Wednesday, February 28, 2007

CryoPID - A Process Freezer for Linux

CryoPID allows you to capture the state of a running process in Linux and save it to a file. This file can then be used to resume the process later on, either after a reboot or even on another machine.

CryoPID was spawned out of a discussion on the Software suspend mailing list about the complexities of suspending and resuming individual processes.

CryoPID consists of a program called freeze that captures the state of a running process and writes it into a file. The file is self-executing and self-extracting, so to resume a process, you simply run that file.

More @ cryopid

SCIgen - An Automatic CS Paper Generator

SCIgen is a program that generates random Computer Science research papers, including graphs, figures, and citations. It uses a hand-written context-free grammar to form all elements of the papers.

One useful purpose for such a program is to auto-generate submissions to conferences that you suspect might have very low submission standards. A prime example, which you may recognize from spam in your inbox, is SCI/IIIS and its dozens of co-located conferences.


More @ Here

Corel releases public beta of WordPerfect Lightning

Corel released a free public beta of WordPerfect Lightning on Tuesday, a word processor that blends a desktop-based application with online collaboration and storage features. WordPerfect Lightening has a "Notes" tool to save text and images from the Internet, in addition to a "Viewer" that can handle the portable document format (.pdf), WordPerfect, and Microsoft's Word documents. It also has a "Navigator" to organize files.

The desktop application is 20MB and is compatible with Microsoft's new Vista OS and XP.If users are not at computer running the WordPerfect Lightning desktop application, they can use Lightning's online site to access files stored by Corel. Users get 200MB of storage space to back up data such as e-mails, contacts, bookmarks, and documents, in addition to a calendar and free e-mail. WordPerfect Lightning is one of a wave of applications integrating desktop applications with online features for greater access and easier collaboration.

Source: InfoWorld

Mozilla: Firefox 3.0 opens for Web apps

Firefox 3.0, the open-source browser which is slated for release in the second half of 2007, will include many new features, including offline support for Web applications and new bookmark and search features. While the final feature set hasn't been determined, Firefox 3.0 will also contain elements for its 4.0 release.

Ultimately, Mozilla engineers are aiming for an integration between the browser and Web-based services that is as smooth-running as a desktop application. To do offline support, engineers have overcome the hurdle of how to store data locally on the computer – the feature will make it into Firefox 3.0, although the user interface is still under development. Mozilla would also like to create a function where bookmarks could be automatically sorted based on popularity and frequency rather than the static presentation now.

Most importantly, Firefox has to be fast and standards-compliant.Extensions are sometimes to blame for abnormal use of system resources, and therefore Mozilla will soon set up a shared library of tested code that extension writers can download and use. Mozilla also relaunched its extension site, cutting back on the number of extensions listed so first-time users don't overload their browsers and dampen their experience. In a few weeks, discussion forums will also be set up for developers to exchange feedback as code writers sometimes don't know of the problems.

Firefox 4.0 will support the JavaScript 2 language, now under development in part by Mozilla's CTO Brendan Eich and the ECMA International standards body. The idea behind the JavaScript revamp is to make high-performance Web applications easier to write and assemble for people with less coding expertise.

Source: InfoWorld

New MySpace, Skype virus threats spotted

The two virus threats are completely unrelated except that they were both discovered by Finnish computer security firm F-Secure Corporation.

The popular social networking site MySpace.com is having its user pages infected with a link to a computer virus. The pages are being modified by versions of the Zlob Trojan, which is installing code that overlays its own window on top of the page, according to F-Secure's chief researcher Mikko Hypponen. Zlob tries to download and run malware and attempts to change Internet Explorer web browser settings, default search and home pages. When a MySpace user clicks on the overlaid window, the virus tries to modify that page with code that includes the Zlob download link.

Hypponen also warned of initial reports regarding attempts to spread another known virus through Skype's text-based instant messaging feature. Some have alerted F-Secure that they had received links to files infected with a worm called Warezov. Warezov harvests e-mail addresses it finds on infected computers and sends itself as an attachment to those recipients. It also tries to download newer versions of itself from the internet.

Source: CBC News

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Building A Linux Router

Building a reliable, full-featured broadband router can be very easy and cost-efficient. This article is about building one for routing a LAN to the Internet with NAT (Network Address Translation -- Linux users also call it as IP Masquerading) using an old computer and a Linux micro-distribution designed to have very low hardware requirements. We'll end up having a very simple and stable system, yet featuring e.g. iptables based stateful firewalling and remote administration.

Full Tutorial @ NetworkNewz.com

BitTorrent Opens Legal Movie & TV Show Online Store

BitTorrent has launched the BitTorrent Entertainment Network, featuring a comprehensive library of digital entertainment content available for free, for rent and for purchase from 20th Century Fox, Lions Gate, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and MGM. The BitTorrent community is offering movies, television shows and music videos for download, as well as the ability to upload and share user-created content (a great opportunity for independent artists and amateurs alike).

At launch, the BitTorrent Entertainment Network will feature over 5,000 new and old titles of movies, TV shows, PC games and music content. At this time, the majority of content is available only in standard definition; about 40 hours of content is encoded for high definition (plans are in motion to increase this number). Movie rentals are priced at $3.99 and $2.99 for new release and catalog titles, respectively. TV shows and music videos are download-to-own at $1.99 each. Videos are protected using Microsoft's Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM), meaning playback is limited to Windows-based machines, and a single PC at that. A wide variety of entertainment content, however, will be offered for free, without DRM and designed to be distributed across all platforms.

Source: DailyTech

Monday, February 26, 2007

MDCrack - bruteforce your MD2/MD4/MD5/HMAC/NTLM1/IOS/PIX/FreeBSD/Apache/IPB2 hashes

MDCrack is a free featureful password cracker designed to bruteforce several commonly used hash algorithms at a very aggressive speed rate. It can retrieve any password made of up to 8 characters (16 for PIX algorithms) and 55 characters when salted.

In order to achieve the highest possible speed rate, this program uses several cores for each algorithm it supports. Each one of these cores provides a different level of optimization designed to best fit with a specific set of command line options.

Whatever command line configuration is used, MDCrack will always arrange to use the best available core.To date, this program supports bruteforce attacks for 18 algorithms: MD2, MD4, MD5, HMAC-MD4, HMAC-MD5, FreeBSD, Apache, NTLMv1, IOS and PIX (both enable and user) hashes,
Invision Power Board 2.x (IPB2), MD4MD4, MD4MD4S, MD5MD5, MD5MD5S, PHP, PHPS, the list of algorithms is growing up.

Multi threading allows for parallel cracking and load sharing between several CPUs and multiplies overall speed by the number of available processor(s).

This yields to phenomenal performance even on old generation multi-CPUs systems.
Several options offer fine tuning for the attack and allow to save and resume your session at a later time.

This program has multiple uses in real life, while its primary goal is obviously to test the strength of hashed passwords, it can also be used as a raw benchmark tool for integer calculs.

See HomePage

WHISHER - Free WiFi EveryWhere

No hardware to purchase-it works with any WiFi device!

It’s a software application that you install on your computer and helps you get free WiFi access all around the world.

Additionally it offers a range of tools and services that will take your wireless experience to a new level.

The Whisher network is powered by users sharing their WiFi.

All WiFi networks registered through Whisher are protected and the owners (sharers) have full control on who and when can access them.

More @ Wisher.com

Adtron Announces 160GB SSD

If you're a mobile user, this will interest you, as long as you remember Solid State Drives are an emerging technology. Adtron is upping the ante by providing SATA and IDR versions of a 160GB SSD.The IDE (I25FB) and SATA (A25FB) versions of Adtron's SSDs use SLC NAND flash memory and will be available in a standard 2.5" notebook form-factor. The I25B IDE SSD offers read speeds of up to 70MB/sec and write speeds of up to 60MB/sec. The A25FB is just a tad bit slower at 65MB/sec and 55MB/sec respectively.

The drives also feature the ArrayPro Performance Engine which enables the fast read/write speeds as well as Erasure Data Security which provides military-level protection. There is no word on pricing or availability for Adtron's SSDs, but they will probably cost you an arm and a leg. For reference, SanDisk's 32GB drive is pegged at around $600 while Ritek's 32GB won’t be much cheaper.

source: DailyTech

Some of the most useful links?

Check out these cool links for videos, bookmarks, blogs, search engines, feeds, etc.

Bookmarks

Blogs

News, Stories, Smalltalk

Hot and popular Videoz

For more visit

Friday, February 23, 2007

Canon PowerShot TX1


Canon introduced its PowerShot TX1 digital camera, a multitasking little sucker that's about the size of a deck of cards. It can shoot both 7.1-megapixel stills and 720p high-definition video in 16:9 format at 30 frames per second, recording its image data on SD memory cards, higher-capacity SDHC cards, MultiMedia and MMCplus cards. It has an LCD viewscreen that swivels out like a camcorder, and uses an improved Digic III image processor that Canon says contributes to faster startup, improved image quality and extended battery life.

The camera has component outputs for playing that 720p footage on an HDTV, and its MovieSnap feature also lets you grab frames from the HDTV footage for use as stills. It looks like Canon didn't skimp on the still-camera capabilities, either, helping you hold its retractable 10x optical zoom lens steady with optical image stabilization that shifts the lens to compensate for unwanted camera movement.

Canon's $499.99 price for the TX1 is apparently aimed to undercut the $699 Sanyo Xacti HD2 flash-based HD camcorder, while both have the same megapixel count and 10x zoom lenses.

Source @ Here

MySQL FAQs - Transaction Management

A collection of 24 FAQs on MySQL transaction management. Clear answers are provided with tutorial exercises on starting and ending transactions; committing and rolling back transactions; transaction isolation levels: read committed and repeatable read; locks and dead locks. Topics included in this FAQ are:

  1. What Is a Transaction?
  2. How To Start a New Transaction?
  3. How To End the Current Transaction?
  4. How To Create a Table for Transaction Testing?
  5. How To Switch between Autocommit-On and Autocommit-Off Modes?
  6. How To Find Out the Current Transaction Mode?
  7. How To Start a New Transaction Explicitly?
  8. How To Commit the Current Transaction?
  9. How To Rollback the Current Transaction?
  10. What Happens to the Current Transaction If a START TRANSACTION Is Executed?
  11. What Happens to the Current Transaction If a DDL Statement Is Executed?
  12. What Happens to the Current Transaction If the Session Is Ended?
  13. What Happens to the Current Transaction If the Session Is Killed?
  14. How Does MySQL Handle Read Consistency?
  15. What Are Transaction Isolation Levels?
  16. How To View and Change the Current Transaction Isolation Level?
  17. What Is a Data Lock?
  18. How To Experiment Data Locks?
  19. How Long a Transaction Will Wait for a Data Lock?
  20. What Happens to Your Transactions When ERROR 1205 Occurred?
  21. What Is a Dead Lock?
  22. How To Experiment Dead Locks?
  23. What Happens to Your Transactions When ERROR 1213 Occurred?
  24. What Are the Impacts on Applications from Locks, Timeouts, and DeadLocks?

Please note that all answers and tutorials are based on MySQL 5.0 with transaction-safe storage engines, like InnoDB. Sometimes you may need to run previous tutorials in order to continue a later tutorial.

Full article @ fyicenter.com

Pioneer launches AVIC-D3BT

Hot on the heels of England posting SAT NAV warning signs to help motorists rely less on their GPS and more on the read ahead of them comes Pioneer latest, are the firm is unleashing a UK-based head unit that does a little navigatin' while holding down your multimedia demands. The AVIC-D3BT is a double-DIN unit that boasts a 6.1-inch touchscreen display, Bluetooth for handsfree calling, and a slick "iBus" iPod interface that actually gives users an on-screen scroll wheel to mimic the control scheme Pod users know so well. Additionally, it'll come bundled with European maps, 12 million POIs, multicolor illumination to customize the glow, and will play nice with MP3, WMA, AAC, DivX and even DVD discs. Slated to hit British stores in mid-March, the AVIC-D3BT is listed at £1,300 ($2,538), but savvy shoppers should it a few hundred pounds cheaper if snooping around.

More @ Here

ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard

ASUS is responsible for making some of the industry's best motherboards, though many of them can also be the most expensive money can buy. Lucky for us, that is not the case with the P5N-E SLI we are testing today, at least not the expensive part.

When purchasing an ASUS motherboard, consumers are not just paying for a brand name. ASUS' build quality is excellent and more often than not, the overall package and bundled features are also very valuable. Recently however we were let down by an overrated and overpriced ASUS product that did nothing else but sell a brand name. That product is no other than ASUS' flagship Striker Extreme. This member of the “Republic of Gamers” costs a crazy $400, making it nearly untouchable to the real gaming and enthusiast crowd.

Although ASUS is happy to take your money for this overpriced board, they also seem to be aware of the importance to deliver a good value, high performance product for the rest of us. They came up with the P5N-E SLI which has been designed around the ultra-affordable Nvidia nForce 650i SLI chipset.

Out of all the new nForce 6-series chipsets, this is easily the smartest option for those that are seeking SLI support on the Core 2 Duo platform without all the extravagant options. Performance-wise the 650i SLI is every bit as good as the 680i SLI, so why does the P5N-E SLI cost just $140 when the competing ASUS 680i SLI board costs $270?

Source:techspot.com

Intel 3GHz Quad-Core Chips & 1600MHz Processor Bus

The world’s largest chipmaker Intel Corp. announced on Wednesday that its server and workstation products made using 45nm process technology will be available already this year. Still, the company has a plenty of headroom with its 65nm chips and has plans to introduce 3.0GHz Intel Xeon “Clovertown” chips going forward.

The company plans to introduce low-power quad-core chip with 50W thermal design power in early March, to present code-named Caneland multi-processor server platform in Q3 2007 and to launch the first Xeon DP (dual processor) products made using 45nm process technology in the second half of the year.

The new Intel Xeon 45nm microprocessor for dual-socket applications based on the core that Intel calls Penryn will be drop-in compatible with the company’s contemporary Intel 5000-series core-logic sets (code-named Bensley and Glidewell platforms), however, there will be an improved version of the Intel 5000-series chipset aimed at HPC/WS market segments that features 1600MHz processor system bus (PSB) coming in the second half of the year to support higher-performance Xeon “Clovertown” chips with operation at 3GHz.

Source: xbitlabs.com

Water-Resistant & Printable Blu-Ray Media

Imation Corporation, a leading supplier of optical disc media, revealed the world’s first Blu-ray scratch-resistant media that features water-resistant technology – using ink-jet printer or markers on the discs is now possible. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price, for a 25GB single-layer Blu-ray discs with AquaGuard technology that offers white, smear- and water-resistant inkjet printable disc surface with jewel case, is $24.99. Featuring proprietary nanoparticle technology, the AquaGuard coating grips and holds ink to lock designs in place, unlike standard inkjet media that easily smears when exposed to moisture.

Scratch Resistance? Check. Printable custom labels? Check. Copy protection cracked? Check. Who knows, maybe Blu-ray will win the HD war if pirates adopt the media. Too bad there's still the whole price "issue". Dear Sony, please start a price war.

Source: Xbit Laboratories

Thursday, February 22, 2007

MSN Messenger has Malware!

Microsoft is red-faced after admitting it has been serving malware to users via MSN Messenger and its MSN website network. APC Magazine in Australia has screenshots of the malware in action, which was being pumped via a banner ad booked by an MSN advertiser.

Microsoft has admitted to the mistake and pledged to improve its advertiser screening process. But it's a major blow for the company which has been devoting years of effort to convincing users Windows is now a safer OS.

source: APCMag.com

Firefox Loses and Safari Gains Browser Share

According Aliso Viejo, California-based Net Applications’ January 2007 report, Mozilla Firefox has lost browser market share (from 14% to 13.7%) while Apple’s Safari has grown in browser usage (from 4.2% to 4.7%). For Firefox, this is the first dip since May 2006. "It appears to be a real dip," not a statistical anomaly, said Vincent Vizzaccaro, Net Applications' executive vice president of marketing and strategic relationships. Partly based on the open-source Konqueror, Safari previously held 3.1% of the browser market – its growth could indicate a slow but steady increase in Macintosh sales.Microsoft's Internet Explorer accounted for 79.8% of the browser market in January.

source: PC World

Video Pixel Aspect Ratio - Fitting rectangular pixels into square holes

One of the more annoying idiosyncrasies of digital video is that images often look distorted on a computer monitor: they’re either too wide or too skinny, especially when working with widescreen footage. This can lead to a crisis in confidence – often late at night, usually on deadline – as to whether you can trust your eyes, or if you are doing the right thing. In this article, we will help explain the tricky subject of pixel aspect ratio or “PAR” for short, including PARs for common video formats. In our next article, we will discuss strategies for mixing non-video assets such as photographs and scans with your digital video, including how not to make a client’s logo – or the clients themselves – look too fat or too thin.

Full Tutorial in PDF @ ArtBeats

Access To MySQL

Access to MySQL is a small program that will convert Microsoft Access Databases to MySQL.

  • Wizard interface.
  • Transfer data directly from one server to another.
  • Create a dump file.
  • Select tables to transfer.
  • Select fields to transfer.
  • Transfer password protected databases.
  • Supports both shared security and user-level security.
  • Optional transfer of indexes.
  • Optional transfer of records.
  • Optional transfer of default values in field definitions.
  • Identifies and transfers auto number field types.
  • Command line interface.
  • Easy install, uninstall and upgrade.
More @ bullZip.com

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Configure Google Talk for your chat client!

yes, google talk can be used on your pc with any chat client which supports jabber protocol.You need to set following settings in jabber connection settings.

username: your gmail username without gmail.com (i.e if abc@gmail.com then give abc as username).

password: give your password.
Login Server: gmail.com

You must use SSL connection.


Connection host: talk.google.com

port:5223


see the image as i have done in miranda IM.

TDK's Xa-10 mini flat panel speakers


TDK just slipped NXT's crazy-thin SoundVu technology into your pocket. That's right, the 80 × 117 x 16-mm (3.15 x 4.6 x 0.63-inch) Xa-10 flat panel speaker brings a 1.2W x 2ch waft of breathy bass you might otherwise choose not to float from your trou. The speakers will accept USB power (or batteries) and a mini-stereo input when they hit Japan in March for just ¥2,980 or about $25.

More @ Here

Professional audio with Fedora Core 6

This is the first in a series of articles that aim to provide some guidance on how to get started making use of the professional audio tools and capabilities of a Fedora Core system. This article covers playing notes using the JACK audio server, the ZynAddSubFX software synthesiser, and a virtual MIDI keyboard controller.

In the last few years Linux has made great strides forward in the provision of professional applications for the creation, manipulation, and recording of audio and music. It is now possible to create a professional level Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) using only Free Software. For a number of years audio applications for Red Hat Linux and Fedora Core have been packaged by Fernando Lopez-Lezcano in the Planet CCRMA repository; recently a Fedora Extras SIG has been created for audio, along with a mailing list. This has led to a number of audio packages appearing in the Fedora Extras repositories and a growing cooperation with Fernando regarding the future direction of audio package creation and distribution.

With the addition of applications such as JACK, ZynAddSubFX, and Rosegarden to Fedora Extras for Fedora Core 6, and other applications appearing in Fedora Extras Development or moving through the review process, it is now possible to convert a standard Fedora Core 6 install into a full-blown DAW using only a single YUM command. An unfortunate downside is that many of these applications have slow or stopped development, little documentation, and the mailing lists and forums are quiet. These articles are an attempt to document my experiences in starting to use audio applications on Fedora Core to create music.

There is one mailing list that seems to be very active and helpful for users of audio applications, the linux-audio-users list; you can also view the list archives. There is a corresponding announcement list available as well.

Full Article @ Here

Phone software for access to your Kid's mobiles

A revolutionary new piece of mobile phone software which can give parents control over what photographs and videos their children can download to their handsets is being launched by a Glasgow-based web security firm.

Netintelligence, which last year won a UK industry award for its web monitoring and paedophile alert ‘Safekeeper’ software, has created Netintelligence Mobile – a world-first handset-based programme allowing parents to set detailed parameters on their children’s phone use.

Mobile phone file sharing hit the headlines last week after Hawick High School head teacher Alan Williamson was the victim of a happy slap assault; the previous week a young footballer appeared in court after filming and distributing mobile phone footage of a 14-year-old having sex at a party.

What is your opinion?
is it break of privacy? or is it good for children? do we need to keep an eye on our kid's mobiles? Leave your comments here.

View: Full Article

Free Easy CD DVD Burner

Free Easy CD DVD Burner enables you to burn data CDs and DVDs, as well as Audio CDs. It can automatically convert your media files (WAV, WMA, MP3, OGG, FLAC, AAC, M4A) to standard CD format that can be played in any CD player, and also burn discs from image (.iso) files. In addition to CD/DVD burning, the program also includes a CD ripper to extract songs from an Audio CD, gather track information from CDDB and save them as MP3 or WAV files to your hard drive. Other features include BurnProof and multi-session support, erase media, ID3 tagging and more. Free Easy CD DVD Burner supports dual-layer DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW.

Pros: Supports Audio and Data CDs as well as DVDs

Cons: No data verification; projects cannot be saved; cannot create bootable CDs

Home Page: http://www.koyotesoft.com

Luxeed - The Luxiium LED keyboard


Luxiium, a Korean company, offers the Luxeed, a white or black keyboard with LED keys. No, each key is not a small LED screen, but each key is lighted by LEDs. You can control the keys and assign them the exact color you want. The white version is rather cool, but the black one is absolutely SUPERB!

More @ Here

PortableApps Suite - Your computer, without the computer

PortableApps Suite™ is a collection of portable apps including a web browser, email client, office suite, calendar/scheduler, instant messaging client, antivirus, sudoku game, backup utility and integrated menu, all preconfigured to work portably. Just drop it on your portable device and you're ready to go.

Included Applications

All versions of the PortableApps Suite include the integrated PortableApps Menu (pictured at right) and the PortableApps Backup utility along with a set of custom icons, an autoplay configuration, folders and a quick start shortcut. In addition, the packages include:

PortableApps Suite (Standard Edition): ClamWin Portable (antivirus), Mozilla Firefox - Portable Edition (web browser), Gaim Portable (instant messaging), OpenOffice.org PortableSudoku Portable (puzzle game), Mozilla Sunbird - Portable Edition (calendar/task manager) and Mozilla Thunderbird - Portable Edition (email client) and runs comfortably from a 512MB drive. (office suite),

PortableApps Suite (Lite Edition): Uses AbiWord Portable (word processor) instead of OpenOffice.org Portable and runs comfortably from a 256MB drive.

PortableApps Suite (Base Edition): If you'd like to pick and choose exactly which apps to include, you can try Portable Apps Suite (Base Edition). This is a stripped down package with just the PortableApps Menu, PortableApps Backup utility and custom folders, icons and autorun. It's less than 1MB installed, so it's a great option for smaller drives.

HomePage: PortableApps.com

News Bar Wizard - Google News on Your Web Page

The Google AJAX Search API lets you put Google Search in your web pages with JavaScript. You can embed a simple, dynamic search box and display search results in your own web pages or use the results in innovative, programmatic ways.

It gives 3 options for search:
- Web Search
- Video Search
- Local Search

More @ Google

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Convert YouTube, Google Video, etc Flash FLV to AVI/MOV/MP4 online

This service converts a FLV file (Youtube's movie,etc) to another format (AVI/MOV/MP4/MP3). The service is using a unique technologies (JP), and converts FLV to MPEG4 faster and losslessy than a typical transcoder. When you submit an url, this service will download and convert the video format. Then you can download the converted file.

Link
http://www.vixy.net/flv_converter

Conversion
FLV to AVI FLV to MOV FLV to MP4 FLV to DivX

Video Conversion - DVD to H.264/AVC/AAC/MP4

This guide will show you how to create high-quality standards-compliant H.264/AVC/AAC/MP4 copies of your DVD movies for your own personal use.

It's probably not the the quickest or most efficient method - It uses several different and in some cases quite old tools and it takes quite a long time.

Full Guide @ Here

Monday, February 19, 2007

Create a copy of an existing SQL Server database

Here u can find a Stored Procedure for talking backup of your existing Sql Database


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USE master
GO

-- the original database (use 'SET @DB = NULL' to disable backup)
DECLARE @DB varchar(200)
SET @DB = 'PcTopp'

-- the backup filename
DECLARE @BackupFile varchar(2000)
SET @BackupFile = 'c:\pctopp\sqlserver\backup.dat'

-- the new database name
DECLARE @TestDB varchar(200)
SET @TestDB = 'TestDB'

-- the new database files without .mdf/.ldf
DECLARE @RestoreFile varchar(2000)
SET @RestoreFile = 'c:\pctopp\sqlserver\backup'


-- ****************************************************************
-- no change below this line
-- ****************************************************************


DECLARE @query varchar(2000)

DECLARE @DataFile varchar(2000)
SET @DataFile = @RestoreFile + '.mdf'

DECLARE @LogFile varchar(2000)
SET @LogFile = @RestoreFile + '.ldf'

IF @DB IS NOT NULL
BEGIN
SET @query = 'BACKUP DATABASE ' + @DB + ' TO DISK = ' + QUOTENAME(@BackupFile, '''')
EXEC (@query)
END

-- RESTORE FILELISTONLY FROM DISK = 'C:\temp\backup.dat'
-- RESTORE HEADERONLY FROM DISK = 'C:\temp\backup.dat'
-- RESTORE LABELONLY FROM DISK = 'C:\temp\backup.dat'
-- RESTORE VERIFYONLY FROM DISK = 'C:\temp\backup.dat'

IF EXISTS(SELECT * FROM sysdatabases WHERE name = @TestDB)
BEGIN
SET @query = 'DROP DATABASE ' + @TestDB
EXEC (@query)
END

RESTORE HEADERONLY FROM DISK = @BackupFile
DECLARE @File int
SET @File = @@ROWCOUNT

DECLARE @Data varchar(500)
DECLARE @Log varchar(500)

SET @query = 'RESTORE FILELISTONLY FROM DISK = ' + QUOTENAME(@BackupFile , '''')

CREATE TABLE #restoretemp
(
LogicalName varchar(500),
PhysicalName varchar(500),
type varchar(10),
FilegroupName varchar(200),
size int,
maxsize bigint
)
INSERT #restoretemp EXEC (@query)

SELECT @Data = LogicalName FROM #restoretemp WHERE type = 'D'
SELECT @Log = LogicalName FROM #restoretemp WHERE type = 'L'

PRINT @Data
PRINT @Log

TRUNCATE TABLE #restoretemp
DROP TABLE #restoretemp

IF @File > 0
BEGIN
SET @query = 'RESTORE DATABASE ' + @TestDB + ' FROM DISK = ' + QUOTENAME(@BackupFile, '''') +
' WITH MOVE ' + QUOTENAME(@Data, '''') + ' TO ' + QUOTENAME(@DataFile, '''') + ', MOVE ' +
QUOTENAME(@Log, '''') + ' TO ' + QUOTENAME(@LogFile, '''') + ', FILE = ' + CONVERT(varchar, @File)
EXEC (@query)
END
GO


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linux and BSD-based Firewalls and Broadband Routers

List of firewalls and BroadBand routers for different distributions

Astaro Security Linux
CensorNet
ClarkConnect Broadband Getaway
Devil-Linux
Euronode
Gibraltar
IPCop Firewall
Linux LiveCD Router
Luinux
Mandrake Security MNF
m0n0wall
redWall Firewall
Securepoint
Sentry Firewall
SmoothWall GPL

How To Identify Unknown Processes In Windows

When it comes to Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, knowing what is running under the hood winlogo.jpgis the key to identifying problems and keeping the system running properly. One example is identifying what processes are running, and how did they start.

Understanding how to track processes down, can be a big help if you think your system is infected with spyware, or if performance is sluggish.

You can use Task Manager to quickly see all running processes, but if you need to drill down and find out what program started the process, Task Manager falls short of reporting all the needed details. A tool that I use to get the details, is Process Explorer from Microsoft Windows Sysinternals site.

You can easily download Process Explorer at Microsoft TechNet Windows Sysinternals site and it's free. Process Explorer runs on Windows 9x/Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Server 2003, and 64-bit versions of Windows for x64 processors, and Windows Vista.

It shows paths for running processes and handles also. You can search on handle, DLL, process. You can kill any process or handle. From the path of process application, you can identify if it is a virus or Trojan. So you can simply delete it. It's a great utility.

Google sues Polish poets over gmail.pl

it seems that google wants the whole world below it. I mean this is just worst thing they have done.They just sued a group of poets because they are using gmail.pl domain name for their site. If the domain is available then anyone can register it. It is not illegal.

See the news:

Izabela Krawczyk of GMAiL (Grupa MÅ‚odych Artystów i Literatów), which in English translates to “Group of Young Artists and Writers”, told AFP that Google had turned to the country's IT and telecommunications tribunal to try to stop them using http://www.gmail.pl. Google claims that the group of Polish poets has no rights to the name, which resembles the US firm's email service http://www.gmail.com. Krawczyk said that at the end of last year her group was surprised to discover that the domain was available and decided to buy the rights to the domain name in order to raise the profile of GMAiL, which publicises the works of young unknowns who have not yet found a conventional editor.

News source: Physorg

Video Conversion Guides - iPod MP4 and Nintendo Wii

Convert video to iPod MP4 using MPEG StreamClip

This guide will show you the basic step how to convert video(MOV, AVI, MPG, TS, VOB, DV) to iPod mp4 format using free tools.


Tools required:
QuickTime Pro($30) or Quicktime Alternative(free)
MPEG StreamClip

Full Guide @ Here


Nintendo Wii Video Conversion Guide

A guide on how to convert your video so it is playable on the Nintendo Wii

Full Guide @ Here

SlySoft's new AnyDVD HD

AnyDVD HD comes with same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) support, including decryption of HD-DVD movie discs.

Allows you to watch movies over a digital display connection, without HDCP compliant graphics card and HDCP compliant display. No need to buy an expensive monitor. Sweet!

Playback your discs on your PC with PowerDVD Ultra, which otherwise do not run (titles released by Studio Canal, The Weinstein Company, Kinowelt, Optimum Releasing).

AnyDVD HD is the "must have" utility for the serious home theater enthusiast using a media center / home theater PC.

Another amazing feature of AnyDVD HD is "magic file replacement ™". Remaster any commercial movie disc using simple XML scripts. These scripts will "magically" replace the files on the physical disc. You can customize discs as you like without even making a copy to harddisk!

AnyDVD comes with a UDF 2.5 file ripper, no need to install 3rd party UDF 2.5 filesystem under Windows XP.

Features
  • Removes encryption (AACS) from HD-DVDs
  • watch movies over digital display connection, without HDCP compliant graphics card and HDCP compliant display.
  • playback of discs on the PC with PowerDVD Ultra, which otherwise do not run.
  • Removes user prohibitions, you can select the language and subtitle track without going through the disc's menu.
  • Removes parental restrictions.
  • Allows you to remove or skip Studio Logos and warning messages.
  • With "magic file replacement ™" you can remaster any commercial movie disc using simple XML scripts.
  • The "must have" utility for the serious home theater enthusiast using a media center / home theater PC.
  • Includes a UDF 2.5 file ripper, no need to install 3rd party UDF 2.5 filesystem under Windows XP.
More @ SlySoft

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Guide to Choosing a (Linux) Distribution

The ever increasing number of Linux distributions can be confusing for those of you who are new to Linux. This is why this page was created. It lists 10 distributions (plus an honourable mention of FreeBSD, by far the most popular of all of the BSDs), which are generally considered as most widely used by Linux users around the world. There are no figures to back it up and there are many other distributions that might suit your particular purpose better, but as a general rule, all of these are popular and have very active forums or mailing lists where you can ask questions if you get stuck. MEPIS and Xandros are considered the best for new Linux users who want to get productive in Linux as soon as possible without having to master all its complexities. On the other end of the spectrum, Gentoo, Debian, Slackware and FreeBSD are more advanced distributions that require plenty of learning before they can be used effectively. Mandriva, Fedora, Ubuntu and SUSE can be classified as good "middle-road" distributions. Knoppix is a so-called live CD - it is great for trying out Linux without getting your hands dirty as it runs directly from a CD, no installation required. These distributions are loosely listed in order of popularity on DistroWatch, which is NOT an indication of their market share or quality. As always, comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Source: DistroWatch

All in One Developer Cheat Sheet!

I’m not one of those people that can remember every detail of every language and never look anything up. It’s nice to have a cheat sheet with a quick summary of some of the most commonly used procedures, tags, tools, syntax, etc, saving time that would have been used to look it up on Google or dig through documentation either online or in printed text. The following is a list of links to several different cheat sheets on a wide variety of tasks and tools. You can print them out and hang them on your wall (my personal choice) or simply bookmark them for easy access down the road. If you have any additional suggestions or see something I’ve missed, let me know…

Command Line

Databases

Programming

Unix/Linux

Web Development

Miscellaneous Topics

Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD Encryption Defeated

Last December, a hacker named “Muslix64” circumvented HD DVD copy protection, resulting in the release of pirated copies on the Internet. Less than one month later, the same Muslix64, with the help of another hacker, was able to crack the encryption on Blu-ray Discs.

On Sunday, another Doom9 forum poster named “arnezami” presented the next great breakthrough in HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc decryption. Previously, every HD movie needed its own unique key in order to be decrypted; but with arnezami’s discovery, there is one key to rule them all -- at least for now, until the Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator gets on it.

What arnezami found was the Processing Key, which appears to be the silver bullet in decrypting all existing HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs. Arnezami was armed only with an Xbox 360 HD DVD player and the bundled King Kong movie. Other Doom9 forum contributors posted their keys to HD DVD movies such as The Departed and Spy Game, which were proved decryptable using the Processing Key.

Figuring that the copy protection schemes on Blu-ray Disc are similar to HD DVD, other posters reported data from Talladega Nights and House of Flying Daggers, which were also decrypted using the Processing Key found from King Kong.

Source: DailyTech

How to break DRM (iTunes, DVD, etc) for lawful purposes

Like copying for back-up, transcoding into different devices etc...

This page was written with non-techie people in mind. If you read SlashDot or BoingBoing, if you're active in the anti-DRM movement, etc, then this page will have nothing new for you. But if you are an "average computer user", then you probably think that breaking DRM is too hard, too complicated, impossible, or illegal.

There is a notice also which says this is illegal to break or having media which is pirated or so...

Home Page

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Free Windows Vista Drivers...

This FREE page lists the latest Windows Vista drivers and provides direct links to the files for downloads.
Home Page : http://www.radarsync.com/vista/

Captive - First free NTFS read/write filesystem for GNU/Linux

Project implements the first full read/write free access to NTFS disk drives.You can mount your Microsoft Windows NT, 200x or XP partition as a transparently accessible volume for your GNU/Linux.

This compatibility was achieved in the Wine way by using the original Microsoft Windows ntfs.sys driver. It emulates the required subsystems of the Microsoft Windows kernel by reusing one of the original ntoskrnl.exe, ReactOS parts, or this project's own reimplementations, on a case by case basis.

Project includes the first open source MS-Windows kernel API for Free operating systems.
Involvement of the original driver files was chosen to achieve the best and unprecedented filesystem compatibility and safety.

As opposed to other projects this is currently the only software supporting the full read/write access including the possibility to create/delete files, modify directories etc.

Home Page of Captive

Notepad++ 4.0.2

Notepad++ is a free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment. This project, based on Scintilla edit component (a very powerful editor component) are written in C++ with pure win32 api and STL (that ensures the higher execution speed and smaller size of the program), is under the GPL Licence.

Source: Home Page

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Yahoo Mail will now integrates IM

Google added chat to Gmail a year ago, but according to Yahoo, the experience is not as integrated as the new Yahoo Mail chat functionality. Over the next few months, more and more Yahoo Mail users will be able to chat in real time through their e-mail program. Yahoo said in November that it would embed instant-messaging technology directly into its Yahoo Mail program so that users wouldn't need Yahoo Messenger or another IM service to chat with each other online.

source: News.com