Abhinav Kaiser's Blog
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
This was one of the easiest articles I have written. Just had to follow the steps and bullet them.
I find Outlook is so much easier to configure compared to Thunderbird. Every field is on one screen when compared to Thunderbird. But overall, both are simple to configure. The real difference is with ease of use.
Short entry here but looking forward to some Outlook tricks in the subsequent articles.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
This will be a series of articles on mail clients. I have introduced the topic of mail clients in today's article and I will be writing about configuring mail clients, some tricks etc. I hope this series would be a guide for all those people who are wanting to try a mail client.
Anyway, I use MS exchange at work and I think it's the best thing in this whole wide world. I don't have to know anybody's email address. I can just type their name and press Ctrl+K, to get their email address inserted. Also, I could recall messages if I feel that I could have sent a better message than the previous one.
I am just sold on Outlook and it has become my favorite mail client. I have tried several others like Lotus notes, Thunderbird, Eudora etc but none come closer to Outlook in terms of ease of use and the features it offers. Some features that draw me to Outlook are integrated calendar, contacts, notes and task list.
In my next article, I will write about configuring mail clients.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
When I was new to building websites, I found out regarding the open source CMS' that were floating around at that time. Some of the popular ones at that time were Mambo, XOOPS, PHP Nuke etc. I started installing each one of them and tweaking them as I wanted it to look. Over the years I found out the secret of being successful on the web. It is not the way your website looks nor does it have anything to do with the domain name that you choose. It's all about the quality you can offer to your site visitors. Visitors needs unique content. They don't wanna read the same stuff that has been floating around the internet.
Regarding monetizing my websites, I just put the ads out there and the money kept coming in. I want to help those aspiring web publishers in any least way possible. I encourage you to send me an email if you have a question regarding web publishing or monetizing. Email me at internet at suite101 dot com and I will get back to you asap.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
When it comes to browsers, I am totally biased and I am proud about it. I use Firefox and no other. It has served my purpose. There are some extensions like the web developer extension that I cannot function without. Firefox rarely freezes on me.
I am a web designer. I know the pain that I have to go through web designing just for Internet Explorer. The reason : it doesn't understand the code the other browsers would. I will have to separately write a code for Internet Explorer. Sometimes optimizing for IE could spoil it on Firefox as Firefox strictly goes by the W3C book. I would like to take this opportunity and convert people from IE to Firefox. Get Firefox today.
My only issue with firefox is that it becomes too bulky after installing the required extensions. It takes a long time to load as there are several other programs starting up as extensions.
My optimum browser would be the one which is very light on my system and it should have support for extensions. Installing extensions shouldn't slow down the browser. I am sure the programmers of today are good enough to achieve this target. It is just going to be a matter of time before it is realized. Until then, I will keep using Firefox and at the same time, I will keep criticizing IE.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I was writing the PCs section before I stepped into the internet arena at Suite101. The only reason for this change is that I have more interest in the current internet technology than in the PC department. If you are a regular reader here, please let me know what interests you either by participating in the poll or by emailing me or by starting a new discussion.
The first article in this section is about the website rojo.com which has caused an addiction in me to this website. I was a bloglines loyalist before and I swore in front of my laptop that I would never switch sides. But the discovery of Rojo has changed my priorities on the internet and it continues to impress me everyday.
I am not sure if this is co-incidence or it was meant to happen. My favorite color is red. Rojo stands for red in Spanish. I am liking this color more than ever before.
Start using rojo and be ready to be swept like dust under the carpet. Let me know what you think about rojo in general. If you feel that there is a better feed reader cum social networking website, I am eager to know about it... Keep me posted and I too will keep you posted on the new websites that spring up everyday.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
Engineers at Microsoft have been working on Vista for the past five years. Time after time, Vista's release date has been pushed back. We were supposed to see Vista's release this year but a discovery of a major vulnerability caused a major portion of the Vista code to be rewritten. Microsoft set a early next year release and released a beta this year. The beta was a great idea to muster all the bugs to be fixed before the final release next year. Microsoft stepped upto the plate by sponsoring the security conference Black Hat and offering Vista on the alter. The challenge was taken up with open arms and the result was a good one for Microsoft. I don't know many companies who would be happier when their product is hacked into but Microsoft was on this occasion.
I am looking forward to the launch of Vista next year. I may not be the first one to buy it from my area but I will surely be the first ones to embrace it...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
My way of recovering files lost due to a bad Windows installation is by installing Linux and transferring the files off the mount. That process easily used to take me couple hours. Now by loading my flash drive with Windows, I could possibly save any of files of a bad installation not just for myself but also for my clients. This would save tons of hours trying to save those dreaded files.
I personally haven't tried installing the flash Windows. I will keep you guys updated as and when I get it done.
The writer of the article Björn Fröhlecke has written an excellent guide and I would like to encourage you to give him a positive feedback.
If you end up trying to load Windows on a flash drive, please let me know regarding your findings. Any feedback would be appreciated...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I have discarded many of my computers. I have never thought about the data still left on my discarded computer. I am sure that many other people are like me, orphaning your data in the hands of the recycler. If your data gets into a person who is technically sound and criminally excited, he could make a mince of your data, especially if you happen to have sensitive documents.
Here is a way to permanentally delete your data. There is a feature inside your bios called as low level format. A low level format typically wipes out 99% of all your data. Make sure this is done before you dispose your computer. If low level format is not available, I suggest destroying the hard drive. I don't trust anybody and you shouldn't either. Take a hammer and destroy the hard drive before throwing it away.
If you have further questions regarding disposing a PC, write to me at pcs at suite101 dot com. I would be glad to help you out...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I personally did not get a chance to test Vista Beta. So, I will have to go in with other's review on Vista. From what I have heard so far, Vista looks really cool (cooler than a mac), it's fast and now I am hearing reports about security concerns. The people who gave me positive reviews were not those people who are into professional testing.
I would like to commend Symantec for spending tons of money to test Vista. They are doing Microsoft a big favor in testing the networking side of things. I am surprised that these issues were not recognized by MS testers as the issues seem to be pretty basic and of high importance.
Microsoft has a few more months to mop up the buggy code to find a balance between secure OS and non-delayed OS release. Microsoft has done it before and I am sure they are gonna come out in flying colors once again.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
My tenure at Dell has helped me appreciate this troubleshooting step. There is nothing much to do this step. I am just stripping all programs from the startup and Windows is running at a bare minimum, with what came from Microsoft's part of Windows.
If you feel that there is something you disagree with on this topic, please let me know...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
Microsoft is looking to take this research to a new level. They want to use this research to get rid of all malwares once and for all, especially the prominent ones.
This news is like honey to a PC user. Even though there are tons of malwares out there, Windows has taken steps to counter most of the malwares.
The sole reason why a malware gets installed is due to the user. I think its high time that Microsoft starts educating the PC user regarding malwares.
Better now than never...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
One thing is for sure. None of the Windows versions are inferior to the other with an exception of XP Home. Each Windows has a very specific use and for that specific work, it works great.
I would like to get some feedback on your thoughts so comment away.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
This article comes as a result of several concerned emailers who are / were worried of a possible hack by hackers. I emailed them several tips and I thought that I could make it into an entry which could help several other people who feel tormented by hackers...
I have written what I have known about remote desktop and what I have experienced, but if any of the readers know anything different, please share it with me. Any information regarding security will be much appreciated...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
Please give in your 2 cents as to where you stand on this whole Mac Vs Windows issue. I am deliberately not including Unix as Unix is not as widely used by novices as the other two.
I have no doubt in my mind that Windows is a much superior operating system and an economical solution. Extensive community makes it an advantage to use Windows over any other Operating System.
I am done here... Until next week, ciao.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I am counting each day as I am waiting for the Mac-lookalike OS which is as stable as Linux. The features that are provided for Vista on the Microsoft website is very attractive. I really wonder how many people actually start buying Vista right away.
If I remember right, Microsoft has this habit of releasing a version of windows and a few months later releasing a better version (with free upgrade of course). It happened with 95, 98 and also XP.
The news about 60% of the code being rewritten came as a shocker to me as I felt that it would push the release date back but Microsoft are still firm on their stand on releasing it this year. That is one thing I have always admired about Microsoft. They are solid when it comes to making decisions.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
In other words, these top ten points are true for most PC users. I am interested in knowing what other people think are their truths regarding PCs. So, if you have any truths that I might have missed out, please let me know... Any kind of feedback is much appreciated...
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I have just put together some simple things that would enhance the windows experience. If this is the kind of articles that would interest you, let me know by commenting on the article.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
My whole point of the article was to help people choose a monitor that would be most suitable for them. We see stores trying to dump the flat panel monitors along with the cpus, the reason is flat panels didn't become popular as they thought it would be.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
I am starting a series on choosing the right computer and I am planning on hitting monitors the first week, processor the next and so on. I rather would like to have this series to be interactive, in the sense I would like to know what the readers would like to be compared.
Posted by Abhinav Kaiser
Hi folks. I am Abhinav Kaiser and I will be writing in the PCs section. I just wanted to know what people are interested in when it comes to PCs. Please vote in the PCs section to let me know so I can better serve you.