Why not use free softwares to make computers more affordable?

A few days ago, a leading business daily of India came out with a news story on its front page — “Cheap laptop price tags can mislead“.

Personal computer (laptop and desktop) prices may have crashed. The low price tags, however, can be misleading — especially for first-time buyers.

Consider this. All low-cost laptops and desktops come pre-loaded with a Linux OS or a DOS version (obsolete on desktops).

The installation of a legal Microsoft operating system (OS) and office suite (for word, excel, etc) will increase the price of the desktop or laptop by 20 to 35 per cent.

What’s wrong with a free Linux OS and office suite like openoffice.org, one may ask? Linux is free but has no support unless one gets it installed from Red Hat or Novell (that charge for support and maintenance, since the OS is free).

According to the reporters, the lower price tags for personal computers that come as proprietary operating system Windows is replaced by Open Source Linux are just a marketing tactic. The buyers would have to actually pay lot more than the quoted price to get a PC that they can actually use. What the reporters are saying exhibits their “bondage” [they are chained to proprietary softwares]. No doubt companies want to keep prices low to increase sales but this does good for others also as one can buy a computer without having to pay for proprietary softwares.

The reporters say that free Linux and Open Office are not good. why? They don’t provide support, they say. How many of you actually believe this? A simple question to these proprietary softwares supporters (Windows fans) — If you face any problem regarding your Windows or MS Office, where do you go for help? Call Microsoft? Or Google?
Their saying that Linux and Open Office does not provide support is a factually wrong statement. Both, and almost all Open Source softwares provide support through comprehensive help option in the softwares, though site and web forums.

Extend your Firefox

There are certain things that become a phenomenon. Mozilla Firefox web browser is one among them. There are many reasons behind the prolific propagation of this web browser. Its good looking and user-friendly interface with loads of features, along with being Open Source are some of them. But the main reason, that I think, behind the massive growth of this web browser is its extendability. You want some feature in your browser, you have it — either by getting free Firefox plug-ins developed by individuals, and made available either as Open Source, freely available for use, or as paid component. If you are more tech-savvy, you may also develop one to suit your needs.

Here I am going to list some useful and interesting extensions for Firefox that will surely make things lot easier for you.

1. Block image ads [Adblock Plus]

Images take lot of time to download, and take up lot of bandwidth. And if the image is an Ad, it is hardly welcome. To get rid of those ad and images that take longer to download than anything else on the page, install Adblock.
Just select a filter subscription when Adblock starts up the first time; it will block most advertisements automatically. If you want to still choose not to download any image element on the page, just Right Click on the banner-ad and choose Adblock. It will not be downloaded again. You can even replace parts of the banner address with star symbols to block similar banners by creating banner filters.

Adblock Plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865

Internet desktop: Access and share files, music, videos

Okay. I agree that streaming your media right from your PC can work the best only for sharing it with others, and not when you are out, your home being locked and your PC shut. So where do you head to? A no brainer, isn’t it?

The web offers a lot of options to store and share your stuff on the web. Here you will find some of the available options listed in this post.

FanBox (Internet Desktop) (2GB)

FanBox is a web-based desktop. Yup, it’s your own desktop that you get in your web browser, anywhere, anytime. The basic version of this service comes for free and gives you 2GB storage space. The site also offers free upgrade to 5GB for those registering with an educational email id. By default your web-desktop comes with Mozilla Firefox web browser and a word processor. You can also use other applications, but for a fee. If you wish you can use trial versions of various applications available on FanBox desktop. The site also offers social networking option for its users. You can also share your files using this service. This service is available only for windows users.

Access your music, photos, files on your PC from anywhere

Have you ever been listening to your friend’s collection at his home and suddenly wanted to let him listen to your collection? Or wanted to show him pictures of your last college bash, only to find yourself away from your computer? What about turning your computer into a media center capable of streaming music and sharing images. You know the solution — setting up a server that allows you to share files and photos, and stream your media. But even if you are not courageous enough to set up a home server on your system, there’s a solution — use web-based services that allow you to do this without having to set up a web server right on your system.

Now you can convert your computer into a online media sharing center without having to install a web server and setting a domain name for your computer. All that you need is a always-on broadband connection and an application that you can download and use for free.

WeBot (Windows, Linux, Mac)

WeBot is a free web-based solution to sharing photos and music. It allows the user to access and share music and images from anywhere using Internet. You download ehat the site calls a Bot and install it on your system, register and you are ready to go. Just configure your Bot and you have your media center up and running. Just access it from any other system or share it with your friend sitting somewhere else. It is also very secure and personal.

CyberLinkLive (Windows)

Record streaming audio using Audacity

An updated version on using Audacity is available on my current blog Nyutech. It also lists a simple hack that will allow you to overcome the problem of not having a Stereo Mix or Wave Out option. No matter what, you will be able to record streaming audio. Read the updated article.

Have you ever wished if you could save the audio that you listen to on the web? So did I. And to enable myself to capture streaming audio, I first downloaded and installed FreeMusicZilla on my system but the free streaming audio and video capturing software did not sniff any streaming audio on my Windows XP system. Then I installed Orbit Download Manager for capturing audio. Though I found Orbit very useful for downloading large files, I was still not able to capture streaming audio. So, I did uninstall FreeMusicZilla from my system but retained Orbit for enhancing my downloads by allowing me to pause and resume my downloads any later time.

Still I couldn’t capture streaming audio. But with a simple method I was able to capture streaming audio and save it as .mp3 or .wav.

I would suggest you first try Orbit Download Manager to capture streaming audio before trying my method. [I have read on the Internet about both FreeMusicZilla and Orbit that they are really good for capturing streaming audio and video. I don't know why they didn't work on my system. If you know the solution please let me know.]

Customize Windows XP to make it your own

Windows XP,‭ ‬the world’s most widely-accepted operating system‭ (‬OS‭)‬,‭ ‬is a fairly good OS despite being ill-famous for crashes and hanging.‭ ‬I can safely assume that every frequent Windows user knows to use ctrl-alt-del command for rescue.‭ ‬This apart,‭ ‬it can be really good OS if you can hold the command.‭ ‬Here we would see some tips and tweaks to make Windows XP work the way we would like it to work.‭

Create Restore Points

Windows gives the option of reverting the system back to an earlier time for which a Restore Point is avialable. Restoring the system takes it to the earlier state, including the softwares installed and other system settings. But this does not makes any changes to your saved documents and files.

To create Restore Point follow these steps:

Test your Internet connection speed

Is your Internet speed not up to your satisfaction? Do you feel that you are not getting the correct speed from your service provider?

In India, as of now, you can not expect to get the speed that you are made to believe you will get, thanks to their sales and advertising team. The “up to’ clause gives them a leeway. Obviously, legally they are not breaking the promise. They never guaranteed a minimum speed. [We hope the telecom regulator of India shall make it binding to guarantee a minimum speed that shall be available all the time. Trai, the telecom regulator, had raised its concern over the wrong practice of the ISPs.]

If you are too bugged by the slow Internet speed and wondered why it took so long to download a file, let me first make it clear that the speed that an ISP promises, say 256kbps, does not mean that you would be able to download a 1 MB file in just 2 seconds. No, never. Not even if your ISP gives you full speed. “B” in KB, MB refers to “bytes” but “kbps” stands for “kilo bits per second”. Now given that 1byte(B)=8bits(b), even a 1mbps Internet connection would take at least 8 seconds to download 1MB.

Also, the speed promised by your ISP refers to the speed that connects you to your ISP node and not the speed that is available for downloading a file from any remote server. The connection between your computer and a web server, via your ISP, may give you less speed because of some limitations of the web server like less bandwidth and congestion.

Test your Internet connection speed

But this should not deter you from testing your Internet connection speed. At least you get to know the speed that you are actually getting. You can test your computer by simply loading a web page and clicking a link.

1. http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest [I recommend this one.]

2. http://www.speedtest.net

I tried it over there and see what I got.

Miserable, isn’t it. What else can I expect from a 128kbps connection. Thankfully it’s always -on and unlimited.

Open source alternatives for basic computing applications

Getting a system can be expensive but I think it’s the applications that cost one fortune. I was able to afford my system after a lot of thrift and spending on softwares never figured in my budget, thanks to the open software phenomenon. Except for the Windows every other software installed on my system is part of the huge open source repository. If you also wish to save some money without having to compromise on the quality front you are welcome to read on. Here I am going to list some widely accepted open source replacements to meet your bare essential computing needs. I bet, you will find these applications at a par, in many cases even better, than the popular propriety software.

Office Suite

What use will be a home computer if it does not give you the most basic of computing — Word processing, presentation and spreadsheet program. The popular Windows office suite is MS Office which includes Word, Powerpoint and Excel.
OpenOffice Suite is the right replacement for MS Office. It comes with a word processor, a spreadsheet and a presentation application. This office suite is available for both Windows and Linux. You will be able to save you files in popular MS Office formats like .doc. So this should be a no hurdle in choosing this open source program, If you want a MS Word-like word processor you can choose AbiWord. It does not only support MS Word environment and shortcuts, but also saves files in .doc. AbiWord is so similar to MS Word that it can pass as MS Word at first glance.
OpenOffice: www.openoffice.org
AbiWord: www.abisource.com

Easy guide to installing Windows XP

Windows has this really bad habit of getting slower with time due to various reasons including misuse. [Does it hurt to be called one of the culprit for a damn slow system that is bogged with malwares and spywares?] So if you are among those who need to get a new Windows on your system read on as should those who have a new system to install the much-hated operating system (OS).

What will you need?
1. Windows XP installation CD with product key [We will assume that you have a "genuine" windows XP CD.]
2. All hardware drivers for your machine. This will include audio drivers, modem drivers, network drivers, etc. I would suggest you to get all the necessary drivers by finding it on your system or searching on the Internet.
3. And a minimum of two hours

Practice typing in Hindi, English

With keyboard becoming a predominant way of communication, what if you could type at the speed of thought. Sound too romantic. But you can surely improve your typing speed by practicing.

Keybr.com, mentioned in a previous post, can help you practice typing, but only in English and some other languages. If you want to practice Hindi typing you can download Aasaan Typing Tutor. This is a free software that can be used to learn typing in Hindi as well as English from scratch. The software has interesting typing games along with basic to advanced lessons in typing.

Download typing tutor here (ZIP)