CAP ON BULK SMS REMOVED

All my Indian readers, here is a good news for you. This news had to be on this blog as I myself was tracking it for days. Since 15 days, the ban on bulk SMS in India had brought communication to a standstill for many SMS enthusiasts who took to this cheap and reliable medium of communication.




So, the good news is that the cap on bulk SMS has been lifted by govt.

Being a little informative, I would mention that the cap had been introduced to check the flow of rumors and inflammatory content related to ethnic violence that led to exodus of people from north-eastern parts of the country. For full details, link to my previous post:
http://www.techtuned.blogspot.in/2012/08/trai-imposes-5-sms-per-day-sms-limit-in.html

So guyz, happy texting and KEEP TUNING

SAMSUNG TO PAY $1Bn FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT TO APPLE

After almost an year of filing a lawsuit against Samsung for patent infringement, and Samsung doing the same has come to a milestone with apple triumphant against its biggest rival in smartphone market. Samsung has been ordered to pay $1Bn ($1.05Bn to be precise) to the tech giant Apple for illegally using some of the Apple creations in their devices.



It all began in April 2011 when Apple filed a lawsuit against the South Korean company for patent infringement seeking $2.5bn. Samsung fired back with another lawsuit seeking $399 million.

Verdict came in favor of Apple ,however, the tech giant could only get half of the amount it was seeking.

Apple is also seeking to demand ban on 17 Samsung handsets including Samsung galaxy S2. However, this would not affect Samsung sales as most of the handsets in demanded list are old.

On the other hand, Samsung is gearing up to re-appeal as take the case as far as Supreme Court and possibly seek to overturn the verdict.

The verdict can benefit other manufacturers using Windows phone but comes as a setback for android devices and could affect their sales.
"I think this will force a reset on Android products as they are re-engineered to get around Apple's patents," Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the tech consultancy Enderle Group.

Is the verdict fair or not is a question whose answer would vary from person to person.

Do comment about your views on the verdict and KEEP TUNING.

DOSBOX - RUN THE GOOD OLD DOS APPS

The greatest hitch i suffered after switching from Windows XP was that old dos apps wont run. But i still had to use the ancient TURBO C++ for school projects. So, a friend's advice introduced this app called DOSBOX to me.

Q. What is this DOSBOX thing??
This is an x86 emulator which would help you to run old dos apps. This means that it provides dos apps an environment in which they can run on most of the modern systems with variety of operating systems.

Q. Is it GUI or CUI??
The interface is a character user interface. It is operated on command line arguments.

Q. How much does the emulator cost??
The emulator is absolutely free.

Q. Is the emulator versatile??
The emulator can emulate a variety of graphics and sound hardware and thus can run most of the apps
you encounter.

Q. Is it available for platforms other than windows??
The emulator is available for a variety of OS like mac, linux, solaris, debian etc.

Q. Where can i download it??
Downlaod it here
 
Below is a screenshot of dosbox:

A little google search would help you figure out how to operate dosbox. You can put up your queries in comments.

So guyz, emulate the good old dos apps and KEEP TUNING.

SMS CAP RAISED TO 20 SMS PER DAY

For all Indian SMS freaks, here is some good news. Government on Thursday, i.e. , 23rd August increased the SMS cap to 20 which had been initially set to 5.

The SMS cap was introduced by government on August 18 in response to some groups spreading bulk messages promoting hate about North Eastern States.

The SMS cap brought great resentment among people who were left no cheap alternative to communicate and were not offered any compensation on SMS booster packs. Government decided to raise the limit to counter this resentment as well as reduce loss to telecom operators.

The government has also banned 300 websites and popular micro-blogging website TWITTER is also in soup.

 KEEP TUNING for more updates.

CHECK YOUR GOOGLE PAGERANK

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm, named after Larry Page and used by Google. Google PageRank assigns a numerical rating to each site on a scale of 10. It is an important measure of your site's popularity and reputation.

http://www.techtuned.blogspot.in established just a month ago has itself got a pagerank 0. Google.com has assigned itself a 9 on this scale. Even if you have got a rank 1, you have established quite a website.

Rank updates are random and unpredictable. Only Google knows.



To check your pagerank,
1. Go to PRchecking Tool
2. Type you website Url in the textbox.
3. Click check PR, enter the security code in the page that follows and you are done.

You can also add the tool to your website by copying the code in ADD FREE PAGE RANK CHECK TOOL TO YOUR WEBSITE section to your website's code.

Don't get disheartened if your website has got a 0 PageRank. If your site has got some loyal visitors, then no need to bother about the PageRank.. Just keep on updating your website with fresh content. PageRank would automatically improve with time.

Do comment about your website's PageRank and KEEP TUNING.

GOOGLE FAVICON CHANGED

Many of you would have noticed a slight change in the Google search page. Google just changed its Favicon.
Favicon is a small image displayed with the title of the site and is supplied with the website identity information. It is an important characteristic of a website as well as important in branding.

The older Favicons looked like:

The new Favicon looks just like the inverted color image of June,08 favicon.

According to my view, the new Favicon is definitely looks better than the old ones.
Do comment about your views on the new favicon and KEEP TUNING.

TRAI IMPOSES 5 SMS PER DAY SMS LIMIT IN INDIA

For all of you SMS freaks, here is a heart-breaking news. TRAI has imposed a 5 SMS per day sms limit on all mobile users. The limit came into effect from August 18,2012 and will remain into effect for next 15 days. The users would be able to send 5 SMS'es per day after which message wont be delivered. Also, Users would not be able to send more than 20KB data from their mobile and not more than 5 MMS'es as well.

The reason behind this limit is the sending of bulk SMS'es from other states spreading rumors about vacating North-Eastern states.

Its very disappointing for the youth whose major source of communication is messages. No operator has offered any compensation or extension for validity extension for the SMS packs.

Mobile users can surely use alternative instant messengers like WhatsApp, ViberApps etc.
Also, Users can use sites like way2sms.com, 160by2.com etc.

CHANGE THE WINDOWS 8 LOCK SCREEN IMAGE

If you have got bored of seeing the same image every time you see your Windows 8 logon screen, Dont worry. We are changing it right now. And its fairly easy if some of you are wondering.

Tools you'll need:
Nothing except a Windows 8 installed PC

So, lets start:
Place the mouse pointer on the lower right corner of the screen to bring up the side panel. Click on Settings->Change PC Settings

Now, you are done. The upcoming Window has all you want. You can select a system image or browse to choose an image of your choice.

So, that was a simple process. But still, can give your computer a fresh look. You can use an image of your brand or website or anything you like.


Thank You for visiting TechTuned.

KEEP TUNING IN

SOCIAL CLOUD TV: NEVER MISS ANOTHER TV SHOW

Do you have  to leave a TV show because you have to go somewhere when you have waited an entire month for the show...?? Or have you suffered the pain of leaving an episode of your favorite television series just when it was getting the most interesting..........?? Never miss another show with this new technology called Social Cloud TV.

The mind behind this technology is a scientist from Singapore. This is basically a cloud application. It allows you to view TV shows along with your family and friends simultaneously. You can invite family and friends to join your session so that they can view what you are viewing.

If you are leaving somewhere, You can pull the TV show to your tablet or smartphone and view it on the go. On returning, you can throw it back on the television.

The application has a back end that decides and allows to stream video in best available format that is supported by your device. This way, it ensures you do not get the annoying "file not supported" or "cannot play" file message nor do you get a lower quality video undermining your device's capabilities.

So basically, it is a nice app that will change the way you watched television. The app is still in patent pending state but will surely hit the market with a bang. The app is currently getting great support from cable TV networks who are showing interest in the app as something never experienced before before.

For more updates
STAY TUNED

PRIVACY: A THING OF PAST

I was reading a tech magazine when i came across an article that gave me goosebumps. You will not be very glad to know that privacy just lost its meaning. With a thousand tracking sites online, every activity of you is being tracked.

I was testing the new collusion add-on for firefox that shows trackers in a graphical manner.
I visited these few sites:

• http://www.youtube.com
• http://www.google.com
• http://www.blogger.com
• http://www.facebook.com
• http://www.amazon.com
• http://www.syncers.com

Each visit to a site raised the tracker count but when i reached amazon.com, there was a sharp shoot up in tracker numbers and all i wanted to do at this moment was shutdown my PC. A little more surfing the internet completely freaked me out.

Below is a screenshot from collusion:

Leaving a handful of circles, rest all are trackers. And this screenshot follows after enabling the do not track feature on firefox. Are the mozilla people listening?????

Here's another screenshot after some more surfing. This time with a lot of new trackers.

Now, i leave it to your imagination how much secure is your data. These tracker sites can track each and every movement of yours on web. They can event track your social networking site updates.

Those of you who are thinking how could this affect you if some site is tracking your web visits then i must tell you that these sites track your personal data and store it in their databases making your info vulnerable if exposed. The forms you fill, the sites you visit, the status you posted are all being tracked. Facebook itself tracks you information to display relevant ads on its page.


I recommend installing collusion and see it yourself.
Downlaod collusion addon for firefox
Do comment about your experience.

Should this tracking be allowed without a proper system of securing your precious data....???

Well the debate continues.




More posts are awaiting readers.
KEEP TUNING IN

SHUTDOWN/RESTART YOU PC QUICKER (FOR LAZY PEOPLE ONLY)

For those of you who think the shutdown process in Windows operating system is quite long, the post is for you.

The shutdown process has been almost the same for Windows versions till Windows 7. In Windows 8, the shutdown process is a little changed and truly saying, it took me a while to figure it out. The trick i am gonna show you (batch file method) will shutdown or restart your computer with double clicking a single icon on desktop. (Batch file is a type of script file, a text file whose contents are executed by a command interpreter, in our case, the cmd.exe)

So let us start.
 1. Run Notepad and type the text shown in the image.

 2. Save the file as shutdown.bat on your desktop and you are done.
 3. Double click on the batch file on your desktop to shutdown your computer.

4. To create restart icon, repeat the same procedure but change the text in the batch file to "c:/Windows/system32/shutdown.exe /s /t 0"  without quotes.

5. To make the computer wait before shutdown , change the number ahead of the -t flag. For instance, if you want your computer to wait for 3s after clicking the shutdown batch file before shutdown, type "c:/Windows/system32/shutdown.exe /s /t 3" without quotes.

So guyz, now u r done with creating the shutdown/restart shortcuts(batch files).
Works on all versions of Windows.


More posts are waiting to be read by you. Join techtuned and help me make it successful.
KEEP TUNING IN

KEEP YOUR COMPUTER UP AND RUNNING

Is your computer running slow..??? Have you started thinking that running a computer is some herculian task..??? Have you lost control of your computer to these bugs??? Then this post is meant for you.

Managing your PC is an important part of running a computer. To maintain its speed and response, certain tasks have to be done periodically. This will ensure good response time and of course, a better experience while running your computer.

So, let's start

1. Clean up your Hard Disk

• Temporary Files

 These files are made by different programs for processing and reside on your hard disk even after use. Cleaning them is task you should do periodically.1
 1. Click on start menu and point to Run. In Windows 7 or 8, You can just type Run in program search.

2. Type "%temp%" without quotes and press enter.

3. Delete all the files in the folder permanently. Skip the files which do not get removed.

•  Run Disk Cleanup Regularly

Disk Cleanup automatically cleans up space on your disk cleaning any junk on your disk.

1. Right click on the disk drive in my computer which you want to clean up.

2. Switch to general tab and click Disk Cleanup.

 

• Remove unwanted programs.

1. In Windows XP, Click on Add or Remove programs in the left pane in My Computer.

2. In Windows 7 or 8, Click on Uninstall or change a program in Computer.

 

• Defragment your disk
  Defragmenting arranges fragmented data into continuous clusters so that computer works efficiently because it does not have to find files in different locations.
  
  1. Right click on the drive letter you want to defragment, navigate to the Tools tab and click on optimize.
  
  
  
  
  2. Remove Unnecessary Startup Programs
  1. Click on Start->Run
  2. Type "msconfig" without quotes.
  3. Uncheck any unnecessary startup programs
  Cannot provide illustrations for this one. Running Windows 8
  
  3. Use a good antivirus program
  A good antivirus program not only handles malware and virus but also works without affecting system performance.
  Antiviruses like McAfee and Norton are good but the system suffers a huge performance blow. I recommend "Microsoft Security Essentials". It is a good antivirus program and it does not slow down your system. Download Microsoft Security Essentials.
  
  4. Use Windows Ready Boost ( Windows Vista Onwards)
  If you have a performance flash drive with good data transfer speed, then plug it in and activate the ready boost feature. Windows will use the flash drive as cache memory and it is 50 times faster than using hard drive.
  
  1. Plug your pen drive in.
  2. Right click on the pen drive letter in Computer and click on properties.
  3.Navigate to ready boost tab.
  4. If your drive passes the test for ready boost then enable ready boost.
  
  
  5. You can also dedicate the device to ready boost by clicking on Dedicate this device to "ReadyBoost"
  
  5. Use a Registry Cleaning Program
  I recommend CCleaner. It is basically a junk cleaning programs that cleans your registry, temporary files, cookies and stuff so your computer functions efficiently. Download CCleaner 
  
  
  Probably, There's much more you can do to make your computer respond better. I'll cover them in a future post. Above all will help a ton.
  
  KEEP TUNING IN TO TECHNOLOGY

FLASH CFW TO NOKIA PHONES

All the other brands have switched to Android operating system but Nokia is still releasing symbian phones. The operating system is slow and lacks the graphical charm. Most of the symbian users would probably have got bored with that old and laggy symbian operating system. But flashing a CFW can change the user interface as well as the improve speed to quite an extent.

So, Today i am gonna show you how to flash CFW to your Nokia mobile phones.
Lets start.

•  Download the firmware files if you havn't already.

• Install the Nokia PC suite.

• Install jaf and pkey emulator.

• Navigate to the path where your firmware files are. There must be a file with extension .c00. Rename the extension to .c0r.

When all this is done, you are ready to flash the firmware to your phone.

NOTE: Flashing can brick your phone if you install a lower version compared to your current firmware.
Press *#0000# on your Nokia phone to check your firmware version and always install a higher version   than that.
To know the version of firmware you are installing, check the naming of the .c0r file. It must tell you the version. DO NOT FLASH A LOWER VERSION THAN WHAT IS ON YOUR PHONE.


So, enough of warnings and stuff. Lets start.
1. Run the pkey emulator and click on go.

2. Jaf will be launched. Ignore the message "Box driver not installed" if it appears by clicking on OK.

3. Click on the bb5 tab and check the boxes filled with black dots below. Uncheck all the rest.

4. Click on MCU and wait for file explorer to appear. When it does, navigate to you firmware files and select the .c0r file. MCU light should now turn green in JAF. Similarly, do it for the following.

• PPM - rofs2 file
• APE variant - uda.fpsx file

5. Finally, it should look like this. All you have to do now is to click on flash.

6. After clicking flash, it should give a warning about downgrading killing your phone. Ignore it. When it asks to power on your phone, press the power button of your phone for half a second and then release. Status should show phone detected and flashing shall start.

7. When the process completes, your phone will show a white screen with text Local Mode. Remove the battery and insert it again. Enjoy the new firmware. Hard reset is recommended although not necessary. (Press *#7370#)

REMEMBER......DO NOT DOWNGRADE.......Ill post about some cool firmwares asap....

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES NEW HALO TITLE

HALO- FORWARD UNTO DAWN

Halo - Forward unto dawn is a web series of Halo franchise announced by Microsoft prior to release of Halo 4. You will be able to get hands on with the web series by October 5, 2012 while Halo 4 will be released later in the year on November 6, 2012.

No further details about the series have been disclosed by Microsoft.

Here's the official trailer:

MICROSOFT SURFACE

A new generation of tablet pc's have been announced by Microsoft to be released this October with the release of Windows 8. The surface will be released in two versions - Surface and Surface pro.

Surface will sport a ARM processor while Surface pro will have core i5 processor. Also, Surface will be supported with Windows RT operating system while Surface Pro will run on Windows 8 Pro.

A 10.6" display, touch sensitive keys, gyro sensor and accelerometer sensor has been announced common to both tabs.

Pricing is rumored to be around 599$ for Surface and 999$ for Surface Pro.
The Surface version is to be released on October 26 and the Pro version three months later.





Will post a complete spec list as soon as the tab is released.

GOOGLE NEXUS 7 REVIEW

Here comes the Google Nexus 7. It has got some pretty impressive hardware. Powered by Quad Core nVidia Tegra 3 Processor, it packs the latest version of Android operating system (4.1, Jellybean).

The display is  a 7" WXGA (1280 x 800) IPS display with a respectable 216 ppi pixel density, pretty good for a 120$-150$ investment. The back cover has a rubbery finish allowing proper grip.

The tablet packs in nVidia Tegra 3 Quad Core processor. It delivers supreme performance and multitasking. Integrated nVidia GPU offers console quality gaming and HD video performance. It also packs a 1 GB Ram. What is quite disappointing is that it lacks storage expandability.

Bottom sports a microUSB port for charging and data transfer as well as a 3.5 mm audio jack.

 Below is a list of complete specifications:

• SCREEN

• 7” 1280x800 HD display (216 ppi)
• Back-lit IPS display
• Scratch-resistant Corning glass
• 1.2MP front-facing camera 

• BATTERY

• 4325 mAh 
• 9 hours of HD video playback 
• 10 hours of web browsing 
• 10 hours of e-reading 
• 300 hours of standby 

• WEIGHT

• 340 grams

• SIZE

• 198.5 x 120 x 10.45mm

• MEMORY

• 8 or 16 GB internal storage
• 1 GB RAM

•  WIRELESS

• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth

• FEATURES

• Microphone
• NFC (Android Beam)
• Accelerometer
• GPS
• Magnetometer
• Gyroscope
•  

As mentioned before, the tablet is priced at 120$-150$ and has a good price to performance ratio.
Keep It Up Asus and Google.

MAKE YOUR WIFI SECURE

With the invention of so many hacking tools and a thousand tutorials that can make a novice hack your devices, Security of wifi's have been put to risk. Its necessary guyz to know how to make your wifi secure.

1. Change Your Security Level To WPA/WPA2

• My wifi still detects many connections with WEP. It is an outdated method and can be easily hacked using backtrack penetration tools.
• WPA/WPA2 is very difficult to crack. Hacking WPA/WPA2 is based on dictionary attack method. Hackers will have no luck if you have a strong password.

2. Choose A Strong Password

• Choose a strong password. 12345678 wont do.
• Mix up capital and strong letters. It makes dictionary attack even more worthless.
• Mix up special characters in between.
• A long password is more difficult to crack.
• Avoid words that can be found in a dictionary. 

3. Check who is connected to your wifi

• DHCP client list on your router interface should tell you that. Just type in your common gateway address in your browser bar, login to your router and find out.