Android supports sideloading of applications (ie. non-market software). But it is not the first mobile OS to do so – Microsoft (Windows Mobile), Nokia (Symbian) etc. all allowed non market apps. However, with Windows Phone 7, their latest mobile OS, they have gone the opposite route to Android, and taken Apple’s closed app store route. […]
Month: March 2013
Hide folders in Linux (alternate methods)
Linux file system hides files and folders starting with a period ‘.’ by default. If you need to hide any file/folder, simply rename it and add a period at the beginning.However, there are times when you need an alternate method of hiding files and directories. Follow these steps: Create a new file named “.hidden” inside […]
Set English version of Google as default in Opera Mini search bar
Opera Mini is quite possibly the best browser available for many of the common mobile OSes. It has exceptional speed, resource efficiency and ease of use. The integrated search bar in Opera Mini gives a nice stream of revenue to its makers and also saves users the hassle of loading up Google/Yahoo etc. However, if […]
Add words to iOS dictionary
The touch screens of Apple devices like iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad and highly refined, but if there is one thing common to all iOS devices, it is the irritating auto-correct feature that gets on your nerves all too often. If you use some uncommon words regularly, you can get around the problem by adding […]
Modify / disable Windows startup/shutdown/other sounds
Windows uses a standard set of sounds for system events like startup, shut down, log on/off, UAC warnings etc. Many users do not realize that these boring defaults can be changed by tweaking settings under control panel. Modify Windows system sounds To do so, go to Start > Control Panel and open Sound settings (by […]
Show/hide file extensions in Windows
File extensions (.exe, .txt etc.) are not shown in Windows. If you need to change the format of the file (between archival formats, to extract images etc.), the extensions need to be visible. This is done by changing the folder option settings. For Vista/Windows 7 Go to Control Panel > Appearance and Personalization > Folder […]
Block Mafia Wars, other apps in Facebook
Facebook is the most popular social network today, and users love its feature set, application support etc. However, one problem that comes with all the functionality is that a ceaseless stream of noise is pushed to your stream, thanks to the bazillion apps out there. If you do not like this, and/or perfer to use […]
Import bookmarks from Firefox to Safari
Firefox might be among the most feature-rich browsers around, but for many, speed is more important. I switched to Chrome some time ago, and haven’t looked back since. If you are looking to make a switch away from the ‘Fox to Safari, read on for two easy methods to import your bookmarks from Firefox to […]
Download Facebook videos to your computer
Facebook is becoming the number one choice for sharing photos and videos online. I have already written on downloading Facebook photos. This article shows you ways to download Facebook videos to your computer. There are several sites, browser addons and full-fledged software that can download Facebook videos for you. Site to download FB videos DownFacebook […]
Copy text (error messages) from Windows dialog boxes
When I get an error message in Windows, the first thing I do is copy it and search online. Searching usually turns up explanations and solutions to the problem. The problem is that text from most dialog boxes cannot be copied easily. You need to use specific applications for the purpose. SysExplorer, WinScraper and TextGrabber […]