Archive for category Reviews
10 must-have applications on a freshly formatted Windows box
1. Notepad2
A notepad on mild steroids, if I may. A lot of people (read: developers/programmers) prefer Notepad++, but that, I think is too powerful for a person like me. Notepad2 has color schemes per programming language (to read/understand the code), antialias zoom, and is HIGHLY customizable.
Alternative: Notepad++
2. Avafind
Perhaps this should be right on top of this list. Avafind caches the file names and not the contents. So if you know the name of the file you are looking for, all you do is hit Shift+Esc and start typing the name of the file. Search results are returned at runtime and is insanely fast. Indexing for a 500GB hard drive takes not more than 60 seconds. Newly created files are automatically indexed in the Scout Bot feature. VERY VERY impressive piece of software, but shame that the company shutdown a couple of years ago.
Alternative: Everything
3. Opera
Well, no description needed here. A LOT of people prefer FireFox saying that it is a very powerful browser. Agreed, but have you seen the bloat on it when you install the addons to make it powerful as they say it is? Opera is one COMPLETE browser. It does NOT need any additional addons to make it powerful. Bittorrent, download manager, themes, built-in plugins, RSS reader, email and chat client, etc. What else can you ask for ? One thing which impressed me the most is that with the newer major versions of Opera, the size of the installer shrinks!
Alternative: Firefox
4. Paint.NET
People who use MSPaint are either retarded or are just ignorant. Those who use a cracked version of Photoshop just to resize their pictures are even more retarded (Yes, I know a few). Paint.NET is seriously MSPaint on double the steriods. Very very powerful for a novice who edits images on the fly and does not care about installing/purchasing a copy of Adobe Photoshop.
Alternative: GIMP
5. CDBurnerXP
Those were the days when you bought a new CD/DVD Recorder and you got a copy of Nero Burning ROM v6 with it. Nero v7 was insanely huge (it had a 700MB installer, if my memory serves me right). Switched to CDBurnerXP 3-4 years back and I am stuck on it since. A confusing name (with the part with ‘XP’ in it), people wonder if it would run on a Windows 7 box (well, yes it does!)
Alternative: Can’t think of any as good as CDBurnerXP
6. 7-Zip
I still see a LOT of people at work and otherwise use the evaluation version of WinZIP v7 which probably died back in the early 2000s. A few use WinRAR and the intelligent lot use 7-zip. Insane compression ratios, can uncompress RAR, ZIP, gz, tar.gz, and a whole lot of archives. Best part is that it can read contents of an ISO file too!
Alternative: WinRAR? Maybe.
8. Foobar2000
A no-nonsense, light media player. Sweet 2MB memory footprint when playing minimized. Maxes out at about 8MB of RAM usage. The kinky Winamp v5 who wants to whip the llama’s ass is still a preferred choice among Windows Media Player and others. Foobar is highly customizable with skins, plugins and what not. Note that once you start with the eye-candy, you will be sacrificing the available RAM on your PC. I like it simple and light.
Alternative: Windows Media Player 11
9. Unlocker
Many a times, when people want to delete a couple of files, Windows throws a message on the person’s face saying ‘Cannot delete file: Access is denied’ and does not let him/her delete the file until he/she reboots the machine. Worry no more, Unlocker is here. Right click on the file, click Unlocker, Click on the ‘Unlock All’ button and you are good to delete the file.
Alternative: None since I started using this one.
10. Launchy
OSX folk have QuickSilver, Linux users have Gnome-Do. Windows users have an app somewhere in the middle of the awesomeness of launching applications. A quick (customizable) hotkey combination and start typing the name of the app you want to launch. Hit Enter and it pops open! No need of going to Start > Programs > Blah 2008 > Blah 2008 blah. Launchy is also customizable with plugins. You start typing a simple mathematical calculation and Launchy’s Calcy plugin shows you the result and asks you if you would like to launch the answer in Google. How awesome is THAT!?
Alternative: Not sure if Rocketdock falls in the same category as Launchy
This is my list of 10 must-have applications after a fresh PC format. This list does NOT include any Personal Antivirus/firewall application – You are free to choose whatever you are comfortable with.
Feel free to post in your comments below
How to boost your Wifi signal strength for cheap! [DIY] [Updated]
In the new age of computer networking, the most basic things that people have switched to is Wireless internet (Wifi).
People say that once you get hooked on to Wifi, it is quite difficult to get off the addiction of trying to search for a wifi network around.
Now that I have moved to a new house (2 storeyed penthouse) in New Bombay, the very first thing I did after subscribing for an internet connection was to put together a Wireless access point.
I have bought quite a few gadgets that support wifi. The wifi-enabled devices at home I have are:
1. My Nokia E71
2. My Dell Latitude D620 laptop
3. Dad’s Lenovo C300 laptop
4. Mom’s Dell Latitude D620 laptop
5. My new gift to dad – A Blackberry 8520
6. Mom and sister’s iPod Touch 2G 8GB
The general problem with Internet connections these days are that the ISP guys pull a wire from outside the window and you are forced to keep your router/modem right next to it. i.e. No wifi connection throughout the house.
I searched quite a bit on the internet on extending the wireless signals right from stock additional antennaes, buying a new router to be added as an access point, upgrading my router firmware to DD-WRT or Tomato with a high amount of risk of bricking my router, etc.
I was in no mood to buy such expensive devices just to get the extra strength, so I thought of a DIY (Do It Yourself) method, which is EXTREMELY cheap, components can be found easily in the house, etc and WORKS wonders!
This DIY method for wifi booster DOES work, and the signal strength from the opposite corner of the house went up from 40% to 90%
The trick is to bounce off the wireless signals inside the house instead of letting the router send out signals out of the window (quite literally!)
Feel free to drop in your comments if you find it useful
There are 2 parts to the Wifi booster. One is the reflector surface (wedding card with tin foil on it) and the other makes the parabolic shape (the template)
What you need:
1. Old wedding card
2. Glue
3. Pair of scissors and a cutter blade (be careful while handling)
4. The will to DIY! 
The How-To:
Download the template by clicking on this link
Print it out (I prefer increasing the size to 200% of the original) – Make sure you do NOT mess up the aspect ratio of the image
Glue it to the back of a thin (flexible) cardboard (I prefer an old wedding invitation card)
Trim the cardboard
Cut out the slots pointed out
Glue tin foil to the back of the reflector surface (Aluminium foil) – Ask your mom, she should have some in stock in the kitchen. Keep it under the bed for a while to let it dry (I prefer 2 layers of tin foil)
Use more glue to stick the curve the reflector surface to the parabolic template
Iktara – The all-male version by Tochi Raina
Posted by CeeTee in Movies, Music, Random Thoughts, Reviews on December 7th, 2009
This post is not to promote piracy in any way
But I REALLY thought I should share it with the readers of this blog (or if you are on Facebook, http://ceetee.me is my blog)
This is the all-male version of Iktara of ‘Wake Up Sid‘ sung by some guy called Tochi Raina (I think he had sung a couple of songs in Dev D as well)
Click here to download the song (3.6MB)
Google Search with Voice Support for Nokia S60 Phones [Offline Installer]
I am a BIG fan of Google. You might not agree completely, but I reserve my opinion on Google cannot be evil. They released a new app for your Nokia (Symbian S60) phones, Blackberry and iPhone that is voice recognition enabled. You hold the ‘Call’ button and you speak what you want to search – Google confirms it and searches automatically – A feature that would be killer when you can’t look at your phone while searching. for e.g. while driving (pun not intended, honestly!)
The weird part is that Google does not offer an offline installer for those who would like to save those extra kilobytes of bandwidth on their Pay-As-You-Go GPRS/EDGE connection. So I decided to host one myself
A few of the features of Google Voice Search are:
Comprehensive Google results. Get Universal Search on your phone including web, image, local, video, blog, news, books, and maps results to find what you’re looking for.
Relevance and speed. From weather forecasts to movie showtimes, find common search answers right away without clicking any links.
Results formatted for your phone. See a mobile-optimized blend of universal search results, easy-to-press tap-to-call links, expandable map links, and more.
Wide availability. Access Google through the browser in 38 languages on any phone with internet access.
Easy access. Make Google your home page in your mobile browser to search even faster.
Quick access to Google. Launch Google without having to navigate to google.com.
Search by voice.* Speak your queries instead of typing them (English only).
My Location. Avoid typing your current location when searching for nearby businesses (e.g. “pizza” or “starbucks”).
Google Suggest. Search for suggested queries and businesses that appear as you type.
Search history. Quickly search again for queries you recently performed.
You can download Google Mobile Search application by clicking this link
Note: This application is as-is provided by Google and is not reverse-engineered or cracked or whatever. If Google thinks it is a bad idea to host it on this site, please do drop in a comment and I will be glad to remove it from this website
Movie Marathon!
Hi Guys
Let me confess, I am a HUGE movie buff and I end up watching about 10 movies a week!
I am looking for recommendations for movies so I can go out and rent the DVDs and have a look at it. At the end, I am thinking of posting a huge list of the movies and what I feel about it. Sounds fun ?
Fill out this form below and I will do the rest. You may fill out multiple movie names by separating them by commas (for e.g. Terminator 2 – Judgement Day, Pirates of the Carribean Series, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, etc)
___________________________________________________________________________________________
GoogaSync – Must have application for S60 phones [Review]
I have been depending on my Google Calendar right since I started working in 2006. I had managed to sync my Google Calendar with my Microsoft Outlook.
Also, I have been a huge fan of GoogaSync (then called CalSync60 beta) till last year – Probably the easiest application to have a bi-directional sync with your S60 phone and Google Calendar
CalSync60 beta ended in February of this year if I remember correctly and I was panicking to get an application to sync my calendar with my Nokia E71.
You can find a post on how to do that here
Enter GoogaSync (Yes, the name sounds absolutely retarded). This app has a few let-downs but the advantages clearly makes it a winner
Pros:
Bi-directional synchronization
Really easy to use, syncing can’t be easier than this!
Support for multiple calendars
Automatic / Scheduled synchronization
Provides cost savings by using WiFi when available
Support for hosted Google Apps accounts
Support for normal Google accounts
Standard appointments, repeating events, birthdays and all-day events
Full synchronization and fast synchronization (transfers only changes)
Reminders and alerts
Configurable roaming protection keeps you safe from huge data bills
Secure and easy to use, your account information is not stored to 3rd party servers.
Cons:
Retarded name for an application
Kinda (very) costly for an application that just does 1 thing (Rs 1016 as a one-time payment which comes to around $22)
Initial sync can take up a HUGE amount of data
There is no option where I can download just the calendar entries for upto 2 weeks in the past
Screenshots:
My new gadget – LG 32LH80FR LCD TV (LG Jazz)
It’s been over a year that I’ve been contemplating buying a new TV to replace the 14″ Panasonic Sophia CRT TV in my bedroom. I mean the situation was so bad, I had to literally sit not more than 4 feet from the TV to make sense of what is displayed.
Sample Image thanks to Google. The TV in this picture is 21". I had a 14" TV
It was so bad that the laptop I am using ‘Dell D620′ has got a 14″ wide screen
When I buy gadgets, I make sure it is future-proof by ATLEAST 3 years, so going for another CRT TV was totally out of the question. Plasma TVs start at 42″, which was again too much for my viewing distance of 8 feet.
With my viewing distance of 8 feet, I decided on buying a 32″ LCD panel (Calculated the ideal panel size per viewing distance here)
Had lots of options to choose from, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, etc. The list is endless.
Sony was too expensive
Samsung was equally expensive – No goodies
Panasonic was too crappy – Picture quality on DVD was bad
Same goes for the Toshiba
LG was my final choice – A well known brand, good customer support (though a tad expensive, but the after-sales is good, per personal experience), relatively cheaper parts, etc.
Next was the decision on the FULL HD or a HD READY TV (Full HD = 1080p; HD Ready = 720p) – Neither really mattered to me since we have Standard Definition signals in India, and no matter how expensive the TV would be, the picture quality on regular cable will be shitty. No second word on that.
My priorities on the decision were:
1. Should fall inside my budget of Rs 35000
2. Should have USB connectivity in the TV supporting DivX formats
3. Freebies ! (who doesn’t like them ?)
4. Respectable sound (Since buying an external home theatre system would overshoot my budget)
After a LOT of R&D (and trust me, a LOT), I decided on getting the LG 32LH80FR (Commonly known as LG Jazz Full HD). It was falling under my budget, had the features and since it was Dassera festival time, there were good deals floating in the newspapers.
LG Jazz - LG 32LH80FR
The prices as of 4-Oct-2009 were as follows from different vendors
1. eZone – Rs. 37500 (No freebies)
2. Croma – Rs. 35500 (No freebies)
3. Reliance Digital – Rs. 42000 (No freebies)
4. Jumbo Electronics – Rs 46000 (No freebies)
5. Vijay Sales – Rs 34,000 (With free LG DV388 DVD Player with USB-DivX support)
Guess which one I chose ? 
I picked up the TV from Vijay Sales at Palm Beach Galleria Mall in Vashi for Rs. 34,000 – Since they did not have the DVD player in stock, they promised they will arrange for one this week. Payment was done via EMI with Bajaj Finance, who honestly, have the lousiest ‘customer care’ representatives. Formalities took over an hour to finish and I reached home at 11 pm. Obviously I could not wait to hook up the TV, so I got started off (After the awesome unboxing experience). Took me about 20 minutes to get the TV up and running (All you need is a Philips screwdriver – Would recommend a magnetic one since the screws are quite long)
Unboxing pictures:
LG Jazz Unboxing - Box - Front
LG Jazz - Unboxing - Side
LG Jazz Unboxing - Contents
The contents of the box are as follows:
1. LG 32LH80FR TV (well, like, DUHH !)
2. Base Stand
3. Bracket connecting the TV and the base stand
4. Wall mounting bracket (Not applicable for me, though I did get one)
5. Remote control with 2 AAA Batteries
6. Power Cord
7. Content CD (Haven’t checked what it contains’
8. 8 Screws in total for Base Stand and Bracket
9. Anti-Static wiping cloth (Did they pick it up from Apple ?)
10. User Guide and Warranty card
So, to sum it all up:
Pros:
1. Matte finish screen
2. USB Connectivity with DivX, Audio and Image file playback (AVI for the people who dont know rat about DivX) in the TV
3. Decent Sound quality (It has a woofer at the back, 2 speakers at the side and 1 at the front-bottom of the TV)
4. LOTS of connectivity slots (HDMI, Composite, etc)
5. Absolutely BRILLIANT quality when watching movies over USB
6. The very fact that I have my own LCD TV ! (Shouldn’t this be number 1 on the list ?)
7. Future proof (This one is a FULL HD)
Cons:
1. Wobbly stand (but I can live with it)
2. The remote control is tall as hell ! (I guess every LCD TV now ship with long-ass remotes)
3. Quality loss in SD Signals (regular cable TV for the rest)
I will be posting an extensive review of this TV in a couple of weeks.
Feel free to drop in your comments!
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