Technovice.net

Credit Card Scam

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-02-23T00:34:13Z

I have not updated this blog for like... forever. But please don't assume this blog is dead, cause it is not, as i have mentioned, i am having exams. Anyway, i encountered this video of a credit card scam in TechEblog. This video is just a demonstration but done to people who aren't aware about it. Hopefully none of us have go experience this first hand :P Happy viewing

Gmail Is Open For Sign Up

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-02-07T17:40:35Z

You must have heard of Gmail, right? But do you have a Gmail account? 2Gb plus of email storage space - that's a lot bro, more than double of what Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail offers and it's also free. I have been using Gmail for a few years already and i am really pleased with its service. I love the interface, the email search feature, the color, i just love everything about it. There are plenty of features that Gmails offers,you may view it by clicking on this link: Gmail Features. Previously, people can sign up to Gmail only by invites. Not starting from now on mate. Gmail is open for all !! If you don't already have a Gmail account, move your ass and get one (though i said ass, i actually meant fingers :D): Sign Up To Gmail. If you are not into all of the features, please don't say you are not impress with the 2Gb plus of email storage space, which actually keeps growing everyday :) Anyway, happy creating a new email account !

Exam Mode

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-02-02T23:14:50Z

Hi all, just want you all to know, i am currently having exams, and the exam period will last from 6th of February till 8th of March, i know it is damn long, but it wasn't me who made the crazy exam timetable. Anyway, since this is the case, you should expect very little post from me. Sorry mates, i have a real life too, and right now, it all depends on these exams. OK,i am over exaggerating it :) , but i need to take a little break, or else i won't be able to concentrate much on my exam. Plus. during this exam times, i tend to go a bit off the hook, kinda loose a bit of my mind, not sure why though, but it keeps happening every time i have exams. You don't want to read posts from a crazy guy, don't you?? :D Finally, please wish me luck, cause i really need a lot of it.

A Photo Gallery Of Vista

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-30T01:13:51Z

Right now, with Windows Vista has finally been released to the public, people are getting more and more eager to know how does this bloody bugger actually looks like :) . There are probably some of you who have already seen the preview of Vista, but for you guys who are not as fortunate, please click on this link: Vista Gallery Page ; at that gallery, there is a large number of images of Vista right from the start (installation phase). I have to admit, the new Vista User Interface is pretty awesome, see it for yourself :)

Free Firewall From PC Tools

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-29T22:39:16Z

PC Tools is a brand well known for it's spyware product called Spyware Doctor, which has won may awards from various magazine and websites. And previous to the release of this free firewall software, they have also released a free anti virus,which i have also covered in an earlier article. Although their anti-virus software was free but it was quite competent and offers quite a number of features. Gladly, they had also repeat the same thing when they release their free firewall software. As soon as i got to know about this free firewall, i immediately went to the website, download it, installed the firewall, restarted my PC and start testing the firewall capability. As a starters, you can bet that PC Tools Firewall is far much better than the default Windows firewall, in respect of protecting your PC. So, in this article i am just going to share some of my experience using PC Tools Firewall. First of all,upon installation, you would probably see some warning like: This driver has not passed the Windows Logo Test ; just ignore it and continue with the installation. Next, just as other firewalls out there, free or commercial, PC Tools Firewall also give out warning dialogs, just like in the image below: When you first start using PC Tools Firewall, you should expect a lot of this dialogs. But this is good, at least you know that the firewall is working :) There are a couple of test that has been done by other users and myself to see how good PC Tools Firewall actually is, it was just some basic leak test, but surprisingly, PC Tools Firewall passed them all with flying colors. Though it was just a basic leak test, but be surprise that there are some commercial firewalls that didn't passed it (you don't have to ask about the Windows firewall, everybody know that it is there only for show). But with great protection, comes a great penalty, well, not much of a penalty, but still it is a pain in the ass. This is only for P2P users or similar (Kazaa,Limewire,Mirc et cetera) - you need to include a few filtering rules (depending on how many P2P application you have) in order for the P2P application to run properly. For example, if you didn't add additional rules to allow your BitTorrent client to connect to the net, PC Tools Firewall will certainly block it from downloading and uploading any files. Not good! But actually, it is the same in all firewall system (the good ones), you need to add the filtering rules for certain type of application to function. As a conclusion, i would say that this free firewall from PC Tools is definitely a recommendation, especially if you are still using Windows Firewall. Not only it is produced by a reliable company but also the firewall itself is functional as expected. If you are already using some other firewall system, then it is totally unnecessary to change, unless you want to give it a try. But again, if you are currently using Windows Firewall, then it is best that you get yourself a solid firewall system, if not this one, maybe some others :) To download the PC Tools Firewall, please click on this link to go to the download page: Get PC Tools Firewall

Greasemonkey + Greased Lightbox = Cool

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-27T14:49:00Z

For you folks who never heard of Greasemonkey, well, it is a Firefox extension, more like an extension for developers. This is due to it's function which allows users to apply javascripts to web pages without even adding a code to the page. All you need is a premade javascript or a javascript that you have written on your own and then with Greasemonkey, apply it to any web pages you like. But, how is this thing useful for tech beginners or people who hell doesn't know how to code javascripts or even better, never heard to javascript at all. As i have mentioned above, all you need is a premade javascript code. Just follow this article as i show you how to use Greasemonkey and a particular javascript code to preview images in almost any webpages (Flickr, Google Images, deviantART etc ) without even requiring to reload the page. Ain't that cool or what? (if it is not, you really need to get your geeky gene checked up :) ) I have gave it a thought and i think it is best for you to try this on your own so that you could have the full experience :P .

Get Greasemonkey

Get Greased Lightbox

If the whole process was a success, upon clicking on an image, a lightbox will appear with the larger preview of the image (would not necessarily be the largest image size, but it would be the larger one). To learn more about the Greased Lightbox javascript, please click on this link to go to the page: Greased Lightbox ; there you should find more details about the lightbox and even a preview of the script in action.

Anti Phishing In Firefox

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-23T23:49:52Z

If you are currently using Firefox 2, you should know that one of it's main security feature is that it has a build in anti-phishing system or, by what they call at the Mozilla website, Phishing Protection. This feature is already activated by default, nothing special there. But did you know that there are 2 different list of blacklisted sites that are available to your Firefox? One is called the local list, the list from Mozilla and the other is the list from Google. By default, your Phishing Protection feature depends on the local list, but is there a different between these two lists? Actually there is. Last year, Mozilla did an experiment to compare whose anti-phishing technology is better, Firefox's or IE's . Other than that, they also made a comparison between using the local list and Google's list for Firefox, this experiment is the one that we are interested in. Below is the result of the experiment: From this result we can conclude that Firefox is better at detecting a possible phishing site when it is using the Google List, don't you agree with me? So, how can we change Firefox from using the local list to using the Google's list? It is pretty simple actually,you just need to click on Tools in Firefox's toolbar, then click on Options. After that a menu will pop up, click on the Security tab in this menu and you may change the list there. I have also prepared a short presentation, showing how to change the list from the pop up menu, please click on the link below to view the tutorial:

A simple presentation:Changing To Google's list

Click Here To Close The Window

Vista Compatibility Test Tool

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-21T00:11:54Z

The current buzz right now, other than the introduction of iPhone, is the upcoming release of the really really long awaited Windows Vista. There are a lot of folks out there who are really eager to get their hands on Vista, because it is cool, it is pretty handsome and it offers a lot of new features. But, with all of the bells and whistles, Vista demands for a new generation PC specification to run it - not everyone can be Vista's master, only the chosen one and the ones that choose to upgrade their current PC specification (which also basically means to buy a new PC) can have Vista up and running. You may view using this link: Vista Basic Requirement to see the basic specification your system must have in order for you, according to Microsoft:

...be able to run the core features of Windows Vista with the basic user experience

What the hell is basic user experience? Anyway, in this article, i am going to share with you guys a tool that i found that will help you examine if your PC is fit for Vista. To use this tool right away, please go to this link: Test For Vista. Upon arriving at the page, you should see a user agreement thing, just agree to it. After that, the website will try to download the necessary tool to your PC and then the tool will automatically start scanning your system, you may have to be a bit patient, waiting for the tool to download and start scanning. In case it took an unbelievably long time to give you the result, maybe you need to refresh the page, and start again. Anyway, just for the sake of sharing, my PC didn't 'passed' the test, i didn't have enough hard disk space. I have a 250Gb hard disk, but it is currently full with rubbish - need to clear a few stuffs from the hard disk in order to give Vista some room, if i am planning to upgrade that is :) . Below is just a small snapshot of the result that i have obtained (hell i am not going to show you the full view.... i am a very shy guy) p/s: thanks to my friend, eches, to share about this tool in his blog

My Most Anticipated Movie Of 2007 - 300

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-16T16:57:55Z

Yes, the movie is called 300 and it will be released some time in March 2007 ( official date is 09.03.2007 ). Just a short summary, the movie is based on the graphic novel from Frank Miller titled, as you may have guessed, 300. The story is basically about Persia (Xerxes) trying to colonise/invade/enslave (call what ever you want, means the same, i think) Sparta , but the Spartans, with all their pride, prefer to live and die as free men. So, long story cut short, one million Persian Empire army went to Sparta to conquer it and the only thing standing between them and Sparta are the 300 Spartan soldiers (there are other soldiers from other parts of ancient Greece, but this is not a story about them, is it not?) - and battle began,between the one million Persian Empire army and the 300 fine Spartan soldiers...OK,i need to stop. You know i can go on and tell you the whole story, but then, it won't be a summary if i did :) Anyway, below here is one of the trailers from the movie 300, watch it, and if you like, there are more:

The dialog of the movie is so cool, one of my favorite is this:

Before this battle is over, the world will know, that few stood against many

And even more trailers from 300:

what do you think? ain't the movie fascinating? The graphics, the story line, everything is just perfect. If you can't stand yourself, and need to know how the story ends, go and look for the graphic novel 300 from Frank Miller, if you are smart and lucky enough, you might just find it :). Just as an additional info, the battle really did happen,it is called The Battle of Thermopylae , and it was a battle between 300 Spartans (and other soldiers) against more than 2 million Persian Empire army, click on this link: Battle of Thermopylae , to read more about the battle. I really can't wait to watch this movie when it makes it's debut in the theaters p/s: if you are fond of the song in the trailers, it is from Nine Inch Nails, a brilliant band, and the song is called Just Like You Imagined

Recommended Firefox Extension - Tab Effect

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-15T21:49:04Z

Once in a while, i will go the Firefox website and dig up some new extension and test them out. Sometimes i end up with a cool extension, but there are also times when the extension just gives me more problems than benefits. This time around i am kinda lucky, cause i found sort of a rare extension, an extension that provides style instead of function to Firefox. Ever thought about that? Usually you will find extension that adds functionality to your Firefox, that's the main criteria - styles are only for themes. This extension is called Tab Effect and as the name implies, it adds an effect to your Firefox browser whenever you switch between tabs. Personally, i found this really cool. Below is a preview of how the effect looks like, please click on it to view the larger version: Though some people complain that this effect causes some time delay between tab switching, but i don't seem to have a problem with that, of course there is a tiny meeny time lag. If previously you can immediately view the tab that you are switching to, but if you are using this extension, it will just add a fraction of a second to the transition and it is for a good reason, for the effect to run. Anyway enough of mumbling, i really recommend to you at least try this extension out, it may not be everyones cup of coffee, but who knows, you might just end up loving it like me :). To download please click on this link: Tab Effect to go to the extension's download page

Make Web Snapshots with SiteSnat.ch

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-14T02:51:34Z

I encountered this website only by chance, was looking for something else actually. The site, which is called SiteSnat.ch (which is also it's URL), offers a free service to produce a snapshot of the site that you desire. Just feed the site with the website's URL of your wish, and SiteSnat.ch will make a snapshot of it,resize it and lastly, add an overlay to it. The results are amazingly high quality. I just wish that it had more than juts one choice of snapshot size. The current size is definitely cute, but it has very little detail. I am not complaining, just saying that it would be better if there are more options - options are always good. Here are a couple of the snapshots sample of my blog :) : cute right? make your own free web snapshots using this service, just click on this link to go to the site: SiteSnat.ch; and start snapshotting (i hope that sound right).

Speakers + iTunes + Yahoo! Widget = Ultimate Alarm

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-13T06:37:00Z

I have been having problems waking up early lately, missing all the morning classes for weeks - and i just hate it. Whenever i miss a class, i have to borrow my friend's notes, and if you are doing that almost every other day, it starts to bring out the red flag. Usually i will be using the alarm function in my handphone to wake me up, but it seems that my body has found a way to totally ignore the alarm. Everytime the alarm in my phone goes off, i will unconciously wake up and shut the phone, and the best thing is, i don't remember at all doing that, all i know, when i wake up,its already 3 hours late for the first class. This need to end, i need to find the solution for an ultimate alarm system, it has to fulfill these requirements: # Need to be damn loud # It should require quite an effort to shut it off While i was looking for some kind of solution, i found the Yahoo! Widget for iTunes which will act as an alarm in combination with iTunes. So i started thinking, this may be some blessing from the sky. I am already using iTunes and implementing the combination in the title, now i have my own ultimate alarm. I hope you've got it by now,since these past two days my PC has an additional function, other than helping me to have fun, it is now helping me to wake up, wake up with style and music :-) Simple Steps If you are also interested to use your PC to wake you up, the you need to do the following: 1. Download iTunes, then install it - it would be great if you are using iTunes in the first place 2. Download Yahoo! Widget Engine,then install it 3. Download the necessary widget, place it in the widget' folder, then double click to use it. There are more than one option of widget which could be used an alarm with iTunes, but as for now, i am using iTunes Alarm Clock. It has no fancy functions, just some simple settings. What i like about it is that it plays the current song in my playlist, and , as suggested by the developer, i could make my own alarm playlist, a list of ultra loud songs that will make your ears bleed (not literally mates). There are also other widgets for you to choose from, just click on this link to view them: Other Options The Price to Pay To implement all of this is free alright, as long as you already have a PC and a set of speakers. What i meant by the 'Price' here is that, you need to leave your PC on for this Ultimate Alarm solution to function. For some, this maybe a bit insane, to leave the PC on all night. But for people like me, i rarely off my PC, since i bought it about 10 months ago, it is countable how many times have i shut my PC down. So for you guys out there who are damn stubborn to wake up early, then maybe this is what you need. Try it out, who knows, it may work for you too :)

Steve Jobs' Keynote Speech

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-10T22:38:28Z

Well, it was just yesterday i posted about the keynote speech made by Bill Gates, and today we have the keynote speech of Steve Jobs from Apple. In the keynote speech, as some of you may have already known by now, Steve Jobs has introduced two new products from Apple, Apple TV and iPhone. Comparing those two new products, iPhone was definitely the brighter star, it is a revolutionary by its own, and as Steve has said in his speech - they have reinvented the phone. For you guys who has never heard of the company Apple and their products, let me make a short intro of them. First of all, they are the biggest pain in ass for Microsoft (another way of saying a rival). Next, they make both of the hardware and software for their products. Lastly, example of their products are as - iPod,Mac,OS X,Macbook,Aperture and starting from yesterday, iPhone and Apple TV (they make plenty other more, i just wanna make it short :) ) To view the keynote speech, please click on this link: Steve Jobs' Keynote Speech . There are two version of the speech available at the page, one is the full version and the other is a cut down version, containing only the keynote speech about the iPhone. Again, just like the keynote speech from Bill Gates, this is a webcast - dial up users, i feel ya. You will require a Quicktime player, or if you have the K-lite Mega Codec Installed, or just one part of it, the Quicktime Alternative, you should be able to view this webcast.

Bill Gates' Keynote Speech

nospam@example.com (jumanjisama) — 2007-01-10T00:22:51Z

Every year, Bill Gates gives a keynote speech of what to be expected from Microsoft, about their latest and upcoming softwares and hardwares. So, for this year, Bill Gates (and his underlings) has explained, in his latest keynote speech, about the direction that Microsoft are planning to venture on. He touches a lot about connectivity, entertainment, games,work,performance and etc. Personally, from this keynote speech, i feel that Microsoft is finally moving in the right direction, giving what the users want (but still, some of the topics mentioned are a bit off the boundaries of an average user, such as screen projection and etc) To view the keynote speech from Bill Gates, please click on this link: Bill Gates' Speech . The speech is about 1 hour long. You will need a Window Media Player, or at least a player which can render .asx file (i know winamp could, but better if it is WMP). This is a webcast, so for dial-up users, i feel you :-(