Hosea הוֹשֵׁעַ

Category: Ezine

2010 Top Ten Software on My Macbook Air Laptop

My top ten software I will be depending on for the new year 2010. Every year end, I will evaluate and budget what software or tools I need for the next year.

Let start off ending the year 2009 with Time Machine, a backup utility that introduce with OS X 10.5, to backup my whole year of works that store on my machine. Since it invention, backup is no longer a hassle. I still keep my Carbon Copy Cloner to clone hardisk and other stuffs that Time Machine cannot do.

Adium an almost all-in-one instant messaging software that is always turn on, on my Air laptop. Without Adium, my thirteen inch screen will be invaded with all brands of messaging windows. Adium allows me to combine all my different brands accounts into one and skinning it user interface greatly reduce and reclaim my viewable screen property for better use by other applications.

Sociallite replaces Nambu. Socialite keeps all my social networks in one place, one login, one view, keeping it neat and tidy. If you have a thirteen inch screen like me, you will appreciate an application like socialite to manage and organize your friends and give you an overall view of what is going on among them.

In the era of Web 2.0, I am getting more and more dependent on internet, it is very important to me now that what tools allow me to work online safe and fast.

I used to use Rapidweaver daily for rapid deployment of websites. It is a very easy and fun application, but with limited blogging capabilities. Recently I change to Ecto, a weblog client on my Air laptop that allow me to draft my blog post offline and post it later on my WordPress based websites. I still use Rapidweaver for rapid deployment for website that do not need blogging.

My new favorite application is Text Wrangler. An easy and powerful text editor that now replaces my Dreamweaver and other text editors. Text Wrangler let me read web files like HTML, PHP, etc with ease and speed. It also allows me to edit and save online through FTP client, like Cyberduck.

Cyberduck is now my favorite FTP client. So easy to use and have variety of options to configure your login style. I can use it to login to my MobileMe account (formally known as.Mac) and all my FTP sites.

I love iPhoto! It is getting better with newer version. It now have face detection and geotagging but this is not what i use most of the time. iPhoto allows me to upload photos massively to my MobileMe Gallery, Flickr and Facebook. It saves me lot of time on uploading, tagging and managing them.

No more Final Cut and it complicated features to create a five minutes video. iMovies that come with OS X, let me rapidly create video and export directly to my YouTube account or export to my mobile phone. No more like the bad old days to go through codec setting to optimized video export. With iMovies you just concentrate on your creativity.

iBank helps me manage and keep track of my money. Before using iBank, I was using Microsoft Money through Parallels Desktop and that is a troublesome thing to do. iBank also has widgets for the Dashboard that allow me to update my record without opening the application. iBank now simplify my financial management.

Lastly, Viscosity, my newly acquired OpenVPN client. This award winning VPN client keeps all my internet activities safe from preying thefts and allow me to access websites that are blocked by my ISP. My internet speed is much faster and stable now.

My ten software are Time Machine, Adium, Socialite, Ecto, Text Wrangler, Cyberduck, iPhoto, iMovies, iBank and Viscosity. Not enough? Here is the Christmas bonus. Little Snapper, a web snapping utility that let me quickly snapshot websites for future reference or make comment to it. This is also another tool I will be heavily using in the new year.

Here are my top ten software plus one Christmas bonus, I will be using for the year 2010 on my 1.6Ghz Macbook Air Laptop.

25 Jan 2010
Free Download Wifi Password

Every one of us will come to a time when we urgently need to go online but there is no internet access available. And we will try to move around within our proximity to scan for WIFI and betting on luck that we do not need a password to access it.

Assuming you manage to find a WIFI but you need a password. What do you do?

For me, I will identify the WIFI device and try the factory default password. During the dawn of wireless era, this trick usually works but now people are getting more sophisticated and know how to change the factory password. I used to surf all these products websites and get free download WIFI utility tools and default factory password, and compile a list of it.

Nowaday what I will do is before I go to an unfamiliar place, I will google or ask around for information about free or paid WIFI available at where I am going and make the appropriate choice and backup plan if I ever need urgent internet access.

There are times when I want to show off my skills to my peers or impress my new found girlfriend, I will use a stumbling software to scan the air for nearby wireless. A stumbling software can also detect hidden access point and display their SSID.

After finding all available access points, the next thing you need is their respective passwords to get access. I can run the application to decipher the password but this method takes time. The process may take me from twenty minutes to more than an hour.

A faster alternative is to run a packet capture application on the targeted wireless network. Most of the time it will free download WIFI password in the captured packets. Search through the contents of the packets and any sensible human can detect which one is the password. I just copy and paste, and I have access to the wireless.

To use all these techniques and the required software, you need to practice and learn how to analyze a packet. You can start off by using your own WIFI as your training ground.

Do you feel safe using wireless now? A simple solution to protect yourself from online theft is to use a VPN, Virtual Private Network. A VPN protects the information you transmit over the internet and keep it away from preying sniffers.

~~Learn more, visit http://www.blockedipaddress.com/~~

23 Jan 2010
Benefits of Using Eco Friendly Shopping Bags

Did you know that every year, the United States uses 100 million plastic shopping bags? That means 12 million barrels of crude oil had to be used just to create all of those plastic bags. Those numbers alone do not make a pretty picture. Just think about all of those plastic bags and that when these have completely been used up, it will all just go to landfills and do not decompose for a hundred years.

If we do not act now then we will just be continuing to pollute our land and water with all of these plastics. There is always a solution. While we are waiting for scientists to create a kind of plastic that will decompose quickly and be safer for the environment, we should start using eco friendly shopping bags. We should make it a habit to bring such bags whenever we go to the supermarket and shopping centers so we can contribute in minimizing the plastic wastes.

There are so many benefits of using these eco friendly shopping bags, and the following is just a short list of it.

1. Since crude oil is used to create all those plastic shopping bags, when we use our own fabric based bags, there will be less demand for plastic bags. This means less plastics will be used and since plastics are made from crude oil, less of that greasy and polluting stuff will be needed.

2. You can use eco friendly shopping bags again and again. These are more durable than plastic bags and will certainly last for even hundreds more of uses. This is because most of these bags are made of canvas which is a strong, non woven fabric than can hold a typical list of grocery items.

3. If you want to be fashionable when you go out shopping, now you can with these reusable shopping bags. They come in different sizes, colors, styles, and designs. You can even personalize your own by using some fabric paint, beads and colorful threads.

4. You can help promote being friendly with the environment by creating your own personalized shopping bags and giving them as a gift to your friends and co-workers. In your own small way, you will be helping to spread the word about the importance of taking plastics off the supermarkets and replacing them with reusable bags. Plus, you will be educating people that it is very easy and fun to use eco bags instead.

5. Look for a supermarket that gives credit or discounts to people who shop using their own shopping bags. It is a growing trend among supermarkets to shift to reusable bags instead of the typical plastic kind. Help support this initiative by using your own bag instead, and in turn get something of a bonus from your shopping.

There is no better time to be more concerned for our environment than today. We have the power to make a change, to make our own contributions to keeping our world a better, safer and cleaner place to live in.

There is only one earth. Do your part, save the earth. ~~Start using eco friendly bags. http://www.bagtailor.com/~~

21 Jan 2010
Super High Performance Engine – Honda K20A

Like the winds of change, you will notice a drastic change in the engine technology of automobiles to come. Japan’s big car magnet company has introduced the K20A that is being used in the new Honda STREAM which happens to be the initial spectrum to their latest new generation i-VTEC engines. This huge step will lead the way for super high performance engines to come.

The K20 FD2R engine has a 6 speed transmission with many of the good technologies being carried forward enhanced and placed on the new generation engine. The engine which is promoted and seen as Honda’s next generation engines runs by timing chain instead of the normal timing rubber belt and has a reverse engine head.

The K20 engine should not be judged by its power rating but for its brilliant technology that has been put into it. It has been specially put together so as to save on fuel making it economic, with ample of internal combustion force for twisting and turning easily and clean emissions that are managed and bestowed at a higher level with VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) and VTC (Variable Timing Control) combined.

The K20 i-VTEC arrangement operates on Honda’s own creation of the VTEC system and adds VTC (Variable Timing Control), that consents for dynamic/continuous intake valve timing and overlapping control. You will find that the K20 comes in various versions, depending on their sporting subtle differences in their power train assemblage. They are available in K20A, K20B and K20C.

~~Seeking experts in JDM cars modification? http://www.jdmpitstop.com/~~

19 Jan 2010
Common Reasons For Blocked IP Address and How to Overcome It

If you are using a shared IP address on web hosting and this IP is being abused by spammer, political propaganda or computer viral activities, etc, most likely the IP address you are using will be blocked. Your site has contents that are not in favour to the other party and the party will blacklist your IP by blocking it to make it unreachable.

To overcome the problems of being blocked, here is the list of things you can do.

1. Contact your web host and ask if they can re-assign you to another set of IP. If you have budget, you can get your own IP address for your website. Having a dedicated IP address also improve your ranking with search engines.

2. Use a IP spoof tool to change your IP address. You can google and read more about it?

3. Use a paid VPN to get access. Most free VPN services use PPTP for communication. A paid VPN service offers you IPSec or SSL increase your chances of reaching the desired site is higher than PPTP.

4. Use a free proxy server. Google “free proxy list” and try your luck. Use free proxy server for low demand browsing because they are over spam by advertisement banners and slow down your browser performance.

5. Install another computer in another location or country, then use remote control software to get access to your computer and access the desired site. If you have extra cash, you can install your own VPN server in another location.

6. Call your friends in another location and login and get access on your behalf.

7. Most importantly, do not offer specific contents and keywords on your websites that speak ill or is against the country you have the most viewers from. Doing so will risk your IP being blocked.

A typical good example to reduce being blocked, is the above point no. 2. Express your contents using commonly used words and offer an action that will lead the reader to find the specific answers you want to give.

Do not use point no. 4 to express your thoughts in an article. The keywords in the sentence, if filtered, it may increase your probability of getting blocked.

Here are the ways how I overcome blocked IP address in a hostile internet world.

~~Learn more? http://www.blockedipaddress.com/~~

13 Jan 2010
Fulfilling Your Vision Mission Statement

Do you really believe in the vision you conceive? Your mission statement you created, do you do it for the sake of doing it because you read it somewhere you need a mission statement to complete your vision?

You have to feel the vision. If you can feel it in your blood then that is a vision that you are truly motivated to do it. A real vision will bring you inner joy in your heart, like a baby in a pregnant woman. Your unborn vision will kick you and bring you little excitement just like a pregnant mother feels in her tummy.

Your friends may not understand you, mistaken you in some ways for your stupidity in believing in your vision but deep in your heart, you can feel the heartbeats of your vision. Like a rushing flood, rushing your blood and get your whole body excited, you can feel the tingle in your skin. Truly you have an unborn vision waiting for you to give birth.

The next thing to do is to find the right people to help you. One very important step is to find a suitable mentor that have the knowledge or experience to help you achieve your goals. Having a mentor is like going to a foreign country with a local tour guide. You may have one or more, depending on the scale of your project.

You need to build a support group, the inner circle of friends, like the night of the roundtable. This is the group that will support and motivate you until you fulfill your vision. Find people that are close to you and can be fully trusted. It has to be people with different skill set to compliment you. Things you are not familiar with, they are the one that will hold your hands firmly to help you. Choose wisely. This is the the circle of friends that will help or break you.

After choosing your team, the inner circle of friends, you need to craft out a plan in detail and how you can fulfill it with your available resources and with the support from circle of friends. At this stage you may want to add a few more trusted friends or remove from it. Get your mentor to be involved, show him your proposal if you have. Redraft your plan based on his commentary and show the redrafted copy to circle of friends for more stringent comments. Redraft until you are satisfy and your skin tingle again.

Every plan needs to spend money or some kind of resources, be it money, time or special skills. Based on my experience, you have to make provision, allocate at least three times the resources you need. For example, you want to start a business and need a capital of ten thousand dollars. You have to have at least thirty thousands in reserve. You never know what will happen when you start executing your plan. Without three times or more than the projected resources, go back to your planning table again.

Time to take action now, unleash you passion, get your hands dirty, make the phone call if you have too. Do whatever you need to get it started and going. Set yourself a time frame for evaluation. Approach your mentors and circle of friends periodically. Create the synergy to get yourself highly motivated and in tip top condition so that you will not lose your focus on the vision mission statement.

At this stage you are going through the labour of pain. Take heart, press forward, the time will come and you will see your vision mission statement fulfill.

~~Have you fulfill your destiny? http://www.visionmissionstatement.com/~~

11 Jan 2010
What is So Good About Buying Cars in the Japanese Domestic Market?

So what makes Japan’s Domestic Market (JDM) such a hot market for automobiles? People can get a larger selection and inexpensive deals on cars when they look at Japan’s local market for cars instead of purchasing imports at Japanese dealers in their own country. You are able to see a lot more options and can find precisely the make and model you want.

Used JDM cars can be a quite an attractive option for the car buyer looking to get quality at the right price. For many reasons, an 8 year old JDM used car is not the same used car you would come across in your own country. Japanese roads are not very difficult to drive at all. Good maintenance means the usual wear and tear of poor road conditions does not have the same impact on Japanese cars.

Most Japanese people make their homes in cities which are densely populated. Everything needed to live comfortably is within a short distance. Therefore the average annual mileage of domestic drivers is less than half the mileage compared to the drivers in other countries. The Japanese Motor Vehicle Inspection Registration Association calculates the annual mileage for domestic drivers to be about 9,000km. On the other hand, US drivers average about 19,000km annually.

With those things in mind, buying your car through the JDM is something that needs to be considered. But what’s it actually going to take? There are two options to consider in making your purchase. Each has their advantages and disadvantages. You can buy from a local Japanese dealer or at a Japanese car auction.

When you go through a local dealer you are actually buying a vehicle from an inventory of new cars for sale in the JDM. This way is good if you have found the vehicle of your dreams and want it fast. It also gives you knowledge of the total cost involved; including the dealer’s fee and all the additional expenses you come across when importing a car from Japan. This approach also allows you to get a very detailed report on the vehicle’s history and condition if it’s a used car you are purchasing. Besides, ordering directly from the car dealer is a comparatively easy thing as opposed to going through the auction’s ups and downs.

Nevertheless, a car auction is still a viable option. But, you can’t bid on a car directly so you have to find an agent who will do the bidding for you. In this case, the agent would be responsible for inspecting the vehicle and assessing its condition, as well as closely following your instructions. This method gives you more chances to save than when you buy a stock vehicle.

Buying a new or used car from Japan is a great way to get your dream car and save money at the same time. Although it may not be the quickest and convenient way to buy a car, most people will put in the extra effort to save a considerable amount of money.

~~Are you an expert in JDM cars modification? Show off your skill here! http://www.jdmpitstop.com/~~

10 Jan 2010
Creating a Vision and Making it a Reality

Everyone dreams. It is the only thing in life that is free. However, most people are just stuck on their dreams and are not stepping up to live it. If you are already tired of just dreaming, then you have to start creating a vision. If you have a concrete vision of your life, you will be able to fulfill that dream in no time.

What are the steps to creating a vision? What is your most important dream? When you are determining your dream, make sure that it is something that you are passionate about so that it can be attainable.

Create a vision. Once you have determined your dream, create a vision statement like “a vision to serve the country by giving back”.

Imagine the dream. They always say that when you believe, you actually become. So, visualize your self fulfilling that dream. Imagine the life you will lead if you have fulfilled that dream or vision.

What are the effects? After your dream has been fulfilled, imagine the after effects of it. What will happen to your life after the dream was fulfilled?

Make a plan. Now, it is time to make a plan. Organize your thoughts and think of the ways wherein you will be able to make this vision attainable.

Take action now. You can have the greatest vision in the world but if you do not take action and fulfill it, it is as good as day dreaming. Do not procrastinate. Take action now.

Always remember that everything is possible in life if you just believe. But believing is not the only thing that is important. You should create that vision and that dream into reality as well.

~~Want more out of your life, visit http://visionmissionstatement.com/~~

9 Jan 2010
What Made the Introduction of the DOHC VTEC So Special

The 1990 Acura NSX marked the introduction of the VTEC DOHC to the United States. With an increase in engine performance and fuel mileage as well as a decrease in emissions, the DOHC VTEC was built into several Honda car models; including, the Honda Del Sol, the Acura Integra and the Honda Prelude.

The first thing to notice is the engine and its integration with the other parts of the car. This is what is known as the swap feature. The H22A and H22AR engine types have been installed in the Accord to enable the swapping feature. This means it lets you implement a few changes to the sports parts general arrangement. This cuts the tweaking often necessary. The second thing is that there has to be consistency between the engine and its exhaust, cooling, intake and fuel system. Even more flexibility is achievable by changing its parts with the parts of another successful car model. A modified 4-3-1 header from a 90-93 model Accord works fine for the exhaust system. Suppose you want to modify the intake system to get faster driving. You will then have to alter it with a MAP taken from a 90-93 civic DX Mount.

When you mention “Honda Accord” most car enthusiasts will think reliable; but boring, economical transport. The Honda Accord Coupe released for the 2009 model year needs new thinking when you hear those words. You should think “fast and attractive.” An Accord without back doors does not truly describe the Accord Coupe. The styling is the feature that jumps out at you. For me, it’s a cross between an Aston Martin DB9 and the BMW 3 Series.

Honda has a great reputation for its use of cutting edge technology in its engines. The VTEC; Variable Valve Timing & Lift Electronic Control, is no different. Once again, it gives Honda a clear edge over its competitors. An early 1980’s invention by development and research engineer Ikuo Kajitani, the VTEC is known today as having grown from the revolutionary modulated control valve system. The 1983 Honda CBR400 was its first implementation. Other manufacturing companies have developed their own models but Honda pioneered and perfected the technology; then introduced it into widespread production.

Japan is currently the leader in internal combustion engine technology. This leadership has grown rapidly into the area of hybrid vehicles. Hybrids are now popular to the point that taxis are now using them. A hybrid vehicle features both the power of an internal combustion engine and the power of a battery used while idling when minimal power is required. Japanese car makers are rapidly moving to the next level as their attention is now focused on ‘eco-friendly’ vehicles with 0% CO2 output.

The hybrid Honda Accord is perfect for everyone that still want great power beneath the hood while they’re being environmentally conscious. Checking the fitness of your engine and its consumption of gas is the only way you will know you are driving a hybrid and not some luxury car.

~~Are you an expert in JDM cars modification? Show off your skill here! http://www.jdmpitstop.com/~~

8 Jan 2010
The Best Mobile Computing – MacBook Air Laptop Plus Snow Leopard 10.6

With all the hypes and marketing brainwashing, I finally I got a copy of OS X Snow Leopard also known as version 10.6.

The installation was standard like the previous version but there was no Archive and Install option available and it went straight to upgrade my existing OS. I was worried. After more than a hour, I heard the Mac ‘ding’ sound and I ran toward the screen looking forward for a safe upgrade. I was glad that my Air laptop was successfully upgraded.

The first thing I did was to checked my hard disk storage space. To my amazement, 10.6 gave me back almost 13GB of storage space. I was worried again if my video and other files were deleted during the upgrade. Double checking again and again, I was so delighted that Snow Leopard 10.6 saved so much storage space. One thumb up!

The overall performance of my Air Laptop increased significantly. I could feel the speed. Everything I did was so much faster, applications loaded faster, Dashboard displayed faster, Spaces switched faster and the list could go on. I quickly restarted the OS to test the startup speed. The performance was over my expectation, at least two times faster than 10.5. Another thumb up!

Chinese language input on Multi-Touch. This was the main reason that enticed me to installed Snow Leopard. The Chinese input with Multi-Touch was first introduced on iPhone and iPod Touch. Combining keystrokes and keyboard input, now I could simply used it on my Air to enhance my writing. Three thumbs up already!

The most intensive Parallels Desktop 4.0 with Windows XP SP3 loaded in Snow Leopard. Another delighted discovery, my Windows XP was up and running two times faster than previously with 10.5. With Snow Leopard 10.6, I reclaimed a hefty lot of processor speed. For this, one big thumb up!

There were many more enhancements Snow Leopard offered. For me, These four reasons were more than enough to justify my upgrade. Four thumbs up for MacBook Air laptop running on Snow Leopard 10.6, the experience was awesome.

6 Jan 2010