Windows 8 Features

New Welcome screen
A new ‘Metro UI’ (the user interface for Windows Phone 7 devices) has been seen in the latest builds of Windows 8. Featuring the date and time, another video showed the leaked Windows 8 default wallpaper as discovered by fellow ZDNet colleague Stephens Chapman, where users are shown a list of users on the local machine to click on and enter their password.
‘Modern’ Task Manager
A new task manager emerged in one of the latest builds, redesigning how programs and system-critical applications are displayed. Frankly, for task manager veterans, the entire feel of the application has changed entirely. However, it is more in-tune with the look and feel of Windows 8, though devoid of a Ribbon bar — for now, at least. It also includes a more ‘advanced’ task manager for those who still require seeing extensive statistics of their hardware.
Portable Workspaces
One of the most highly anticipated features, discovered in an early build of Windows 8 — the portable workspace, allowing you to effectively put Windows on a USB stick. On the other hand, it looks more likely to become an enterprise only feature, and further limited to those with a USB stick or external hard drive that is at least 16GB in size. However, already this could give an early indication of the final hard drive memory footprint of the upcoming operating system.
Aero auto-colourisation
A new feature that reacts to the most prominent colour of the Windows wallpaper. This already exists under Windows 7, where the icons in the taskbar ‘reflect’ the brightest or most dominant colour in the icon. However, this will be ported to reflect the entire desktop, including Start menu and taskbar, depending on the colour of the wallpaper.
Hybrid Booting
Seen in the latest builds, Hybrid Boot is a cross between hibernation and sleep mode, and more of an evolution of the existing hibernation function. Core operating system files are ‘put to sleep’ which enables the startup time to be significantly reduced.
Simple system ‘reset’
Found in an early build of Windows 8, the functionality exists to allow a user or system administrator to ‘reset’ the operating system back to the default settings. As so many applications and settings are expected to be cloud based, this would in theory allow you to get back up and running in minutes as opposed to hours. From the screenshots, it appears to be a quick and simple process, with user accounts and personal files kept in backup space, before your default Windows settings are restored.
Ribbons in Windows Explorer
The Ribbon bar features heavily in the Office 2007 and Office 2010 suite of applications, and since ported to Windows 7 in basic applications, from Wordpad to Paint. This was to open up the functionality to touch users, but will be capitalised upon further in Windows 8, as seen in recent builds leaked to the web. Seen already in Windows Explorer, it will be key to replacing the ‘old’ interface that Windows has had up until now.
ARM processor ‘tablet support’
Windows 8 will have ARM support, a low-power processor which allows devices to run longer on batteries. As seen during an Internet Explorer 10 preview, one of the devices was running an ARM processor, and it is expected to launch with full ARM support making tablets a more likely option.
Genuine center
This new center will control and organise your Windows licences. Seen in the most recent builds of Windows 8, the Genuine Center will allow you to manage the license of Windows on your computer, and perhaps even control other Microsoft products, like Office too. If you have a computer not activated or without a product key, you will not only be able to buy one straight from your desktop, but also purchase a key for another machine, too.
Push notifications
Part of Microsoft’s tablet and mobile device strategy, it appears push notifications will allow content to be displayed on screen similar to that of Windows Phone 7. Little is known about this functionality as of yet, however.
Improved disk cleanup
In Windows 8, there will be an overhaul of the disk cleanup facility, designed to clear the junk out of your operating system, like temporary files and the Recycle Bin. More options are given, and better categorising of file types corresponding to their size.
‘Modern Reader’ PDF support
‘Modern Reader’ is the name of the PDF reading application designed and built using AppX technology, which bridge between the mobile and the desktop workspace gap. According to one, as the application packages are very similar to phone application packages, making applications easier to port across from the desktop to the mobile, including tablets.
Internet Explorer 10
There is all but no doubt that Windows 8 will come with a pre-installed version of Internet Explorer, probably IE10, but may not be set to ‘as default’ depending on your user location. It is not unlike Microsoft to bundle in a beta of Internet Explorer with a beta of Windows, and including the browser with the operating system seems entirely “logical”.
Internet Explorer ‘Immersive’
A slimmed down version of the browser, using a new user interface codenamed ‘Immersive’, will feel and look like the phone version, but will have all the rendering of the desktop version. Using a new platform for developing applications that scale up and down from the desktop to the phone and vice versa, it will allow many more applications to be scalable and adaptable to their environments.
SmartScreen file filter
Previously only seen in the Windows Live suite of products, SmartScreen filters out spam or bad links based on community responses. In Windows 8, however, an option has been seen to check files downloaded by a browser, not just Internet Explorer, to ensure that the download source is safe and verified. It simply adds an extra layer of security protection to the operating system.
Windows App Store
Likened to Apple’s App Store for iOS and Mac devices, Microsoft is set to include its own application web store in the next version of Windows. Dubbed the Windows App Store, unsurprisingly, it has yet to turn up in a leaked build, though screenshots seem to confirm its existence.
Step-by-step install
Windows 8 from the word go should be simple to use, and the setup process appears to show exactly that. With easy run through steps to guide even the most novice of users through the daunting task of installing an operating system, the process should be a breeze. The ‘Metro UI’ of the Windows Phone 7 operating system is clear in the setup, too, with fonts and user experience looking clean and sharp.

ISO mounting
ISO images are files which contain the exact coding, files and folders of the contents on a CD or DVD. Windows 8 will include functionality, as see in more recent builds, to not only mount images to read and deal with, but also the functionality to burn them. This could negate many image burning applications out there on the market already.
Native wake on LAN
If a computer is turned off or hibernating and it has enabled the ‘wake on LAN’ feature, Windows 8 will be able to push a network request through to turn it back on again, to perform the functions that it needs to.

Webcam application
A new application seemingly based on the ‘Metro UI’ user experience, has appeared in early builds of Windows 8, allowing users to start and stop video capture, and capture images immediately and after a short delay.
Codename ‘Redhawk’
‘Redhawk’ is the creation of a managed code execution environment, relating to or incorporating as part of the .NET Framework 5. However, whether this is a ‘feature’ or a platform remains to be seen, exactly. My ZDNet colleague Mary Jo Foley has more on the All About Microsoft column.
Streaming Manager
It has emerged that in a seemingly similar way to how Office 2010 is delivered to some customers, a Streaming Manager will be part of Windows 8 to allow other programs to be streamed to the desktop. It will allow applications to be run before they are fully downloaded, provided they are provisioned to do so. If a feature is needed, it will be downloaded as and when it is needed.
Pattern login
From another leaked video — this one, though is not necessarily safe for work — users will be able to login using an Android-like pattern match. This will presumably for those who are using tablets or slate devices and are lacking a keyboard. Another image has emerged of the Control Panel setting to administer the first pattern login, which you can find here.
Facial recognition login
In similar sync to the pattern login, those with a Kinect or a webcam may be able to login through facial recognition, some are reporting. A setting was detected in one of the latest builds of Windows 8’s application libraries which suggests that when Windows 8 detects a particular user has sat down at the computer, their face alone will be enough proof to allow the desktop to open up with all their user files and settings. Who needs a password nowadays, anyway?
(Updated) History Vault
This feature could be seen as the competing ‘product’ to the Time Machine in Mac OS X. Acting as a backup facility, it will replace the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7, while giving users the option to create regular, automatic backups. Users will be able to restore individual files from way back into the past, while offering a ‘new user interface’ similar to that of the Time Machine.
(Updated) Cloud-based roaming profiles
Roaming profiles have yet been semi-mythical, but have been uncovered in the latest build. Your personalisation settings (Aero and colour settings) all the way through to language settings and wireless credentials will be stored in the cloud, or cloud-accessible, so you can take your ‘computer’ on the go with you. Linked accounts will be accessible through Windows Live, but can be turned off if you are on a bandwidth-restricted network. Whether files and folders will be synced also, should be subject to extreme caution, however.
(New) Black Screen of Death
In Metro UI style, the ‘traditional’ “Blue Screen of Death” will be replaced by a perhaps more ‘friendly’ “Black Screen of Death”. The error detail will be given still for troubleshooting purposes, but will already occur when the computer has effectively shut down.
(New) ‘Metro UI style’ settings
More Metro UI integration in Windows 8, in which we are not entirely sure in what capacity, exactly, but it is most likely to be mostly accessible and available for tablet users of Windows 8. Bridging the gap between the mobile and the desktop, these settings will emulate many of those already seen in previous versions of Windows, but in a modern, mobile style.



Regards,
Najeeb UzZaman Ahmed,
ADMIN,
CTT&T

Read More

Latest VLC Media Player 1.1.11

Download

Read More

Turn On your PC in just a few Seconds

For Advanced Users only.

1. Click Win+R and type 'Regedit' (without quotes).
2. Now look for the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/ContentIndex.
3. Now find the key called "Startup Delay".
4. Double Click on it.
5. Click Decimal.
6. Now its Default Value is 4800000 (hexadecimal: 75300).
7. Change the Value to 40000.

Here you go. You have done it.

Now Close Registry Editor and Restart your PC.

Feel the Difference.

Read More

Is your Nokia Cell Phone Original???

Nokia is one of the largest selling phones across the globe.Most of us own a Nokia phone but are unaware of it’s originality.Are you keen to know whether your Nokia mobile phone is original or not? Then you are in the right place and this information is specially meant for you. Your phones IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number confirms your phone’s originality.

Press the following on your mobile *#06# to see your Phone’s IMEI number(serial number).

Then check the 7th and 8th numbers

Phone serial no. x x x x x x ? ? x x x x x x x

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 02 or 20 this means your cell phone was assembled in Emirates which is very Bad quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 08 or 80 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Germany which is fair quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 01 or 10 this means your cell phone was manufactured in Finland which is very Good

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 00 this means your cell phone was manufactured in original factory which is the best Mobile Quality

IF the Seventh & Eighth digits of your cell phone are 13 this means your cell phone was assembled in unknown place which is very Bad quality and also dangerous for your health.

Read More

Access Restricted or Banned Sites

You can access the restricted or banned websites with the help of this tip. You may have problems to accessing your favorite's politics, news websites in your office and other public places. Some time these websites banned by Government, ISP and may be by your office network administrator. This tip is very useful, if you are using internet particularly in school, college and office.

Follow the given points to access the banned website:

Technique 1: Search the banned website, for example www.cttandt.co.cc in Google and yahoo search engine then open the cached copy of that page to access the website. You can get also cache link of that website, if you search in Google with keyword cache:URL name and get cache link to access the website.

Technique 2: Another method to access the banned website using its IP address, because you can open the website with IP address instead of actual URL name. This technique bypasses the URL based restrictions. For example if www.facebook.com is banned in your school, you can open it using IP address 216.178.32.51. You can search online IP conversion tools to get IP address of any website.

Technique 3: There are some mini web browsers can help you to open the banned websites, for example Opera Mini Browser, install it and try to open any banned website. Another Real Player browser can successfully help you to access the banned website. This Real Player browser bypasses the many restrictions of website banned tools.

Technique 4: There any many websites Anonymizer tools are available to fetch the banned website. These anonymous surfing tools that protect your identity on the internet and give the access to banned sites. As far as the service provider is concerned you are viewing a page from Anonymizer and not the blocked site.

These tips are very useful to access the banned websites in your university, cybercaf� ,office and other public places.

Read More

How to use Word 2007 as a Tool for Blogging

Microsoft Word has always been a great tool for writing documents. Microsoft Word 2007 is no exception. A new and superb feature has been added to Microsoft Word 2007. In addition to all the useful features which it shares with the previous versions of Microsoft Word, this new feature allows you to use Word 2007 as a tool for blogging. You can easily post something to your personal blog through Word 2007. It provides you with the opportunity to write as many words as you like for your blog. You can also write very short posts if you want.

Follow these simple steps in order to use Word 2007 as a tool for blogging:

Open a blank Word document and click on the Office button.

Click on New and select New blog post.

A new ribbon displaying the blogging tools will appear. Click on the button of Manage Accounts.

Click on New as the next dialog box appears.

The following dialog box will appear:

You will have to choose the platform you use for blogging from the list e.g. WordPress and click on the Next button.

Fill in the information for your website and decide whether you want it to remember the password or not. You can also see the Picture Options button as Word 2007 is capable of uploading images to some blogging platforms.

You can start writing for your blog right away.

After finishing writing, click on Publish and select how you want to publish it. You can also open an older post in Word 2007 by clicking on the Open Existing button.

As you use Word 2007 as a tool for blogging, you will be able to add categories to the blog posts, and Word 2007 will immediately connect to the blogging platform you use and download the listing of categories.

If you like to use Word for writing your documents, you now have the option to use it for writing posts for your personal blogs. It has now become an incredible post editor as you can use Word 2007 as a tool for blogging.

Read More

Tips to be safe from Hackers & Hijackers

Hackers and Browser Hijacking is one area of the Net that affects everyone at some stage.

In addition to having third party utilities such as SpyBot, Anti Virus scanners and firewalls installed there are some changes that can be made to Windows 2000/XP. Below are some details to make your system safer from hackers and hijackers.

Some of these tips require editing of the Registry so it is wise to either backup the registry and/or create a Restore Point.
1. Clearing the Page File at Shutdown
Windows 2000/XP paging file (Sometimes called the Swap File) can contain sensitive information such as plaintext passwords. Someone capable of accessing your system could scan that file and find its information. You can force windows to clear out this file.

In the registry navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerMemory Management and add or edit the DWORD ClearPageFileAtShutdown. Set it to 1.

Note that when you do this, the system will take much longer to shut down: a system with a really big Page File (! Gig or more) may take a minute or two longer.

2. Disable the POSIX and OS/2 Subsystem.

Windows 2000 and XP come with little-documented subsystems it at allow compatibility with UNIX and OS/2 systems These rues systems are enabled by default but so rarely used that they are best off bring disabled completely to prevent possible service hijackings.

To disable these subsystems, open the registry and navigate to HKEY LOCAL MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession ManagerSubSystems. Delete the subkeys Os2 and Posix. then reboot.


3. Never leave default passwords blank.
On installation, Windows 2000 sets up an Administrator account with total system access and prompts for a password. Guess what: by default, it allows that password to be blank. If a user doesn't want to type a password, he can simply click Next and the system will be an open door for anyone who wants to log on. Always opt for a password of some kind when setting up the default account on a machine.

4. Disable the Guest account
Windows XP comes with a Guest account that's used for limited access, but it's still possible to do some damage with it. Disable it completely if you are not using it. Under Control Panel, select User Accounts, click on Guest Account and then select Turn Off the Guest Account.

5. Install Windows In a different directory.
Windows usually installs itself in the WINDOWS directory. Windows NT 4 0 and 2000 Will opt for WINNT. Many worms and other rogue programs assume this to be the case and attempt to exploit those folders files. To defeat this install Windows to another directory when you're setting it up - you can specify the name of the directory during setup. WINDIR is okay; so some people use WNDWS - A few (not that many) programs may not install properly if you install Windows to another folder but t hey are very few and they are far between

6. Fake out hackers with a dummy Administrator account
Since the default account in Windows 2000 is always named Administrator, an enterprising hacker can try to break into your system by attempting to guess the password on that account. It you never bothered to put a password on that account, say your prayers.

Rather than be a sucker to a hacker, put a password on the Administrator account it you haven't done so already. Then change the name of the Administrator account. You'll still be able to use the account under its new name, since Windows identifies user accounts by a back-end ID number rather than the name. Finally, create a new account named Administrator and disable it. This should frustrate any would -be break-ins.

You can add new accounts and change the names of existing accounts in Windows 2000 through the Local Users and Groups snap in. Right-click on My Computer, select Manager, open the Local Users and Groups subtree, look in the Users folder and right-click on any name to rename it. To add a new user, right-click on the containing folder and select New User. Finally, to disable an account, double-click it, check the Account is disabled box and click OK.

Don't ever delete the original Administrator account. Some programs refuse to install without it and you might have to log in under that account at some point to setup such software. The original Administrator account is configured with a security ID that must continue to be present in the system.

7. Set the Hosts file to read-only to prevent name hijacking.

This one's from (and to a degree, for) the experts. The HOSTS file is a text file that all flavors of Windows use to hold certain network addresses that never change. When a network name and address is placed in HOSTS, the computer uses the address listed there for that network name rather than performing a lookup (which can take time). Experts edit this file to place their most commonly-visited sites into it, speeding things up considerably.

Unfortunately hijackers and hackers also love to put their own information into it - redirecting people from their favorite sites to places they don't want to go. One of the most common entries in HOSTS is local host which is set 1770.0.1. This refers to the local machine and if this entry is damaged the computer can behave very unpredictably.

To prevent HOSTS from being hijacked, set it to read-only. Go to the folder %Systemroot%system32driversetc, right-click on HOSTS, select Properties check the Read-Only box and click OK. If you want to add your own entries to HOSTS, you can unprotect it before doing so, but always remember to set it to read-only after you're done.

8. Turn off unneeded Services
Windows 2000 and XP both come with many background services that don't need to he running most of the time: Alerter, Messenger, Server (If you're running a standalone machine with no file or printer shares), NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing, Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (the last two if you're not using Remote Desktop or NetMeeting), Remote Registry, Routing and Remote Access (if you're not using Remote Access), SSDP Discovery Service, Telnet, and Universal Plug and Play Device Host.
A good resource and instruction on which of these services can be disabled go to /http://www.blkviper.com/WinXP/


9. Disallow changes to IE settings through IE
This is another anti hijacker tip. IE can be set so that any changes to its settings must be performed through the Internet icon in the Control Panel, rather than through IE's own interface. Some particularly unscrupulous programs or sites try to tamper with setting by accessing the Tools, Options menu in IE. You can disable this and still make changes to IE's settings through the Control Panel.

Open the Registry and browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER SoftwarePoliciesMicrosoftInternet ExplorerRestrictions. Create or edit a new DWORD value named NoBrowserUptions and set it to 1 (this is a per-user setting). Some third-party programs such as Spybot Search And Destroy allow you to toggle this setting.

You can also keep IE from having other programs rename its default startup page, another particularly annoying form of hijacking. Browse to HKEY.CURRENT USERSoftwarePolicies MicrosoftInternet ExploreControl Panel and add or edit a DWORD, Homepage and set it to 1.


10. Disable simple File Shares.
In Windows XP Professional, the Simple File Sharing mode is easily exploited, since it抯 a little too easy to share out a file across your LAN (or the NET at large). To turn it off, go m My Computer, click Tools, Folder Option and the View tab, and uncheck Use Simple file sharing (Recommended). Click OK. When you do this you can access the Security tab in the Properties window for all folders; set permissions for folders; and take ownership of objects (but not in XP Home)

Read More