PhotoFiltre Free - Antonio Da Cruz

PhotoFiltre Free - Antonio Da Cruz

PhotoFiltre is a complete image retouching program. It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve.

The toolbar, giving you access to the standard filters with just a few clicks, gives PhotoFiltre a robust look.

Try PhotoFiltre Studio - Layer management, animated GIF, automatic insertion of copyright, supports 8BF filters.

GSview Ghostscript - PostScript or PDF

GSview Ghostscript - PostScript or PDF

GSview is a graphical interface for Ghostscript, an interpreter for the PostScript language and Portable Document Format. GSview allows selected pages to be viewed, printed, or converted to bitmap, PostScript or PDF formats.

• Ghostscript, Ghostview and GSview
• Ghostscript news and community site

GSview requires Ghostscript. GSview is available for Windows, OS/2 and Linux.

(grateful thanks - ananth)

AnalogX - Programming and Networking Tools

AnalogX - Programming and Networking Tools

The  programmers calculator... A must for anyone who develops algorithms or uses C/C++ on a regular basis! PCalc 

Network Utilities

Data and tools from the Internet Traffic Report in a easy to use client...ITR Client
Harness the power of the atom to set your system clock as accurately as possible, with a little help from AnalogX and NIST...Atomic TimeSync

Not only the easiest webserver available, but a full-featured one as well! Great for hosting files on your local computer..SimpleServer:WWW

Ever wanted to set up a webserver so that you could have your friends check out a new page you're working on? Or maybe you'd just like to play around with HTML, and need to have a local webserver to get a good feel...

Whichever the case, you've probably discovered that most of the webservers out there are, how should I put this, interface challenged. Sure, you can run Apache on your machine, but only after a couple hours hacking on cryptic text files; but now there's a better option...

(I had tried it on my win95 Pentium100 Mhz, It could host a site in the intranet, which is a nice experiment you can try for learning, the readme was rich in info - ananth)

Secure Search - Encrypted Search

When we search and get the results the keywords and results can be monitored in the network. In some cases : examples - a researcher working on a sensitive topic, an inventor gathering data for his next innovation.

When a competing firm or group gets the keywords and results, they will be ahead in getting their products to the Market.

The technology is similar to Enterprise Search, but Secure Search is a search that has all web content with a subscribed access, SSL and encrypted 'like' gui-keywords-results.

Researchers, Companies and Inventors can subscribe and keep ideas and study Secret !

( Idea date :10:11 9-Jul-08, Person : Anantha Narayan)

Wireless Handheld Multimedia Computers

The Average home user or a majority of mankind have trouble even when operating a TV remote control. Things are not as simple as a Water Tap or a Toggle Switch. An Easy to use Handheld is more important than any technology or features that may be available for that. Ergonomics, Utility or Application, Quality and Cost are the basic requirements of the consumer.

A Handheld gadget for the masses, needs to be a Entertainer and Communicator. It has to be wireless and should at least get into a Coat Inner pocket or Small Bag. It is a Duarble Consumer Electronics Product, comparable to the first Popular Tape Recorders from Philips or Grundig.

Wifi and WiMax are the things that are being talked-blogged about and being tried. I just got some idea about these technologies and have my feedback or understanding.

If Somebody asked me to set up a low cost wifi connectivity in a small housing complex, I would just strap a wireless router on the pole on every street corner, the poles or junctions being the ones used for existing cable broadband. Then depending on subscriptions and demand, improve the capacity of the network within the budget of the colony.

The handheld can have simultaneous connection to two or three routers and as the person moves, drop a weak path and take up a new router which is strong. This is just my hunch.

The Handheld could be used for three types of wireless connections.

• Full Multimedia Duplex - Like Video Telephone, WebApps - 100 units money charge per hour.
• Semi Multimedia Duplex - Like Interactive TV Quiz, Games - Up is Text, Down is Video - 50 Units /hr.
• Multimedia Broadcast - Digital Radio Podcast, TV Show Podcast, Movie Podcast - 15 Units/hr.

The TV and Radio Shows on subscribed podcasts can be downloaded and stored when it is transmitted live; but seen any time, any number of times, but transmitted only once. This is a wireless Transmission with an advance program xml feed info. It is just like Regular TV. This is to avoid bandwidth wastage on multiple downloads of same show by the people in one block. Even software updates and games can be brodcast and stored in background.

The usage of Internet and phone remains duplex and will take more resources. The handheld usage for entertainment may be very high. Duplex for that will cause excess costly load. Normal usage of Internet for browsing, mail and webapps may become difficult as more entertainment load builds. Entertainment on Handheld is best as a one time brodcast with a advance feed.

Conclusion - Wireless Handhelds connectivity must have separate interfaces for Web and Media. The Web is the same as Lan Wifi but Movies and Games can be connected by a Broadcast Show. And seen on Handheld by wireless Programmable Live Reception with storage.

Anantha Narayan - 11:05 18-May-08

Ruby on Rails Web Application Framework

Ruby on Rails Web Application Framework

"Rails is a full-stack framework for developing database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Control pattern. From the Ajax in the view, to the request and response in the controller, to the domain model wrapping the database, Rails gives you a pure-Ruby development environment. To go live, all you need to add is a database and a web server.

Rails 3 Screencast Series

If you're looking to get your hands dirty with the newest version of Rails, the Rails 3 screencasts will give you a taste of the new features and improved syntax. Rails activist Gregg Pollack walks you through just about everything you need to know to start creating Rails 3 web applications today.

Python Programming Language

Python Programming Language

Python is a dynamic object-oriented programming language that can be used for many kinds of software development. It offers strong support for integration with other languages and tools, comes with extensive standard libraries, and can be learned in a few days. Many Python programmers report substantial productivity gains and feel the language encourages the development of higher quality, more maintainable code.

Python runs on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, OS/2, Amiga, Palm Handhelds, and Nokia mobile phones. Python has also been ported to the Java and .NET virtual machines.

see more here Python_Programming_Language - Wikipedia

haXe open source programming language.

Pronounced as hex, is an open source programming language.

haXe open source programming language

While most of the other languages are bound to their own platform (Java to the JVM, C# to .Net, ActionScript to the Flash Player), haXe is a multiplatform language.

• Can compile to Javascript by generating a single .js file
• Can compile to Flash 6-8 by generating a single .swf file
• Can compile to PHP 5
• Can compile to C++ source code which is compiled to native binaries.

While most other languages are bound to their own platform (Java to the JVM, C# to .Net, ActionScript to the Flash Player), haXe is a multiplatform language.

Captcha Like Technology for Secure Login

Entering Login details thru Keyboard has been found to pose security risks. I just got an idea which i will explain with an example. This is much safer as it uses mouse clicks and no ASCII characters encrypted or otherwise move on the SSL Page in TCP/IP, No keystrokes are generated since only a Mouse is used.

When the Secure Login page is visited by the User, He will see an image (png) with randomly generated Numbers (or Alphabets). This is done using a Captcha like process.

Now the user in order to Login to his Account will click the Numbers (image map - js onclick). The numbers can be scrolled, inc/dec (area on number top/bot). He will set the User ID and Password with a series of clicks (just like Combination lock. When he is done he will Press Login. The safest Login that can ever be achieved, no trace of number anywhere. The only risk is posed by an Onlooker or a Webcamera, Hence this can be used in closed Opaque kiosks only.


Alternative -

A Random Captcha AlphaNumeric KeyBoard Layout Imagemap. The User and Password field will be textboxes as usual. The User will click into textbox, a key-layout appears on right (ajax). The user clicks the alphabets and numbers on keyboard image and then he presses Login. Here the password will appear as ****. And the keyboard imagemap layout is random size usable AlphaNumeric Single png Image.
( Idea date :17:47 19-Dec-07, Person : Anantha Narayan, Type : Open Source)

Learning JavaScript with Bookmarklets

One day (Around 1999-2000) i got a mail from tripod with a concept from Bookmarklets.com and some examples, this got me started on javascript. which works well with all browsers. This gave me an idea that bookmarklets are the best way to start learning javascript, i learnt turbo c++ a bit, some years back only because of the perfect examples built into it. learning by examples is the best and probably the only way. Get the Webbunny Tutor i made in the bottom of this page.

To work on this tutorial you must be good at html, here are some tutors which helped me learn html-js.

• HTML and Javascript tutorials - by Joe Barta
• W3Schools Online Web Tutorials
• HTMLSource!
• Introduction to HTML
• Getting started with HTML
• HTML Help by The Web Design Group

Then you need tools, not just the notepad, but first replace windows notepad with a color coded html text editor.

• NoteTab Text Editors and HTML Editors
• 1st Page 2000
• Free HTML Editors
• HTML Kit for more than editing HTML
• Arachnophilia

How to Choose Domains

To find a nice domain see this first Internet Country Codes.

Tips on Choosing a Good Domain Name - by Christopher Heng, thesitewizard.com

• .com commercial
• .org organization
• .net network of internet
• .edu educational
• .gov government
• .biz business
• .info information

Resources -

• lCANN - Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• Domain name - Wikipedia
• Choose and Register a Website Domain Video - About.com
• How to choose a domain name

The Billy Project

The Billy Project

Billy is more than just a program. It's a project. It's an effort to, someday, make a computer progam you can talk to, and which is indistinguishable from a human. The program can be fun and amusing, but the technology behind the program can have many real-world applications. The true focus here is learning. Just imagine, someday, a computer which can learn from its msitakes, and can act truly intelligent when interacting with its users. .... Gregory G. Leedberg. at Leedberg.com

Computer Usage Basics 004

• win98 and xp start-run- msconfig to tweak the system only for expert. network winipcfg
• ipconfig for xp-nt, to edit registry regedit , improper use of these is bad for system.
• Make nice drawings for your documents use this Painting Drawing program PhotoFiltre.
• Organize, store and manage any amount of text, URLs, emails in tree form Treepad.
• Desktop calender works like a reminder and also it has a things to do manager Rainlendar.
• Cheez this is organize search graphics, comments, Search is good.
• KeyNote this is a good document and information organizer, PIM. tabs and tree.
• NetMeter to monitor LAN or DUN traffic, uploads and downloads stats and limit.
• Dexpot is a multiple desktop freeware, each desktop wallpaper and icons.
• Computer with the internet is the most important empowerment tool for everybody
• Important file formats you need to handle-learn are .html .txt .pdf .jpg and . png .

Computer Usage Basics 003

Freeware Productivity software and open source too

• Open Office this is a productivity tool for many document design activities. You think of a problem one of the tools in this software can solve it. Instant PDF too. Flowcharts are easy.
• Basic protection for your SOHO computer. For virus try free AVG Anti Virus and a firewall to protect from data theft try free ZoneAlarm.
• gif is a closed graphics format, it is better to use Png, use irfanview to convert from gif to png.
• Make a image with any image editor and print to "HP Color LaserJet 8550-PS" to a file my_page.ps, set proper page size A4, A3, portrait or landscape with color. Open post script or *.ps file with Ghostgum Software, ghost view, with ghost script installed. then file-convert-pdfwrite-defaults will give pdf file.
• CDROMS have shelf life of 50 years, flash memory devices could be read and erased around 10,000 times when they were developed (SEEQ), now things may be better.
• CDROMS made before year 2000 should not be used on 48X drives as it will crack and break, use 24X drives and make backups. These days things are ok.
• When you use google to search do not search for words you want, imagine what words the composer of the page you want would have used.

Computer Usage Basics 002

Here are some Tips and Tricks, Years Old Notes, Worth reading. Now New tools and Methods have also come - SAN

• Holding the 'del' delete while starting a x86 computer will take you to the BIOS settings, be careful here.
• CDROMS can be best burned at 16X, and Multisession burning helps make incremental backup.
• If you are going for a new computer a CDROM drive is a must or a DVD drive and CD Writer is better.
• Get most of your big software from magazine CDs that is cost effective for you and the internet.
• Stress the best software it will malfunction, do not multitask too much, do not reset comp frequently.
• If you hear a rattling sound in your PC, then cables are resting on the pentium fan, move them a bit.
• You can use 2xExplorer to run DOS commands on any selected folder, type 'help' and press enter in DOS mode to get a list of commands and their use, in 2xExplorer you can view files in text and hex mode, get 2xEditor too for hex.
• To write assembly, c++, php, sql language codes you have a free tabbed color syntax editor in ConTEXT.
• To learn how the internet is connected and works try playing with this tool online you will understand - Neotrace.
• To learn sql use this free tool winsql lite, create a mdb file.with access and set it up in ODBC in control panel.
• Learn how to make pdf files for free, pdf files from any format, for color pdf use printer driver HP Color LJ 8550-PS.
• CPick from Sam Francke will grab any color from a wallpaper or desktop object for your webpage or VB program

Here are some Acronyms and Meaning, Just glance, it will Perk you up for learning more.

SMPS	switch mode power supply	DC is chopped at high frequency, small transformers, high efficiency, low cost.
PCB	printed circuit board	components are soldered on to this, it contains copper tracks for connection.
3D	three dimensional	x, y and z axis, length, breadth and depth, life like, holography.
PS	post script	file format which is ready for printing, size accurate, convert to pdf.
CGI	common gateway interface	php, perl, jsp, asp. script that runs on server on a parsing engine like VM.
PHP	personal home pages	hypertext preprocessor, cgi language and multi platform parsing engine.
APACHE	a patchy webserver	the best web server on earth, can take many hits and rare to come down.
LAMP	Linux Apache Mysql Php	enables you to deploy low cost web applications over intranet and internet.
WAMP	Windows Apache Mysql Php,	used for testing on local desktop as LAMP is OS independent, on server too.
XAMP	macosX Apache Mysql Php	macosX like Win-NT is inspired from UNIX, both server and desktop.
UDF	universal disk format	developed by OSTA, data can be written into CDROM like a HDD or Floppy.
DOS	disk operating system	IBM personal computers, the OS was in the floppy disk or hard disk.
PDF	portable document format	compressed, use acrobat of adobe to read, can be read by users of all OS.
BLOG	web logs	web publishing in the form of a FIFO news page with archiving and announcements.
DVD	digital video disk	digital versatile disk, 4.7GB (8.5GB) per side, data, audio, video. R and RW.
DHTML	Dynamic HTML	javascript, css, layers, iframe, favicon and IE things like color scroll bars.

Computer Usage Basics 001

• If time/clock on computer is not working, change a small lithium battery inside.
• Failures in computer - harddisk +9, monitor +7, smps +4, cdrom drive +2, motherboard +1.
• Use a ball less optical mouse, with scroll wheel, ps2 or USB.
• When you buy a PC, ensure it has a harddisk light, power on light, reset, sleep, start buttons.
• PC monitor supports 1024*768, pc - 4 USB ports, 1 serial, 1 parallel, 2 ps2, PCI slots.
• Hard disk should be partitioned into drives, improves performance and is manageable.
• Refresh your browser is some sites or else you will see what is stored cache.
• Csv is a text file, storing data, comma separated, like name,job,age,city,country.
• Symbol ' is for feet " is for inches,
• Another data format is pipe separated name|job|age|city|country.
• Backup data and configuration of every software you use to another folder every day.
• Windows F1 function key is for help, or use help menu or see readme.txt in folder.

Acronyms in Technology

SQL	structured query language	database language, foundation, used in informix mysql and ADO.
ODBC	open data base connectivity	this enables programs to connect and use a database.
LAN	local area network	computer can transfer files, intranet, communication, web applications.
FSK	frequency shift keying	used in modems to modulate the binary data to feed over phone lines.
MODEM	modulator-fsk, demodulator-pll vco.	modem transmits and recives modulated binary data over phone/cable.
USB	universal serial bus	many peripherals of computers use this, 500mA power, hot plug.
HTML	hyper text markup language	text used to make webpages, browser reads this to compose the webpage.
HTTP	hyper text transfer protocol	an internet standard to transfer files from server to client computer.
FTP	file transfer protocol	used to upload and download files from ftp servers ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/
POP	post office protocol	pop3 used to get mail from a server smtp used for sending, imap too.
WWW	world wide web	a subset of internet wowen thru hyperlinks and uses the http:// protocol.
XML	extensible markup language	database format like csv or sql more powerful, flexible and internet capable.
URL	uniform resource locator	like http://www.apple.com/mac/index.html, as it is easier than numbers.
OCR	optical character recognition	used in scanners, extracts text from images, needs uniform back and font.
MOV	metal oxide varistor	in SMPS, and power supplies, protects against micro second voltage surges.
CASE	computer aided software engineering	automation of software design and development using some applications.