Vista Look on Windows XP - Vistamizer

People who do not bother about how vista works but only how it looks, but can not install it on their 'old' machine or don't want a hole burnt into their pocket - might want to look at Vistamizer (ver. 1.1.6) - it's tailor-made for guys who want to give their XP machines, the new Vista look!

Many would have used desktop replacement software, like Windows Blinds, Style XP etc. to make XP look like Vista - but nothing comes close to Vistamizer and added benefits are - it replaces the system files, so no heavy background processes have to be run while using the look; uninstallation is clean leaving the system perfectly in the state it was before installation; and it's a freeware!

All essential Vista looks are packaged, viz: startup, logon screens, sounds, taskbar, icons, applications' appearance and even, thumbnails of minimized windows while hovering over them. To view enlarged screenshots, click here...

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A Googlewhack approach to be a Googlewhacker!

Googlewhack, for those who have been living in a dream world and do not know what 'the one' is, is a search query consisting of only two words entered into Google's search page that results in one & only one result - and then, there are rules [Follow this to read the rules].

Googlewhacking is the pastime of finding a Googlewhack.

Googlewhacker is a person Googlewhacking.

Now, after all these definitions to get the 'no idea' reader interested, let's get to the story. Let me be right to the point.

For the uninitiated, starting from random words would take ages - and one may still not become a Googlewhacker. There are small scripts floating around the net to get to such queries, but there is hardly one with 'something to write home about' success rate!

A GOOGLEWHACK APPROACH. [+/-]

1. A Googlewhack approach is the usual approach i.e. to take any of the recently found Googlewhacks, listed here, and play around with the words to find a new Googlewhack.
2. What could make your search narrower?
   
3. You have a page using a known Googlewhack - and what you are looking for is another 'unusual' word that would be in the same page and meets all the requirements!
4. So, replace a word from the known Googlewhack with a new 'unusual' word occurring in the current Googlewhack page. If you are lucky you would find a new whack.
5. A 'geekier' approach in non-geeky terms can be found in following steps:
1. You have to find a magic 'already listed' Googlewhack [usually Googlewhackers select one and stick with it until they give up]. The magic one is found by looking at a scar - yep, just like Harry Potter's - one of the words in the googlewhack should not be in the page - tht's the scar!
2. Query your Googlewhack and click on 'cached'. At the top, look for 'these terms only appear in links pointing to this page: one_of_the_words' [see pics]. This is your magic Googlewhack.
3. Now, scroll down and look for places where there could have been some pics, links etc. [see pics]. Use one of those words.
   
4. I found quite a few Googlewhacks on a single & different page using this technique.
5. But, using this technique for same set of words for a lot of time gives you this so keep chopping and changing!

Thanks to my friend, Prashant Gaharwar, for his help in Googlewhacking.

Happy Googlewhacking!

- Pag 'Googlewhacker' Floyd :D

P.S. The list of recent Googlewhacks is here...

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A-Z of the Harry Potter World!

With the release of Deathly Hollows, ahem Hallows, on popular demand, I almost wrote the A-Z list of the Harry Potter World - The most important terms, characters, places et. al. in James's (who? Harry James Potter ;)) world in an alphabetically ordered list.

But, while exploring around for references, I found an excellent A-Z list here. It's nearly the kind of list I'd have made except a few minor changes which are listed below, but it's a good read anyway.

Here are the minor changes/more suggestions:
A - Avada Kedavra
B - Bellatrix 'Bella' Lestrange
E - Expecto Patronum
F - Fudge
H - Hermione, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hagrid too! {the list says 'Harry Potter'}
I - Imperio (Imperius Curse)
J - J. K. Rowling (well, one can't leave her out!)
K - Knight Bus
O - O.W.L.s
R - Ron Weasley (although the list mentions the Weasleys in W but Ron needs special mention)
T - Transfiguration
Z - Little to choose from but maybe, Mrs. Zabini for her 'alleged' supreme beauty ;)

You beg to differ? Write in!

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How to show Images uploaded on Blogger in a Modal Window using Lightwindow

If one has been following this post, he/she would be happy that 'phydeaux3' suggested the possible cause and a solution to the problem. phydeaux3's original comment in full body & soul can be viewed here.

Quoting phydeaux3's comment:

"Actually, the problem most likely resides in the peculiar way blogger image hosting works. By default, the large linked image is in a format (I'm using yours as the example and only showing the last relevant bits of the url)

/s1600-h/mpro.jpg

If you view that image directly, you'll find that Picasa Web Albums (which is the actual image host for blogger) makes this NOT an actual image file, but an html page, with an image embedded in it (view source). What that means is, the large image cannot be used as in in an image tag, but only viewed directly. But if you cut out the -h in the folder name
s1600/mpro.jpg
That gives an image that CAN be used in an image tag, and presumeable in your scripts as well (but cannot be viewed directly, as it will prompt for a file down load..yeah it's odd). So remove the -h from the last folder name and try it.

(there also may be referrer restrictions on images larger than 800px in size, but I haven't messed with it lately)."

Here, I put the above to the original test (without '-h' in the target url):
Without a doubt, it works! Hail phydeaux3 :)

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Lightwindow fails to run with Images uploaded on Blogger

Modal Window (Box) utility, Lightwindow - based on Prototype & Script.aculo.us libraries - fails to pop-up on clicking the (image or text) link if used with an image uploaded on Blogger. At least, it does not in my case. It works in case of other links (e.g. click on Lightwindow, Prototype etc. links).

To illustrate the point, here is an image uploaded on Imageshack (Click on it : works clean as a whistle!)...

Read the full story...

Now, here is an image uploaded on Blogger (Again, click on it - Caution: the page would behave abnormally & you might have to close or reload the page!)...

I hope, I am not the only one with the problem and someone would have the brains to sort this out. I guess, the problem is with how 'lightwindow' deals with the URLs or may be not! Nevertheless, it's a great library, and this little problem should not stop anyone from donating towards 'buy macbook pro' cause :P

P.S. It's worth noting that ModalBox, another lightwindow like library, also fails in the above case!! (May be the problem is with Prototype or Scriptaculous as ModalBox also uses both :|)

Update: We've a solution - suggested by 'phydeaux3' in the 'annotations' below - here is a link to a working demonstration.

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How to Widgetize your RSS feeds?

Here is a step-by-step guide to Widgetize (Desktop or Web) your (or any) RSS feed, just like the one on this blog on the right (Web-based), powered by MuseStorm.

1. Go here, if you haven't already joined or else here to login.


2. You will be taken to the 'Dashboard' after logging in.


3. Click on the button 'Widgetize a Feed'


4. Enter your feed URL (e.g. if you have a BLOGGER account, your feed would be 'http://www.[blog-name].blogspot.com/feeds/post/default') & Click on 'Add Feed'.


5. In the Widgetize Feed form that pops up after step 4, enter mandatory (*) and optional fields - also 'check' on 'Web Widgets' + 'Desktop Widgets' (currently supports 'Yahoo Widgets' & 'Google Gadgets')


6. If all goes well, you will see 'Your widgets are ready!'


7. You can download the Desktop Widgets or click on 'view' for the Web Widget to configure it.


8. When 'configured', click on 'widgetize' to get the code for 'Web-Widget' to be put on any website.


9. In case of blogger, the instructions (directly copied from the source) are:
   
   
   
   1. Login to your Blogger account
   
   
   2. Select your blog from the dashboard
   
   
   3. Click the "Layout" link
   
   
   4. Select "Add a page element"
   
   
   5. Select a "HTML/JavaScript" element
   
   
   6. Give the element a title and paste the HTML snippet into the content field
   
   
   7. Hit "Save changes"
   
   
   8. OR, directly edit the template's HTML
      

Happy Widgetizing!

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Emotions against Google!

Are emotions running high against Google? All of a sudden, everything is going against the search giant, except of course, the big-moolah. Sample this:

• Who's who of IT industry questioning Google's monopolistic move to buyout DoubleClick - the list is getting longer everyday.


• $1 billion lawsuit from Viacom for YouTube's alleged copyright infringement.


• Privacy International placing Google dead last in its evaluation of Internet service companies in terms of consumer data protection, labeling it hostile to privacy.


• Came under the scanner for keeping a lifelong record of every search query of each of its users, along with the IP address the query was executed from and a cookie ID to link together queries from a user's computer even if the IP address changes - a direct link to the point preceding this.


• Allegations that Google underestimates click fraud rates even after it paid a $90 million settlement in a click fraud case in March of last year.


• Amazon deciding to use M$'s Live Search over Google's to provide search results on its site.


• Today's news that prompted this article, Microsoft replaces Google as the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising on Digg.

Read the full story...

If the above seem more like the IT industry players standing up against their arguably biggest comptetitor today - then the mood among the users isn't all that forgiving too! Recently, when Google filed an antitrust complaint against M$'s Vista Search, people's reaction was, like: Google is the new bad-boy(girl ;)) - it was surprising to see people's sympathy with Microsoft (in a new role i.e. of a victim).

The higher one gets, the more visible one becomes to the public eye - hence more prone to public criticism. It's apparent celebrity status brings with it public scrutiny - but, at the moment it seems emotions against Google are at an all-time high which may be disastrous because when Microsoft used to be criticized, it didn't have a powerful competitor to gain advantage but in case of Google, it has a powerful foe to contend with, and it's ironically, Microsoft!

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Adsense incompatible with Blogger?

When I tried to insert 'Google SiteSearch' code generated through Google Adsense into the template of my Blog on the recently revamped Google's Blogger - it gave the following error on saving:

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly. XML error message: Attribute name "checked" associated with an element type "input" must be followed by the ' = ' character.

Since, the new Blogger had been in beta earlier - I suppose these quirks have already been discussed and thus, I got the solution i.e. to write: checked = "true" to get rid of the problem in the SiteSearch's auto-generated code. But, the bigger question is "Is the adsense generating non-standard code?"

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Harry Potter and the Autograph of the Batting Wizard!

No, it's not the title of the 8th installment of the HP series - but, a meeting of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) with the Batting Wizard of Cricket (Sachin Tendulkar).

Potter turned up at Lord's to witness England take on India in the first match of the three test-match series. The match ended in a rain-washed draw but Potter made the most of his first visit to any cricket match by getting an autograph of the Indian batting maestro and also, the englishman - Andrew Strauss. Amusing is the fact that both the cricketers didn't recognize Mr. Potter - as they were in a customary position while signing i.e. their heads down into the autograph books of their fans - an impossible position to have a look at the fans, one of whom happened to be Radcliffe himself!

Later, Strauss got an HP book signed by the On-Screen Potter for his son. Apparently, the news did finally get to the cricketer that one of the fans was not YAF (Yet Another Fan)!

Read the full story here...

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How to ace the NTSE interview?

This post is a direct result of a number of emails received by a friend of mine who is an NTSE scholar (Year 2000) on preparation for the NTSE interview.

NTSE is an acronym for: National Talent Search Examination - a prestigious scholarship exam in India for standard 10th passouts leading to a scholarship funding upto postdoc level.

Here is what my scholar friend has to say about the interview:

Read the full story...

• Like any interview, the key is confidence. Be confident about your answers. 'May be' is not the way to go - you should be either right or wrong!
  
  
  


• The interview isn't long - thus, make your mark right at the outset, through your confidence and mannerisms. Impressing the interview panel with your knowledge comes as a secondary task. e.g. Knock at the door before entering, ask for permission to enter, sit (but do not be servile in your tone, exude confidence!), DO NOT be the FIRST to offer your hand for a shake, DO NOT shake your legs...
  
  
  


• Physics and History are two subjects that have enough theory material in them, to become interesting fodder for interview panel for their questions.
  
  
  


• But, do not delve into new theory material before the interview - revise what you learnt for the mains written exam.
  
  
  


• The questions are generally simple but tend to be tricky e.g. if an ice-cube floating on the surface of water (in a glass) melts, the water level increases or decreases? how would one measure the height of a building using only a barometer? ...and questions in a similar vein.
  
  
  

I guess, these guidelines would be of some help for prospective NTSE scholars.

Regards,
Prashant Gaharwar.
---------------------

Thank you Prashant for the helpful post!
If this post was useful to you, please DIGG IT! or Leave a comment.

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Wrong Potter book and the Real Spoilers!

It seems my source wasn't authentic enough hence the earlier misleading spoilers...

here go the real spoilers:

Also have a look at why the 'leaker' is safe!

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Why the 'leaker' of Harry's last adventure is safe - the escape route!

As claimed here, "A few lines of 'digital DNA' could allow the publishers of Harry Potter to find and finger the person apparently responsible for leaking the final adventures of the boy wizard...", may not turn out to be entirely fool-proof.

Taken, the digital DNA (EXIF data) has revealed the camera model [Canon Rebel 350] and the serial number [560151117] and may eventually point out the owner of the camera, but is he/she the person they are really looking for? Noticeable is the fact that the camera has been out for 3 years - and assuming that the 'original owner' would still be the 'owner' of the camera is a bit far-fetched and even if true, provides an escape-route for the 'leaker'.

Read the full story...

Simply put, these cases are possible:
Case 1: Original Owner is the Current Owner.
Escape Route #1. Destroy the piece. Say that somebody stole it.
Escape Route #2. Trashed it on 'World Garbage Day' [that weird day when people throw out their old tech items]!

Case 2: Original Owner is NOT the Current Owner.
Escape Route #3. The Original Owner reveals the identity of the Current Owner who in turn employs escape route 1 & 2.
Escape Route #4. The Original Owner and the Current Owner get into a deal, and the Original Owner employs escape route 1 & 2.

Another Case: Original Owner is NOT the Current Owner but IS questioned.
This is where I have my doubts. Is the person responsible for the clicked pics since he is the owner of the camera even if he didn't click them, as is the case in 'Fire-arms'? What does the law (of different countries) have to say about this? What if he clicked them for personal use but claims 'he didn't upload them'? Is he still responsible? If yes, what would happen in a case if in a fight between two, one of them uses a third person's, say 'camera', to hit the other on his head and the latter dies - is the third person an accomplice in murder?

Time to rethink, i guess!

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A-Z of Top Motion Pictures!

Note 1: Articles, Prepositions eg: a, an, the, to etc. ignored while determining alphabetical order!
Note 2: Movies mainly from English (Hollywood) & Hindi (Bollywood) Film Industries
Key: Movie Name: Language - Year of Release - IMDB Rating - Plot Synopsis - Strongest Point(s) - [Other Movies]

Anand: Hindi - 1970 - 8.9/10 - The classic story of a terminally ill man who wishes to live life to the full before the inevitable occurs, as told by his best friend - Story + Acting of Rajesh Khanna - [Apollo 13]

Beautiful Mind, A: English - 2001 - 7.8/10 - After a brilliant but asocial mathematician accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn to the nightmarish - Story + Acting of Russell Crowe - [Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il, Bawarchi]

Read the full story...

Citizen Kane: English - 1941 - 8.6/10 - Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance - The Story! - [Cinderella Man, Cast Away, Chupke Chupke]

Die Hard: English - 1988 - 8.1/10 - New York cop John McClane gives terrorists a dose of their own medicine as they hold hostages in an LA office building - The Perfect Prototype, the Original among modern action movies, Bruce Willis - [Dil Chahta Hai, Dot the I]

Exorcist, The: English - 1973 - 8.0/10 - A troubled cleric sees a means of redemption in helping a psychologically damaged teen - Landmark of horror films!

Forrest Gump: English - 1994 - 8.4/10 - A man with a low IQ miraculously accomplishes great things in his life and lands himself a part in significant historical events while he longs for his true love - Story, Tom Hanks

Gol Maal: Hindi - 2000 - 9.2/10 - A recent college graduate spins a web of deceit around his employer, who believes a man without moustache is without any character, leading to a humorous conflict - The Story! and the amazing Utpal Dutt & Amol Palekar - [Gladiator, Gandhi]

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (to be released ;)) !

Independence Day: English - 1996 - 6.2/10 - Aliens, Humans, War, Independence! - The kind of movie that brings people to cinema halls!

Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar: Hindi - 1992 - 8.8/10 - The coming of age story of an irresponsible college guy, the rising of an underdog - Inspirational Story, Carefree acting

Kill a Mocking Bird, To: English - 1962 - 8.5/10 - a lawyer in the Depression-era defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his kids against prejudice - The Courtroom Drama

Lion King, The: English (Animation) - 1994 - 8.0/10 - Tricked into thinking he killed his father, a guilt ridden lion cub flees into exile and abandons his identity as the future King - Best Animated Drama ever made, it makes you cry! - [Lage Raho Munna Bhai]

Matrix, The: English - 1999 - 8.6/10 - A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers of it - aah...go watch it! - [Motorcycle Diaries, The]

Notting Hill: English - 1999 - 6.9/10 - The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when the most famous star in the world walks in his shop and buys a book - One of the most romantic tales of love, charming acting of Hugh Grant

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: English - 1975 - 8.8/10 - Upon arrival at a mental institution, a brash rebel rallies the patients together to take on the oppressive Nurse Ratched, a woman more a dictator than a nurse - The Tragic End, Jack Nicholson's amazing acting

Pianist, The: English - 2002 - 8.5/10 - A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II - It's a True Story!, Adrien Brody's acting - [Philadelphia]

Qayamat se Qayamat Tak: Hindi - 1988 - 8.5/10 - Classic runaway tragic love story of a boy and a girl - The Songs!, the youthful story, the nostalgia - [The Queen, Quills]

Requiem For A Dream: English - 2000 - 8.4/10 - The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control - Watch it to feel the addiction - [Rain Man]

Shawshank Redemption, The: English - 1994 - 9.2/10 - Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency - The Remarkable Story and the End, the presentation, the acting...

+ (surprise, surprise!)

Sholay: Hindi - 1975 - 7.0/10 - Two small time but brave crooks are picked by Thakur to avenge his 'losses' against Gabbar, the deadly dacoit - the ultimate revenge story with Action, Romance, Humour, Drama and what not!, timeless dialogues, songs, characters and wonderful acting by one and all involved! - [Schindler's List, Speed, Saving Private Ryan]

Terminator 2 - Judgement Day: English - 1991 - 8.3/10 - A shape-shifting cyborg is sent back from the future to kill John Connor before he can grow up to lead the resistance; a protector is sent, too - Arguably the greatest action movie with jaw-dropping chase sequences ever made - [The Titanic, Thank You for Smoking]

Usual Suspects, The: English - 1995 - 8.7/10 - A boat has been destroyed, criminals are dead, and the key to this mystery lies with the only survivor and his twisted, convoluted story beginning with five career crooks in a seemingly random police lineup - The Mysterious Plot

V for Vendetta: English - 2005 - 8.3/10 - A shadowy freedom fighter known only as "V" uses terrorist tactics to fight against his totalitarian society - Dialogues, Plot, The Association that grows with 'V' - even though one never sees beyond the mask

Wall, The: English - 1982 - 7.6/10 - A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone - The Wall Soundtrack, the philosophy, the Pink Floyd effect!

X-Men: English - 2000 - 7.3/10 - Two mutants come to a private academy for mutants whose resident superhero team must oppose a powerful mutant terrorist organization - A Comic book adaptation that doesn't seem like one!

Ying Xiong (The Hero): Mandarin (English) - 2002 - 8.0/10 - A series of Rashomon-like flashback accounts shape the story of how one man defeated three assassins who sought to murder the most powerful warlord in pre-unified China - The Beautiful Imagery, fight sequences, costumes

Zanjeer: Hindi - 1973 - 8.4/10 - A forthright police inspector, suspended from duty, tracks down the killer who killed his family years ago and becomes a regular in his nightmares - Plot, Action, The first box-office hit of Amitabh Bachchan.

...The A-Z Ranking Ends!

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows spoilers!

Spoilers!

- Ron dies
- Lupin dies
- Percy dies
- Voldemort dies
- Snape dies
- Harry DOES NOT!

Read the full story...

Details not needed -> Just say BELLATRIX KILLS RON!

Snape's loyalty?
The reader found this to be the saddest part of the book. As many people guessed, all was not what it seemed with Dumbledore, and the two did indeed have a plan that would eventually result in Snape killing him. But, Snape was only in on things for personal gain, and when Voldemort learns of this, he is obviously furious with Snape. Snape tries to make up for things by luring Harry to him, but Harry manages to escape, and Voldemort kills Snape before the final conflict.

The reader doesn't know what all these rumours are about Voldemort kidnapping Ron, it's a complete lie. Ron is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in The Battle of Hogwarts, but Neville manages to finish off Bellatrix after Ron weakens her before his death.

Harry is not a horcrux.

Voldemort is killed in the Department Of Mysteries. He baits Harry about his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore and Ron. which turns out to be the worst thing Voldemort could have done. As Voldemort steps out into the circular bit with many doors, Harry opens the locked door, and Voldemort is destroyed by the blinding light, which heals Harry, who seems close to death (he does not die!).

Update: July 21, 2007 - The REAL Spoilers!

Checkout the 'A-Z' list of Harry Potter World!

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google.com is worth $0.00, MSN leads!

Yeah it's true, if 'how much is your blog worth?', a tool developed using Technorati's API, is to be believed!

Inspired by Tristan Louis's research into the value of each link to Weblogs Inc, this tool was created using Technorati's API which computes and displays your blog's worth using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal. Old news, huh!

But, writing www.google.com in the box to compute it's worth gives this startling result:
Read the full story...

On the other hand, the results for www.yahoo.com& www.msn.com are, well...have a look!

& technorati's:
To be fair, google's main page is the search page, while yahoo's/msn's/technorati's is not! Have a look at what search.yahoo.com is worth!

On a side note, this blog's worth is, at least, more than the search giant (i.e. google) ;) Look to your right!

P.S. Long time, no posts - time to be less irregular!

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