Now, the software giant is trying to build on that momentum, with release candidates for two new server products: Windows PowerShell and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.

Windows PowerShell Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is available for download at Microsoft's site. This "command line on steroids" was formerly known by its codename, Monad, and has been eagerly anticipated by command line fans and server administrators everywhere. At one point, Monad was to be included in Windows Vista itself, but delays forced the product to be unbundled.

PowerShell boasts over 130 command line tools, and runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server "Longhorn" (the server version of Vista, due to ship in the first half of 2007). Microsoft claims that it will make life easier for system administrators, as it allows virtually all aspects of Windows to become scriptable.

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, now in release candidate testing, will be a major upgrade, with enhancements to the Microsoft Management Console, new Windows Deployment Services, extra firewall features, performance enhancements for SQL Server, and improved performance when running the OS under virtualization. The update covers all versions of Windows Server 2003, as well as the x64 version of Windows XP Professional, which was built on the same codebase.

40 things that happens only in movies !!!

• It is always possible to find a parking spot directly outside or opposite the building you are visiting.
• When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a note. Just grab one out at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.
• Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment it's aired.
• Creepy music (or satanic chanting) coming from a graveyard should always be closely investigated.
• Any lock can be picked with a credit card or paperclip in seconds. UNLESS it's the door to a burning building with a child inside.
• If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.
• All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red digital displays so you know exactly when they are going to explode.
  
• Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to learn to speak German. Simply speaking English with a German accent will do. Similarly, when they are alone, all German soldiers prefer to speak English to each other.
  
• Once applied, lipstick will never rub off. Even while scuba diving.
  The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.
  Any police officer about to retire from the force will more often than not die on their last day (especially if their family have planned a party). (Caveat: Detectives can only solve a case after they have been suspended from duty).
  
• Getaway cars never start first go. But all cop cars do. (They will also slide to a dramatic stop in the midst of a crime scene).
  If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises wearing their most revealing underwear.
  
• On a police stake-out, the action will only ever take place when food is being consumed and scalding hot coffees are perched precariously on the dashboard…
  
• All grocery shopping involves the purchase of French loaves which will be placed in open brown paper bags (Caveat: when said bags break, only fruit will spill out).
  
• Cars never need fuel (unless they're involved in a pursuit).
  
• If you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, your opponents will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around you in a threatening manner until you have defeated their predecessor.
  
• If a microphone is turned on it will immediately feedback.
  Guns are like disposable razors. If you run out of bullets, just throw the gun away. you will always find another one.
  
• All single women have a cat.
  
• Cars will explode instantly when struck by a single bullet.
  
• No matter how savagely a spaceship is attacked, its internal gravity system is never damaged.
  
• If being chased through a city you can usually take cover in a passing St Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year.
  
• The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. Nobody will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building undetected.
  
• You will survive any battle in any war UNLESS you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
  
• Prostitutes always look like Julia Roberts or Jamie Lee Curtis. They have expensive clothes and nice apartments but no pimps. They are friendly with the shopkeepers in their neighbourhood who don't mind at all what the girl does for a living.
  
• A single match is usually sufficient to light up a room the size of a football stadium.
  
• It is not necessary to say “Hello” or “Goodbye” when beginning a telephone conversation. A disconnected call can always be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying “Hello? Hello?” repeatedly.
  
• One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all than 20 men firing at once (this is known as Stallone's Law).
  When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in you room will still be visible, just slightly bluish.
  
• Plain or even ugly girls can become movie star pretty simply by removing their glasses and rearranging their hair.
  
• Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their enemies with complicated devices incorporating fuses, pulleys, deadly gases, lasers and man-eating sharks.
  
• All beds have special L-shaped sheets that reach to armpit level on a woman but only up to the waist of the man lying beside her.
  
• Anyone can land a 747 as long as there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.
  
• During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.
  
• You can always find a chainsaw when you need one.
  Most musical instruments (especially wind instruments and accordions) can be played without moving your fingers.
  
• In Middle America, all gas station attendants have red handkerchiefs hanging out of their back pockets.
  
• All teen house parties have one of every stereotypical subculture present (even people who aren't liked and would never get invited to parties).
  Trucks use their horns at random (no hang on, that happens in real life too!).

Hardwork and Luck !! What is what ??

No more code reverse-engineering out of .NET assemblies in future Studio version ???

Microsoft announced this week it is adding an enhanced version of Dotfuscator Community Edition (CE) to the next major release of Microsoft Visual Studio, code-named "Orcas."

The announcement came at the company's EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa sales region) TechEd conference being held in Barcelona, Spain.

Dotfuscator, from PreEmptive Solutions, is a code protection tool that "obfuscates" -- muddles, confuses, obscures -- code so that it cannot be easily reverse engineered by hackers using decompiler tools.

The aim is to make it harder for hackers to break into applications by transforming applications -- renaming identifiers to meaningless characters, obfuscating metadata and altering control flow so that obfuscated .NET code is much harder to understand, according to statements by PreEmptive Solutions.

Dotfuscator CE is an entry-level tool already included in the Professional and Enterprise editions of Visual Studio.NET 2003 and the Standard and Professional editions of Visual Studio 2005 as well as the Architect, Developer, Test and Suite editions of Visual Studio Team System. In order to run, CE requires that Visual Studio also be running. It is targeted at students and freeware authors, the Mayfield Village, Ohio company said.

The upcoming version of Dotfuscator CE to be included with Orcas will feature full integration with Visual Studio, enabling automatic resolution of build dependencies, seamless integration with other post-build processes such as installation script generation, and a consistent means to manage obfuscation artifacts that streamline debugging, patch management and distributed development processes, according to Microsoft.

Lot of things coming up, guys !! Keep watching !!

Google Earth enters into 4th Dimension !!!

Google released an update to Google Earth recently (build 4.0.2416 (beta)), and it contains a bevy of historical maps:

1. World Globe 1790
2. North America 1733
3. United States 1833
4. Lewis and Clark 1814
5. New York 1836
6. Buenos Aires 1892
   
   

and several more. These maps are great for browsing and comparing current locations to older ones.

Following are some of the snaps I could get !!

Enjoy the 4th Dimension !! 

Why was IRAQ invaded ?

This documentry explains the reasons behind the invasion of Iraq. Who planed it, why and how ?

An impressive roster of experts is assembled to provide a generally withering commentary on the quality of evidence and possible motivations of the Neo-conservatives who provided the momentum and muscle behind America’s venture into preemptive war. Among them are veteran CIA analysts and operatives, military officers, diplomats, politicians, arms inspectors, and U.S. and British government officials. The fig leaf of the possibility of an honest mistake on the matter of WMDs is stripped away; what is left is the stark and disturbing anatomy of deliberate deceit.

 

Note: The content presented in this documentary is one of the hypothesis that might be the reason for invasion in IRAQ. The documentary is produced by moveon.org and is currently freely distributed on popular video network - Google Video. No offenses welcomed !!

24 hours radio service !!!

Just came across 24 hours online (through internet) radio service !! Having really good Hindi songs.

Download this file and open in media player (or any other player which support media streaming..)

Tallest man in the world !!!

Look here...

Cool isn't it ?!?

My favorite music theme - X-Files !!!

Here is my favorite music theme !! Have an ear here !!

Yahoo to provide IM services in EMail Web interface...

E-mail was arguably the first killer application of the Internet, but recently it has become somewhat less useful as the war between spammers and antispammers has left some Internet users feeling like innocent victims in a battle between good and evil. The younger generation tends to eschew e-mail in favor of instant messaging. Now, Yahoo has decided to bring the two technologies together for a new version of Yahoo Mail.

Brad Garlinghouse, vice president of communications at Yahoo, said that the reason for the move was to improve the overall user experience, something he claims is lacking from many "Web 2.0" applications. "I would argue that many Web 2.0 applications are already dead," he said. "Web 2.0 as an application is leaving tremendous value on the table for consumers and for us as businesses."

So is the new Yahoo Mail an example of Web 2.5? The company is not the first to have the idea of integrating e-mail and instant messaging. For almost as long as there has been MSN Messenger, Microsoft has enabled access to its contact list within Outlook Express. Google also recently added chat features to its Gmail application. However, the new Yahoo Mail is even more integrated with instant messaging. It does not require any separate instant message program, allowing direct chatting within its web-based interface.

Yahoo and Microsoft recently announced that they would be making their IM services interoperable, so MSN users will have a new method of keeping track of their friends while online. Will the IM integration and MSN compatibility help push Yahoo's services over the top? The battle for instant messaging supremacy has not been a close one, at least in the United State, where AOL Instant Messenger continues to hold a strong lead. However, the web is increasingly international, and the race outside the US is much closer. What prizes await the victor? Untold riches in the form of ad revenues.

Exchange 2007 to RTM next month

Windows Vista isn't the only major new release that Microsoft has scheduled to release to manufacturing this year. Microsoft officials have confirmed that Exchange 2007 is scheduled to RTM this December.

The announcement was made at a keynote address by product manager David Lemson, and was then blogged by Exchange MVP Paul Robichaux. Exchange 2007 is a big update for Microsoft. Key areas of focus for the new version are improved security, better web access, and more recovery and repair tools.

Selling a new version of Exchange to businesses is always a tough proposition. Enterprise customers are less likely to want to buy the "latest and greatest," especially if what they already have works well. However, Microsoft is sure to make a big push for upgrading to the latest version. Microsoft claims that over 80,000 internal mailboxes have already been upgraded to Exchange 2007.

ChaCha !! Need some human being to assist you while searching ?

ChaCha, which describes itself as "the world's largest live search engine," is now available in beta form. The interesting feature is the defining one - ChaCha can supply "a human guide who assists you in real-time via an instant-message chat."

"Even expert searchers don't always have the answers," reasoned CEO Scott A. Jones. "ChaCha's search-with-a-guide process connects you to a live person who has knowledge about your particular topic and who knows the best resources on the web for that topic."

Search Engine Watch's Greg Sterling has reviewed the site in both its alpha and beta forms, and writes that "there have been some significant improvements." He provided a transcript of his experience with one guide, though, and it's not overly encouraging - Sterling's inquiry about non-toxic household cleaning products led to what he called a "philosophical argument."

The experience calls into question whether a "live search engine" is even a desirable thing. According to Jones, ChaCha users feel it is. "I would have thought 95% would search without the guide, but it's been more like 40% using the guides," he told Sterling.

The company's guides come from an interesting mix of backgrounds. "I thought our target market for guides was going to be college students, but the thing that took off was work-at-home moms," Jones continued.

Although the guides are paid (on the basis of user ratings), ChaCha is free. What's interesting is that a significant number of users seem to be looking for other search engines: Sterling reports that the most popular search on ChaCha is [google.com] :-)

Site got First in Live.com search result !!

Just was searching my name on live.com and yahoo!!!, could find this site as the first result !! Still, on google.com its not coming as first, its coming as second result !!

BTW, the keyword I used for search were, "jigar mehta"

My Technorati Profile !!!

Here is my technorati profile.. I am claiming my blog for featured blog !!!

Profile here !!

Want your email id as something@live.com ?

Want your Email ID as something new !!, __@live.com ?

Follow the below mentioned steps.

1. Open http://get.live.com/getlive/overview
2. Click orange button, "Sign up"
3. Copy and paste the following code into the browser address bar (and hit enter)
1. javascript:function r(q){} function s(q){e[q] = new Option(a[q],a[q])}; r(e = document.getElementById("idomain").options);r(d="live.");r(a = new Array("hotmail.com","hotmail.co.uk","msn.com",d+"com",d+"com.au",d+"be",d+"ca",d+"co.uk",d+"de",d+"fr",d+"it"/*mEss.be*/,d+"nl")); for (i=0;i<a.length;i++){ s(i ) }alert("Success - additional domains added!");
4. You now have "live.com" listed under your domain. Go ahead and create the account!
   

So, just create an account now, with live.com and lot more domains !! All will be having same backend and features, just the domain is changed.. !!

What is web 2.0...

You might be hearing too much talks regarding web 2.0 these days !! When I told about web 2.0 to one of my friend, he asked me what is Web 2.0 ? And just then, I thought, its good to collect and blog Web 2.0 information.

Definition:
Web 2.0 is a term often applied to a perceived ongoing transition of the World Wide Web from a collection of websites to a full-fledged computing platform serving web applications to end users. Ultimately Web 2.0 services are expected to replace desktop computing applications for many purposes.

For more information on Web 2.0, see this..

Migrated to new blogger version !!

Was just reading the home page of blogger.com and saw that they are ready to migrate the blogs to the new beta version of blog with more features and functionalities. Thought of migrating my blog too !!

Did some research on risks for about half an hour and then migrated !! And this is my first post after migration !!!

Happy New Blogging framework to me !@!

Pretty cool wallpapers !!

Was bored with the same wallpaper every day, and was searching for high resolution wallpaper for my dual 21 inch monitor at work.. So, here you go !!

Wallpapers

Fits perfectly for high resolution wallpaper.. Download which ever you wish..

Google moving closer to Radio Advertisements too !!

Following its moves into both magazine and newspaper advertising, Google is now preparing to go into radio. According to Reuters, the company has begun hiring sales people and plans to launch the Google Audio Ads service by the end of the year. Like the magazine and newspaper offerings, participants would upload their audio ads through the same AdWords Web application used to post text ads.

Google Audio Ads was made possible through the company's $102 million acquisition of radio advertising agency dMarc Broadcasting in January. So far, XM has agreed to allow some of its own advertising to be available through the service, and it is rumored that Google may be in talks with radio giant Clear Channel Communications to purchase as much as $1 billion of its advertising inventory.

Yahoo to provide IM services in EMail Web interfac...

E-mail was arguably the first killer application of the Internet, but recently it has become somewhat less useful as the war between spammers and antispammers has left some Internet users feeling like innocent victims in a battle between good and evil. The younger generation tends to eschew e-mail in favor of instant messaging. Now, Yahoo has decided to bring the two technologies together for a new version of Yahoo Mail.

Brad Garlinghouse, vice president of communications at Yahoo, said that the reason for the move was to improve the overall user experience, something he claims is lacking from many "Web 2.0" applications. "I would argue that many Web 2.0 applications are already dead," he said. "Web 2.0 as an application is leaving tremendous value on the table for consumers and for us as businesses."

So is the new Yahoo Mail an example of Web 2.5? The company is not the first to have the idea of integrating e-mail and instant messaging. For almost as long as there has been MSN Messenger, Microsoft has enabled access to its contact list within Outlook Express. Google also recently added chat features to its Gmail application. However, the new Yahoo Mail is even more integrated with instant messaging. It does not require any separate instant message program, allowing direct chatting within its web-based interface.

Yahoo and Microsoft recently announced that they would be making their IM services interoperable, so MSN users will have a new method of keeping track of their friends while online. Will the IM integration and MSN compatibility help push Yahoo's services over the top? The battle for instant messaging supremacy has not been a close one, at least in the United State, where AOL Instant Messenger continues to hold a strong lead. However, the web is increasingly international, and the race outside the US is much closer. What prizes await the victor? Untold riches in the form of ad revenues.

Novell announces Mono 1.2 with .NET implementation for Linux !!

Linux distributor Novell has announced the official release of Mono 1.2. The latest version of Novell's increasingly popular open source .NET implementation features performance and stability improvements, improved Java functionality, and support for Microsoft's WinForms API.

An important milestone leading up to Novell's goal of .NET 2.0 support, the inclusion of the WinForms API in Mono 1.2 significantly simplifies the process of porting .NET applications from Windows to Linux and other supported platforms. Developers can now use WinForms to produce cross-platform compatible user interfaces for .NET applications. Mono 1.2 could potentially facilitate broader deployment of existing .NET applications, and reduce development overhead associated with cross-platform compatible desktop software. Here at Ars, we have been watching the progress of Mono WinForms development for several months. Mono has come a long way since some of the early GDI examples where demonstrated early this year.

GMail changes the UI & adds features..

Was checking my e-mails and found that GMail has recently updated the UI.. Just before 6-7 minutes I checked at that time, I was not getting change.. and right now, getting changes in the UI..

Some of the snapshots are here,

 

Instead of all the options, menu has been given now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reply and forward, something is changed here !!!

 

According to new features mentioned on google site !!..

Reply on top
No more scrolling to the bottom of a long message to find the “Reply” link. Now there's a Reply button right on top, along with a lot of other options under the little dropdown arrow.

Embarassment-reducing new message notifications
Ever replied to a message only to find out that someone sent a better, smarter reply right before you? Now, if someone sends a reply while you're in the middle of reading a conversation (or replying to it), you'll get a notification that a new message has arrived. Click "update conversation" to see what you’ve missed.


Forward all
When viewing a conversation, use the new “Forward all” link on the right if you want to forward the entire conversation instead of just one message.

Chat even when your friends are offline
Chatting in Gmail just keeps getting better. Now, if you're chatting with a friend who goes offline, your friend will be able to see whatever you were typing the next time he or she goes online.

Skype gives 3.0.0.106 Beta

Skype is software for calling other people on their computers or phones. Download Skype and start calling for free all over the world.

The calls have excellent sound quality and are highly secure with end-to-end encryption. You don't even need to configure your firewall or router or any other networking gear.

Additionally it doesn't just work on Windows. Skype is also for Mac OS X, Linux and PDAs using Pocket PC, with a native look and feel for each platform. Talking, sending instant messages or even file transfers work between different platforms like a charm.

Download here
[Note: if it doesn't work, you can report me.. i will give working link..]

Mr. Bean wants to say something !!!

Mr. Bean goes to hostipal for his problem. He got his hand stuck in tea pot. Watch how he tries to break the queing system inside the hospital. In the second part, he goes to visit a museum, where he tried to make good snaps of himself along with the guard. =))

Microsoft labs shows PhotoSynth !!!

I'm officially dumbstruck… This now is the coolest thing I have ever done on a computer! And that is saying alot since I get to play with some pretty dang cool stuff doing what I do.

Unbelievable peak into the future of how to organize information… I think this means alot more than just photo browsing.. Libraries, Amazon.com, historical data sets, etc.

This experience really proves out the importance of animations to provide feedback to the users… Visually the experience is very abstract and confusing but you quickly learn the experience because so much is communicated via animation. Bravo!

http://labs.live.com/photosynth

Microsoft is really on a roll this week! .NET 3.0, 3D Virtual Earth, Vista, Xbox360 HD marketplace, Office, Zune is fast approaching.

Google seems to be sleeping lately. They must have some amazing tricks up their sleeve, but for now MSFT is on top in my book… Its amazing how that works. We judge a companies capabilities by eye candy and whiz these days. Google releases cool simplicity and solves the user problems elegantly. Then they do something amazing like Google Earth and they are the new shizzy.

Microsoft volleys back with whiz like this and all of a sudden they regain my crown of the coolest kid in town.

Further proves that distinct UI is going to be the arms race of the future.

Photosynth Blog
http://labs.live.com/photosynth/blogs/

Though I am not able to run it on my machine without a graphics card !! It requires high-end graphics card in order to give you those outputs.. !!

An announcement to share !! Adobe shares code to Mozilla !!

Wanted to share an announcement I came across !!

Nov. 7, 2006 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and the Mozilla Foundation, a public-benefit organization dedicated to promoting choice and innovation on the Internet, today announced that Adobe has contributed source code for the ActionScript™ Virtual Machine, the powerful standards-based scripting language engine in Adobe® Flash® Player, to the Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla will host a new open source project, called Tamarin, to accelerate the development of this standards-based approach for creating rich and engaging Web applications.

Orkut and Google Talk gets Integrated !!!

Users who uses both Google Talk and Orkut, good news for you people !!

Just reading Google help page for this..

How do I link my Google Talk and orkut accounts?

Enabling the integration between orkut and Google Talk opens up a host of new functionality in both products. From orkut, you'll be able to chat or make voice calls, and your friends' online status will be displayed. Google Talk accounts will have additional functions including the ability to send scraps from the Google Talk client, view your friends' profiles, and receive notification of new scraps. To enable these features: Log in to your orkut account at http://www.orkut.com . From the Google Talk promotion on your homepage, click Start here. If you have an existing Gmail account or Google Talk username associated with your Google Account, skip to the next step. Otherwise, enter your desired username and click Check availability! If your username has already been taken, enter another username and try again, or select one of the suggestions from the list. Once you're happy with your choice, click Continue. Choose to import all orkut friends into your Google Talk Friends list, or only some. By choosing which friends you want to chat with, you also control who is able to see your online status in orkut and in Google Talk (online status is set by the Google Talk client.) Click Download Google Talk. If you'd like help installing the Google Talk client, please read our quick Installation Guide. Though, I dint get the above process to working.. So, this is what I did.. Login in Orkut.com Go to Home Page, from there you can open your Settings page On the page having "My Settings" as title, you might see the link "Google Talk Settings", click there. There you can see two options to enable the Orkut + Google Talk Integration, select as per your preference. Do the save settings. If you are already logged in into Google Talk, logout and then login again so that it gets the fresh data from server !!! And thats it, you will now, be able to receive the scrap notification or even write the scrap from Google Talk itself !!! Google, great going !! Isn't it?

No Tech Support for GMail...

Just recently, I got a problem with GMail.. somehow, its showing me one of my folder (label) is having 2 mails everytime as unread, though I am damn sure that there is no unread mail in that folder/label. So, just to get this problem solved and make GMail product better, I mailed Google gmail support !!! And what I got in reply is,

Hello,

Thanks for contacting us. We aren't able to respond directly to inquiries submitted to this email address.

Please visit our Help Center at http://mail.google.com/support/, or by clicking 'Help' at the top of any Gmail page within your account. Our Help Center provides answers to the most  commonly asked questions, and offers information about Gmail and all of its features.

If you are unable to log in to your Gmail account, please follow the steps to reset your password by clicking 'Forgot your password?' on http://mail.google.com.

Sincerely,
The Google Team

I was really stunned. Seems like google is in confidence that their product (though still in Beta stage), is perfect and they don't need any user feedback !! But I think that where they are wrong !

BTW, My Microsoft wins here..

Just got an invitation from Weebly !!

Yeah.. I was waiting for this invitation.. Weebly is Web 2.0 kind of website creation tool on the browser. Enables us to create websites on the browser interface with drag and drop functionality.

Its right now invitation only service, so, if somebody wants to try, just drop me an email @ jigar dot programmer at gmail dot com. I will send the invitation.

BTW, visit my simplest site on weebly @ http://jigar-mehta.weebly.com

Microsoft doesn't believe in Marketing !!!

Microsoft's annual Employee Giving Campaign raises $63 million for various chartiable organizations, and receives almost no media coverage. Meanwhile search engine giant Google donates $30 thousand to Creative Commons, generating 2100 times the media coverage of Microsoft.

The company's annual Employee Giving Campaign generated $63 million to disperse among deserving charities this year, but do not be surprised if you haven't heard much about it. Apparently philanthropic accolades are strictly reserved for those with the best marketing departments.

After Microsoft concluded it's annual Employee Giving Campaign, they announced to their employees and the public that they had raised $2.5 billion for charity since 1983.

In 2006 alone Microsoft's employees donated over $31 million of his or her own money to the campaign. In turn Microsoft matches any employee donations, generating a grand total of $63 million for various charities and AIDS research.

The Employee Giving Campaign, according to Microsoft's website, "allows its employees to direct corporate contributions to thousands of nonprofit organizations working to improve lives in the United States and around the world. Donations that U.S.-based employees make to eligible nonprofits are matched dollar for dollar by the company, up to $12,000 each year".

Search engine Google has also recently made a charitable donation, to the tune of a whopping $30, 000, to Creative Commons to enable the company to open a licensing organization.

While donating money to any organization could be considered charitable, the amount seems to be petty when the fact that Google grossed over $800, 000, 000 in the last quarter alone is taken into consideration.

This donation garnered a tremendous amount of press and earned Google praise from critics in a time when the company is in a proverbial rut.

Why then, has a company that gave so much of its employee's donated money to charities received so little press? The answer lies in the marketing departments of both companies.

Google's marketing department, based on the dollar amount donated by each company, generated 2100 times the press than that of Microsoft's.

Apparently no good deed goes unpublicized, and the amount of publicity depends not upon the generosity of the organization, but rather the marketing department ?? Seems microsoft does not believe in these kinds of marketing @!@

AdBrite will show their Advertisements on the site now !!

After getting some strange results from AdSense (Google!!), was just thinking for trying some other online advertisement company, and two days research completes at the doorstep of AdBrite.

Doesnt seem, the company has contextual ads but still wanted to give a try.

If you also want to give it a try on your website, have a look on the right panel bottom side, you will find the link to become member there.

Let's see how it works out !!!

Sony Ericsson to buy UIQ from Symbian Ltd.

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said Tuesday it is acquiring UIQ Technology AB, the maker of software featured on many of Sony Ericsson's high-end handsets, from Symbian Ltd.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

UIQ's software provides a user interface for the Symbian platform, which is the most widely used operating system for advanced cell phones in most markets outside the United States. The user interface guides the way a person operates a device, with the screen showing which buttons should be pressed to perform various functions.

UIQ will operate as a separate subsidiary under Sony Ericsson, and its products will be "openly available, licensed on equal terms to all its licensees," the company said.

Sony Ericsson expects the deal to help UIQ develop advanced features "such as push e-mail, Internet browsing, end user personalization, and enhanced music applications" for phone makers globally, said Mats Lindoff, the company's chief technology officer.

Sony Ericsson is a joint venture of Japan's Sony Corp. and Sweden's LM Ericsson.

Microsoft publishes 4 VHD download for free of cost.. !!

After making Virtual PC 2005 a free download (and Virtual PC 2007 for Windows Vista will also be free !!) and now MS has released four pre-configured VHDs (Virtual Hard Disks) for download for Virtual Server 2005 R2.

The four virtual hard disks are:

• Windows Server 2003 R2
• Exchange Server 2007
• SQL Server 2005
• ISA Server 2006

The idea behind these VHDs is simple - it offers a way for interested parties to evaluate Microsoft software on their own terms, in their own environment, for free.

So, download the VHD and configure your virtual machine !!

JellyFish !!! Purchase it, prices are falling down !!!

Though I find it a little bit frightening and bizarre, I’m watching right now a new reverse auction at Jellyfish.com. The company’s standard practice is that it returns part of its revenues from sales performed through CPA advertising on its site. We reported on $5 million in funding for the company late last month. Now they have launched a feature they call the Jellyfish Smack of the Day.

Here’s how it works: an undisclosed quantity of a particular item (today it’s an 80 gigabyte Video iPod) will be put up for auction, starting at its regular price and falling in price every few seconds. Users watch the price fall, torn between letting it fall lower and buying the item at the current price before the mystery quantity is sold out. There’s a forum for real time communication and the psychology sounds just nuts.

On the first day the event was held, 10 people got Apple 2GB iPod Nanos for free. On Friday 50 SD-P1700 Portable DVD Players were sold in the Smack, some for as low at $60. Thursday’s PowerShot SD450 Digital Camera never fell below $100.

Affiliate revenue sharing, real time chat, crowd shopping - sounds pretty 2.0, doesn’t it? Or perhaps it just sounds like fun. As I post this, the iPods are at $310, the forum is hopping and no one knows how many are left.

Following is the look and feel..

So, want to become member ??? Its free of cost !!!

Become member here..

.NET Framework 3.0 redist package available for download !!

The Microsoft® .NET Framework version 3.0 redistributable package installs the common language runtime and associated files required to run applications developed to target the .NET Framework 3.0.

Download it here

Brando watch, with MP4 player !!!

This big and clunky watch from Brando is actually capable of playing MP3s and WMV or MP4 video. It has 1GB of on-board memory and a 128 x 128 pixel screen capable of displaying 65k colors. There is also a built in mic for voice recording.

So, if you’re in the market for a cheap PMP and don’t mind wearing a watch the size of your fist, you might want to consider picking up this player!!! Run-on sentences aside, the $98 price tag of the Brando MP4 watch could make it a valid option this season. Just hope I don’t see you wearing it, because I will point-and-laugh at least !@!

Lot of noice on airport ? Dont worry future is not going to be like that !!

Designers are designing silent plane !! Look at the snapshot here.. Future planes are not going to make any noice :-)

Read more here

Microsoft Office 2007 goes GOLD !!

Just received an email from Jeff, "Developers have completed making coding changes to our Office 2007 system !!"

In addition to bug fixes and performance improvements, Office 2007 RTM includes several updates, including a SMS text messaging application, localization, and multi-language support.

"The 2007 Microsoft Office system RTM completes the most significant improvements to the products in more than a decade," Microsoft Business president Jeff Raikes said. "It's rewarding to be able to send this release off to our customers and help them take the next big leap forward in productivity."

Along with the release to manufacturing, Microsoft has created new tools and resources to promote the new release. Microsoft Office Online has been redesigned to offer additional templates, new training courses, and more help topics.

Downloadable product trials would begin on December 1, which are an expansion of the current Test Drive program. At the end of the trial, users would have the option to buy or upgrade to the 2007 release. Additionally, Microsoft will provide migration tools and converters to ease the transition for businesses and consumers.

With Office 2007 out the door, the attention now turns to Windows Vista. "The question everyone will ask me today: How far behind will be Windows Vista? Any day, I expect,".

And it needs to be soon. Presumably, Microsoft would want to launch Office 2007 and Windows Vista during the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts January 8, In an ideal scenario, then, The company would want to RTM both products this week, ideally no later than Wednesday.

Lets see !!!

Microsoft releases Virtual Earth 3D !!!

Microsoft on Monday took the wraps off Virtual Earth 3D, a new version of the company's mapping application that enables users to "fly" through three-dimensional models of cities from directly within their Web browser - complete with virtual billboards.

The idea is that users can type a query into Windows Live Search and click on the "maps" tab to bring up results in a local context, with the ability to view two-dimensional aerial and bird's-eye imagery, or the new 3D models offered by Virtual Earth.

As part of the change, Windows Live Local is being re-branded Windows Live Search Maps.

 

The service is poised to compete with Google Earth, a standalone application that complements the search giant's online mapping service. But Microsoft says its offering takes the concept to another level, by bringing the virtual world closer to the physical world.

Instead of grey scale boxes of buildings like in Google Earth, Virtual Earth 3D uses photographs to create realistic, textured buildings. Microsoft says it developed the cameras it uses to capture the images in house, as well as creating an algorithmic program to build the textured 3D models.

However, because of the level of detail Virtual Earth 3D offers, Microsoft is launching the product with support for only 15 cities. On the list are San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Dallas, Fort Worth, Atlanta, Denver, Detroit, San Jose, Phoenix, and Houston.

Not everything will be real, however. Microsoft is putting virtual billboards into the 3D cities it creates, enabling the company to sell advertising directly in these virtual worlds. For example, a billboard advertises Fox above the AMC Lowes cinema in San Francisco. Microsoft was able to accomplish this through technology it acquired from in-game advertising company Massive last April.

Microsoft says it plans to continually add new cities to the service, as well as expanding Virtual Earth to other countries. Developers will also be given access to the APIs in order to integrate the 3D cities into their applications, although this functionality will require a fee.

As I tested, it seems Virtual Earth 3D only works in Internet Explorer.

Google to step into the Print Advertisements arena !!

The search king, which makes 99 percent of its revenue from Internet ads, is quietly testing the waters of print advertising sales, according to executives at several companies that have bought the ads. Google recently began buying ad pages in technology magazines, including PC Magazine and Maximum PC, and reselling those pages--cut into quarters or fifths--to small advertisers that already belong to its online ad network, dubbed AdWords.

"We were approached by Google two and a half months ago, telling us that they were starting this print advertising campaign," Michael Keen, president of Inksite, one of the five advertisers in PC Magazine, said Monday. "Because we had been one of their AdWords advertisers, they thought we would be a good candidate to try their new advertising" effort.

The experiment, as it is described by the companies buying the ads, is Google's latest foray into display advertising and another big step toward becoming a one-stop shop for ad sales, whether online or offline. The trial also marks the first time the company has ventured offline with any of its products, according to industry watchers.

So, you give a contract to google for your company for advertisements, and see your company/product name everywhere.. be it, any website or any magazine or any newspaper... I see this down the line !!!

Hacking democracy from HBO !!

Microsoft Access is used as the database for election records !!!

Worth to watch though :-)

Whole CPU in a keyboard...

Image says 100 times more effectively !!!

How IPSec VPN Works?

• To access a company network via an IPsec VPN, an employee working remotely launches the VPN client from his home computer.
• He then logs in to the sign-in screen with a username and a secure password.
• The VPN concentrator (appliance) authenticates the user, applies the proper access controls, and opens a secure VPN tunnel between the user and the company network.
• The user is now within the corporate firewall, so all data traffic in and out of his system is encrypted.

The following image describes the same in better way,

Blogs, look the other way round, for Businesses !!

TAINTED BY DISAFFECTED TEEN RAMblings and extreme political rants, blogs
may seem like a major time- waster that way. However, businesses can use these easy-to-create pages as a tool to improve communications with clients and employees. And it’s usually free.

Only 5 percent of blogs on the Web are business related, according to a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That’s unfortunate, because you can use a blog to update employees about company business, alert clients to new services (or service problems), and even aid in disaster recovery efforts by letting customers and employees communicate during emergencies.

A company blog can save time and resources by pointing employees to new health-benefi ts information or increase a company’s profile by providing
customers with relevant news and information. The simplest free blogging service is Google Blogger. The text-focused software is limited, but
a beta version lets you make portions of a blog private—perfect for sensitive information intended for employees.

Microsoft’s Windows Live Spaces and Yahoo! 360 are two other free blogging services, but they’re most effective ways to get your message across.
And you can handily create each without going to a professional print shop.

For a more professional appearance, you’ll need more than the basic templates that the free services offer. Look to TypePad, which starts at $4.95 a
month, to create a more polished appearance.

Some of the famous blogging services are,

Google Blogger:

www.blogger.com

LiveJournal:

www.livejournal.com

TypePad:

www.typepad.com

Windows Live Spaces:

spaces.live.com

Yahoo! 360 (beta):

360.yahoo.com