Mozilla Firefox vs Google Chrome

Google Chrome, it only needs a whole year (Dec 2008 - Dec 2009) to be the third most widely used browser in the world (4.4%).


We will compare Google Chrome with Firefox 3.5 (No Add-On).

Memory Usage

Firefox is the lightest browser in the world, I also consider Google Chrome as a very light browser but it consumes about 10-20% more memory than Firefox (depend on the number of tabs opened). But we will see that the larger consumption of memory is not a waste. Let's go to the next comparison.

Display

When you heard about Windows Vista, you'll imagine an Operating System with a wonderful display, and that's what you get on Google Chrome, the name shows what's inside. Firefox is still using a standard display for the user interface, buttons, and theme. Google Chrome will blind your eyes, it has a much better display (on both browser theme and webpage display) than Firefox, and it consumes less memory and CPU usage compared to Opera, another browser that has a magnificent display.

Page Load Time

No doubt, Firefox is the best on page load time, Google Chrome takes several more seconds (or milliseconds) to finish loading a webpage. Personally I won't mind waiting a few seconds more in order to get a better display, but there are users out there that will kick their keyboard and yell at a slower browser.

Conclusion (and facts)

It's all about appearance and performace, everyone has their own preference. For those who love eye candies, Firefox will bore them. For those who prefer speed, Google Chrome will waste their precious browsing time (a few milliseconds perhaps).

 And we will see a comparison from Google Trends

Blue = Firefox and Red = Chrome

We can see that at Chrome's first launching day, lots of people look for it (on Google of course) and that's a very good start for a new software. Then after the 'frenzy' was over, the search volume returned to a reasonable amount, but still that's not a small number for a new software (even the new release of Firefox 3 doesn't make the search volume for 'Firefox' show a significant increase). Slowly but surely, Chrome's search volume goes up over time. It will catch up Firefox's search volume before 2011 unless Google does something stupid and mess everything up.

Dual Core? Quad Core? Nope, 48 Core!

"That's insane!" was my first reaction when I read this article's title. It's still 2009 and a Quad Core processor is more than enough, why would you need a 48 Core?

After I read the article, I changed my opinion. That's a cool project, the processor wasn't made for a usual computer, it's for a super computer capable of doing a lot of thing that human can do. The 48 core processor contains 1.3 billion transistors and nicknamed “single-chip cloud computer”. It executes commands quickly and smoothly.

...powerful enough to do more of what humans can.
...can carry 64 gigabytes of data per second.
...can accommodate a maximum of 64GB of memory.

So they're trying to make a computer that is stronger than human mind. A computer that (probably) is smarter than human. This is the time when computer will takeover the world (well it's close to 2012 after all - just kidding). With this kind of computer, everything will be easier, all difficulties will be solved by the computer.

But, there are some problems:
1. Needs a huge amount of power
2. Easily overheated
3. Hard to synchronize every core

Fortunately Intel anticipated that, the processor will use "adaptive mode", unused parts of the processor will be turned of when idle. And for the synchronization problem, they're still working on it.

Awesome!

Sources:
http://news.cnet.com
http://news.bbc.co.uk
http://www.wired.com

Related articles:
100 Cores 
Thousands of processing cores

Overclock: why & why not?

Overclocking is the process of running a computer component at a higher clock rate (more clock cycles per second) than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, usually practiced by enthusiasts seeking an increase in the performance of their computers. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overclocking)

We can say that overclocking will 'force' our computer (especially the CPU and/or graphic card) to work harder in order to make it able to produce more and better result than usual in a period of time. For people who want to increase the performance of their computer without upgrade, overclocking is the best (for several cases) solution.

Why:

• Great solution for low-end computers, you don't have to upgrade the components
• Reducing lag on heavy memory usage
• Faster data processing
• Better game performance and graphics 
• Increase time before an upgrade is needed 
• Can be used to test the component's durability

Why not:

• Overclocking will damage your computer's component, reducing its lifespan
• More electrical power consumption
• Overclocked components produce more heat that may damage another components
• Excessive heat (risk of fire) demands computer to be turned off every several hours
• Void the component's warranty
• Overclocked components have very low reselling prices
  

Sample of overclocking results

Strong password for better protection

To get a better protection for your account (online/offline) you'll need a strong password. Here are some tips in building a strong password:

1. Use words/sentence that are hard for people to guess, but easy for you to remember, make sure it's long enough so that people can't brute-force it
Example: iloveblogging

2. Include uppercase and numbers, make it complex, but make sure you can remember it
Example: 1loveBlogginG

3. If possible, use at least one special character ~!@#$%^&*()<>?
Example: 1(love)BlogginG!

4. Check the password strength using Microsoft's Password Checker

And a strong password isn't enough:

1. Never log in to your account on an unsecure network.
2. If you need to log in to your account using another person's computer, be sure to use one of these software to avoid keyloggers.
3. Don't write down your password, that's too risky. If you find it hard to memorize password, just write a hint so that you can remember it.
4. Using a random password generator isn't recommended, it has several patterns that can be easily brute-forced

 Beware! Brute-force attackers are everywhere!

Undelete your lost files

Woke up on Monday morning, back to the desk, turned on the PC, and shocked: Those important documents I typed last night were gone! Have you ever experienced similar situation? Whatever the cause is (system error, human error, or virus), the file is still there, but the computer won't display the file because it's marked as deleted (actually it's still there even if you emptied your recycle bin, as long as it's not yet overwritten by anopther file). All we need is an undelete software. You can find some on Google, click here to search for free undelete softwares.

How to avoid accidentally losing important files:
1. First, and most important, never ever never ever never ever check the "Do not move files to the recycle bin. Remove files immediately when deleted" checkbox on Recycle Bin properties. Checking that checkbox will really help people out there who want to ruin your day.
2. Always check the "Display delete confirmation dialog" checkbox on Recycle Bin properties. The confirmation dialog is not an annoyance, it's your file's saviour.
3. If you have a lot of free space, try not to empty the recycle bin, you might need those trash later. Recycle Bin will only use a small amount of space, it depends on your setting (the default is 10% of total drive size).
4. Whenever you realized that your files are missing, don't do anything (copy files, create documents, defragmentation) on the missing file's drive. This prevents your missing files from being overwritten.
5. Use undelete software as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the lower the file's "health" will be, which means it can't be perfectly recovered anymore.
6. Backup is the most space consuming way to protect your important files, but it's also the best way to avoid losing them. Backup your data (especially those important files) at least once a day. Another way is by saving your files twice on different location (different drive if possible) each time you updated them.
7. Last, keep your important data on secure location, don't mix it with common documents in order to avoid accidental deletion.

Let's fight plagiarism!

This blog post is not about technology, but it's related to technology (the dark side of technology). We hate it, but sometimes whether on purpose or not, we are the doer of plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

• to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own


• to use (another's production) without crediting the source


• to commit literary theft


• to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

According to Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary:

• use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work

Facts about plagiarism (http://www.plagiarism.org)

A study by The Center for Academic Integrity found that almost 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once.

According to a survey by the Psychological Record 36% of undergraduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material.

A poll conducted by US News and World Reports found that 90% of students believe that cheaters are either never caught or have never been appropriately disciplined.

The State of Americans: This Generation and the Next (Free Press, July 1996) states that 58.3% of high school students let someone else copy their work in 1969, and 97.5% did so in 1989.

A study conducted by Ronald M. Aaron and Robert T. Georgia: Administrator Perceptions of Student Academic Dishonesty in Collegiate Institutions found that 257 chief student affairs officers across the country believe that colleges and universities have not addressed the cheating problem adequately.

According to the Gallup Organization (October 6-9, 2000), the top two problems facing the country today are: 1) Education and 2) Decline in Ethics (both were ranked over crime, poverty, drugs, taxes, guns, environment, and racism, to name a few).

A national survey published in Education Week found that 54% of students admitted to plagiarizing from the internet; 74% of students admitted that at least once during the past school year they had engaged in "serious" cheating; and 47% of students believe their teachers sometimes choose to ignore students who are cheating.

And although many instructors are aware of the problem, most feel powerless to stop it.

A study conducted by Donald L. McCabe titled Faculty Responses to Academic Dishonesty: The Influence of Honor Codes found that 55% of faculty "would not be willing to devote any real effort to documenting suspected incidents of student cheating".

"With respect to cheating, I'm just in denial. I just don't want to deal with it because I know it is a huge problem." -- San Luis Obispo professor, as reported in Net Learning.

"Who wants to sit around looking for websites trying to find out if a paper is plagiarized or not... pretty soon you're a private investigator." -- a Stanford University professor, from an article in TechWeb News.

"[Plagiarism] is one of those areas in the academy that no one wants to talk about and is often rewarded for not addressing actively." -- an Associate VP of Student Life, as posted in The Chronicle of Higher Education's "Colloquy."

"Too few universities are willing to back up their professors when they catch students cheating, according to academic observers. The schools are simply not willing to expend the effort required to get to the bottom of cheating cases" -- as stated by The National Center for Policy Analysis.


Plagiarism is a serious academic offense, and the doer of plagiarism is a thief. Nowadays, some bloggers are plagiarism doers and that's the reason I posted this blog post. Let's fight plagiarism together.

How?

1. No more unauthorized copy and paste, always ask for permission first.
2. Use your own words, using another person's idea is okay (for certain conditions and not for commercial use) but remember to write it in your own style.
3. Loves blogging? Keep your blog free from plagiarism.
4. Use plagiarism checker (great for lecturers), click here to find some freewares or online checkers that you can use to fight plagiarism.
5. Are you a victim of plagiarism? Report it here.

Inspired by my lecturer, Mr. Todd Teeztel

Computers around us

Blog comparison: Blogger vs Wordpress

Both are the biggest free blog hosting on the net, here are some comparisons between them:

1. Signing up
It's very easy to sign up (except for the 'write the verification letters' part) on Blogger and Wordpress. You'll need an e-mail address, a keyboard to fill the form, and one or two eyes to see the hard-to-read verification letters.

2. Appearance
Now we'll see real differences, both Blogger and Wordpress have some templates for you to choose (but you can always make your own) and both are using WYSIWYG editing. The difference? Well, Blogger's templates have casual appearance, they're cool and colorful. Wordpress has ones that are professional looking, and Wordpress allows fewer costumization compared to Blogger.

3. Ease of use
Both have drag-and-drop user interface, and we love that. Blogger has less menu items, so it's easier for common people, but professionals prefer Wordpress because it offers more features.

4. Statistics
Wordpress has integrated statistics for web page views, Blogger doesn't. Blogger users must use Google Analytics in order to see their blog's statistics, and using Analytics isn't easy.

5. Spam
We hate spam, and Blogger has comment moderation and word verification to prevent unwanted comments. Wordpress use Akismet service for spam protection.

6. Advertisement
Wordpress doesn't allow third-party ad serving services (like adsense and adbrite). Using Blogger you can easily place your ads from third-party ad serving services on your blog, so it's great for profit-oriented blogs.

7. Conclusion
Blogger is great for casual/home bloggers, while Wordpress is suitable for professional bloggers. Both are cool and easy to use, but if you want some revenue from your hobby then you'll use Blogger so that you can add some ads. I suggest you to use both of them to compare them from your point of view and you'll find which one will work best for you.

Secure your USB Flash Drive

USB flash drive (UFD) is the favorite nest for virus, here I'll explain some ways to secure your UFD:

1. Prevent the virus from entering your USB flash drive
Turn off plug and play, that's the gate for virus to infect your USB flash drive. Believe me, you don't really need the plug and play, and whenever you open a UFD don't doubleclick it, use right click and then choose open (not autoplay/autorun),this prevents you from accidentally activate the virus autorun. You can turn it off using some softwares like TuneUp, WinXp manager, or Tweak UI (Windows Powertoy), but if you don't have any then we'll manually turn it off. Open 'Services' on Control Panel (it's in Administrative Tools), doubleclick 'Plug and Play' and stop the service. Don't forget to select 'Disabled' on startup type dropdown menu.

2. Remove virus files
If you find strange files in your UFD that always reappear whenever you deleted them, it's possible that they are active virus files. To remove them completely, either use antivirus (make sure it's up to date) or enter safe mode and delete it (but new computer virus usually active on safe mode as well). The best way is by using new folders to block their ability to 'write' on your UFD. First, delete the virus file(s) and quickly make a folder with exactly the same name as the virus file (including the file extension), using this way the active virus on the memory won't be able to rewrite the virus file.

3. Last step (and other people will appreciate this)
Don't let virus change your UFD into a virus factory! Virus will always create autorun.inf file on your UFD to autorun itself whenever you plug in your UFD to a device that has its 'Plug and Play' activated (that's why I told you to disable it). We'll use the same method as our second step, delete the autorun.inf and quickly make a new folder and name it autorun.inf, this way the virus can enter your UFD but it won't be able to infect anyone (as long as you don't accidentally run the virus file).

With those steps combined (close the front door, clean the house, close the back door) then your UFD will be safe from the annoying autorunning virus. Note that some viruses are fast enough to rewrite the file after you deleted it, in this case you have to make the folder(s) on another place (for example on your desktop), rename it (must be exactly the same with the virus file), then copy/cut it, open your UFD, delete the virus file(s), and quickly paste the folder(s) you made before.

Windows Vista Ultimate vs Windows XP Professional

Which one is better? I've collected several informations on the web and here are the results:

1. Hardware

Windows Vista Ultimate has the best Windows appearance ever, compared to the previous Windows. It comes with aeroglass display and lots of cool graphical effects. But, what makes people stay on Windows XP? If you want to use vista, your computer must use hardwares that are labeled "Vista Ready", and all of them are expensive. For example, Vista won't work on a PC with 10 Gigabyte of RAM and 10 GHz of Processor if the computer doesn't use "Vista Ready" graphic card. Windows XP works on any kind of hardware, as long as you have enough memory on your PC.

2. Software

This part of comparison is clear enough, Vista has a horrible compatibility. Only a few non-Microsoft softwares that managed to work on Vista. And the worst news is, if you want to use third party Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, and Firewall, they have to be "Vista Ready"! That's ridiculous, imagine you've bought a $1000 Anti-Virus for your Windows XP, and when you upgraded to Vista it's unusable just because it's not "Vista Ready". Windows XP works with almost every software that works on older Windows, and it has "Compatibility Mode" which allow you to run very old softwares from Windows 95 and 98.

3. Appearance

Undoubtedly like what I mentioned before, Vista comes with wonderful graphic displays that can blind your eyes. But now let's see one of the function. Aeroglass, magnificent and beautiful, but what for? Alt+Tab main function is to switch between programs, and every Windows has that function, the aeroglass doesn't give extra function to the Alt+Tab, only extra animation. People may argue that the aeroglass allows you to see the thumbnail of the programs before you're switching to it, but let me tell you that Windows XP allows you to see the thumbnail using one of the Microsoft Powertoy, it's free and it doesn't need "Vista Ready" hardwares. Another beauty, the sidebar. Well, you can always use Windows Gadgets on Windows XP to display the sidebar, why would we buy expensive hardwares to get new Windows name with the same functions?

4. Functionality & Security

Windows live search is one of the Vista's great function. Try it and cry, it only make your search faster for 2 or 3 seconds compared to Windows XP's indexed search. "The most secure Windows ever" is what they said, but only 1 day after Vista launched, some hacker cracked it with ease. "Easily make DVDs", "Create high-definition movies", "Remotely access your business resources", "Automatically back up your files". There are thousands of freewares out there that can be installed on Windows XP with the same functions as those, and they're free.

5. Conclusion

Windows Vista Ultimate is great and beautiful, in graphic display. So you'll pay more than $300 only to buy better graphic, and you'll get a bonus: a new Windows name with several bugs and security holes to deal with. Vista SP1 fixed 551 bugs, out of 5000+ bugs available to enjoy on your new Windows. If you don't believe me, check this and try it, you can also contact Google for more bug lists. Windows XP isn't free from bugs, but at least it's less than 10% compared to the "magnificent Vista" has. Newer isn't always better.

They're not my subjective view, here are the sources:
http://www.google.com
http://www.microsoft.com
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.itwire.com
http://www.tdaxp.com
http://www.aspnetresources.com
lots of blogs on Blogger and Wordpress
lots of forums
lots of product reviews
and my own opinions after I tried Vista.

Note: You can download the trial version of Windows Vista on http://www.microsoft.com for free, but don't expect too much and don't scream too much.

I love Vista

How to disable Windows Security Center

Windows Security Center helps you to protect your computer, especially by giving you notifications about important security risks. But sometimes it's also a great annoyance, when it keeps giving out warnings that you already know. Here is how to disable it:
1. Click on Start button, then select Control Panel.
2. Select "Administrator Tools" (if you don’t see it, double click on "Performance and Maintenance" first).
3. Double click "Services".
4. Find and right click on the service named “Security Center”, and select "Properties".
5. In the "General" tab, beside the "Startup type:", change the setting from "Automatic" to "Disabled". This will permanently disable Security Center forever.
6. Reboot your computer or click on "Stop" button at the bottom of the dialog window to stop Security Center immediately.

Facebook chat emoticon/smiley list

Try these emoticons on facebook chat to make a smiley:

Smile
:) or :-)

Laugh
:D or :-D

Wink
;) or ;-)

Happy
^_^

Mad
>:o

Cute
:3

Annoyed
>:-(

Sad
:( or :-(

Crying
:’(

Surprised
:o or :-o

Glasses
8) or 8-)

Cool
8-|

Naughty
:p or :-p

Shocked
O.o

Bored
-_-

Uncertain
:/ or :\

Devil
3:)

Angel
O:)

Kiss
:-* or :*

Love
<3

Pacman
:v

Robot
:|]

Face
:putnam:

Shark
(^^^)

Penguin
<(")

Add more traffic to your website/blog

There are several methods to attract more people to your website/blog, I'll introduce 2 best methods in the internet:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

What's that? Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web site web presence. As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

For example, if you want your website to appear on the top list on Yahoo! Search, click here and you'll know what to do.

2. Link Exchange

SEO is too confusing? This one is easier. A link exchange (also known as a banner exchange) is a confederation of websites that operates similarly to a web ring. Webmasters register their web sites with a central organization, that runs the exchange, and in turn receive from the exchange HTML code which they insert into their web pages. In contrast to a web ring, where the HTML code simply comprises simple circular ring navigation hyperlinks, in a link exchange the HTML code causes the display of banner advertisements, for the sites of other members of the exchange, on the member web sites, and webmasters have to create such banner advertisements for their own web sites.

It's much easier since you don't need to make any change on your website/blog. Click here to get a free link exchange service.

Earning money easily on the internet = SCAM!

Many websites offer you a lot of money by doing surveys or clicking advertisements, sounds interesting, but you'll be a victim of scams. They won't give you any money, but they'll use you as their money field instead. Logically, there's no way anyone can give you some dollars by doing simple surveys or clicking strange advertisements, but imagine how much will they earn from their advertisement each time you clicked them. At first they'll offer you some nice dollars for easy surveys or advertisement clicks, but late in the 'game' they'll make it harder for you to earn anything. They'll start to force you to buy something, then they'll make some conditions in order to deliver your money, and at last they'll make excuses to make sure you get nothing for all of your hard works for months. The best way to earn from the internet is through advertisements, there are two ways to do this, put some ads on your website/blog or start your own scam website (not recommended). Hope this helps, stay aware.