My Favourite Wikipedia Page: "List of Common Misconceptions"

Wikipedia made a lot of buzz in 2010 and now with completing 10 years of its awesomeness and raised $16 million through the Jimmy Wales appeal banner, here is one of my favourite pages in the wiki…

# Check out "List of Common Misconceptions" page at Wikipedia (Click Here)

"This list of common or popular misconceptions describes documented ideas and beliefs which are fallacious, misleading, or otherwise flawed; however, these ideas have been repeated as though they are true."

Some of the Good Ones I liked are :

Napoleon Bonaparte was not short. After his death in 1821, his height was recorded as 5 feet 2 inches in French feet. This corresponds to 5 feet 6.5 inches in modern international feet, or 1.686 metres.
Seasons are caused by the Earth being closer to the Sun in the summer than in the winter. In fact, the Earth is actually farther from the Sun when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Seasons are the result of the Earth being tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees. As the Earth orbits the Sun, different parts of the world receive different amounts of direct sunlight.
Shaving does not cause hair to grow back thicker or coarser or darker. This belief is due to the fact that hair that has never been cut has a tapered end, whereas, after cutting, there is no taper. Thus, it appears thicker, and feels coarser due to the sharper, unworn edges.
Gyroscopic forces are not required for a rider to balance a bicycle. The stability of a bicycle is determined by inertia, steering geometry, and the rider’s ability to counteract tilting by steering.
Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the Moon. This is false. None of the Apollo astronauts reported seeing any man-made object from the Moon, and even the earth-orbiting astronauts can barely see it.
So what’s your favourite Wikipedia article ?

Earn Money from Shortened URLs: Monetize Links with XA.ly Shortener

What is Xa.ly ? Xa.ly is a new innovative URL shortener that allows its users to earn money by sharing links as they normally would. However unlike other URL shorteners we display an advert before the original URL is shown.
# Go to http://xa.ly
How Do You Make Money ? As an advert is displayed on the shortened URL they reward you for bringing attention to the advert by crediting $0.003 per unique visitor that views the advert.

How Do You get Paid ? You will be paid on the first of every month by paypal if your balance is over $10. If your balance is not over $10, not to worry your earnings will be carried over to the following month.
Why it might be Useful ? If you share a lot of links on digg, twitter and facebook etc… or run a forum etc, you can shorten download links or other urls… and earn some money of it. But note they are paying $0.003. So you need 1000 unique views to generate 3$ (better than many ecpm networks)

Make Google Docs Your Default Office Program for Editing Documents

Tired of uploading a document to Google Docs, editing it there, then downloading a local copy? We have already covered about integratingGoogle Docs with your MS-Office programs, now here is another useful service that works seamlessly with windows as a bridge between your desktop and Google Docs.

GDocsOpen: Windows PC Software to Use Google Docs like MS Office

GDocsOpen (Link) automatically uploads your local document to Google Docs just by double clicking it and automatically synchronizes your online changes to the local copy once you close the application.

Just double click the document and it automatically gets uploaded to your Google Docs account. A browser window is integrated in the application so the file opens inside GDocsOpen. You don’t need Microsoft Office or any other large Office program installed on your machine.

GDocsOpen is a light and simple Windows application which allows one to double click to edit doc, xls, ppt, odt, csv and other document types. These operations are done using Google Docs. The remote and local versions of the file are synchronized.

# Check Out GDocsOpen : Click Here

Features and Benefits :
- Open, Edit and Save doc, xls, odt, ppt and many other document types directly from Windows using Google Docs
- Supports extensions of MS Office, Open Office and Star Office: doc, docx, txt, rtf, odt, sxw, xls, xlsx, ods, csv, tsv, tsb, ppt, pps
- Automatic upload to your Google Docs™ account
- Default open your document files
- Download size of under 2 MB
- Special icons for default open extensions of choice
- Saves both online and on your local computer
- No need to buy Office software anymore
- Synchronize local and remote versions
- Access your google docs account directly from GDocsOpen
- Recently opened files feature saves time
- Creates online backup as you work on your local documents.

See the video below for an idea… 

A very useful application can since I like Google Docs better than MS Office because of it simplicity and portability and collaborative uses. But its not free, it cost $9.99 (non much if you are a google docs fanboy). But I am using their 7 day free trial which is absolutely awesome…

Hide Recycle Bin to System Tray: Use it as Windows Tray Application

If you prefer not to use the recycle bin icon on your desktop you can now choose to hide it and keep it as a tray application in your windows taskbar’s system tray.
MiniBin application was designed to be a trashbin for your system tray. It may come handy when you’re hiding the trashbin from your desktop or if you’re using a replacement shell that provides a system tray but no useable trashbin.
This little 43KB download can come handy if you want to hide the recycle bin from the desktop. The software does not need an installation. To make it start with Windows, you can include it in your startup folder.
# Download MiniBin : Link
With a mouse right-click you will be able to empty your Recycle Bin. A small red recycle icon symbolizes that there are files in your Recycle Bin and double-click on this icon, you can empty its contents. If there is a green icon, your Trash is empty.

How to hack windows administrator password

5 awasome Computer tips and tricks

Check Out Which Youtube Videos You Have Watched Last Few Months

In case if you didn’t knew you can check which youtube videos you watched in the last few months… This way if you forget the title of a video you can always look into this history list youtube stores for you to check later.
Also if you are a parent, you can check what type of videos are more frequently watched by your kids and take measures if things are out of control.

Find Out Which Videos You Watched Last Few Months

Step 1 : Log into your Youtube account.
Step 2 : Go to this URL : http://www.youtube.com/my_history
This will show you the list of videos watched from that account… over the past few months.

Step 3 : You can select the video you want to delete from your "watched" history… or clear all of them.
Note : There are other useful links like the "Liked" and "Favorites" which shows you the videos you like voted or favorited on youtube.
Yup! quite useful feature youtube has… (unless you watched some nsfw content and its there on that history list which might put you in trouble).

Silly Google Translate Bug Suggests Justin Bieber Won’t Reach Puberty

Recently, Google Translate made lot of rounds in the blogosphere with its amazing Beat Box effects (details) by the Audio translation option. Now here is another one which might annoy Justin Bieber fans… But its just a bug in the translation process.

Will Justin Bieber ever hit puberty ? Google Translate Says Never

Step 1 : Go to Google Translate
Step 2 : Type in "Will Justin Bieber ever hit puberty" in the Text Box. Choose to Translate to Vietnamese.

Step 3 : Copy the Vietnamese translation into the translation text box and convert it back to English.

And the translated to English sentence is Justin will never reach puberty. Damn, No wonder Google is so accurate… 
Anyways this means no insult to the superbly talented JB, its just a little bug in the translation algorithm. But its a cool bug and thanks to whoever spotted. I got this tip from a facebook status update from Omkar Dutta.
Here is a video (link) showing Google Translate’s version of the popular question Will Justin Bieber ever hit puberty ?

I am a big fan of Justin Bieber… So no pun intended… And to Google Translate … "Never Say Never"

Create Online Test Exams, Quiz with MCQ Questions, Time Limits, Comprehensions etc

Nowadays almost every test follows the MCQ pattern as well and many are already shifted online. So if you are a teacher, professor or educators etc, then you might think about creating a paperless examination environment (and also saves you time and effort) and gives students a more realistic exam scenario, you might try Zoho Challenge to create an online test system in just a few clicks for free.

Create Online Tests, Examinations, Quiz with Zoho Challenge

Example of an online test created with zoho.

Zoho Challenge makes creating tests and grading candidates a paperless affair. Take advantage of their online quiz maker today to administer tests for your school, coaching center or business. Choose from an affordable array of pricing plans tailored to your needs.
# Link :  Go to http://challenge.zoho.com
Exhaustive Question Types : You name it: descriptive, fill in the blanks, true or false and multiple choice – and it’s there. Comprehension support is also included so that you can assess candidates better.
Auto and Manual Evaluation : Zoho Challenge attempts to auto evaluate all answers. However some questions like descriptive questions are best evaluated manually. Zoho Challenge supports manual evaluation for such question types. Of course, you can invite other evaluators to help you out
Quick Quiz Results : Test results are generated on the fly. With configurable pass percentages, you can get results sorted by rank too. You can also configure what your candidates see after submitting a test.
Secure Testing : Apart from regular email and login based testing, you can deliver invigilated tests using supervisor codes. You can also set up a test so that it can be taken only from your office, campus with a set time limit.

How to Create an Online Test with Zoho Challenge

Watch the video [link] above to get an idea of creating online tests with Zoho Challenge.

Leave Facebook Groups Quickly: Leave All Groups At Once

One problem with Facebook Groups is that any friend can add you to their created group without you confirming it. Now, this can be annoying at times because you may NOT be a fan of the group your friend added you to.
In an interview, founder Mark Z. said that when you add a someone to your friend list you automatically give them the right to add you to groups of similar interest. Hence, there is no option for you to avoid being added to any group without notifying you.
Tip : Create New Facebook Profile Layout with Tagged Photos

How to Leave All Groups on Facebook Quickly

We all know that we can leave a group by clicking on a "Leave Group" link on the homepage of a facebook group.
But if you want to leave facebook groups quickly here is a easy way to leave any group just with single mouse click.
Step 1 : From your facebook homepage click on the See All groups option.

Step 2 : On the Groups Page you will see a list of the facebook groups you are a member of. Mouse Hover on the links and a [X] will appear beside the group name.

Step 3 : Now click on that cross (see below) and confirm that you want to leave the group and its done.

Similarly, do the same with rest of the facebook groups you want to leave.
Here is a short screencast (link) of the process below…

Since the launch of facebook groups there has been both positive and negative reactions…They might be useful at times but rest of the times they can kill your time with useless clutter.

Smart Facebook Login Page: Login Without Password, Check If Hacked

Just noticed this today that Facebook’s new login system is really really smart… It makes it really easy for you to login even if you type in a wrong password or lets you know if your password has been changed (hacked) recently.
Tip: Quickly Navigate Facebook with Keyboard Shortcuts

2 Very Useful Facebook Login Page Features

# Facebook Login Without Password

If you use the "Keep me logged in" option, a site can auto login next time you visit it via our browser cookies. But if you logout from facebook and type in a wrong password or no password at all it still can recognize you, letting you log in even if you don’t remember your password.

But hey, this means my friend, anyone can login if he has access to my laptop, pc even after I logged out ? WTF ?

# Unable to Login ? Maybe Someone Hacked Your Facebook Account

This is a good feature facebook added. If you (or a hacker) recently changed your password then typing the old password will generate the fail attempt like below. Not only it lets you know if your password was changed recently… But if you didn’t you can have a shot at getting your account back (before something really goes wrong).

Very useful safeguarding feature against the dumb fake login page phishing attempts for hacking facebook accounts.
Nice and smart login features from facebook… probably they will even havefacial recognition for logging into our accounts. (That would be great  )

Listen to Selected Text on WebPages: Convert Web Articles to Speech

Tired of reading long blog posts and news articles ? Now you can simply choose to select text on a webpage and listen to it without using any text to speech software or using any online pronunciationtool. You can just convert any text on a page and listen to it right from Firefox.

Convert Text on Webpages into Speech, Voice: (Don’t Read, Listen)

SpeechUtil is a Firefox add-on that allows you to listen the english text, selected in the web-page. Add-on converts selected text into the speech in OGG format.
# Install SpeechUtil : Link
Step 1 : After installing restart browser.
Step 2 : Simply select some text on any webpage.
Step 3 : Right Click and select "Listen Selected Text" menu-item in the context pop-up menu.

You can click the yellow speaker icon in the right-bottom corner of the browser window.
Step 4 : Speech window will appear on the screen and you will be able listen to text, you just selected.

This an useful way to listen to news online or just convert any article into speech and listen to it instead of reading it.
Note: You can actually download the .ogg file (audio of selected text) if you have the video download helper (add-on) installed.

Listen to Selected Text on WebPages Using SpeechUtil [Video]

Have look at the video (link) above to get an idea how the add-on works to convert selected text into speech audio.

Websites to Relax Online: Reduce Stress and Calm Yourself Online

If your work comprises mainly of staying in front of the computer for long hours without facebook, youtube on any entertainment then it might be a bit stressful. And if you think your head’s going to blow then you might try these websites to relax online and get some quick relief from your stress.
Tip: 100 Amazing Gmail Tricks for Email Productivity

Calm Yourself Online : Websites, Tools to Help You Relax

# Website to Relax Online

Check out the website www.donothingfor2minutes.com (Do Nothing For 2 Minutes)which challenges you to do absolutely nothing on your computer for the next 2 mins. This site checks for movements in the mouse cursor or a keyboard use which will fail you.

The basic idea is to keep yourself still, calm for 2 minutes (which can seem hard at the beginning) and listen to the waves while watching the sunset. Seriously … believe me, it really can calm you down if you can visualise yourself at a beach and you hear only the sound of the waves on the website. Give it a try for 2mins from your busy 12hrs.

# Calm Yourself with Sounds of the Rain Online

RainyMood (www.rainymood.com) features a 15-minute high-quality loop of various types of free white noise including gentle rain sound, accompanied by thunder and chirping birds. Relax online with the sound of rain. White noise is believed to help with relaxation.

Learn to relax by slowing down and eliminating busywork from your stressed-out life. Work smarter and harder without caffeine. Some people say it helps babies to sleep. Increase your productivity and get more done at work or school. You might need to buy an umbrella.

# Free Virtual Aquarium on your Desktop

If you are relaxed by watching fish swimming in an aquarium, then here is the screen. Then watch realistic colourful fish swimming around in your own desktop aquarium with bubbles and sound effects. Dream Aquarium (download) is a next-generation virtual aquarium & screensaver that brings the beauty of lush freshwater aquariums to your computer with unsurpassed realism.

# Give your Eyes a Break. Take Care of Eye Strains

EyeDefender (Link) is a rest reminder windows tray application designed to prevent computer vision syndrome resulting from working on a computer for hours. EyeDefender prevents other problems related to computer use, which require a computer user to take short breaks for 20 seconds etc.
Workrave (Link) is a program that assists in the recovery and prevention of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). The program frequently alerts you to take micro-pauses, rest breaks and restricts you to your daily limit.
A rule suggested by eye doctors is the 20-20-20 rule which suggest that after every 20 minutes, you should take a break for minimum 20 seconds and look at objects that are atleast 20 feet away.

Create Comic Strip Online: Generate Funny Black-White Cartoon Strip

StripGenerator.com (Link) is a comic strip creation tool, using pre-made characters and graphics or create new ones and share them around the community. The site provides you with an original set of characters, and easy to use drag & drop comic strip editor.

Apart from this you can also use different  objects, text bubble etc to enhance your comic story. StripGenerator is still a fun way to give a message or give some funny visualization to your thoughts and ideas. Once you create the strip, you can print it or publish it, which saves it to the StripGenerator servers.

Google Translate Bug Part 2 : "WE REALLY HATE THIS COMPANY"

Remember our last Google Translate bug where it suggests that Justin Bieber won’t reach puberty. There was a failure of interpretation from english to Vietnamese and back to english. Here is part 2… Now it in Japanese and it will tell you why you might hate your company. Google Translation Bug: WE REALLY HATE THIS COMPANY  to Our Company is Really Using Facebook Step 1 : Go to Google Translate Step 2 : Type in "WE REALLY HATE THIS COMPANY" in the Text Box. Choose to Translate to Japanese. Step 3 : Copy the Japanese translation into the translation text box and convert it back to English. It translates to Our Company is Really Using Facebook . LOL moment right… What Facebook doing in a statement where you hate a company right ? But its a cool bug and thanks to whoever spotted it. I got this tip from an update fromLabnol. Here is a video (link) showing Google Translate’s version of the suggestion to the statement WE REALLY HATE THIS COMPANY. Damn Google must really hate facebook…

Get Desktop Notifications for Google Calendar Events Meetings ToDo Lists

Recently Gmail launched a lab feature to include desktop notifications for new emails^[1], chat in your inbox which works in chrome. If you are not an avid user of Google Calendar, then you should try it because now it convert it into a very powerful to do reminder app with desktop notifications for any task, event, meetings etc.

Use Google Calendar As Reminder Tool, Tray Notifier in Chrome

# Check out Checker Plus Lite for Google Calendar (Link) for Chrome

Quickly see your next meetings and add events with many options… a popup calendar, desktop reminders "like Outlook" that you can snooze, Google Apps, offline mode, voice notification, gray out past days…

And this is how you can use it to get tray notifications for Google calendar entries…
Step 1 : Install the extension. Then Sign In with your Google account.
Step 2 : You can quickly add any reminder, event or to do list directly from the dropdown.

The Quick Add option lets you add any task, event, reminder or meeting etc to any date and time. It also sets reminders for the next few minutes or hours.
Step 3 : Once you reach the time of the reminder etc, a desktop tray notification is shown… which you can snooze or re-schedule.

Step 4 : Click the extension icon to access the options page. Set according to your preference… Default is fine though. (You can choose to show desktop notification with sound and speech narration.. cool)

I have started using this as my daily to do reminder application. Not only because I like tray notifications but its works so well with Google calendar. You can easily add entries, reminders to Google calendar from your mobile^[2] device.
So now you can choose to have a common ToDo reminder system which is synced with the reminders set from your mobile device into Google calendar (which is very easy to use).

Always Remember to Read Imp. Emails Later: Never Forget to Reply

I have always faced this situation where I want to "take care" of an email later without completely forgetting about it. So I have to set up email reminders or some on a to do app. to remind me to reply,take care to that email. This complexity can be easily avoided if there was a way to postpone (snooze) the email for the next few hours or few days.
Tip : 100 Amazing Gmail Hacks, Tricks for Email Productivity

"Snooze Your Email" – Reminds You to Reply to Important Emails Later

Too many emails and can’t reply now? Snooze them for as long as you want and get a reminder later or have them reappear in your inbox as unread!
# Install Snooze Your Email : Link (for chrome)
Instead of marking your emails as unread and forgetting about them later because your busy, just click on your email, read it, then you can decide to click the Snooze button for a couple hours or days and you’ll get either a desktop reminder for that email when you’re ready or have the email automatically marked as unread later depending on your options. For Gmail users only.

Click ‘Snooze’ after opening the email or from the inbox by selecting an email using the check box.

You will get desktop tray notification reminders about the email your snoozed earlier, If its set to "Tomorrow" then, once you open your chrome browser next day you will get the notification about that email. [Image Credits]

Note: This chrome browser extension requires elevated permissions to mark your emails as unread in Gmail and works with Gmail only till now.
This is a great plugin for chrome and its made by the developer who made the chrome extension which

Lock Wallpaper: Prevent Desktop Wallpaper Change in Windows 7 PC

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 08:17 AM PST

Want to prevent someone from changing desktop wallpaper ? Follow these steps which are very useful to customize windows 7 interface settings like locking desktop wallpaper so your friends, employees etc can’t change the desktop background, wallpaper without your permission.

Prevent Someone From Changing Your PC’s Desktop Wallpaper

Step 1 : Go to Start > Run or press   + R and type in gpedit.msc (This file is located at C:\Windows\System32\gpedit.msc)

This will open the Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 7.
Step 2 : From the left panel, click on to expand User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization

Step 3 : Right click on Prevent changing desktop background and click Edit.
Step 4 : On this window (see below) select Enabled to To Prevent Changing Desktop Background.

Click OK and restart PC to make it work fully. To disable this feature follow the same steps and select "Disabled" in Step 4.
Now the Desktop Wallpaper Change option will be greyed out to prevent any further wallpaper change.

Note : It will also disallow users from right clicking on Images and setting them as Desktop Background from context menu. The wallpaper won’t be changed.
There are similar settings for screensaver, power scheme etc.

Move, Control Mouse Pointer Cursor With Head-Eyes-Face Movements

Nowadays, most actions you take on your computer are using the mouse. However, not everyone has access to it due to their reduced mobility. Luckily there are free applications like CameraMouse and HeadMouse which moves the mouse pointer around the screen using the head via a webcam.
Tip : Record Mouse, Keyboard Actions and Repeat Later

Control Mouse Pointer on Computer Screen Just by Moving Your Head

Increase productivity by simply moving your head to control your computer with these ergonomic mouse alternatives.

# Camera Mouse : Move Mouse Cursor in Windows Using Face, Head Movements

Camera Mouse (download) is a free program that enables you to control the mouse pointer on your computer screen just by moving your head. Camera Mouse works as a mouse replacement system for Windows computers so it should work with just about any application program.

The main audience for this program is people who do not have reliable control of a hand but who can move their head. A Windows 7, Vista, or XP computer system and a standard USB webcam (or a webcam built into the computer or monitor). This program is available for free download.
You just have to set CameraMouse’s benchmark, either the forehead, an eyebrow or nose. Stand still, CameraMouse will click for you. The app. might look complex but its easy one you get the hand of it.

The video above shows the working for the Camera Mouse software and how you can control mouse with head facial movements.
Tip : Use Your Webcam for Security Surveillance, Motion Detector

# HeadMouse 2 : Control Mouse with Eyes, Face Actions

HeadMouse2 (download) allows mouse operation only through the movements of the head that detects a webcam. This was a project to facilitate interaction with physical disabilities with computers.
In principle, the system works with any web camera. The program requires a few settings to detect the head movements and then recognize facial gestures to click: close your eyes, open mouth, raised eyebrows , etc.

Once you start moving the mouse simply with head gestures, the setup process will have been worthwhile, especially for those with physical difficulty managing input devices.

The video above shows the working for the Camera Mouse software and how you can control mouse with head facial movements.