Tech Readers » Software

Adobe Flash vs. HTML5

Bilal Akram — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 09:10:53 +0000

As both HTML5 and Flash are related to iPad, they both are in news and online in different blogs and forums. The Apple’s new device iPad doesn’t support Adobe Flash as Apple says that Flash is not reliable, is not secure, has low-performance, doesn’t keep up with the improvements and drains battery life. Use of large powerful apps will drain battery live no matter if you’re using HTML

Almost 70 percent of the high traffic websites uses flash. People seem to resent that Apple has come up with HTLM5. They think Apple is trying to put Adobe Flash out of business. Flash has been around to long, and works to well for it to be that easily replaced.

Flash has come up with Flash 10.1 to answer Apples HTML5 as its option for working with hand held devices. Flash 10.1 it will make possible the use of the standard Bightcove video player. Flash delivers seventy five percent of all online videos. Flash and Flash players are growing smartphones, netbooks and smart books.

Adobe has reacted to the mobile CPU insurgency with Flash 10.0 which is well-organized at preserving battery life, more secure and processes faster and better. Adobe’s future depends on how fast it executes its jobs.

Apple has been working on HTML5 for sometime. It is true we need programs that will make all computers and devices to work more smoothly together. I am not sure HTML5 will be the answer every ones looking for. Apple has been in the process of working all the bugs out since 2004. The project is so large some people say it won’t fully be ready for several more years. However You Tube one of the consumers favorite sites, are using a subset of HTML5. Canvas and offline storage is a working subset of HTML5 that has already appeared on “desktop Web” and mobile Web T.

The HTML5 at this time doesn’t have the power of Flash; it has some program options that may add to the use of PCs and other devices. Canvas is a very good program that when drawing can over lap circles which Flash can’t do at this point. The problem is not where you buy a regular computer or mobile PC that’s using HTML5 or Flash, its lack of a genuine commitment to what the users want. Very few organizations develop products around user needs. Most enterprises don’t care enough about user experience to change their habits.

This doesn’t mean that after HTML5 has been fully developed it will not be used as well. I think there is room for both. I think they will be chosen for what ever work one is doing at the time. Then again there may be something new by the time HTML5 is fully developed. It’s pretty obvious that Flash isn’t going any where soon especially as huge companies have based their business models on what Flash provides.

There will always be new programs and companies looking for better ways to interact with these programs. Technology is growing in leaps and bounds. We the consumer wants to see this continue. So I think most of us will glad to see what direction Flash and HTML5 goes.

Antivirus Programs Recommended for Windows7

Bilal Akram — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:55:00 +0000

The antivirus programs recommended by Microsoft for those users who are using Windows 7 and are looking for ways to remove viruses from the system. You can download any versions of these applications i.e. free/paid/trail and install on your PC. It’s recommended to go for paid version which can later be used on another PC when your windows 7 license is expired.

The three most recommended antivirus programs are as follows:

1. AVG – AVG is one of the best antivirus programs available which offer a full featured free version. The paid version would cost you 34.99 USD along with support of the same license for multiple operating systems i.e. Windows 7, Vista, XP & 2000.

2. Kaspersky Lab – This Anti-Virus system has specially launched a version for Windows 7 which can be directly downloaded from the website. Currently Kaspersky is offer a complete free version with no paid version information.

3. Symantec Norton – A Special Norton 360 Version 3.0 Beta version is available for download at the Symantec website, where you need to signup for the program and get the download links.

The antivirus program that I’m currently using is Kaspersky 2009 since I have got licensed version and its working fine on my windows 7 based PC. So tell us which antivirus program you are using?

4 Features to Expect in iPhone OS 4.0

Bilal Akram — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:43:04 +0000

Less than a week after the iPad was launched, Apple lifted the warps off iPhone OS 4.0 of Apple’s mobile operating system. The new OS will add new functionality to current iPod touch, iPhone and iPad devices. Yes one has to agree that there is always a room for improvement in the OS.

Here are some important that the new iPhone OS version 4.0 will offer to the user:

1. Multitasking

Now the new OS have the ability to run more than one, 3^rd party applications at given time. While the OS supports multiple apps running concurrently, it forces limits to help ensure a positive experience with core functionality. The iPhone OS of today is capable of multitasking because the feature is currently supported on some native Apple applications – listening to music in the iPod app while web surfing or checking mail is a good example.

2. Higher resolution

The new iPhone 4.0 will support higher resolutions for the next-generation devices. This could help iPad owners as well. The iPhone apps do work on the iPad today, but the pixel doubling of lower-resolution software makes apps look blocky and blurry.

3. Support for a second camera

Definitely, the camera in the next iPhone will be higher than the current 3-megapixel. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see a second, front-facing camera for video chatting in iPhone OS 4.0. We could even see third-party apps take advantage of such a change, although Apple may not allow access to such hardware for non-native apps.

4. Enhanced voice-to-text features

Google added this highly useful function to Android 2.1 and it ought to be a staple in any modern Smartphone. Apple added Voice Control in version 3 of the iPhone OS, but it’s limited by comparison — all you can use it for is to call a contact or control your iPod. However the new version will definitely removes these short comings.

What Is A Content Management System?

Bilal Akram — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:39:15 +0000

A Content Management System or simply a website CMS is a software that exists on a server and return web pages as a means of displaying a website. Actually pages do not exist on the server and instead are created from a database on-the-fly, by the CMS software. Page design is based on templates instead of the free-form method used in normal web pages, and this means that content is separated from design, so that each does not affect the other. In practical terms it means that design issues are resolved more easily and quickly.

Therefore, CMS is the best way to run a large website, or indeed any site where regular edits or changes are made; and where additional functions will be needed at a later date.

Main points of a CMS:

1. Pages are edited online via a normal browser.

2. Edits go live immediately.

3. The site owner can easily edit, add or delete pages.

4. With minimal training, the site owner may be able to add new menu items and even sections to the site.

5. Design and layout are controlled by templates – no custom design is necessary, though of course it can be utilized in order to extensively customize the page appearance.

6. Additional features are added via plug-ins – no custom work is needed.

7. Plug-ins are (or should be) widely available.

8. Content of many different types can be organized and presented in many different ways.

9. Content is completely separated from presentation – i.e. the page content does not affect its layout.

10. Rich media capability is usually better than that for standard websites.

All CMS use a database (DB) of some type, the most common being SQL. If no SQL database is available, then there is an alternative: a flat-file DB, which is basically a text file.

More significant points:

1. On a normal website, the web pages exist on the server.

2. On a CMS site, there are no web pages on the server.

3. The CMS will normally use an SQL database.

4. The pages are built on demand and do not pre-exist.

5. When there is no SQL on the server, or no access to management functions, then a flat-file CMS can be used.

Types of CMS

Content management systems can be divided into many different kinds, for several different purposes. Firstly, there are website CMS and non-website CMS. The former are designed to serve content on the Internet, the latter to contain and organize an enterprise’s information in a private environment.

The next division is between the various classes of function:

1. The micro CMS class

2. The lightweight class

3. The online brochure type

4. The extended online brochure type, with rich media publishing

5. The community / news model

6. The provider-consumer model

7. The enterprise class of CMS

8. The ecommerce-enabled type

I hope that this concise run-through of what cms means, what a cms does, cms types should have filled in most of the gaps for you.

Productivity Improves and Cuts Costs with Oracle Applications – Crescent Steel

Bilal Akram — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:55:28 +0000

Recently one of the leading steel pipe coating and manufacturing company in Pakistan the Crescent Steel, has completed the recognition broad range of Oracle E-Business Suite and released 12 months module in order to establish a highly reliable and available platform, which will reduce its end-of-month report production from 12 to 5 days

As Crescent Steel has numerous proprietary and in-house applications running separately on several platforms, the staff had to carry out the time consuming and hectic task of pulling all the data together from an array of sources in order to produce reports. Most of the time, this had resulted in top management making significant decisions which were based on inconsistent and outdated information.

Crescent Steel went live with Oracle Financials, which integrated its receivables, debit, and general ledger systems to enable senior managers to obtain a real-time, online view of the company’s financial status.

The new application by Oracle allows the senior management to obtain an online and a real-time view of the company’s financial status, the new system by Oracle Financials integrated it debit, receivables and general ledger system for the assistance of top managements.

Oracle Advanced Supply Chain Planning, which is a part of Oracle’s suite of Value Chain Planning applications, has facilitated to improve and optimize the inventory visibility, allowing the organization to reduce its inventory holdings across the business. Now the Crescent Steel can optimize and monitor its supply chain and procurement performance to ensure that all vital processes, from the management of purchasing requisitions through customer order fulfillment are well-organized.

Crescent Steel can now achieve visibility into the status of jobs underway to meet customer orders with the help of Oracle Discrete Manufacturing and Oracle Projects.

In addition, Crescent Steel also employed Oracle Order Management, Oracle Purchasing, Oracle Inventory Management, Oracle Discrete Manufacturing, Oracle Production Scheduling, Oracle Enterprise Asset Management, and Oracle Business Intelligence Solution.

The Crescent Steel is also planning to implement Oracle Discoverer to provide further control panels and reporting.

To implement the project Crescent Steel engaged a Gold Member of the Oracle Partner Network (OPN), the PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Protect Your USB Drive From Any Kind of Infection

Bilal Akram — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:56:15 +0000

Mostly all of us have faced and experienced a situation when we want to attach a USB to a computer and after some time find out the drive is infected by a deadly virus. The virus get transferred to your USB drive as soon as you attached it to an infected computer and all your crucial data get infected or you could lose your important data for ever depending on the type and nature of the virus.

There is always a solution to any problem!

The good news is that now you can protect your USB while attaching to a computer already infected.

If your USB drive is in non writable mode then a virus can’t get transferred into it as the drive will not allow it to enter

Switch your Drive to Write Protect Mode

There are few USB Flash drives in the market that have a built-in switch to change its mode to write protected or not. However, there are USB drives that doesn’t have this switch or the feature then you can use utility software to manually write protect your USB drive.

For example,

ThumbScrew

This software is a freeware application, which allows you to manually write protects your USB drive so that any kind of virus, Malware, Trojan or infection from infected computer would not damage your USB drive or any of your data.

You can download this software (it’s free) and install it in your computer system, after that you will see its icon in the system try. Now right click the icon and select ‘Make USB read only’ option from the menu. By doing this you are making your drive write protected from any infection.

USB Write Protector

This is another freeware utility that allows you to make your USB flash drive or pen drives write protected same as Thumbscrew as mentioned above.

These are very small in size utilities and you can even carry it in your USB drive itself.

By using these free applications your pen drive or your USB Flash drive would be protected from the infected computer if attached, other than it is still the best option and recommended for you to use quality antivirus software, and keep it updated on daily basis.

8 Cool Features of Windows 7

Bilal Akram — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:22:41 +0000

One would have to agree with the fact that Windows operating system has taken many huge steps from Windows 3.1 to Windows 7. Despite the fact that Windows Vista received a halfhearted response from the users around the globe, but it seems like Windows 7 will attend to those criticism and will be remembered.

Now let’s get back to our topic. What are the things that Windows 7 encompasses but Vista doesn’t?

So here are some cool things Windows 7 has but Vista doesn’t.

1. Shake them away

If you have multiple windows open and want to minimize them except the one that is important to you. Just grab the top of window and shake it to minimize other except this one.

2. Advance previewing option

Now in Windows 7 you can preview pops up of the opened windows just like Vista but with the option to close within the preview.

3. XP- Mode

Previously Vista would not run XP applications. However, with Windows 7 you can, by downloading XP Mode free from the Microsoft website.

4. Get rid of the notification area!

You can now almost get rid of the clock and volume icons. Windows 7 gives you the option to ‘customize’ the notifications area.

5. Record any problem regarding your PC

Just click the ‘Record’ button on the ‘Problem Steps Recorder’ app and it start taking screenshots each time the mouse click. You can add comments to each screenshot and send it to someone who might assist you with this problem.

6. A brand new Magnifier tool

Windows 7 Magnifier tool has come with two options for providing a bigger display. One is the traditional dock which took a lot of screen space and the other being a rectangular lens (covers up less workspace).

7. Homegroup Networking

In Vista and the older version of windows, it was a bit hard to create a shared folder over a network. By using ‘Homegroup’ wizard in Windows 7 you can all the folders that you want to share plus it gives you a pass-code. Both the parties have to enter this code to start sharing.

8. Native calibration tools

If you want to connect your computer to a HDTV then the basic and easy-to-use calibration tools will help you.

I hope these points will make your upgrade worthwhile.

Protect Your Computer from Viruses – Top 5 Antivirus Programs

Bilal Akram — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000

Once you have found out that your PC is infected with some fatal infections, what can you do about it?

Don’t be scared – Nearly every computer is tainted with a virus at one point or another. Quick action and caution are necessary.

Top 4 Reasons to have an antivirus.

It safeguards your computer from breaking down.
It protects your Data on from identity theft.
Checks spam email stream.
Peace of Mind Definitions for Detection.

Top 4 Features antivirus software should have:

Simple installation process.
Easy to Use Interface
Efficiently remove viruses and supported by certified testing
Provides technical support to solve the problem.

Most of the antivirus programs employ a “heuristic” algorithm and other antivirus systems use a “baiting” system.

Viruses are always expanding to avoid tricks put forth by antivirus programs.

Top 5 Virus Protection Software are:

BitDefender Antivirus
Shield Pro 2007
MacAfee Antivirus
ESET Nod32 Antivirus
Kaspersky Antivirus

I hope this might help you protecting your computer system.

Benefits of Using Original Software

Zaheer Ahmed Khan — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:40:30 +0000

Original Software brings with it a number of advantages. There is a difference between pirated software and original software. The original software comes with guarantee that it is not infected with any viruses and it will work properly. It also ensures that the user’s family doesn’t fall prey to any malicious tools. There is access to latest updates and downloads. Software updates make sure that the system is up-to-date with the latest technology and enhances the performance and protects it from harmful viruses or spyware.

There’s a perception that original software is expensive that is why people have no choice but to use pirated software. Original software is a little expensive but it is more reliable then a pirated software. If one puts side by side the price against the loss that could incur due to pirated software, original software turns out to be much cheaper than fake one.

Choosing an original software

The question now in your mind would be how to choose original software? Original Software is also one such business standard that is an unavoidable part. Adopting an original software means choosing a best practice adopted by industry that will lead businesses across the world. Embracing original software means embracing a global business standard that brings with it several advantages:

Peace of Mind:

Original software assures that the software is properly licensed and supported by the software company. Any doubts about quality and concerns about legal issues for the company are avoided. Most importantly, it is established that the company runs on global business standards.

Free from faults:

Original software is free from spyware, defects and malware that are dangerous for the business and the reputation with partners and customers.

Value beyond software:

Original software makes the purchaser eligible for special offers and product enhancements.

Staying up-to-date with the latest software

Now you will be thinking that how to stay up to date with the latest software. As the technology is developing everyday especially with computers, it is very easy to be left behind by the latest trends in software development. One has to keep pace with technological development. Having out of date software sometimes is an irritation because some of your files may not be recognized by the newer version or it may look different already. Staying up-to-date with the latest software keeps your system at peak performance.

Although software updates are attractive, it is also wise to research on whether a PC has the ability required to run the software smoothly. Acquiring a higher version of a program most often does not require a bigger memory capacity. If a computer does not meet the requirements then it is more likely to slow one down.

There are some software that are licensed and their updates cannot be acquired through the internet. In such cases, the software retailer would have to be consulted for updated software. Moreover, retailers are the first ones to know about any updates given their line of business.

Beware! Fake Antivirus May Offer Live Customer Support

Tasadduq Bashir — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:36:45 +0000

Live PC Care an imitated antivirus program is now offering Live Support to boost their sales. Researchers at Symantec say, once this fake anti-virus product is installed on the computer, users get a false message of their machine being infected by various malwares (This is how fake software like this work). Latest addition to this anti-virus program is “Live Support”.

Live Support button redirects you to a real human agent who tries to convince you to purchase the full version of the software, which is nothing but a try to rack in some money from simplicity of users.

Another similar company known as “Innovative marketing” was using the same technique for the product “WinFixer”. A support center was operated to provide support but the main purpose was to convince users to upgrade to full version.

These fake anti-virus programs have been discomforting in the past. An annoying pop-up installs the software convincing people that their computer has been infected.

43 Million Fake antivirus installation attempts were observed by Symantec from July 2008 to July 2009.

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