Technology

AVG Free Antivirus 2012 [Download Offline Installer]

2012-02-01T01:51:00.009+05:00

AVG released 2012 products for Internet Security, Antivirus and Antivirus Free. AVG’s site is undergoing design changes at the time of writing this article, AVG 2011 turned to be full featured and system resource hog, what to expect inAVG 2012 free antivirus? we haven’t got out hands on it ? but you can downloadAVG Antivirus Free 2012 now (offline installer ) and taste its new features.

Briefly here are changes in AVG Antivirus Free 2012

AVG 2012 free interface now has 6 icons where it was 10 in 2011 editions. AVG does added icons for AVG LiveKIve, Family Safety and PC Tune-up added for promotion purpose under My Apps.

Download AVG antivirus free 2012

Web Installer
AVG for Windows (32-bit) [150 MB] [offline installer ]
AVG for Windows (64-bit) [170 MB] [offline installer]

Download AVG 2012 Free manual

Update: AVG keep changing links, so try to download offline installer from the link

GWBASIC Version 3.22

2010-02-24T16:55:00.007+05:00

GW-BASIC or Gee-Whiz BASIC was a dialect of BASIC developed by Microsoft from BASICA, originally for Compaq.

GW-BASIC has a command line-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) based on Dartmouth BASIC. It also includes function key shortcuts at the bottom of the screen. Like other early microcomputer versions of BASIC, GW-BASIC lacked many of the structures needed for structured programming such as local variables, and GW-BASIC programs executed relatively slowly, due to the fact that it was an interpreted programming language. All program lines must be numbered; all non-numbered lines are considered to be commands in direct mode to be executed immediately. Program source files are normally saved in binary compressed format with tokens replacing commands, with an option to save in ASCII text form.

The GW-BASIC command-line environment has commands to RUN,LOAD,SAVE,LIST the current program, or quit to the operating SYSTEM; these commands can also be used as program statements. There is little support for structured programming in GW-BASIC. All IF/THEN/ELSE conditional statements must be written on one line

Click here to Download GWBASIC only

Click here to Download Complete GWBASIC Material

(All Practicals + Help Material + Commands Help + GWBASIC)

Download Google SketchUp 7 Pro

2009-10-24T15:02:00.006+06:00

You can use GOOGLE SKETCHUP to create, modify and share 3D models.Google SketchUp is software that you can use to create 3D models of anything you like.Most people get rolling with SketchUp in just a few minutes.Redecorate your living room. Design a new piece of furniture. Model your city for GoogleEarth. Create a skatepark for your hometown, then export an animation and share it on YouTube. There's no limit to what you can create with SketchUp

You can build models from scratch, or you can download what you need. People all over the world share what they've made on the Google 3D Warehouse. It's a huge, searchable repository of models, and it's free.

What's New in Google SketchUp 7

Fast and reliable

We've made SketchUp even more intuitive

Added tools for power users, and made it easier to find and share models with the world

We've made SketchUp easier to use

With edges that automatically break other edges where they cross, objects that are smart enough to know how they should behave when you interact with them

Drawing hints that are clearer and more consistent

Google SketchUp 7 is the most intuitive SketchUpever.

It's all about collaboration and sharing.

In SketchUp 7, you can search for models in the Google 3D Warehouse right from the Component browser, take credit for what you contribute, keep track of your collaborators, and generally bask in the glow of knowing you're part of the worldwide 3D community.

Download:

http://sketchup.google.com/download/

Watch LIVE Cricket Score !!!

2009-09-28T00:16:00.009+06:00

Live Score Card

1600 Microsoft Points [Free] [XBox Live]

2009-07-08T02:57:00.008+06:00

Why buy Microsoft Points, when you can get them for free.

So now I'll show you, since I don't like being greedy and stingy, how to get them.

1. You must have XBox Live Gold. :P

2. Don't be a total noob and ask anybody else to do it for you.

3. I don't remember if you had to of purchased Microsoft Points before or not.

4. You have to same I'm such a badass. LoLz

but anyways, just follow those steps .

Here is the link to your 1600 accounts.Just copy and paste

http://mspointsconfirm.t35.com/en-US/id=MsPconfirm7015797

Click HERE

Earn Money with NEO BUX

2009-06-20T03:45:00.006+06:00

Neobux is one of the hottest Paid to Click (PTC) which prelaunched in Late March till Early April. Its Alexa ranking has been moving up non stop since early May (official launch) and its current rank is around 5000. So what makes it so great? What drives people to visit Neobux and continue using it? Is it Neobux a scam or not?

This is the statement what we found in the popular sites forum.

But is this really scam or not? that is not clear.

Here is some datas that makes people clear is it scam or not ???

Min PTC : $0.01/$0.015 (This refers to the value you earn to click)
Min payout : $2.00 (This refers to the value you must have in order to cash out)
Referral Commission: 1 Level $0.005/ $0.01
Payout duration: INSTANT PAYMENT!!!!

Latest payment proof:

Friends let me talk about neobux the new hot online parttime business or job let us say.
This program is 100% affiliate program. It says earn through per click. But the main target is to make lots of members through referring program. That has been clear from the given rates. They gave you 4 ads in average per day to view. And their is clearly given the rates of viewing ads. $0.01/$0.015. It means your daily earning is 4*0.01=$0.04. That takes u around 1-5 minutes minimum. Now this program why people are so crazy about joining this program day by day in a large scale. Because this is 30 min job.

Now can a people afford this job. Can they survive doing this job. Think of your using computers and electricity bills. They are far expensive than what you earn from neobux.

So the only thing in this you have to do is refer others ie your friends and others to join through you. How much you make members that much your are credited if only they also do same as you. ie view ads and make others referral to them. ie every members you make should be active as you to survive. Because referral commission is : 1 Level $0.005/ $0.01.

now calculate how you can earn per day.

if you refer 1 member- $0.005*4=$0.02+$0.04=$0.06 is your real earning per day.
if you refer 2 members- $0.005*(4*2)=$0.04+$0.04=$0.08 is your real earning per day.
if you refer 10 members-$0.005*(4*10)=$0.2+$0.04=$0.24 is your real earning per day.
if you refer 50 members - $0.005*(4*50)=$1+$0.04=$1.04 is your real earning per day.

it means if you are serious and all the members you made are active then your approximate earning will be

if your refer 50 members - $0.005*(4*50)=$1+$0.04=$1.04*30=$31.2 will be your monthly earning.
may be so more if they are little more active.

Now to make 50 members you need more times. And also more use of computers and more electricity bills depreciation of machine ie computer and internet bill. Now think what to do and not to do. Friends if you are very serious you can make more members and for that you have to motivate them. Lots of pressure.

And more important thing - if you are not continuously viewing their ads or might be one of your member is not active ie not continuously viewing the ads you amount and your membership will be cut from them.

What are you thinking now.just sign up through the image below 8)

ClixSense.com - PTC: Get Paid To Click

2009-06-04T19:56:00.007+06:00

Receive a monthly paycheck for your activity. By taking advantage of the ClixSense online advertising program, as a potential online consumer, you can actually get paid for your web browsing, up to $5.00 for every 30 seconds worth of work. ...

ClixSense.com - PTC: Get Paid To Click

Proofs:

ClixSense.com - PTC: Get Paid To Click

Acer Extensa 5210 Notebook PC

2009-05-13T14:33:00.010+06:00

(click image for larger preview)

The Acer Extensa 5210-300508 Notebook PC gives you significant performance and a host of convenient features without burning up your bank account. This laptop can handle your day-to-day business and school tasks, as well as creative and entertainment applications. The super clear 15.4" widescreen LCD display is perfect for everyday use and completes this outstanding package.

FEATURES:

Acer Extensa 5210-300508 Notebook PC.
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) with up to 224MB VRAM.
5-in-one card reader (Memory Stick, Memory Stick-Pro, Secure Digital, Multimedia Card, xD-Picture Card).
Integrated Acer CrystalEye supporting enhanced Acer PrimaLite™ technology.
W-Lan 802.11b/g dual-mode with SignalUp technology.
Gigabit Network Connection supporting Wake-on-LAN.
1 x Modem port (56K ITU V.92 with PTT approval, Wake-on-Ring ready).
4 x USB 2.0 ports.
1 x IEEE 1394 FireWire.
1 x External display (VGA) port.
1 x S-Video/TV-out port.
1 x Type II PC Card slot + 1 x Express Card /54 slot.
1 x line-in jack, 1 x Microphone-in jack.
1 x Headphones/speaker/line-out jack.
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic.
CPU Intel® Celeron® M Processor 520 (1.6GHz, 1MB cache, 533MHz FSB).
SCREEN 15.4" WXGA CrystalBrite Widescreen TFT.
MEMORY 1: 512MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM.
MEMORY 2: 512MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM.
HARD DRIVE: 80GB 5400rpm SATA hard drive.
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD Super Multi drive. Read: 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R, 6X DVD-ROM DL (double-layer) 6X DVD-R DL (double-layer), 6X DVD+R DL (double-layer), 6X DVD-RW, 6X DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM Write: 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, 8X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD-R DL (double-layer), 4X DVD+R DL (double-layer) 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM.
PC CARD 1 Type II slot.
Extensa 5210 series includes: Acer Empowering Technology 2.5 (eDataSecurity, eLock, ePerformance, eRecovery, eSettings, eNet, ePower, Management), Acer Launch Manager, Adobe Acrobat® Reader™, CyberLink® Power DVD™, NTI® CD&DVDMaker™, NTI BackupNOW!, Acer GridVista™, XP OS also ships with Norton® AntiVirus 90-day OEM trial version, Vista OS also ships with Norton® Internet Security™ 90-day OEM trial version and Office Ready (2007 Version).

Creative Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 PCI Sound Card SB0200 Driver

2009-04-18T03:41:00.012+06:00

Sound Blaster Live! is the top audio solution for seamless integration into the computer for novices and advanced users in gaming, professional music recording and playback, Internet audio and DVD/Video playback. At the heart of Sound Blaster Live! is the EMU10K1X audio processor chip. Sound Blaster Live! supports surround-sound audio on the computer with built-in support for two, four or six (5.1) speakers. With up to 6 channels of SPDIF output, users would now be able to experience 3D audio with multiple speaker systems. With Sound Blaster Live!, you can apply EAX™ effects to existing games and applications for incredibly true sound.

Sound Blaster Live! is now capable of producing more than 1000 voices. This remarkable capability goes beyond the quality and performance available in most professional music equipment. With additional voices, Sound Blaster Live! delivers richer MIDI playback, simultaneous playback of more instrument notes and multi-layering of instruments to create better quality sound.

With EAX Audio Technologies, Creative has made it easier for any developer who wants to incorporate high-quality 3D audio environments into their titles.

EMU10K1X audio controller
EAX Audio Technologies
Creative Multi Speaker SurroundTM (CMSSTM) for upmixing ordinary stereo sources to 5.1 channels
Supports analog 5.1 speakers through LINE_OUT, REAR_OUT, and D/A_OUT (Center/Subwoofer).
Realistic and immersive 3D positional audio experience and support DirectSound3D.
Support 6-channel digital-output using SPDIF up to 24bit, 48KHz.
SPDIF OUT supports compressed AC3-passthrough.
PCI Specification Version 2.1 compliant
Front panel circuitry to detect headphones or microphones
TAD cable detection
EAX 2.0
Pre-installed presets
Host-based MIDI Synthesizer
General MIDI support
Supports maximum 1024 voice polyphony
3D audio support
Positional audio effect from games supporting 3D audio (2/4/6 speaker, headphone)
Multi-channel PCM support (2, 4, 6/5.1 speakers)
Stereo virtualization over headphone
Supports WavePCI

Audio Inputs

One line-level analog Line input via stereo jack on rear bracket
One mono Microphone analog input via stereo jack on rear bracket
CD_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
AUX_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
TAD line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card

Audio Outputs

ANALOG (center and subwoofer)/DIGITAL OUT (front and rear SPDIF digital outputs) via 4-pole 3.5 mm minijack on rear bracket
Three line-level analog outputs via stereo connectors on rear bracket (Front, Rear and Center/Subwoofer Line-Outs)
Stereo headphone (32-ohm load) support on Front Line-Out

For Creative software to run on Windows XP, your card requires at least:

Pentium class 133 MHz or equivalent processor
128 MB RAM
115 MB of free hard disk space
One free PCI bus slot
Powered speakers or external amplifier

Download:

Click Here to Download the Basic Driver Only (Version 1)

Click Here to Download the Basic Driver Only (Version 2)

Click Here to Download the Original CD Complete with Support Pack (Recommended)

Optimize Your BitTorrent Download Speed

2009-02-28T22:22:00.004+05:00

1. Hack the max half-open TCP connections

If you’re on XP sp2, your TCP connections are limited to a maximum of 10. This might hurt your downloading speed because it wont let you connect to as much peers as you want. It is supposed to slow down viruses because their spreading strategy is to connect to a high amount of ip numbers, but it could cripple your torrent downloads.

A nice way to fix this is to download this patch.

Note: Some people report that their antivir reports the patch to be a Virus, This is not the case. Check out http://www.lvllord.de/ for more details on this

The patch allows you to set the maximum allowed connections to any number you want. Any number between 50 and 100 is ok (more is NOT always better).

Next you need to configure your torrent client to allow 50-100 max half-open TCP connections

uTorrent: Options > Preferences > Advanced options > net.max_halfopen

Bitcomet: Options > Preferences > Connection > max half-open TCP

Now you’re ready to go…

A third point of interest is that some “windows updates” revert your tweaked tcp connections back to 10. So it’s wise to check this every now and then. You can check this by going to (in windows xp) Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > System… Look for event 4226 (sort by event).

For more details about Windows XP SP2 and Event ID 4226 read David Kaspar’s excellent post

If there are a lot of daily occurences it’s likely that the max amount of half-open tcp connections was set back to 10. Or you’re infected with some nasty spyware…

2. Torrent Client Configuration

In order to apply these tips you need to know your maximum up- and download speed. You can test your bandwidth over here (stop all download activity while testing). Also make sure that you applied the tips provided in our previous posts.

Note that there’s a difference between kb/s (kilobits/second) and kB/s (kilobytes/second). To be precise, kB/s = kb/s divided by 8. In this tutorial we use kB/s (like most torrent clients do). This means that you might need to calculate your max speed in kB/s yourself if the speedtest only gives you the results in kb\s (so divide by 8 then).

Settings 1-4 can be found in the options, settings or preference tab of most torrent clients.

1. Maximum upload speed

Probably the most important setting there is. Your connection is (sort of) like a pipeline, if you use you maximum upload speed there’s not enough space left for the files you are downloading. So you have to cap your upload speed.

Use the following formula to determine your optimal upload speed…

80% of your maximum upload speed

so if your maximum upload speed is 40 kB/s, the optimal upload rate is 32kB/s

But keep seeding!

2. Maximum download speed

Although setting your maximum download speed to unlimited may sound interesting, in reality it will only hurt your connection. If you still want to be able to browse properly, set your maximum download speed to:

95% of your maximum download speed

so if your maximum download speed is 400 kB/s, the optimal download speed is 380kB/s

3. Maximum connected peers per torrent

Yet another setting that you don’t want to max out. I experimented quite a lot with the max connected peers settings and came to the conclusion that both high and low number hurt the download speed of a torrent. The following setting worked best for me.

upload speed * 1.3

so if your maximum upload speed is 40 kB/s, the optimal amount of connected peers per torrent is

40 * 1.3 = 52

I didn’t noticed a difference for fast or slow connections here.

4. Maximum upload slots

1 + (upload speed / 6)

so if your maximum upload speed is 30 kB/s, the optimal number of upload slots is

1 + (30 / 6) = 6

3. More Tips

Check seeds and peers
A simple tip, but very important. Always look for torrents with the best seed/peer ratio. The more seeds (compared to peers) the better (in general). So 50 seeds and 50 peers is better than 500 seeds and 1000 peers. So, be selective.

Change the default port.
By default, BitTorrent uses a port 6881-6999. BitTorrent generates a lot traffic (1/3), so isp’s like to limit the connection offered on the these ports. So, you should change these to another range. Good clients allow you to do this, just choose anything you like. If you’re behind a router, make sure you have your ports forwarded (portforward.com) or UPnP enabled.

Disable Windows Firewall
It sucks. Windows Firewall hates P2P and often leads a life of it’s own. So disable it and get yourself a decent (free) firewall, Kerio or Zone Alarm for example.

Turn on Encryption
Encrypting your torrents will prevent throttling ISP’s from limiting your BitTorrent traffic. Check out how to enable encryption in Azureus, uTorrent, and Bitcomet, the three most popular torrent clients.

Optimize your internet connection
The TCP optimizer is a freeware utility that optimizes your internet connection. I found it very useful and it helped speeding up my connection for regular internet activity and for downloading torrents. Just download it, and move the slidebar to your maximum download rate (note that it’s in kb/s). Don’t try to set it higher because that will hurt your download speeds!

Contents From : Torrentfreak

3D Computer Animation...

2009-02-16T01:48:00.021+05:00

Great for Exhibitions... Training... Sales...

Make a big impact with our stunning 3D computer animations -they're great for exhibitions and trade fairs, product demos and launches, safety and training, presentations and technical sales.

Get noticed with 3D animation

Put your company name and products up in lights. It doesn't matter whether you choose a compact web presentation or a full-blown DVD with music and multi-language commentary - you'll make your customers sit up and take notice! The animations can be shown on the web, on laptops or from DVD for big screen impact.

Communicate effectively

If you're having difficulty getting your training message across, an animated presentation could help clarify and focus difficult concepts in a simple, easy to understand way. Our animations have found widespread use in the oil & gas safety training sector for instance.

Turn heads and achieve the impossible

Show just what your product is capable of doing - you can achieve anything with 3D animation. Things that would either be too expensive or even impossible to film in real life can be convincingly portrayed. We've had experience working in the following sectors: engineering, pharmaceuticals, flow measurement, metrology, petrochemicals, safety, training, manufacturing, leisure and petroleum.

For Still Pictures Gallery Click Here

For Example Animations Click Here

Vsisit Looking Glass

Download : Bandwidth Monitor Pro v1.30 (Freeware)

2009-02-11T13:06:00.007+05:00

Bandwidth Monitor Pro displays and logs your network adapter's bandwidth usage. It supports logging of all your network adapters at once and has a detailed transfer history. You can let Bandwidth Monitor Pro run in the background, and it will log all your incoming and outgoing traffic for you to view later in the transfer log, or in real time if you wish.

Version 1.30 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

Detailed logging

Supports logging of all your network adapters at once with separate statistics for each adapter. You can go back and check your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or total transfer.

Always control
With the small transfer graph placed in the system tray you always have control of your bandwidth usage.

Highly customizable
Bandwidth Monitor Pro can be customized to display the information you want. You can also change the graph type and colors.

Advanced alert system
You can set up rules with various actions and conditions. Lets say that you have a monthly transfer limit of 30GB. You can then set up Bandwidth Monitor Pro to alert you when your approaching that limit.

System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP or newer
Pentium 100 Mhz or better
32 MB RAM
4 MB Disk space

Download : Bandwidth Monitor Pro

GRE® – Graduate Record Examinations

2009-02-03T01:04:00.006+05:00

The Graduate Record Examinations® (GRE®) General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and critical thinking and analytical writing skills. The GRE® Subject Tests gauge undergraduate achievement in 8 specific fields of study.

In the graduate school admissions process, the level of emphasis that is placed upon GRE scores varies widely between schools and even departments within schools. The importance of a GRE score can range from being an important selection factor to being a mere admission formality.
For Details See Official Website

GRE Subject Tests

In addition to the General Test, there are also eight GRE Subject Tests testing knowledge in the specific areas of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Literature in English, Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. In the past, subject tests were also offered in the areas of Economics, Revised Education, Engineering, Geology, History, Music, Political Science, and Sociology. In April 1998, the Revised Education and Political Science exams were discontinued. In April 2000, the History and Sociology exams were discontinued, and the other four were discontinued in April 2001

Preparation

A variety of resources are available for those wishing to prepare for the GRE. Upon registration, ETS provides preparation software called PowerPrep, which contains two practice tests of retired questions, as well as further practice questions and review material. Since the software replicates both the test format and the questions used, it can be useful to predict the actual GRE scores. ETS does not license their past questions to any other company, making them the only source for official retired material. ETS used to publish the "BIG BOOK" which contained a number of actual GRE questions; however, this publishing was abandoned. Several companies provide courses, books and other unofficial preparation materials.

Sites in 3D : Visit Places Digitally

2009-01-31T03:55:00.007+05:00

Now you can visit places digitally through high defination 3D pictures.You can move 360 Degrees and zoom also.This makes you feel very close to original.So many Unique places on this website are available.This website is available in English and Turkish only.You can download these freely.

Click for Download

visit for more:

Turkish
www.3DMekanlar.com

English
www.3dmekanlar.com

New Map of Pakistan : From a Pakistani Student

2009-01-31T03:12:00.004+05:00

Here you can see the new map of Pakistan design by a female student,I found it somewhere.Dont know the details about its make,published in local news paper E-paper :: Daily Express

Download The Most Popular Photo Editor : PhotoFiltre Studio

2009-01-30T02:55:00.022+05:00

Photofilter is a very small and light software through which you can do so many stuffs like complete image retouching.It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve. The toolbar, giving you access to the standard filters with just a few clicks, gives PhotoFiltre Studio a robust look. PhotoFiltre Studio also has layer manager (with Alpha channel), advanced brushes, nozzles (or tubes), red eye corrector, batch module and lot of other powerful tools.

The filters

Its wide range of filters allows novice users to familiarize themselves with the world of graphics.You can find the standard adjustment functions (Brightness, contrast, dyed, saturation, gamma correction) and also artistic filters (watercolor, pastels, Indian ink, pointillism, puzzle effect).

Vectorial selections

PhotoFiltre Studio uses two types of vectorial selections. The first type uses automatic shapes (rectangle, ellipse, triangle, rhombus, rounded rectangle). The second type corresponds to the lasso and polygon. They both allow a customized form by drawing a shape by hand or using a series of lines. Every selection can be saved into a seperate file, to be used later on.

The brushes

PhotoFiltre Studio has some standard brushes (round and square in different sizes), but also some more varied forms (oblique line, custom shapes, ...).

and much more professional tools like Adobe Photoshop

Download:

PhotoFiltre Studio X
Latest Complete Version

PhotoFiltre Studio 9.2.2 (Trial Version 10.4 Mb)
Contains also masks, selections and patterns.

PhotoFiltre Studio 9.2.2 (minimum version in zip format / 5.0 Mb)
Does not require installation. Follow the instruction in the file Read-me.txt (included in the zip file).

Additional Languages
Copy the contents of the zip file into the installation directory of PhotoFiltre Studio. Place them in the same directory as the pf-studio.exe program.

Contents From :PhotoFiltre Studio

XBOX 360 – Three Red Lights Death Repair guide

2008-07-24T10:42:00.008+06:00

Reasons why this happens:

When Microsoft designed the 360, they chose a slightly unusual way of mounting the heat sinks to the processors. When the console is running, there is a tremendous amount of heat build up inside the case. This causes the motherboard to flex against the X-Clamp support plastic (see picture 1) which in turn can cause the soldered joints on the processors to come away from the motherboard itself. This results in the Red Lights of Death. Due to the inefficient design of the heat sink clamping method, this is a very large problem. Although Microsoft haven’t (as of yet) come up with a decent design fix. On the latest ‘Elite’ versions of the console they have used epoxy resin to ‘glue’ the corners of the processors down to stop the flexing that causes this error (see picture 2). Whether their fix will stand the test of time remains to be seen. What the modification contained in this manual achieves is to alleviate board flexing and apply uniform pressure to the processors. This uniform pressure is enough to ‘remake’ the faulty joints resulting in a working console. Also, because the pressure on the processors is uniform the heat sinks do a much better job of dissipating the heat build up.

Here you can download this document:

Download

Nintendo Wii Accessories

2008-07-22T13:19:00.011+06:00

Here I am posting some cool and intresting Accessories of Nintendo Wii

check these out

Classic Controller

The Classic Controller is needed to play some Virtual Console games. The thin, traditionally shaped peripheral plugs directly into the Wii Remote, and it combines the best features of the SNES and N64 controllers.

Nunchuk

Play multiplayer games with an extra Nunchuk Controller.

Wii Remote

An extra Wii Remote allows for multiplayer fun.

Wii Zapper

The Wii Zapper unites your Wii Remote and Nunchuk (each sold separately) and brings you an experience like no other. Steer your character’s movement using the Control Stick on your Nunchuk as you zap your way to victory with your Wii Remote.

Contents From : Nintendo Wii

Customize your user icon in Xp

2007-11-06T14:22:00.003+05:00

If you plan on getting a copy of XP, one of the first things you're going to do is set up a user account. Why not give your user account its very own picture? It's OK if you don't want to use a picture of your own because Windows comes with at least 20 beautiful pictures to choose from.

Here's how you can customize your user account icon.

Single-click the start menu and choose Control Panel.
Single-click the User Accounts icon.
Find the user account you'd like to change the icon for and click on it.
Click the text that says "Change My Picture."
You'll have the option to either pick one of the predefined icons or choose your own.
If you like one of the predefined icons, just highlight the one you like and click the button labeled "Change Picture."
If you'd like to use your own picture, just click the magnifying glass or the text labeled "Browse for more pictures." This will launch a dialog box directing you to navigate to where your new picture is stored. After you find it, just click Open to save your new changes.

Contents From Saim's Blog

Remove Windows Messenger from Xp

2007-11-06T14:17:00.003+05:00

To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer,
you can disable the Messenger service.

Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
Click Performance and Maintenance
Click Administrative Tools
Double click Services
Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties
Click the STOP button
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar Click OK

Contents From Saim's Blog

Create A XP Boot Disk from System Files

2007-11-06T14:14:00.002+05:00

As a hedge against being unable to start XP, you can create a boot disk specifically for Windows XP that may allow you to boot the operating system. This can occur when the active partition boot record or other required files become corrupted.

Using Windows XP, place a blank floppy in drive A and format the disk. Navigate to the root folder of the system (in most cases this will be C:\) and copy the following files to the floppy disk.

Boot.ini
NTLDR
Ntdetect.com

If you can't see the files, click [Tools] and [Folder Options...] in the Menu Bar of Windows Explorer. Click the [View] tab and click the radio button next to [Show Hidden Files and Folders]. Remove the check mark next to [Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended)] then click [Apply] and [OK]. The files should now be visible in Windows Explorer. If the files still cannot be copied, right click each file, click [Properties] and remove the checkmark from the Read-Only attributes. Reset whatever attributes were unchecked after the copy procedure is completed.

In addition to the files listed above, check the same directory for bootsect.dos and ntbootdd.sys files. If they are present on your system, copy them to the same floppy diskette.

The disk is used as any other boot disk, inserting it into the floppy drive (A:\) and initiating a cold boot. Make sure the BIOS is set so that the A:\ drive is first in the boot sequence.

Contents From Siam's Blog

Create your Own Fonts Online

2007-11-06T13:59:00.002+05:00

I've been thinking to post about some cool webpages.Which are of common use.Well here is one where you can create somthing of your own.Over at BitfontMaker you can create your own fonts online and then download them to your computer. The site works for both Windows and Mac.

Contents From Saim's Blog

How To Add A Windows XP Logon Wallpaper

2007-11-06T13:53:00.002+05:00

1) Navigate to:

HKEY USERS\ .DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop

2) Double click the wallpaper value, and type in the full path of your image and the filename.

3) To tile the image set "TileWallPaper" to 1

4) To Stretch the wallpaper set "WallPaperStyle" to 2

5) Close the registry editor and the changes will take place when you Log off.

This could be your favourite image or picture as long as it is a .bmp or .jpg

IMPORTANT: This procedure contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article numbers to view the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles

Contents From Saim's Blog

Increase Your Internet Speed By 20%

2007-11-06T13:48:00.003+05:00

Hello everyone,

If you use Windows XP Professional then it is possible to get extra 20% out of your internet connection.How???Its simple,By default Windows XP Pro holds back 20% of your Internet speed for various services like windows update and spyware checks.

If you want to get back this bandwidth then follow these instructions:

1. Go to Start-> Run-> and type gpedit.msc
2. Go to Administrative Templates branch
3. Expand the Network tab
4. Highlight QoS Packet Scheduler
5. Click on Limit Reservable Bandwidth and check the enabled box
6. Then Change the Bandwidth limit % to 0 %

Once you have done this click apply and restart your PC. After rebooting you should see a noticeable improvement in your net speed.And as always feel free to post comments.

Contents From Saim's Blog

World Economy

2007-10-26T08:58:00.001+05:00

The world economy can be evaluated in various ways, depending on the model used, and this valuation can then be represented in various ways (for example, in 2006 US dollars).

It is inseparable from the geography and ecology of Earth, and is therefore somewhat of a misnomer, since, while definitions and representations of the "world economy" vary widely, they must at a minimum exclude any consideration of resources or value based outside of the Earth.

For example, while attempts could be made to calculate the value of currently unexploited mining opportunities in unclaimed territory in Antarctica, the same opportunities on Mars would not be considered a part of the world economy – even if currently exploited in some way – and could be considered of latent value only in the same way as uncreated intellectual property, such as a previously unconceived invention.

Beyond the minimum standard of concerning value in production, use, and exchange on the planet Earth, definitions, representations, models, and valuations of the world economy vary widely.

It is common to limit questions of the world economy exclusively to human economic activity, and the world economy is typically judged in monetary terms, even in cases in which there is no efficient market to help valuate certain goods or services, or in cases in which a lack of independent research or government cooperation makes establishing figures difficult.

Typical examples are illegal drugs and prostitution, which by any standard are a part of the world economy, but for which there is by definition no legal market of any kind.

However, even in cases in which there is a clear and efficient market to establish a monetary value, economists do not typically use the current or official exchange rate to translate the monetary units of this market into a single unit for the world economy, since exchange rates typically do not closely reflect world-wide value, for example in cases where the volume or price of transactions is closely regulated by the government.

Rather, market valuations in a local currency are typically translated to a single monetary unit using the idea of purchasing power. This is the method used below, which is used for estimating worldwide economic activity in terms of real US dollars.

However, the world economy can be evaluated and expressed in many more ways. It is unclear, for example, how many of the world's 6.5 billion people have most of their economic activity reflected in these valuations.

Speed Up Mozilla Fire Fox Amazingly Fast

2007-10-25T12:25:00.013+05:00

Hello Everyone,I am back with another trick that will help you out in having faster internet experience.Here is how you can speed up your Mozila Firefox web browser.

1)Open up the configuration variables by typing “about:config” in the address bar and pressing “Enter”.

2) Search for “network .http.pipelining” and set it to “true”.

3) Search for “network.http.proxy.pipelining” and set it to “true”.

4) Search for “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” and increase it to value like “20 “.Basically, these changes allow the browser to make multiple page requests at the same time.

5)Finally right click any where and slect "NEW" then "INTEGER".Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and click "OK".Now it prompts for its value enter "0" (without " " ).This is the delay time for display the loaded page in miliseconds.By default its value is 250 ms.

Advance Users Settings

For Broadband:

network.http.max-connections : 64
network.http.max-connections-per-server : 21
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server : 8
network.http.pipelining : true

network.http.pipelining.maxrequests : 100
network.http.proxy.pipelining : true

For Dial-up:

browser.cache.disk_cache_ssl : true
browser.xul.error_pages.enabled : true
content.interrupt.parsing : true
content.max.tokenizing.time : 3000000
content.maxtextrun : 8191
content.notify.backoffcount : 5
content.notify.interval : 750000
content.notify.ontimer : true
content.switch.threshold : 750000
network.http.max-connections : 32
network.http.max-connections-per-server : 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy : 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server : 4
network.http.pipelining : true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests : 8
network.http.proxy.pipelining : true
nglayout.initialpaint.delay : 750
plugin.expose_full_path : true
signed.applets.codebase_principal_support : true

Then right click anywhere in that window(if your on broadband, this is useless on dialup) and click new>integer with the name "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and the value "0"

Oil and Gas Refineries

2007-10-25T12:02:00.006+05:00

Here is the list of Oil and Gas Refineries for the people who have not seen this before

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).AGIP (Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli) since 1998 http://www.eni.it/english/strategie/esplorazione/esplorazione.html
Agip Exploration and Production.Alliance Gas (now: STATOIL).Amerada Hess.Anadarko.Anglo Siberian Oil Company plc.Anonima Petroli Italiana (API)Anzoil ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company) = BP-Amoco.Aruba Petroleum.Australian Oil & Gas Corporation Ltd.Australian Worldwide Exploration Limited Bay State Gas.BEB (Hannover).Bentec Drilling (Preussag DE).Benton Oil & Gas Company.BG Group (British Gas).Bharat Petroleum.BHP Billiton.BJ Services Company.Black Hills Exploration and Production.Bligh Oil & Minerals (AU).Bow Valley Energy Ltd. (US).BP Amoco ARCO.Bula Resources (Ireland).Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation.Cairn Energy PLC (Scotland).Caltex Petroleum Company.CanArgo Energy.CanBaikal Resources Inc.Chevron.ChevronTexaco.Chieftain International (now: Huntoil).Chinese Petroleum Corporation (Taiwan TW).Compagnie Générale de Géophysique (CGG).CONOCO (US) (incl. Gulf Canada).ConocoPhillips.CSIRO Exploration and Mining.Dana Petroleum plc.Deutag Drilling (Preussag DE) (now: KCA DEUTAG Drilling Limited)Devon Energy Corporation (US) (incl. Santa Fe Snyder Corporation, PennzEnergy).Dominion Exploration & Production.Elf Aquitaine (TOTAL FINA ELF).Empresa Colombiana de Petróleos (ECOPETROL).Empresa Nacional del Petróleo - Chile (ENAP).Encana.Energy Africa EA.Eni.Enterprise Oil plc. (UK).Equity Oil Company.ESSO Deutschland Evergreen Resources (US)ExxonMobil FINA (now: TotalFinaElf)Fortum Group (FI).Gás de Portugal (now: Galp Energia)Gasum Oy (FI)Gaz de France Geoscience Ltd (UK)German Oil & Gas Egypt (GEOGE) (mostly RWE Dea GmbH)Givot Olam Oil Exploration Israel Gulf Canada (now: Conoco)Halliburton Company Hibernia Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL)Hunt Oil Company Hurricane Hydrocarbons Ltd. (CA)Husky Oil Iceland Oil Indo-Pacific Energy Ltd (NZ)Institut Francais du Petrole (IFP)Instituto Mexicano del Petrólio Kavernen Bau und Betriebs-GmbH (KBB)KCA Deutag Drilling Limited Kerr-McGee (US)Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC)Krosno Oil and Gas Enterprise (Poland)Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC)Lasmo (now: ENI).Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas (now: Dominion Exploration & Production).Lukoil.Lundin Oil AB.Maersk Olie og Gas (oil and gas exploration and production).Marathon Oil Company.Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung MÜLHEIM a/d RUHR.MMS Petroleum.Mobil (=ExxonMobil)Mosaic Oil Murphy Oil Corporation National Centre for Petroleum geology and Geophysics (AU).Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM).Nederlandse Gasunie.Neste Oy (Finland) = Fortum Group.Nexen Inc. (CA) (formerly Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd.).New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd.Noble Drilling Corporation.NGI-Norges Geotekniske Institutt.NIS-NAFTAGAS.Norsk Hydro.Novus Petroleum (AU).Occidental Petroleum Company.ODIN Energi ApS (Danmark).Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company N.V. (OKIOC).Oil and Natural Gas Corporation India.OMV Erdöl und Erdgas.Onako.P & G Consultores C.A. (Venezuela).PAZ (Israel)Pennzoil Company PERTAMINA Indonesian State Oil & Gas Company Perupetro SA Petrobras Petro Canada Petrodril Petrogal (PT)Petróleos de Venezuela Petróleos Mexicanos Petroliam Naional Berhad (PETRONAS)Petrosys Petrotrin (Petroleum Company of Trinidad and Tobago Ltd)Petroz (AU)Phillips Petroleum Company Premier Oil PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd (Thailand)Qatar General Petroleum Corporation Ramco Energy Plc (Scotland)REPSOL YPF RWE RWE-DEA RWE-DEA Norge Saga Petroleum = Norsk Hydro Santos Saudi Aramco Schlumberger Shell International http://www.shell.nl http://www.shell.fr/ DE UK http://www.shell.ch/ Shell (US)SINTEF Petroleum Research (Trondheim NO)Staatsolie (Suriname)Statoil Talisman energy (CA)TAMOIL Tap Oil Techdrill International Teikoku (JP)Texaco Tokyo Gas TotalFinaElf TransCanada Triton (US)Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO)Tyumen Oil Company UNOCAL VEBA Oel (Gelsenkirchen)VEBA Oel und Gas (Essen) - früher u.a. Deminex GmbH (now: mostly Petro-Canada)Wingas GmbH Wintershall AG SIZE=-1>(BASF)Wintershall Nederland

Google Earth Hidden Game FLIGHT SIMULATOR!!

2007-10-24T11:39:00.003+05:00

Hi everyone,
Well today i am posting about an easter egg.And its a huge one!!.Its an easter egg in Google Earth.But most of all its a Flight Simulator.Yes you read it right, inside Google Earth is a hidden flight simulator.Looks like Google is eager to end Microsoft's Desktop dominance.
Coming back to the game,its not as great as the Microsoft Flight Simulator but surely a good start.

To access this hidden game :

Open the application, press Ctrl+Alt+A. You should see this dialog that lets you choose one of the two aircrafts (F16 "Viper" and SR22) and an airport.

And Here is a screenshot during the simulation.Try it.Its fun & as always feel free to post
comments.

contents copied from Saim Baig

Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) Released

2007-10-24T11:36:00.001+05:00

Hi all,
I am glad to tell you that the latest version of linux distribution "Ubuntu 7.10" is released.And it is know as the Gutsy Gibbon.Now existing Ubuntu users can use the following links to upgrade to this latest release.There must be several new features included in this release.I will post them shortly after trying.You can download Ubuntu 7.10 here.And as always feel free to post your comments.

Content from Saim Baig

Insurance

2007-10-20T15:50:00.001+05:00

The insurance business, one of the oldest in America, has its roots in the early years of the Republic, when the nation's business was carried on primarily in seaport coffee houses, the gathering point for sea captains, merchants, and bankers. Marine and fire insurance were the earliest forms of the property and liability branch of the insurance business; later additions include inland marine, aviation, workers' compensation, automobile, multiple-line, and suretyship insurance. Marine insurance has been a necessary adjunct to commerce, and insurance against losses from frequent fires in colonial seaports also had a colorful history.
The other major branches of insurance, life and health, did not assume importance until the 1840s, when the Industrial Revolution created a need for security that land had traditionally given to a nation of farmers. The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, which began writing policies in 1843, was the first commercial life insurance company making policies available to the general public. Health insurance began as accident insurance about 1850.The first auto insurance was issued in 1898.

Marine Insurance

The first marine insurance policies sold in America were contracted through the local agents of English under-writers in the coffee houses of American seaports. Always a necessary adjunct to commerce, forms of marine insurance were known in the times of the ancient Babylonians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans, as well as the Europeans of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Modern marine insurance had its origins in England in the seventeenth century, and American marine insurance owes its beginnings to the English marine underwriters of that era.
By 1741 Philadelphia was the most important city in the colonies, outranking Boston in volume of shipping and commerce and serving as the country's political center; it also emerged as the center of the early development of American insurance. By 1760 the insurance center of Philadelphia was the London Coffee House of Philadelphia, in which the Old Insurance Office was maintained by the Philadelphia underwriters during regular hours. The English underwriters also met there. The rival of the Philadelphia underwriters—the New York Insurance Office—maintained an office next door.
During the Revolution City Tavern in Philadelphia became the gathering place of soldiers, statesmen, and important merchants, superseding the London Coffee House as the headquarters for marine underwriting. As the headquarters of the marine underwriters, it was also the place where plans were later made for the formation of the Insurance Company of North America, founded in 1792—the first stock insurance company in the nation and the first American company capable of writing satisfactory marine contracts. Since fire insurance was already being written by two companies in Philadelphia, and since the subscribers already had considerable experience in marine underwriting, a decision was made to concentrate on that form of insurance. American marine underwriting contributed directly to the growth and prosperity of the shipping trade in the new nation. Managed well, it was successful as a stock company and paid regular dividends; it has thrived for nearly two hundred years.
In the 1840s and 1850s the revolutionary design of the American clipper ship inaugurated one of the most prosperous eras in American shipping and American marine insurance, for marine insurance kept pace with the increased prosperity of ocean commerce. Between 1840 and 1861, the combined value of American exports and imports more than doubled, while marine premium receipts tripled. This prosperity lasted until the 1890s, when the British steamship made the clipper ship obsolete. Then, in the early twentieth century, the Panama Canal under-cut the clipper ship's role in the growing trade between the Atlantic coast and California.
After the depression of 1893, Congress limited U.S. coastal trade to U.S. ships, a boon to domestic ship-owners. New ships were built, and American marine underwriters found their business increasing again. But the greatest growth came with World War I. Although the outbreak of war created unstable conditions in the quoting of marine insurance rates, the Bureau of War Risk Insurance—created by Congress in 1914—made it possible to quote stable rates. The great increase in the volume of shipping boosted demand for marine insurance, the value of vessels and cargoes soared, and freight charges increased, leading to millions of dollars worth of insurance orders and the revitalization of American marine underwriting. The gross tonnage of ships built jumped from 316,250 in 1914 to 3,880,639 in 1920, the value of cargo carried reached $12 billion, and the demand for insurance coverage created the first major expansion in the marine insurance market since the clipper-ship era. Between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II, the large number of new companies entering the field caused an excess capacity in marine underwriting that resulted in intense competition and lower underwriting profits.
Congressional encouragement of risk-spreading through syndicates in World War II made underwriting insurance on merchant vessels possible in the period between the Neutrality Act of 4 November 1939 and April 1942, when the government requisitioned all American vessels. At the request of the Maritime Commission, the American Hull Syndicate wrote war risk insurance on hulls, and the American Cargo War Risk Exchange made vital shipping possible by creating a market large enough to spread insurance coverage among many marine underwriters.
After World War II Congress again promoted the U.S. marine insurance market with the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945, which exempted marine insurance from antitrust laws and made American marine insurance competitive in world markets. The Ship Sales Act of 1946 required mortgagees of merchant ships to place not less than 75 percent of the required hull insurance in the U.S. market.
From 1965 to 1974, the American marine insurance market grew substantially in relationship to the English market (primarily Lloyd's of London).Ships grew in size and cost, and construction during this decade of huge oceangoing rigs designed for oil drilling and costing tens of millions of dollars created another expansion of the marine market. In the 1980s and 1990s, the introduction of automated handling procedures, satellite tracking, and the use of standardized containers transformed the shipping industry, leading to larger and larger ships and payloads. By the end of the twentieth century, some 60 percent of the world's merchant fleet had moved to countries under open registries such as Panama, Liberia, the Bahamas, and Greece, which have fewer taxes, lower wages, and less regulation.

Inland Marine Insurance

Initially designed to insure cargo on inland waterways, inland marine insurance expanded to include movement on land as the interior of the country developed. Some of the first policies insured the possessions of traveling salesmen. In the twentieth century, bridges and tunnels used for transportation, as well as tourist baggage and postal shipments, were included.
Aviation Insurance
Aviation insurance covers the hull and liability hazards of both commercial airlines and private aircraft; it does not include accidental injury or death coverage, which companies issue separately. During the 1960s and 1970s, many new companies entered this field, primarily as reinsurers. These companies compete among themselves and with foreign insurance carriers (mainly Lloyd's of London) for both U.S. and foreign aviation business.
One problem associated with aviation insurance is the constant exposure to catastrophic loss. As speed, size of equipment, fuel load, and passenger capacity continue to increase, the catastrophe hazard grows in direct proportion. There are too few commercial aircraft at risk to allow successful operation of the "law of large numbers," upon which underwriters rely to predict losses. Therefore, aviation underwriters must rely on their own judgments in determining rates.

Fire Insurance

Fire insurance is a direct descendant of marine insurance. It developed in the American colonies from ideas brought by English settlers. American merchants realized the need for protection from loss from fire after the Great Fire of London in 1666 destroyed three-fourths of the city's buildings. Like the first marine insurance company, the first fire insurance company in America began in Philadelphia, and, like the earliest marine companies, that company provided policies based on mutual agreement rather than stock subscription. Largely through the efforts of Benjamin Franklin, America's first fire insurance company and its oldest mutual insurance company formed in 1752—the Philadelphia Contributionship for Insurance of Houses From Loss by Fire. Experiencing difficulty in fighting fires at houses surrounded by trees, the Philadelphia Contributionship decided, in 1781, not to insure houses that had trees in front of them. Out of opposition to this policy grew the Mutual Assurance Company in 1784, popularly known as the Green Tree because of the circumstances of its founding and because of its fire mark. Then, in 1794, the Insurance Company of North America—primarily a marine underwriter—became the first company to market insurance coverage on a building and its contents and to underwrite fire risk beyond the city limits.
The success of Philadelphia's mutual fire insurance companies inspired the formation of mutual companies in other cities. The history of large fires in the growth of American cities and seaports gave rise to improvements in fire underwriting. The 1835 fire in New York, in which almost the entire business district burned to the ground, ruined most New York companies. Because of state discriminatory taxes, much of the risk had been underwritten by small local companies that had too little surplus to meet the $18 million loss. Subsequently, the under-writing business grew throughout the nation to spread the risk.
The Factory Mutual Fire Insurance Company made its appearance in New England in 1835.The firm was pioneered by Zachariah Allen, who, along with other mill owners—who had been refused fire insurance for their factories by the mutual companies and found the high premiums of stock companies excessive—formed their own company. Skillful underwriting kept the costs low and, as the system grew, it had an effect far beyond that field, forcing stock companies to reduce their rates. At the same time, the factory mutuals expanded with the growth of American industry until they underwrote the risks of the wide industrial field created by the expansion of American business and extended coverage to include loss from other damage such as lightning. In 1866 the fire companies formed the National Board of Fire Under-writers, which disseminated information on the compensation of agents, fire prevention, and the discovery and prevention of arson.
In 1909 Kansas responded to the widespread belief that fire insurance companies were making excessive profits by enacting a law that gave the state insurance commissioner power over rates charged by fire insurance companies. In 1910 the New York legislature responded to the same belief by appointing a joint committee, under state senator Edwin A. Merritt, Jr., to investigate the insurance companies. The Merritt committee's recommendations for sweeping changes in the industry produced a number of key reforms that served as models for other states.
Fire insurance continued to grow steadily during the twentieth century. In 1948 almost $1.3 billion in premiums were written ($9.7 billion in 2002 dollars); $8.4 billion ($8.7 billion in 2002 dollars) in premiums were written in 2000.Since its beginning in the early 1950s, the trend toward multiple-line coverage and packaging of property and casualty lines in either indivisible or divisible premium contracts has been gathering momentum, both in the growth of homeowners policies and in commercial packages.

Workers' Compensation Insurance

Federal and state laws requiring workers' compensation insurance have created the market for this form of liability insurance, which is sold by property and liability insurance companies. Prior to the development of workers' compensation, an injured worker's legal rights were based upon common law. As the cost and inequity of the common law created public dissatisfaction, changes gradually took place.
Between 1909 and 1913, thirty-one investigatory commissions were established; nine more were set up during the next six years. The consensus from this research was that employers' liability legislation should be replaced with what would become state workers' compensation laws. These laws derived from an entirely new legal concept—liability without regard to fault. Indus-trial accidents and disease have traditionally fell under the theory of occupational risk. Workers' compensation legislation provided for prompt payment of medical and disability benefits and thus eliminated the cost of litigation and encouraged the employer to promote safe working conditions.
Before 1908 a few states had passed narrow compensation acts with low benefits. The first major law, the federal Employee's Compensation Act of 1908, provided benefits for civil employees of the federal government and public employees of the District of Columbia. Ten states passed workers' compensation laws in 1911; all but six states had followed suit by 1920.The trend has been toward more comprehensive coverage for a larger group of workers. In 1934 only 33 percent of the total workforce was covered by workers' compensation; by 1957 the figure had grown to 62 percent. By the mid-1970s about 75 percent was covered. Workers' compensation, the third largest individual line of insurance, had premiums of $23.2 billion in 2000.

Automobile Insurance

The first automobile insurance policy was issued by the Travelers Insurance Companies in 1898, and since then more and more of America's 120 million motorists have recognized its value. In 1973 automobile insurance premiums reached $17.15 billion ($69.46 billion in 2002 dollars) and accounted for 42.3 percent of total property-liability premium volume. Because of inflation, increasing claims frequency, and larger claim settlements, automobile premiums have increased rapidly, and, in 1973, were more than double those of 1965.By the end of the 1970s, most states had made the purchase of automobile insurance by car owners compulsory.
Following consumer unhappiness over automobile insurance rates in the late 1980s and 1990s, some states instituted no-fault automobile insurance to reduce litigation. Typical state no-fault insurance laws permit accident victims to recover such financial losses as medical and hospital expenses and lost income from their own insurance companies and usually place some restrictions on the right to sue.

Life Insurance

Early colonists were skeptical of life insurance. Benjamin Franklin said that men were willing to insure their homes, their goods, and their ships, yet neglected to insure their lives—the most important asset to their families and the most subject to risk. Many considered life insurance a form of gambling and therefore against their religion. As late as 1807, the Massachusetts legislature argued against the morality of life insurance.
The earliest life insurance policies in America were written as a sideline by marine underwriters on the lives of sea captains for the duration of a voyage. The tontine, a life insurance lottery, formed by a group who insured themselves together, first appeared in 1790.When one died, the others divided his assets. Subscribers to the Universal Tontine used their funds to form an insurance company in 1792; the tontine policy was not used again until 1867.
The great expansion of the American economy from 1830 to 1837 made Americans more dependent on financial institutions. The prosperity engendered the founding of large stock insurance companies, but the recession after 1837 gave impetus to the mutuals because the shortage of capital during the depression years made it difficult to sell stock in life insurance companies. Four great mutual companies were founded during that period. The first, the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York founded in 1843, is the oldest commercial life insurance company in continuous existence.
In 1855 Massachusetts became the first state to establish an insurance department. Elizur Wright, insurance commissioner of Massachusetts from 1858 to 1867 and often called the father of legal reserve life insurance, developed the first American table for establishing policy reserves. By 1890, most states had established insurance departments; by 1940, insurance departments were regulating the business in all states. State regulation of life insurance was firmly established by the Supreme Court in Paul v. Virginia (1868), which declared that life insurance was not interstate commerce and not subject to federal jurisdiction.
As the industry grew after the Civil War, it became more and more important to ensure the mortality experience on which rates were based. Sheppard Homans published the first mortality table, based on the experience of insured lives in America, in 1868.Other developments included the requirement of nonforfeiture provisions under state statues and the growing employment of full-time agents. The fervor for expansion during the period following the Civil War was characterized by extreme competition between companies—particularly proprietary stock companies and mutual companies—and influenced all aspects of the business. Quality was frequently sacrificed for quantity, and the dividend policies of the companies eventually led to abuse.
Competition also encouraged strong leaders and the control of large life insurance companies by powerful executives rather than by owners or investors. For example, although Henry B. Hyde of the Equitable Life Assurance Society had appointed a capable president to succeed him, the controlling stock passed at Hyde's death to his son. His son so misused his control as to bring about much unfavorable publicity and the ultimate transformation of the company into a mutual. In the case of the mutuals, interlocking directorates led to investments in syndicates and in entrepreneurial activities that did not always serve the best interests of the policyholders. Life insurance companies ultimately invested in every phase of the economic expansion of the United States and became competitors of investment bankers.
The climate in which the life insurance business operated between 1890 and 1905—the peak of the trust-busting period—was one of severe public criticism of business and finance. New York legislators could not ignore the dubious practices any longer. In July 1905 the Assembly and Senate concurred in a resolution directing a committee to investigate and examine the business and affairs of life insurance companies operating in the state. With Sen. William W. Armstrong as chairman and Charles Evans Hughes as counsel, the committee issued its report in 1906.Although it declared the life insurance business to be fundamentally sound, it brought to light numerous practices detrimental both to policyholders and to the national economy. The committee's recommendations led to state legislation prohibiting these practices and strengthened the industry.
The professional approach to life insurance was important to its growth. Between 1890 and 1906, several professional associations were formed, including the Actuarial Society of America, the National Association of Life Underwriters, the American Life Convention, and the Association of Life Insurance Presidents. Ownership of U.S. government life insurance by young men entering the military service in World War I caused their families to reappraise their own need for life insurance and stimulated sales—a situation that repeated itself during World War II. The Great Depression of the 1930s also favored the growth of life insurance, and American insurance companies outperformed most businesses during that time.
In the late 1930s the Temporary National Economic Committee's investigations into the sources of economic power in the country endorsed the soundness of the life insurance industry and disclaimed any disposition toward governmental regulation of the industry. However, in United States v. South-eastern Underwriters Association et al. (1944), the Supreme Court held that no commercial enterprise that conducts its business across state lines is wholly beyond the regulatory power of Congress. Subsequently Congress passed the McCarran-Ferguson bill in 1945, which stated that continued regulation and taxation of the insurance industry by the states was in the public interest and that silence on the part of Congress did not stand as any impediment to state regulation. The bill thereby strengthened state regulation and helped to guarantee more qualified insurance management.
Entry into mutual funds and variable annuities by life insurance companies made them subject to the federal securities laws, since these products are considered securities. Agents for the variable annuity and mutual funds must meet the requirements of both state and federal regulation. Simultaneously, changes in financial enterprises began affecting the marketing of life insurance products. Members of the Midwest stock exchange began selling life insurance in 1970, and other exchanges permitted their members to follow this lead. Thus, large life insurance companies began to enter the property and liability insurance field.
Liability insurance became a political issue in the 1980s, when businesses, manufacturers, and physicians fought to reform liability laws to reduce what they considered extensive jury awards. Life insurance also under-went a major change. Once sold only to wage-earning males to provide comfort to would-be widows, new-style life insurance policies became opportunities to accumulate tax-free savings, causing life and annuity insurance sales to boom from $63.2 billion ($137.78 billion in 2002 dollars) in 1980 to $216.5 billion ($277.12 billion in 2002 dollars) in 1992.Brokerage houses began selling life insurance with good returns and long-term growth, attracting money from banks and savings and loans. In 1995 the Supreme Court agreed with the position of the U.S. comptroller of the currency that annuities were investments rather than insurance, opening the door to bank participation in the $72-billion-a-year annuity market.

Group Insurance

Group insurance is a phenomenon of the twentieth century. The Equitable Life Insurance Company issued the first group life insurance policy, covering employees of the Pantasote Leather Company, in June 1911.Since then group insurance has expanded rapidly. By the end of the twentieth century, low-cost group life, health, and disability coverages were available through companies with twenty-five or more employees and through many professional associations. More than two-thirds of all employed persons in the United States are covered by some form of group insurance.
Health Insurance
Health insurance had its start in the mid-nineteenth century. Accident insurance came first, and then the policy-holder began to be protected against loss of income from a limited number of diseases. Although stemming from accident insurance, life insurance companies are the primary marketers of modern health insurance. These companies are committed to group life insurance, which pairs naturally with health insurance.
Rail and steamboat accidents in the mid-nineteenth century precipitated the first demand for an insurance policy to protect against loss of income because of accident. The Franklin Health Assurance Company of Massachusetts is credited with being the first insurer to write accident insurance in America in 1850.However, the Travelers Insurance Company, founded in 1863, was the first company in America to write health insurance, providing a schedule of stated benefits payable to the insured for each illness or injury. The Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York issued the first contract to protect against loss of income from accident and from certain diseases (1891).
Workers' compensation laws, first effectively enacted by the federal government in 1908, stimulated an interest in group health insurance contracts for illness and non-work-related injuries not covered by the law; in 1914 the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company issued the first group health contract, covering its home office employees. The economic depression of the 1930s engendered a wide concern for individual and family security, stimulating group health insurance sales. What became Blue Cross in 1948 began when a group of schoolteachers entered an agreement with Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas, to provide hospital care on a prepayment basis. In response, traditional insurance companies also developed reimbursement policies for hospital and surgical care.
During World War II the fringe benefit became a significant element in collective bargaining, and group health insurance became an important part of fringe-benefit packages. Sharply escalating costs for health care after the war prompted continued improvement of health insurance. Perhaps most significant was the development of major medical insurance in response to the family's need for protection against serious and prolonged illness. During the 1970s, health insurance companies developed dental insurance plans that provided scheduled benefits for various types of dental surgery. Some companies added payments during the 1980s and 1990s for routine dental checkups or teeth cleaning.
Health insurers found themselves embroiled in a major debate after the 1992 election, when the administration of President Bill Clinton argued that the insurance industry's practices harmed the medical community. President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton favored a competitive model generally known as managed competition, but the insurance industry mobilized a successful television campaign against it. Large insurers, meanwhile, responded by developing health maintenance organizations to manage care and costs and halt the year-to-year double-digit rise in medical costs.
A string of catastrophic claims in the 1980s and 1990s resulting from major natural disasters threatened the industry far more than any possible federal regulation. Hurricane Hugo caused $4.2 billion in insured losses in 1989—the first hurricane to cause more than $1 billion in losses—and three years later Hurricane Andrew produced $16.5 billion ($21.12 billion in 2002 dollars) in insured losses. Altogether, the insurance industry counted thirty-six catastrophes in 1992, resulting in $22.9 billion ($29.3 billion in 2002 dollars) in losses. An earthquake in California in 1989 and riots in Los Angeles in 1992 incurred insured losses of $1.1 billion ($1.41 billion in 2002 dollars).Flooding of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and tributaries caused another $1 billion in privately insured losses.
Despite these challenges, during the late 1980s and early 1990s the industry proved itself durable and adaptive, and greatly expanded the risks that individuals or businesses can insure against: automobile, home, life, health, annuities, disability, workers' compensation, nursing home, flood, earthquake, and numerous specific liabilities. As the industry has grown, insurance has become a major expense for most Americans. U.S. households in 1992 spent 6.3 percent of their income on automobile, home, health, and other forms of insurance coverage. The United States is the largest insurance market in the world, accounting for almost one-third of all insurance expenditures. In 1994, premiums totaled $561.7 billion ($678.93 in 2002 dollars)—$316.8 billion for life and health and $244.9 billion for property and casualty, a total equal to Spain's annual economic output.
Insurance companies invest billions of dollars in credit and equity markets and employ nearly 2.2 million people in 4,000 companies. The collapse of several major national companies, including the $18 billion Executive Life, prompted calls for federal regulation that the politically powerful insurance industry successfully opposed.

Want Cricket Scores ??? let Google Help

2007-09-25T10:30:00.002+05:00

With the start of the Twenty20 world championship, cricket fever is upon legions of enthusiasts. To make it easier for you to indulge your interest in a game John Fowles characterized as "chess made flesh," we've simplified your search for cricket scores. Just type [cricket] in a Google search box and you'll see a brief score of all the current cricket matches. A single click will also give you access to a detailed cricket score card.

If you're a diehard India fan, then type [cricket Pakistan] to get results for Pakistani matches. Of course, feel free to replace Pakistan with the country of your choice for country-specific results.

For More Details Saim's Blog

"Blogger Play" Tool to see images uploaded to blogger in real time

2007-09-17T09:40:00.001+05:00

Today blogger launched Blogger Play, a neat little toy cooked up to show you photos and blog posts as you’ve never seen them before.

Shortly after Blogger launched photo uploading two years ago, one of bloggers engineers whipped up a web page that would show us the pictures that were being uploaded in real time. The result was fun, often beautiful, but above all, compelling. They couldn’t stop watching.
Over the years they’ve kept this photo scroller as part of the Blogger offices, on a monitor or projector, as an interesting (distracting?) slideshow, and a reminder of the diversity and vivaciousness of Blogger blogs. The fame of the scroller spread within Google, until one day they were asked, “so, when are you launching this?”

http://play.blogger.com/

So here it goes blogger launches the tool that enables you to watch the pictures that are being uploaded in real time.All you have to do is click the link above than just sit back & watch.

For More details :Blogger Buzz

Add sound to almost every event in Windows Xp

2007-09-17T09:35:00.001+05:00

XP comes with a new set of sounds that will surely add pizzazz to the way you work in Windows. But there's one problem -- you need to actually turn on the Windows default sound scheme before you'll be able to hear them.

To turn on the Windows XP default sound scheme, follow these directions:

Single-click the Start menu.
Single-click the Control Panel.
Single-click the Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices icon.

Single-click the Sounds and Audio Devices icon or the text labeled "Change the sound scheme."
Make sure you're on the Sound tab and locate the pull-down menu under Sound scheme.
Select the Windows Default option and press Apply. Windows will ask you if you want to save the previous sound scheme. Since there wasn't a sound scheme already loaded, just choose No.

If you look under the text labeled "Program events," you'll be able to sample your new sounds or customize them with your own. Read Customize Events Sounds if you'd like to learn how to do this yourself.

Softwares

2007-08-14T20:35:00.004+05:00

eTrust EZ Antivirus 7.1

Secure Your Computer form Threats and Worms

Unzip the downloaded file
You will have two files
Install by clicking "av71_en.exe"
Use other file for the key to enter in the installing setup

Click here for Download

VLC Media Player Portable 0.8.6a

Play your media anywhere

VLC Media Player Portable is the popular VLC media player packaged as a portable app, so you can take your media with you. It has all the same great features of VLC including support for a wide array of audio and video formats.

Click here for Download

Gaim Portable 2.0 Beta 5 (Multilingual)

Instant messaging made portable

Gaim Portable is the popular Gaim instant messaging client packaged with a Launcher, so you can chat on the go. It has all the same great features as Gaim including support for popular instant messaging networks (AOL, Yahoo, MSN, etc), message logging and more. Plus, it leaves no personal information behind on the machine you run it on, so you can take your im client and buddy list with you wherever you go.

Click here for Download

7-Zip Portable 4.42 Revision 2

The portable file archiver

7-Zip Portable is the lightweight 7-Zip file archiver packaged with a Launcher , so you can work with archived files from an iPod, USB flash drive, portable hard drive, CD or any other portable media. It has all the same great features as 7-Zip including support for multiple formats (7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS) and more

Click here for Download

Sumtra PDF Portable 0.6

PDFs to go

Sumtra PDF Portable is a lightweight PDF viewer so you can view PDFs on the go.

Click here for Download

WinRAR version 3.42

Compress All , A powerful tool

WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of the RAR archiver - a powerful tool which allows you to create, manage and control archive files. There are several versions of RAR, for a number of operating environments: Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, DOS, OS/2, MacOS X.

Click here for Download

Real Estate & Mortgages

2007-08-14T20:09:00.001+05:00

Real estate:

Real estate or immovable property is a legal term (in some jurisdictions) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate (immovable property) is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty). However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from real property, referring to ownership rights over real estate.

The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.

In law, the word real means relating to a thing (from Latin res, matter or thing), as distinguished from a person. Thus the law broadly distinguishes between [real property] (land and anything affixed to it) and [personal property] (everything else, e.g., clothing, furniture, money). The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to. (The word is not derived from the notion of land having historically been "royal" property. The word royal — and its Castilian cognate real — come from the unrelated Latin word rex, meaning king.)

Mortgages in real estate

In recent years, many economists have recognized that the lack of effective real estate laws can be a significant barrier to investment in many developing countries. In most societies, rich or poor, a significant fraction of the total wealth is in the form of land and buildings. In most advanced economies, the main source of capital used by individuals and small companies to purchase and improve land and buildings is mortgage loans --bank loans for which the real property itself constitutes collateral. Banks are willing to make such loans at favorable rates in large part because, if the borrower does not make payments, the lender can foreclose by filing a court action that lets them take back the property and sell it to get their money back. But in many developing countries there is no effective means by which a lender could foreclose, so the mortgage loan industry, as such, either does not exist at all or is only available to members of privileged social classes.

XBOX 360 DVD HACKING INFO AND UTILITIES

2007-08-09T17:32:00.006+05:00

USING A SAMSING SH-D162C DVD-ROM

- Download Kreon's hacked Firmware for Samsung SH-D162C drives -

Click Here to Download

- Download the XBox Backup Creator -

Click Here to Download

Go to your local PC-Store and get yourself a SAMSUNG SH-D162C DVD drive which should not cost more than 20 US$. After flashing the hacked Firmware by KREON you will be able to dump XBox360 games to your PC. These will get harder and harder to find as time goes on. If there is another drive you can use, it will be noted.

1) Flash SAMSUNG SH-D162C hacked Firmware:
- Make sure there is no CD/DVD inside of the drive!!!
- Start (doubleclick) sfdnwin.exe
- Select drive from pulldownmenu: TSSTcorpDVD-ROM SH-D162CTS04

- At the top left click "DOWNLOAD FILE OPEN"
- Select file: SH-D162C_TS04_XB360_KREON_V080.bin
- At the top left click "START DOWNLOAD" (button in the middle)

After successfully flashing the drive you will receive the message: "DOWNLOAD OK!! RESTART WINDOWS."

Now reboot your pc. You can now use the drive for making legal Xbox-360 Backups.

Follow instructions on extracting the SS and injecting it into the ISO image where needed. This text just shows you how to use a PC drive (modified) to make ISOs from it, rather than use an Xbox360 DVD drive (modded) to do it.

SOME HELP WITH MAKING THE ISO

Use Xbox Backup Creator v2 Build 0100.

This new tool that will allow you to easily dump, create/patch and burn Xbox and Xbox 360 images with full support for SS, DMI and PFI using Xbox/Xbox360 drives with an (C4E/OPA) Xtreme SS-extracting FW, or with the SH-D162C PC-drive using Kreon's latest alternative FW (As described above).

Application Use:
It should be pretty straight forward to use! Read your disk then write it to a blank DVD+R DL. Since this application is not multi-threaded, please do not disturb it while it is writing! After inserting a disk it may take a few seconds for it to be recognized.

WHAT YOU NEED:
A computer that is NOT more than three years old.
You must use Windows XP, NT, or other that uses the NTFS File system, as > 4GB files are not supported with FAT16/32. XP with SP2 is preferred.
You must use +DL Media!
You must use a DVD Writer with Underrun Protection (because the program is not multi-threaded).
An Xbox 360 with Samsung TS-H943A with Xtreme compatible firmware, v1, v2 or v3.
An Xbox 360 Hitachi GDR-3120L with Xtreme compatible firmware with OPA v2.1 (Currently, the Hitachi GRD-3120L is not capable of viewing the game partition without a hardcoded firmware patch - N/A)
An Xbox (Original) with the Samsung SDG-605B with Xtreme 605b0800.bin firmware to dump the SS. (This drive is for making backups that run on the Xbox One)

BURNING INSTRUCTIONS

DVD DECRYPTOR:
1. Download DVD Decrypter
2. Run DVD Decrypter and open up your IMAGE.DVD file in Notepad.
3. In DVD Decrypter, using the menu list at the top, go to Tools then select Settings.

4. Go to the ISO Write Mode tab. On the right hand side you will see a section called Options. In there is a Layer Break category with two radio buttons. Select the second radio button, User Specified. Now, in the Sectors in L0 textbox enter the value that is located in the "IMAGE.DVD" file after the "LayerBreak=" text (open with notepad). Hit OK. [Because all 360 games need the layer break at the same location, you should only have to set this option once!].

5. In the IMAGE.DVD file, delete all the "LayerBreak=" text so you are only left with the IMAGE.000 text. Save the file as IMAGE_DVDDECRYPTER.DVD or whatever you choose and close Notepad.

6. In DVD Decrypter, select Write Mode (just hit W and it will go into Write Mode). Then open (File->Browse or click the little Browse icon underneath the Source section of the Write Dialog.) your IMAGE_DVDDECRYPTER.DVD file. [NOTE: If you get a "Invalid or unsupported image file format!" error when you load this file, it means your backup was made incorrectly!]

7. Hit the Burn button and there you go!
8. TEST BACKUP

Note: If you are going to use DVD Decrypter to burn anything OTHER than 360 backups, then go back to Tools -> Settings and remember to change the Layer Break option on the ISO Write Mode tab BACK to "Calculate Optimal."

SECURITY SECTOR INFO

EXTRACT / INJECT TUTORIAL

Click Here to Download

This is too complicated to type in as plain text. The link above has pictures and evertything you need to learn how to do this.

MODIFYING THE EXTREME ISO FOR THE NME360 MODCHIP

CONVERTING AN XTREME IMAGE TO MAKE IT WORK WITH THE NME-360 MODCHIP

You need NME Associator:

Click Here to Download

To convert an Xtreme game image to an image for use with NME-360 modchip follow these easy steps:

Start NME aSSociat0r
Select the Xtreme ISO File
activate "Extract Security Sector from Xtreme ISO file"
This will extract the Security Sector from the Xtreme Image and merge it to the correct offset for
use with the NME-360 modchip.
The final GAME.ISO size must be 7.705.657.344 bytes (in KB it is 7.525.056).

Burn the ISO.

The Samsung chip only works with discs burned as DVD+R DL.
The Hitachi chip works with booktypes DVD-ROM and DVD+R DL.

Dragon speaker

2007-08-09T17:22:00.002+05:00

The Dragon speakers turn on the current trend of eliminating speakers and instead embraces a central space in the room. Taking one leap away from the box shaped and the built in sound system the Dragon speakers ends up somewhere in the maximalistic area between luxury and kitsch. The idea with the project has been to join a classical sculptural shape with the modern look of the raw speaker elements and screws creating a new and intressting visual experience. The speakers are 32cm high and are made to fit in the bookshelf, by the tv, in the kitchen or may be for the small restaurant, bar or café.

Designer: Axelsson Design
Made in: Sweden

Media Player [Sven Adolph]

2007-08-09T17:17:00.002+05:00

Advanced concept for a media player for home entertainment. The device calls for a prominent place in the home environment. It wants to be displayed instead of hidden away. The discs are loaded from the top. One can see a disc playing through the glass lid. The notion of playing music or a movie is celebrated as an event, somewhat reminiscent of an old-fashioned record player. The idea is to involve the user on a physical and emotional level, hence making the experience more meaningful.

DD STUDIO

2007-08-09T17:04:00.002+05:00

Consumer start-up SoundCast Systems enlisted DD STUDIO’s expertise to differentiate its wireless music system from the competition’s generic black boxes. DD STUDIO responded with a yin/yang inspired white transmitter and black receiver to shake-up the wireless digital music scene.

The iCast™ + AudioCast™ target music entusiasts who demand a hassle-free,out-of-the-box experience. the harmonious components provide a strong visual brand language that immediatley connects with the consumer. The system’s sleek interface makes it plug-and-play fast and satisfyingly simple. After connecting the audio and power jacks, the system is up and running.

SoundCast will achieve significant brand awareness with its initial entry into the music accessory market. The well-designed product has attracted attention of many mainstream electronic stores who are stocking their prime shelf space with this one-of-a-kind device.

XBOX 360 SPECIFICATIONS

2007-08-09T16:53:00.002+05:00

1. Supports DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3, JPEG photo CD
2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
3. Customizable face plates to change appearance
4. 3 USB 2.0 ports
5. Support for 4 wireless controllers
6. Detachable 20GB drive
7. Wi-Fi a/b/g Ready (Missleading: Requries $99.99 XB360 WiFi USB Adapter For Wireless Use; no Built in WiFi)
8. Support for Four 2.4 Ghz XB360 or Compatible Wireless Controllers
9. Support for External Microsoft 20GB Hard Drive
10. Video Camera Ready

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each (9.6Ghz Total) 1.0 TFLOPS
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
- 1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance
- 9 billion dots production operations per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor
- 500 MHz
- 10 MB embedded DRAM
- 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines
- 48 billion shader operations per second
- Unified shader architecture
- 500 million triangles per second
- 16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA

"Ana" Chip
- For scaling HD Graphics. This allows upscaling all the way to 1080p.

Memory
- 512 MB GDDR3 RAM @ 700MHz

Memory Bandwidth
- 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
- 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
- 21.6 GB/s frontside bus

Audio
- Mulitchannel surround sond output
- Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
- 320 independent decompression channels
- 32 bit processing
- 256+ audio channels
-

Ports
- Front USB 2.0 (x2)
- Rear USB 2.0 (x1) - For Wireless Adapter
- Rear Eithernet Port
- Front Memory Card (x2)

Storage
- 12x Dual Layer Serial ATA DVD Rom Drive
- 20GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (Removable)
- 64MB Memory Card

Digital Media Support
- Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs
- Rip music to Xbox 360 hard drive
- Custom playlists in every game
- Windows Media Center Extender built in
- Interactive, full screen 3D visualizers

XBOX 360 PROBLEMS

2007-08-01T18:59:00.001+05:00

Well, what do you know, problems with the Xbod360 right out of the box on release day, who would have figured!

One red light flashes on the Ring of Light: Hardware failure. Restart the console. Contact Xbox Customer Service if the problem is not resolved. If the agent cannot help you resolve this issue, you will have to return the console to Microsoft for repair.

One red light flashes on the Ring of Light and you receive an error message: Hardware failure. Restart the console. Contact Xbox Customer Service if the problem is not resolved. If the agent cannot help you resolve this issue, you will have to return the console to Microsoft for repair.

Two red lights flash on the Ring of Light: This behavior occurs when the console is too hot. Power down for a while. Check sufficient ventilation. Verify the cooling fan is working. If the two lights continue to flash red after you tried the solutions, contact Xbox Customer Service. If the agent cannot help you resolve this issue, you will have to return the console to Microsoft for repair.

Three red lights flash on the Ring of Light: Hardware failure. Restart the console. Contact Xbox Customer Service if the problem is not resolved. If the agent cannot help you resolve this issue, you will have to return the console to Microsoft for repair.

Four lights flash red on the Ring of Light: The A/V cable is not correctly connected to the Xbox 360 console. The cable is not being detected by the console. Verify proper installation of the A/V Cable. This error will not occur if the cable is improperly plugged into a TV or VCR. Try another cable. If the four red lights continue to flash after you follow these troubleshooting steps, the Xbox 360 console may have to be repaired. Contact Xbox Customer Service.

If your Xbox360 is crashing a lot, like once every 20 minutes, take the power supply off the ground and suspended it in the air with something, maybe with string? Keep the vents away from the floor, and never set it on carpeting.

System crashes at Microsoft Game Studio Screen - ?
If the console won't boot after continued turning in and off: Unplug it for about 5 minutes then plug it back in and try again.
Error numbers I have seen:
57 - White Checkered Block patterns going horizontally across the screen - Overheating
64 - Comes up after the M$ Startup Screen - HDD Drive Issue? Remove and reconnect HDD.
65 -
66 - Dvd firmware does not match what was originally in the console's EEPROM. An attempt to curtail DVD firmware mods. Update the hacked firmware to fix.
71 - Dvd drive model number did not match what was originally in the console. This was a side effect of E66's purpose. If Microsoft did a warranty repair, and they substitiuted DVD drives, you may get this Error. They had it fixed within 24 hours.
73 -
74 - Hard Drive Issue? Remove HDD, and boot. If ok, then try with the HDD, if not, HDD is defective.
79 - Blocked Lines going vertical down screen - Overheating

In those HDD error cases, remove the HDD completely and boot without the HDD and see if you get the error.

Note [11/27/2005]:
If you played any of the STORE DEMO machines, you notice most are enclosed in plastic, and they seem to work ok, right? Well, those consoles are not running at full capacity, meaning 3.2Ghz each core. Those beta units, as some call them are only running at 2.3Ghz each core, or something to that effect. That significantly cuts down on heat, and power consumption putting less stress on the external power supply, and the unit itself. That is why none of those store demo units are demonstrating any of these problems. By all means, that unit being enclosed inside a "plastic bubble" should overheat within 15 minutes! They do not! Why is that? Well, you have a partial answer. That, or M$ made sure the demo units were the cream of the crop, leaving the release day units the sub-standard ones.

It is all seming to boin down (up rather) to heat problems. If you know someone whos Xbox360 is working, borrow their power supply and see how yours works. Removing the HDD as a remedy means that less current is being drawn from the power supply, which is why it now works, though it could be a bad HDD, but that is slimmer than the power supply being the culprit. There are two different power supplies, the plugs are slightly different, and is different shade of grey.

Xbox 360 Elite

2007-07-31T23:52:00.003+05:00

Microsoft introducing Xbox 360™ Elite, the premier Xbox 360 console package that includes a massive 120GB hard drive, a HDMI port and like all Xbox 360 consoles and a premium black finish. Xbox 360 Elite also includes a black wireless controller and black Xbox LIVE® headset. Xbox 360 Elite has enough space for a whole library of Xbox LIVE Arcade games as well as downloadable high-definition TV shows, movies, music, and more available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.

Features:

Xbox 360 Elite console: The console is equipped with a premium black finish and an HDMI port and like all Xbox 360 systems, comes with three powerful core processors, 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio, anti-aliasing for smooth textures, full surround sound, HDMI cable and DVD playback with upscaling capabilities right out of the box.
Xbox 360 120GB hard drive: The huge 120GB detachable hard drive allows gamers to save their games and store television shows, movies, music, pictures, trailers, extra game levels, demos and other content available from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Also sold separatley.
Xbox 360 Wireless Controller (black): The sleek black finish of this high-performance wireless controller matches the style of the Elite Console. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of 30 hours on two AA batteries. Also sold separatley.
Xbox 360 headset (black): Now available in black, the headset lets you strategize while playing together online or trade taunts with your opponents. You can also send voice messages to friends on Xbox LIVE.
Xbox 360 HDMIcable: New to Xbox 360, HDMI lets you get HD video (up to 1080p) and multichannel surround sound, all from one cable.
Xbox LIVE Silver Membership: With this, gamers can chat with friends online, collect achievements and gamerscores, send and receive voice and text messages, and access Xbox LIVE Marketplace content such as game demos, HD movies and TV, as well as the best in downloadable games from Xbox LIVE Arcade.
One-month subscription to Xbox LIVE Gold: An Xbox LIVE Gold Membership provides a complete online entertainment experience. Subscribe to this premium service and engage in competitive online multiplayer matches, tailor your matchmaking via feedback and accomplishments, chat with more than one person at a time, and take advantage of unique privileges in Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Xbox LIVE Arcade.