Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Run Google Talk in Firefox Sidebar

The Google Talk Gadget is clearly more usable than the stand-alone GTalk desktop client or the floating AJAX version in GMail.

Here, each chat session opens up as a tab (like Firefox browser tabs), it can show previews of images or video and the chat client can easily be embedded inside webpages.

There's however a small problem - while we have browser windows in front of us all the time, the same may not hold true for the webpage (like the Google personalized page) where we have embedded the GTalk gadget.

So here's an alternate option - put the Google Talk client in the Firefox sidebar so it always stays in the foreground no matter what website you are on currently.

To add Google Talk to your Firefox sidebar, bookmark the following URL (right-click and choose Bookmark this link)
talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client

Now goto Bookmarks menu, navigate to the above bookmark, right click and choose Properties. Tick the checkbox that says Load this bookmark in the sidebar.

An employee of an investment bank writes that their organization has banned Google talk in office but using the above method, he was able to circumvent the GTalk ban and could chat with friend out the firewalls of his office.

Access Orkut, MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Xanga from School or Work

How to access Bebo, Myspace that are blocked at school ?

Following our previous trick on accessing restricted websites that are blocked by your employer, college or government, there have been several requests from college students and office workers asking for workarounds to access social networking websites that are blacklisted.

The most common websites that are blocked in schools include Bebo, MySpace, Hi5, Xanga, Orkut, Facebook and in some cases, Youtube. We share a couple of options to bypass the internet ban and they includes using proxy servers, special mobile websites and screen sharing software:

Trick A: Most solutions to unblock websites suggest using web proxies to bypass restrictions. Open Directory has a comprehensive list of public anonymous web-based proxy servers that you may want to try. [How proxies work ?]

But chances are that your school administration has already blocked access to most proxy servers as well. In that case, you have some more options:

Trick B: Surf the web using Mowser, a new service that's free and converts any website into a mobile phone friendly format. The other option that may help access blocked website is Bitty Browser, a miniature web browser that is meant for embedding inside other web pages. Another solution may be Google Mobile Search.

Trick C: Finally, a option that will always work provided you have your sister or mom at home to help you - Use a screen sharing software like Microsoft Tahiti, CrossLoop or Yuuguu.

Ask someone at home to accept your screen sharing invitation request and browse the web at school using your home computer. This will enable you to access any website or instant messenger like Skype or Yahoo from the school or work computer. You may also try remote control software that comes with Win XP Pro instead of screen sharing apps to access restricted sites.

Accessing unauthorized web sites using the above tricks may be considered a violation of school or work policies and might put you in trouble. Use them at your own risk.

Convert an Image into a Dot to Dot Puzzle - Birthday Party Ideas


I think everyone must seen in news papers and magazines. Draw the picture with quotation of "Chukkalu kalapandi"...

For new parents (especially mommies) struggling to find creative games and activities for their child's next birthday party, here's something very creative that will also keep the kids engaged.

PictureDots is a fun only service that will convert any of your favorite digital photograph or image into a numbered dots puzzle.

Upload a picture, create dots on the picture (like tracing an outline) using the mouse pointer and save the puzzle.

You can print the dots on a paper and distribute this "personalized puzzle" among the children - if they come to know that connecting the dots will create a face like their school teacher, they'll find the game all the more exciting.

Picture Dots.com - Create dot-to-dot puzzles.

Convert Long, Complicated Web Addresses Into Small URLs



urlTea.com - A relatively new but promising URL shortening service. It allows you to describe or annotate the destination website in the short URL itself. For instance, http://urltea.com/g20 is the same as http://urltea.com/g20?my_site but the latter makes more sense to the visitor. And you can also use Google Talk or Yahoo! Messenger to create short URLs through a buddy called teabot@urltea.com.




Turn Off the Computer Screen to Combat Global Warming

The severe threats posed by global warming are real and alarming but we (office workers, geeks, or anyone who uses a computer) can help make a difference without making any major changes to our work lifestyle.

Here are some essential tips for computer users (released by Tufts University) that will help in reducing the rate of climate change, if not reversing the damage already done. Take a printout and stick it on the wall.

» Turn off your monitor screen manually when you are not using your computer for 15 minutes or longer (e.g., during lunch hour or during meetings).

» Turn off your computer at night and when you are not using it for several hours. The same also applies to copiers, scanners, printers and fax machines.

One computer left on 24 hours a day will cost you $115 - 160 in electricity costs a year and dump 1,500 pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.

A tree absorbs between 3-15 lbs of CO2 each year. That means that 100-500 trees would be needed to offset the yearly emissions of one computer left on all the time.

» If you buy a new computer, consider a laptop. Laptops use only 1/4 the energy.

» If you buy a new computer monitor for the desktop, consider a flat screen instead of a CRT monitor. LCD monitors use only 1/3 the energy.

» Enable the Power Management feature for your monitor.

Important: Do not put the computer in hibernate or standby mode since it's the same as leaving your computer on. A PC or any other hardware device like TV or printer is always using energy unless it is totally switched off via the power mains.

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