Sankaranand Balaradjou

Author: Sankaranand

  • Resolving Internet explorer crash after installing windows service pack 3

    iesp3issue.pngLast month Microsoft made a release candidate of Win XP Service pack 3 available for download. So I downloaded the 336 Mb patch and installed it successfully. This patch actually contains security updates and hotfixes issued by Microsoft Corp. up to April 2nd, 2006 excluding Internet Explorer 7 (Thanks MS for it:-)).

    Seriously no updates or changes in Windows interface but just a bundle of hot fixes which doesn’t make it special. I like to stay updated always which made me to install it even though it’s a release candidate, but within few days of installing my internet explorer began crashing all the time. On opening Internet Explorer it crashes within a fraction of second from loading a site and pops a message saying “Internet explorer has encountered an error and needs to close”.

    After searching Microsoft Technet forums for resolution, I came to know that this is all due the Urlmon.dll thing which was discussed under KB946627. After discussing with a team member working for SP3, I came up with a resolution for this problem.

    Resolution:
    Warning: This procedure involves editing of registry which would result in serious damage and corruption of date if followed improperly so my kind advice is not to try unless you have clear cut knowledge of what you are doing.

    Step 1: Go to Run and type ‘notepad’ without quotes.

    Step 2: After the Notepad is invoked, copy and paste the codes given below:

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_PROTECT_DECOMPRESSION_FILTER_FROM_ABORT_KB942367]
    “*”=dword:00000001

    Step 3: Save the notepad as somefile.reg (note the extension .reg)

    Step 4: Double click the saved notepad file to add the information to the Registry.

    Step 5: A dialog box pops saying “Do you want to add the information to the Registry?” Click Ok and there you go.

    Step 6: Restart the Computer, now I believe Internet Explorer would not crash again.

    Note:If the problem still persists please feel free to post your comments or queries.

  • Launch your own virtual shop via Zlio

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    Now you don’t require an e-commerce designer to establish your own shop online since Zlio makes it possible in 5 minutes. Ok before going ahead let me tell you what Zlio is all about?

    What is Zlio?
    Zlio (aff) is a French company which provides platform and service for establishing your own e-commerce site. It lets you sell products from their list of trusted merchants. You can choose from a large database of products in different categories and virtually add them to your shop.

    Currently you can sell products and services to France, US and United Kingdom but never mind you can be an active seller in their site irrespective of your country. The catch is all about using your marketing strategies and promotions. Don’t believe me huh? Ok have a look at Techno Shoppe (check the screenshot below) which I created a while ago in Zlio. It took me not more than 10 minutes to customize and create a brand new virtual shopping site.

    technoshoppe.png

    How do you earn out of shop?
    Zlio provides various deals over the commission and referral levels rather than the products…lol. And the best thing is Adsense. If you haven’t observed my sample shop that I created a while ago, I have linked my adsense account with Zlio and so I can display ads in my site. Usually the commission varies based on the merchants but Zlio works on a Cost per action basis so in order to earn a commission one has to purchase a product from your shop.

    What makes this site great?

    Frankly it’s the FEATURES that makes this site great. Yeah to highlight some of its features I would say an easy to use interface, various customization options for templates, SEO, RSS and also add-on facility like Google analytics etc. You can use a custom domain name and integrate this shop on your website or maybe your blog.

    Other Features includes:
    • Multiple shops management under single account
    • Widget for adding to blog and website
    • Community support
    • Reviews and feedback from customers
    • Price comparision

    So my final verdict would be to start your own shop and experience the results instead of just reading this post. Zlio is really a new experience for me and I would appreciate it as a good start for sellers especially Indians who wanted to sell products internationally. SEO tab has been given an importance which lets you add sitemaps of your shop easily and makes its friendly to search engines.

    Links: Create your own shop now | Zlio.

  • Need for Speed Pro Street – Review

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    Electronic Arts, one of biggest DON of Gaming world has released a new version of Need for Speed series called PRO STREET. Actually it’s not a sequential to NFS preceding version of Carbon or Most Wanted but a complete new version of street racing. Pro Street is nothing but Professional Street racing. Letting racers like me lol… out of problem pro street is no more illegal like the Most wanted it’s about an opportunity of letting street racers into PROFESSIONAL TRACKS.

    Bet you this version of NFS is completely different comparing their old version with real professional tracks, and realistic environment. Other gaming sites report a five star rating for the graphics. IGI reports Pro Street is all about 100 percent about performance and the culture of street racing. Although the complete trinity has never changed i.e becoming the King of Streets by participating in several events including Drift, Drag, Circuit, Speed trap etc. Customization of cars is much deeper in this version which directly allows you to test your cars performance which impacts your car due to their autosculpt technology.

    Have a look at the official commercial of Need for Speed pro street below:

    EA already shipped Pro street this nov 14 for different gaming platforms like PS3, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, Wii and PSP. It will be available in India during the mid of December, but already the pirated version of PROSTREET for pc is swinging in torrents.

    Links: NFS Pro Street | Electronic Arts.

  • Bajaj Pulsar 300cc is a hoax?

    During a conversion about new bikes in India, my friend was talking about Bajaj, India’s largest and world fourth largest two wheeler manufacturer revolutionary in India. Frankly speaking I am no fan of Bajaj Products I always believe in companies like TVS, Yamaha and Honda when it comes to biking.

    Talking about my friend who alerted me about Bajaj’s upcoming release of a new powerful biking which is probably the BAJAJ PULSAR 300CC. At first it was 100CC then 120,150,180,200 and now its 220cc.

    So now a 300 cc bike for Indian roads? Are we power drivers? Already Price of fuel is sky rocketing while traffic in parallel increases. Soon I went through a research over internet about Bajaj launching the new 300cc bike to confirm the news.

    At last I concluded it is PURELY HOAX. Bajaj has officially not announced any plans to launch 300cc right now in India. So if you come across any news about it then it’s completely one of false gossips.

    pulsar300cc1.jpg

    Above is the picture of Virtual stimulated photography of Pulsar claiming to be 300cc bike from Bajaj.

    Lastly guys please don’t offend me I don’t like Bajaj products due to their constant discontinuation of vehicle models. Some of examples are they discontinued Sunny, Chetak, Cub, Super, Wave, Legend, Bravo, Eliminator, Wind 125, Kawasaki 4s Champion, Kawasaki KB 100 RTZ, Boxer and Caliber. No news at all about Blade and Sonic.

    Do anyone ever thinked about the customers using the above model vehicles? Are they assured with any availability of Spare parts? So I usually depend on TVS and other companies! Although many companies constantly discontinue vehicles when they are out of fashion but Bajaj has a biggest list.

    *This is my personal opinion and it has nothing to do with real criticism if so it is purely due to the coincidence.

    Anyways do you have plans to buy a new bike? What’s your choice ?

  • Tuning your gtalk to use as Voip phone and FM receiver

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    Making your Gtalk as an online FM streaming device is not a complicated task but a simple 3 step process as 123. With the help of a third party service called Gtalk 2 Voip we could attain this functionality.

    What is Gtalk 2 Voip ?
    GTalk2VoIP is a free and publicly open voice gateway for major Instant Messenger clients. It makes possible voice interoperability between Google Talk, MSN/Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger and SIP phones without any additional software installation.

    How can I hear FM in Gtalk?
    Teen Taal 110 a hindi Fm station which aims at delivering new hindi songs can now be heard right away from your google talk.

    All you have to do is to follow the steps below:

    • Open your Google talk and Sign in
    • After Signing In, click the add button and add this id [email protected]
    • After adding, add the second Id [email protected]
    • After completion of the steps above, make a call to the second id i.e call to [email protected]
    • Now you will directly be connected to Teen Taal Fm Station. (voice quality is average)

    The first step of adding id would make you register the gtalk2voip service!

    Other features of Gtalk2Voip:

    • Make calls from Google Talk, Yahoo or MSN to any mobile or landline phone (PSTN)
    • Make calls to other Google Talk, Yahoo! and MSN/Live Messenger users or SIP phones (SIP URI)
    • Create voice conferences with other Google Talk, Yahoo! or MSN/Live Messenger users
    • Send or receive voicemail from/to Google Talk, Yahoo! or MSN/Live Messenger users
    • Receive calls to your Google Talk, Yahoo! or MSN/Live Messenger from mobile or landline phones (PSTN) by using DIDs or via SIP Broker service
    • Receive calls from SIP phones, including Gizmo Project, InPhonex, SJPhone and others
    • Send SIP/SIMPLE instant messages to SIP phones

    How it works?
    Some of the services I mentioned above may be chargeable while they offer free incoming calls from sip phones to your gtalk, incoming call from PSTN to your gtalk, making calls to other IMs etc.

    So now you get a free incoming SIP number, PSTN access number for Gtalk etc which you can add on to build your business widely.

    Gtalk 2 voip also provides support for mobile platform with their specially designed application called Talkonaut which helps them to access and enjoy their voip services from their handheld.

    Register now: Gtalk2Voip |

  • MS Premium magazines now available for free.

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    Microsoft announced the availability of free digital subscription to their premium magazine MSDN and Dr.Dobb’s. The usual subscription for MSDN would be $60 and Dr.Dobbs comes around $30 is now offered for free. A $90 value.

    At least now we would be able to read the digital edition free of cost from our desk. Thanks to Microsoft for their regular notifications. Lets have an overview about the magazine inside’s

    MSDN:
    MSDN annual subscription basically costs $60 for the digital edition. MSDN Magazine is the publication to read for up-to-the-minute, comprehensive coverage of Microsoft development technologies especially .Net, ASP and other web developments. It also contains solutions to real-world problems including valuable learning content on Microsoft development technologies.
    To View a sample of this magazine click here.

    Dr.Dobbs:
    With a 30 years experience, this magazine has evolved to be a worth one especially for software development. Also this magazine contains essential tools for professional software developers and architects with up to date technology information. Before this annual subscription for this magazine seem to be $30 but now its digital edition is free.

    To view a sample of this magazine click here.

    All you need to get the free subscription is simply a Microsoft passport account. After all it’s free!

    Links: Register Here | Microsoft.

  • Replace your nokia battery now!

    nokiabattery.pngNokia has released a product advisory bulletin regarding an identified affected case of battery overheating that is initiated during charging, causing the battery to dislodge.

    So Nokia along with Matsushita came forward to replace all the batteries that have been manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006. This replacement is only available for Nokia branded batteries codenamed BL-5c.

    To check if your battery is of BL-5c branded please open up your battery and check for “Nokia” and “BL-5C” which are printed on the front of the battery.

    Once it’s confirmed go to this page and follow the step by step instruction to check if your battery is manufactured between the specified dates and comes under replacement.

    I recently bought a nokia 6680 (gray market) and checked if my battery comes under replacement policy or not since i don’t have bill or warranty. I proceeded by entering the identification number and the nokia showed up the following message.

    Your battery is not among those manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006 and your battery will not be replaced.

    Thank god for saving my time to replace my battery and staying phoneless. Make sure to check if your battery comes under their replacement period.

  • 8 random facts about me

    This tagging game has been highly influenced by bloggers especially personal bloggers as I have been tagged by Shankar Ganesh and RishiRaj who made me reveal some random facts about me.

    I am inspired by technology:

    It all started when I was in sixth grade during 1999 I created my first email address with usa.net which is known to be the turning back of my life thus changing my attention and focus towards computer, internet and technology. I am very much inspired about technology and can’t live up without it. Since i love technology i am doing my engineering in information technology.

    I am basically a gadget freak:

    Whether it’s a personal gadget or any kind I love to have cool gadgets, wanted to try, use and own them whenever something comes new. Gadgets usually make our life easier and flexible. Currently I own nokia 6680, Nikon 6 mp DSC and USB flash drive with mp3 player.

    I love music:

    Never concerning about the genre I love all kind of music especially when it is composed by my legend A.R Rahman. Music keeps my life cool and relieves my stress and mental tension.

    Regular Chat and snack Eater:

    One thing I won’t miss in life is eating all kind of chats and snacks. Some of my favourites are Pani Puri, Masala Puri, Bhel puri, Dabeli, Mushroom Bonda and soup, Onion and Banana Bajji and Bengali sweets. If you want to try these then visit my place.

    Freaking outside:

    It’s usual for boys to freak out and roam and so the syndrome has impacted me to freak out. Generally we don’t know where we are going to or just passing our way and stopping some where.

    No girlfriends!

    Yep, it’s true I don’t have girl friends* (someone special) although I do have friends who are girls but I don’t want to waste money and time for them! What do you say guys?  But I ogle at nice and beautiful girls …lol

    Being open:

    I don’t want to hide anything in my mind or in heart, whether it’s sensitive or not I’d always be frank to tell what I think about them and what I wanted to say.

    I love animals:

    Basically some like animals at zoo some don’t but I love them. I think animals are just like a neighbor if you are kind to them then they do so. I love dogs; I have a cute little doggie called Nancy (named after famous Nancy Drew). Basically I am a PETA member I hate people who are cruel to animals. I am a vegetarian from childhood.

    And my tags for this posting are Srinivasan Paul Joseph, Thilak, Mayank Gupta, Haochi and Ashish Mohta.

  • Make your face as your password

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    Have you ever wondered creating your own facial password like the matrix film or the Lenovo Advertisement? Well it’s time to make your own security system with Banana Security.  Facial recognition is not all about buying a high tech surveillance system but a simple webcam and some blocks of programs would help you build up your own face recognition security system.

    How to setup your face recognition security?

    By downloading Banana Screen software and with a good quality webcam, your security system is not far away. After installation, the program acts as a default authentication system for your computer requiring your facial expression to be your password.

    How does it work?

    BS collects your facial features by a webcam which is used to build a statistical representation of face and does stores it in binary format for execution and detection.  This spyware free program which gives a lot concern for your privacy stores your image in encrypted format meaning no third party programs can access it.

    The backend of this program seems like it can support all webcams launched way back to 2 years but the application is still in beta stage. BS has released its version only for windows platform where Mac users have to wait a bit. I myself tried the program which sits lite in the system and unlocks quickly after showing my face but the cons is it doesn’t allow multi-user support as far now.

    Links: Download BananaScreen | [via ThinkDigit]