Techhunks

A Day In The Life Of A “Psychic” Computer Troubleshooter

Jasdeep — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:57:57 +0000

So, the title might seem a little funny but the story behind the title is really funny and worth reading. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

So, one wonderful day i’m getting free from my college and going back home, i’m waiting for the bus and it’s snowing heavily. I receive a call from one of my cousins who lives in New York. He’s a distant relative and i’ve talked to him for a couple of times only. The reason why he called was that he wants to get a common relatives cell phone number from me, whose number he either lost or misplaced or god knows what! So, we are talking and talking (and trust me, this magical call ends up in a one and a half hour long call). So, as we are chatting over the phone, we are trying to gather as much as possible information about each other, Say, what are we studying, what kind of jobs we go to, hows the lifestyles different here in Toronto and New York.

As soon as he comes to know that i’m pursuing Computers in Toronto. The immediate reaction is can you fix my computer? He’s betting on me that i cannot because it’s broken for the past two months. So, i reply him back with what problem are you having with your computer. He tries to explain me the problem and i gathered an idea that he’s having boot up issues and most probably his Windows Installation is broken or corrupted. I shoot him back with a couple of questions, trying to figure out any error messages being displayed on the screen. He’s trying to co-operate with me by explaining some of the things that are going on on the screen. He goes back to his computer and turns it on to see if he can dictate any errors to me over the phone. As soon as the boot process is interrupted, he dictates the error to me, which is something like this:

A Windows installation already exists on this computer…(my memory fades, cannot recall what exactly he said )

Now, to a seasoned tech support guy, this error translates to the fact that a Windows Installation is in progress. And if, it is in progress, there obviously needs to be a CD in CD tray that is taking over the Boot Process. So, i ask him to check and see if there is any CD labeled “Windows XP” in the CD Tray. He opens the CD tray and finds one right there. He’s startled and amazed! The very same moment i’m receiving blasts of questions from him like if i know Black Magic or anything of that sort. Because, to him only a Psychic would know if he’s got a CD in his CD Tray . I laughed and asked him to pop the CD out and re-boot the computer. He does as directed and is back with his Windows Machine, which was dormant since the last two months just because it had a Windows CD in the CD tray – Consider the fact that he was going to wipe his Hard Disk and loose all his music collection and other important data.

Now, i receive his calls almost every week and fix his things over the phone and I’m called a Tech Psychic (The Downside ) The Bright side: Saving some one his much loved Music Collection and Other files, that’s

LG GX500 Dual SIM Mobile Phone

ethan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:20:31 +0000

LG Electronics has announced a new mobile phone called LG GX500. The thickness of LG GX500 is 13 mm packs a 3-inch touch screen with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels (WVGA) and 3M pixel camera.

The LG mobile phone GX500 is equipped with two SIM card slots and supports simultaneous operation, microSD card slot, microUSB port, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11b / g and a battery 1500 mAh. GX500 LG phone is integrated with social networking, Web browser Opera Mini 5, Russian-English dictionary. There is no information on prices of LG GX500.

Enable Facebook Chat on Pidgin or other IM on Windows

ethan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:44:43 +0000

This article is focused on Pidgin and other Windows based IM based on XMPP/Jabber. Pidgin uses a XMPP protocol for user discovery. Follow the following instructions and you should be able to communicate with yourFacebook friends over Pidgin. If you are using another XMPP/Jabber based IM follow the second half of instructions.

To get it working with iChat follow these steps

Go to “Accounts” and select “Manage Accounts.”
On the Basic tab, enter the following info:

Protocol: XMPP

Username:

Domain: chat.facebook.com

Resource: Pidgin

Password:

Local alias:

3. Click the Advanced tab, then enter the following info:

Connect port: 5222

Connect server: chat.facebook.com

(Uncheck the box labeled “Require SSL/TLS”)

To get it working with other Windows based IM with based on XMPP follow these steps

Start your instant message program and locate the menu where you can add a new account (usually in preferences or settings).
Create a new account by entering the following info:

Protocol: XMPP or Jabber

Username:

Domain: chat.facebook.com

Jabber ID: ethan.hunt@chat.facebook.com

Password:

3. Enter the following server info, as requested:

Port: 5222

Server: chat.facebook.com

Use SSL/TLS: no

Allow Plaintext Authentication: no

Thunderbird on Tray

ethan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:21:36 +0000

Thunderbird, a free mail client software has a new version which is version 3.O that comes with a lot of new features and one of this is the clean interface. Since most of the viewers of this blog is requesting the newer version of an add-on that minimizes Thunderbird on the tray instead of closing it.

The add-on which I provided on older version is not working on Thunderbird v3.O but I have an alternative solution which is also an add-on I used today. It has same effect and options.

Here is the link of the site where you can get the add-on. Install the add-on and set the option that suites your desired actions. I hope this will solve the problem of most viewers in this site.

Thunderbird Minimize to Tray

ethan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:30:43 +0000

For version 3.O

One of the most favorable software for mail clients is Mozilla Thunderbird. It is a free software which can be downloaded on their official website. Like Firefox, Thunderbird can also be customized easily and there are thousands of resources online. One good thing in using mozilla thunderbird or any other mail clients is that read messages offline and this can also save your time from opening your mails via browser. There are also a lot of advantages when you are using a mail client especially when your are using a portable device such as the laptop/notebook.

In the previous days I have heard a lot of complaints regarding Thunderbird and I will be defending it since I have been using it for quite sometime and I haven’t found any problems with it. One of the problems I have been hearing in the past few days is that Thunderbird is somewhat like annoying when you are opening a lot off applications when in fact you will be viewing it once in a while.

For a lot of people this really is bothersome especially when you are in a hurry and want to switch from one application to the other in no time. To those who don’t explore well and relies only to default settings this really is one big problem. Like what I said Mozilla Thunderbird can also be customized. To add Thunderbird in the system tray you can just download the add on name Minimize to Tray and set the options like what I have in the image below:

Once you close your Thunderbird it will automatically be in the system tray and will notify you every now and then when you recieve an email. I hope I made your life easy and helped you somehow from a problem that really was never a problem.

PLDT’s Port 25 (SMTP)

ethan — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 08:19:36 +0000

Today, a friend of mine called me and questioned me why she can’t send emails using her mail client which is Incredimail which is one cool mail client because of the effects and animation. It really bothered me a lot because I can’t solve the problem without being there in the situation and it is hard to explain things using a phone. So I went over to her place and to find out that PLDT changed their SMTP port to 587 which is not the usual port of SMTP. But this is not only the solution, outgoing mail server should also be changed to smtpdsl4.pldtdsl.net instead of using your own outgoing mail server(mail.icpep.org).

This has become an issue but still PLDT has no action for this. This is really one problem especially to those people who are not that techie. Hope PLDT will change it back to the usual port and find other ways on how to solve the spamming issues.

To summarize it, you can configure your mail clients using the following information:

Outgoing mail server SMTP: smtpdsl4.pldtdsl.net

UNCHECK – My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication

USE Port: 587

Hope this helps in solving your problem.

Broadband Internet Connection

ethan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:27:02 +0000

Broadband Internet Connection means a wide range of frequencies that are available to transmit information. This ultimately means that the wider the range of frequencies available, the high the amount of information that can be sent at one given time. This type of connections is much faster than Dial-up connections which are limited to 56Kbs internet speed which also requires a telephone to work.

Internet is vastly growing and dial up is almost not in use today. And one good thing about this is that most internet technologies already support Broadband connections.

Before choosing you broadband internet connection here are several tips for you to consider. First thing is you need to have a broadband speed test so that you will know how fast your Internet Service Provider(ISP) is. This is the first thing that one should do before deciding which ISP to select. Failure to check will surely give a lot of pain along the way.

Another thing to consider is the technical support, make sure technical support is always present. Like what I have technical support is always there, they provided me a hotline and I can also contact them on their site for minor problems. If you are not a techie person I suggest that you should consider this option.

How reliable are they? Reliability is always in the list when it comes to ISP services. Reliability should be checked especially when we are use it in business. They should be consistent with their services and downtime should be almost zero.

Lastly, cost is also considered. There are a lot of ISP’s who give all this services and cost me low.

When I was searching for the best broadband reviews, I made several choices and and one of the best was for o2 broadband review. They have excellent performance among the considerations to take before having you Internet connection. They provide excellent and reliable services.

Unusual Bluetooth Device

ethan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:13:42 +0000

The coolest bluetooth headset is now to be lunched this June of 2010. This the safest and handiest bluetooth set ever! Bringing a much bigger device is such a hassle especially when you are in travel because it occupies a bigger special space in your baggage to make sure of the safety. Some bluetooth headset are only for music files and for calls anf with out even any warnings that an activity is currently active. Here are several reasons why you should grab one this 2010.

Keeping the device up to 3O feet will give you full control of the headset. The O.R.B (orbital ring Bluetooth) Headset from Hybra Advance Technologies offers one of the most awesome solutions ever: it’s an innovative Bluetooth headset that transforms into a ring with a simple twist.

This solution for such simple problem is a very big help to busy human beings. This headset will also display caller ID information as well as voice-to-text so that you don’t even have to take it off of your finger to stay in touch. When you receive a call or it’s time for a scheduled meeting, the ring vibrates on your finger to alert you. Cool isn’t it?

This irresistible basic bluetooth headset is expected to be on the market by 2010 at $129 and the deluxe and designer models will be available in Junel 2010 for $175.

Boost Wireless Signal

ethan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:16:40 +0000

If you want to boost the signal of your wireless linksys router all you need is configure the router. You can type on the browser 192.168.1.1 which is the default IP address assigned on the router. After logging in you can go to wireless then click advance settings. Most configuration in this area is based on default configuration, change the following value.
*Beacon Interval – 50
*Fragmentation Threshold – 2304
*RTS Threshold – 2304

After setting the values you can save the configuration and turn off the router for several seconds. Turn it on again to use the changes made on your router.

Slackware Linux E-book

ethan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:13:53 +0000

Knowing a Linux distro is one asset of a network administrator, since then I seemed to be a die hard fan of knowing Linux. The first linux distro I used was Red Hat and from the first time I saw it I was so amazed and at the same time surprised that such operating system exist. By then I was a great fan of linux but sad to say I seldomly use the operating system because most of the tools used in school and work is windows based, though it can be ran through wine but running it in windows is different.

Lately, my friends and colleagues installed a transparent proxy used for filtering sites accessed within the network. They explained to me how the proxy functions and it was a very big interest to me especially that linux was involved.

This was also a coincidence that in the previous week I was able to download the latest version of Slackware Linux v13.O. I tried to install it but facing it in text based is something new to me because the previous flavors of linux I used comes with a graphical user interface making it easy for me to install and configure stuff.

So the first step I made was finding an ebook for slackware and I got lucky that surfing deeper in the net I found version 2 of Slackware. Since the resources is so scarce I decided to upload the ebook here and have an easy download for it to help also others and have them a reference. So if this is also your first time to start with Linux Slackware, let us journey together in finding the power of Linux Slackware in Network administration. Hoping that we can share ideas on how to improve communication a lot safer and a lot faster. Below is the link where you can download the ebook.

Download Slacware Ebook V2.O