Playing with Words!

ENGLISH IS WEIRD

1. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
2. English muffins were not invented in England or French fries in France .
3. Sweetmeats are candies, while sweetbreads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
4. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly,boxing rings are square, and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
5. And why is it that writers write, but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce, and hammers don’t ham?
6. If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So, one moose, 2 meese? One index, two indices? Is cheese the plural of choose?
7. If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?
8. In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital? Ship by truck, and send cargo by ship?
9. Have noses that run and feet that smell? Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
10. How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
11. How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? When a house burns up, it burns down.
12. You fill in a form by filling it out, and an alarm clock goes off by going on.
13. When the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
14. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98!

Listen to a music composition based only on sounds available from the Windows operating system itself.  Ain’t it amazing??? 

How to Read Outlook’s Winmail.DAT Email Attachments

Newer versions of Microsoft Outlook send attachments in a file called “winmail.dat”. This is a binary file and unusable with any mail program except M$ Outlook.

You can save the attached winmail.dat and upload it here; the excellent program TNEF will be used to decode it. After that, you can download the attached files. (No need to flame innocent Outlook users anymore because of their moronic mail software. Find another reason to flame them.)

http://tud.at/php/tnef/

Microsoft Confirms Going with Bluray

Microsoft has confirmed that it’s trying to figure out the best way to connect with Blu-ray. The company also seems to be working on ways to include device driver support for Blu-ray drives in its Windows operating system.

Incidentally at the Mix ’08 conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, “We have already been working on, for example, in Windows, device driver support for Blu-ray drives and the like, and I think the world moves on.”

“Toshiba has moved on. We have moved on, and we will support Blu-ray in ways that make sense,” Ballmer had said rather pointedly.

Before Toshiba went public with withdrawing its HD DVD format, Microsoft had HD DVD players as add-on along with their Xbox 360 gaming consoles.

But with HD DVD all but dead and Blu-ray the winner, Microsoft had no option but to stop manufacturing HD DVD drives for its Xbox 360 console.

What wasn’t clear though was whether Microsoft would finally go with the Blu-ray format. The latest admission from the company clears that confusion.

Source: http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Microsoft_Confirms_Going_with_Bluray/551-87585-581.html

How to get Rid of Computer Cable Clutter

Is the area behind your desk an enormous mess of cables, power supplies, external drives, routers, etc? Here’s a clever solution.
http://www.decluttered.com/

Notepad2 — supercharged replacement for Notepad

Having a good text editor available can be very useful, especially for taking notes, making lists, and quickly editing text-based files. Windows has always included Notepad, which as you you may know is very basic and somewhat underpowered. If you find yourselves using Notepad or other plain-text editors a lot, have a look at Notepad2 by Florian Balmer.

Notepad2 is similar to Windows Notepad, but it’s “supercharged.” For example, Notepad2 offers syntax highlighting for a wide range of file types and different source-code standards. This makes it a really handy tool for stuff like editing HTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), PHP code, JavaScript, VBScript, Perl, batch files, and a whole lot more.

Notepad2 also supports advanced drag-and-drop functionality, various character sets, and has other useful features that you won’t find in Notepad. Plus, Notepad2 doesn’t rely on any Registry settings, so you can easily put a copy on your flash drive and use it as portable software.

You can download a free copy of Notepad at Balmer’s Web site.
http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html

Check Web Links Safety Online

Type in a web link at this site and they will scan to see if the website is hostile. The free LinkScanner Online service will visit the URL in a controlled environment on their servers. LinkScanner Online will inspect it in real-time for whether it is hiding any exploit code and, if so, what exploit. Use LinkScanner Online to inspect:

Links forwarded by friends

Web sites displayed on search results

Any link with suspicious characters or web site you have never visited

Why use LinkScanner Online?

Cybercriminals use “lure” sites to attract web users to sites they have invisibly infected with exploit code. This exploit code is then used to infect users’ PCs with drive-by downloads of spyware, rootkits, and other malware.

Just because you click a link doesn’t mean you’ll land on the site you thought you would

Just because a site looks innocent doesn’t mean the underlying code is harmless

Just because a search engine serves up a listing doesn’t mean you can trust it

http://linkscanner.explabs.com/linkscanner/default.asp

4th of July Storm Trojan Spam Mails

With the American Independence day, there has been a sudden increase in spam messages spreading the Storm Trojan. The spam poses as a greeting card that invites recipients to retrieve a greeting card send to them by clicking on a mailcious link.

The Threat Research and Content Engineering (TRACE) team at email and Internet content security provider, Marshal, has identified that when the unsuspecting user clicks on that link and visits the website, various browser exploits are attempted, and a link is presented to download a file called ecard.exe – aka the Storm Trojan.

There are various subjects under which the spam is apparently sent. Some of them are:

4th Of July Celebration
Americas B-Day
Independence Day At The Park
God Bless America
Celebrate Your Nation
4th Of July Party 

The message looks like this:

Get Paid Software for Free!

Recently while surfing around the net, I came across this blog link http://homemade-tutorials.blogspot.com/2007/06/trial-pay-offer-132-programs-you-can.html wherein a company called TrialPay offers paid software for free. The only catch is that you have to subscribe or purchase a product from one of their affiliates. The number of advertisers vary by country, so you could have a choice of 2-3 or 30-50 offers to choose from depending on which country you stay.

Here is a list of almost 137 products which are currently offered for free reproduced from http://homemade-tutorials.blogspot.com/2007/06/trial-pay-offer-132-programs-you-can.html

Update 19th July,2007: Added 3 more products

1. WinRAR (archiving utility – $29)
2. WinZip 11.1 Standard (archiving utility – $30)
3. BitZipper (archiving utility – $25)
4. RoboForm (password manager – $30)
5. Ad Muncher (kill ads – $25)
6. Yahoo Mail Plus (yahoo mail without ads and with POP3 access – $20)
7. Outpost Firewall PRO (firewall – $40)
8. GetRight (download manager – $30)
9. ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite (firewall, antivirus, antispyware – $50)
10. ACDSee 9 Photo Manager (view, organize, and enhance photos – $40)
11. STOPzilla (Spyware Remover – $40)
12. Photobucket Pro (photobucket upgrade account – $25)
13. Kerio Sunbelt Personal Firewall (firewall – $20)
14. TweakNow RegCleaner Professional (registry cleaner – $27)
15. TweakNow PowerPack 2006 (tweaking program for XP – $20)
16. Corel Snapfire Plus (photo sharing – $40)
17. Corel Photo Album 6 Deluxe Edition (photo organizing – $50)
18. McAfee SiteAdvisor Plus (one year free – $25)
19. Free Bravenet Service (3 months free – $18)
20. Advanced WindowsCare Pro (repair/speed up computer – $30)
21. Magic Workstation (manage card collections – $27)
22. SQL Converter for Excel (convert XLS to MySQL – $35)
23. GraphicConverter (graphics editing / conversion tool for Mac – $30)
24. BayGenie eBay Auction Sniper Pro (tracks and snipes eBay auctions – $25)
25. Crazy Eggs (collect lost eggs game – $20)
26. CounterSpy (Spyware removal tool – $20)
27. BearFlix Pro (video download application – $20)
28. ClipMate (clipboard utility – $35)
29. Music Masterworks (music composing software – $35)
30. Base Feeder for Products (create your Google Base bulk upload data feeds – $65)
31. Quivic (download video from YouTUBE – $13)
32. ColorCache (color toolbox for designers – $35)
33. novaPDF Standard (PDF creator – $30)
34. Renegade PayPal Batch Encrypted Button Generator ($25)
35. Red Eye Pilot (Get rid of red eyes – $30)
36. !Easy ScreenSaver Station (make your own screensavers – $50)
37. Global Clipboard (clipboard utility – $20)
38. AlarmWiz (reminder program – $25)
39. XL Delete (delete tool – $30)
40. Renegade CSS Scrollbar Color Designer (CSS scrollbars – $20)
41. Super Typing Wizard (Typing program – $20)
42. PromptPal (command prompt console replacement – $30)
43. MsgViewer Lite (quick access to Outlook .msg files – $40)
44. EcoKeno (play on Keno lotteries – $30)
45. Fantastic Flame Screensaver (screensaver – $20)
46. Internet Control for Business (employee control – $40)
47. EcoLoto (employee control – $30)
48. Base Feeder for Recipes (Google base upload for recipes – $40)
49. ZAPaSPAM for Outlook or Outlook Express (eliminate spam tool – $25)
50. Cool MP3 WAV Converter (Convert MP3 to WAV, WAV to MP3 – $5)
51. Cool Paint (Draw and edit images – $5)
52. Cool Type Master (Improve your typing speed – $5)
53. MessageLock for Outlook 2003 (Email encryption and zip compression for Outlook – $60)
54. Fire Heart (A burning heart – $15)
55. OutDisk FTP for Email (File Transfer utility – $60)
56. Windows Product Key Viewer ($9)
57. UltraSentry (privacy cleaner – $50)
58. The Print Shop 22 (print templates – $30)
59. PrintMaster Gold 17 (print tool – $20)
60. ClickArt Fonts (fonts – $20)
61. TimeToPhoto (stamp date/time on photo – $25)
62. Family Lawyer 2006 (legal documents assistance tool – $20)
63. Jar2Exe Standard Edition (Convert jar to exe – $20)
64. WillWriter 2005 (will writer – $30)
65. Dolphin Aqua Life 3D Screensaver (screensaver – $20)
66. BugDoctor Personal (protect from bugs – $30)
67. SiteSpinner (website creation tool – $49)
68. CoffeeCup Web Video Player (Web Video Player – $40)
69. Digital Music Mentor (get the guitar chords and bass tabs – $60)
70. iPodCopy for PC (copy from ipod to pc – $20)
71. HS Multi-Email Sender (sends multiple emails – $29)
72. HS FTPExplorer (ftp client – $19)
73. HS CleanDisk Pro (optimize computer – $29)
74. HS VideoCapture (captures videos in avi format – $19.5)
75. HS CleanDisk Eco (optimize computer – $19)
76. TweakMASTER Standard (optimize download speed – $25)
77. PhotoGPSEditor (meta-data editor for photos – $25)
78. PhotoInfoEditor (meta-data geotag editor for photos – $15)
79. Ringtone Media Studio (create personalized ringtones – $30)
80. AstroMenace (scroll-shooter game – $20)
81. Actual Transparent Window (apply a transparency effect to any window – $20)
82. PTFB Pro (automates repetitive tasks – $30)
83. Championship Five Hundred Pro (Blend of Spades and Euchre game – $20)
84. Jump Junkies (cliff, bridge, and tree jumping game – $12)
85. Zortam Mp3 Media Studio Pro 7 (all-in-one Mp3 application suite – $25)
86. Rapid File Defragmentor (defragmentation program – $15)
87. Actual Window Menu (advanced window manipulation – $20)
88. Actual Window Rollup (roll up feature for your windows – $20)
89. Actual Window Minimizer (minimize any window to the system tray – $20)
90. KittyXplorer (Encrypt images and photos – $25)
91. Mobile PhoneTools (Connect cell phone to computer – $40)
92. Championship Chess Pro (chess game – $20)
93. Championship Checkers Pro (chess game – $20)
94. WireKeys (automate tasks – $30)
95. ToneThis Pro Edition (create MP3 ringtones – $20)
96. Championship Cribbage Pro (game – $20)
97. Championship Spades Pro (game – $20)
98. Championship Mahjongg Pro (game – $20)
99. Championship Euchre Pro (game – $20)
100. Championship Rummy Pro (game – $20)
101. Auction Sentry Deluxe (tracks eBay auctions & automates bidding – $25)
102. Snap ‘n Grab (Grab your music from audio CD – $20)
103. DJ Mix Master (Make your custom music mixes – $20)
104. MP3 Ringtone Extractor (Extract ring tones – $20)
105. WebBuild Express (program for building Web sites – $30)
106. Snap ‘n Burn (cd burning – $20)
107. AACoder Plus (convert your music – $20)
108. PuzzleJoy (generate puzzles – $10)
109. MP3 Converter Pro (encode mp3s – $20)
110. Championship Hearts Pro (game – $20)
111. Direct MP3 Recorder (Record audio in 4 formats – $30)
112. CalendarGem (calendar utility – $20)
113. do-Organizer Planner (organizer – $10)
114. AmiPic ShareMaster (Web and Usenet mass downloader – $50)
115. TexNotes Pro (write, draw, collect, organize and publish information – $50)
116. do-Organizer Scribe (Add Scribe for rich text editing to do-Organizer – $10)
117. do-Organizer Finance and Spreadsheets (Add Finance and Spreadsheets section to your do-Organizer – $10)
118. do-Organizer Tasks (Add a comprehensive Tasks manager to do-Organizer – $10)
119. do-Organizer Reports (Add reports to do-Organizer – $10)
120. do-Organizer Calendar (Add calendar to do-Organizer – $10)
121. do-Organizer Contacts (Add contacts to do-Organizer – $10)
122. do-Organizer Base (manage the events of your life with style – $25)
123. TexNotes (keep valuable notes and information – $35)
124. WizQuote (organize and manage your invaluable quotations – $20)
125. do-Organizer Mindscape (Add Mindscape for brainstorming and ideas to do-Organizer – $10)
126. do-Organizer Journal (Add Journal for diary and daily notes to do-Organizer – $10)
127. SurfGem (enable you to collect and manage your bookmarks – $25)
128. MediaShop TunePlus (portable information and entertainment tool – $20)
129. Safe-n-Secure Privatize Platinum (password protect your files and folders – $40)
130. FlashMemoryMagic (Recovery you data on flashmemory Supports – $29)
131. Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game – $10)
132. Camfrog Video Chat Pro (chat with webcam users – $50)
133. 3D Matrix Screensaver (screensaver – $20)
134. 25 Mojo (buy different things on the Dollwar site – $10)
135. Mexi for PC (back up all your music, video, photos and games – $12)
136. Registry Technician (registry cleaner – $20)
137. 3 Month Premium GoPets Membership (GoPet marketplace – $20)
138. Backup4all (backup software – $30)
139. PicaJet FX Photo Manager
140. Tag & Rename
141. LinkScanner Pro (Safe Searching – $30)

Do post your comments and tell me your success stories…

Is India Sleeping?

 India has around 170 million mobile phone users and one person in every 50 has access to a personal computer.

But, the lack of enthusiasm in India to vote for the 17th-Century Taj Mahal has been striking.

Lacklustre voting over the past few months has seen the Taj Mahal get just enough votes to get at the bottom of the top 10 list.

Until a few weeks ago, there was virtually no information about the campaign.

Although some private television channels are now calling upon people to vote, most people are yet to hear about the campaign.

A special composition by ace musician AR Rahman, ‘India Unites for the Taj’, to drum up support for the monument has come a little too late in the day.

And worst of all, many say, the Indian government remains completely aloof from the campaign.

To vote:
SMS TAJ to 4567
*Hall of Fame: Type <TAJ>space<NAME>space<AGE>space<M/F>space<CITY>
Dial ’1255545′	(From all BSNL mobiles/landlines & MTNL Mobiles)
Dial ’12555′	(From MTNL landlines in Delhi)
Dial ’127777′	(From MTNL landlines in Mumbai)
Vote Online by clicking here
Your vote counts!

Alternatively you can send an email to new7wonders.voting.gateway@gmail.com with subject TAJ and ELECT in the body.