Bidvertizer

How Much Can You Earn With Google AdSense

Let's say you have a goal of earning $100,000 a year from AdSense. Is that possible?

Let's see ... $100,000 divided by 365 = $274 a day. So your goal is to produce either:

274 pages which earn $1 a day
OR
548 pages which earn 50 cents a day
OR
1096 pages which earn 25 cents a day

The following are hypothetical cases. To earn $1 a day per page, you need, per page...

400 visitors, 5% click-through rate (CTR) and average 5c payout.
Or 200 visitors, 10% CTR and an average 5c payout.
Or 100 visitors, 10% CTR, and an average 10c payout.
Or 100 visitors, 5% CTR, and an average 20c payout.
Or 50 visitors, 10% CTR and 20c average payout.
Or 25 visitors, 20% CTR and 20c average payout.
Or 20 visitors, 10% CTR and 50c average payout.
Or 10 visitors, 20% CTR and 50c average payout.
Or 5 visitors, 20% CTR and $1 average payout.

Let's assume you choose a goal somewhere around the middle, say aiming for 50 visitors per page and want 274 pages earning $1 a day. You'd need 274 x 50 = 13,700 pageviews a day.

Does that sound too tough? If so, you'd better look for more profitable keywords and ways to improve your click-through rates.

Let's try a different scenario. You choose more profitable keywords and make your $1 on average per page from, say, 10 visitors. 274 x 10 = 2740 pageviews a day.

That's looking easier to achieve. If your average visitor sees 3 pages, you now need 913 unique visitors a day.

Is that too tough to achieve in your niche? If so, create two sites, each attracting half that number, 456 unique visitors, a day.

Can't achieve those click-through rates and payouts? Then you'll either need more pages on your sites on more niche sites.

Some affiliates have a goal of writing one article a day and building one site a month.

Need a little more help reaching that $100,000 goal? Add affiliate commissions into the equation. Add a newsletter for repeat sales.

Choose the goal which best matches your site or sites.

Then start building keyword-rich pages containing well researched, profitable keywords, and get lots of high quality links to your site.

Please note, because of the AdSense rules, these are all hypothetical cases. I'm not allowed to give real cases. Real CTR rates and payouts vary hugely.


It's fast

Google usually approves web sites in less than a day.

After your site is approved, within a few hours a special Google spider will spider your site. Then it's time to paste the code into your site and the text ads will appear.

You can choose between either horizontal or skyscraper AdSense ads.
Google is doing a good job of finding ads that are highly relevant to the web pages.

Google says:

"We go beyond simple keyword matching to understand the context and content of web pages. Based on an algorithm that includes such factors as keyword analysis, word frequency, font size, and the overall link structure of the web, we know what a page is about, and can precisely match Google ads to each page."

Occasionally Google gets it wrong. It places great importance on the file name. So be sure to use important keywords in the file name of each page, such as "contextual-advertising.html" for an article on contextual advertising.

Also, watch out for your anchor text - the words in the links on your page. We've found that sometimes if irrelevant ads are being served, you can fix the problem by rewriting anchor text.

You can check the relevance of the ads by looking at the text ads near the top-right of this page.

Double Your Earnings From Blogs

Well first of all you can only make money from Google adsense if your blog/website is receiving some traffic as you can only make money from Google adsense if there are people clicking on the ads Google places on your website.

So I will create a few quick tips on how to increase the traffic to your blog, especially if like me you are using the free blog site blogger. If your site already receives a good amount of traffic and you feel you do not need to improve this skip on to later in this post. If, however, you wish to improve your traffic to your blog her are a few tips if you are using blogger:

1)Go into your settings and ping weblogs.com – this is a simple service that tells blogger to notify weblogs.com every time you update your blog. This means that your blog will be listed in their websites recently updated list which is extra publicity for your blog.

2)Install E-mail this post – This allows people to send your post to other people this will not have an immediate effect on the amount of people who come to your blog but over time more and more people will become aware of your blog so this allows others to publicize your blog for you.

3)Add your blog to blogger’s listings – Now this is an obvious one but many people turn this setting off when they start and forget to turn it back on. This is simple added publicity whenever you update your blog it will appear in the recently updated section on blogger and it can appear when someone clicks on next blog on the navbar. This is just a free access to traffic.

4)Turn on your site feed – Allowing people to subscribe to your site feed, you are practically guaranteeing yourself repeat readers as if someone is subscribing to your blog they definitely want to read what you have to post.

5)Be an active commenter – If you comment on someone else’s blog and leave a link to your own blog on the comment then you can be pretty sure that they are going to click on your link to return the favour. So the more blogs you comment on the more people will look at your blog.

6)Blog Soldiers - This service will get you instant traffic completely free it works by you viewing other member's Blogs and in return other members view your Blog, there is a 2:1 ratio so if you view 10 peoples' blogs then 5 people will view your blog. This is easy traffic with minimal effort and no fee. To join this website click on this link - Blog Soldiers

Of coarse these techniques will only work if you have a good blog with interesting, easy to read context. Here are some suggestions to improving your blog so when people go on your blog once they will want to keep on returning:

1)Write quality content - Nowadays readers want posts on blogs to have proper punctuation, correct grammar and spellings. You need to have some respect for your readers and accept that bad spelling and grammar is very unattractive in a blog.

2)Keep your posts short and sweet – No one wants to spend hours reading a post that is practically an essay they want all the information in a sizeable chunk. You want your readers to be able to pop in read up and click on. Another way to make readers happier to read your posts is by keeping your paragraphs short so readers can read a paragraph and if they need to do something else come back and pick up where they left off.

3)Publish regularly – People will only keep on returning to your blog if they think there will be something new on there when they do. So if you stop publishing new posts they will stop reading your blog and start reading someone else’s.

Now the last thing I recommend is to join Technorati this website is a blogger’s best friend, it is one of the best providers of traffic to blogs. Technorati makes your blog much easier to find when people search by Technorati tags. Technorati is also a large blog ranking engine it will rank your blog by the number of links to your blog from various websites. The higher your rank the easier your blog is to find when people search for things and a higher rank gives your blog greater credibility in Technorati which will improve your traffic. So if you haven’t signed up to this website do and then claim your blog.

Of coarse if you want to guarentee your website is one of the top results on your keywords you will need to use a system like Yahoo! search marketing. You can now start with £50 credit in your new Yahoo! Search Marketing account and can watch your company rise to the top of the search results.

I am now going to assume that you have used all the tips above or you already had a fairly decent traffic and have or are about to add Google adsense to your blog and want to know some tips to improving your revenue/income from Google adsense. So here they are:



1)Simple mistake – Nearly everyone who first uses Google Adsense makes this mistake including me, which is to simply put the box with the Google adverts in at the very top of the page and expect people to start clicking. But my own research and that of many other bloggers shows that people do not look at the very top of the page as their eyes quickly scan for the start of the real content meaning a large percentage of your traffic will not even see your ads. So instead you should put the ads somewhere nearer the content of your page maybe even halfway through a post so readers not only look at the ads but also see them when they are useful to them.

2)Blending Ads – In the old days we used to think the best way for an ad to get clicked on is for it to stand out like a sore thumb forcing you to look at it. But, nowadays, readers have got used to seeing these ads and simply ignore them so you need to change your ads from being something that stands out to something that blends in with the rest of the blog, readers will then see the ads as helpful links not annoying adverts. This is very simple to do with Google adsense so try experimenting with the colour of the adsense boxes and borders. You may see a dramatic increase in the number of clicks with a certain colour but this colour will be different with every blog.

3)Content is key – As you may or may not be aware Google adsense works by crawling around your blog and working out what ads are most suited to your blog. So if you have a very specific content then Google adsense can provide very specific ads and as everyone who goes on your blog will be interested in that topic they will be interested in the ads so therefore you will get a higher click rate and therefore a larger revenue from your traffic.

4)Size of the Google adsense boxes – This may seem trivial but trust me it can have a huge impact on your revenue, whenever possible use wide ad boxes as these are easier on the eye as we naturally read across the page so the brain is happier to digest the ads which to you means more people seeing and reading your ads. Of course only use wider ads if you have the space as its better to have a thinner ad box than no ad box, but if you have the choice between a wide and short ad box or a thin and tall ad box then always choose the wide option.

5)Google adsense has expanded – Don’t just go for the simple Google adsense text ads you can now have image ads and even video ads. So test these and see if they are more effective and increase your revenue if they don’t then just switch back. You can also add a Google search bar on your blog and refer people to Google products all of these will earn you extra revenue so try them and see if they work for you.

So there you are you now know when to blend your ads amidst content so readers see them as useful links instead of annoying adverts, to use wider advert boxes whenever possible and to experiment with the colour of your ads and the borders. But most of all I recommend you mess around with it now and again and experiment until you find what is right for you blog. I hope you found this post interesting and you will use it to increase your revenue/income if you already have Google adsense or as a help to where to position your ads when you do join Google adsense as you want to make some profit from your blog. So go on make money from your blog. I hope you found this google adsense guide helpful, if you did please leave a comment.

P.S please remember that google adsense is not the only way to make money from your website or blog, there are plenty of adsense alternatives I would recommend Text Link Ads which pay you to place text links on your website and you get paid no matter if people click on them or not as they are mainly bought to increase search engine rankings. Also if you want to improve your search engine ranking click you may also want to look into them.

There is also AdBrite that sells adspace that is worth looking into I have found them very effective allowing you to set the price for your adspace or them setting it for you this allows you to put a very cheap price on the adspace if you get very small amount of traffic or sell it at high prices if you get high amounts of traffic. This means all bloggers can make some income not just highly read blog. You can also choose to accept or reject any ads you want or set them to be auto accepted

There is also adult friend finder that has very good payouts but only use these if you have an adult audience as some of their banners do contain nudity. If your website has this then i would recommend you look into them.

Google AdSense Do's And Dont's

Adsense don'ts

While Google is a nice partner to work with, they are strict on a number of issues.

* Once you implement the code, do not click on the ads yourself. Given the amount that some advertisers are willing to pay, Google is very, very sensitive to click fraud.
* Tell anyone else using a computer from your home not to click on the AdSense ads, just to be safe.
* Do not ever, ever try to "game" the system. Google is well aware of most of the tricks people use to engage in click fraud and pursues those people vigorously
* Don't implement AdSense code where no-one will see it.
* Don't incentive AdSense ads by offering rewards to visitors for clicking on ads.
* Don't beg for clicks e.g. "help support this site, click on this ad"
* Don't place AdSense ads on an empty page.

Any of the above can result in your AdSense account being suspended.

AdSense do's

* Customize your AdSense ads, don't just use the default settings.
* Write your content with not only the reader in mind, but with Adsense considerations as an issue.
* Don't be too concerned with AdSense ads taking away from other offers on your site. It's been my experience that if people are interested in your content, and in the AdSense ads, they'll finish reading your copy first, then come back to the ad if that's of interest to them.
* See AdSense as a partner, not a competitor. If you don't have what your visitor is wanting, while you may not get a sale, you may still generate revenue from that visitor by using AdSense.
* Positioning is important, place the ads where they are most likely to be seen.
* Google allows you to place up to three instances of AdSense code on each page - use them if you can, but vary the type of implementation

SearchEngineOptimization Tips

Getting those High paying keywords

Applying top paying keywords in your website is quite similar to Search Engine Optimization. However, there are many differences as well. The following will discuss how to apply top paying keywords as well as traffic pulling keywords to a webpage for maximum payouts and traffic.

First of all, you must understand that Google Adsense bot (formally known as Google Mediabot) is a subset of Google's main crawler. The crawler detects the theme of the pages and makes an entry in the Google's index (a private index - not shown publicly) that records the theme of all the pages hosting Adsense script. This means that Google's Mediabot is very similar to Google's crawler that is used to index your web page.

There are two types of optimizations that you need to follow to make a web page search engine optimized. Same is the case with Adsense Optimization.

Internal Optimization : Internal Optimization includes Meta tags, Title Text, Optimization of content, and internal linking of your website. Here we will learn how to increase relevancy of ads and how to inject keywords that will help you get high paying ads. Internal Optimization has a high impact on the relevancy of ads and CTR.

External Optimization : This includes the web pages that are giving links to you (external profile of your website), anchor text being used to link your website, and many more variables that search engines use to evaluate the authoritative importance of a web page. External Optimization helps bring relevant traffic to your website and enables you to earn more by getting more CTR (Click Thru Ratio).
How long does your webpage take to show high paying ads?

This is an important question that needs to be answered. As soon as you apply Adsense script in a webpage, it is visited by the Google Mediabot (within 2 hours to 48 hours, if the bot is free - immediately). Google Mediabot's responsibility is to evaluate the theme of the web page, and enable ads almost immediately so that your website traffic does not see FREE SERVICE ADS.

The relevancy of ads increases as Google's main crawler visits your website and updates its index. Furthermore, you may observe an increase in the earnings as the PR of your website/web page increases. This means that in case of Google Adsense, the internal factors that affect the ads of a particular page are evaluated by Google Mediabot (but Google's main crawler can overwrite them). And on the other hand, the external factors are inspected by the Google Crawler over a period of time. Having said that, there are simply many many factors (including those which you cannot control) that affect your ads. We are going to discuss the factors that you can control. Lets take control!
Remember:

1. Relevancy of ads may increase as your page is indexed by Google.
2. EPC (Earnings Per lick) may increase as your PR increases.
3. It entirely depends upon you how well you promote your website and get maximum earnings from your website/web pages.
4. In case of Google, many variables are involved.

Google AdSense Pros And Cons

Google's AdSense is a superb revenue generating opportunity for small, medium and large web sites.

Some webmasters are designing brand new sites specifically for serving AdSense text ads. (It's against the AdSense rules to design a site purely for AdSense, so you'll want to include a few affiliate links or sell your own product, too.)

AdSense allows you to serve text-based Google AdWords on your web site and receive a share of the pay-per-click payment. AdSense ads are similar to the AdWords ads you see on the right-hand side at Google when you do a search there.

AdSense is having a huge impact on the affiliate marketing industry. It's often much easier to generate revenue from AdSense than from an affiliate program.

Weak affiliate merchants will die faster than ever.

If you're a merchant running a lousy affiliate program, now's the time to improve it FAST.


AdSense's advantages

AdSense is simple to join.

It's easy to paste a bit of code into your pages.

It's free to join.

You don't have to spend time finding advertisers.

Google provides well written, highly relevant ads - chosen to closely match the content on your pages.

You don't have to waste time choosing different ads for different pages.

You don't have to mess around with different code for various affiliate programs.

You're free to concentrate on providing good content and Google does the work of finding the best ads for your pages from 100,000 AdWords advertisers.

It's suitable for beginners or marketing veterans.

AdSense provides simple, easy-to-understand stats.

If you have affiliate links on your site, you ARE allowed to add AdSense ads. However, with your affiliate links, you must not mimic the look and feel of the Google ads.

You can filter up to 200 URLs, so you can block ads for sites that don't meet your standards. You can also block strong competitors.

Inevitably, AdSense is competing strongly for space on web sites with all other revenue sharing opportunities.

If you own a small web site you can plug a bit of AdSense code into your site and almost instantly relevant text ads that are likely to appeal to your visitors will appear on your pages.

If you own several sites, you need apply only once. This makes AdSense much simpler than joining a bunch of affiliate programs.

As you can see, I'm really keen on this revenue sharing service.
Sign up for AdSense.


Disadvantages

One problem is inappropriate ads. You don't want spammy junk advertised on your site. Google's standards probably aren't as high as yours. You can filter out 200 URLs, but in some industries that won't be enough.

The stats Google supplies are inadequate. They're easy to understand at a glance. However, they don't tell you exactly which ads people are clicking on, or which keywords are involved. That's frustrating.

Also, I'd like to be able to identify and block ads that have very low payout rates, without doing a lot of sleuthing and messing around.

The ad panels say "Ads by Google" - free advertising for Google. You don't earn anything if someone clicks on that link.

The minimum payout is $100, which is regarded as too high by sites which don't receive much traffic. That won't worry experienced webmasters.

Also, sites that want to display AdSense ads may not include "other content-targeted and/or text-based ads on the pages displaying AdWords ads." However, human beings review the sites. Rejected sites have been able to appeal successfully.

Another disadvantage is that Google doesn't allow you to share your stats with other webmasters. The AdSense Terms and Conditions say:

"Confidentiality. You agree not to disclose Google Confidential Information without Google's prior written consent. 'Google Confidential Information' includes without limitation: ... (b) click-through rates or other statistics relating to Site performance in the Program provided to you by Google..."

That's really weird. Web site owners need to be able to share such information and discuss successes and failures.

A big disadvantage of the service is that Google doesn't say how much its AdSense partners will receive. You'll just receive an unknown share of the revenue.

Only a company with the goodwill and respect Google has earned could get away with such a cheeky offer.

Google says:

"How much will I earn through this program? The AdWords ads you are able to display on your content pages are cost-per-click (CPC) ads. This means that advertisers pay only when users click on ads. You'll receive a portion of the amount paid for clicks on AdWords ads on your website. Although we don't disclose the exact revenue share, our goal is to enable publishers to make as much or more than they could with other advertising networks."

So the only way to know how much you'll earn is to try it and see. If you want to bail out, all you have to do is remove the code from your site.

Don't put all your eggs in the AdSense basket. If Google discovers fraudulent clicks on ads appearing on your pages, it can dump your site from the service, and refuse to pay you all revenue owed. Some webmasters who claim total innocence have had this happen to them.

Google has made several changes to its AdSense FAQ, clarifying varying things. For example, it IS possible to apply for separate accounts for separate web sites. I've done so, and checked with Google that it's OK in my case. Read the rules - they look ambiguous to me. If in doubt, ask first!

Some time after the launch of AdSense, Google added "channels" which improve the tracking. I strongly recommend that you experiment with these.

Sites with "excessive advertising" are being rejected.

How to Increase Blog Traffic

1. Learn to Leverage Big Traffic
When I first started blogging, I had romantic notions of an incoming rush of traffic hitting my blog. A couple of months in I began to realize that that wasn’t going to happen.
I remember the light going on in my mind one day - the rush of traffic just wasn’t going to ‘appear’. Of course there was a trickle of traffic that did just ‘appear’ - but if I wanted traffic in large numbers I was going to have to find some way of going and getting it.
I began to ask myself a question:

‘where is my potential traffic?’

At any given moment, millions of people are using the Internet - a certain percentage of them were interested in and even searching for the information that I had written - so where were they and how was I going to get them?

So where are your potential readers?

I can’t answer that question for each of you (because it varies, depending upon your blog’s topic) but here are a few suggestions of where your readers may already be gathering:

1. Forums - yep, they are Web 1.0 (or 1.3 maybe) in many ways - but the reality is that people are probably discussing your topic every day already on a forum somewhere in large numbers.
2. Social Sites - sites like Digg, Reddit, Flickr, YouTube and MySpace are generating massive traffic at the moment. Many of them won’t have the kind of traffic that will naturally relate to your site - but increasingly social networking and bookmarking sites are arranging themselves around specific topics and verticals.
3. Bigger Blogs - on most topics there is already a blog that is at least covering a related topic.
4. Bigger Sites - don’t just look at the blogosphere - doing so will limit yourself so much.

Ok - the above list is pretty general but it’s hard to be more specific without knowing the topic at hand.
The key is to find those places where your potential traffic is already gathering and then to think about how you can become a part of those sites/communities in a way that draws traffic to your blog.

In general I find that other site owners are more than willing to share a little link love around IF you provide them with some value too.

Notice I said IF you provide them with value. It doesn’t mean:

* sending an email asking for a link or offering to trade links
* spamming their site’s comments/forum
* manipulating their site or readers into coming to your site

Find out a way of genuinely enhancing their site and becoming a valued part of their community.

* Write them free content
* Genuinely participate in comments in ways that add value to the conversation
* Use a signature in your communications with people in the community (as long as it’s within the rules to do so)
* Provide them with some link love (even if it’s not returned)
* Get to know the authors - thank them for anything that they do do for you

Over time (and this isn’t usually an overnight process) you’ll find that the more you add to and participate in larger sites, the more you’ll personally get out of it.

2. Get discovered one reader at a time
The second piece of advice I’ll give is to not get caught up in finding the big incoming link that will bring a rush of traffic.
Yes you should be on the lookout for these opportunities - but don’t forget the readers you’ve currently got and don’t forget the small trickles of traffic that you already have from smaller sources.

Google and other Search Engines - millions of people start their search for information here every day - while it’s a long term thing to grow SE traffic it does add up over time. Learn some basic search engine optimization techniques and incorporate it into the way you blog. While search engines like Google will only ever send you one reader at a time - they can do so in very large numbers over time.

Reader Recommendations - one of the most powerful forces at your disposal as a blogger is your current reader. 10 readers who each find two new readers for your blog each month who each find two new readers for your blog each month will see you end up with a readership of over 40,000 within 12 months. While that might not be a reasonable expectation - the fact remains that blogging is by its nature a viral medium. Tap into this - concentrate on providing value to your current readers and you will find over time that you could be on the receiving end of some viral growth.

Smaller Blogs - Getting a link from a larger blog or website can be a huge rush (for example last week I got a link from the front page of Yahoo.com as a featured article and it was a fun thing to watch) but sometimes it’s the links from smaller blogs that have a more lasting impact upon your blog. Build relationships with other blogs in your niche (not just the powerful ones) and over time you’ll find that the traffic that they send will not only bring you new loyal readers but that the links will help your search engine ranking.

Bonus Tip - Live with an Attitude of Openness to Opportunity
A few years ago I had a business coach. The main thing I took home from the time I spent with him was that he was someone that was constantly on the lookout for synergy and opportunity with those that he met. He didn’t do it in a manipulative way - but he had this ability to connect with people and spot potential connecting points between what he did and what the other person did.

Almost as if every conversation he had led to a new mutually beneficial business partnership, customer or product idea. The result was that his business grew.

As bloggers, I think this is an attitude that all of us could learn from.

Don’t expect the large rush of traffic to land in your lap - it rarely comes.

DO look for opportunities and DO be willing to act quickly upon them and in time you’ll find the growth will come.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:-
Dark Bitter Chocolate (melted) 125gms
Egg yolks 2
Egg whites 3
Sugar 60gms
Butter (melted) 50gms
Whipped Cream 300ml
Liqueur, brandy or rum 15ml (approx)


Method:-
Mix the melted butter and chocolate.
Beat egg yolks with sugar.
Beat egg whites stiff.
Fold in egg yolks, egg whites into the melted chocolate mixture.
Fold in whipped cream, reserving a little for garnish.
Mix in liqueur (optional..!).
Refrigerate till chilled.
Pipe out into glasses (chilled).
Garnish with cream and chocolate decoration.

CHINESE STYLE FRIED CHICKEN

2 whole chicken breasts, boned and skinned
2 tomatoes, cut in pieces (1/2 inch)
1 green pepper, cut in pieces (1/2 inch)
2 tbsp. oil
Mushrooms (optional)
--SAUCE--
1/4 c. corn syrup
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 c. water
1 tbsp. corn starch
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Pinch garlic powder
2 tbsp. sherry (optional)
Mix together
Heat oil in large skillet. Add chicken cut in 1/2 inch pieces and cook for 3 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir in tomatoes and green pepper. Add sauce, mix, bring to boil, stirring constantly. Continue to boil for 1 minute.
Mixture thickens because of corn starch. Serve over cooked rice Serves 4.

OVEN FRIED CHICKEN

1 frying chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 lb. melted butter
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs, finely crushed cornflakes or flour
Dip chicken pieces in butter, then shake in paper bag containing remaining dry ingredients. Place skin side up in lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees or until done. Serves 6-8.

Fitness

What is fitness? Fitness can be performance-related or health-related. Performance-related fitness is a measure of an athlete's agility, balance, power, and speed. This topic focuses on health-related fitness, which you can achieve through regular physical activity. The benefits of both types of fitness are a healthy heart and lungs (cardiorespiratory fitness), increased flexibility, and muscular strength and endurance.
Health-related fitness helps you feel your best and reduces the risk of heart attack, colon cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Being fit helps you to have more energy throughout the day for work or school and energy left over to enjoy your leisure time.
How much physical activity is required to become fit?
Experts recommend: 1
Activity at moderate intensity (equal to a brisk walk) for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more.
Vigorous exercise for 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week or more. Vigorous exercise is done at a pace that increases your heart rate to 70% or more of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is the fastest your heart can beat at a maximum activity level. To find your target heart for exercising, use the target heart rate calculator.
Children and teens should be active at least 1 hour a day.
What types of physical activity improve fitness?
Most experts agree that there are three kinds of fitness:
Flexibility is the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. Stretching is a flexibility exercise.
Aerobic (cardiorespiratory) fitness is the body's ability to use oxygen efficiently and depends upon the condition of your heart, lungs, and muscles. This type of fitness increases the amount of oxygen that is delivered to your muscles, which allows them to work longer. Walking is a type of aerobic exercise.
Muscular fitness includes building stronger muscles and increasing how long you can use them (endurance). Resistance training through weight lifting and body movements such as push-ups can improve muscular fitness.
Keep in mind that you may be fairly fit in one area (perhaps aerobic fitness) but just getting started with another (such as flexibility or muscle strengthening).
How can I be more physically active?
Try to make physical activity a regular and essential part of your day, just like brushing your teeth or going to work. Start slowly and be sure to consult your doctor first, especially if you aren't active at all or have health problems. Make an appointment with yourself when you are most likely to keep it. For example, consider scheduling your activity in the morning if you tend to talk yourself out of it later in the day.
Activity throughout the day burns calories and helps maintain your weight. Small activities such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking far away and walking to your office or the grocery store can add up quickly to the recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity. Make a plan to ride your bike to work once a week. Instead of e-mailing or calling a coworker, get up and walk to his or her desk. If you don't have time to take one 30-minute walk, break it up into three 10-minute walks.
Walking is an activity that most people can do safely and routinely with family members, friends, coworkers, or pets. Keep track of your steps with a step counter or pedometer, which you can buy at a sporting goods store. If you have a desk job, you may see how little you actually move in a typical day. Wearing the step counter will motivate you to accumulate more steps during the day.
If you want a more structured way to get exercise, consider joining a health club or community center that offers fitness activities. Find an activity that you love and feel you can stick with, and then vary it with other activities so you don't get bored. For example, 3 days a week, take a brisk, 30-minute walk with a friend and then lift some weights together. On other days, take a water aerobics class, ride a bike, or take the dog for a hike. Join a softball, volleyball, or basketball league. The more you can find activities you like, the greater your chances for success. Use the activity calorie calculator to find out how many calories are burned during various activities.

Automatic XP Function

If you have Windows XP, you've probably noticed that when you install a new program, XP automatically highlights that program in your Start menu so you can easily find it. It also gives you a little pop up message telling you that you have new programs in your list.

Well, have you ever found those features to be annoying or unnecessary? Do you want to get rid of them? If you do, here's how. Right click on your bottom taskbar (on any open space) and select Properties. In the next box that appears, choose the Start menu tab and then click Customize. Now you're going to want to choose the Advanced tab and make sure the box that says "Highlight newly installed programs" is unchecked. Then click OK twice to make the change permanent.

Now, XP won't bother you when you install a new program on your computer and you can just go about your business!

How the Web Works

Introduction


For many of us, the Internet and Web Browsing has become a daily activity. Whether it is for checking stock prices, buying food, doing work, ordering books and music, or just to browse a favorite site, web browsing has become an institution in our lives much the way television is. Have you ever wondered how this whole web thing works, though? This tutorial is designed to explain the history and concepts of the Web and how it works technically. After you browse to a site, you will understand actually how it is done and how your computer retrieves this information. Our first stop, is the history of the Web.

History of the Web

The Web finds its roots at CERN, the European Organization for Particle Physics Research, in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau designed a system called Enquire. This system would allow documents to have links between different pieces of data whether they be files on the local computer or stored on a remote computer. The main motivation is said to have been the ability to access library information that was spread across multiple servers at CERN.

On November 12th, 1990, Tim Berners-Lee published a formal proposal called "Information Management: A Proposal" that outlined the World Wide Web as we know it today by using a system for displaying information called HyperText, which was first described 1945 by a man named Vannevar Bush, to link documents into a large scale information pool. The following day on November 13th, 1990, Tim Berners-Lee created the first web page and that following December wrote the first web browser and web server. The name of this program that was created, was called the WorldWideWeb. Thus we have the name we use today.

As development of the WorldWideWeb continued, more people from around the world started to get involved , until in 1992 one of the first web browsers that supported graphics was introduced called Pei-Yuan Wei's Viola. This led to Marc Andreessen of NCSA, releasing in 1993 a program for UNIX called Mosaic. Mosaic was the spark that marked the rise in popularity of the World Wide Web and no longer kept it confined in the academic circles. Marc Andreesen went on to form Mosaic Communications, which then evolved into Netscape Communications. Netscape was the first mainstream graphical Web Browser.

As time went on, more features started to be added to the browser, more companies got on the Internet, and personal homepages started springing up everywhere, and the Web as we know it was created.

The Technology behind the Web

The web works on three standards. These standards are generally adhered to by all companies that make products that work with the World Wide Web.

These standards are:

URL (Uniform Resource Locator): These are the addresses that you enter into your web browser to connect to a web site. The URL is broken up into 4 parts which are the protocol, the hostname, the port number, and the path that you are requesting.
Protocol:
The protocol part of an URL is the funny string of characters that you see before the hostname. Examples are http, ftp, telnet:, etc. They are separated from the hostname with a colon and two forward slashes ( :// ). These protocols tell your browser what type of service to use when you connect with the web browser to the hostname. If you leave the protocol off your address, by default the Web Browser will assume you are using the HTTP protocol, which is for connecting to web sites, so there is no need to type in the http:// every time you go to a web site. If you specify another protocol like ftp, then the browser will act as an ftp client that will enable you to connect to a ftp server to download files.
Hostname:
The hostname is the address you are going to. For example, if you are going to the address http://www.bleepingcomputer.com, then www.bleepingcomputer.com is the hostname.
Port Number:
The port number is a number that you can append to the hostname with a colon ( : ) between them. For example http://www.bleepingcomputer.com:80. If you leave the port number off, which almost everyone does, then the browser will automatically use port 80 as that is the default port for the http protocol.
Path:
This is the path on the server, culminating with the filename you are trying to reach. For example, the URL http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/examples/example1.html. The path in this case is /examples/example1.html. This path corresponds to an actual directory structure on the web server. So on the web server there is a root directory, an examples directory underneath that root directory, and a file called example1.html underneath that.

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol): This is a defined process of how to transfer information between a web browser and a web server. All web browsers and web servers follow this process.

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language): This is the language used in web pages to format text, images, and page layout. This language is in pure text and is entered into a file that has an ending of html. It is possible to put HTML in documents that do not end in html, but for the purpose of this tutorial, we are only focusing on pure HTML documents. The text in these documents contain special codes, called tags, that tell the web browser when it reads the file how to format the text. Lets try an example below.

If you were to create a file called helloworld.html and save it on your hard drive, you could then open this file with your browser and have it displayed. The contents of this file will have the following text:

Hello World!!!!

If you were to open up this document in your browser you would see the following:

Hello World!!!!

As you can see the text, Hello World, has been shown to you in bold print. This was because we enclosed the words in the tags , which means any text after it will be bold, and then the ending means this is the end of the bold formatting. All tags in HTML have a beginning tag, that starts the formatting, and an ending tag, that stops the formatting. There are many many more tags available to use in HTML, the bold ( ) tag being just one of them.

Web Browser and Web Servers

In order for the Web to work you need web browsers and web servers which work hand in hand. The web browser is a piece of software that is used to interpret the information found in an HTML document and display the content of that document based upon the HTML tags found within it. A web server is a computer that stores HTML documents, otherwise known as web pages, and waits for connections from web browsers. When a web browser connects to a web server, the web server sends the requested document, if it exists, back to the web browser for display.

Actually Browsing a Web Site

Now that you understand the basics behind how the Web works, lets walk you through the actual process of how your computer goes to a web site and displays it in your browser.

The first step of course is to open your web browser, whether that be Netscape, Internet Explorer, or Mozilla. When your browser opens, you have the option of connecting to another web site. In the address field, type the location of where you would like to go. For this example, lets go to www.bleepingcomputer.com.

You type http://www.bleepingcomputer.com, or www.bleepingcomputer.com as the http:// is optional, in the address field and press enter or go. The below diagram explains what happens:


As you can see, when you try to connect to a site, your web browser opens an Internet connection and tries to connect to the web server specified in the host portion of the URL. If it connects, the web browser sends the web server the path portion of the URL. If that path exists on the web server, the web server sends the content of the HTML file back to your browser. Your browser reads through the HTML of the document, following the instructions found there as it displays the information on your screen.

That is all there is to it to retrieving a web page from a remote computer.

TCP and UDP Ports Explained

Introduction


In this tutorial we will discuss the concept of Ports and how they work with IP addresses. If you have not read our article on IP addresses and need a brush up, you can find the article here. If you understand the concepts of IP addresses, then lets move on to TCP and UDP ports and how they work.

The devices and comptuers connected to the Internet use a protocol called TCP/IP to communicate with each other. When a computer in New York wants to send a piece of data to a computer in England, it must know the destination IP address that it woud like to send the information to. That information is sent most often via two methods, UDP and TCP.

The two Internet workhorses: UDP and TCP

UDP? TCP? I know you are getting confused, but I promise I will explain this in very basic terms so that you can understand this concept.

TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol. Using this method, the computer sending the data connects directly to the computer it is sending the data it to, and stay connected for the duration of the transfer. With this method, the two computers can guarantee that the data has arrived safely and correctly, and then they disconnect the connection. This method of transferring data tends to be quicker and more reliable, but puts a higher load on the computer as it has to monitor the connection and the data going across it. A real life comparison to this method would be to pick up the phone and call a friend. You have a conversation and when it is over, you both hang up, releasing the connection.

UDP stands for User Datagram Protocol. Using this method, the computer sending the data packages the information into a nice little package and releases it into the network with the hopes that it will get to the right place. What this means is that UDP does not connect directly to the receiving computer like TCP does, but rather sends the data out and relies on the devices in between the sending computer and the receiving computer to get the data where it is supposed to go properly. This method of transmission does not provide any guarantee that the data you send will ever reach its destination. On the other hand, this method of transmission has a very low overhead and is therefore very popular to use for services that are not that important to work on the first try. A comparison you can use for this method is the plain old US Postal Service. You place your mail in the mailbox and hope the Postal Service will get it to the proper location. Most of the time they do, but sometimes it gets lost along the way.

Now that you understand what TCP and UDP are, we can start discussing TCP and UDP ports in detail. Lets move on to the next section where we can describe the concept of ports better.

TCP and UDP Ports

As you know every computer or device on the Internet must have a unique number assigned to it called the IP address. This IP address is used to recognize your particular computer out of the millions of other computers connected to the Internet. When information is sent over the Internet to your computer how does your computer accept that information? It accepts that information by using TCP or UDP ports.

An easy way to understand ports is to imagine your IP address is a cable box and the ports are the different channels on that cable box. The cable company knows how to send cable to your cable box based upon a unique serial number associated with that box (IP Address), and then you receive the individual shows on different channels (Ports).

Ports work the same way. You have an IP address, and then many ports on that IP address. When I say many, I mean many. You can have a total of 65,535 TCP Ports and another 65,535 UDP ports. When a program on your computer sends or receives data over the Internet it sends that data to an ip address and a specific port on the remote computer, and receives the data on a usually random port on its own computer. If it uses the TCP protocol to send and receive the data then it will connect and bind itself to a TCP port. If it uses the UDP protocol to send and receive data, it will use a UDP port. Figure 1, below, is a represenation of an IP address split into its many TCP and UDP ports. Note that once an application binds itself to a particular port, that port can not be used by any other application. It is first come, first served.



This all probably still feels confusing to you, and there is nothing wrong with that, as this is a complicated concept to grasp. Therefore, I will give you an example of how this works in real life so you can have a better understanding. We will use web servers in our example as you all know that a web server is a computer running an application that allows other computers to connect to it and retrieve the web pages stored there.

In order for a web server to accept connections from remote computers, such as yourself, it must bind the web server application to a local port. It will then use this port to listen for and accept connections from remote computers. Web servers typically bind to the TCP port 80, which is what the http protocol uses by default, and then will wait and listen for connections from remote devices. Once a device is connected, it will send the requested web pages to the remote device, and when done disconnect the connection.

On the other hand, if you are the remote user connecting to a web server it would work in reverse. Your web browser would pick a random TCP port from a certain range of port numbers, and attempt to connect to port 80 on the IP address of the web server. When the connection is established, the web browser will send the request for a particular web page and receive it from the web server. Then both computers will disconnect the connection.

Now, what if you wanted to run an FTP server, which is a server that allows you to transfer and receive files from remote computers, on the same web server. FTP servers use TCP ports 20 and 21 to send and receive information, so you won't have any conflicts with the web server running on TCP port 80. Therefore, the FTP server application when it starts will bind itself to TCP ports 20 and 21, and wait for connections in order to send and receive data.

Most major applications have a specific port that they listen on and they register this information with an organization called IANA. You can see a list of applications and the ports they use at the IANA Registry. With developers registering the ports their applications use with IANA, the chances of two programs attempting to use the same port, and therefore causing a conflict, will be diminished.

HOW TO HIDE DRIVES IN WINDOWS XP

******************************
THIS METHOD WAS DISCOVERED BY ME
******************************

1. Go to Start > run > type "diskpart".
a dos window will appear with following discription.
DISKPART>

2. then type "list volume"

this will look like it

Volume### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
-------------- ---- ------ --- ----- ---- ------- -----

Volume 0 F DC-ROM
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 7000MB Healthy
Volume 2 D soft NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy
Volume 3 E Porn NTFS Partition 8000MB Healthy


3.if u wanna hide drive E then type "select volume 3"

then a message will appear in same winwods { Volume 3 is the selected volume}

4.now type " remove letter E"
now a message will come { Diskpart Removed the Drive letter }
sometime it requires the reboot the computer .

Diskpart will remove the letter .Windows XP is not having capabilty to identify the unkown volume.

Dont afraid ur Data will remain same .
to Come back to the Drive repeat the process . but in 4th step which is shown in this post replace " remove" to "assign"
i mean type " assign letter E"

How to install Invision Power Board

Installing: Step 1 - Uploading

At this point, you should have the zip archive "unzipped" and the contents similar to those shown in the structure and CHMOD guide. If you do not have a similar structure, check to make sure you have your zip program preferences set to allow creation of directories and to preserve case and long filenames.

If you haven't done so already, create a new directory on your server named appropriately (if you wanted to access the forums via 'http://www.domain.com/forums/', create a directory called 'forums' in the 'public_html' or 'www' directory on your webserver.

Using your FTP client, move into the directory you wish to upload to (if you followed the above advice, move into the newly created 'forums' directory.)

Using your FTP client, create the following directories "archive_in", "archive_out", "cache", "fonts", "html", "lang", "modules", "Skin", "sources", "ssi_templates", "style_images", and "uploads" (TIP: If your FTP client supports "Drag n' Drop" which most modern clients do, you can save yourself some time and effort by simply selecting all the files from the "unzipped" zip archive and drag them into your FTP client window, this will then copy all the files, creating the directories as it goes. If you choose to do this, you can safely ignore most of the following instruction, just remember to CHMOD as outlined in the stucture and CHMOD guide).

Once the directories have been created, CHMOD "archive_in", "archive_out" and "uploads" to 0755 (if you get permissions errors later on, you can CHMOD these to "0777"). Now, upload the contents of the files in your local folders (from the zip file) into the corresponding directories you've just created on your server. Some folders will contain other files and folders, upload them all - preserving the structure you have in your zip file (for example, upload the entire contents of the "html" folder on your computer to the "html" directory on the server).

Once you have finished uploading into the directories, upload the rest of the files "admin.php", "conf_global.php", "conf_mime_types.php", "css.php", "index.php", "install_templates.txt", "sm_install.php", "ssi.php" to the same place as you created the directories earlier (into "forums" for our example).
CHMOD "conf_global.php" to 0666 (if you get permission denied errors later on, you can CHMOD this to 0777).

That's it, the hard work is now done! You can proceed to the next step.

Installing: Step 2 - Using the Installer

An installer is provided to assist you in entering the information Invision Power Board needs to connect to your mySQL database and to create your new administrators account.

Run the "sm_install.php" file through your web browser by entering the URL to it into your browser address bar (if you have followed our example, type in http://www.domain.com/forums/sm_install.php, naturally subsituting 'domain.com' for your web address.)

You will be presented with a short information screen, if you receive an error telling you that "conf_global.php" does not have suitable permissions, CHMOD "conf_global.php" to 0777 via your FTP client.

Clicking on proceed will present you with a simple information form. You will need to know your mySQL username and password at this point. If you do not know it, please ask your web host - in most cases it is different from the FTP log in information.

The form is very straightfoward, with only the following points needing closer examination. If you do not know what your mySQL "host" is, try "mysql" (without the quotes). if the mySQL server is on the same server as your website (and in most cases it is) this will suffice.
If you have created a new database for Invision Power Board, or wish to use an existing database, enter the name of the database in the appropriate field.

Unless you intend to install multiple copies of Invision Power Board into the same database, you can leave the "table prefix" blank. If you do not have a mySQL password (if you are installing Invision Power Board on your local server) this can be left blank.
After submitting the form, you will be informed of any errors - if you do get an error similar to "permission denied for user@localhost using password YES" - the chances are you have either your mySQL username, mySQL password or mySQL database name wrong. Consult with your webhost for the correct information and resubmit the form.

If the installation was successful, you will receive notification to that effect.
Follow the link to finish off the installation and to log into your newly installed board. When the log in page loads, enter in the information you chose for your administrator account.
Once you are logged into the board, click on the "Admin CP" link found in the navigation bar to access the Administration Control Panel.

Installing: Step 3 - Admin CP First Steps

The Invision Power Board administration control panel is a very sophisticated tool. This is where you can create new categories and forums for your board, as well as set bad word filters, edit emoticons, change the board colours and so on. We recommend you browse the documentation at Invision Power Board before getting attempting some of the more complex operations.

Lets get stuck in!
The first thing you will need to do is remove the "sm_install.php" file from your server; although Invision Power Board locks the installer after a successful install, it's always a good idea to remove the installer as re-running it will delete your database tables.

Before anyone can post, we need some forums!
If you wish to get stuck in straight away, now would be a good time to create some forums for your members to post in.
In the Administrators CP, click on the "Forum Control" expanding menu in the left menu frame. When it loads, click on "New Category".
If your website was about computers, you could enter "PC Software" as the category name. Submit the form by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.
Now we have a category to "group" the forums, lets create a forum or two.

Click on "New Forum" found in the same expandable menu. Choose "Normal Forum" from the drop down box and proceed.
There are many options here, which are outside the scope of this guide, for more information see the documentation at Invision Power Board. We can create a new forum without knowing what all the options do. Using our example, you might want a forum dedicated to "Games" - if so, enter "Games" as the forum title, and a suitable description for the new forum. When you have done this scroll down and submit the form by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.

If you now go back to your board, and refresh the page, you will see the new category and forum. Try a little test post to make sure the system is running perfectly.

Congratulations! You have installed and set up your new Invision Power Board. If you ran into trouble, please click on the "Help!" link in the top menu bar for the FAQ and how to get support.

File Structure and CHMOD values

Below is a table showing the file structure and recommended CHMOD values for the file (and in the case of directories, the CHMOD values for the contents of the directories).
The CHMOD values are not needed for Windows based servers and can be safely ignored. The CHMOD values may vary from system to system, if in doubt, CHMOD everything to 0777.
Most systems will not need to CHMOD everything to install successfully, use the table below to determine what needs CHMOD'ding for installation, and what can be left until later.

How To Password Protect Folders in XP

Do you share a computer with other users and want some extra security on your folders? There are two ways to password protect a folder built into Windows XP (for other Windows flavors, there are some freeware/shareware programs out there).

#1 If you have a log in password for your account, this can be used to protect folders from other users. Your hard drive must be formatted using NTFS (which it probably is unless you're dual booting with another operating system). Here's what to do...

Right-click the folder that you want to make private and choose "Properties" (or Alt+Double-click). Go to the "Sharing" tab and check the "Make this folder private" box.


Click Apply . If you do not have a password on your account, a box will pop up asking if you want to assign a password. This must be done if you want to make the folder private, so click Yes . You will need to use your password to log on to your computer from then on.

Type in a password then confirm it. Click the "Create Password" button then close the Password window.

Click OK in the Properties dialog box.

Now anyone else logged on to your computer can't access that file without knowing your password.

#2 If the Folder is Zipped you can give it a unique password.

Just double-click the zipped folder. In the top menu select File then click "Add a Password


I THINK IS USEFULL IF U LIKE THEN REPLY

How to acces the internet via your standard m*cro$oft Calculator

How to acces the internet via your standard m*cro$oft Calculator
When your browser(s) is/are messed up for some unexplainable reason

1. Open your MS Calculator. This is normally found in Start => All Programs => Accessories => Calculator.
2. Open the help-window by pressing the F1 key.
3. Click the top-left corner icon of the help window once (Standard is a Document with a Questionmark).
4. Select Go to URL-address.
5. Type your address into the avaliable field, but remember to type http://, and not just www. (or equivalent).
6. Have fun!

Easy Cooking

Name that beef
USDA Prime, Choice, Select? "Young beef with the most marbling is given the Prime or highest quality grade. Prime is usually sold to restaurants, but may be available in some specialty markets. Choice is the most widely available grade in the retail market. Select has the least amount of marbling, but may not be as tender, juicy or flavorful as Prime or Choice."

"Beef tenderloin steak is also called filet or filet mignon. These extremely tender, boneless steaks are cut from the whole tenderloin."

"Round tip steaks, also called 'minute,' 'breakfast,' or 'sandwich' steaks, cook very quickly; take care not to overcook or they will be dry."

"A Porterhouse steak differs from a T-Bone in that the Porterhouse tenderloin diameter is no less than 1 1/4 inches measured across the center compared to the T-Bone tenderloin, which is not less than 1/2 inch."

"Delmonico" is a fancy name for ribeye. You'll find the word Delmonico more commonly in the Northeast (the original Delmonico's Restaurant was in NYC); ribeye is the label of choice in the Southeast.

Coals hot enough?
"Approximately 30 minutes prior to grilling, prepare the charcoal fire so coals have time to reach medium temperature. At medium, the coals will be ash-covered. To check the temperature of the coals, spread the coals in a single layer. CAREFULLY hold the palm of your hand above the coals at cooking height. Count the number of seconds you can hold your hand in that position before the heat forces you to pull it away: approximately 4 seconds for medium heat. Position the cooking grid and follow recipe directions. (For gas grills, consult the owner's manual for preheating instructions.)"

How to make hamburger patties
"Use a gentle touch when shaping ground beef patties. Overhandling will result in a firm, compact texture after cooking. Don't press or flatten with spatula during cooking."

Buying beef
"Make sure the package is cold and has no holes or tears. Excessive liquid in a package may indicate improper storage or beef that is past its optimum shelf life."

"Look for beef that is firm to the touch, not soft."

"Choose beef with a bright cherry-red color, without any grayish or brown blotches. The exception is vacuum-packaged beef, which, due to a lack of oxygen, has a darker purplish-red color. When exposed to the air, it will turn to a bright red."

How to use gluten in bread machines
Pure gluten has the appearance of flour. Add one tablespoon of pure gluten to the flour mixture of a 1 x1/2 pound loaf of bread destined for the bread machine. The gluten feeds the yeast. You will turn out a lighter and better loaf.

How to properly blend brownie ingredients
Most brownie recipes call for melting the chocolate with the fat and adding this mixture to beaten eggs and sugar. Let the chocolate mixture cool completely before adding it to the eggs and sugar as it makes for a lighter brownie.

How to tell if the brownies are cooked
Brownies are cooked when the edges look hard, the top has cracked slightly, and the surface has a glassy appearance. The center should not jiggle when you shake the pan. The toothpick method works on cakey brownies, but not fudgy ones!

About cooling and cutting brownies
As they cool, brownies shrink from the side of the pan and set. Put them out of reach of the thronging hordes and don't cut until they've reached room temperature.

Help! I'm out of baking chocolate!
Substitute 3/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened) and 1/4 cup Crisco for 4 squares (ounces) of chocolate.

See also Tips on melting chocolate

Tips on storing cheese
Store cheese in your refrigerator, which approximates the temperature of our aging rooms. Keep it wrapped tightly in plastic, away from air. Air helps mold grow on cheese. If you get a little mold on the outside, just cut it off. The English say if mold won't eat your cheddar it can't taste very good.

Tips on melting cheese
Bring cheese to room temperature before melting. Melt cheese over a low heat to help prevent toughening and separation of oils and liquid.

Tips on freezing cheese
Most ripened or aged cheese is low in moisture content and can be frozen without drastic flavor and texture changes. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours or more. If frozen for several months, the cheese may dry out somewhat and become crumbly when thawed.

Tips on serving cheese
It's universal thinking - cheese is served best at room temperature. (For a unique and easy meal, go to our Dinner Bell page for Ploughman's Platter.)

How to melt chocolate
Please note that melting chocolate is not the same as tempering chocolate. Tempered chocolate has been subject to certain temperatures and techniques that alter its chemistry. Tempering produces the texture and sheen we expect from fine chocolate candies. To temper chocolate, consult a candy cookbook.

The enemy of melted chocolate is water. Even a hot and humid day can ruin your efforts. Be absolutely sure that hands, utensils, bowls, surfaces - everything that comes in contact with the warm liquid chocolate - are bone dry. One drop of water in warm melted chocolate will cause it to seize (bind, clump and turn grayish in color).

The second nastiest enemy of chocolate is too high heat. It's so easy to scorch! No matter what method you choose to melt chocolate, use patience. Do not take shortcuts.

Microwave Method: Place chocolate (and shortening if you're making candy coating) in a small, deep microwavable bowl. Use a 50% power setting. Nuke in 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval. The chocolate will keep its shape even when melted, so stirring is important. Reduce nuke time to 10 seconds if you suspect chocolate is close to being melted. Alternatively, just let it sit for a minute or two to complete the melting process.

Foolproof Double Boiler Stovetop Method: This method takes more time, but there is actually less for you do than if using the microwave method. And it sure beats the more common stovetop method which calls for simmering the water and invites water droplets to settle in your chocolate! Fill a saucepan with water up to the point that the double boiler bowl would rest its bottom in the water when put in place. Put the lid on the pan and bring the water to a full boil. Remove the lid and don't even think of using it again. Turn off the heat. Place the double boiler bowl filled with chocolate (and grease if you're making chocolate candy coating) on top of the boiled water and set the timer for 25 minutes. Go away. Come back when the buzzer goes off and carefully stir the chocolate. If it still has a way to go, turn the burner on warm or low to help it along. When the chocolate has melted, carefully remove the bowl of chocolate and wipe off the bottom of it with a dry dishtowel. You're now ready to make that chocolate treat.

How to dip candy in chocolate coating
Don't even think of making chocolate dipped candies on a hot and humid day. See notes above on melting chocolate and moisture.

To create a chocolate coating of manageable consistency for candies and other treats, add shortening, peanut or vegetable oil in a ratio of 1 tablespoon grease to 6 - 8 ounces of solid chocolate and melt them together (see tips on melting chocolate above). Food grade canning wax may also be used (To find Coconut Creme Eggs, go to our Recipes page and click on the Desserts button.) The wax method creates the best consistency for dipping and the loveliest luster, but then you are eating a small portion of wax!

Special candy coating chocolate ("couverture") is available commercially. While the chocolate available in the supermarket is both economical and easy to find, you may enjoy experimenting with "professional grade" chocolate next time around.

Do not use butter or margarine in your coating mixture. Butter, particularly American butter, contains water. (Joy's Note: If you're doubtful, wring out a stick like a washcloth and watch the water drip out. I discovered this in the process of making brioche and croissant years ago.) All margarine is not created equal - don't trust it. A Hershey cookbook says even oil can contain some moisture and to use only shortening - our tests were successful with oil, but, admittedly, oil from a freshly opened bottle.

Melted chocolate may also be brushed on a candy center with a pastry brush. Think chocolate paint! Two or three coats may be needed.

Tools? Read on. Real candy dipping forks have tines as thin as needles, but you don't need to use one. Do you have a long-handled, two pronged meat fork in the house? Or a set of fondue forks circa 1968? We found a meat fork at the supermarket for $2.79 and it worked famously. Only use a table fork as a last resort. Why? We're not using the fork to pierce the candy center but to cradle it. Thus the chocolate needs to drip through the cradle of the tines back into the bowl. Too many tines inhibits draining!

Once your candy is coated and resting on the fork, tap the fork on the side of the bowl to shake off extra chocolate. Small, tight circular motions may also help to remove excess chocolate.

Ready to try your hand at candy? Check out our recipes for Peanut Butter Eggs and Coconut Creme Eggs From our Recipes page, click on the Desserts button.

How to use "Baking Pan Liner Paper, A.K.A. Baking Parchment
"This is paper that is coated on both sides with silicone, which prevents cookies from sticking. It also controls the cookies' shapes (if you butter the cookie sheets, the cookies might run out and be too thin on the edges). These are the reasons I use it. But also, I don't object to the fact that I hardly ever have to wash a cookie sheet. And if I have too many sheets of cookies, I prepare the cookies all at once on pieces of baking pan liner paper, and then just slide a cookie sheet under the paper, and it's OK if the sheet is still hot.

In many or most of these recipes [Maida's] the directions say to line the sheets with baking pan liner paper or aluminum foil. Aluminum foil usually does almost the same thing that the paper does.

The baking pan liner paper comes on a roll like wax paper and is generally available in kitchen shops and hardware stores. It also comes in very large sheets in a big box available at wholesale paper companies and wholesale baker supply stores. I bought a box about ten years ago and I recently used the last sheet and had to buy another box. Unless you have a bakery, or unless you write cookie books, a box might be more than you want. But it's such great stuff, it's worth trying to find someone (or some two or three or more) to share it with.

The large sheets are twice as large as most cookies sheets. I work with ten or twenty pieces of it. I fold them in half, and then with a large, heavy, sharp knife, cut through the fold. I then have enough for several days of baking.

If you do a lot of cookie baking, try to get the large box. You'll love it."

Cookie cutters
"Cutters should be sharp, with no rough edges. If the cutter sticks to the dough, dip it in flour each time you use it. Always start cutting at the edge of the rolled-out dough and work toward the center, cutting the cookies as close to each other as possible."

Cookie Jars
"Cookie jars should be airtight. Many of the charming and artistic colorful ones I have seen are not. Glass jars with ground glass around the rim and the cover are airtight. Some plastic or glass jars with a rubber ring around the top are also airtight. But if I have a choice, I use Rubbermaid containers--these are airtight for sure."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies with kind permission from the author and publisher.

How to remove baked on food from your baking dishes
Scrape off loose bits of food. Put a couple of tablespoons of dishwasher detergent in the dish and add hot water. Stir the solution - a small wire whisk helps. The solution should be so heavy with detergent that it doesn't all quite dissolve. Leave it overnight. By morning, the baked on food will have lifted right off the surface of the dish. This works particularly well with glass baking dishes. Don't use this method on non-stick surfaces.

How to remove cooked on cheese (and other fatty foods)
Scrape off loose bits of food with a spatula or wipe them off with a paper towel. Then, blast the cheese with blazingly hot water while scraping with a brush or spatula. Be careful! What you don't manage to remove leave to the dishwasher. Leave the brush to the dishwasher, too. It will take care of those gummy bits of cheese better than thou.

How to remove cooked on rice, pasta or other starchy food
You left the stove to catch the Local on The Weather Channel and OOPS! First of all, if the rice has scorched, remove all the nicely cooked rice to a serving dish before the scorched food imparts a nasty flavor. Then, soak the pan in cold water. Cold, not warm, not hot. By the time you finish eating, your pan should have released the cooked on food. If not, try the method above for removing blackened, baked on food.

How to remove cooked on milk
Use the cold water method above (How to remove cooked on rice...). Attention Espresso/Cappuccino Machine Owners: You may know the trick of blowing a shot of steam into a towel and wiping down the steamer with the cloth to keep it clean. This doesn't work well if the milk has caked on. Soak the steam wand in a tall glass of cold water to soften the hardened milk, then wipe with a towel to remove it.

How to guarantee a clean, lint-free window
Run out of Windex? Don't panic. Don't even put it on the shopping list! Fill up the bottle with 3 parts of water and 1 part vinegar (don't waste the balsamic - use white or cider vinegar) and start spraying. Wipe your windows clean with newspaper. You'll be amazed!

How to tell if an egg is fresh
Old wives' tales? Maybe. Lower uncooked eggs into a bowl of water. If the egg settles horizontally, the egg is fresh enough for human consumption. If it settles vertically, feed it to the dog. If it rises to the top, feed it to the hydrangeas.

How to hard cook eggs without cracking them
Cold water method or hot? Room temperature eggs or cold eggs? Cold water plunge or no cold water plunge? Here in the foodies kitchen, we tested every possible permutation-- this is how to hard cook an egg:
Use fresh eggs, preferably organic or grain fed, as they peel more easily once cooked. They also have better texture
and flavor.
Handle like eggs. Or nitroglycerin.
Bring eggs to room temperature before cooking. This helps prevent cracking due to the sudden shock of temperature change and ensures a properly cooked egg. If you do use eggs right out of the refrigerator, add a minute or two to the cooking time.
Simmer eggs. A roiling boil is too violent. Call them "hard cooked" instead of "hard boiled" and you'll remember
this hint.
Don't crowd the pan. The eggs will knock each other and crack.
In a saucepan, bring enough water to cover the eggs to a boil. With a slotted spoon, lower the eggs into the water. Quickly, bring the water back to a boil. Lower the temperature to medium heat and simmer exactly 10 minutes. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and plunge into a bowl of cold tap water. The cold water will stop further cooking and create a gap between shell and egg for easier peeling. You may put the eggs right into a color bath now if you wish.

How to color eggs without the silly kit
In a bowl (not metal), pour in enough water and white distilled vinegar to cover the eggs. For pastel colors use one cup of water to 1 tablespoon of vinegar. (Intensify the color by reducing the amount of water used or leaving the eggs in the dye for longer periods of time.) Using basic food coloring, mix your own shade in the water and vinegar. Be sure the food coloring is completely blended so there are no "stains" on the eggs. Carefully submerge hard cooked eggs in the color bath, rotating frequently, until of desired intensity.

Egg coloring tricks
For an easy tie dyed look, wrap the egg with rubber bands before coloring.
Take a candle or other piece of wax and draw whatever you fancy on the egg-- the dye will not be absorbed by the wax.
Mix some offbeat colors. Or use a very strong solution of dye and leave the eggs in it for a long while-- a deeply colored egg is gorgeous.
Fashion a ring to hold the egg at the end of a handle out of some seizing wire (or other stiff wire) and lower the egg very, very slowly into the bath to create a striated effect.
Let kids decorate the eggs. Set some eggs aside that will not be eaten, collect odds and ends from house and garden, provide glue sticks, and let the little ones put Fabergé to shame.

How to peel a hard cooked egg
Cold eggs peel more easily than room temperature eggs. Gently tap the egg shell on the counter along the egg's "equator." Place the egg between hands and roll back and forth as if you were making a hot dog out of clay. You should feel the shell and membrane loosening from the egg white. Peel off the shell. If the shell is still coming off in irritating bits, peel under running water (this is the last resort).



Tips on using ice cream makers (electric or manual)
To ensure that the egg yolks and sugar of the ice cream base are completely mixed, do it by hand.
Let the base flavors develop overnight in the refrigerator. Adjust the flavor before churning.
Don't chintz on the flavorings - why risk the rest of the expensive ingredients? Choose natural, top quality flavorings and extracts.
Consider adding flavorings with alcohol toward the end of the churning process - alcohol freezes at a lower temperature than the other ingredients and may slow the process.
What NOT to do with salty waste water from the ice cream maker - don't dispose it on the grass or any living thing! (The Romans dumped their nasty old saline on Carthage in 146 B.C. decimating a perfectly good city, but the gelato sure hit the spot!)

How to scoop, serve and serve ice cream
A crust of ice crystals on leftover ice cream is sure a let-down for that midnight hankering! Follow these tips to prevent crystals from forming.
"Temper" ice cream before you scoop - leave it at room temperature for 8-10 minutes before serving. Return ice cream to the freezer immediately after it has been served to minimize the formation of ice crystals.
Forget what your brother-in-law told you about nuking it for 10-20 seconds. Resist the temptation for immediate gratification! Ice cream is a good enough treat on its own!
Serve ice cream in chilled bowls, preferably glass. Not only is the frosted bowl refreshing to look at, but the ice cream will retain its shape longer.
Scooping ice cream: A variation on a theme. Try this! Have a large Pyrex measuring cup or other heat proof container filled with just boiling water standing by. Dip the metal scoop into the hot water, let it heat up for a moment, and then DRY the scoop on a towel. Quickly drag the hot scoop across the ice cream creating tight rolls of the divine stuff. Do not smash the ice cream with the scoop. Think ribbons, not chunks. Repeat the process for each serving.
To store opened ice cream, first place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface and smooth it down lightly with your fingers. Then close the lid securely (use a rubber band if you have to) and return to the depths of your freezer.

Martini Tips
Advice from Martini Master Flick Eggleston

The measurement
"Be scientific. Use a jigger. If you don't know what a jigger is, use a measuring cup. 8 ounces = a cup. You figure it out. Record what works."

The vermouth
"Buy the smallest bottle of vermouth that will support your habit. Refrigerate after opening. After the bottle's been open more than a month, use it for cooking. Buy a fresh one for the bar."

The ice
"One often overlooked ingredient in the perfect martini is the ice that goes into the shaker. As we all know, ice absorbs the flavors around it. First, clean out the freezer. Give Aunt Edna's soup and everything else whose vintage is suspect the heave-ho. (Editor's Note: Jam a freshly opened box of baking soda between the frozen fish sticks.) Fill several children's ice pop molds with your favorite bottled water. Still water, not bubbly. I prefer the kind of long plastic mold that comes in a holder of six or eight. Three sets of this sized mold is enough unless you're having the House majority leader and his girlfriends over. Put a sheet of plastic wrap over the tops of the trays just in case your freezer is channeling the spirit of Aunt Edna."

"If you have a source for bagged party ice that you trust, go ahead and take your chances. I've always been wary of commercial party ice...is it tap water?...filtered water?...is it even clean water? It always tastes slightly metallic to me." (The Editor again: I recommend the Brita system for a quick tap water fix.) "Remember, you want the largest possible pieces of ice in the shaker. Do not use chipped ice. You'll pour out a martini that is about half water." (Egads!)

"This is a good time to frost some glasses. I douse them in water before I put them into the freezer. Filtered tap water works just fine for this purpose. Make sure you put them in upside down if you've used the water trick; otherwise, you'll end up with a little disk of ice in the bottom of the glass that will dislodge itself after the first sip, float to the surface of your drink, and paddle around staring at you."

"If, as a very last resort, you must use old ice, dump it all into a large bowl, fill with clean water and stir. Drain off the water and place the ice back in the freezer to 'set.' If the purity of your ice is suspect, use a few more drops of vermouth. Vow never to let it happen again."

The shake
Again, Flick Eggleston: "It's all about your own personal rhythm. I get sixteen shakes into ten seconds. That works for me. Don't shake too vigorously or too long or you'll break off shards of ice. They'll melt faster and dilute your drink. Much less than ten seconds doesn't get the mix cold enough. Experiment."

More martini resources
If you enjoy blatant commercialism (and who doesn't!?), point to Smirnoff for twelve more amusing and enticing recipes. Vodka martinis shaken, not stirred, of course. For a good old-fashioned book, Mr. Eggleston recommends The Martini Companion - A Connoisseur's Guide by Regan and Regan.

How to skin (blanch) hazelnuts from Maida Heatter
"To skin hazelnuts, spread them on a jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the skins parch and begin to flake off. Then wrap them in a towel and let them stand for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, working with a small amount of the nuts at a time, place them on a large, coarse towel (I use a terry cloth bath towel). Fold part of the towel over to enclose the nuts. Rub firmly against the towel, or hold that part of the towel between both hands and rub back and forth. The handling and the texture of the towel will cause most of the skins to flake off. Pick out the nuts and discard the skins. Don't worry about the few little pieces of skin that may remain."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies with kind permission from the author and publisher.

Order Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever Today!

Tips on storing nuts from Maida Heatter
"Nuts can turn rancid rather quickly--walnuts and pecans more so than almonds. Always store all nuts airtight in the freezer or refrigerator. In the refrigerator nuts last well for nine months; in the freezer at zero degrees they will last for two years. Bring them to room temperature before using, smell and taste them before using (and, if possible, when you buy them)--you will know quickly if they are rancid. If you even suspect that they might be, do not use them. They would ruin a recipe. Always store nuts in the freezer or refrigerator."
Reprinted from Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever with kind permission from the author and publisher.

Tips on storing olive oil from Joy
Olive oil, like all organic oils, will turn rancid over time if not properly stored. Keep it away from heat, air and light. Don't be tempted to store it in the cupboard over the range or above the refrigerator. Most cooks like to have some handy at the stove. Keep some in a pretty opaque container with a pouring spout within reach of your hand but not of the cooking heat.

Do not store olive oil in the refrigerator--it solidifies at 36 degrees Fahrenheit. If you find your olive oil contains a layer of white solids, the bottle has been chilled. Leave it to reach room temperature-- the olive oil will not have suffered. Joy

How and When to Pick and Wash Fresh Basil Leaves
If you are fanatical, water the plant a few hours before picking to perk up the leaves. Use only fresh basil from a plant that has not yet gone to seed. The leaves are at their sweetest before flowering. Pick just before preparation, bathe tenderly in cold water, and dry by gently blotting between layers of paper towel or dishtowels.

Freezing Pesto
As the best basil is seasonal, you may wish to freeze batches of pesto for a welcome return to summer in the colder months. Before preparing the pesto, have a sterilized glass jar with a lid and a roll of plastic wrap handy. The jar should hold only slightly more than the amount of pesto you are making. Prepare the pesto. Leaving a little space in the jar, pack in the pesto and cover the top with a 1/4 inch layer of olive oil. Press a piece of plastic wrap evenly over the surface of the oil allowing the wrap to hang over the sides of the jar. Screw on the lid and freeze immediately. Pesto will keep for weeks, if not months, if prepared properly. Thaw to room temperature before adding to a recipe.

Miscellaneous Pesto Notes
Pesto and pine nuts. May the two never be torn asunder. Forget what you read about substituting walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts. Pignoli is the only ingredient that provides the creamy texture that binds this sauce.

Never heat pesto sauce - the basil will turn black and taste bitter.

Never use dried basil or you're in for a rude surprise.

Experiment with pesto - add it to soups, soft cheese, sandwiches, life.

When cut basil is exposed to oxygen, it eventually blackens. If you must make pesto ahead of time, cover the top of the batch with a light layer of olive oil and press a piece of plastic wrap evenly over the surface. Refrigerate. Leave the pesto out to reach room temperature before adding to a recipe.

Does your pesto taste a tad flat? Add 1/4 teaspoon of high quality balsamic vinegar to round it out.

How to choose a pie plate
foodies east suggests glass plates. The crusts brown better on the bottom and can be monitored more easily. Buy standard-sized plates (8", 9", or 10") if you're plateless-- deep-dish and other specialty plates can be added to the collection when you're ready to branch out. Most recipes call for standard sizes so you won't have to finagle the recipe.

foodies west prefers the good heavy ceramic plates. Kauffman's Hardware on Main Street in New Holland, PA, was always the place to find them. Glass can brown too quickly. The ceramic ones that are glazed inside and on the rim (but left unglazed outside) are the ticket. They discolor and improve with age and repeated apple filling spilling over the edge. As a kid, I got 1st prize for my crust in every New Holland Farm Show for a long time. So there!

How to use cold to create flaky pastry
Cold, cold, cold --the pastry, the marble slab (if you're lucky enough to own one), the water in the recipe. Cold fat congeals! Rumor has it some chefs even chill the flour, but be mindful that condensation can create lumps.

Should I use my Cuisinart to make a pie crust?
It's tempting to use a food processor to fling together a crust. In this foodies editor's experience, it is impossible to do so and create a pastry as flaky as one made by hand. Despite that caveat, an acceptable crust can still be made, so, if time is short, pull out the trusty Cuisinart. Chill the bowl and blade. Feather that pulse button! Inspect the texture of the dough carefully during pauses. As soon as the dough begins to form a ball, remove it from the machine.

How to use up pastry scraps
Butter scraps, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and bake like cookies. The chef deserves a snack!

foodies west, once again, begs to differ: "Like cookies"? No, no. They are spread with butter, cinnamon and BROWN sugar and then ROLLED into little loose tubes. They are called "Schnukerhiesen". No kidding.

On freezing pastry dough
Pie crust dough freezes better in a ball than rolled-out dough. A ball takes up little room in the freezer and it won't be broken when you shove in another half gallon of ice cream. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap. Thaw at room temperature, in the plastic to prevent it from drying out, until only slightly chilled. Proceed with your pie.



Cooking pumpkin for pies
Cut off the top of the pumpkin and scrape out all the seeds and strings (an old-fashioned ice cream scoop works great). Cut it into sections and with a paring knife, cut the skin off the flesh. Steam the flesh until tender and puree. (Do NOT immerse the pumpkin meat in water and boil - it will soak up the water and make a watery pie.)

Be sure to read our tips on choosing the best pumpkins for pie below in How to pick a pumpkin.

More Halloween ideas: a book recommendation
Cindy Blandino, the foodies producer, is legendary for her Halloween ingenuity. Cindy recommends Donata Maggipinto's book Halloween Treats - Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family.

Cindy writes: "One great idea from Donata Maggipinto's book is using bat and other Halloween cookie cutters to create cute little flying, edible creatures. Place the cookie cutters on a baking sheet. Fill them with Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers and bake until melted. Make hole in top for hanging, let cool and bingo, scary candy! The process involves a bit more than this, but you get the idea. So get the book! Clever spider web icing design, too." Click here to learn more or order Halloween Treats at Amazon.com.

Using ordinary kitchen tools to carve the pumpkin
Chances are you have some kitchen tools other than the paring knife that will help you carve the Halloween pumpkin. . Your resident ice cream scoop, especially the old-fashioned metal kind, will do a terrific job of scraping out the seeds and strings. A grapefruit knife (the double-edged serrated type) is helpful for carving out large areas. After you've cut the big chunk out with the grapefruit knife, smooth out the edges with a sharp, thin blade. An apple corer makes a clean and perfect circle. A simple vegetable peeler, if inserted into the pumpkin flesh and rotated, carves the perfect nostril. Have fun and be careful!

Using a carpentry tool to carve the pumpkin
From a foodies fan in California, Land of the Cutting Edge:
"After you have scooped out your pumpkin, thin the wall down as much as is practical. Take a coping saw blade (an old worn-out one will do) and wrap about half its length in heavy tape to create a handle. Wrap it tight so the blade doesn't slip inside the tape. If your blade has a small pin through the end (for mounting in the saw), cut or break off about a half inch to eliminate the pin. Push the end of the blade through the pumpkin wall and start cutting. The blade is thin enough to turn sharp corners, allowing you to get some incredible detail. I find it helpful to sketch the design on the pumpkin first using a dry marker or ball point pen. Make sure you don't use a jeweler's saw blade. They're too thin and will just bend.

Make sure the blade teeth are pointed toward you so the blade cuts on the pull stroke (rather then the push stroke). Much better for control. Obviously, this also affects the way you wrap your tape handle. My favorite reason for coping saw blades vs. knife blades? It's almost impossible to sustain a life threatening injury while wielding a coping saw blade. Not true of knives and I have the scars to prove it. Happy carving!"

For those of you who braved the tape-wrapped coping saws in that last paragraph back in 1998, good news in 1999. For 99 cents and with some luck, you'll find the "Creative Pumpkin Carver" (Made in China) at your local supermarket or dime store's kitchy Halloween display. It is essentially a coping saw mounted in a bright orange, pumpkin-patterned handle. "Create Thousands of Designs!" it says. "Créez une multitude de motifs!" it says in French.

We could have been billionaires.

Advanced tip on carving pumpkins
For the serious carver: Hollow out the pumpkins and then let them sit around for a few days to soften them up. Stagger this process in the several days before Halloween - start with the biggest pumpkin first as it will have the thickest walls. Be careful - if you thin the walls too much, or if the gutted pumpkin gets too warm and rots, the walls may collapse. (see our tips on How to pick a pumpkin

How to pick a pumpkin
There are two types of pumpkin available commercially. Sugar pumpkins are usually the smaller, deep orange variety. Field pumpkins - also known as jack o' lanterns - are larger, a brighter shade of orange, and more suitable for carving. Although both varieties are edible, sugar pumpkins have a sweeter flesh and are better for cooking.

Jen McAllister, who seems to know more about fruits and vegetables than Mother Nature herself, suggests pie bakers be on the look out for a variety called "cheese pumpkins." She writes: "They're on the flattish side, are somewhat rust-colored (as opposed to bright orange) and extremely dense, meaty and sweet. Do NOT use them for jack o' lanterns; they'll just make you weep."

Buying and Storing Tomatoes
As long as they are kept at room temperature, tomatoes picked at the mature green stage will finish ripening in supermarkets and after you purchase them. Within a few days, they will soften slightly, turn red and—most important of all—develop their full flavor and aroma.

To avoid interrupting this process, place the tomatoes on a counter or in a shallow bowl at room temperature until they are ready to eat.
DON'T REFRIGERATE THEM.
When tomatoes are chilled below 55° F, the ripening comes to a halt and the flavor never develops.

To speed up the process, keep tomatoes in a brown paper bag or closed container to trap the ethylene gas that helps them ripen. Adding an ethylene-emitting apple or pear to the container can also hasten ripening. Store the tomatoes in a single layer and with the stem ends up, to avoid bruising the delicate "shoulders."

Once they are fully ripened, tomatoes can be held at room temperature or refrigerated for several days. When you’re ready to use them, bring the tomatoes back to room temperature for fullest flavor.

Tomato Techniques
To peel: Fill a saucepan with enough water to cover tomatoes; bring to a boil. Immerse tomatoes about 30 seconds; drain and cool. Remove stem ends and slip off skins.
To seed: Cut tomatoes in half crosswise. Gently squeeze each half, using your fingers to remove seeds. To reserve the juice for use in dressings, sauces or soups, seed the tomato into a strainer held over a bowl.
Tomato Shells: Cut a 1/2 inch slice off the stem end of each tomato. Using a spoon, scoop out the pulp.
Roast: Preheat oven to 450° F. Halve tomatoes crosswise. Place halves, cut side down, on a shallow baking pan; brush with oil. Roast until lightly browned, about 20 minutes; cool. Remove skins and stem ends.
Slow-Cook: Preheat oven to 300° F. Remove stem ends; slice tomatoes. Place slices on a shallow baking pan; brush with oil. Cook until tomatoes soften and shrink, about 45 minutes.

Chilled Fruit Salad

4 cups mixed diced fruits (mango, banana, stewed peaches and apples)
2 teaspoon(s) lemon juice
4 tablespoons condensed milk
4 teaspoons cream
4 teaspoons honey
a pinch of salt
Mix in the lemon juice into the mixed diced fruits and refrigerate till serving time.
At serving time, mix in the condensed milk, salt and serve in individual bowls topped with cream and honey.

TIPS:
Mango and banana give this dish most of its taste and flavor.
Chilled custard can be used instead of condensed milk. Alternatively, custard can be added along with condensed milk.

Serve chilled

Top 5 Tips for Quick Cooking

There are a few tips and tricks that you can use to make your time in the kitchen shorter. Apply these five tips to your everyday cooking and you'll have more time for the rest of your life.

1. Use Convenience Products
Convenience products, or 'value-added' products as they are known in the industry, are foods which have been processed, usually to include more than one item. Frozen mixed vegetables are a conveninence product, as is prepared pesto and pasta sauces. By keeping a store of these items in your pantry, fridge, and freezer, and collecting recipes that use them, you can dramatically reduce the time you spend in the kitchen.

2. Read Through the Recipe First
It's essential to read completely through the recipe you have chosen before you begin. Try to literally see yourself going through each step to make sure you understand the process and that you have all of the food, utensils, and equipment you need on hand.

3. Use Fewer Ingredients
Recipes that use fewer ingredients are automatically going to be faster to make. You can vary these recipes by adding more ingredients if you'd like, depending on what you have on hand, what your family likes, and what looks good in the market.

4. Use Leftovers and Planovers
Cooking once and eating twice is a proven way to cook faster. For instance, when you cook chicken for dinner, cook a few extra pieces and refrigerate them. Then use them in recipes for precooked chicken.

5. Build a Repertoire of Easy Dependable Recipes
Learn five or ten recipes really well, so you can make them easily without thinking. Then add a new recipe to this collection every month or so. Before you know it you'll have a collection of meals you can turn to when the 5:00 rush hits. And be sure to keep the ingredients for those recipes on hand.

Household Tips

Stubborn stains can be removed from non-stick
cookware by boiling, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, 1/2 cup vinegar,
and 1 cup of water for ten minutes. Before using the pan again,
season it with salad oil.

Burnt food can be removed from a glass baking
dish by spraying it with oven cleaner and letting it soak for
30 minutes. The burnt-on residue will be easier to wipe off.

Whenever you empty a jar of dill pickles,
use the left-over juice to clean the copper bottoms of your pans.
Just pour the juice in a large bowl, set the pan in the juice
for about 15 minutes. Comes out looking like new.

To restore color and shine to an aluminum pan, boil some apple peels
in it for a few minutes, then rinse and dry.

Instead of using expensive silver cleaners, put a dab of toothpaste
on a clean rag and rub it on your precious possession. After you've
rubbed it in, just clean it with another clean rag.
Your silver will look like new.

To clean copper bottoms on pots and pans, simply open a can of tomato
soup paste, rub it on and scrub then rinse. If you do this weekly,
your pots and pans stay shiny clean. This is a very inexpensive
way to clean copper and brass items!

Stains and sediment in cut glass or hobnob bowls or vases respond
to olive oil. Pour some in and let stand until the stains or
sediment disappear.

Clean eyeglasses; Wipe each lens with a drop of vinegar.

When preparing lunches for your children (or anyone), try "drinkable" ice packs: Fill a 12-ounce plastic bottle about halfway with drinking water and freeze it
overnight, tilting the bottle so the water will freeze at an angle (if you freeze it straight up, the expanded water will make the bottle bulge). Next morning pack the lunch, add more drinking water to the bottle, and stick it in the lunch box to keep the food cool and be melted enough to drink by lunchtime.

Awkward Bottles.
A tip for all those girls out there who occasionally lack the oomph to open screw-top water/juice bottles but are too proud to ask nearby guys for help... If you are at home, a rubber glove or bottle gripper will give you the power you need to get into the stickier ones. However, these are usually in short supply at work in the office, so carefully wind a rubber band snugly around the lid and try again... Magic!

Ant Control:
Spread some ground cinnamon where you think the ants are coming in to the house.

Basil repels flies and mosquitoes. To deter ants, use catnip. Sprinkle it in their paths.

Make a mixture of 2/3 cup water, 1/3 cup white vinegar, and 2-3 Tablespoons dish soap. Spray where the ants are marching.
Natural Mosquito Repellents:
Splashing plain rubbing alcohol on yourself and allowing it to dry will deter mosquitoes from biting you.

Rub Vick's Vaporub® on your pants and legs to ward off ticks.

Use half vanilla (has to be pure vanilla) and half water and for a mosquito and tick repellent.

Dab lavender oil on your pulse points; it smells great on you but repels insects.
For Mouse Control:
Place USED kitty litter from a litter box in small tubs in several places around the garage. Mice think... "it smells like a cat--must be a cat - I'm outta here!".

Buy a mesh/net laundry bag that you would use for washing nylons and 5 boxes of moth balls. Put the moth balls in the bag and hang it in your garage near the door to get rid of mice, birds, and bugs.

To prevent mice from gaining entry to your garage, stop up any openings with steel wood pads. Mice will not chew through these!

Sprinkle ground cayenne pepper around the garage (inside & out), and especially near entry holes. Pests don't care for the smell of it.

Mice hate the scent of peppermint extract. Simply sprinkle *pure* peppermint extract on the items in your garage you don't want the mice in or on.

Before you wear a new garment, put a little clear nail polish on the front and back of each button. Buttons will stay on longer when their threads are sealed.

Zippers won't stick if you rub them with the edge of a bar of soap.

To remove a hem crease, sponge the material with white vinegar and press with a warm iron.

Nail polish remover removes tar and grease from white leather shoes.

White shoe polish will apply more evenly if you rub the shoes with a raw potato or rubbing alcohol before polishing.

White shoe polish won't smear if you spray the shoe with hair spray after it is dry.

Vinegar and water will remove salt stains from shoes and boots.

New white canvas shoes will stay that way if you spray them heavily with starch.

Clean rope trimmed shoes with a toothbrush dipped in rug shampoo.

For longer lasting pantyhose, try freezing them before you wear them. Just wet, wring out and toss in a plastic bag to freeze. Thaw and hang to dry.

Fresh eggs are rough and chalky . They will sink and stay horizontal on the bottom of a glass of water. The egg-white is viscous and close around the plump yolk.

Old eggs are smooth and shiny. They will float in a glass of water. The egg-white is watery and the yolk is flat in an egg roughly 3 weeks old.

Dried Herbs and spices lose their potency quickly. Buy only a small amount at a time. When using fresh herbs an spices, use 3 times the amount of the dried.

Perk up soggy lettuce by soaking in cold water with some lemon juice. To store place in a zip lock bag with paper towel to absorb moisture.

Never, never pour water on flaming fat or oil you'll spread the fire. If the fire's inside a pan, slap on the lid. If outside, turn off the heat and douse the flames by tossing on a handful of baking soda or salt.

Wax paper is endlessly useful. Use it: To catch grated cheese, to place under seasoned flour for breading or spices for blackening, to tear into strips to slip under a cake you are icing, to cover a dish you are microwaving.

Collect a large assortment of Chinese wooden paddles and spoons. Use them to save wear and tear on your good stainless steel and copper pots.

Instead of using plastic wrap to cover bowls in the microwave, cover a round heatproof glass bowl with a round heatproof glass casserole cover or with an inverted heatproof glass bowl of the same size. A heat-resistant round glass pizza pan also works well, and the overhang makes removal and recovery both safe and easy.

Use a lightweight pot for boiling pasta; water will come to its initial boil faster and will return to the boil faster, too, saving time and preventing the pasta from clumping at the bottom of the pot.

Before heating a nonstick pan, always coat it with nonstick vegetable cooking spray and never heat the pan more than 3 minutes before adding food.

To remove pesky bottle tops and jar lids, don a pair of rubber gloves. Or twist a fat rubber band around the lid, then twist open. Works like a charm.

If you store your best silver in self-sealing plastic bags, it will tarnish much more slowly.

When your cookbook won't lie flat when opened on the counter, place a glass baking dish on the pages (you can read through the glass) or secure each side with a rubber band.

Use top-quality typewriter correction fluid to cover nicks, chips, and scratches on enameled ranges and refrigerators, porcelain tiles, and sinks. Works like a charm and it comes in a variety of colors.

Never use disinfectants to clean the fridge, foods will pick up taste and odor.

When laundering clothes, add detergent to the washer first. Pouring detergent on clothing can cause fabrics to fade.

Apply spray starch to doors and to painted walls along hallways and stairways where fingerprints accumulate. The coating will resist marks better.

Place a piece of white chalk in your silver chest or jewel box to absorb moisture and help prevent tarnishing of silverware and jewelry.

Freezers run more efficiently when they're three-quarters or more full. When provisions drop, fill milk cartons or jugs with water and put them in the freezer to take up empty space.

Wiping the inside of the fridge with vinegar helps prevent mildew because acid kills mildew fungus.

For a fresh smelling fridge, keep a box of baking soda, a can filled with charcoal or dried coffee grounds or a cotton ball soaked in vanilla extract inside of it.

Crumbled newspapers lining the vegetable compartments of a refrigerator will keep veggies crisp.

Those beds of pansies will bloom more prolifically if you take a few moments to pinch out early buds. This encourages plants to bush out and, in the end, produce more flowers.

To keep your extension cords from getting tangled, insert them into a empty toilet paper roll to store.

Drain de-clogger: 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup vinegar. Pour baking soda down drain first then follow with the vinegar. Close drain and let sit until bubbling has stopped then follow with a bucket of hot boiling water.

Store eggs with the large end up to keep the yolk centered.

For perfect hard-cooked eggs, cover the eggs with cold water and bring to a boil. Then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit on the burner for 10-15 minutes.

Refrigerate candles for several hours before lighting; it will cause fewer drips.

Have you ever peeled garlic or handled it and your hands smell to high heaven? The next time that happens, take any stainless steel bowl, pan or other stainless steel kitchen gadget and rub your hands on it. It will take away the smell of garlic.

Lemon extract will remove scuff marks from luggage.

Dry Mustard will remove onion odors from your hands or cutting board. Rub in, then rinse off.

Place bay leaves in kitchen drawers and in flour and sugar sacks to keep crawling insects away.

Keep Your Socks Together in the wash and dry process. Get some safety pins and keep them by the washing machine for your socks .Pin the toes of the socks together so you save time matching them up after the laundry process

Pesky fruit fly tip
Here's a good way to get rid of those pesky fruit flies around the house without using harmful chemicals. You will need a spray bottle with an adjustable spray-head. fill the bottle with rubbing alcohol and adjust the spray head so that it sprays a fine mist. When you spray the fruit files, the rubbing alcohol will not kill them but it will knock them out so that they fall onto the floor where you can sweep them up. Doesn't work as good as insecticide, but then again, you won't be poisoning your family and yourself either

Cooking Tips

Storing Cheese:
Store cheese in your refrigerator, which approximates the
temperature of aging rooms. Keep it wrapped tightly in plastic,
away from air. Air helps mold grow on cheese. If you get a little
mold on the outside, just cut it off. The English say if mold
won't eat your cheddar it can't taste very good.
Bring cheese to room temperature before melting. Melt cheese
over a low heat to help prevent toughening and separation of
oils and liquids.
Most ripened or aged cheese is low in moisture content and
can be frozen without drastic flavor and texture changes. Thaw
slowly in the refrigerator for 24 hours or more. If frozen for
several months, the cheese may dry out somewhat and become
crumbly when thawed.

About Honey:
To substitute honey for sugar in recipes, start by substituting
up to half of the sugar called for. With a little experimentation,
honey can replace all the sugar in some recipes.

When baking with honey, remember the following:
Reduce any liquid called for by 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used.
Add l/2 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of honey used.
Reduce oven temperature by 25 F to prevent over-browning.

Because of its high fructose content, honey has a higher
sweetening power than sugar. This means you can use less honey
than sugar to achieve the desired sweetness.

When measuring honey, coat the measuring cup with non-stick
cooking spray or vegetable oil before adding the honey.
The honey will slide right out.

To retain honey's wonderfully luxuriant texture, always store
it at room temperature; never in the refrigerator. If your honey
becomes cloudy, don't worry. It's just crystallization, a natural
process. Place your honey jar in warm water until the crystals
disappear. If you're in a hurry, place it in a microwave-safe
container and heat it in the microwave on HIGH for 2-3 minutes,
stirring every 30 seconds. Remember, never boil or scorch honey

About Saffron:
Saffron is the dried, bright red stigmas of the flower Crocus
sativus, which is a relatively easy-to-grow perennial. It lies
dormant all summer, then pushes its purple blossoms up through
the mulch just as other plants are succumbing to frost. Each
blossom offers up to three scarlet stigmas. Plant the bulbs in
summer and harvest the stigmas in fall. A starter supply of about
50 bulbs costs about $30 and will produce about a tablespoon of
the spice the first year. However, each year more flowers will
grow, and therefore you'll get more of the spice. Ultimately,
your investment will pay off. Fresh saffron threads can be used
immediately for cooking, or they can be dried and stored. To dry
them, place on paper towels and leave for several days in a warm
place. Then transfer them to an airtight container and keep in
a cool, dry place.

Clarified Butter:
For clarified butter, slowly melt unsalted butter over low heat.
Don't let the butter come to a boil, and don't stir it. This
allows the milk solids to separate from the liquid butter.
Once the butter has separated into three layers--foamy milk
solids on top, clarified butter in the middle, and milk solids on
the bottom--turn off the heat. Skim the foamy white solids from the
top. Then ladle off the clarified butter. Be careful not to disturb
the milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
Clarified butter can be used immediately. Or, let it solidify and
keep it in the refrigerator for up to three to four weeks.
Just remelt to use. One pound of unsalted butter yields 1-1/4 cups
clarified butter.

Herbs and Spices:
Storage Tips:
Store spices in a cool, dark place. Humidity, light and heat will cause
herbs and spices to lose their flavor more quickly. Although the most
convenient place for your spice rack may be above your stove, moving
your spices to a different location may keep them fresh longer.

As a general rule, herbs and ground spices will retain their best flavors
for a year. Whole spices may last for 3 to 5 years. Proper storage should
result in longer freshness times.

When possible, grind whole spices in a grinder or mortar & pestle just
prior to using. Toasting whole spices in a dry skillet over medium heat
before grinding will bring out even more flavor. Be careful not to burn.

Because the refrigerator is a rather humid environment, storing herbs
and spices there is not recommended. To keep larger quantities of spices
fresh, store them in the freezer in tightly sealed containers.

Usage Tips:
Use a light hand when seasoning with spices and herbs. Your goal is to
compliment your dish without crowding out the flavor of the food.
Remember, it's usually impossible to "un-spice" a dish!

For long-cooking dishes, add herbs and spices an hour or less before
serving. Cooking spices for too long may result in overly strong flavors.

Finely crush dried herbs before adding to your dish after measuring.

Do not use dried herbs in the same quantity as fresh. In most cases,
use 1/3 the amount in dried as is called for fresh.

Keep it simple. Unless the recipe specifically calls for it, don't use
more than 3 herbs and spices in any one dish. The exception to this rule
is Indian cooking, which often calls for 10 or more different spices in
one curry dish!

Black pepper, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper are excellent
"after cooking" seasonings. Allow guests to season dishes with these
spices at the table.

Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice have a special affinity for
sweet dishes.

If you're feeling adventuresome, try replacing herbs and spices called
for in recipes with something different! Marjoram instead of oregano,
savory instead of thyme, cilantro instead of parsley,
anise seed instead of fennel, etc.

Formal Table Setting:
Generally, the more formal the occasion, the more courses are served,
which of course means more flatware. There should be a different set of
utensils for each course: salad fork, dinner fork; dinner knife,
bread knife; and so on.
Some special dishes such as oysters have special utensils. These can
be served at the presentation of the food, but generally are placed
on the table in order of course. When oysters are served as an appetizer
for example, set the oyster fork to the right of the spoon.

Building from the basic set-up (dinner fork on the left of the plate;
knife to the right of the plate, dinner spoon to the right of the knife):

On the left side of the plate put the salad fork to the left of the
dinner fork. On the right add a soup spoon to the outside of the dinner
spoon if soup will be served. Place the soup bowl above the soup spoon
and to the right. The bread plate goes to the left, about two inches
above the fork. Place the butter knife across the bread plate at a
diagonal, upper left to lower right. Small salad plates go to the
left and a little below the bread plate. Dessert spoons, or in some
cases knife and fork, are placed about an inch above the top of the
plate with the handle(s) on the right side.

The largest glass on the table is the water glass which goes on the
right side above the dinner knife. It may be filled and iced when
guests arrive or left empty to be filled at each diner's request.
If wine or some other beverage is served, set the appropriate glass
to the right and a little down from the water glass.

Low Fat Cooking:
* Get into the habit of measuring the oil you use while you cook,
rather than just pouring it out of the bottle. It will be much
easier to moderate the amount you use.

* Use non-stick cookware so that you don't have to use as much,
if any, fat. When sauteing, use a small amount of chicken broth
or wine instead of butter or oil.

* To make fat-free broth, chill your meat or chicken broth. The
fat will rise to the top, and you can remove it before using
the broth.

* Many vegetables and fruits, including potatoes and apples,
retain many of their nutrients in their skin. So when possible,
leave the skin on your fruits and vegetables and cook them whole.

* Romaine lettuce is loaded with vitamins compared to iceberg.
It has three times as much Vitamin C and six times as much
Vitamin A.

* Vitamin C is destroyed quickly in cooking - so cook your
vegetables with Vitamin C in the smallest amount of water
possible and for a short amount of time.

* Stock up on spices. One of the keys to cooking low-fat and not
getting bored is to spice your food well. When you have finished
your recipe, always taste it and adjust the spices to meet your taste.

* Purchase the best (i.e. heaviest) set of non-stick cookware you
can afford.

* When cooking a dish with both vegetables and meat (i.e. in stir frys
and stews), reduce the amount of meat by 1/3 and increase the amount
of vegetables by 1/3. You will hardly notice!

* Thicken gravies with milk or broth blended in the blender with
flour. Be sure to cook long enough to remove the raw flour taste.
You'll never notice the lack of fat.

* Use olive oil for cooking when appropriate. It adds to the taste
of the dish and is better for you.

Problems with Breads:
PROBLEM: What is the best way to bake brown and serve rolls?

First, brush their tops with melted butter or margarine. Bake at the
recommended temperature (on their package), but be careful of dark
coated baking sheets. Dark coated baking sheets may cause the bottoms
to burn before they are done. Bake brown and serve rolls at a high
temperature to insure a crispy, flavorful crust.

PROBLEM: Breads that are always too hard and heavy.

Breads made from scratch or from a mix must have an internal
temperature of about 80 degrees for the yeast to work properly. Cold
dough will not expand properly. Make sure the bread rises in a warm
draft free environment.

PROBLEM: Bread that rises too fast in the pan.

Use cool or cold water in the mix. The place you let the bread rise
in bulk should be about 80 degrees. Place the dough in the refrigerator
for a few minutes to cool down (while the dough is still in bulk form).

PROBLEM: French bread that has a pale crust.

Spray or paint the loaves with water (before cutting). Use an egg
wash to make the crust really brown up. French bread must have a high
temperature to bake properly. Check your oven to make sure the
temperature is correct. Add a little sugar to the mix.

PROBLEM: Tough pizza crust.

Most of the time a pizza crust dough should be wet and sticky (use
a little extra water). Toss in plenty of spices. Oil your pan with
olive oil. Try baking the crust first, then add any topping and bake
only to melt the cheese. Try dipping your fingers in olive oil when
you flatten the crust in the pan. Use plenty of olive oil and the
crust will be flavorful and crispy.

PROBLEM: Bread loaves and rolls that are heavy and soggy in the middle.

When everything else has been done right, maybe the unit weight is
too heavy. Try making the pieces smaller and let them rise longer.

PROBLEM: Bread loaves that cave in on their sides when removed from
the pan.

Always remove bread from the pan as soon as taken from the oven. The
crust sweats and may fall. Make sure that you use Bread Flour in the
mix. Weak flour will cause loaves to fall. Make sure the loaves are
done. Thump the top and if the loaf sounds hollow, it is done.
Setting (just baked) loaves in a cool draft of air will sometimes
cause their sides to cave in. When the dough is allowed to rise too
much before baking the loaves will sometimes collapse.

PROBLEM: Soft crusty breads.

The secret to good crusty breads is to use very little (if any) fats,
egg yolks, milks or sugar in the mix. Always serve crusty breads as
soon as they are baked for the best flavor and appearance. Use only
Bread Flour and make sure the dough is on the stiff side rather
than soft and sticky. However, some crusty breads are very sticky
(excess water). These breads are made by using an extra warm dough
and baking quickly at a high temperature.

Fruit Pies:
* Save the drained juice from frozen or canned fruit and use
fruit juice instead of water in your recipe. This is only a good
idea if the juice does not have a lot of sugar in it.

* Add fresh butter to your fruit pie filling after it has been
cooked. Or dot pieces of butter over the fruit before you place
on the top crust.

* Don't cut apples pieces too thin when you are using fresh
apples. Larger chunks will hold together and have more apple flavor.

* Use a little red food color and a drop or two of almond extract
in your cherry pies when you use fresh or canned cherries.

* Use a little yellow food color and a teaspoon of lemon juice in
your apricot and peach fruit pies. The lemon juice will enhance
their flavor and also help keep a bright color.

* Mix a few raisins with fresh chopped apples and make a easy,
new apple pie.

* Do not over-cook pie fillings, especially those with corn starch
used as the thickener. The filling will break down and quickly become
watery. Over cooking fillings made with flour will cause the filling
to be thick.

Icings:
* Use the icing as soon as it is made. All icing sets up quickly
and either forms a crust or becomes very stiff.

* Buy a icing spatula to apply icing. A good icing spatula will
enable you to work faster and the results will look great.

* Thin buttercream icing with evaporated milk or warm water. Use
only a little liquid and use a icing spatula to mix in.

* Thin cold chocolate buttercream icing with a little hot water
or hot coffee. Use only a small amount and mix in with a icing spatula.

* Always sprinkle toppings on while the icing is fresh, wet and
sticky. When the icing is too dry for topping to stick, thin it
with a little water or milk.

* Store buttercream icing in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Fresh is best, so don't make buttercream icing in advance if possible.

* Always let the buttercream warm to room temperature before thinning
it down for use.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:
* Always add the chocolate morsels last to the mix. It's best
when they are very cold. Just barely stir the morsels in --
don't over mix.

* Cream the shortening and sugar well. All the rest of the
ingredients can be just mixed in, but proper creaming of the
shortening and sugar is important.

* Make sure that your baking pans are cool between cookie batches.

* Substitute cherry flavored morsels for 1/2 of the chocolate
morsels for a new taste treat.

* Drop your cookies extra thick (use an ice cream scoop), flatten
the top a little, then place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator
for twenty minutes. Take the sheet from the refrigerator and bake
at 375 degrees until the cookie's edges are slightly brown and you
will have a soft centered delight.

* Warm cookies always taste better than cold ones. Heat releases
the flavor of chocolate and nut-meats. Try warming cookies in your
microwave oven for a few seconds or in a 300 degree oven for
about 5 minutes.

General Shelf Lives For Common Items:
Flour unopened: up to 12 months. Opened: 6-8 months.
Sugar unopened: 2 years. Sugars do not spoil but eventually
may change flavor.
Brown sugar unopened: 4 months.
Confectioners sugar unopened: 18 months.
Solid shortening unopened: 8 months. Opened: 3 months.
Cocoa unopened: indefinitely. opened: 1 year.
Whole spices: 2-4 years. Whether or not opened.
Ground spices: 2-3 years. Whether or not opened.
Paprika, red pepper and chili powder: 2 years
Baking soda unopened: 18 months. Opened: 6 months.
Baking powder unopened: 6 months. Opened: 3 months.
Cornstarch: 18 months. Whether or not opened.
Dry pasta made without eggs unopened: 2 years.
Opened: 1 year.
Dry egg noodles unopened: 2 years.
Opened: 1-2 months.
Salad dressing unopened: 10-12 months.
Opened: 3 months if refrigerated.
Honey: 1 year. Whether or not opened.
Ground, canned coffee unopened: 2 years.
Opened: 2 weeks, if refrigerated.
Jams, jellies and preserves unopened: 1 year.
Opened: 6 months if refrigerated.
Peanut butter unopened: 6-9 months.
Opened: 2-3 months.

Deep-Frying Tips:
* The oil must reach a good temperature to brown the exterior of
the food quickly while cooking it. That temperature is almost
always between 350F and 375F degrees. To be sure the oil is
right use a frying thermometer.

* Use canola oil for frying. It is low in saturated fat, has a
high burning point, and does not detract from the flavor of
the food you are frying.

* Avoid crowding food that is deep-fat-fried. The food must be
surrounded by bubbling oil, and you must keep the temperature
from falling too much. If you add too much food to a small
amount of oil, the temperature will plummet, and the food will
wind up greasy and soggy.

* Never fill the pot more than halfway with oil; this will
prevent bubbling over when the food is added.

* Dry food well with paper towels before adding to the pot;
it helps reduce splattering.

Make Your Own Spice Mixes:

FIVE SPICE POWDER
1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1 tsp. Ground cloves
1 tsp. Fennel seed
1 tsp. Star anise
1 tsp. Szechwan peppercorns

ITALIAN HERB SEASONING
1 tsp. Oregano
1 tsp. Marjoram
1 tsp. Thyme
1 tsp. Basil
1 tsp. Rosemary
1 tsp. Sage

CINNAMON SUGAR
7/8 cup Granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. Ground cinnamon

TAMARIND PASTE
1 tsp. Dates
1 tsp. Prunes
1 tsp. Dried apricots
1 tsp. Lemon juice

CHILI POWDER
3 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. oregano
1 tsp. red or cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Barbecue Tips
* Approximately 30 minutes prior to grilling, prepare the charcoal
fire so coals have time to reach medium temperature. At medium,
the coals will be ash-covered. To check the temperature of the
coals, spread the coals in a single layer. CAREFULLY hold the
palm of your hand above the coals at cooking height. Count the
number of seconds you can hold your hand in that position before
the heat forces you to pull it away: approximately 4 seconds for
medium heat. Position the cooking grid and follow recipe directions.

* Never place meat directly over an open flame. An open flame is an
indication of incomplete combustion, the fire will discolor the
meat by leaving a black carbon residue on the meat. Actually an
open flame has a lower temperature than coals that are glowing red.

* Whenever barbecuing, use tongs to turn the meat. A fork should
never be used. For it will punch holes in the flesh and allow
the natural juices to escape and loose flavor and become chewy.

* Tomato and/or sugar based BBQ sauces should be added only at the
end of the grilling process. These products will burn easily and
are seldom considered an internal meat flavoring. Once added, the
meat should be turned often to minimize the possibility of burning.

Miscellaneous Tips:
* To slice meat into thin strips, as for Chinese dishes -
partially freeze and it will slice easily.

* A roast with the bone in will cook faster than a boneless roast -
the bone carries the heat to the inside of the roast quicker.

* For a juicer hamburger add cold water to the beef before grilling
(1/2 cup to 1 pound of meat).

* To keep cauliflower white while cooking -
add a little milk to the water.

* Let raw potatoes stand in cold water for at least half an hour
before frying to improve the crispness of french-fried potatoes.

* Buy mushrooms before they "open." When stems and caps are attached
snugly, mushrooms are truly fresh.

* Lettuce keeps better if you store in refrigerator without washing
first so that the leaves are dry. Wash the day you are going to use.

* Do not use metal bowls when mixing salads.
Use wooden, glass or china.

* A Perfect Pastry Crust? In your favorite recipe, substitute a
4:1 ratio of lard:butter.

* To make your own corn meal mix: combine 1 cup corn meal, 1 cup
all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 4 teaspoons baking
powder. You can store it in a tightly covered container for
up to 6 months.

* It's important to let a roast -- beef, pork, lamb or poultry --
sit a little while before carving. That allows the juices to
retreat back into the meat. If you carve a roast too soon,
much of its goodness will spill out onto the carving board.

* Microwave a lemon for 15 seconds and double the juice you get
before squeezing.

* Microwave garlic cloves for 15 seconds and the skins slip
right off.

* When slicing a hard boiled egg, try wetting the knife just before
cutting. If that doesn't do the trick, try applying a bit of
cooking spray to the edge.

* Rescue stale or soggy chips and crackers: Preheat the oven to
300F. Spread the chips or crackers in a single layer on a
baking sheet and bake for about 5 minutes. Allow to cool,
then seal in a plastic bag or container.

* The best way to store fresh celery is to wrap it in aluminum
foil and put it in the refrigerator--it will keep for weeks.

* Store freshly cut basil on your kitchen counter in a glass
with the water level covering only the stems. Change the
water occasionally. It will keep for weeks this way,
even develop roots! Basil hates to be cold, so NEVER put
it in the refrigerator. Also, regular cutting encourages
new growth and healthier plants.

* A dampened paper towel or terry cloth brushed downward on a cob of
corn will remove every strand of corn silk.

* Fresh eggs' shells are rough and chalky; old eggs are smooth and
shiny.

* No "curly" bacon for breakfast when you dip it into cold water
before frying.

* When working with dough, don't flour your hands; coat them with
olive oil to prevent sticking.

* Use a gentle touch when shaping ground beef patties. Overhandling
will result in a firm, compact texture after cooking. Don't press
or flatten with spatula during cooking.

* Never heat pesto sauce - the basil will turn black and taste bitter.

* Butter pie pastry scraps: sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and
bake like cookies.

* A jar lid or a couple of marbles in the bottom half of a double-boiler
will rattle when the water gets low and warn you to add more before
the pan scorches or burns.

* When mincing garlic, sprinkle on a little salt so the pieces won't
stick to your knife or cutting board.

* If your cake recipe calls for nuts, heat them first in the oven,
then dust with flour before adding to the batter to keep them from
settling to the bottom of the pan.

* Noodles, spaghetti and other starches won't boil over if you rub
the inside of the pot with vegetable oil.

* Brown gravy in a hurry with a bit of instant coffee straight from
the jar... no bitter taste, either.

* To hasten the cooking of foods in a double boiler, add salt to the
water in the outer boiler.

* Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to
prevent ice cream drips.

* To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the
potatoes.

* Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your
forehead. The throbbing will go away.

* Don't throw out all that leftover wine: Freeze into ice cubes for
future use in casseroles and sauces.

* If you have a problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing
gloves. They give a on-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.

* Add a little lemon and lime to tuna to add zest and flavor to tuna
sandwiches. Use cucumbers soaked in vinegar and pepper in sandwich
instead of tomatoes. Use mustard instead of mayo to cut the fat
and add a tang.

* Instead of the water your recipe calls for, try juices, bouillon,
or water you've cooked vegetables in. Instead of milk, try
buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream. It can add a whole new flavor
and improve nutrition.

* Steak Sauce With A Kick: Deglaze your frying pan (after searing your
New York steaks) with brandy. Add two tablespoons of butter, a little
white wine and a splash of Grand Marnier. Serve over steaks -
you'll never use steak sauce again.

* When browning ground meat, brown several pounds and drain. Divide
evenly in freezer containers and freeze. Unthaw in microwave for
quick fixing next time.

* Ground spices really should be replaced every 6 months or so!
Unless you know you will use them up fairly quickly, buy a bottle
in partnership with a friend and split the contents.
You'll each benefit from fresh spices.

* Sunlight doesn't ripen tomatoes, warmth does. Store tomatoes with stems
pointed down and they will stay fresher, longer.

* Place green fruits in a perforated plastic bag. The holes will allow
air to circulate while retaining the ethylene gas that fruits
produce during ripening.

* Marshmallows won't dry out when frozen.

* Poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them.
The burgers will cook faster and the holes will disappear when done.

* For fluffier, whiter rice, add one teaspoon of lemon juice per quart of
water. To add extra flavor and nutrition to rice, cook it in liquid
reserved from cooking vegetables.

* Cheese won't harden if you butter the exposed edges before storing.

* Sausage patties rolled in flour before frying won't crack open
during cooking.

* Two drops of yellow food coloring added to boiling noodles will
make them look homemade.

* When separating eggs, break them into a funnel. The whites will
go through leaving the yolk intact in the funnel.

* Fresh fish freeze well in a milk carton filled with water.

* Make your own celery flakes. Just cut and wash the leaves from the
celery stalks; place them in the oven on low heat or in the hot sun
until thoroughly dry. Crumble and store in an air-tight container.

* When picking a melon, smell it for freshness and ripeness.
Check to see that the fruit is heavy in weight and that the
spot on the end where it has been plucked from the vine is soft.

* When tossing a salad with a basic vinaigrette, always make the
vinaigrette at least 1/2 hour ahead of time and let the mixture
sit to allow the flavors to marry. Pour the vinaigrette down
the side of the bowl, not directly on the greens, for a more
evenly dressed salad.

* For the perfect boiled egg, cover eggs with cold water and
a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the
pan from the heat and cover. Let the eggs sit for 8-9 minutes.
Drain the water and place the eggs in ice water to cool to
stop the cooking process.

* When braising meat, cook it at a low temperature for a long
time to keep the meat tender and have it retain all the juices.

* When cooking any kind of strawberry dessert, add a splash of
aged Balsamic vinegar to the recipe to enhance the flavor
of the strawberries.

* For fresh flavor in orange juice add the juice of one lemon.

* Tenderize pot roast or stewing meat by using two cups of
hot tea as a cooking liquid.

* When making roux for a recipe, make extra and keep in
the refrigerator for future use.

* Chefs pound meat not to tenderize the meat, but to help
even the meat so it cooks evenly.

* To remove egg shells from a batter, use the remaining shell
to attract the piece.

* If a recipe calls for 1 cup sour cream, you may substitute
1 cup cottage cheese blended until smooth with 1 tablespoon
lemon juice and 1/3 cup buttermilk.

* When using fresh herbs such as dill, chives, parsley, etc.,
hold them together in small bunches and snip with kitchen
scissors. It is a lot faster this way, and you'll find the
herbs will be light and fluffy, not bruised and wet as they
often get when chopped.

* When going on a picnic, keep sandwiches from becoming soggy
by packing lettuce and condiments in separate containers.
Add them to sandwiches just before serving.

* Maple-flavored syrup, commonly found on the shelves in the
store and in restaurants, is actually corn syrup flavored
with a bit of pure maple syrup to keep the cost down.

* Thaw fish in milk for fresher flavor

* Put meat used for stir frying in freezer for 45 min. to 1 hr. to make
slicing easier.

* You can correct greasy gravy by adding a little baking soda to it.

* If you need only 1/2 an onion, save the root half. It will last longer.

* Keep popcorn fresh and encourage more kernels to pop by storing in
the freezer.

* Lemons stored in a sealed jar of water will produce twice the juice.

* Use paper bags rather than plastic to store lettuce and celery in the
crisper. They will stay fresh longer.

* Bread will stay fresh longer if a celery rib is stored with it in the
package.

* Save butter wrappers in the freezer to use for greasing pans when baking.

* To keep salt from clogging in the shaker, add 1/2 teaspoon of uncooked rice.

* If guests are coming and you're behind making dinner, throw some onions on
to saute and your kitchen will smell wonderful and homey.

* Egg whites should always be at room temperature before whipping.
Be certain there is no yolk in the whites and that the bowl and
beaters are perfectly clean. Cream, on the other hand, should be
well-chilled. For the largest volume, chill the bowl and beaters
before whipping.

* When using spaghetti, keep in mind that 8 ounces of uncooked
pasta makes 4 cups cooked.

* When using all-purpose flour, keep in mind that one pound flour
is the equivalent to 4 cups.

* When using dried beans and peas, keep in mind that 1 cup dry beans
or peas makes 2 1/2 cups cooked.

* When using rice, keep in mind that 1 cup of uncooked long-grain
white rice makes 3 cups cooked.

* When using granulated sugar, keep in mind that one pound sugar
is the equivalent to 2 cups.

* Ultimate Disposable Pastry Bag:
Take a heavy-duty zipper-seal plastic bag and snip off
one corner, making a slightly curved cut. Using a standard
two-piece plastic coupler (available wherever cake decorating
supplies are sold), insert the larger piece into the hole.
Choose a tip and secure it with the coupler's ring. Fill the
bag and zip the top closed. Decorate away, then remove the
coupler/tip assembly and toss the bag. No messy cleanup!

* One way to preserve the flavor of fresh herbs is to make herb butter.
Let the butter soften, then add finely chopped herbs in any
combination, abbout 2 to 4 tablespoons per stick of butter. The
butter freezes well, and you can serve it spread on French bread
or with seafood or chicken.

* Pancakes are lighter and fluffier when you substitute club soda
for milk in the batter.

* Before opening a package of bacon, roll it. This helps separate
the slices for easy removal of individual slices.

* Drain deep fried foods on brown paper grocery bags as opposed to
paper towels to retain crispness.

* Whenever possible, warm your dinner plates slightly in the oven
before serving so the meal stays a little bit hotter.

* To make lighter and fluffier mashed potatoes, add a pinch or two
of baking powder to the potatoes before whipping.

* Cookies will spread if your dough is too pliable by allowing butter
to get too soft. If your cookies are spreading too much, try
refrigerating the dough for a couple of hours before baking.

* Cookie dough can be frozen up to three months in an airtight
container or refrigerated three to four days.

* Check cookies at minimum baking time.

* Let cookies cool completely before storing. Store different types
of cookies in separate containers so they'll keep their original
flavor and texture.

* Marinate red meats in wine to tenderize.

* Marinate chicken in buttermilk to tenderize.

* Use margarine instead of butter to panfry or saute.
Butter burns quickly.

* Instead of adding raw garlic to sauces, saute the garlic
first for a milder flavor.

* Thaw frozen meat and poultry in the refrigerator and not on
the kitchen counter where bacteria can grow.

* Add a small amount of lemon juice to the artichoke cooking
water to retain the color of the artichoke.

* A low-calorie solution for high-fat frying of corn tortillas is
to place them in the oven, directly on the rack. Bake at 350 F,
to desired crispness. The tortillas will automatically fold over
into taco shell form with just a little postioning help.

* A simple way to sharpen kitchen shears: cut a piece of steel wool.

* Don't just keep dental floss in your medicine cabinet. Keep some
in the kitchen. It's a great tool. Unflavored dental floss is
often better than a& knife to cleanly cut all kinds of soft foods,
soft cheese, rolled dough, layered cake and cheesecake.

* If lettuce starts turning a little brown (but not slimy) it may
not be suitable for salads, but it is for sauteing. Sauteed
salad greens like lettuce, radicchio, and endive make an unusual
but tasty side dish. Saute lettuces just as you would spinach.
Cook them quickly in a little olive oil, minced garlic, and salt.
They taste great, and you cant tell that the greens were once
a little brown.

How To Keep Folders Hidden(no software needed)

creat a new folder somewhere on your hard drive
when you name it hold down "Alt" and press "0160" this will create and invisible space so it will apper as if it has no name.
then right click in and select "Properties" select the tab "coustimize" and select "change icon" scroll along and you should a few blanc spaces click on any one and click ok when you hav saved the settings the folder will be invisible to hide all your personal files

How to Burn and Play PS2 and PSX Games

Welcome! In this guide, you will learn the very easy method of making copies of your PS2 and normal Playstation games so that they are playable on the PS2. This guide will provide you with all the information you need to burn PS2 games.

You will need the following things to burn PS2 games:

-a computer with a cd burner

-a blank cd-r (don’t use the re-recordable type a.k.a. cd-rw)

-CDRWIN – The version in this guide is 3.8D

-FireBurner –

-PS2 patcher –

-GameShark 2 for PS2 - the GameShark 2 is available at most stores that sell video games, a few examples would be Best Buy, Circuit City, or Target. You want version 1.0 of the GameShark 2. I have heard that all other versions work, but I have only tested version 1.0. GameShark2 costs about 29.95. Believe me, its worth it!!!

-and a PS2 to play the games.
Burning the PS2

The process of burning ps2 games is easy. It is really only a 3 step process.(read the game, patch the game, and burn the game.)

1) insert game into cd drive.

2) Open up CDRWIN and click on the extract disk/tracks/sectors button.

3) Your settings should be as follows:

For “extract mode” select disk image/ cue sheet

For “read options” select “raw”

For “error recovery” select “abort”

For “jitter correction” select “auto”

For “subcode analysis” select “auto”

Data Speed and Audio Speed should be the same

For “read retry count” type 0

For “subcode threshold” type 300

Make sure you selected the drive that your PS2 game is in

Make sure you typed in the file name (just type the name of the game) and Check the directory that you’re putting your file in.

Then just press “start”

If you get an error in the middle of reading the disk that says something like “can’t read sections xxxx-xxxxx of disk”, it is becase the disk is scratched and CDRWIN can’t read it. Try to clean the disk, if that doesn’t work you just have to use a different game (a different copy of the same game)

4) Once CDRWIN is done, click ok and then exit CDRWIN. Open up the PS2 patcher, select the game file you just created and patch it (make sure you select the “RAW” option.

5) Close the PS2 patcher, next open up Fireburner. Click on the visual cue burner button. When you created your .bin file (the game file) in CDRWIN, a .cue file should have automaticly been created. In that case, drag and drop the .cue file into the Fireburner window. If the .cue file was not created, just drag and drop the .bin file into the Fireburner window. After you have done that, right click (click with the right side button on your mouse) on your file in the Fireburner window, and select “Burn/Test burn”.

6) In the options window that appears, select your cdwriter, select your write speed(doesn’t really matter), and make sure you select “Track at once (TOA) for the recording method. As for the options on the right side of the options window, make sure only the following are checked: “eject cd” and “close session”.

When you have selected the options, click ok and your PS2 game will burn. That’s all you have to do to burn a game.
Burning a Playstion (PSone) game

1) If you want, you can spend 5 minutes using the same method as above to burn your playstation game, but its not necessary. For a playstation game (not PS2) all you need to do is use a program that lets you make an “exact copy” or a “backup disk (CDRWIN)” You don’t need any selected options, you just need to start the game on the PS2 the same way you would a PS2 game.
Starting the game on your PS2

1) Now for the fun part (and challenging part the first couple of times) This may sound a little complicated at first, but after you do it 3 or 4 times, it’s super easy. First things first, you must remove the front of your game drive on your PS2(not a big deal, it can snap on and off).

2) Now insert your gameshark 2 cd(make sure the gameshark memory card is in one of the 2 slots, doesn’t matter which one.)

3) In the gameshark options, choose “start game”, then “without”. Your screen should read “Please insert game disk then press X to continue.”

4) Now this part can be trickey for beginners, so I will provide pictures

-the main purpose of this starting method is to open up the PS2 and swap the gameshark disk with your burned game without the PS2 knowing you did it. DO NOT press the eject button on the PS2!!!

-with the PS2 cd tray cover removed, you will be able to look in and see a while tab inside the PS2. With a credit card (or something like it) gently slide the white tab all the way over to the right, if you did it correctly, this should allow you to manually pull open the PS2 cd tray.

5) Next, take the gameshark disk out of the PS2 and put in your burned game.

6) Gently push the PS2 cd tray fully back into the PS2 (Don’t press the eject button).

7) Now you need to slide that white tab all the way back to the left (its origional position). To do this you get a strong papper clip(needs to be a strong one) stick it into the PS2 on the right side of the white tab and push the tab back to the left.

8) If you pushed the tab all the way back to the left and did every thing else right, you are ready to play your game. Just press X on your PS2 controler and watch as your burned game loads. ( It may load slower than an original game, depending on the cd-r you are using, I use Verbatim cd-r’s and have no problems.)

Writing Your Own Opeating System

This tutorial will teach you howto write your own operating system using assembly language. Contains bootsector example code.

By: the@womble.co.uk (Questions welcome. Spam not)
More at: http://www.groovyweb.cjb.net, http://www.axion-network.net

How to write an operating system
Writing an operating system is something that can not only be interesting (if you're one of those people that get turned on by Int 13....) but it is also a great learning experience. Through creating your own operating system you will learn exactly what goes on behind the scenes, elevating you above the average programmer that just writes in Visual Basic.

In this tutorial you will be tought by examples, and by the end you should have created your own operating system.

Tools:
EasyOs easyos.zip 300kb
EasyOS is a very simple operating system, it contains all the tools needed to build an operating system. (Not written by me, although I did add bits to it and mess it up a bit)

A quick explanation of assembly: (see here for a good tutorial)

si and ah Think of si as something to put text into, and ah as something to put numbers into.
mov This (mov)es data. mov ah,0 would move 0 into ah. (The data on the right is moved into the left)
Int Think of these as functions. Different int's do different things when ah is different. Ahem. Eg. when ah = 0 and you call int 10 it prints si to the screen.
Stuff To put words and stuff in your program you can't just do mov si,'some words' (well, you can but you wont like the resutls) so instead you have to declare the words first. You do this by putting the name of what you want the words to be called by, then the data type (nearly always db) then the words themselves. Eg:
name db 'some words'
Jump To give sections of code a label, just type the label and add a : at the end, eg code: . You can then use jmp to jump to it, eg jmp code If To do an if in assembly you use cmp, eg cmp al,0 (if al=0). On the next line you then put je code, and if al=0 then the program jumps to the section of code called code. If you use jne code, then if al is not 0 the program will jump to code.
The stack The stack is where stuff is stored. push pushes stuff into it, pop pulls stuff out. The following example would put cx into dx:
push cx pop dx

Now you know everything there is to know about assembly, you can now understand most of the program that boot's EasyOs. Drives (hard drives and floppy's) are split into lots of bits, all 512 bytes long (enough to fit 512 letters in). These are calle sectors. The first sector is what the computer looks for when it boots. It is called the bootsector.
Open the folder src and then open boot.asm. Or if you are lazy, just look at the code below (its the same).
; This is a comment
[ORG 0x7C00] ;This just tells the program where it is in the memory. Not important
[BITS 16] ;Not important too.

jmp start ; Jump over BIOS parameter block

start: ;The label for the start of the actual program

push cs ;Put cs onto the stack
pop ds ;Take it out and put it into ds


mov si,Print_loading ;Print loading message
call printstring ;Call is like jump, but it goes back. Like a function


;The complicated bit: Loads the next program
mov ah,02h ;When ah=, int13 reads a disk sector
mov al,4 ;Al is how many sectors to read
mov ch,0 ;The track to read from
mov cl,2 ;Sector Id
mov dh,0 ;Head
mov dl,0 ;Drive (0 is floppy)
mov bx,0x1000 ;Es and Bx put together are where to load the program too (see jmp 0x1000:0x00)
mov es,bx
mov bx,0x00
int 13h ;Int 13 is all functions for disks

mov si,putdot ;Print a ".".
call printstring

jmp 0x1000:0x00 ;Run Bootinit from stack.

printstring: ;Print string routine.
mov ah,0eh ;Mov ah into 0, so int 10 prints
stringloop: ;The following code loads each seperate charcter so it can be printed
lodsb
cmp al,00 ;If al =0, then the string has all been loaded
je endstring
int 10h ;When int 10 is called, and ah=, it prints
jmp stringloop
endstring:
ret ;Ret returns

putdot db '.',0
Print_loading db 13,10,'Loading Easy OS v0.01a...',0
times 425 db 0 ;wastes 425 bytes on purpose, so the sector is full (The program must be 512 bytes long)


You may have noticed that numbers, like int 10h, end in h. They don't have to, it just looks funky (there is a real reason, but it's boring).
Anyway, now copy the program called copyboot in the folder called utils to the folder with test.asm in. Open the dos prompt and type: (Make sure a blank floppy is inserted)
copyboot test.com 0
copyboot is the name of the program, test.com the name of the file to copy, and 0 is the sector.
In the program above all it does is print a string then load whats at sector 1. The program that easyos loads under the src folder called bootinit. If you assemble it with nasm, then copy it to sector 1 and restart, the bootsector will load it.
There isn't much more to be learnt from EasyOs, so run either setup.exe or make.bat to build the whole thing. The difference is setup.exe lets you setup a root password for EasyOs. If you just run make.bat the passwords is the default password: monty (named after my psychotic dog).
Now restart and be amazed. Wow. Pretty crappy, but it isn't that bad.


Fat 12
No, its not a fat people supprt group but a file system. If you try and access the floppy disk W*NDOW$ will say it need s to be formatted. Formatted? You ask. Formatting is basically organising the sectors so you can give them names. Underneath W*NDOW$ and Fat, you are still just accessing sectors. I won't go into Fat here, check out http://www.maverick.subnet.dk/ for some info. Anyway, the bootsector needs to have some information in it that when W*NDOW$ reads it it tells it it is fat. The following BootSector was disgustingly ripped by me of NYAOS (I have no idea what i stands for). With your A* qualification in assembly language you can no doubt understand it.
; NYAOS Boot Sector © Copyright Sean Tash 1998
; assemble with:
; nasm -f bin -o bootsect.bin bootsect.asm
bits 16
org 0x7C00

start: jmp short begin
nop
bsOEM db "NYAOS1.0" ; OEM String
bsSectSize dw 512 ; Bytes per sector
bsClustSize db 1 ; Sectors per cluster
bsRessect dw 1 ; # of reserved sectors
bsFatCnt db 2 ; # of fat copies
bsRootSize dw 224 ; size of root directory
bsTotalSect dw 2880 ; total # of sectors if < 32 meg
bsMedia db 0xF0 ; Media Descriptor
bsFatSize dw 9 ; Size of each FAT
bsTrackSect dw 18 ; Sectors per track
bsHeadCnt dw 2 ; number of read-write heads
bsHidenSect dd 0 ; number of hidden sectors
bsHugeSect dd 0 ; if bsTotalSect is 0 this value is
; the number of sectors
bsBootDrv db 0 ; holds drive that the bs came from
bsReserv db 0 ; not used for anything
bsBootSign db 29h ; boot signature 29h
bsVolID dd 0 ; Disk volume ID also used for temp
; sector # / # sectors to load
bsVoLabel db "NO NAME " ; Volume Label
bsFSType db "FAT12 " ; File System type

begin: cli ; disable interrupts
mov [bsBootDrv],dl ; save drive number
mov ax,0x9000 ; put stack at 0x98000
mov ss,ax
mov sp,0x8000

mov cx,[bsTrackSect] ; update int 1E FDC param table
mov bx,0x0078
lds si,[ds:bx]
mov byte [si+4], cl
mov byte [si+9], 0x0F

sti ; enable interrupts
push ds
mov dl,[bsBootDrv] ; reset controller
xor ax,ax
int 0x13
pop ds
jc bootfail2 ; display error message
jmp _l1
bootfail2: jmp bootfail
_l1:
mov ax,0x0000
mov es,ax
mov ds,ax

mov si,MsgLoad ; display load message
call putstr

; find the root directory

xor ax,ax
mov al,[bsFatCnt]
mov bx,[bsFatSize]
mul bx
add ax,word [bsHidenSect]
adc ax,word [bsHidenSect+2]
add ax,word [bsRessect] ; ax holds root directory location
mov word [BootSig],ax

call checkroot

xor ax,ax
add ax,word [start]
add ax,word [bsVolID] ; sector number
add ax,word [BootSig]
sub ax,2 ; correction for a mis-calc
mov cx,word [bsVolID+2] ; number of sectors

mov bx,0x8000
mov es,bx


nextsector: push ax ; save registers
push cx
push dx
push es

xor bx,bx ; set zero offset
call readsect ; read a sector

mov si,MsgDot ; display a dot
call putstr

pop es ; restore registers
pop dx
pop cx
pop ax
mov bx,es
add bx,20h ; increment address 512 bytes
mov es,bx
inc ax ; read next sector
loopnz nextsector

mov ax,0x8000 ; set segment registers and jump
mov es,ax
mov ds,ax
push ax
mov ax,0
push ax
retf

checkroot:
push ax ; save registers
push bx
push cx
push dx
push si
push di

mov ax,0x8000 ; put root directory at 0x80000
mov es,ax
mov ax,32 ; AX = ((32*RootSize)/512) + 2
mul word [bsRootSize]
div word [bsSectSize]
mov cx,ax ; cx holds # of sectors in root
mov word [start],ax
mov ax,word [BootSig] ; get prev. saved loc. for root dir

r1: xor bx,bx
push cx ; save count
push ax ; save sector number
push es
push dx
call readsect
xor bx,bx
l_1: mov di,bx ; set address to check from
mov cx,11 ; check 11 bytes
mov si,FileName ; address of string to check with
repz cmpsb
je foundit
add bx,32 ; check next entry
cmp bx,[bsSectSize] ; end of sector?
je l_2
jmp l_1
l_2: pop dx ; restore registers
pop es
pop ax
pop cx
inc ax ; read next sector
loopnz r1
jmp bootfail
foundit: pop dx ; get these off the stack
pop es
pop ax
pop cx

mov di,0x1A ; get clustor #
add di,bx
push bx ; save bx for finding # of sectors
mov ax,[es:di]
xor bx,bx ; calculate sector #
mov bl,[bsClustSize]
mul bx ; ax holds sector #
mov word [bsVolID],ax

pop bx ; get location of directory entry
mov di,0x1C
add di,bx
mov ax,[es:di] ; put number of bytes in ax
xor dx,dx
mov bx,[bsClustSize] ; # of bytes / 512
div bx
inc ax
mov word [bsVolID+2],ax ; save number of sectors to load

pop di ; restore registers
pop si
pop dx
pop cx
pop bx
pop ax

ret ; return to caller

putstr: ; SI = address of string to display
lodsb
or al,al
jz short putstrd
mov ah,0x0E
mov bx,0x0007
int 0x10
jmp putstr
putstrd: retn ; return to caller

bootfail: ; display failure message
mov si,MsgBad ; display error message
call putstr
xor ax,ax ; wait for keypress
int 0x16
int 0x19 ; reboot

readsect: ; ES:BX = Location ; AX = Sector
mov si,[bsTrackSect]
div si ; divide logical sect by track size
inc dl ; sector # begins at 1
mov [bsReserv],dl ; sector to read
xor dx,dx ; logical track left in ax
div word [bsHeadCnt] ; leaves head in dl, cyl in ax
mov dh, [bsBootDrv] ;
xchg dl,dh ; head to dh, drive to dl
mov cx,ax ; cyl to cx
xchg cl,ch ; low 8 bits of cyl to ch, hi 2 bits
shl cl,6 ; shifted to bits 6 and 7
or cl, byte [bsReserv] ; or with sector number
mov al,1 ; number of sectors
mov ah,2 ; use read function of int 0x13
int 0x13 ; read sector
jc bootfail ; display error message
ret ; return to caller

padding times 45 db 0
FileName db "OSLOADERCOM"
MsgBad db "Disk Error...",13,10,0
MsgDot db ".",0
MsgLoad db "doors loading",0
BootSig db 0x55, 0xAA

Anyways, copy the above program, save it, build it with nasm, copy it with copyboot.
As you can guess above, it loads a program called 'OSLOADER.COM' off of the floppy. So, if you want a particularily funky os, build the following with nasm:
;Funky squares
;
;Assembles with NASM
;Made by Frej somewhere between april and may 2000
;Bits reprogrammed to run within DeviatorOS
;
;This demo is just to show you how small graphical demos can get Wink
;Reprogrammed for DeviatorOS as demo program

org 0x0000
mov ax,cs
mov ds,ax
mov es,ax ; fix segment regs

start: mov bx,cs ;put codesegment to bx
add bh,0x20 ;add 2000 to bx
mov ds,bx ;and put it to ds
mov ax,0x13 ;set ax to videomode 13
int 10h ;and do that
Main: push ds ;put buffer seg to stack
pop es ;and put that into es
in ax,0x40 ;generate "random" number (timer)
shl ax,4 ;multiply random # with 16
mov di,ax ;box offset (random)
mov al,255 ;color of the box
mov bx,50 ;height=50
pl: add di,270 ;di+270 (320-width(50))
mov cx,50 ;# bytes to copy to buffer
rep stosb ;and do it
dec bx ;decrement bx
jnz pl ;jump if bx not zero
mov bh,0xFA ;assume bl = 0 (-> bx = FA00)
Smudge: mov al,[bx+1] ;right color to al
mov cl,[bx-1] ;left color to cl
add ax,cx ;and add it to ax
mov cl,[bx-320] ;upper color to cl
add ax,cx ;and add it to ax
mov cl,[bx+320] ;lower color to cl
add ax,cx ;and add it to ax
shr ax,2 ;divide with 4
mov [bx],al ;and but the avarage color to buffer
dec bx ;decrement bx
jnz Smudge ;jump if bx not zero
mov ax,0xA000 ;vga seg
mov es,ax ;put it to es
mov ch,0xFA ;# bytes to copy to vga
xor di,di ;zero vga offset
xor si,si ;zero buffer offset
rep movsb ;and do that
in al,0x60 ;check for keys
dec al ;was it esc?
jnz Main ;nope, continue
mov ax,3 ;text mode
int 10h ;get back into text mode
xor ah,ah ;yes, return to OS
int 0x18 ;back to good old kernel
;Note:- This was, as you can guess, ripped by from an os. So when it goes back to the 'good ol kernel' it just restarts.

Build it with nasm, but rather than faffing around copyboot, just name is as OSLOADER.COM and copy it to the floppy.
Now restart and enjoy the funkiness. Woah dood.


C
Time to escape assembly language. The boot sector has to be written in assembly, but nothing else does. Unfortunately you can't just go and write a cool shell with Visual C++. First of all, its has to be a .com program, not .exe.
.exe programs are just .com with a bit of extra info. at the start giving some info on what the program is. It's very easy to add .exe capabililty to an os, or you can download a program called exe2com.
The serious problem though is that you can create your own ints to make things easier. EasyOs does this (look in kernel.asm under the src folder) and Dos does this too (Dos makes int 21). By default, compilers build a program with these ints.

For linux lovers
The following code is for Gcc on linux and nasm for dos or linux. Dos/ W*NDOW$ users can download Djgpp from http://www.delorie.com/djgpp/, which is like gcc. The line
gcc -c -O2 -Wall -g -o hello.o hello.c

How To Open A Master PAdLock!!!!

1) Get a Master Lock that you know the combination and if possible get another lock to test out if you doing it right.

2) First, we need to find the last number of the combination. To do this pull the “U” shaped thing away from the lock. It helps if its attached to something. (A Locker?). While pulling it out, start to rotate the dial from “0” so you know where to end later. You will notice that the lock will stick to a certain number. Now release the “U” for a second and then start to pull while you start to rotate again.

3) Next write down all the places the lock got stuck at while you were rotating it. There should be exactly 12 places if you did it right. One of these 12 numbers will be the last number of the combination.

4) Now we need to eliminate all of the numbers, but 1 to find the last. There are two types of places where the numbers you found got stuck at. First type is exactly on a number which means it won’t move left or right while pulling up the “U”. The second type is when the number you found was actually stuck between two numbers on the dial, and it would budge a little to the right or left.

5) Since we can determine, which of the 12 numbers were in between two numbers we can now eliminate them. There should have been 7 of those, which means there are only 5 left on you list.

6) Take a look at you list now and you should see that 4 of the 5 numbers left on you list have the same one’s place digit. (ex: 05, 15, 25, 35) These 4 numbers you found are fake and should be eliminated. This last number you have left should be the last number of you combination.

7) To find out the Master Lock Combination is easy now that you have the last digit. You now have 10 first digit possibilities and 10 second digit possibilities. This means you have to try out a maximum of 100 combinations. And don’t think that’s too many because this is much better than having to deal with 64,000 combinations.

Increase your Banddwith and Internet speed

Here are Registry Tweaks and Scroll down to see Patches


1.Increase bandwidth by tweaking QoS in Windows XP Pro

The following tweak applies only to Windows XP Professional edition.

The default system behavior is that all 100% bandwidth is available, however, if there is a running application that indicates to the OS it needs to send high priority/real time data, then as long as it has the socket open, Windows XP will restrict “best effort� traffic to 80% of the bandwidth so that high priority traffic can be accommodated. Basically, applications can make this request to the operating system for QoS support using the QoS application programming interfaces (APIs) in Windows and this only applies if a specific app is requesting QoS.

If you'd like to change how much bandwidth is reserved for QoS (the default is 20% of the total bandwidth), do the following:

1. Make sure you're logged in as "Administrator" (not just any account with admin privileges).
2. Navigate to START>Run and type: gpedit.msc
3. Navigate to Local Computer Policy > Administrative Templates > Network > QOS Packet Scheduler
4. In the right window, double-click the limit reservable bandwidth setting
5. On the setting tab, check the enabled setting.
6. Where it says "Bandwidth limit %", change it to read 0 (or whatever percentage you want to reserve for high priority QoS data)
7. Click OK, close gpedit.msc

Under START > My Computer > My Network Connections > View Network Connections, right-click on your connection and under Properties (where it lists your protocols), make sure QOS Packet Scheduler is enabled.



The tweak desribed below helps boost priority for DNS & hostname resolution in general. What this means is, it helps web pages load faster, and has negligible effect on downloads (not counting the couple of ms gain with the host resolution at connect-time).

Applying this tweak assumes some proficiency in editing the Windows Registry using Regedit (Start > Run > type: regedit). As always, backup your Registry before making any changes so you can revert to the previous state if you don't like the results.

[hide]
2.Host Resolution Priority Tweak
host name resolution priority
Windows 2k/XP

First, open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider



Note the following lines (all hex dwords):
Class = 008 (Cool - indicates that TCP/IP is a name service provider, don't change.

LocalPriority = 1f3 (499) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 1f4 (500) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 7d0 (2000) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 7d1 (2001) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS

What we're aiming to do is increase the priority of the last 4 settings, while keeping their order. The valid range is from -32768 to +32767 and lower numbers mean higher priority compared to other services. What we're aiming at is lower numbers without going to extremes, something like what's shown below should work well:

Change the "Priority" lines to:
LocalPriority = 005 (5) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 006 (6) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 007 (7) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 008 (Cool - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS

Windows 9x/ME

The tweak is essentialy the same as in Windows 2000/XP, just the location in the Registry is slightly different. For a more detailed description see the Windows 2000/XP section above.

Open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\ServiceProvider

You should see the following settings:
Class=hex:08,00,00,00

LocalPriority=hex:f3,01,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:f4,01,00,00
DnsPriority=hex:d0,07,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex:d1,07,00,00

The "priority" lines should be changed to:
LocalPriority=hex:05,00,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:06,00,00,00
DnsPriority=hex:07,00,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex:08,00,00,00

Reboot for changes to take effect.


In addition to the tweaks already covered in Win 2k/XP Registry Tweaks and More Win 2k/XP Tweaks, the Windows XP Service Pack 2 introduces a few new issues covered in the article below. Please make sure you understand what you are doing before making any changes to your Operating System. Note the information below only applies to Windows XP Service Pack 2.



3.Remove the limit on TCP connection attempts

Windws XP SP2 introduces a few new twists to TCP/IP in order to babysit users and "reduce the threat" of worms spreading fast without control. In one such attempt, the devs seem to have limited the number of possible TCP connection attempts per second to 10 (from unlimited in SP1). This argumentative feature can possibly affect server and P2P programs that need to open many outbound connections at the same time.

Rant: The forward thinking of Mic*ft developers here is that you can only infect 10 new systems per second via TCP/IP ?!?... If you also consider that each of those infected computers will infect 10 others at the same rate:
second 1: 1+10 computers
second 2: 10+10*10 computers (110 new ones)
second 3: 10+100*10 computers ( 1110 new ones)
second 4: 10+1000*10 computers (11110 new ones)
....
all the way to 10*60 + 10^60 computers in a single minute (that's a number with 60 digits, or it would far exceed Earth's population). Even if we consider that 90% of those computers are unreachable/protected, one would still reach ALL of them within a minute.

In other words, even though it is not going to stop worm spreading, it's going to delay it a few seconds, limit possible network congestion a bit, and limit the use of your PC to 10 connection attempts per second in the process ! I have no problem with the new default setting limiting outbound connection attempts. Still, users should have the option to easily disable or change this setting. I might be going out on a limb here, but ever since the introduction of Windows XP I can't help thinking that I dislike all the bult-in Windows "wisardry" in a sense that the system also limits user access. That irritating trend to ease the mental load on end users is somewhat insulting, considering that Windows is to make the more "intelligent" choice instead of the end user, as well as limit their access to tuning such settings...
End of rant.

With the new implementation, if a P2P or some other network program attempts to connect to 100 sites at once, it would only be able to connect to 10 per second, so it would take it 10 seconds to reach all 100. In addition, even though the setting was registry editable in XP SP1, it is now only possible to edit by changing it directly in the system file tcpip.sys. To make matters worse, that file is in use, so you also need to be in Safe mode in order to edit it.

You only need to worry about the number of connection attempts per second if you have noticed a slowdown in network programs requiring a number of connections opened at once. You can check if you're hitting this limit from the Event Viewer, under System - look for TCP/IP Warnings saying: "TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts". Keep in mind this is a cap only on incomplete outbound connect attempts per second, not total connections. Still, running servers and P2P programs can definitely be affected by this new limitation. Use the fix as you see fit.

To change or remove the limit, you can use the following program:

Event ID 4226 Patcher v2.11

Code:
http://www.speedguide.net/files/xp_sp2/EvI...atch211a-en.zip


- A patching program for removing or changing the limit imposed on connection attempts in SP2. The patcher has the ability to restore tcpip.sys back to the original... Still, you might want to back up tcpip.sys, use it at your own risk. The author of this patch can be reached @ http://www.lvllord.de/

4. Recommended settings for Windows 2000 / XP
Windows 2000 & XP, unlike NT supports large windows as described in RFC1323 ( the 'RcvWindow' has a maximum value of 2**30 rather than 64K), and includes some other improvements over its predecessors you can use to speed up any TCP/IP transfers. , the descriptions and other options are added to provide you with better understanding and enable you to customize your settings.

All the following entries, unless otherwise noted should be placed in the Windows 2000/XP Registry under the key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters

TCPWindowSize

The value of TCP Window in the Windows 2000 Registry is DWORD, representing number of bytes, with range from 0 to 2^30. The recommended values (in red) optimize TCP for any high speed Internet connection and work best in most cases, however if you'd like to use a custom value follow these guidelines:

For best results, the TCPWindow should be a multiple of MSS (Maximum Segment Size). MSS is generally MTU - 40, where MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) is the largest packet size that can be transmitted. MTU is usually 1500 (1492 for PPPoE connections). To determine the MTU value of your ISP, check out the Advanced Registry Editing section of our site.

There are three places in the Windows 2000 Registry where you can add the TCP Window parameter.

HKLM/SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
GlobalMaxTcpWindowSize="256960" (DWORD, number of bytes) Valid range is from MSS to 2^30. Add the value as a decimal. Note: For best results RWIN has to be a multiple of MSS lower than 65535 times a scale factor that's a power of 2, i.e. 44 x 1460 = 64240 x 2^2 = 256960. If you choose to use a RWIN lower than 65535, you can simply make it multiple of MSS and turn scaling off (Tcp1323Opts=0)

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
TcpWindowSize="256960" (DWORD, number of bytes) Valid range is from MSS to 2^30. Add the value as a decimal. TcpWindowSize can also exist under TcpipParametersInterface - if added at this location, it overrides the global setting for this particular . Note (10/20/00): Seems MS has found another bug in Windows 2000, the TCPWindowSize should be configured with the global setting (GlobalMaxTcpWindowsSize) rather than this one - Q263088

Note: For best results RWIN has to be a multiple of MSS lower than 65535 times a scale factor that's a power of 2, i.e. 44 x 1460 = 64240 x 2^2 = 256960. If you choose to use a RWIN lower than 65535, you can simply make it multiple of MSS and turn scaling off (Tcp1323Opts=0)

Tcp1323Opts

Tcp1323Opts is a necessary setting in order to enable Large TCPWindow support as described in RFC 1323. Without this parameter, the TCPWindow is limited to 64K.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
Tcp1323Opts="1" (DWORD, recommended setting is 1. The possible settings are 0 - Disable RFC 1323 options, 1 - Window scaling but no Timestamp options, 3 - Window scaling and Time stamp options.)

Note: Tcp1323Opts="3" might help in some cases where there is increased packet loss, however generally you'll achieve better throughput with Tcp1323Opts="1", since Timestamps add 12 bytes to the header of each packet.

DefaultTTL

DefaultTTL determines the time in seconds and the number of hops a packet lives. While it does not directly affect speed, a larger value increases the amount of time it takes for a packet to be considered lost, discarded and retransmitted. A value that's too small can cause packets to be unable to reach distant servers at all.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
DefaultTTL="64" (DWORD, recommended setting is 64. Other settings that are widely used are 128 and 32)

EnablePMTUDiscovery

When set to 1 (True), TCP attempts to discover MTU automatically over the path to a remote host. Setting this parameter to 0 causes MTU to default to 576 which reduces overall performance over high speed connections. Note that this setting is different than our Windows 9x recommendation.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
EnablePMTUDiscovery="1" (DWORD - boolean, valid settings are 0-->False and 1-->True. Many connections perform better with this entry at 1, however, if you prefer to set your upstream to send fixed 1500 packets, you might want to use 0 instead). When set at 1, establishing connections and initial transfer speed might slow down a bit, however you will get better throughput if somewhere in the path large packets need to be fragmented.

EnablePMTUBHDetect

Setting this parameter to 1 (True) enables "black hole" routers to be detected, however it also increases the maximum number of retransmissions for a given segment. In most cases you'd want to keep BHDetect to 0 (False).

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
EnablePMTUBHDetect="0" (DWORD - boolean, valid settings are 0-->False and 1-->True. Recommended setting is 0)

SackOpts

This parameter controls whether or not SACK (Selective Acknowledgement) support is enabled, as specified in RFC 2018. SACK is especially important for connections using large TCP Window sizes.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
SackOpts="1" (DWORD - boolean, recommended setting is 1. Possible settings are 0 - No Sack options or 1 - Sack Option enabled).

TcpMaxDupAcks

This parameter determines the number of duplicate ACKs that must be received for the same sequence number of sent data before "fast retransmit" is triggered to resend the segment that has been dropped in transit.

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
TcpMaxDupAcks="2" (DWORD - range 1-3, recommended setting is 2).

The money makin machine-READ!!!, GET RICH

Welcome to AdBux!

Simply apply for a premier paypal account and click the link below it takes 2 minutes to make a fortune.

At AdBux, you get paid to click on ads and visit websites. The process is easy! You simply click a link and view a website for 15 seconds to earn money. You can earn even more by referring friends. You'll get paid $0.01 for each website you personally view and $0.01 for each website your referrals view. Payment requests can be made every day and are processed through PayPal. The minimum payout is $5.00.

Earnings Example
You click 25 ads per day = $0.25!
10 referrals click 25 ads per day = $2.50!
Your weekly earnings = $19.25!
Your monthly earnings = $77.00!

The above example is based only on 10 referrals and 25 daily clicks. What if you had more referrals? What if there were more ads available? Your earnings are virtually endless.

How To Mount a CD Image on a Virtual Drive Using PowerISO

Step 1 : -
First Step is ofcourse to get the Software (Power ISO 3.7)
once you get this software installed and your PC Restarted.. you will observe a small Golden Disc Icon in your Lower Right corner of the Screen on your Taskbar....
Just check the image numbered 1 for help....

Step 2 : -
Once you see the golden disc icon in your taskbar in the lower right corner of your screen...
Right Click on it and go to "Set Number of Drives"...
Over there you can select how Many Virtual Drives you want.... but be sure to have atleast one selected there.....

Just Check Image No. 2 for help

Step 3 : -
Once Step 2 is completed go to "My Computer"...
There you will find an Extra CD DRIVE available to you... That actually is your Virtual Drive...
If u see it, then your step 2 was successfully completed.. now you can proceed to step 4...

Check Image 3 for Help

Step 4 : -
Now you can close your "My Computer" and again
Right Click on the Icon in your Taskbar...
Now over there you will see the top most Option that is now Available for you
i.e. You will see there "Drive [your Virtual Drive Letter] : "...
Select that and Say "Mount Image"

Check Image 4 for Help

Step 5 : -
Once you click on Mount Image, a Window will Pop Up asking you for the Location of the Image File (i.e. *.IMG Files), you have to select the Location where you have stored that IMG file and Say Open... VOILA... Its Done...

Now you can go to My Computer and See that the Image file that you had Copied is Now Accessible just as though there is a CD in that Drive...

You dont even have to Burn CD's IF u have the Image file and POWERISO...

Hope this Tutorial Helped you..

If u have any Problems with it Kindly Let me know..

MAKE YOUR OWN SHUTDOWN TIMER

Step 1.
Right Click on your desktop and choose "New->Shortcut".

Step 2.
In the box that says "Type the location of the shortcut",
type in "shutdown -s -t 3600" with out the quotation marks
and click next.
Note: 3600 are the amount of seconds before your
computer shuts down. So, 60secs*60mins=3600secs.

Step 3.
Make up a name for the shortcut and you're done.
You can change the icon by right clicking->properities->change icon-> browse.

More Info:
-To make an abort key to stop the shutdown timer just create
another shortcut and make the "location of the shortcut"
to "shutdown -a" without the quotes.

How to: fix corrupted files and get missing files

Do not delete any corrupted files.

You have missing files or corrupted files after you download from http/ftp site.
And you can not login to the site because of 530 or link dead.

Here are the steps to fix missing files and corrupted files.
1. donwload/install bittornado from bittornado.com (free)
2. download and run torrent from suprnova.org for 1 min then stop and close bittornado (free)
3. copy/override all 0 byte of files with the files from http/ftp site
4. rerun the torrent and wait for it to finish.

bittornado will fix both missing files and corrupted files during download.
It saves a lot of time to redownload the files for corrupted files.



In step 2, you need to make sure that you have the same file name, file szie and file extension.

For example, you have downloaded silent-hill 4 from http/ftp site. And the file name is "vng-sh4.rxx".
But you have missed vng-sh4.r46 and vng-sh4.r48. You also found out that vng-sh4.r09 and vng-sh4.r21 are corrupted. What will you do? Request a help and delete the corrupted files.

You can do is to download torrents from suprnova.org and then check the details of files and make sure it has the same file name, size, and extension. Then run the above steps . In less than 1 hour, You will get all the files downloaded and repaired.

Here are some ideas as how to open the cmd when you have it blocked. I cannot know if they work in your system just because you might have already blocked this features or not;

1.- Open the calculator and click on help > help topics. When the help window opens right next to where it says 'calculator' ( top left corner ) there is a ' ? ' symbol , right click on it and select jump to URL and put this;

file:///c:/windows/system32/cmd.exe

and then click open. Magic the cmd opens automatically.
If your calculator is blocked you can do the same in any of the windows XP games;
- Free Cell.
- Hearts.
- Internet Backgammon.
- " " Checkers.
- " " Hearts.
- " " Reversi.
- " " Spades.
- Solitaire.
- Pinball.
- Minesweeper.
- Spider Solitaire.

I have tested it in all of them and it works. But I REPEAT THIS;

YOUR ADMINISTRATOR MIGHT BE AWARE OF THAT AND IT MIGHT NOT WORK ( not trying to yell to anybody just make it more clear )

2.- Using the same text as above ; file:///c:/windows/system32/cmd.exe
You can open Excel and create a HYPERLINK with the this text, click OK and then click in the link in the excel cell. Click OK in both windows that will pop up and the command prompt will open.
This thing only works with Microsoft Office, i have test it with Openoffice and it does not work






Simpler way..
open notepad, and type cmd.exe

save it as anynamehere.bat

and click that bat file, and bam, you have cmd.





To Change a users password on windows follow these intructions:

1.Open CMD
2.Type netusers(this will bring up a list of all the users of that computer)
3.now select the user that you want to change there password.
4. now type this netuser "user" fooled
i have now just changed "user" password to "fooled"
"dont include "" 's **!

How to Overburn in Nero

Use Nero Burning Rom

To Overburn in Nero, go to File=>Preferences

Click the Expert Features tab

Select (tick) the Enable Disc-at-once Cd overburning

Change the Maximum CD size: to 90min 00sec

Click OK

To burn image go to Recorder=>Burn Image...

In the pop up box, browse to the location of your Image file, select it and click Open

Select (tick) Finalise CD

change Write method to Disc-at-once

Click Burn

When Warning dialogue box pops up, click OK to Overburn

How to convert Youtube video to AVI

Download RIVA FLV Encoder here
Code:
h**p://www.rivavx.com/index.php?downloads&L=3
First, find the video on youtube you want to download.
Get the URL for the video you want, and paste it into the text box on this website.
Code:
h**p://www.youtubex.com/
When the file is downloaded open up Riva FLV Encoder, and select your file.
Rename the output file from .flv to .avi. Now your all set, and you should have an avi file ready to store or watch.

How To Build Your Own Forum

Well First Of All What are forums ??


An Internet forum is a facility on the World Wide Web for holding discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. Web-based forums, which date from around 1995, perform a similar function as the dial-up bulletin boards and Internet newsgroups that were numerous in the 1980s and 1990s. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of different topics

Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards (but see also dial-up bulletin boards), fora (the Latin plural) or simply forums.


Who Need Them?


In the recent times Forums have been known for the best online entertainment Package that gives yo everything that you look for on the internet at only a single place.. I Heartly thnx to al Webmasters Those who Build up a forum for the Noobs and other people to help them out


Now Enough Of It Plz.. Let me take To Procedures


Ok Ok Coming To It ...

Well Today a lots of softwares for forums have been designed

Example Phpbb, InvisionPowerboard,Vbulletin,Smf and a hell lots more

Well So we will be discussing each of them in a short that how to make them

Steps will be easy and simple So Dont worry at all

Well there are basically two ways ( for each of the software for forums ) to make up an own forum ....

Well if you would like your forum to be done for free you have to sacrifise on some things

You can easily make up your own free forums of each softwares by vistig these sites

PHPBB



You Can Simply design your PhPbb Forums Here :

http://www.forumforfree.com/
http://www.freeforum101.com/

But you have to sacrifise on one thing here and that is having your own desired url and their terms and conditions..

Like you cant post warez porn etc.. on these forums and secondly you will have a url called subdomain which will be like on theor company name

for example of you wanna make a forum called x-warez

and you are building up your forum from forumsforfree

you will get subdomain like x-warez.forumsforfree.com n that is simply not impressive

Moving To V-Buletin And Invison Power Board

amongst both of them Invision power board is simply the most putstanding and largest selling software for forums today

You can build up your own forums with Ipb

on invisionfree.com

and much more you can google it

Now what a person should look for when he/she is going to build up a forum

Well clearly speaking no subjects are left today to build up your won forums for ..

Porn and warez and music is everywhere and over 100 forums opens per day on these same subjects but still the subject remains to you

Now the main question still arises what a noob should Do ??

Ok Here We Go For that ::

Well first of all if you agree that you wanna make free forums without spending a single penny then go for the abouve mentioned free forums builders they are sufficient for you

But if you are not willing to sacrifise your dreams for your own forums so you will be needing 3 main things....

1. Firstly you will be needing a domain

you an easily purchase a new domain varying from 3-10 $ from any of the given trusted websites

http://godaddy.com
http://whois.net
http://hostgator.com

for more use google

2. Now you will be needing a server that means a hdd you can say where all your files will be stored up on

Again you can go for buying a serve to

http://godaddy.com
http://hostgator.com
http://servage.net

and lots more use google again

Now the most important thing befor you go for a server to buy is that which software of forum you will be using
They all will be needing sql 4 or 5 , Php 4 or 5 , Perl any version and rest a simple cpanel ...

Note : Invision Power Boards do not run On My-sql 5 So Dont buy a server with sql 5 if you are choosing Invision power baord..

3. And lastly you will be needing forum softwares....

I Strictly insist you to buy a legal software , i know they cost money but if you will be using illegal softwares or nulled boards you can be traced easily and youe forum can be removed from your server witout any warning..

You can Buy Forum Softwares From These Sites :

PHPBB -->> http://phpbb.com its 100% free no charge at all
Invision Power Board-->> http://invisionpower.com
V-Bulletin-->> Http://www.vbulletin.com


Now each software you download will be conatining the installation instructionw within them

Follow them and enjoy your oown forums

Well I Tried my level best to describe all the needs to build up an forum but i am still not satisfies so i will be updating this thread again as soon as i get the time ....

On those posts i will be explaing differences between , Shared hosting , Virtual Hosting , Dedicated Hosting ...



Till then Enjoy and have a Good Time

Getting IP's for Complete Newbies

Introduction: This is a guide for newbies using the Windows operating system who always want to know how to find an IP from somewhere. It is simple and to the point. If it is actually to the liking of most folks I will update it more often when and if I can. It’s my first tute so, be gentle :-) .


Getting IP’s for Complete Newbies FAQ

1. What is an IP address?

2. What can an IP tell me about a person?

3. What are the tools I need to get someone’s IP address?

4. How do I find my own IP address?

5. Can I get someone’s IP from his or her email messages?

6. How do I get someone’s IP when they are chatting on MSN/AIM/Yahoo Messengers?

7. What is IRC and how do I get a person’s IP address on there?

8. What is social engineering and how can it help me obtain someone’s IP address?

9. If someone is using a proxy or wingate how can I obtain his or her true IP address?

10. Someone told me that websites could get my IP and other information. Is this true?


What is an IP address?

An IP address or Internet Protocol is a 32-bit number address, which is assigned to each computer (technically called a host) connected to the Internet. It is the address to which different types of data are sent to your computer. It consists of 4 octets. Each octet equals 8 bits and has a range from 0 to 255. (Every IP address on the Internet is sectioned off into classes from class A to class E, depending on a different range of numbers, but I won’t go into that here.) Well I always believed that sometimes pictures speak louder than words so here is an example of a typical IP address:


209.124.223.67

| | | |

| | | |---------> (4th octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)

| | |-------------> (3rd octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)

| |-----------------> (2nd octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)

|---------------------> (1st octet. 8-bits. Ranges from 0 to 255)


Notice how each octet is separated by a decimal. I said earlier that an IP address is a 32-bit number or address. There are 4 octets, which are each 8-bits. So 8-bits + 8-bits + 8-bits + 8-bits = 32-bits. For a more in depth look into Internet Protocol, read RFC 791, which can be found at www.rfc-editor.org.


What can an IP tell me about a person?

Well an IP address can tell a good bit of information about a person, or should I say the computer the person is at or registered to. In its numerical form, an IP number would be kind of hard, to an average and less geeky person, to look at and automatically see what information you can get from it. Enter the Domain Name System (DNS). The Domain Name System or DNS turns those confusing little numbers into readable hostnames (ex. 209.124.223.67 in its DNS form would look like gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net). Now to convert an IP number address into DNS form you would have to use something called rDNS or reverse Domain Name System. To find rDNS tools online just go to www.samspade.org or search at www.google.com (a highly recommended search engine that I use) and run a search on “reverse dns tools”, without the quotes of course. Now let’s analyze the domain that we just resolved:


gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net

| | |

| | |----> (domain belongs to a network)

| |---------> (name of the isp or internet service provider)

|-------------------> (the name of the machine which is located in “gnzl” or gonzales of Louisiana)


Domains could also have suffixes behind them (ex. gnzl-as50-67.eatel.net.uk) indicating that they are from another country. Example:


.jp = Japan

.uk = United Kingdom

.nl = Netherlands

.it = Italy

.ru = Russia

.fr = France

.eg = Egypt



********************************

I might be getting off the subject here but you can sometimes do a little guesswork about a person by looking at their domain. For instance, if you run across someone in a chat room who is trying to act like, in his/her words, “a hacker”, by threatening people and saying he/she will “hack” their computers if they get him/her mad, or by thinking they know everything about computers, and they are on a domain that ends with aol.com or with the words compuserve somewhere in it, its more than likely safe to say that they don’t know a thing about what they are talking about since AOL is not a good service provider for someone serious about hacking or, in my honest opinion, anyone else on the internet. Why you ask? The list goes on my friends. Everything from their poor technical support to there over priced monthly payments. I won’t get into it here but you can go to www.google.com and type in “aol sucks because” to find out for yourself. No offense to those of you AOL members who actually do know something but you know I speak the truth :-).

********************************


What are the tools I need to get someone’s IP address?

The main tool u need above all is a brain. Once you learn how to use that properly, the rest will fall into place. Oh, and a little knowledge of knowing where to look.


How do I find my own IP address?



Windows 95/98/ME:

1. Click the Start button then press Run.

2. In the Run dialog box, type in WINIPCFG in the white space and press OK.

3. An IP Configuration box should pop up with the IP displayed.



Windows 2000

1. Click START, go to Programs, then go to Accessories, and select the Command Prompt.

2. The Command Prompt window will open. Type "ipconfig/all" and hit the RETURN key.


Windows NT

1. Click the Start button then press Run.

2. In the Run dialog box, type in IPCONFIG in the white space and press OK.



OR


1. Click Start, go to Programs, and then select Command Prompt or MS-Dos Prompt.

2. When you see that black window pop up type “ipconfig/all” and press Enter.


Can I get someone’s IP from his or her email messages?

Yes. All you would have to do is look at the email header of the message. A header is the part of information on the email that shows you who the email came from, who it was sent to and what time it was received, and the subject of the email. There is also what’s called an extended header, which tells you more information. I will show this in a minute.


Since Yahoo, Hotmail, and Outlook Express are one of the top email services I will show you how you can view the header options of email messages on each one. When you are on Hotmail, go to Options, and then go to Mail Display Settings to set your header preferences. When you are on Yahoo, go to Options, then Mail Preferences, then change Message Headers to “all”. On Outlook Express, just click on an email message and when the letter is displayed, go to the top and press File, then press Properties. A gray display box should come up, then press Details and you should see the header of that email.


Now Email headers have what’s called a basic header and an extended header. Let me show you an example of a basic email header. I will use Yahoo’s header for an example…



From: “John Doe”

To: “Jane Doe”

Subject: Hello Jane!!!

Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2001 16:54:59





Now here is an example of an extended header…



X-Apparently-To: Jane@yahoo.com via web10605

Received: from 1Cust238.tnt10.rtm1.nl.uu.net (EHLO localhost.localdomain) (213.118.114.228) by mta223.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 30 Apr 2001 13:16:15 -0700 (PDT)

Received: from localhost (localhost [[UNIX: localhost]]) by localhost.localdomain (8.11.0/8.11.0) id f3UKNcb02256 for Jane@yahoo.com; Mon, 30 Apr 2001 22:23:38 +0200

From: John Doe

To: Jane Doe

Subject: Re: Hello Jane!!!

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 22:22:47 +0200

X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29]

Content-Type: text/plain

Content-Type:

References:

In-Reply-To: 1.0

MIME-Version: 1.0

Message-Id:

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Content-Length: 551





This is what you would see if you had the extended header option on. As you can see I colored the IP in red for you. The header also shows the person’s domain (1Cust238.tnt10.rtm1.nl.uu.net). I would go into detail on everything in the header but that is not why you are reading this and this is not an email tutorial so...


How do I get someone’s IP when they are chatting on MSN/AIM/Yahoo Messenger?

How many times have you moderators on computer security message boards heard this one? The answer is quite simple really. All you need is a direct connection from you to the person’s computer, and a wonderful little command that comes with all windows systems called netstat. Netstat displays active connections and protocol statistics.


Now to get someone’s IP on these messenger you would need a direct connection. I will explain why in a bit. Now to get a direct connection you would need to have some sort of file transferring, voice chat session, or even a web cam session with Windows NetMeeting. Ok say you are sending a file to someone and you want to get his or her IP. First you would need to open up the MS-Dos Prompt or Command Prompt or the little black window thingy to the computer illiterate. Just follow the same format I showed you early on how to find your IP address. You know, Start, Programs, Command Prompt. Ok now you should have the Dos Prompt window up. While you are transferring/receiving a file, or voice chatting with someone, type in the command “netstat -n”. You should see something like this…


C:\WINDOWS>netstat -n

Active Connections



Proto Local Address Foreign Address State

TCP 211.124.228.98:1138 64.4.13.69:1863 ESTABLISHED

TCP 211.124.228.98:1150 64.4.12.190:1863 ESTABLISHED

TCP 211.124.228.98:6891 12.90.50.93:1978 ESTABLISHED



The above is an example I got from using the netstat -n command on a friend. The two above commands are from the MSN messenger service. There are two because I am chatting to two people at this time. So while I was transferring a file to this person I did the netstat -n command and got their IP number (12.90.50.93).

So you might be asking, “How come I can’t just do a netstat -n while I’m chatting with someone?” Well the truth is that you can, but you would only get the IP of the MSN server that you are on. Let me explain it better with a picture….




You

\

\

\

MSN Server

/

/

/

Other Person (cause the word “Victim” sounded too malicious :-) )





So that’s basically how it looks when you send your messages to your friend or what not. They first have to pass through the MSN server then go to your friend’s messenger. So if you were to do a netstat -n you would only get the server’s IP. Now a direct connection (in red) would look like…




You

| \

| \

| \

| MSN Server

| /

| /

| /

Other Person





I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. Now netstat -n would work since the transfer is between you and the other person, and not you, then the server, then the other person. For more on netstat, type “netstat ?” in the DOS prompt.


What is IRC and how do I get a person’s IP address on there?

IRC or Internet Relay Chat is a chat where you can communicate with people all over the world in up to thousands of chat rooms using real-time message sending. To connect to the IRC world of chatting you need a chat client. The main one is mIRC, which can be found at www.mirc.com. Of course there are other clients such as BitchX, ircII, ircle, pIRCh, Xchat and so on. For the second part of the question I’m going to assume that you already know how to operate an IRC client. So to get someone’s IP on IRC all you would have to do is issue the command “/whois Nickname”. Some information on the user should come up and you should see the person’s domain or IP. Unfortunately, most of the IRC servers block a person’s IP number or domain by only showing half of it or by blocking out the entire thing with X’s. This is done for the safety of the chatters from lame bastards who actually think nuking someone and using Subseven is actual hacking. So using /whois on a person might not be too affective.

Another method would be to get a direct connection with someone on IRC using DCC or Direct Client to Client and doing a netstat -n on the person. You can do this by opening the MS-Dos Prompt and issuing the netstat -n command on them while a file transfer in DCC is occurring or by issuing the command while you are in a DCC chat with someone to get their IP address. Look at “How do I get someone’s IP when they are chatting on MSN/AIM/Yahoo Messenger?” for more details about netstat -n.


What is social engineering and how can it help me obtain someone’s IP address?

A technique mainly used on phones, chats, and physical person-to-person talking, social engineering is tricking someone into giving out valuable information to you about someone or something without them knowing they are doing anything wrong. Yeah, I know, that’s just the technical way of saying it. Its mainly just lying your ass off to get what you want.

An example of social engineering, for example, on IRC chat servers is impersonating the services bots that you identify to register your nickname and save your password. Most IRC servers have a services bot called Nickserv, which you would enter a command to register your nickname with a password. Most people online will try impersonating these bots by changing their own nick to look similar to the services bot (example: Nickserve *with an added “e”*). The impersonators would send out Services notices that are similar to, or exactly the same as the ones sent out by the real Services bots. These fake messages would tell you that you have to identify your nickname (example: /msg NickServe IDENTIFY yourpassword), to the fake bot, which in turn would give the imposter posing as the Services bot your password for your nickname. So it’s best, if you are just starting to learn how to chat on IRC, to learn what the real Services messages are for that server so you won’t run into any problems such as this. Also, make sure your password isn’t the same as any other accounts you may have or else a simple stolen nickname can result in the loss of your email accounts, messenger accounts, and so on.

Now, an example of social engineering to get someone’s IP or domain would be to register a web page with, let’s say, geocities and add a site stats counter to the page. (No, you wouldn’t have to make a web page. Just register a free website which should take less than 5 min and add just a counter to the page) When you have done that you can tell one of your online friends or enemies to go “see your pic” page you made (say pic because EVERYONE is a sucker for pictures online) If you think they wouldn’t want to see your ugly mug then say it’s a pic of your girlfriend or boyfriend, depending on who is reading this. So when they click your web page link to see a blank white page with just a counter on it, say something intelligent to them like you forgot to add it or you accidentally deleted it when trying to add it. You’ll figure out something. (To lessen the suspicion add a silly picture of a bodybuilder or a supermodel or something. Be creative :-)) Now when the person visits the site, just go into your website’s stats counter logs and view the person’s IP. If their domain shows then just do a reverse DNS on it.


If someone is using a proxy or wingate how can I obtain his or her true IP address?

As for as I know, I don’t think you can. Not easily anyway. You would have to be the administrator of the proxy or wingate server and or get access to the server logs of your entry somehow. Its how the proxy server administrators are able to track you down when they find out from another system administrator at a company or somewhere that you were using their proxy or wingate to break into the company’s system. They in turn contact the police who end the cycle of tracking you down by throwing your ass in jail.


Someone told me that websites could get my IP and other information. Is this true?

Yes this is true. Anything u connect to via the Internet can capture your IP and other sorts of information. Go to www.privacy.net then click at the top for a full analysis. That site shows u what information other sites may get off of your computer while you are surfing them. Feeling a little less secure now? Well, I would recommend trying an anonymous browser such as www.anonymizer.com or www.safeweb.com. You can also use proxy’s to spoof (hide your real IP or domain) your connection by using MultiProxy, A4Proxy, or Proxomitron (a personal favorite).

Very Useful RUN COMMANDS - { Must See to Enhance Your Computer Knowledge }

Accessibility Controls
access.cpl

Add Hardware Wizard
hdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs
appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools
control admintools

Automatic Updates
wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
fsquirt

Calculator
calc

Certificate Manager
certmgr.msc

Character Map
charmap

Check Disk Utility
chkdsk

Clipboard Viewer
clipbrd

Command Prompt
cmd

Component Services
dcomcnfg

Computer Management
compmgmt.msc

Date and Time Properties
timedate.cpl

DDE Shares
ddeshare

Device Manager
devmgmt.msc

Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)*
directx.cpl

Direct X Troubleshooter
dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility
cleanmgr

Disk Defragment
dfrg.msc

Disk Management
diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager
diskpart

Display Properties
control desktop

Display Properties
desk.cpl

Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected)
control color

Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility
drwtsn32

Driver Verifier Utility
verifier

Event Viewer
eventvwr.msc

File Signature Verification Tool
sigverif

Findfast
findfast.cpl

Folders Properties
control folders

Fonts
control fonts

Fonts Folder
fonts

Free Cell Card Game
freecell

Game Controllers
joy.cpl

Group Policy Editor (XP Prof)
gpedit.msc

Hearts Card Game
mshearts

Iexpress Wizard
iexpress

Indexing Service
ciadv.msc

Internet Properties
inetcpl.cpl

IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS) ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed)
jpicpl32.cpl

Java Control Panel (If Installed)
javaws

Keyboard Properties
control keyboard

Local Security Settings
secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups
lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows
logoff

Microsoft Chat
winchat

Minesweeper Game
winmine

Mouse Properties
control mouse

Mouse Properties
main.cpl

Network Connections
control netconnections

Network Connections
ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard
netsetup.cpl

Notepad notepad
Nview

Desktop Manager (If Installed)
nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager
packager

ODBC Data Source Administrator
odbccp32.cpl

On Screen Keyboard
osk

Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed)
ac3filter.cpl

Password Properties
password.cpl

Performance Monitor
perfmon.msc

Performance Monitor
perfmon

Phone and Modem Options
telephon.cpl

Power Configuration
powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes
control printers

Printers Folder
printers

Private Character Editor
eudcedit

Quicktime (If Installed)
QuickTime.cpl

Regional Settings
intl.cpl

Registry Editor
regedit

Registry Editor
regedit32

Remote Desktop
mstsc

Removable Storage
ntmsmgr.msc

Removable Storage Operator Requests
ntmsoprq.msc

Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof)
rsop.msc

Scanners and Cameras
sticpl.cpl

Scheduled Tasks
control schedtasks

Security Center
wscui.cpl

Services
services.msc

Shared Folders
fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows
shutdown

Sounds and Audio
mmsys.cpl

Spider Solitare Card Game
spider

SQL Client Configuration
cliconfg

System Configuration Editor
sysedit

System Configuration Utility
msconfig

System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)
sfc /cachesize=x

System Properties
sysdm.cpl

Task Manager
taskmgr

Telnet Client
telnet

User Account Management
nusrmgr.cpl

Utility Manager
utilman

Windows Firewall
firewall.cpl

Windows Magnifier
magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure
wmimgmt.msc

Windows System Security Tool
syskey

Windows Update Launches
wupdmgr

Windows XP Tour Wizard
tourstart

Wordpad
writ

How to make Key Generators(For Educational Use Only)

Introduction
-----------
I take no responsibility of the usage of this information.
This tutorial, is for educational knowledge ONLY.
Hi there, in this tutorial, I intend to teach you how to make a pretty
simple keygen, of a program called W3Filer 32 V1.1.3.
W3Filer is a pretty good web downloader...
I guess some of you might know the program.
I`ll assume you know:
A.How to use debugger (in this case, SoftIce).
B.How to crack, generally (finding protection routines,patching them,etc...).
C.How to use Disassembler (This knowledge can help).
D.Assembly.
E.How to code in Turbo Pascal (tm).
Tools you`ll need:
A.SoftIce 3.00/01 or newer.
B.WD32Asm. (Not a must).
C.The program W3Filer V1.13 (if not provided in this package), can be found in
www.windows95.com I believe.
D.Turbo Pascal (ANY version).
Well, enough blah blah, let's go cracking...
Run W3Filer 32.
A nag screen pops, and , demands registration (Hmm, this sux ;-)) Now,
We notice this program has some kind of serial number (Mine is 873977046),
Let's keep the serial in mind, I bet we`ll meet it again while we're on
the debugger.
Well, now, let's put your name and a dummy reg code...
set a BP on GetDlgItemTextA, and, press OK.
We pop inside GetDlgItemTextA, Lets find the registration routine...
I`ll save you the work, the registration routine is this:
:00404DB2 8D95A8FAFFFF lea edx, dword ptr [ebp+FFFFFAA8]
:00404DB8 52 push edx ---> Your user name here.
:00404DB9 E80B550000 call 0040A2C9 ---> Registration routine.
:00404DBE 83C408 add esp, 00000008 ---> Dunno exactly what is it.
:00404DC1 85C0 test eax, eax ---> Boolean identifier, 0 if
:00404DC3 7D17 jge 00404DDC ---> registration failed, 1 if
OK.
Well, Let's enter the CALL 40A2C9, and see what's inside it:
(Please read my comments in the code).
* Referenced by a CALL at Addresses:
|:00404DB9 , :00407F76
|
:0040A2C9 55 push ebp
:0040A2CA 8BEC mov ebp, esp
:0040A2CC 81C4B0FEFFFF add esp, FFFFFEB0
:0040A2D2 53 push ebx
:0040A2D3 56 push esi
:0040A2D4 57 push edi
:0040A2D5 8B5508 mov edx, dword ptr [ebp+08]
:0040A2D8 8DB500FFFFFF lea esi, dword ptr [ebp+FFFFFF00]
:0040A2DE 33C0 xor eax, eax
:0040A2E0 EB16 jmp 0040A2F8
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A2FB(C)
|
:0040A2E2 0FBE0A movsx ecx, byte ptr [edx] ----> Here Starts the
interesting part.
:0040A2E5 83F920 cmp ecx, 00000020 ----> ECX is the the current
char in the user name, Hmm, 20h=' '...
:0040A2E8 740D je 0040A2F7 ----> Let's see,
:0040A2EA 8A0A mov cl, byte ptr [edx] ----> Generally, all this loop
does, is copying
the user name from
[EDX], to [ESI], WITHOUT the spaces!
(Keep this in mind! ).
:0040A2EC 880C06 mov byte ptr [esi+eax], cl
:0040A2EF 42 inc edx
:0040A2F0 40 inc eax
:0040A2F1 C6040600 mov byte ptr [esi+eax], 00
:0040A2F5 EB01 jmp 0040A2F8
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A2E8(C)
|
:0040A2F7 42 inc edx
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Addresses:
|:0040A2E0(U), :0040A2F5(U)
|
:0040A2F8 803A00 cmp byte ptr [edx], 00
:0040A2FB 75E5 jne 0040A2E2 ----------------> This is the loop , we got
what it does,
Let's continue tracing
the code...
:0040A2FD 56 push esi --------> The user name is pushed, in order
to
Upcase it's chars.
* Reference To: USER32.CharUpperA, Ord:0000h
|
:0040A2FE E80F330000 Call User!CharUpper ---> After this, our name is in
upper case.
:0040A303 56 push esi -----> Our name in upper case here.
* Reference To: cw3220mt._strlen, Ord:0000h
|
:0040A304 E86F300000 Call 0040D378 ---> This is the length of our name.
:0040A309 59 pop ecx
:0040A30A 8BC8 mov ecx, eax ---> ECX=Length.
:0040A30C 83F904 cmp ecx, 00000004 ---> Length>=4 (MUST).
:0040A30F 7D05 jge 0040A316 ---> Let's go to this address...
:0040A311 83C8FF or eax, FFFFFFFF
:0040A314 EB67 jmp 0040A37D
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A30F(C)
|
:0040A316 33D2 xor edx, edx
:0040A318 33C0 xor eax, eax
:0040A31A 3BC8 cmp ecx, eax
:0040A31C 7E17 jle 0040A335 ---> (Not important, just another useless
checking).
================================================== ===============================
============ FROM HERE AND ON, THE IMPORTANT CODE, PAY ATTENTION =================
================================================== ===============================
One thing before we continue, EDX = 00000000h as we enter to the next instructions.
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A333(C)
|
:0040A31E 0FBE1C06 movsx ebx, byte ptr [esi+eax] ---> EBX <--- char in user
name, offset EAX.
:0040A322 C1E303 shl ebx, 03 -----> Hmm, it shl's the char by 03h...
(Remember that).
:0040A325 0FBE3C06 movsx edi, byte ptr [esi+eax] ---> Now EDI <--- Char in
user name , offset EAX.
:0040A329 0FAFF8 imul edi, eax -----> It multiplies the char by the
offset in user name! (Remember that).
:0040A32C 03DF add ebx, edi -----> Adds the result to EBX (That was
Shelled (Ding Dong =)).
:0040A32E 03D3 add edx, ebx -----> EDX=EDX+EBX!!! - This is the CORE
of this registration routine!!!
:0040A330 40 inc eax -----> Increase EAX by one (next char).
:0040A331 3BC8 cmp ecx, eax
:0040A333 7FE9 jg 0040A31E ----> If ECXloop.
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A31C(C)
|
:0040A335 A120674100 mov eax, dword ptr [00416720] ---> HMMMMMM, What's in
here?????
:0040A33A C1F803 sar eax, 03 ---------> WAIT! Please type in SIce '?
EAX'
Does this number in EAX look
familiar to us? ;-)
If you still don`t understand,
than, It's
our SERIAL NUMBER! (PLEASE, take
your time, and check by
yourself - don`t trust me!). OK,
so now we know,
That it SHR's EAX by 03 (SAR is
almost identical to SHR).
:0040A33D 03D0 add edx, eax ---------> Hmm, it adds the result from the
loop, the serial number shr'd by 03h
:0040A33F 52 push edx -------> Let's continue. (At this point, I
can tell you , the reg number, is
in EDX - only that the reg number
is in HEX --> That's how you enter it).
* Possible StringData Ref from Data Obj ->"%lx"
|
:0040A340 685EF54000 push 0040F55E
:0040A345 8D95B0FEFFFF lea edx, dword ptr [ebp+FFFFFEB0]
:0040A34B 52 push edx
* Reference To: USER32.wsprintfA, Ord:0000h
|
:0040A34C E8E5320000 Call 0040D636 -------> This one, does HEX2STR (Takes
the value from EDX, and turns it to an hex string).
:0040A351 83C40C add esp, 0000000C
:0040A354 8D8DB0FEFFFF lea ecx, dword ptr [ebp+FFFFFEB0] -----> type 'd ecx'
THIS is the reg number! That's enough for us, the rest of
the code, is
just for comparing the correct reg code with ours.
:0040A35A 51 push ecx
* Reference To: USER32.CharLowerA, Ord:0000h
|
:0040A35B E8B8320000 Call 0040D618
:0040A360 8D85B0FEFFFF lea eax, dword ptr [ebp+FFFFFEB0]
:0040A366 50 push eax
:0040A367 FF750C push [ebp+0C]
* Reference To: cw3220mt._strcmp, Ord:0000h
|
:0040A36A E875300000 Call 0040D3E4
:0040A36F 83C408 add esp, 00000008
:0040A372 85C0 test eax, eax
:0040A374 7405 je 0040A37B
:0040A376 83C8FF or eax, FFFFFFFF
:0040A379 EB02 jmp 0040A37D
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Address:
|:0040A374(C)
|
:0040A37B 33C0 xor eax, eax
* Referenced by a (U)nconditional or (C)onditional Jump at Addresses:
|:0040A314(U), :0040A379(U)
|
:0040A37D 5F pop edi
:0040A37E 5E pop esi
:0040A37F 5B pop ebx
:0040A380 8BE5 mov esp, ebp
:0040A382 5D pop ebp
:0040A383 C3 ret
Making the actual Keygen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, after I've explained how does the program calculate the registration
code, you can either write your own keymaker, without looking at my code, or
look at my code (in Turbo Pascal - sorry for all you C lovers ;-) Next time).
That's it, here's the source of my keygen:
------------------- Cut here -------------------------------------------
Program W3FilerKeygen;
var
Key,SerialNum,EB,ED,digit:Longint;
I,x:Byte;
Name,KeyHex:String;
begin
Writeln(' W3Filer32 V1.1.3 Keymaker');
writeln('Cracked by ^pain^ ''97 / Rebels!');
Write('Your Name:'); { Read the name }
readln(Name);
Write('Serial Number:');
readln(SerialNum); {Yes, we need the serial number for the calculation!}
Key:=0;
x:=0;
For I:=1 to length(Name) do
begin
Name[i]:=upcase(Name[i]);
If Name[i]<>' ' then begin
eb:=ord(Name[i]) shl 3; {EB = Name[i] Shl 03h}
Ed:=ord(Name[i]); {ED = Name[i]}
ed:=ed*(x); {ED=ED*Offset}
inc(x);
eb:=eb+ed; {Add ED to EB}
Key:=Key+EB; {Add EB to KEY}
end;
end;
Key:=Key+(SerialNum shr 3); { Add SerialNum shr 03h to Key}
{ From here, this is just HEX2STRING --> I`m quite sure it's
Self explaintory, else - go and learn number bases again! ;-)}
KeyHex:='';
repeat
digit:=Key mod 16;
key:=key div 16;
If digit<10 then KeyHex:=Chr(Digit+ord('0'))+KeyHex;
If digit>10 then KeyHex:=Chr(Digit-10+ord('a'))+KeyHex;
until key=0;
writeln('Your Key:',KeyHex);
writeln(' Enjoy!');
end.

How to stop "Double Post" comparing 2 files you think are the same!

How to stop "Double Post" comparing 2 files you think are the same:

You want to know if 2 different files( File 1 and File 2 ) are the same or not, you can just follow this simple steps on your own PC:


A • First open a window with the 2 files you want to compare. ( keep this window small on the side of your screen in a way you can still see both files )


B • Now go to Start - Run - and type:

cmd_/k_fc_drag and drop File 1_drag and drop File 2.


C • Click on OK or press Enter on the k-board.

• You can see the result: FC: geen verschillen gevonden = no difference found! (dutch to english). When the file is different you will see the total description of the difference.


Note: The _ ( underscore/underline ) on B steps is iqual to space( pressing space bar on k-board ).

• Attention!!! After droping File 1 use the k-board pressing "right arrow" till the blinking vertical bar is sliding to the end of the word .jar of File 1 before droping File 2!!! And don't forget the space in between!!

How to search files which are uploaded on RAPIDSHARE OR MEGAUPLOAD.

THIS TRICK FOR ONLY SEARCHING FILES UPLOADED ON RAPIDSHARE OR MEGAUPLOAD.....IT MAKES VERY EASY to search files with the great google searcher.

Search with Google for files on rapidshare or Megaupload servers
The uploaded filename is contained in the Rapidshare and megaupload URLs. This will help us find what is posted on rapidshare/megaupload for download.

write these words for corresponding action.


To search for ebooks and documents in PDF format on Rapidshare:
pdf "rapidshare.de/files" site:rapidshare.de

To download movies and video files:
+inurl:avi|mpg|wmv site:rapidshare.de

To download mp3 files from rapidshare:
+inurl:wma|mp3 site:rapidshare.de

To download software, zipped files, programs from rapidshare:
+inurl:exe|rar|zip site:rapidshare.de

Replace rapidshare.de with megaupload.com to search for files available on MegaUpload.com servers.

Comprehensive Guide For Unbelieveble Quality Mp3 at Small Size

Ever wonder how to get a good quality mp3 but at half the size of the original so u can put more song in ur mmc or mp3 player. It's not impossible, i'm gonna show u how, but 1st u need a software called foobar2000, the required DSP, a Lame encoder and some patient.

Now, don't worry, i already uploaded the required file. Just download foobar2000_0.9 at hxxp://www.foobar2000.org and install. Also download and install the dsp below. Now open foobar and click file\add file... and add the songs that u want to convert. Next, click file\Preferences and select tools\converter. On the encoding presets, cick add new, select Encoder as MP3 (Lame), Quality 100 kbps, tick fast mode. now press ok and save all, then close.

Now minimize foobar, open lame.rar and extract it, eg. C:\Lame. Then open SP_Equalizer.rar and extract to, eg. C:\SP.

Open foobar again, then, select the file that u want to convert on the playist, right click and select convert\convert to... In the converter setup, select -MP3 (Lame), ~100kbps (V7), fast- and tick DSP Processing. Then click the (...) button, add Resampler (PPHS), ATSurround and Equalizer (optional) to active DSPs.

-Optional-
if u r using mobile device that only can play mono, choose convert stereo to mono.

Select Resampler in active DSP, and click configure. Choose 24000Hz in target samping rate and tick Ultra Mode. Now click ok.

Select ATSurround and configure. In the configuration, choose ATSurround Headphone in mode. Then ok.

-Optional-
Select Equalizer and configure it. Load preset from c:\SP and ok.

Tick don't reset DSP and close DSP settings.

Now, it will ask for lame.exe, just browse to c:\lame and then ok. Now it will ask for where to save. save and wait till it finish. Transfer it to ur mmc and listen.

Already tested on default player for N6630, N6681 and N90.

Hope this guide can help u to enjoy more songs with ur mobile device. Br, dimfusion.

Learn to Split Big Files using Winrar

First right click on the file u wanna select and select Add to Archive then a window will open from Rar .....

At the bottown there is a Tab sayin "Spilt to Volume,Bytes"

In the box enter a figure.. remember bytes ... For eg if u enter 10000000 tht will be equal to 9.53 mb ...

Remember u have to enter the value in bytes.. So enter a big value..

And thts it ur File will be split into ur requirest no of file...

Fell free to ask any issues on this topic..

Burning (Completely!) Gapless Audio CDs

This tutorial works with Foobar 2000, a freeware application listed. Although there is an option in most burning sotware, there is still a noticeable pause between songs. This causes problems when creating live concert cds and certain electronic (trance, drums and bass, etc) albums.

First, download and install

http://www.foobar2000.org/
, including the Foobar 2000 burn plugin.

After downloading the plugin, unzip the file and locate "foo_burninate.dll".

Place this file in C:/Program Files/foobar2000/components or the alternative destination of Foobar 2000 installation.

Upon starting Foobar 2000, click the playlist (at the top); select and add the MP3s files for the CD.

Highlight all the MP3s and right click. Select Write audio CD.

The default Foobar2000 settings should write a completely gapless audio CD if properly installed and executed.

Recovering Data from Scratched CDs

The following information will explain and cover some special, painless techniques on how to create a full working CD from the scratched one. I have personally tested this and had fixed a CD that would not read data at all. This tip works best with small unreadable scratches, as some hard scratches are too deep and loose the data permanently.

Requirements:
Alcohol 120% software [or similar]
Cooking oil
Small piece of cotton
Dry cleaner paper
Follow this simple steps to fix a scratched cd for repair purposes:

In step one you must do some preparation work on the CD. Begin by wetting the cotton with water. Begin to clean the CD in a vertical motion; three firm wipes shall be sufficient. Dry the CD with the dry cleaner paper.

Using another piece of cotton, apply oil to the CD surface. Be sure to do this with caution and not overuse oil. After a through cleaning, dry carefully. Particles from the oil will stay on the microsurface of the scratch. It appears that the oil helps the laser of the CD/DVD driver
to read the surface again.

After downloading and installing Alcohol 120% software, run the program and select to create an ISO - image making wizard. Attempt to read the CD drive and test if the program can read the Alcohol 120% software is recommended for this, as it is known to recover data more efficiently than other ISO software.

If a sucessful read is obtained, I recommended creating a new CD immediately. Copy all the data from the CD to the hard drive or create an ISO of the CD for immediate use. With a favorite burning utility, burn the ISO or data onto a new CD.
Click on the links to support my site.

...:::ENjoy:::...

Feeding My Sweet Tooth Without Breaking My Belly Or Breaking the Bank

I have a problem. I have a sweet tooth that sometimes runs rampant over all rational sense. I especially love ice cream, particularly well-made ice cream that melts smoothly on your tongue… mmm.

If I didn’t have to worry about my health or my wallet, I’d probably eat a pint of Haagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry’s every night, but that’s a lot of sugar and fat I don’t need and a lot of money spent that I don’t need to waste. So I’ve developed a selection of very simple, very inexpensive, and very tasty replacements to sate my sweet tooth in the evenings.

Good Yogurt Parfait
I used to really think that yogurt was really good for you, but that it tasted terrible. It turns out that… well, plain yogurt actually isn’t very tasty. The flavored yogurts you can get at the store are all right, but there’s only so many different flavors and they add up in price.

What I do instead is make my own. It’s pretty easy. I just buy some fresh fruit that I like (bananas, oranges, strawberries, and blueberries are the best!) and a large container of plain yogurt, which is usually unbelievably cheap compared to the same volume of flavored yogurts. I slice the fruits a bit, then take a glass and put about an inch of fruit in it, followed by an inch of yogurt, and then alternate until the glass is full. Snack time! When I splurge on this, I put some brown sugar in between fruit and yogurt layers, but not every time.

If I just buy fruits that are on sale, this becomes a very cheap evening snack that’s quite tasty and healthy, too.

Pureed Fruits
Another tasty, cheap, and healthy treat is pureed fruits. All you need is fruit and a blender to try out some basic ideas, then maybe some additives like milk or yogurt to make thick shakes or brown sugar or vanilla to add some flavor. If I find a particular kind I like, I often make large batches of it and pour it into ice cube trays to freeze it for later. I then can just pop out a few cubes, toss them in a glass, and defrost them for just a few seconds for a cold, sweet, cheap treat.

Jams and Jellies
A piece of toast smothered in jam is a delicious evening snack, one that has come close to rivaling ice cream as my favorite sweet. Best of all, it’s really cheap: a piece of bread and only a tiny fraction of the contents of a jar of jelly makes for a quick and sweet snack that’s much better for you than a big bowl of ice cream.

I had some hesitation about doing this, because I am very picky about jams and jellies, but I found that even if I spend a lot on a single jar, the actual cost per serving of it still isn’t that much. So I’m willing to splurge on a good jar of jam. I highly recommend a jar of Whetstone Valley Preserves if you don’t happen to have a local person that makes it themselves (as nothing, nothing beats homemade jams and jellies).

Don’t Fear The Splurge
I admit that I still eat that expensive ice cream on occasion, but now it’s a special event more than a regular event. The above snacks are quite enjoyable most evenings - they calm my sweet tooth without denting my wallet - and it makes those opportunities to split a pint of Ben & Jerry’s with my wife or stop at a Cold Stone Creamery all the more special.

How To Make Homemade Bread:-Cheap, Delicious, Healthy, and Easier Than You Think

Over the last year, I’ve gradually moved more and more towards making my own food at home. There are several reasons for this: it tastes better, it reduces preservative intake, it’s more nutritious, and it’s often substantially cheaper than what you find in the store. It does take time, but once you get used to it, most food preparation doesn’t take much more time than going to the store, buying it, taking it home, popping it out of the package, and following the directions.

Breadmaking is a prime example of this phenomenon. Homemade bread is substantially tastier than store-purchased bread, isn’t laden with preservatives, is very inexpensive to make, and doesn’t take all that much time, either.

The Problems With Industrial Bread

Most people in the United States today view the bread purchased at the supermarket as what bread should be. The actual truth is that the bread you buy in the supermarket has the texture and substance that it has for one reason and one reason alone: so that it can be made on an industrial scale and not grow “old” on the shelf at your supermarket.

There are two big explanations for this. The industrial scale process is designed to maximize profit while still producing an edible loaf of bread on the table. This is done by using an excessive amount of yeast in order to create lots of air bubbles in the bread, hence the “light” texture of store-purchased bread. It also allows for the use of lower-quality grains because of this yeast abundance, thus the bread is far from nutrient-rich. In the United States, most recipes are trade secrets, but in the United Kingdom, the standard recipe, known as the Chorleywood Bread Process, is widely known. The goal of this process is to make a loaf of bread as cheaply as possible, foregoing flavor, nutrition, and texture along the way.

The other bothersome part of industrial breadmaking is the appearance of a healthy dose of preservatives. These preservatives are there solely to extend the shelf life of the bread, again reducing costs for the manufacturer. Every time you eat a piece of store-purchased bread, you’re getting a healthy dose of preservatives with each bite.

Take a look at the ingredient list from a loaf of Home Pride butter top honey wheat bread, a fairly standard store-purchased loaf in my area. I bolded some of the ingredients.

Enriched wheat flour (flour, barley malt, ferrous sulfate (iron), “B” vitamins (niacin, thaimine mononitrate (B1), riboflavin (B2), folic acid)), water, sweetener (high fructose corn syrup or sugar), yeast, wheat bran, whole wheat flour, wheat gluten, molasses. Contains 2% or less of: soybean oil, salt, sweet dairy whey, butter (cream, salt, enzymes), maltodextrin, honey, corn syrup, calcium sulfate, soy flur, dough conditioners (may contain: dicalcium phosphate, calcium dioxide, sodium stearoyl lactylate, ethoxylated mono and diglycerides, mono and diglycerides, and/or datem), yeast nutrients (may contain: ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, calcium carbonate, monocalcium phosphate, and/or ammonium phosphate), cornstarch, wheat starch, vinegar, natural flavor, beta carotene (color), enzymes, calcium propionate (to retain freshness), soy lecithin.

That’s what a slice of store-purchased bread contains.

How to Make Your Own Tasty Homemade Bread, Easily and Cheaply

What I’ve found is that many people are simply intimidated by the seemingly complex and work-intensive process of making bread. It seems difficult and loaded with steps and significant work.

In fact, bread is quite easy to make at home, and you only need a few staple ingredients to make a simple loaf. Here’s exactly how to make a delicious loaf at home from scratch.

What you see on the table there is every ingredient and piece of equipment that you need to make a loaf of bread (except the oven). Nothing complicated at all, just basic ingredients that you can often get very inexpensively at your local grocery store. In fact, the ingredients on that table (except for the yeast) is enough to make several loaves of bread.

Here’s the equipment you need…
One large mixing bowl A second one is useful, but optional - you can get by with one if you’re willing to wash it in the middle of the process.
One spoon You need a spoon to stir the dough.
One measuring cup A 1/4 or 1/2 cup measuring cup will do the job.
One measuring spoon A one-teaspoon measurer will be just perfect.
One bread pan Obviously, to bake the bread in.
One hand towel This is just to cover the bread dough as it rises so it doesn’t get drafts or dust or anything on it.

That’s all you need, and it’s all stuff that’s pretty common in most kitchens.

Now, for the food ingredients…
1/4 cup milk
5 teaspoons sugar (or 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoons salt
5 teaspoons butter (or 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 package active dry yeast (you can get yeast near the flour at your local grocery store)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups flour (get unbleached white for your first attempt)
Corn starch or nonstick cooking spray (just to prevent the bread from sticking to the bowl or pan)

That’s all you need for homemade bread, period. There are some neat things you can do with added ingredients, which I’ll talk about later, but all you need is that stuff. Nothing complicated or “secret” or confusing at all.

Ordinarily when baking bread, I would mix the dough with my KitchenAid stand mixer, but making bread is easy enough that this is just a convenience, not a requirement by any means. Basically, instead of doing the kneading and stirring described below, I just flip a switch and this machine does it for me.

OK, let’s get started. First, you should warm up the bowl - the best way to do that is to just fill it with hot water, then dump out the hot water, leaving the bowl rather warm. Then, mix up the yeast according to the directions on the packet. Usually, it will say something along the lines of “add a cup of warm water to the yeast and stir.” What you’ll end up with is some tan-colored water with some bubbles in it, as shown above. You should stir this until there are no lumps in the yeast.

Melt the butter in the microwave, then add it, the milk, the sugar, and the salt to the yeast liquid and stir it up until everything looks the same (a very light tan liquid). Then add two cups of flour to the mix - don’t add the rest yet. Your bowl should look something like what’s shown above, where I have the spoon on board ready to stir.

Start stirring, and then add the flour about 1/4 cup at a time every minute or so. It will stick to the spoon big time at first - don’t worry about it. Keep stirring and adding flour until the dough is still slightly sticky, but it doesn’t stick to your hands in any significant way. Also, it should largely clean the sides of the bowl, leaving just a thin layer of floury stuff. It’ll look something like the above.

Now comes the fun part: kneading. Take a bit of flour between your hands and then rub them together over the top of an area on the table where you’re going to knead the dough. Do this a few times until there’s an area on the table lightly covered in flour. Then grab the dough ball out of the bowl, slap it down on the table, and start beating on it. Do this for ten minutes. Just take the dough, punch it flat, then fold it back up into a ball again, and repeat several times. I also like to take it in my hands and squeeze and twist it.

When the ten minutes are up, shape it into a ball (like shown above), then either clean up the bowl you were using before or get out another bowl. Either coat the inside lightly with corn starch or nonstick cooking spray, depending on your preference, then put the ball of dough inside the bowl.

Put a cloth over the bowl and sit it somewhere fairly warm for an hour. If you have a warming area on your stove top, that’s a great place to put it - set the warming area on as low as it will go, as I’m doing in the picture above. This is a good time to clean everything else and put the stuff away, but leave the flour out and the floured area on your table untouched.

Here’s what the dough looks like before rising…

… and then an hour later after rising, still in the bowl…

It should be roughly double the size that it was before, but don’t sweat it too much if it’s larger or smaller than that, as long as it rose at least some amount. Punch the dough down (three or four good whacks will cause it to shrink back down to normal), then lay the dough out on the floured area and spread it out in a rectangle shape, with one side being roughly the length of the bread pan and the other side being about a bread pan and a half long.

You may need to put a bit more flour on it and on the table to prevent sticking. Then, roll it up! The roll should be roughly the same size as the bread pan, as shown below.

Tuck the ends of the roll underneath, with the “under” side being where the seam is. Then spray the bread pan down with nonstick cooking spray (or coat it with cornmeal) and put the loaf inside of the pan.

Cover that loaf up with the towel, put it back where it was before, and wait another hour. This is a good time to clean everything up, then go do something else fun. The loaf should raise some more:

Put that loaf in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius) for thirty minutes. When it’s done, pull it out and immediately remove it from the pan to cool. It’ll look something like this, hopefully.

Let it cool down completely before slicing.

This bread will make mind-blowing toast. Seriously, pop a slice in the toaster, get it golden brown, and spread a bit of butter or margarine on it. Truly, truly sublime.

On Beyond the Basic White Loaf

If you get into making your own bread (and why not? It’s inexpensive, tasty, and healthy), you’ll eventually want to start experimenting. Here are some tips I’ve learned over the last year or so.

Different flours work differently. If you try making a rye bread or a whole wheat bread, you’ll discover the flour has different properties. Just stick with adding it slowly to the bowl until it’s just barely not sticking to your hands, and you’ll be fine. Whole wheat flour, for instance, generally requires about half a cup less flour than white flour to reach the right point.

For a delicious Italian bread, replace the salt with garlic salt and before you start stirring, add in some Italian seasonings, like oregano and rosemary - or an Italian seasoning mix.

You can easily double this recipe and make two loaves at once. The time investment is virtually the same and you get twice the bread.

Eventually, you’ll start really experimenting. Making pizza dough from scratch is similarly easy, as are cinnamon rolls. I’ve reached the point where I feel confident making most bread recipes in the oven (except for sourdough loaves, which always seem to turn out wrong).

What’s the take home? Baking homemade bread is a very worthwhile thing to try. It’s inexpensive, healthy, and teaches you a lot about how to cook at home. Best of all (for me, anyway), it makes mindblowingly good toast - I love to start off my day with a slice of toast made from homemade bread and a cup of tea.

Grip Your Readers With These 7 Knock-out Opening Sentences

In this post, I want to suggest seven tried-and-tested methods to craft a gripping opening sentence.

This could mean the difference between someone reading your post from start to finish or skipping to the next item in their feed reader (or browsing to another blog).

These seven methods should also be a source of inspiration when you’re unsure how to start your next post. In that sense, they have the potential to benefit both you and your blog.
#1 — The tempting offer

A simple and effective way to grip readers in your first sentence is to tell them what you’re going to tell them.

Huh?

This is why news broadcasts always begin with a preview of the stories to come. It’s why the commercial for a TV show will, as a rule, highlight the best bits. People are always more likely to stick with you if they know what they stand to gain.

A fictional example:

If you’ve ever wanted to get fit, save money and work less… this post is for you.

When using this method it can be useful to think of your first sentence as an advertisement for what’s to follow. What could you say that would entice readers to keep reading? How could you make reading the post seem as attractive as possible?
#2 — The irresistible question

Questions are powerful because they coax the reader into giving an internal answer. Another effective way to start a blog post is to ask a question you’re confident most readers will answer yes to. An example:

Want to convince your readers to do something or agree with your point of view?

After answering “yes, I do want that,” the next logical step is to continue reading.
#3 — The curious connection

This model appeals to the reader’s sense of curiosity. It links two seemingly unconnected ideas together and invites the reader to stick with the post and see how the connection was made. An example:

What do Thom Yorke, Tim Ferriss and successful new media publishers have in common?

By linking together a famous author and a famous musician the reader’s curiosity is piqued. She or he will want to know what these two very different figures have in common, and will (hopefully) keep reading in order to find out.


Photography by neurmadic aesthetic
#4 — The controversial claim

Confronting or strong statements engage readers because they’re curious to see how the author will justify their claim. An example:

Chances are I’m not reading your blog.

Strong statements work, but they need to be carefully justified and qualified within a few paragraphs. You don’t want to risk putting any readers offside by not explaining yourself properly.
#5 — The engaging anecdote

Anecdotes are miniature stories you tell about your experiences. The best anecdotes, apart from being entertaining, are enlightening for the reader. They don’t just say something about you: they speak to the experiences and struggles of the person listening or reading, too. A fictional example:

Yesterday, after 35 years working in the PR industry, I came within an inch of quitting my job in order to write the novel I’ve always wanted to write.

If used on a blog about writing this anecdotal sentence would appeal to most readers because it speaks to a common concern: how much should we be willing to sacrifice in order to achieve our goals?

Anecdotes help readers get to know you. They appeal to our natural love of stories. They also encourage readers to keep reading and find out how the story ends.
#6 — The problem solver

Everyone has certain things they struggle with, and we’re always willing to lend an ear to anyone who might help us resolve one of those struggles.

When bloggers highlight a problem this is often followed by an attempt at a solution. Readers know this. Here’s an example of this method in action:

We all know that .com domains are the best option, but it is also difficult to find good ones that have not been registered yet.

That statement will probably draw nods of agreement from many, prompting readers to continue with the post in the hope that a workable solution is offered.
#7 — The tricky question

This one’s a twist on the ‘problem solver’ model above.

Everyone has unanswered questions, and particular niches attract readers with certain types of questions.

ProBlogger readers might come here because they want answers to the following: how can I create a popular blog? How can I generate a full-time income online? Or, an example from another niche:

Should I wait until I’m rich to give back?

Beginning with a tough question works because, even if you don’t have a complete answer, you’ll probably have some advice or useful thoughts on the matter. Readers are always eager to get help with tough questions they struggle with.

Second Earth found 20 light years away

The Earth-like Gliese 581C circles a star in the constellation of Libra that is cooler than our sun. Photograph: European Southern Observatory/AP

Scientists have discovered a warm and rocky "second Earth" circling a star, a find they believe dramatically boosts the prospects that we are not alone.

The planet is the most Earth-like ever spotted and is thought to have perfect conditions for water, an essential ingredient for life. Researchers detected the planet orbiting one of Earth's nearest stars, a cool red dwarf called Gliese 581, 20 light years away in the constellation of Libra.

Measurements of the planet's celestial path suggest it is 1½ times the size of our home planet, and orbits close to its sun, with a year of just 13 days. The planet's orbit brings it 14 times closer to its star than Earth is to the sun. But Gliese 581 burns at only 3,000C, half the temperature of our own sun, making conditions on the planet comfortable for life, with average ground temperatures estimated at 0 to 40C. Researchers claim the planet is likely to have an atmosphere. The discovery follows a three-year search for habitable planets by the European Southern Observatory at La Silla in Chile.

"We wouldn't be surprised if there is life on this planet," said Stephane Udry, an astronomer on the project at the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland.

Two years ago, the same team discovered a giant Neptune-sized planet orbiting Gliese 581. A closer look revealed the latest planetary discovery, along with a third, larger planet that orbits the star every 84 days. The planets have been named after their star, with the most earthlike called Gliese 581c. The team spotted the planet by searching the "habitable zone".

15 Ridiculously Useful Websites

A diverse list of useful websites to make life a little easier.

Crossfit
A free fitness website that posts a new "Workout of the Day" every day. The workouts focus on total body fitness. The workouts are used by military personnel, athletes, and normal people. The site also contains an index of the exercises used in the workouts complete with videos and slideshows. They offer a newsletter for those willing to pay. It is an outstanding site for both fitness gurus and average Joes.
Lonely Planet
This site offers, among other things, an outstanding resource for anyone researching travel destinations.
Retail Me Not
A catalog of online coupons posted and reviewed by users. The coupons vary
from sites like Polo to Amazon to Papajohns.
Web MD
Provides a reference for anyone looking to diagnose his or her symptoms or research medical issues. It is a good place to visit before making that, oh so expensive, trip to the doctor.
Epicurious
A source of cooking information ranging from recipes to techniques to restaurant reviews.
E-How
A reference site for just about everything else. Want to k now how to wax snow skis? Make pizza dough? Install a bathtub? This is the place.
Kayak
Combines search results from several different travel websites and presents them in a very user-friendly interactive format.
Bartleby
One of the better academic research websites I've come across.
Monster Jobs
Looking for a job? Need a resume?
How Stuff Works
A very cool website that contains explanations of those mysteries in life that you just can't figure out. A few examples are Murphy's Law, Pickpockets, and Light Sabers (Yes, light sabers).
Product Wiki
A wikipedia-type product review website. All reviews and articles are written and updated by the site's users.
What Should I Read Next
Can't decide what to read next? Simply enter a book title and/or author that you like and the site will recommend a number of books for you.
The Universal Packing List
This is a very unique website I found that creates a packing list for you based on information you provide regarding your trip and intentions/plans.
Happy Median
Enter your location and a friend's location and this site will tell you where you should meet (Halfway).
Musicovery
Seriously, the coolest music-related site I've seen. You choose the mood, intensity, and genres of the music you would like to hear and the site will provide you with a virtual web of music to explore. The web evolves with each choice you make. You can click on any song in the web at anytime.
Somemore that could have made it to the list.

BugMeNot (http://www.bugmenot.com) from retailmenot helps you get around those sticky password sites that want you to sign up, quality has gone down however, but it's still ok for some very popular sites.

FreeTube (http://www.freetube.us.tc) lets you watch live tv streams, although buffering is involved. But lots of channels mostly small ones but there's some big ones like espn and fox and abc news or nbc.

YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) as bad as it is to hear it, YouTube for anything video. Within minutes of anything happen you can find video of it on YouTube.

WikiPedia (http://www.wikipedia.org) it goes without saying, but you can't leave it out of the list.

With Retailmenot.com, you don't print out the coupons, you enter the code they give you when checking out on the respective website. For example, if using a code for free shipping on all orders from www.polo.com, enter the code given for that coupon when completing your order on www.polo.com. No printing necessary. Sorry for the confusion.

WikiBrowser? http://wiki.chainofthoughts.com/

http://cl1p.net/ - Simple online clipboard. Can be really useful sometimes. Navigate to cl1p.net/[whatever you want] and paste in text, or a small file too. They can be password protected if you'd like, as well. No sign-up.

http://www.mysigchat.uni.cc - easy way to get and send messages through any social network (place the link to the image on your profile or sig or avatar and others can comment and leave you messages which you can of course moderate). Great way to interact or communicate with others when there is no such feature on that site.

Smashing Magazine - probably the most useful website for web-developers.

http://tech-recipes.com

jangle.net is the easiest way to find great deals from Amazon.com. Shoppers can sort items by price, popularity, user rating, and discount amount.

http://www.jangle.net

www.deezer.com is a very good site, where you can find massive amounts of songs to listen to (you can´t download them, only listening is allowed).

http://www.soundpedia.com - Love this site, another music site but it is a lot easier to play with lists of my own liking.

http://www.retirerichblog.com - make money with stocks.

http://www.bigoven.com -- use up leftovers by entering 3 ingredients from your fridge and get hundreds of recipes; find out what's fresh and in-season, and more

http://www.AnusJuice.com - free streaming video chat

http://www.gyminee.com - Like cross-fit, but better workout tracking and nutrition.

go to http://www.rutomail.com - it's just a bunch of links to other sites. pretty useful when i'm researching places

http://www.epinions.com - Product reviews by users, kind of like Product Wiki but better

After you are done with all these, This site is helpful in killing time http://www.peeweep.com

www.theclassconnection.com. it's a website for students that lets you:
1. Manage. Break down your classes one at a time.
2. Study. Flashcards like you've never seen them before.
3. Collaborate. Find a group, make a group, there's safety in numbers.
4. Plan. Stop keeping a calendar, let someone else do it for you.
5. Communicate. Every message automatically organized.
6. Store. Never email yourself files again.
7. Tutor. Get it or give it, the choice is yours. Help is here.

WebMD can be more hurtful than helpful; self-diagnosis usually does more to make a user stressed and paranoid than it does to actually help someone out on the way to wellness. If a user convinces himself that he has X Disease, than one trip to the doctor may not suffice if the doctor diagnoses the issue as something else.

www.pixalo.com - a great photography site that helps everyone from beginners through to experts. It has a community forum were you can ask and get answers to you questions as well as equipment reviews and a free members gallery to upload your own photos.

in america GetHuman.com is the best right now!

enotes.com

studyicious

mahalo.com

Check out http://www.absolutetoolbar.com
It is a greate start page for finding best search engines for different categories like videos, movies, images, emails, music, finance, healt, travel, news, shopping, games and maps.

www.decipheringlife.com

www.spypig.com
free email tracking system that lets you know when the email you sent has been read by recipient. Cool tool and it's free!

www.bookmark-manager.com

www.GlobalInvesting411.com
www.3rdWorldPets.com
www.eDog-Domain.com
www.EnvironmentDistrict.com
www.ClassicPontiacs.info
www.theRetailAxis.com
www.Acne-spot.com

A great online fitness tracking site for average joe's or trainers is www.mylynx.net

Print free prescription drug discount coupon that can save you a lot of $ if you do not have health insurance prescription coverage: www.superrxcard.com. Most pharmacies accept it without question.

http://ladybugandco.com

How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog)

Here are 10 of my best suggestions for building a high traffic web site:

1. Create valuable content.

Is your content worthy of being read by millions of people? Remember that the purpose of content is to provide value to others. Do you provide genuine value, and is it the best you’re capable of providing?

When I sit down to write, I sometimes imagine myself standing on an outdoor concert stage before an audience of a million people. Then I ask myself, “What shall I say to this audience of fellow human beings?” If a million people each spend five minutes on this site, that’s nearly 10 person-years total. I do my best to make my writing worthy of this differential. I don’t always succeed, but this is the mindset that helps me create strong content.

Think about the effect you want your writing to have on people. Since I write about personal growth, I want my writing to change people for the better. I want to expand people’s thinking, to raise their consciousness, and to help them eliminate fear from their lives. If my writing doesn’t change people’s thinking, actions, or awareness, then my value isn’t being transferred well enough.

When you focus on providing real value instead of churning out disposable content, your readers will notice. And they’ll refer others to your site — in droves. I typically see at least 10 new links to my site appearing each day (mostly via trackbacks but also via vanity feeds). I’m not going out and requesting those links — other bloggers just provide them, usually because they’re commenting on something I’ve written. Many fellow bloggers have also honored StevePavlina.com with a general recommendation for the entire site, not just links to my individual blog posts. It’s wonderful to see that kind of feedback.

Strong content is universally valued. It’s hard work to create it, but in the long run it generates lots of long-term referral traffic. I’d rather write one article I’m really proud of than 25 smaller posts. It’s been my experience that the best articles I write will outperform all the forgettable little posts I’ve made. Quality is more important than quantity. Quantity without quality, however, is easier, which is one reason so many people use that strategy. Ultimately, however, the Internet already contains more quantity than any one of us can absorb in our lifetimes, but there will always be a place for good quality content that stands out from the crowd.

If you have nothing of genuine value to offer to a large audience, then you have no need of a high-traffic web site. And if there’s no need for it, you probably won’t get it. Each time you write, focus on creating the best content you can. You’ll get better as you go along, but always do your best. I’ve written some 2000–word articles and then deleted them without posting them because I didn’t feel they were good enough.

2. Create original content.

Virtually everything on this site is my own original content. I rarely post blog entries that merely link to what others are writing. It takes more effort to produce original content, but it’s my preferred long-term strategy. I have no interest in creating a personal development portal to other sites. I want this site to be a final destination, not a middleman.

Consequently, when people arrive here, they often stick around for a while. Chances are good that if you like one of my articles, you may enjoy others. This site now has hundreds of them to choose from. You can visit the articles section to read my (longer) feature articles or the blog archives to see an easy-to-navigate list of all my blog entries since the site launched.

Yes, there’s a lot to read on this site, more than most people can read in a day, but there’s also a lot of value (see rule #1). Some people have told me they’ve read for many hours straight, and they leave as different people. I think anyone who reads this site for several hours straight is going to experience a shift in awareness. When you read a lot of dense, original content from a single person, it’s going to have an impact on you. And this content is written with the intention to help you grow.

Although I’m not big on competing with others, it’s hard to compete with an original content site. Anyone can start their own personal development web site, but the flavor of this site is unique simply because no one else has had the exact same experiences as me.

While I think sites that mainly post content from others have the potential to build traffic faster in the beginning, I think original content sites have an easier time keeping their traffic, which makes for a more solid, long-term foundation. Not everyone is going to like my work, but for those that do, there’s no substitute.

3. Create timeless content.

While I do occasionally write about time-bound events, the majority of my content is intended to be timeless. I’m aware that anything I write today may still be read by people even after I’m dead. People still quote Aristotle today because his ideas have timeless value, even though he’s been dead for about 2300 years. I think about how my work might influence future generations in addition to my own. What advice shall I pass on to my great grandchildren?

I tend to ignore fads and current events in my writing. Wars, natural disasters, and corrupt politicians have been with us for thousands of years. There are plenty of others who are compelled to write about those things, so I’ll leave that coverage to them.

Will the content you’re creating today still be providing real value in the year 2010? 2100? 4000?

Writing for future generations helps me cut through the fluff and stay focused on the core of my message, which is to help people grow. As long as there are people (even if our bodies are no longer strictly biological), there will be the opportunity for growth, so there’s a chance that at least some of what I’m creating today will still have relevance. And if I can write something that will be relevant to future generations, then it will certainly be relevant and meaningful today.

In terms of traffic building, timeless content connects with people at a deeper level than time-bound content. The latter is meant to be forgotten, while the former is meant to be remembered. We forget yesterday’s news, but we remember those things that have meaning to us. So I strive to write about meanings instead of happenings.

Even though we’re conditioned to believe that news and current events are important, in the grand scheme of things, most of what’s covered by the media is trivial and irrelevant. Very little of today’s news will even be remembered next week, let alone a hundred years from now. Certainly some events are important, but at least 99% of what the media covers is irrelevant fluff when viewed against the backdrop of human history.

Ignore the fluff, and focus on building something with the potential to endure. Write for your children and grandchildren.

4. Write for human beings first, computers second.

A lot has been written about the optimal strategies for strong search engine rankings in terms of posting frequency and post length. But I largely ignore that advice because I write for human beings, not computers.

I write when I have something meaningful to say, and I write as much as it takes to say it. On average I post about five times per week, but I have no set quota. I also write much longer entries than most bloggers. No one has ever accused me of being too brief. My typical blog entry is about 1500–2000 words, and some (like this one) are much longer. Many successful bloggers would recommend I write shorter entries (250–750 words) and post more frequently (20x per week), since that creates more search engine seeds for the same amount of writing. And while I agree with them that such a strategy would generate more search engine traffic, I’m not going to take their advice. To do so would interfere too much with my strategy of delivering genuine value and creating timeless content. I have no interest in cranking out small chunks of disposable content just to please a computer. Anyone can print out an article to read later if they don’t have time to read it now and if the subject is of genuine interest to them. Part of the reason I write longer articles is that even though fewer people will take the time to read them, for those that do the articles are usually much more impactful.

Because of these decisions, my search engine traffic is fairly low compared to other bloggers. Google is my #1 referrer, but it accounts for less than 1.5% of my total traffic. My traffic is extremely decentralized. The vast majority of it comes from links on thousands of other web sites and from direct requests. Ultimately, my traffic grows because people tell other people about this site, either online or offline. I’ve also done very well with social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg.com, and reddit.com because they’re based on personal recommendations. I’ve probably had about a dozen articles hit the del.icio.us popular list within the past year, definitely more than my fair share.

I prefer this traffic-building strategy because it leaves me less vulnerable to shifts in technology. I figure that Google ultimately wants to make it easy for its visitors to find valuable content, so my current strategy should be in alignment with Google’s long-term strategy. My feeling is that Google would be well-served by sending more of its traffic here. But that alignment simply arises from my focus on providing value first and foremost.

5. Know why you want a high-traffic site.

I write because my purpose in life is to help people become more conscious and aware — to grow as human beings. I don’t have a separate job or career other than this. Because my work is driven by this purpose, I have a compelling reason to build a high-traffic web site, one that aligns with my deepest personal values. More web traffic means I can have a bigger impact by reaching more people. And over the course of the next few decades, this influence has the potential to create a positive change that might alter the future direction of human civilization. Most significantly, I want to help humanity move past fear and for us to stop relating to each other through the mechanisms of fear. If I fail, I fail. But I’m not giving up no matter how tough it gets.

Those are big stakes, and it might sound like I’m exaggerating, but this is the level at which I think about my work today. Everything else I do, including building a high traffic web site, is simply a means to that end. Today I’m just planting seeds, and most of them haven’t even sprouted yet. A high traffic web site is just one of the sprouts that came about as a result of pursuing the purpose that drives me. But it is not an end in itself.

What will you do if you succeed in building a high-traffic web site? If you someday find yourself in the privileged position of being able to influence millions of people, what will you say to them? Will you honor and respect this position by using it as a channel to serve the highest good of all, or will you throw that opportunity away to pursue your own fleeting fame and fortune while feeding your audience disposable drivel?

6. Let your audience see the real you.

My life and my writing are intricately intertwined, such that it’s impossible to separate the two. When someone reads this web site, they’ll eventually come to know a great deal about me as a person. Usually this creates a skewed and inaccurate impression of who I am today because I change a lot over time — I’m not the same person I was last year — but it’s close enough. Getting to know me makes it easier for people to understand the context of what I write, which means that more value can be transferred in less time.

7. Write what is true for you, and learn to live with the consequences.

If the stuff I’ve written on this site means I’ll never be able to run for a political office, I can live with that. I’m willing to write what is true for me, even if it goes against my social conditioning. Being honest is more important to me than being popular. But the irony is that because bold honesty is so rare among civilized humans, in the long run this may be the best traffic-building strategy of all.

People often warn me not to write things that might alienate a portion of my visitors. But somehow I keep doing the opposite and seeing traffic go up, not down. I don’t treat any subjects as taboo or sacred if they’re relevant to personal growth, and that includes diet and religion. It’s no secret that I’m a vegan ex-Catholic. Do I alienate people when I say that torturing and killing defenseless animals for food is wrong? Perhaps. But truth is truth. I happen to think it’s a bad idea to feed cows cement dust and bovine growth hormone, to pack live chickens into warehouses where the ammonia from their feces is strong enough to burn their skin off, and to feed 70% of our grain to livestock while tens of thousands of people die of hunger each day. I also think it’s a bad idea to pay people to perform these actions on my behalf. It really doesn’t matter to me that 999 people out of 1000 disagree with me. Your disagreement with me doesn’t change what went into producing your burger. It’s still a diseased, tortured, chemical-injected cow, one that was doomed to a very sad life because of a decision you made. And you’re still responsible for your role in that cow’s suffering whether you like it or not.

That last paragraph is a good example of the kind of stuff I write that makes people want to put me in a cage, inject me with hormones, and feed me cement dust. It wouldn’t surprise me terribly if that ends up being my fate.

I write what is true for me, regardless of public opinion. Sometimes I’m in the majority; sometimes I’m not. I’m fully aware that some of my opinions are unpopular, and I’m absolutely fine with that. What I’m not fine with is putting truth to a vote.

I take the time to form my own opinions instead of simply regurgitating what I was taught as a child. And I’m also well aware that there are people spending billions of dollars to make you think that a burger is not a very sad, diseased, tortured, chemical-injected cow. But I’m going to keep writing to help you remain aware of things like that, even though you may hate me for it. That defensiveness eventually leads to doubt, which leads to change and growth, so it’s perfectly fine. I’m good at dealing with defensiveness.

I don’t worry too much about hurting people’s feelings. Hurt feelings are a step in the right direction for many people. If I’m able to offend you so easily, to me that means you already recognize some truth in what I’ve written, but you aren’t ready to face it consciously yet. If you read something from me that provokes an emotional reaction, then a seed has already been planted. In other words, it’s already too late for you.

My goal isn’t to convince anyone of anything in particular. I’m not an animal rights activist, and I don’t have a religion to promote. My goal is to awaken people to living more consciously. This requires raising people’s awareness across all facets of their lives, so they can make the big decisions for themselves. It requires breaking social conditioning and replacing it with conscious awareness and intention. That’s a big job, but someone has to do it. And if I don’t do it, then I have to admit I’m just part of the problem like all the other hibernating bears.

A lot has been written about the importance of transparency in blogging, and truth is the best transparency of all. Truth creates trust, and trust builds traffic. No games, no gimmicks… just plain old brutal honesty. Even the people that say they hate you will still come back, and eventually those people will become your most ardent supporters. Even if they don’t agree with you, they’ll learn they can trust you and that your intentions are honorable, and trust is more important than agreement.

8. Treat your visitors like real human beings.

Even though I’m sitting at my computer writing this, seemingly alone, I know you’re a real human being reading it on the other end. My apologies to sentient androids who may be reading this years after it’s been written. You aren’t just a number in my web stats. Despite the technology involved and the time-space differential between my writing and your reading, there’s still a human-to-human connection between us that transcends time and space. And that connection matters to me. I feel its presence whenever I do my best writing.

While I imagine being on a stage in front of a million people when deciding which topic to write about, once I actually get going, I imagine having a one-on-one conversation with a friend. This means revealing some of myself and being honest, as the last two points already addressed, but it also means genuinely caring about you as a person. And that’s perhaps one of the best kept secrets of my success as a blogger. I actually care about helping you grow. I want you to become more conscious and aware. I want you to experience less fear in your life. And my concern for your well-being isn’t conditional upon you liking me.

I happen to think we have a lot more similarities than differences. Based on what I know about myself, I imagine you’d like your life to be better tomorrow than it was yesterday. I imagine you’d like to be happier, more fulfilled, and more at peace with yourself. I also imagine you’re living below your potential and could use some help overcoming fear and solving certain problems to enable you to tap more of that potential. And finally, I imagine you wouldn’t believe me if I said you can have it all for only $19.95 (as well you shouldn’t).

The reason I work so hard to create original content and then give it away for free is because I want to help as many people as possible. I genuinely care what happens to this beautiful planet and to the people who live here. It’s possible I actually value your life even more than you do. This is the kind of motivation that never wanes. I sometimes lose sight of it when I get caught up in the details, but the connection is always there, waiting for me to tap into it whenever I want. This provides me with a wellspring of creative ideas and an inexhaustible passion for contribution.

I don’t need to play stupid marketing and sales games with you. There’s nothing for you to buy here. Even if I add some products in the future, I’m not going to try to manipulate you into buying something you don’t need with a slew of false promises. I might make more money in the short-term by doing that, but it would sever our genuine connection, create a wall between us, and reduce the level of impact I’m able to have. Ultimately, that approach would lead to failure for me, at least in terms of how I define success. I can’t help you grow if I violate your trust.

I cannot force anyone to grow who doesn’t want to. But there are a lot of people on this planet who are now ready to let go of low-awareness living and start pushing themselves to the next level of human existence. And they need help to get there because it’s a difficult journey, and there are strong forces working against it.

Real human beings helping real human beings is ultimately what traffic growth is all about. That’s precisely what a link or a referral is. If you align yourself with the intention of genuinely helping people because you care, you’ll soon find yourself with an abundance of traffic.

9. Keep money in its proper place.

Money is important. Obviously I have bills to pay. Money pays for my computer, my high-speed internet connection, my house, and my food

10. If you forget the first nine suggestions, just focus on genuinely helping people, and the rest will take care of itself.

One thing that turns me off about typical self-help marketing is that authors and speakers often position themselves as if they’re the opposite of their audience. I’m successful and you’re not. I’m rich and you’re not. I’m fit and you’re not. You need me because something is lacking in your life, I have exactly what you lack, and if you pay me (and make me even richer and you poorer), I’ll show you how you can have it too. And if it doesn’t work for you, it just means you’re even more of an idiot than the people who provided my testimonials.

HOWTO Rip DVD Movies To Your iPod Using Free Software

Download Handbrake.

Insert a DVD of your choice. If DVD Player opens, quit it.

Run Handbrake. Select Detected volume, as shown in Figure 1

Click Open. Handbrake will detect all the titles on the DVD. If you’re ripping a movie, just select the longest title in the list. If you’re ripping a TV show or something with multiple episodes on one disc, then select the episode you want, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. Selecting a title

In the Destination section, set File Format to MP4 file, as shown in Figure 3.

Set Codecs to MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Selecting the proper codec

Note: A previous version of this guide suggested using the “AVC/H.264 Video” codec, but that does not work because the video iPod can not play the H.264 files that Handbrake produces. I have first-hand reports that the MPEG-4 Video codec works correctly. As an added bonus, MPEG-4 encoding is much faster.

For File, enter the full pathname where you want to save your movie, as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Setting the output filename

In the Video section, set Quality to Average bitrate and enter 400. This can be as high as 768, but unless you squint you probably won’t see much difference. Higher bitrate = higher quality video = larger file size.

Figure 6. Setting the video quality

Optional - Under Quality, select 2-pass encoding, as shown in Figure 7. This takes twice as long to encode, but it improves the video quality and doesn’t make the file any larger.

Figure 7. Enabling 2-pass encoding

In the Audio section, for Language 1, select the audio track in your preferred language, as shown in Figure 8. Given the choice between MPEG and LPCM, choose MPEG.

Figure 8. Setting the primary language

The Sample rate is entirely up to you. Higher sample rate = higher quality audio = larger file size. The video iPod is compatible with any of the sample rates supported by Handbrake.

http://
Figure 9. Setting the audio sample rate

For Bitrate, you can keep the default of 128, or select a rate up to 160. Higher rate = higher audio quality = larger file size.

Figure 10. Setting the audio bitrate

Click Picture Settings. In the Picture Settings dialog, decrease Width until either it reads 320. Handbrake will auto-adjust the height to match. For a full-screen movie, the height will end up at 240; for wide-screen movies, it will be lower.

Figure 11. Resizing the movie

Close the Picture Settings dialog and click Rip. Encoding time depends on the speed of your Mac, the length of the movie, and whether you selected 2-pass encoding. Handbrake will display a progress bar, as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Encoding progress

When encoding is finished, quit Handbrake.

Run iTunes. Find the .mp4 file that Handbrake created and drag it into your iTunes library, or select Add to Library… from the File menu and select the encoded movie.

How To Turn A Photo Into A Realistic Clipart

3d Photo Effect : Photoshop Tutorial

How To Reset Admin Password (Plz Dont try to miss use it)

Dont try to miss use it

make sure you are logged into a account that has more priviliges than a guest... Power User worked ok for me.

We are going to pretend that we want to change the administrator's password. His username let's say is: admin

In that case:
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type CMD
4. Click OK
! --- a black window should have opened --- !
5. Now type the following: NET USER admin *
6. Now change the password to ur desire

How To Capture An Image From A Movie In Microsoft Windows XP

There are several different answers that can apply to this question. Depending on the type of movie that is being played and what codec it is using may change what will work and what will not work. We suggest going through each of the below recommendations, if a solution does not work continue down the list.

First Option:
While in Microsoft Windows Media Player press "CTRL + I", if the video you are watching is using a Microsoft supported movie file you should receive a "Save Captured Image" window, allowing you to save the image as "capture" or any other name.

Although this solution is a quick and easy solution, you may not get the results you want as the image will often be smaller and lesser quality then what you see when you press the keys. If you wish to capture better images at any size, even full screen try the second solution.

Second Option:
This solution should only be used to capture images from any video, once done it should be changed back as it may cause other issues. However, this should work with all types of video files.

1. Open Microsoft Windows Media Player.
2. Click Tools and then Options.
3. Within the Options window click the Performance tab.
4. Within Performance click the Advanced button.
5. In Video Acceleration Settings uncheck "Use Overlays"
6. Click Ok.
7. Finally, click Apply and then Ok in the Options window.

Final Option:
Use a third-party capturing program..


http://www.fox-magic.com/mc_gb/capture_media_player_screen.html
http://www.atlantsoft.com/utils/ssm.htm
http://www.screen-capture.net/
http://www.screenshot-utility.com/
http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp
http://www.howiesfunware.com/ScreenCp.exe

Make Ur Firefox Faster!

1. Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows: (by double clicking them)

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once. (I changed mine to 100, works great.)

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves

How To Share Your DVD's Step By Step

Lets share your DVD collection! This is not for a DVD quality backup this is for optimal sharing sizes (700MB) good quality, good sound..

Items needed

Fairuse Wizard LE (free download) http://www.fairusewizard.com/Release/FU-setup_LE.exe

Some sort of movie splitter, I personally use Boilsofts AVI MPEG AF WMV Splitter, but have heard of better ones.
A DVD drive
A DVD collection OR RRR (Rent Rip Return)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I: Put your DVD in your drive.
a. Do not play the movie, if autorun kicks in, stop it.
II: Open up FUW (Fairuse Wizard)
a: You want "Create a new project"
b: Name it whatever you like.
III: Click "Options" on the bottom right of the screen
a: Choose your preference, I use XviD
b: Do NOT use full auto mode
c: If everything is okay click next in the options menu
IV: Now you should be back on the main screen, make sure your name it.
a: Pick a folder to place the file in. (Make sure you have 7-10gb free as the software rips the entire DVD in perfect condition)
V: Click next a pop up will appear, use the drive the DVD is on, and ignore the copy protected disc warning. Click OK
VI: Now the main title should be highlighted already, if so great! If not click on the largest file, thats the main title. Click next and sit back and let it index.
VII: You want size of 700 (With the LE edition thats all the higher it goes, which for what we want it for is awesome)
a: Choose the resolution, I use a variety of different sizes normally around 480x352
VIII: Go out to eat or play some Xbox (Yah PS2 sux lol) If you stay on your computer check the "Run In Idle" button. If you get off, uncheck that box.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You should now have a playable movie around 700MB in the folder you selected. Open up your Splitter program and split them into managable sized files. You choose based on where/how you will host your files ( I use megaupload so I keep my files less then 250MB usually split the file into 4-5 parts) Once it is split lets upload it! (I am using megaupload because thats my preference you can use any host of your choice)
-----------------------------------------

Go to megaupload, browse for the first part, name it something you want (I use XshareX.info to get the word out!) and begin uploading. Depending on your computer upload speeds, you can usually upload 1-2 parts easily without any browsing interference.
If you do it when you sleep, open up new tabs and upload them all at once, and in the morning you should have the complete parts uploaded.
Grab the links, come back to XshareX and share what you uploaded!

NOTES: Sometimes after the FUW index's your movie, it will say cannot do encrypted DVD's, close that out and re-open FUW and click "Continue with existed project" and open up the file you had made previously. Problem solved.
FUW can also split the movie apart but I found it slower then just allowing it to do the whole movie and using a splitter program to do that after.
There are multiple other ways to share your DVD's but this is the way I have found to be easiest.

How To Make Caps, have a video

There are many people who do have lots of videos and they do want to share it too but they dont know how to take CAPS out of those videos. here is a tutorial for all of them to help them take caps. we will talk about only one software here

The one we will talk here about its VLC Media Player

You can go to THIS page n download fromthe mirror that u preffer(we are talking about VLC player for windows here. havent used it on ne other OS so am not sure about others but they do offer it for mac) and they support download managers so it wont be tough.

So lets go the main thing now

Open VLC media player(after installing obviously (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)), under setting menu select prefrences as shown in the image below

lets have the next image now

select video from the left menu marked as 1 and u will see the right section as u can see in the image. 2 You can chose the destination directory for the CAPS u take of the video u want(If u dont change this to a custom folder then the default location is My Documents\My Pictures\ ). 3 u can selecet the image type u want for ur CAPS. I use png in that case bcz of its small size.


Lets go to the next step

Lets start taking CAPS now

As u can see inthe image above. from the file menu select open file

and then a window like the one below will appear

u can browse for the Video u want to upload and selecet it and clik on ok at the bottom of the page as shown in the image below

You video will start playing once u clik OK. then under video menu clik on snapshot.

This will take a CAP of the video at the time when u clicked on snapshot, u can take as many caps of the video u are playing and the CAPS(image files) and they will be saved in the directory u seleceted.


Upload them to any imagehosting sites u like.


Thats it guys.


U HAVE THE CAPS

‎Wash or Wipe Bottles, Cans and Boxes before Opening

A stock clerk was sent to clean up a storeroom in Maui , Hawaii .

When he got back, he was complaining that the storeroom was really filthy and that he had noticed dried mouse or rat droppings in some areas.
A couple of days later, he started to feel like he was coming down with a stomach flu, complained of sore joints and headaches, and began to vomit.

He went to bed and never really got up again. Within two days he was severely ill and weak. His blood sugar count was down to 66, and his face and eyeballs were yellow. He was rushed to the emergency at Pali-Momi, where he was diagnosed to be suffering from massive organ failure. He died shortly before midnight.
No one would have made the connection between his job and his death,had it not been for a doctor who specifically asked if he had been in a warehouse or exposed to dried rat or mouse droppings at any time. They said there is a virus (much like the Hanta virus) that lives in dried rat and mouse droppings.

Once dried, these droppings are like dust and can easily be breathed in or ingested if a person does not wear protective gear or fails to wash face and hands thoroughly .
An autopsy was performed on the clerk to verify the doctor's suspicions.

This is why it is extremely important to ALWAYS carefully rinse off the tops of canned sodas or foods, and to wipe off pasta packaging, cereal boxes, and so on.
Almost everything you buy in a supermarket was stored in a warehouse at one time or another, and stores themselves often have rodents.

Most of us remember to wash vegetables and fruits but never think of boxes and cans.
The ugly truth is, even the most modern, upper-class, super store has rats and mice. And their warehouse most assuredly does!

Whenever you buy any canned soft drink, please make sure that you wash the top with running water and soap or, if that is not available, drink with a straw.
The investigation of soda cans by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta discovered that the tops of soda cans can be encrusted with dried rat's urine, which is so toxic it can be lethal. Canned drinks and other foodstuffs are stored in warehouses and containers that are usually infected with Rodents, and then they get transported to retail outlets without being properly cleaned.

How To Make Screenshots For A Movie !

This is a guide on how to easily create and add great looking screenshots to your upload.

The 2 things you need are:

1. ImageGrabberII - A brilliant program!

CODE
http://rapidshare.com/files/1387614/IGwithWM.zip


Its a zip file which includes setup of two softwares. Image grabber and Photomark(software to watermark ur images)
2. A free image host - images.collegeda.com is probably the best at the moment.

CODE
http://images.collegeda.com



1. Creating screenshots

To get started open up your movie in ImageGrabber (supports wmv aswell) and the movie will start playing. Click the red stop button and the movie is open and ready to go.

Click this button

and the following dialog box will appear

Enter the number of screens shots you would like to take of the scene. A good number for a scene is probably about 10-15 and you can have a play around with this and the number of columns explained in the settings below to see what you like.

When you click OK it will go through the movie taking the screen shots and add them to the timeline across the bottom.

You can add individual selected screenshots by using the scrollbar to move to the picture you want and clicking this button to add the current image at the end of the timeline.

Once you have all the pics you want you can arrange the screenshots in the timeline.


* Right click a screenshot to delete it, delete all or change the text label.

* Left click a screenshot to drag it to where you want in the timeline.


ImageGrabber settings

Once you have all the screens you want, on the File menu click Save File and you will see the following default settings dialog box ...

Layout: Good idea to make the dimensions of each screen (Tile) a fraction of the original to avoid distortion.

Style: Details of the drop shadow around your screens and the background color for your image.

Info: You can include the time each sample was taken in the vid.

JPEG: You can adjust the quality down to reduce the file size say for a full movie with many screens.

Details: You can include the basic movie statistics in the image.

There are plenty of possible configurations, try playing around with different settings until you find a layout you like.


Click the save button and using the Default settings will produce an image with a layout similar to this ...

Once you have your image you may want to resize it or modify it in some way, a nice free and easy to use image viewing/editing tool is irfanview -
CODE
http://www.irfanview.com/


Now you have your screenshots, the next step is hosting your cool new image.

2. Hosting screenshots

The are a few free image hosting web sites around and most of them operate the same way. The best 1 at the moment is:
CODE
http://images.collegeda.com



Thats the tutorial, hope it helps ya all to post CAPS of all the videos u post

Enjoy the beauty of maths.....

Enjoy the beauty of maths.....

Beauty of Math!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 1111111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=123456789 87654321



Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:


What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than
100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving
more than 100%?

We have all been in situations where someone wants you
to GIVE OVER
100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?


What equals 100% in life?


Here's a little mathematical formula that might help
answer these
questions:


If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26.


If:

H-A-R-D-W-O- R- K
8+1+18+4+23 + 15+18+11 = 98%


And:
K-N-O-W-L-E- D-G-E

11+14+15+23+ 12+5+4+7+ 5 = 96%

But:
A-T-T-I-T-U- D-E
1+20+20+9+20+ 21+4+5 = 100%


THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:


L-O-V-E- O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+ 6+7+15+4 = 101%


Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical
certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and
Attitude will get you there , It's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Super Bulls

Nokia’s N94i to run Windows Mobile OS, not Symbian?

Believe everthing you see? Good, then this is an unannounced Nokia N94i running the Windows Mobile (not Symbian) operating system. We have no way of knowing for sure, but that looks like an engineering prototype Chinese knockoff of something which has gone up for auction somewhere on this great blue planet. According to the listed specs, we're looking at a touchscreen (with stylus) multimedia device synonymous with the N-Series packing a 2 megapixel camera, speakerphone, Bluetooth 2.0 and MicroSD expansion. It's also listed as a dual-sim device with quad-band GSM support. Of course, Microsoft has been slowly making in-roads into Nokia handsets for several months with Nokia's purchase of Intellisync and the recent announcement to integrate Windows Live services into some Nokia handsets.

Asus PG221 LCD Monitor with Subwoofer

This Asus PG221 LCD monitor really rocks. Those ASUS engineers must really love music, adding a 15 watt subwoofer will definitely wake up the neighbours when I start playing some online games. Not only does this 22 inch LCD beauty look good, add in a 10 watt speakers, rotating 1.3 mp webcam, 3 USB ports, mic and headphone jacks, and VGA and DVI inputs and your life is complete. I seriously have to save up some dough to get this monitor for Christmas this year. Too bad the resolution only goes up to 1680×1050 .

It’s also got a pair of 10 watt speakers, and a bevy of other goodies including a rotating 1.3 mp webcam, 3 USB ports, mic and headphone jacks, and VGA and DVI inputs. The control panel on the front has sexy touch sensitive backlit (in 5 different colors!) buttons, and you can select from five preset sound and light modes.

How To Set Up A Ftp

Well, since many of us have always wondered this, here it is. Long and drawn out. Also, before attempting this, realize one thing; You will have to give up your time, effort, bandwidth, and security to have a quality ftp server.
That being said, here it goes. First of all, find out if your IP (Internet Protocol) is static (not changing) or dynamic (changes everytime you log on). To do this, first consider the fact if you have a dial up modem. If you do, chances are about 999 999 out of 1 000 000 that your IP is dynamic. To make it static, just go to a place like h*tp://www.myftp.org/ to register for a static ip address.

You'll then need to get your IP. This can be done by doing this:
Going to Start -> Run -> winipcfg or www.ask.com and asking 'What is my IP?'

After doing so, you'll need to download an FTP server client. Personally, I'd recommend G6 FTP Server, Serv-U FTPor Bullitproof v2.15 all three of which are extremely reliable, and the norm of the ftp world.
You can download them on this site: h*tp://www.liaokai.com/softw_en/d_index.htm

First, you'll have to set up your ftp. For this guide, I will use step-by-step instructions for G6. First, you'll have to go into 'Setup -> General'. From here, type in your port # (default is 21). I recommend something unique, or something a bit larger (ex: 3069). If you want to, check the number of max users (this sets the amount of simultaneous maximum users on your server at once performing actions - The more on at once, the slower the connection and vice versa).

The below options are then chooseable:
-Launch with windows
-Activate FTP Server on Start-up
-Put into tray on startup
-Allow multiple instances
-Show "Loading..." status at startup
-Scan drive(s) at startup
-Confirm exit

You can do what you want with these, as they are pretty self explanatory. The scan drive feature is nice, as is the 2nd and the last option. From here, click the 'options' text on the left column.

To protect your server, you should check 'login check' and 'password check', 'Show relative path (a must!)', and any other options you feel you'll need. After doing so, click the 'advanced' text in the left column. You should then leave the buffer size on the default (unless of course you know what you're doing ), and then allow the type of ftp you want.

Uploading and downloading is usually good, but it's up to you if you want to allow uploads and/or downloads. For the server priority, that will determine how much conventional memory will be used and how much 'effort' will go into making your server run smoothly.

Anti-hammering is also good, as it prevents people from slowing down your speed. From here, click 'Log Options' from the left column. If you would like to see and record every single command and clutter up your screen, leave the defaults.

But, if you would like to see what is going on with the lowest possible space taken, click 'Screen' in the top column. You should then check off 'Log successful logins', and all of the options in the client directry, except 'Log directory changes'. After doing so, click 'Ok' in the bottom left corner.

You will then have to go into 'Setup -> User Accounts' (or ctrl & u). From here, you should click on the right most column, and right click. Choose 'Add', and choose the username(s) you would like people to have access to.

After giving a name (ex: themoonlanding), you will have to give them a set password in the bottom column (ex: wasfaked). For the 'Home IP' directory, (if you registered with a static server, check 'All IP Homes'. If your IP is static by default, choose your IP from the list. You will then have to right click in the very center column, and choose 'Add'.

From here, you will have to set the directory you want the people to have access to. After choosing the directory, I suggest you choose the options 'Read', 'List', and 'Subdirs', unless of course you know what you're doing . After doing so, make an 'upload' folder in the directory, and choose to 'add' this folder seperately to the center column. Choose 'write', 'append', 'make', 'list', and 'subdirs'. This will allow them to upload only to specific folders (your upload folder).

Now click on 'Miscellaneous' from the left column. Choose 'enable account', your time-out (how long it takes for people to remain idle before you automatically kick them off), the maximum number of users for this name, the maximum number of connections allowed simultaneously for one ip address, show relative path (a must!), and any other things at the bottom you'd like to have. Now click 'Ok'.
**Requested**


From this main menu, click the little boxing glove icon in the top corner, and right click and unchoose the hit-o-meter for both uploads and downloads (with this you can monitor IP activity). Now click the lightning bolt, and your server is now up and running.

Post your ftp info, like this:

213.10.93.141 (or something else, such as: 'f*p://example.getmyip.com')

User: *** (The username of the client)

Pass: *** (The password)

Port: *** (The port number you chose)

So make a FTP and join the FTP section


Listing The Contents Of A Ftp:

Listing the content of a FTP is very simple.
You will need FTP Content Maker, which can be downloaded from here:
ht*p://www.etplanet.com/download/application/FTP%20Content%20Maker%201.02.zip

1. Put in the IP of the server. Do not put "ftp://" or a "/" because it will not work if you do so.
2. Put in the port. If the port is the default number, 21, you do not have to enter it.
3. Put in the username and password in the appropriate fields. If the login is anonymous, you do not have to enter it.
4. If you want to list a specific directory of the FTP, place it in the directory field. Otherwise, do not enter anything in the directory field.
5. Click "Take the List!"
6. After the list has been taken, click the UBB output tab, and copy and paste to wherever you want it.


If FTP Content Maker is not working, it is probably because the server does not utilize Serv-U Software.

If you get this error message:
StatusCode = 550
LastResponse was : 'Unable to open local file test-ftp'
Error = 550 (Unable to open local file test-ftp)
Error = Unable to open local file test-ftp = 550
Close and restart FTP Content Maker, then try again.




error messages:

110 Restart marker reply. In this case, the text is exact and not left to the particular implementation; it must read: MARK yyyy = mmmm Where yyyy is User-process data stream marker, and mmmm server's equivalent marker (note the spaces between markers and "=").
120 Service ready in nnn minutes.
125 Data connection already open; transfer starting.
150 File status okay; about to open data connection.
200 Command okay.
202 Command not implemented, superfluous at this site.
211 System status, or system help reply.
212 Directory status.
213 File status.
214 Help message. On how to use the server or the meaning of a particular non-standard command. This reply is useful only to the human user.
215 NAME system type. Where NAME is an official system name from the list in the Assigned Numbers document.
220 Service ready for new user.
221 Service closing control connection. Logged out if appropriate.
225 Data connection open; no transfer in progress.
226 Closing data connection. Requested file action successful (for example, file transfer or file abort).
227 Entering Passive Mode (h1,h2,h3,h4,p1,p2).
230 User logged in, proceed.
250 Requested file action okay, completed.
257 "PATHNAME" created.
331 User name okay, need password.
332 Need account for login.
350 Requested file action pending further information.
421 Too many users logged to the same account
425 Can't open data connection.
426 Connection closed; transfer aborted.
450 Requested file action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file busy).
451 Requested action aborted: local error in processing.
452 Requested action not taken. Insufficient storage space in system.
500 Syntax error, command unrecognized. This may include errors such as command line too long.
501 Syntax error in parameters or arguments.
502 Command not implemented.
503 Bad sequence of commands.
504 Command not implemented for that parameter.
530 Not logged in.
532 Need account for storing files.
550 Requested action not taken. File unavailable (e.g., file not found, no access).
551 Requested action aborted: page type unknown.
552 Requested file action aborted. Exceeded storage allocation (for current directory or dataset).
553 Requested action not taken. File name not allowed.


Active FTP vs. Passive FTP, a Definitive Explanation

Introduction
One of the most commonly seen questions when dealing with firewalls and other Internet connectivity issues is the difference between active and passive FTP and how best to support either or both of them. Hopefully the following text will help to clear up some of the confusion over how to support FTP in a firewalled environment.

This may not be the definitive explanation, as the title claims, however, I've heard enough good feedback and seen this document linked in enough places to know that quite a few people have found it to be useful. I am always looking for ways to improve things though, and if you find something that is not quite clear or needs more explanation, please let me know! Recent additions to this document include the examples of both active and passive command line FTP sessions. These session examples should help make things a bit clearer. They also provide a nice picture into what goes on behind the scenes during an FTP session. Now, on to the information...



The Basics
FTP is a TCP based service exclusively. There is no UDP component to FTP. FTP is an unusual service in that it utilizes two ports, a 'data' port and a 'command' port (also known as the control port). Traditionally these are port 21 for the command port and port 20 for the data port. The confusion begins however, when we find that depending on the mode, the data port is not always on port 20.



Active FTP
In active mode FTP the client connects from a random unprivileged port (N > 1024) to the FTP server's command port, port 21. Then, the client starts listening to port N+1 and sends the FTP command PORT N+1 to the FTP server. The server will then connect back to the client's specified data port from its local data port, which is port 20.

From the server-side firewall's standpoint, to support active mode FTP the following communication channels need to be opened:

FTP server's port 21 from anywhere (Client initiates connection)
FTP server's port 21 to ports > 1024 (Server responds to client's control port)
FTP server's port 20 to ports > 1024 (Server initiates data connection to client's data port)
FTP server's port 20 from ports > 1024 (Client sends ACKs to server's data port)


In step 1, the client's command port contacts the server's command port and sends the command PORT 1027. The server then sends an ACK back to the client's command port in step 2. In step 3 the server initiates a connection on its local data port to the data port the client specified earlier. Finally, the client sends an ACK back as shown in step 4.

The main problem with active mode FTP actually falls on the client side. The FTP client doesn't make the actual connection to the data port of the server--it simply tells the server what port it is listening on and the server connects back to the specified port on the client. From the client side firewall this appears to be an outside system initiating a connection to an internal client--something that is usually blocked.



Active FTP Example
Below is an actual example of an active FTP session. The only things that have been changed are the server names, IP addresses, and user names. In this example an FTP session is initiated from testbox1.slacksite.com (192.168.150.80), a linux box running the standard FTP command line client, to testbox2.slacksite.com (192.168.150.90), a linux box running ProFTPd 1.2.2RC2. The debugging (-d) flag is used with the FTP client to show what is going on behind the scenes. Everything in red is the debugging output which shows the actual FTP commands being sent to the server and the responses generated from those commands. Normal server output is shown in black, and user input is in bold.

There are a few interesting things to consider about this dialog. Notice that when the PORT command is issued, it specifies a port on the client (192.168.150.80) system, rather than the server. We will see the opposite behavior when we use passive FTP. While we are on the subject, a quick note about the format of the PORT command. As you can see in the example below it is formatted as a series of six numbers separated by commas. The first four octets are the IP address while the second two octets comprise the port that will be used for the data connection. To find the actual port multiply the fifth octet by 256 and then add the sixth octet to the total. Thus in the example below the port number is ( (14*256) + 178), or 3762. A quick check with netstat should confirm this information.

testbox1: {/home/p-t/slacker/public_html} % ftp -d testbox2
Connected to testbox2.slacksite.com.
220 testbox2.slacksite.com FTP server ready.
Name (testbox2:slacker): slacker
---> USER slacker
331 Password required for slacker.
Password: TmpPass
---> PASS XXXX
230 User slacker logged in.
---> SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> ls
ftp: setsockopt (ignored): Permission denied
---> PORT 192,168,150,80,14,178
200 PORT command successful.
---> LIST
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list.
drwx------ 3 slacker users 104 Jul 27 01:45 public_html
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit
---> QUIT
221 Goodbye.


Passive FTP
In order to resolve the issue of the server initiating the connection to the client a different method for FTP connections was developed. This was known as passive mode, or PASV, after the command used by the client to tell the server it is in passive mode.

In passive mode FTP the client initiates both connections to the server, solving the problem of firewalls filtering the incoming data port connection to the client from the server. When opening an FTP connection, the client opens two random unprivileged ports locally (N > 1024 and N+1). The first port contacts the server on port 21, but instead of then issuing a PORT command and allowing the server to connect back to its data port, the client will issue the PASV command. The result of this is that the server then opens a random unprivileged port (P > 1024) and sends the PORT P command back to the client. The client then initiates the connection from port N+1 to port P on the server to transfer data.

From the server-side firewall's standpoint, to support passive mode FTP the following communication channels need to be opened:

FTP server's port 21 from anywhere (Client initiates connection)
FTP server's port 21 to ports > 1024 (Server responds to client's control port)
FTP server's ports > 1024 from anywhere (Client initiates data connection to random port specified by server)
FTP server's ports > 1024 to remote ports > 1024 (Server sends ACKs (and data) to client's data port)



In step 1, the client contacts the server on the command port and issues the PASV command. The server then replies in step 2 with PORT 2024, telling the client which port it is listening to for the data connection. In step 3 the client then initiates the data connection from its data port to the specified server data port. Finally, the server sends back an ACK in step 4 to the client's data port.

While passive mode FTP solves many of the problems from the client side, it opens up a whole range of problems on the server side. The biggest issue is the need to allow any remote connection to high numbered ports on the server. Fortunately, many FTP daemons, including the popular WU-FTPD allow the administrator to specify a range of ports which the FTP server will use. See Appendix 1 for more information.

The second issue involves supporting and troubleshooting clients which do (or do not) support passive mode. As an example, the command line FTP utility provided with Solaris does not support passive mode, necessitating a third-party FTP client, such as ncftp.

With the massive popularity of the World Wide Web, many people prefer to use their web browser as an FTP client. Most browsers only support passive mode when accessing ftp:// URLs. This can either be good or bad depending on what the servers and firewalls are configured to support.



Passive FTP Example
Below is an actual example of a passive FTP session. The only things that have been changed are the server names, IP addresses, and user names. In this example an FTP session is initiated from testbox1.slacksite.com (192.168.150.80), a linux box running the standard FTP command line client, to testbox2.slacksite.com (192.168.150.90), a linux box running ProFTPd 1.2.2RC2. The debugging (-d) flag is used with the FTP client to show what is going on behind the scenes. Everything in red is the debugging output which shows the actual FTP commands being sent to the server and the responses generated from those commands. Normal server output is shown in black, and user input is in bold.

Notice the difference in the PORT command in this example as opposed to the active FTP example. Here, we see a port being opened on the server (192.168.150.90) system, rather than the client. See the discussion about the format of the PORT command above, in the Active FTP Example section.

testbox1: {/home/p-t/slacker/public_html} % ftp -d testbox2
Connected to testbox2.slacksite.com.
220 testbox2.slacksite.com FTP server ready.
Name (testbox2:slacker): slacker
---> USER slacker
331 Password required for slacker.
Password: TmpPass
---> PASS XXXX
230 User slacker logged in.
---> SYST
215 UNIX Type: L8
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> passive
Passive mode on.
ftp> ls
ftp: setsockopt (ignored): Permission denied
---> PASV
227 Entering Passive Mode (192,168,150,90,195,149).
---> LIST
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for file list
drwx------ 3 slacker users 104 Jul 27 01:45 public_html
226 Transfer complete.
ftp> quit
---> QUIT
221 Goodbye.


Summary
The following chart should help admins remember how each FTP mode works:

Active FTP :
command : client >1024 -> server 21
data : client >1024 <- server 20

Passive FTP :
command : client >1024 -> server 21
data : client >1024 -> server >1024

A quick summary of the pros and cons of active vs. passive FTP is also in order:

Active FTP is beneficial to the FTP server admin, but detrimental to the client side admin. The FTP server attempts to make connections to random high ports on the client, which would almost certainly be blocked by a firewall on the client side. Passive FTP is beneficial to the client, but detrimental to the FTP server admin. The client will make both connections to the server, but one of them will be to a random high port, which would almost certainly be blocked by a firewall on the server side.

Luckily, there is somewhat of a compromise. Since admins running FTP servers will need to make their servers accessible to the greatest number of clients, they will almost certainly need to support passive FTP. The exposure of high level ports on the server can be minimized by specifying a limited port range for the FTP server to use. Thus, everything except for this range of ports can be firewalled on the server side. While this doesn't eliminate all risk to the server, it decreases it tremendously.

How to make a proper website

A web standards checklist

The term web standards can mean different things to different people. For some, it is 'table-free sites', for others it is 'using valid code'. However, web standards are much broader than that. A site built to web standards should adhere to standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT, DOM, MathML, SVG etc) and pursue best practices (valid code, accessible code, semantically correct code, user-friendly URLs etc).

In other words, a site built to web standards should ideally be lean, clean, CSS-based, accessible, usable and search engine friendly.

About the checklist

This is not an uber-checklist. There are probably many items that could be added. More importantly, it should not be seen as a list of items that must be addressed on every site that you develop. It is simply a guide that can be used:

* to show the breadth of web standards
* as a handy tool for developers during the production phase of websites
* as an aid for developers who are interested in moving towards web standards

The checklist

1.Quality of code
1. Does the site use a correct Doctype?
2. Does the site use a Character set?
3. Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
4. Does the site use Valid CSS?
5. Does the site use any CSS hacks?
6. Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
7. Is the code well structured?
8. Does the site have any broken links?
9. How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
10. Does the site have JavaScript errors?

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation
1. Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
2. Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?

3. Accessibility for users
1. Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
2. Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
3. Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
4. Does the site use visible skip menus?
5. Does the site use accessible forms?
6. Does the site use accessible tables?
7. Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
8. Is colour alone used for critical information?
9. Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus (for users with reduced motor skills)?
10. Are all links descriptive (for blind users)?

4. Accessibility for devices
1. Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?
2. Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
3. Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
4. Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
5. Does the site work well when printed?
6. Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
7. Does the site include detailed metadata?
8. Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?

5. Basic Usability
1. Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
2. Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
3. Does the site have easy to understand navigation?
4. Does the site use consistent navigation?
5. Are links underlined?
6. Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
7. Do you have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
8. For large sites, is there a search tool?
9. Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
10. Are visited links clearly defined with a unique colour?

6. Site management
1. Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
2. Does the site use friendly URLs?
3. Do your URLs work without "www"?
4. Does the site have a favicon?

1. Quality of code

1.1 Does the site use a correct Doctype?
A doctype (short for 'document type declaration') informs the validator which version of (X)HTML you're using, and must appear at the very top of every web page. Doctypes are a key component of compliant web pages: your markup and CSS won't validate without them.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/valid-dtd-list.html

CODE
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/about-boxmodel.htm

CODE
http://gutfeldt.ch/matthias/articles/doctypeswitch.html


1.2 Does the site use a Character set?
If a user agent (eg. a browser) is unable to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, the user may be presented with unreadable text. This information is particularly important for those maintaining and extending a multilingual site, but declaring the character encoding of the document is important for anyone producing XHTML/HTML or CSS.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/tutorial-char-enc/


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/O-charset.html


1.3 Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
Valid code will render faster than code with errors. Valid code will render better than invalid code. Browsers are becoming more standards compliant, and it is becoming increasingly necessary to write valid and standards compliant HTML.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/sit2003/06.htm


More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/


1.4 Does the site use Valid CSS?
You need to make sure that there aren't any errors in either your HTML or your CSS, since mistakes in either place can result in botched document appearance.
CODE
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/articles/webrev/199904.html


More:
CODE
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/


1.5 Does the site use any CSS hacks?
Basically, hacks come down to personal choice, the amount of knowledge you have of workarounds, the specific design you are trying to achieve.
CODE
http://www.mail-archive.com/wsg@webstandardsgroup.org/msg05823.html


More:
CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=CssHack

CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=ToHackOrNotToHack

CODE
http://centricle.com/ref/css/filters/


1.6 Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
I've noticed that developers learning new skills often end up with good CSS but poor XHTML. Specifically, the HTML code tends to be full of unnecessary divs and ids. This results in fairly meaningless HTML and bloated style sheets.
CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/228/


1.7 Is the code well structured?
Semantically correct markup uses html elements for their given purpose. Well structured HTML has semantic meaning for a wide range of user agents (browsers without style sheets, text browsers, PDAs, search engines etc.)
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index04.htm


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/2003/12/semantic-extractor.html


1.8 Does the site have any broken links?
Broken links can frustrate users and potentially drive customers away. Broken links can also keep search engines from properly indexing your site.

More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/checklink


1.9 How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
Don't make me wait... That's the message users give us in survey after survey. Even broadband users can suffer the slow-loading blues.
CODE
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/


1.10 Does the site have JavaScript errors?
Internet Explore for Windows allows you to turn on a debugger that will pop up a new window and let you know there are javascript errors on your site. This is available under 'Internet Options' on the Advanced tab. Uncheck 'Disable script debugging'.

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation

2.1 Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
Use style sheets to control layout and presentation.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-style-sheets


2.2 Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?
The aim for web developers is to remove all presentation from the html code, leaving it clean and semantically correct.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index07.htm


3. Accessibility for users

3.1 Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-text-equivalent


3.2 Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values'.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units

CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/348/


3.3 Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
Try this simple test. Look at your website in a browser that supports easy incrementation of font size. Now increase your browser's font size. And again. And again... Look at your site. Does the page layout still hold together? It is dangerous for developers to assume that everyone browses using default font sizes.
3.4 Does the site use visible skip menus?

A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
CODE
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12


Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#tech-group-links


...blind visitors are not the only ones inconvenienced by too many links in a navigation area. Recall that a mobility-impaired person with poor adaptive technology might be stuck tabbing through that morass.
CODE
http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter08.html#h4-2020


More:
CODE
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/websmith/508/o.htm


3.5 Does the site use accessible forms?
Forms aren't the easiest of things to use for people with disabilities. Navigating around a page with written content is one thing, hopping between form fields and inputting information is another.
CODE
http://www.htmldog.com/guides/htmladvanced/forms/


More:
CODE
http://www.webstandards.org/learn/tutorials/accessible-forms/01-accessible-forms.html

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-form-builder.asp

CODE
http://accessify.com/tutorials/better-accessible-forms.asp


3.6 Does the site use accessible tables?
For data tables, identify row and column headers... For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-table-headers


More:
CODE
http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/webpublishing/ada/resources/tables.asp

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-table-builder_step1.asp

CODE
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/


3.7 Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
Ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having colour deficits.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-contrast


More:
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp


3.8 Is colour alone used for critical information?
Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour, for example from context or markup.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-convey


There are basically three types of colour deficiency; Deuteranope (a form of red/green colour deficit), Protanope (another form of red/green colour deficit) and Tritanope (a blue/yellow deficit- very rare).

More:
CODE
http://colourfilter.wickline.org/

CODE
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colourblind/Ishihara.html

CODE
http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php


3.9 Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus?
Users with reduced motor skills may find dropdown menus hard to use if responsiveness is set too fast.

3.10 Are all links descriptive?
Link text should be meaningful enough to make sense when read out of context - either on its own or as part of a sequence of links. Link text should also be terse.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-meaningful-links


4. Accessibility for devices.

4.1 Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?

Before starting to build a CSS-based layout, you should decide which browsers to support and to what level you intend to support them.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/process/index_step01.cfm



4.2 Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
Some people may visit your site with either a browser that does not support CSS or a browser with CSS switched off. In content is structured well, this will not be an issue.

4.3 Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
Some people browse websites with images switched off - especially people on very slow connections. Content should still be accessible for these people.

4.4 Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
This is like a combination of images and CSS switched off. A text-based browser will rely on well structured content to provide meaning.

More:
CODE
http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview


4.5 Does the site work well when printed?
You can take any (X)HTML document and simply style it for print, without having to touch the markup.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/goingtoprint/


More:
CODE
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/css.html#print


4.6 Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
This is a hard one to deal with until hand held devices consistently support their correct media type. However, some layouts work better in current hand-held devices. The importance of supporting hand held devices will depend on target audiences.

4.7 Does the site include detailed metadata?
Metadata is machine understandable information for the web
CODE
http://www.w3.org/Metadata/


Metadata is structured information that is created specifically to describe another resource. In other words, metadata is 'data about data'.


4.8 Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?
It is a common assumption amongst developers that average screen sizes are increasing. Some developers assume that the average screen size is now 1024px wide. But what about users with smaller screens and users with hand held devices? Are they part of your target audience and are they being disadvantaged?

5. Basic Usability
5.1 Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
Organise and prioritise the contents of a page by using size, prominence and content relationships.
CODE
http://www.great-web-design-tips.com/web-site-design/165.html


5.2 Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-logical-headings


5.3 Is the site's navigation easy to understand?
Your navigation system should give your visitor a clue as to what page of the site they are currently on and where they can go next.
CODE
http://www.1stsitefree.com/design_nav.htm


5.4 Is the site's navigation consistent?
If each page on your site has a consistent style of presentation, visitors will find it easier to navigate between pages and find information
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/navigation.asp


5.5 Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
The use of clear and simple language promotes effective communication. Trying to come across as articulate can be as difficult to read as poorly written grammar, especially if the language used isn't the visitor's primary language.
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/clear.asp


5.6 Does the site have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
Most site maps fail to convey multiple levels of the site's information architecture. In usability tests, users often overlook site maps or can't find them. Complexity is also a problem: a map should be a map, not a navigational challenge of its own.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020106.html


5.7 For large sites, is there a search tool?
While search tools are not needed on smaller sites, and some people will not ever use them, site-specific search tools allow users a choice of navigation options.

5.8 Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
Some users like to go back to a site's home page after navigating to content within a site. The home page becomes a base camp for these users, allowing them to regroup before exploring new content.

5.9 Are links underlined?
To maximise the perceived affordance of clickability, colour and underline the link text. Users shouldn't have to guess or scrub the page to find out where they can click.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040510.html


5.10 Are visited links clearly defined?
Most important, knowing which pages they've already visited frees users from unintentionally revisiting the same pages over and over again.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040503.html


6. Site management

6.1 Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
You've requested a page - either by typing a URL directly into the address bar or clicking on an out-of-date link and you've found yourself in the middle of cyberspace nowhere. A user-friendly website will give you a helping hand while many others will simply do nothing, relying on the browser's built-in ability to explain what the problem is.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/perfect404/


6.2 Does the site use friendly URLs?
Most search engines (with a few exceptions - namely Google) will not index any pages that have a question mark or other character (like an ampersand or equals sign) in the URL... what good is a site if no one can find it?
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls


One of the worst elements of the web from a user interface standpoint is the URL. However, if they're short, logical, and self-correcting, URLs can be acceptably usable
CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html


More:
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls

CODE
http://www.websitegoodies.com/article/32

CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html


6.3 Does the site's URL work without "www"?
While this is not critical, and in some cases is not even possible, it is always good to give people the choice of both options. If a user types your domain name without the www and gets no site, this could disadvantage both the user and you.
6.4 Does the site have a favicon?

A Favicon is a multi-resolution image included on nearly all professionally developed sites. The Favicon allows the webmaster to further promote their site, and to create a more customized appearance within a visitor's browser.
CODE
http://www.favicon.com/


Favicons are definitely not critical. However, if they are not present, they can cause 404 errors in your logs (site statistics). Browsers like IE will request them from the server when a site is bookmarked. If a favicon isn't available, a 404 error may be generated. Therefore, having a favicon could cut down on favicon specific 404 errors. The same is true of a 'robots.txt' file.

23 Ways To Speed WinXP, Not only Defrag

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.
1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.


Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

16x Dvd+-rw Double layer Dvd Writer Comparison Guide

Since the introduction of double layer DVD writers, the interest has been quite overwhelming and is why we keep bringing you reviews of these highly popular drives. The anticipation has now turned into down right obsession and it has become a key component in any current or new system build, thanks to the declining prices and continued media hype. Manufacturers are quite aware of the fascination and is why they have each been releasing their own products which excel in at least one area of the testing methodology used in most reviews. This has led to some confusion as to which drive is best suited for the individuals needs. Today, we compare four 16x double layer drives and highlight both the strong and weak points in order to give you a better idea of which drive is best suited for you.


In this comparison guide, we will be looking at four of the top 16x drives to hit the market, the Pioneer DVR-108, NEC ND3500A, Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the new LG GSA-4160B. We will cover everything from design and features to performance and price. Let's begin with a quick look at each of these drives.


As far as the front bezel design goes, the LG-GSA4160B is by far the most attractive drive of the bunch. However, for those who are looking for a headphone jack, the Lite-On drive is the only DL writer offering a headphone jack, as well as volume control. The Pioneer and NEC drives, in my opinion, are the ugliest drives, with a very plain look that just wants to make you hide the drive period. Although we only obtained the 4160B in black, all these drives are offered with both white and black bezels. If you opt for the more expensive Pioneer "XL" model, it has the most impressive looks of any drive in the market. However, this will come at a very hefty price tag, considering they contain different firmware as well that offer a few extra features.

So, we have determined which is the sexiest-looking drive, but what about performance? I've done some extensive testing on each model to determine which is indeed the most impressive of the bunch. But before we show you performance results, let's briefly look at the features and what they have to offer.

Features



Each one of these drives has there disappointments when it comes to features. Let's compare each to see what they really offer.



DVD Writing



DVD+R DVD-R DVD+RW DVD-RW
LG GSA-4160B 16x 8x 4x 4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 16x 8x 4x 4x
NEC ND-3500A 16x 16x 4x 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 16x 16x 4x 4x



While all these drives are indeed 16x models, only two will write to both formats at this speed. The LG GSA-4160B and the Lite-On SOHW-1633s only support 8x DVD-R writing. So if you are one who only prefers this format, the NEC or Pioneer would be the best choice. All of these drives support writing to DVD re-writable media at 4x.



DVD+R9 Double Layer Writing



Write Speed
LG GSA-4160B 2.4x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 2.4x
NEC ND-3500A 4x
Pioneer DVR-108 4x



The major disappointment with both the LG and the Lite-On 16x drives is the lack of 4x double layer writing support. Pioneer and NEC seem to be the only manufacturers to jump in and release second generation double layer drives supporting much faster 4x writing. In fact, the jump from 2.4x to 4x is quite substantial as we will show you a bit later in this comparison.



DVD-RAM Support



Supported Read Write
LG GSA-4160B YES 5x 5x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s NO NO NO
NEC ND-3500A NO NO NO
Pioneer DVR-108 YES 2x NO



Now this is where both the LG GSA-4120B and GSA-4160B shine above the rest. In fact, it is what has made these drives the most popular DVD writers on the market. Unlike the rest in the roundup, it is a triple format burner, offering full support for DVD-RAM media. The other drives do not support it, with the exception of the Pioneer DVR-108 which supports reading of DVD-RAM discs at 2x. I personally don't see the point in offering only read capabilities, but it's at least one extra feature added to distinguish it from the rest. Fast 5x support of the LG GSA-4160 will actually be tested a bit later in this article.



CDR Writing



CDR CDRW
LG GSA-4160B 40x 24x
Lite-On SOHW-1633s 48x 24x
NEC ND-3500A 48x 24x
Pioneer DVR-108 32x 24x



The fastest CDR writers of the bunch are the Lite-On SOHW-1633s and the NEC ND-3500A. With their support for 48x writing, they make a great all-in-one drive for many users. The only drive lacking in this lineup is the Pioneer DVR-108. Why they opted for only 32x writing is still quite puzzling and is actually why I have found that many are choosing the NEC over the Pioneer. The LG GSA-4160B should not be left out of consideration though. We will show you later that the difference in write times between 40x and 48x is not much to brag about.



Bitsetting Support



One feature I've found that is most important for many users is bitsetting support. Let's compare these drives and see what they offer.



DVD+R/RW Support DVD+R DL Support
LG GSA-4160B NO NO
Lite-On SOHW-1633s YES NO
NEC ND-3500A NO YES
Pioneer DVR-108 NO YES



The LG GSA-4160B does not offer bitsetting support out of the box. However, it is very likely that you will be able to obtain support through an excellent third-party tool called DVDInfo Pro. Right now, they only support the GSA-4120B, but I'm confident with the author that support for this drive will be likely. LG firmware is very hard to hack, however some select few have been able to do so. Using Lite-On's booktype utility, you can change the booktype of DVD+R/RW media, however, the firmware does not automaticall