CompuWorld

Check Your PR, Backlinks, Alexa Rank And Much More In One Shot

This one's awesome! Every now and then we need to find our very own blogs Technorati rank, Alexa rank, Google PageRank, Bloglines subscribers, number of backlinks and many more such things. This sometimes becomes a hectic task if you need to do it for many blogs.

So here goes an awesome tool for you which will surely leave you with gaping mouth. Enter yours or anyone else's BLOG URL in the left column and hit enter. Instantly all the necessary stuff will be there in front of you. Even the number of errors which you have n you HTML! Kudos to the NoHeat team for authoring this tool.

Check it out here

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Labels: tips tricks and hacks

I Used To Have A 'Folder Options' Option In Tools Menu In Windows Explorer. But Its Gone. How To Get That Back?

1. Click on 'start' and then 'run'.
2. In the 'run' dialog box type gpedit.msc. The Group Policy window will open.
3. Navigate to the following location: User Configuration> Administrative Templates> Window Components> Windows Explorer
4. In the right pane, find the 'Remove the folder options menu item'. Set its value to 'Not Configured' by double clicking and setting the correct option.

1. Open registry editor by typing regedit in the run dialog box.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer
3. Find the NoFolderOptions key in right pane. Change its value to 0. If you do not have this key. Just create it!

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

Top 10 Ways To Improve Your PageRank

Stanford University is famous for producing few of the very happening technologies which are running in market presently. One of them being PageRank. For a small introduction, PageRank technology was designed by the Google co-founder Larry Page, while he was a student in Stanford, thus the name PageRank. Google uses PageRank (PR) to rank websites on a scale of 10. Then those rankings act as crucial point of consideration to get listed in top Google Searches.

• Content is the King: If you provide quality content then you will get regular readers and many of those will copy a summary (or sometimes the complete article) into there blogs plus linking back to you. Good content may sometimes get renowned bloggers linking to you which will drive traffic and will give your site more weight due to there high PR.
• Keyword management: See, whatever your PR be if you do not use proper keywords into your blog you wont get listed into Google searches. So use right keywords in the URL, the "title" tag, the article's heading, the text and the links which you make. Considering my own blog, webtechlog contains all the words which indicate that this blog is all about technology. The "title" tag contains the name of my dream company CompuWorld. That again very well indicates that this blog is about computers. And same goes with all the article headings and content.
• Follow the "nofollow" revolution: When you comment on any blog you might see the name of your website under the comment authors name. But know this very well that those links aren't considered by Google for PR calculation. But these days many bloggers are removing the "nofollow" tags from there links in comments. Thus when you comment on there blogs you will earn a link to your blog too. Pretty cool!
• Post on forums: There are so many forums available over the Internet that its tough to know which is good and which isn't. A good way could be to check PageRank of these forums. Now post mostly in those forums which have high PageRank. Each link into these forums will be considered by Google bot as a backlink to your site. This way you earn good amount of visitors, a high PR link plus some knowledge too!
• Order reviews: Investment is required whenever you want to outshine others in this world of competition. So if you are capable of investing then go order some reviews into high PR blogs which again gives you visitors plus link.
• Link Exchange: Blogroll as many of us call it, is a nice way to increase the number of backlinks to you blog. For those who do not like the LONG blogroll list in there blogs could ask the other author to copy some content from your blog and indicate the source. And you do the same too. That way you earn the same weight backlink.
• Text Link Ads: Why not pay maximum $30/month to high Pr websites and get listed into there blogs home page. The only downside is that you need to pay that amount every month to keep the link running.
• Your own websites network: If you have more than one website than why not link back from each website to you other websites. That also brings you good backlinks and that too without spending a dime!
• Submit links to online directories: Online directories mostly have good PR. Start submitting your link to these directories to get high quality backlinks.
• Start online contests: Various contests in different blogs is a new way to earn traffic and to get large number of backlinks. Giving you an example, ask your readers to review your blog in there blogs and ask them to link back to your blog in return. Inform them that the best review will earn some cash prize or something unique from your collection if you do not want to spend money.
  

Labels: blogging, google tips, tips tricks and hacks, tutorial

Capture Screenshots In Windows Media Player

• Open Windows Media Player
• Go to Tools>Options
• Select Performance Tab
• Click on the Advanced button down below
• Uncheck the "Use Overlays" option.
• Click Ok and then click Apply
• You are done
  

Labels: microsoft, tips tricks and hacks

Swivel - See Numeric Data Graphically

Labels: tips tricks and hacks, tutorial

Find Out Where A Website Is Being Hosted

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

My Computer Keeps Restarting Without Warning

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

Sound Search: Only One Of Its Kind

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

Comparison Of The Best Anti Viruses Available

Labels: security, tips tricks and hacks

10 Windows Live Features - Must See

Top 10 Windows Live features/mini-services that most people aren't currently using but should be...

1. Windows Live Mail desktop has a "View by Conversation" option that groups an email and its replies together, something which Gmail users love. You can try this out for yourself in the most recent Windows Live Mail desktop beta by selecting the following option: View - Current View - View by Conversation
   
2. Live Feed Search is a great way to find blogs on niche topics, or if you want the majority of your search results to be from blogs. Power users will probably want to stick to Technorati however. Try it out at http://search.live.com/feeds.
3. Live Search has a nifty "prefer" operator to help you refine your search results. Here's an example of it in action: Without | With. You use this in the same way as all the other search operators; add "prefer:" followed by your refining term.
4. Live Map Search has several "hidden" features, but the one we've chosen is using the line tool to measure distances - great if you plan on walking between locations. You can access this by clicking the Collections menu, choosing Open and then selecting the line draw tool from the bottom of the scratchpad.(Screenshot)
5. Active Contacts has a huge amount of potential yet not many users seem to understand the benefits of using it. Active Contacts allows you to share personal information with the individuals you wants and if they subscribe to you, keep them updated on any changes you make. Of course this also works in reverse too, the more contacts who you subscribe to, the more connected you are . You can share your own contact information from the menu you use to change your online status in Windows Live Messenger - Click your Display Name - Share Contact Information.
6. Windows Live Mobile Messenger (G2) allows you to send a voice clip from your mobile phone to a contact running Windows Live Messenger. While the ability to send a voice clip from the desktop client is not particularly useful, in the mobile client it is a killer feature, allowing you to quickly send a message to your contacts without having to type it out on your mobile device. Definitely a handy feature for situations when you're in a hurry. Currently G2 is only available on windows mobile 6 devices
7. Windows Live Messenger users seem to have an unquenchable desire for the weirdest and wackiest names they can think of, as if the personal status message feature didn't exist. Tidy up your contact list by using the nicknames feature in Messenger: In the contact list, right click the offending contact - Add a nickname.
   
8. Live Search activity in Messenger is a great way to find information you need for a conversation, without firing up your browser. One novel use we were told of is using Live Image Search to find new displays pictures, which you can use by dragging them directly to your existing display picture. Note this is a 1-person application and your contact will not know you are running it. From the Messenger conversation window open the Actions menu - Start an activity - Search
   
9. Live Search for Mobile is just so useful that it is worth highlighting in its entirety. Mobile is one of the areas within Windows Live that is consistently producing great products and Live Local Mobile is no exception. Although the regional support is still somewhat limited (currently US and UK only), they now include support for Java-running phones, as well as Blackberry's. Go to http://wls.live.com/ on your mobile device.
10. Windows Live Toolbar has a nifty feature called Smart Menus that enhances the browsing experience, for example getting a map preview for an address on a webpage. While I'm not a big toolbar fan, this is one feature I wish I had. To use this you need Windows Live Toolbar installed, then highlight the information (address, phone number etc) and right click to view the available Smart Menu options. Dennis Cheung has a great set of videos that explain the possibilities in more detail.

Labels: blogging, microsoft, tips tricks and hacks

Hacking - The Must Learn Tips To Be Safe

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

Checking Processor Speed

You can check your computer’s processor and speed fairly quickly from within the operating system so that you have the information handy for your memory-shopping trip.

In most recent versions of Windows, you can get this information by going to the Start menu to the Control Panel area and opening the System icon. Click the General tab to see your computer’s processor type and speed, as well as the amount of memory currently installed and the version of Windows running.

(On Windows systems that group the control panels by category view, you can find the System control panel in the Performance and Maintenance or System and Maintenance area.)

On a Macintosh running the Mac OS X system, go to the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and select About This Mac to see the system and processor information. Click the More Info button to see a detailed list of your Mac’s hardware and software components.

Labels: tips tricks and hacks

Uploading Made Easy With "Power Uploading"

If you're currently using DivShare to store, host and share files you should be pretty excited about this new feature. And if you don't use this DivShare's free service, it could make you want to start.

DivShare launched a Power Uploader application that adds simplicity to the whole uploading process. This new tool provides users with a drag and drop interface with folder tree and file previews for quick and effective uploading of up to 10 files at once.

The uploading tool is a Java Applet and ActiveX Control that provides a pipeline between your hard drive and your DivShare account. And, if you play around a little, you’ll also find that the Power Uploader has great support for resuming a canceled or broken upload — that reduces your wait time in a big way if something goes wrong. Setting for the uploader can be accessed in your main Account page.

Labels: reviewed, tips tricks and hacks

Increase the number of simultaneous downloads in Internet Explorer 7

1. Click on the Start Pearl and type regedit in the Search Bar.
2. Once you are in the registry editor, navigate to the following key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings

3. Right click in the empty space, and create a new DWord (32-bit) value. Name it:

   MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server (The 0 beside Server is a zero)

4. Double click this entry and modify the value to 3.
5. Create another DWord:

   MaxConnectionsPerServer

6. Once again, double click this entry and modify the value to 3.

Labels: ie, microsoft, tips tricks and hacks

Internet Parental Controls & Filters: Are They Enough For The Job?

“I don’t really care that much, except it is really annoying that YouTube is blocked,” Emma said. “I just want to listen to music. I used to think it was unfair that I couldn't go on MySpace, but now I’m O.K. with it, because not a lot of my friends are on MySpace anymore.

“My parents clamp down more than my other friends’ parents,” she continued, “and I don’t think they should be able to do it. I’m smart enough not to do stupid things.”

A step beyond filtering is monitoring software. Safe Eyes, for example, was top-rated by PC Magazine last year and Consumer Reports in 2005, both for its protection and for its minimal interference with legitimate research activity.

Safe Eyes blocks Web sites, but that is only the beginning; it can also log Internet activity, limit time spent on the computer, alert parents of inappropriate computer activity and read details of instant-messaging chats. It costs $49.95 a year (www.safeeyes.com).

“When a parent calls, I say, check out what you already have before buying anything,” said Danielle Yates, a spokeswoman for GetNetWise.org, which is part of the nonprofit organization, the Internet Education Foundation.

GetNetWise.org provides a wealth of information about Internet controls, including the debate surrounding the issue and details about specific products. I found out, for example, that most of the Internet search engines, like Google, AOL and Yahoo, have a simple process allowing you to set strict, moderate or no filter on your search engine to weed out explicit sexual content.

In a telephone survey conducted last year of 935 parents and teenagers — to be released in a coming report — the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 53 percent of parents said they used filters and 45 percent said they used monitoring devices.

The survey also found that 50 percent of the teenagers thought that their parents were blocking Web sites, while 35 percent thought that they were being monitored.

Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist who oversaw the report, said in some cases the teenagers did not know their parents were snooping on them; in other cases they wrongly assumed their parents were using monitoring devices.

Installing a filter, however, is “not a silver bullet,”, Although they are usually fairly effective, bad stuff gets through, as my friend learned.

And although most of the opposition to blocking software is aimed at its use in public spaces like libraries and schools, some critics object in general to the technology. There are a myriad of reasons: it is censorship plain and simple; it leaves parents with a false sense of security; and by relying too much on technology, rather than education and supervision, children will be unprepared to deal with exposure to inappropriate content when it does eventually occur.

Neil Rubenking reviews filtering and monitoring software, the best filter, he said, is his own eyes and ears.

The war between parents and children over control of the Internet is mirrored in the technological world’s battles over filters and monitoring software; there are anti censorship Web sites like peacefire.org that show how to circumvent blocking software.

But of course, many filters now block the site.

So ultimately parents should use the filtering softwares but along with that they should use there own natural eyes and ears. Talking to there children on the issue would be a much better option. Be clean and clear. Crystal clear.

Labels: tips tricks and hacks, tutorial

Use Adobe Video Player To Watch Video Offline

Labels: adobe, announcements, tips tricks and hacks, youtube

Cheapest Data-Recovery

Lost your data? Search Google for "Data Recovery" and you would get loads of software to recover data. And I can bet that they will be promising absolute performance and must be ready to empty your pockets absolutely! The software must be free for trial use but wont give out all the features for free. And this isn't the end to your problems. Lets get little technical . . .

When you save some data into your hard disk than it saves the data in different tracks and sectors. Like in your locality where you live. Now when you delete that data, your hard disk actually wouldn't delete the data. It would make that "full space" available to re-write another data. And would make you feel that your data has been deleted, which is actually not the case. Now when you use some software to recover deleted data that software would make the address for that data available to your Windows. And if that was trial version, it would do the initial recovery and will ask you to buy the software. Now when you use another software for same data recovery it would do nothing as initially the memory addresses have been interrupted from initial settings.

This is where Seagate comes to the rescue with their File Recovery for Windows software. This program does the same tasks as the rest of them, which includes recovering files types such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook PSTs, databases, AutoCAD, Microsoft SQL, MPEG, AVI, MP3, and photo file formats from FAT12/16/32 and NTFS file systems. What's the catch then? It can be downloaded for free from Seagate's website and with it examine the hard drive in order to find out if a “successful recovery is possible”. This way, users know for sure if the information can be rescued, before actually purchasing the software.

Kevin Halladay, I.T. manager of the Sundance Ski Resort in Utah said: “I called a handful of drive recovery services and was given estimates ranging from $700 to $8,000 to restore my data with a wait of at least four days. I called Seagate Recovery Services about sending the drive in for recovery, and their client service representative suggested that Seagate’s D.I.Y. software was the ideal solution for my data loss situation. I downloaded the software and recovered all of my data, and Seagate saved me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. The software is easy to use, very intuitive and provided a full recovery for a fraction of the cost of an in-lab solution. The product is a true bargain.”

Labels: data recovery, tips tricks and hacks

Smoothest Notepad Replacement: Notepad2

Notepad 2 is designed to be an improvement over Windows Notepad and is the best free replacement of Windows Notepad application. New version has been released after 3 years.

Notepad2 is fast and light-weight Notepad-like text editor with syntax highlighting. This program can be run out of the box without installation, and does not touch your system's registry.

• Customizable syntax highlighting:
• HTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, VBScript, ASP, PHP, CSS, Perl/CGI
• C/C++, C#, Java, VB, Pascal, Assembler, SQL, Python, NSIS
• INI, REG, INF, BAT, DIFF
• Drag & drop text editing inside and outside Notepad2
• Basic regular expression search and replace
• Useful word, line and block editing shortcuts
• Rectangular selection (Alt+Mouse)
• Brace matching, auto indent, long line marker, zoom functions
• Support for Unicode, UTF-8, Unix and Mac text files
• Open shell links
• Mostly adjustable

Labels: reviewed, tips tricks and hacks, uncategorized

Fantastic Freebies

It's no wonder that the PC World readers surveyed rate Gmail as their favorite e-mail service. Says Chuck McNevich of Lexington Park, Maryland, "The interface is considerably faster than Hotmail, Yahoo, and the like. I don't have to pay for the huge storage it gives me."

PC World readers also love Blogger, with one reader noting the service's "easy-to-use features [and] nice themes."

One surveyed PC World reader explains his vote for YouTube succinctly: "Billions of videos. Loads fast." Another cites the service's sizable storage space. And yet another reader speaks directly about why people like video sites in general -- it's a "decent source of diversions," he says. We couldn't agree more.

Labels: blogging, fun, google, microsoft, tips tricks and hacks, youtube

Mom! Playing Games Will Improve My Eyesight

Labels: announcements, fun, games, tips tricks and hacks