vizlabs

Notepad or an online diary!!

2008-02-01T01:38:00.000-08:00

You've used notepad a plethora of times & that little accessories tool has nothing to crave about. Well, if that's what you think, ponder again; for there's more to Notepad than just being Window's default text editor.

Here's a small tip...courtesy an email forward from a friend -

You are too busy a person at office (or for that matter anywhere else) with n no of meetings & things to remember. You don't have the time to use the Online calendar.

Open the humble notepad & type in .LOG on the top. Now you can add in your important notes to it. Save the changes & close the file.

The next time you open the file you'll find the Date/Time signature appended to it as evident above. Follow the above incase you need to add more notes.

Amazing, Simple & true. Thanks to MS & the guy who sent me the e-mail forward.

Tech Span - A Google PR2 blog now!!

2008-01-25T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well..well...well...i know that my last post was a month back & my due apologies for the same. My year long wedding with Java has taken its toll & now i am hinged to it 24x7.

Neverthless, there's some good news. I am glad to announce that 'Tech Span' is now a Google Page Rank 2 blog. Thanks to your support, in the latest google update 'Tech Span' has now gone from PR0 to PR2; & that too within a short span of two months.
Here's the proof -

On the flip side, 'Tech Span' was reviewed by Assess My Blog & i must admit that the observations were far from satisfactory. Neverthless, i've promised Manick that i'll work upon my follies & get back to him. Here's a link to the review.

Moreover, I have been getting a lot of blog review requests. I will soon be starting out a blog review section aptly called 'Blog Unplugged'. Herein, i'll be reviewing blogs that seem to be of interest to me. In case you need to get your blog reviewed, leave a comment here. But have a look at the conditions before that -

The blog should be atleast 2 months old.
It should preferably be a Technology related blog.
Have atleast 10 posts.

So keep hooked for more...& Happy Republic Day in advance.

Wanna get into Google? Do this...

2007-11-29T01:27:00.000-08:00

You might have been working for the Infosyss, Wipros & the HPs but that interview call from Google has eluded you. If you've found patent replies of 'qualification & experience mismatch' from Google to your mails to jobs@google.com, read on...

Well, first find solace in the fact that you are not alone. Believe it or not Google receives 1000000 job applications a year & rejects 99.5 % of them. Link..

So how do you get into Google . Who better than Google itself to answer the question. The Google India site has come up with certain enlightening tips on how to get into the search giant.

With sections dedicated to the hiring process, to preparing your CV, to preparing for the interview, they have mentioned it all. Go through this Link.

It's worth going through & trying your luck at. I'll try mine...

<--- Accessing Orkut & other blocked websites in College or at work --->

ChaCha...new search kid on the block!!

2007-11-26T02:52:00.000-08:00

ChaCha...well as you might suggest, i am in no way referring to my Uncle...that's the name of a new Search engine on the block.

ChaCha is a new Search startup that claims to revolutionise the way people search on the web today...using people. That's right! In a new feature called 'Live Guided Search' ChaCha has experts who help you out with your online search.

While Mike Arrington of TechCrunch might have been unduly harsh on it - he says that the so-called experts are'nt good enough - i believe that the idea, though is something to look out for.

You lookout for some stuff on the web, fail to find it & then you ask the experts to search it for you. That's logical, provided the Guides are good enough.

As the founders put it, 'Cha' stands for 'Search' in chinese & hence the term. With a cool looking interface & search features for News, Images, audio & video ChaCha is definitely something you can try out.

Related Post -- Search Engines..look beyond Google

Google Adsense!! Money making through your blogs

2007-11-07T02:22:00.000-08:00

As promised, i am back with a post on Google Adsense as demanded by a few of you. So what is Adsense all about. For the uninitiated here's my take :-

Google Adsense is indeed one giant step in the facet of online advertising. It drives what is called The Google Economy. Through Adsense, Google places ads on your blog/website related to your content. When a visitor clicks your ad, Google shares the revenue with you.

Hordes of Blog & website owners have flourished based on this amazing tool, besides adding to Google's coffers.

So how do you get an Adsense account :-

Step 1) If you have a blog or a website go to the adsense link & apply for an account.

Step 2) You'll need to specify your blog URL. If Google believes your blog is worth it, it will intimate you of the same. The code provided may then be used for displaying ads.

Step 3) If you use Blogger, the task is simplified. You just need to add the Adsense widget on your layout the rest follows.

But the trial starts after ads start displaying. Follow certain precautions with adsense :-

1) Don't click on your own ads or ask your friends to do so. You won't need to ask them the next time.Your adsense account might get blocked.

2) Google keeps track of your IP address & if it finds too many clicks from the same IPA, your account might get blocked.

3) Ensure that no ads are clicked from the machines where you have logged in to Gmail, Orkut or checked your adsense account.

4) Avoid going through any click exchange programmes.

5) Avoid using methods like click traffic etc.

Simply put it, concentrate on your content, play it safe & revenue will follow.

Related post - Blogging for the uninitiated!!

Blogging - for the uninitiated!!

2007-11-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

Well, post my foray into the Blog world with 'Tech Span', a lot of my friends came up with queries on Blogging. So for the uninitiated, here's blogging in a nutshell.

A Blog is basically a personal diary where you can share your views on the web. The term 'Blog' is actually a morpheme to the word 'Web Log' coined by John Barger, way back in 1997. Over the years, blogs have turned out to be be an alternate media for neitzens & a paying one too.

Though, over here in India, the Blog bug caught up a little late, it's growing by leaps & bounds. People like Amit Agarwal of Digital Inspiration ( he quit his high paying IT job to be India's first professional blogger) have made a fortune through their blogs.

So how do you start:-

Step 1) Use a blog-building tool like blogger.com or wordpress.com to get started with. These tools provide you with all the plumbing you need, what with a good looking templates & readymade widgets & all.

Step 2) Write stuff that's interesting for people to read. They should visit you often.

Step 3) Be observant...be on a lookout for interesting happenings around.

In case you need tips on how to draw traffic to your blog, go through Subhash's post.

Will be coming up with a post on Adsense. So keep hooked!!
In the meanwhile, Happy Blogging!!

How to download YouTube videos??

2007-10-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

YouTube has become one of the favourite hangouts on the web today. But how do you save YouTube videos onto your HD??

Simple :-

1) KISS : - Use the word kiss in front of the video URL & you'll have a link to download the same.

eg: use kissyoutube.com/watch?v=ls1954aa instead of youtube.com/watch?v=ls1954aa

2) KeepVid : - Use KeepVid & paste the video URL into the bar. A link is provided to save the video.

3) YouRipper : - Use a free desktop based utility YouRipper to save the video to the HD.

All the above approaches help you save the video in the FLV format ( Flash Video ).

There are other ways like YouTubeX, TubeStock etc aswell.

Mash! Playing catchup with Orkut

2007-10-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

Mash! A simple Google search of the term throws up references to an Online game & a 1970 film on the top.But Nah...i am not gonna talk about them. The Mash i am talking about is the new Social Networking offering from the Yahoo! stable. It aims to challenge its more illustrious siblings like MySpace, Facebook & yeah Orkut.

Well, until now, Yahoo! was nothing but lame when it came to Social Networking, what with it's hugely unsuccessful Y! 360 offering. But Will Aldrich, the project head for Mash promises to change that.

Few knew what Mash was until last month as it was available only to Yahoo employees as a closed beta service, but a New York Times journalist was accidentally informed about it. Two dayslater, on September 14, the invitation-only beta version was launched. I,like hundreds of others ( 415 to be precise ), left a plea on Mash team leader Will Aldrich's blog for an invite.

With a plethora of Social Networking pros vying for attention, what does Mash! have that would impel me to make that unlikely shift from Orkut? Aldrich has the answer.

Mash is a new approach to online profiles, Aldrich says, adding that there are some new twists that make things a little interesting and a lot of fun. It allows you to make starter profiles for your friends and you can leave your profile open for trusted friends to add stuff you usually would'nt. Now how dangerous can that be?Leave it to your imagination. In short, think Wikipedia, which millions swear by but many don't trust because it can be changed by all and sundry.

You may therefore get up one fine morning & find your Mash profile tweaked by your next door neighbour, albeit with your permission.The main section ”About Me” has questions like If I were an animal, I would be.... Other fill-in-the-blank questions include The soundtrack of my life, What's most likely playing on my iPod, Something I can't leave home without, and My celebrity look-a-likes.

And there is no Scrapbook like in Orkut; it's a Guestbook.The fun part is you have your own little virtual pet which you can feed, smack, poke, jab or kill if you get too bored with it. Aldrich says Mash still is very raw with many bugs & has a long way to go.

The big question I am asking is why would I switch to Mash, and believe me I am not alone. While trotting Aldrich's blog http://blog.mash.yahoo.com/ i have found people commenting on this very subject.

Perhaps, only time will tell!!

Accessing Orkut & other blocked websites in College or at work

2007-10-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

We often find ourselves in situations where in we need to have a peek of that particular scrap from a special someone on Orkut or find an attachment on Yahoo. But alas..Orkut & Yahoo are blocked at your workplace.

What do you do now? Don't despair!! Go through this : -

Trick1) Use a proxy server. They are in plenty on the web & a simple Google search will provide you the list. The common ones are usually blocked but some of the uncommon ones are vmathpie.com, gravitywars.com, mathtunnel.com etc. Go through the list here LIST.

Trick 2) Surf the web using Mowser, a new service that's free and converts any website into a mobile phone friendly format. This is a Google tool.

Trick 3) Try putting in the IP address of the website in the address bar. This may or may not work depending on your ISP.

Trick 4) Google !! Yes, your very old fav Search Engine. How?? Here's how : -

Use Google Mobile Search. Google display the normal HTML pages as if you are viewing them on a mobile phone. During the translation, Google removes the javascript content and CSS scripts and breaks a longer page into several smaller pages.

Enter the URL in Google or Yahoo search and then visit the cached copy of the page. To retrieve the page more quickly from Google's cache, click "Cached Text Only" while the browser is loading the page from cache.

Use the Google language transaltor tool ( available on google.com ).

Trick 5) Use a URL redirection service like tinyurl.com or snipurl.com. These domain forward services sometimes work as the address in the the url box remain the redirect url and do not change to the banned site.

If all the above fail.... forget it & get back to work!!

Search Engines..look beyond Google!!

2007-10-10T03:10:00.000-07:00

Well think Search & the first thing that comes to mind is Google. Many, including me, can't get enough of this amazing tool. Then comes Yahoo, Live Search, Ask etc etc.

But there are a few who are very good when viewed from certain facets. Here's a peek view : -

Guruji.com
http://guruji.com

India's first Search engine, started by two fire-in-the-belly IIT grads, provides search services for Indian websites.

AskLaila.com
http://asklaila.com

Started by a group of IIT grads, AskLaila caters to local needs (presently Bangalore). Key in a query like 'Mobile repair shop ' & you'll get the answer.

AllTheWeb.com
http://alltheweb.com

Powered by Yahoo, you may find AllTheWeb a lighter, more customizable and pleasant "pure search" experience than you get at Yahoo itself. The focus is on web search, but news, picture, video, MP3 and FTP search are also offered.

HotBot
http://hotbot.com

HotBot provides easy access to the web's three major crawler-based search engines: Yahoo, Google and Teoma. Unlike meta search engines, it cannot blend the results from all of these crawlers together. Nevertheless, it's a fast, easy way to get different web search "opinions" in one place.

And then there are other intersting one's like vivisimo.com ( provides clustering feature ), dogpile.com etc.

Happy Searching !!

Tech Span? What's that ?

2007-10-10T00:22:00.000-07:00

Well, 'Tech Span' What's that ? I am sure that's the question that crops to your mind when you go through this
post. And by the way, i am sure the first thought will be ' Another Blog !!'

With lakhs of blogs doing the rounds of Blogosphere, how is this gonna be different. Well let me list out a few of my ideas : -

I am constantly on the lookout for some new tech stuff, be it a new startup, a new Google product or the new website that you have been hooked to. I plan to share those over here.

Trips & tricks i stumble upon.

Reviews & all.

So lookout for more. I hope i make your Blog trotting experience a pleasant one!!