On April 30, Microsoft released the first Release Candidate of Windows 7 which is available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Along with the Windows 7 Release Candidate version, Microsoft has also come out with the final minimum system requirements for Windows 7 and here it is.

Final Windows 7 minimum system requirements:

• 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0 or higher

If you are planning to run Windows XP Mode along with Windows 7, Microsoft recommends that users use Windows XP Mode on a PC with 2GB of memory. They also recommend an additional 15 GB of additional disk space for Windows XP Mode (this is apart from the 16GB for 32 bit and 20GB for 64 bit systems). In addition, Windows Virtual PC requires a PC with Intel-VT or AMD-V enabled in the CPU, as it takes advantage of the latest advancements in hardware virtualization.

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GPicSync is a free tool that automatically geocodes pictures from your camera with a GPS track log which can afterwards be used with softwares such as Picasa, Google Earth, Flickr, loc.alize.us etc.

What is Geocode or Geocoding??

Geocode (Geospatial Entity Object Code) is a standardized all-natural number representation format specification for geospatial coordinate measurements that provide details of the exact location of geospatial point at, below, or above the surface of the earth at a specified moment of time. Geocode representation format is a combination of latitude , longitude ,date, time, altitude et.

Features of GPicSync:

For a free tool, GPicSync is rather feature packed.

GPicSync

• Automatically geocodes your photos (in the EXIF header).
• Uses a GPS tracklog in the GPX Format or NMEA format (multiple selection possible).
• Supports elevation data if present in the tracklog.
• Creates a Google Earth KML file to directly visualize the geocoded photos and track in Google Earth.
• Creates a Google Maps file to publish your pictures and track on the web .
• Automatically associates audio or video files in Google Earth and Google Maps.
• Creates a Google Earth KMZ file (containing your geolocalized pictures and tracklog).
• Adds additional geonames and ‘geotagged’ metadata (for automatic tagging in Flickr for example) and create an automatic IPTC caption.
• Manually writes latitude/longitude in a picture EXIF or a selection of photos.
• Handy tools integrated (Time correction tool, EXIF reader, GPX inspector, rename pictures with date/location,).
• Supports Jpeg pictures and main RAW files format .
• Software available in English, French, German, Italian, traditional and simplified Chinese, Catalan, Russian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese and Czech.
• It is a Free and Open Source software!

GPicSync has a very user-friendly interface and gets updated frequently. Check out GPicSync

Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) is here and has become quite a rage for its stability and security. The latest release also offers a ‘Carry on a USB’ feature that allows users to download, install and run Ubuntu 8.10 from the USB Flash drive.

This feature is similar to the Live CD but being on a USB Flash drive, it is much faster than the Live CD. Here is a simple way to install and run Ubuntu 8.10 from a USB Flash Drive.

Checklist for installation of Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex on your USB flash drive

Before performing the installation of Ubuntu, make sure you have the following:

- A USB flash drive with at least 1GB of memory

- Ubuntu 8.10 ISO - It can be downloaded from http://www.ubuntu.com

- Ubuntu 8.10 Conversion Script - It can be downloaded from here

- A Windows PC(with a USB formatting tool) for performing the conversion

Installing Ubuntu 8.10 or Intrepid Ibex

The installation can be done in five simple steps:

1. Format the USB Flash Drive to a FAT32 file system - You can use the HP USB Format Tool
2. Download the Ubuntu 8.10 conversion script and execute it. This will create a folder named Ubuntu810
3. Place the Ubuntu 8.10 ISO in the Ubuntu810 folder. The script will try to download the ISO if it is not already there.
4. From the Ubuntu810 folder, click on Ubuntu810.bat and follow the onscreen instructions.
5. When the script has finished, restart your PC and reset your BIOS or Boot Menu to boot from the USB device; save your changes and reboot.

If the above step go faultlessly, you should be booting from a Live USB version of Ubuntu 8.10. Once finished, the installation will act just like the Live CD. No changes are saved back to the USB stick.

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The term dongle has traditionally referred to a piece of hardware which is attached to a computer via the USB drive in order to make a piece of secured software run. However, with the rise of mobile broadband, it has become synonymous with mobile broadband modems.

What is mobile broadband?  Well just a like connecting to the internet with a mobile phone, mobile broadband uses a SIM card to connect, except the SIM card is embedded in a USB modem, or ‘dongle’, that is plugged into your laptop or PC and allows you to connect to the internet on the move via a 3G network.  Having a fast 3G connection on your laptop with speeds available of up to 7.2Mb, can offer advantages over finding a WiFi hotspot, as virtually full national coverage is available, whereas finding a hotspot to connect to in the UK still isn’t easy. With a dongle you can also have an always on connection, allowing true mobile internet, which isn’t possible with WIFI.  This is great if you travel regularly or , just fancy working outsides or on the move.

Mobile broadband dongles are portable modems that plug into the USB port of your laptop or computer providing internet access via 3G signalling. Dongles are popular with business and personal users alike as they offer greater flexibility and increase communication opportunities.

Mobile dongles are also widely referred to as mobile modems, mobile USB modems and USB modems, though the term dongle is perhaps the most widely used.

As you all know Google released its open source browser Google Chrome on recently and as expected it has turned quite a few heads and shaken up the browser market share as early as day one. By now, I’m sure most of you would have checked out our analysis on Browser Market Share - Before & After Chrome. If not, do check it out and it gives you a fair picture on what Google Chrome has managed to do!

A lot of Google Chrome users have faced and continue to face what has now been termed as the Google Chrome mouse scroll issue. One of our earlier posts had brought this issue up some time back and a lot of commenters came up with what kind of issues they were facing and some even managed to solve it. You can follow the discussion here. Here are the various solutions that our commenters came up with to solve the mouse scroll issue on Google Chrome. Thanks to all you commenters - I’m sure a lot of Google Chrome users must be thanking you as well!

Solution 1 - Comment from dudge669:

I downloaded the newest version of Microsoft’s “Intellipoint” mouse drivers and I can now scroll both directions and the downward scrolling doesn’t jump half the page like it did before either. Another side effect to this though that didn’t exist before installing the newest Intellipoint drivers is that like msujaws just mentioned, I can’t click down on the mouse wheel to scroll (but I never did that anyway). It might just be because of the new Intellipoint driver’s “instant window view” feature which is actually pretty cool.

Bottom line: If you’re having trouble scrolling down in chrome, update your mouse / Intellipoint drivers!

Solution 2 - Comment from kutluay:

I had the same problem with scroll up. I’ve removed lenovo mouse drivers and everything started working fine… try to uninstall unnecessary software.

Solution 3 - Comment from Kristian & bbox:

Here is a solution on XP systems:
Go to
->Start
->System Settings
->Mouse
->4th tab “Wheel”

Then use troubleshooting.

bbox adds:

It brought up an interactive window, telling me to run the app having the problem and then select it from the list. I did that, it said try it now, I did, it worked. The troubleshooter said it had added the app to the exception list and that some apps manage the mouse internally. I guess you can do that directly by clicking the advanced button just below the troubleshoot button.

Solution 4 - Comment from Jc:

Found a post that mentioned it was fixed by closing the Dell mouse software, which for me was the mouse icon by the clock (right-click -> Exit). This will allow me to workaround the issue until google fixes it.

One of these solutions should definitely help you in correcting that issue. If it does, then do leave a comment thanking the commenters for it If it doesn’t, do leave a comment leaving details on what exactly is the nature of your problem and details on your hardware and we’ll try and find a solution for it

Update: Solution 5 - Comment from pixelboy:

To fix this problem with the IBM/Lenovo Scrollpoint mice do the following:

Control Panel / Mouse
“ScrollPoint” Tab
Tick “Use Microsoft Office 97 Scrolling Emulation Only”
Doesn’t seem to affect other apps either.

Update: Solution 6 - Comment from Paulus:

For anyone who wishes to fix the issue quickly, I have released a patcher. You can download it here:
http://users.ecs.soton.ac.uk/pjt2v07/chrome/

Just run chrome_patch.exe. It will patch chrome.dll to fix the issue.

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It has come to our notice that the InPrivate Browsing feature of IE8, which has been nicknamed as the IE8 Porn Mode has been busted. A Dutch website - Webwereld has been reported to have cracked the In Private Browsing function of IE8 which is in beta release to reveal concealed information.

According to the Dutch website, forensic experts in Holland found it very easy to retrieve browsing history after testing the InPrivate Browsing function. Forensic experts would find it “peanuts” to retrieve browsing history data said Christian Prickaerts, a forensic IT expert with Dutch security firm Fox IT. While the experts were not able to retrieve specific URLs, they were still able to restore the browsing history and then deduce which websites were visited. All said and done, while many internet users would not have the expertise to retrieve web history like the forensic experts did, the finding from the Dutch experts definitely dents Microsoft’s claim that when surfing in private browsing mode, IE8 does not store any information about your history, searches or cookies.

For all those who haven’t yet heard of these features - InPrivate Browsing prevents Internet Explorer from storing data about your browsing session. This includes cookies, temporary Internet files, history, and other data.

InPrivate Blocking helps prevent the websites you go to from automatically sharing details about your visit with other websites. To help protect your privacy, some website content might be blocked.

Via: Webuser

Airtel allows its pre-paid customers to access Mobile Office daily at Rs. 25.00 per day. However, there is a way around it which will help all prepaid Airtel users to activate Mobile Office for the whole month at the same cost! That is unlimited usage of Mobile Office @ INR 25!!

Here it goes.

1. Ensure that your account balance is more than Rs. 25.00 before you attempt this trick.
2. Activate your Mobile Office by dialing ‘*444*1#’. Do this in the morning so that you can make use of it the whole day.
3. Following that, you will get an activation msg and your account will be deducted by Rs. 25.00. Now you can enjoy mobile office for 24 hours.
4. For unlimited access,  just switch off your mobile from 7.00 am to 10.00am the next day. Also ensure that your account balance is below Rs. 25.00 on that day.
5. You are done!! Enjoy Airtel’s Mobile Office for the rest of the month with no further deductions in balance

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and Express Yourself!!

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