VTech Buzz - Technology, Gadget, Internet, Computer

Google Toolbar 6 for IE with Quick Search Box

vtech — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:48:27 +0000

Google recently released an update for Google Toolbar for IE and in this release the new significant feature is Google Quick Search Box. The Quick Search Box was previously released for Mac but now, Windows users will be able to make use of this great tool too; thanks to Google Toolbar 6 Beta.

In order to bring up the quick search box, simply click on the Google logo in the taskbar or alternatively you can use Ctrl + Space (shortcut key).

Quick Search Bar for Windows allows users to browse the internet, find relevant bookmarks or open webpages faster than ever. Its functionality is not only limited to those mentioned earlier on but it also allows you to launch Windows applications just by typing in their names.

Quick Search Bar also features the new tab page for Internet Explorer users which gives you thumbnail access to your recently closed tabs, most visited websites and bookmarked pages (similae like in Chrome). This feature can be easily activated from within Toolbar settings menu.

Head over to Google and have it a try.

[tags]Google Toolbar 6, Quick Search Box, Internet Explorer[/tags]

Microsoft building a new Web Browser named Gazelle

vtech — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:38:11 +0000

Even though Internet Explorer is the market leader in web browser industry, it seems to lose its steam over its competitors which have been trying their best to outdo IE in many regards. With faster browser like we see in the recent beta release of Safari 4.0 by Apple, Microsoft needs to rebrand its official web browser or come up with revolutionary and much better browser.

Microsoft is currently planning to introduce a new web browser called Gazelle, which it claims to be somewhat much better and bigger than Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

For the time being, Microsoft Research is leading the development of Gazelle and according to a research paper, it will introduce many new features and to the extend it will have the capability to operate as an operating system. It is expected that with Gazelle is operating bigger than just a browser, it will effectively increase the performance and better security.

As I'm writing this post, the browser is only opened for discussion and no solid material can be seen as just yet. The release is not known and is not expected in any soon.

Time will tell.

[tags]Microsoft, internet explorer, Gazelle, new web browser[/tags]

Thunderbird 3 Beta 2

vtech — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:59:05 +0000

Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 was released yesterday for public download. Thunderbird fans should keep in mind that this is a beta version of the email client so it can still produce bugs that might delete things irrecoverably (it feels very stable though). For that reason, it is advisable not to try out Thunderbird 3 Beta 2 in a work environment.

There are basically more than 342 changes were made between after the release of Beta 1. The changes include bug fixes and some notable ones (new features) like the archiving feature that has been taken right from Gmail. Thunderbird 3 will automatically create a new entry, "Archives" in the mail folder structure with sub folders for months and years.

Messages can be simply archived by pressing the "A key" or by using the archive button that appears in the header area of each message. They will be automatically sorted into the correct year and month folder in the mail structure. This feature will definitely come handy for users who receive lots of messages per day that need to be kept. Another prominent change is the central activity manager that lists the most recent changes in the email client (for example, moving or retrieving mail).

Thunderbird 3 beta 2 is available for all supported operating systems and languages.

[tags]Email, email client, emails, mozilla thunderbird, thunderbird, thunderbird 3, thunderbird archiving, thunderbird beta, thunderbird download, thunderbird features[/tags]

Nokia Ovi Store Launched This May

vtech — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:14:58 +0000

We have seen how wonderful Apple's App Store is. It works brilliantly for iPhone and now Nokia is taking the future of its smartphones to the right direction by launching its own cloud service. The Ovi Store that was announced recently at Mobile World Congress, will effectively provide storage and synchronization facilities for Nokia phones along with a wide array of paid and free applications to choose from.

Nokia may look a bit behind as far as the cloud service is concerned but it sure comes up with some interesting features. Nokia plans to unite the services offered under its Ovi platform into an online store service which would include Applications, Music, Games, Widgets and Maps. This will definitely put Ovi Store in direct competition with Apple's App Store.

The first Nokia handset to feature Ovi pre-installed would be the flagship N97.

Related Products

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Nokia N97 Unlocked Phone with Touchscreen, 3G, 5mp(New)
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Brand new Nokia N97 mini 8 GB Factory Unlocked Phone
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[tags]Ovi Store, Nokia smart phone, cloud service, application store, Nokia Ovi Store[/tags]

Karmic Koala: Ubuntu 9.10 Unveiled, Coming This October

vtech — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:47:20 +0000

Founder of the largest open source OS, Linux, Mark Shuttleworth, recently announced about the latest version of Ubuntu 9.10 (namely Karmic Koala). There are number of changes we could see in Ubuntu 9.10 with some features like work on the netbook version of Ubuntu, the cloud capabilities to Ubuntu’s server edition and start up performance boost on the desktop.

According to Ubuntu's schedule, we are about to see next major release of the Ubuntu 9.04 codenamed as Jaunty Jackalope this April and Karmic Koala will follow suit in October.

Cloud computing capabilities in Ubuntu 9.10 makes full use of the resume and suspend feature in servers to effectively conserve resources in times of no load and able to get back to work when it needs to. Ubuntu 9.10 will also feature support for Amazon’s EC2 APIs. So, by using Eucalyptus project you can host cloud based applications in your own data center.

Ubuntu 9.10 also brings number of GUI improvements in its desktop environment which comprises a graphical boot screen, splash screen and new login, as well as brand new theme.

As I'm writing this post, there is no screenshots or further details available, but eventually more information will be revealed especially in the upcoming Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) in Barcelona, Spain in May.

[tags]linux, cloud applications, Karmic Koala, Ubuntu 9.10, Eucalyptus project, Ubuntu 9.04, Jaunty Jackalope[/tags]

Extend iPhone Camera Resolution to 4 Megapixels

vtech — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:42:18 +0000

2 megapixel camera of iPhone is nothing compared to other smartphones and it just doesn’t come to the mark. With the limited resolution, many applications flood into App Store, claiming to be able to better enhance pictures taken with iPhone. I myself had tried a few of them including Night Camera.

ClearCam is an iPhone application that can somehow improve iPhone camera resolution up to 4 Megapixels. How come?

ClearCam stitches up multiple photos taken using iPhone in order to produce a single 4MP shot. Basically it turns your iPhone into a high quality cameradouble the resolution of the original picture produced by iPhone.

In "Enhanced mode", it takes 6 shots in rapid succession, combine and enhance them and save them to your camera roll.

The image produced appears the same like the standard 2MP photo but it can enlarge up to 4MP. It does come with other functionality like QuickShot mode, a feature that captures 4 shots at once.

Bear in mind though, this app breaks Apple's SDK rules so you won't find this little application in Apple's App Store. You can however download it via Cydia, provided you have a jailbroken iPhone.

[tags]iPhone 3G, iPhone 2G, 4 Megapixel resolution, 2 Megapixel resolution, camera phone, iPhone camera, Clearcam, QuickShot, [/tags]

Norton Removal Tool 2009 for Windows

vtech — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 00:14:15 +0000

Installing antivirus softwares is just a piece of cake, but when it comes to the uninstallation, it is the opposite. Not that you need to go the great length of process, rather, they are not completely removed (some files left behind).

Norton products are great when they are running but some files are entirely removed when we uninstall one of its products. Norton Removal Tool is a freeware, introduced to remove completely the residual files from your computer.

This free tool will effectively remove a damaged Norton product or a failed installation. This freeware supports all Norton products back in 2003 to 2008. Norton 2009 removal tool will be released in the next couple of days but anyway here's the download link hosted in Rapidshare.

Download Norton Removal Tool

[tags]norton product, norton antivirus, norton removal tool, norton 2009 removal tool[/tags]

[How To] Fix Windows 7 Boot Screen Changed to Vista Style

vtech — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:45:38 +0000

The new animated boot screen in Windows 7 is appealing as compared to green progress bar Windows Vista. However thing goes pretty erratic sometimes with regard to this boot screen. Sometimes it doesn't show animated items/balls come together to form Windows logo but instead it shows the old green progress bar (the old Vista styled boot screen). While I don't care much about this trivial thing, I believe, they are quite a lot of people that are upset with this issue.

It happens when a user tries to repair the boot loader or adds a new entry for Windows 7.

If you want to get rid of this problem, here is simple solution:

1. Click on Start button > All Programs > Accessories. Now right-click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run As Administrator". Alternatively you can also open Command Prompt by typing "cmd" in Start Menu Search box and press "Ctrl+Shift+Enter".

2. Type in the following code:

bcdedit /set {current} locale en-US

The above command is for English version of Windows, so if your Windows is using other languages, then change "en-US" accordingly.

3. You are almost done. Exit Command Prompt and restart your system. Now you should be able to see the new animated Windows 7 boot screen in action again.

[tags]windows 7 tips, how-to, tips, tricks, windows 7, windows 7 bootscreen, windows vista boot screen, tutorial, fix boot screen[/tags]

Microsoft Recite: Microsoft Unveiled Voice Note Application

vtech — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:32:27 +0000

There a lot number of note-taking applications; that include photo and text notes. Technology, however, evolves rapidly and this allows us to see future advancement right away. Voice-note application is something new in the industry and something revolutionary.

Recently, Microsoft unveiled Microsoft Recite, a new service that allows people to record random voice notes and recall the messages later on by some sort of voice recognition technology (better one, of course). How's that I hear you ask? Recite uses voice pattern matching, that analyzes the patterns in your speech and finds matches between two recordings (stored notes).

Microsoft has succesfully released the early version of voice-note application, the "Technology Preview. It is meant to the public to try and can be used on devices running Windows Mobile version 6.0 or higher.

Wouldn't it be nice to see our phones reminding us of our important events like birthdays and meeting?

[tags]Microsoft Recite, mobile phone application, windows mobile, microsoft, voice note application, windows mobile apps[/tags]

Hide Folders – Free Software to Hide Sensitive Data

vtech — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 12:29:15 +0000

Previously, I wrote about how-to tutorial on locking files and folders in USB stick. This post is in a way related but it's more on the folders and files on our computer instead of on removable drives.

Hide Folders is a useful application when it comes to hiding folders with sensitive data. By hiding folders using this application, the affected files is nowhere to be seen. It cannot be accessed, searched, viewed or even deleted.

If you try to add folder which has system files, it will generate a warning that notifies protecting these folders could be dangerous. This application, however, is not supported on FAT32 and also on home editions of Windows.

Hide Folders List of Features:

Works perfectly on Windows XP and Vista
Supports FAT32, NTFS and FAT file system
Securely hide folders with your sensitive data
Password protection - folders can be unhidden only if the right password is keyed in
Unlimited number of folders can be hidden
Hidden folders can not be uncovered by deinstalling the program
Folders are hidden even in Windows safe mode
Intuitive interface
Fast loading and user-friendly application

Download Link

Hide Folders

[tags]Hide Folders, hide files, freeware, windows xp, windows vista, hide sensitive data [/tags]