Make Windows Xp more like Windows Vista

I like the new Vista OS but moving to it poses quite a few problems for me, mainly the lack of a good video graphics card and some key software compatibility issues.

So the next best course of action is to make my Xp look more like Vista but at the same time remain XP. In such a case the best solution is Vista Transformation Pack 6.0. The transformation is pretty neat. However, I myself haven’t installed it as of now since it changes some system files and I don’t want to take any risks.

Link: Vista Transformation Pack 6

Source: CNET (Video)

Chelsea FC on Youtube

Just found out that Chelsea have an official you tube page.
Currently there are about 10 clips. My favorite is ‘Diarra answers the question‘, its hilarious.

Link: Chelsea FC – Youtube

New England Kit

Umbro have revealed the new England home kit, that will be on debut when the England take on Spain at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.

It looks pretty good even though the St. George’s cross (which I like) is missing.

Link: theFA.com (includes video of the launch)

Apple iPhone and LG Prada

Here are videos and specs of two similar phones:

Apple iPhone

The specs of the iPhone:

• GSM(850/900/1800/1900 MHz), EDGE
• 3.5” 320×480 pixels display
• Input system – Multi-touch
• Operating system – OS X
• 4 GB or 8 GB memory onboard
• Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0
• 2-megapixel camera
• HTML e-mail client
• Safari Web-browser
• Talk/video/Web-surfing time – up to 5 hours
• Music time – up to 16 hours
• Dimensions – 115×61x11.6 mm
• Weight – 135 g

LG Prada (KE850)

The specs of the LG Prada:

• GSM/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz)
• 3” display
• Input system – Electroconductive touch
• Macromedia Flash User Interface
• 2-megapixel camera with flash
• Music player – MP3, ACC, ACC+, WMA, RA
• Video player – MPEG4, H.263, H.264
• File viewer (ppt, doc, xls, pdf, txt)
• microSD slot
• 800 mAh battery
• Bluetooth 2.0 and USB 2.0
• Dimensions – 98.8×54x12 mm

Credits: Slashphone, Mobile-review

Personal socks record

As a result of sickness, cold weather, time constraints and lazyness I have for the first time worn a pair of socks for 30 hrs (approx.) without taking it off.
Not really sure if i should be proud of that.

In light of that here are a couple of sites with interesting information on socks.

Links: Renfro – All about socks, Importance of Winter Socks

The world as you’ve never see it before

Worldmapper lists different maps that have re-sized territories on the basis of different topics such as Infant Mortality, Drought etc.

Its amusing, nifty and at the same time pretty informative.

Link: Worldmapper

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

OCR (according to wikipedia) basically refers to computer software designed to translate images of typewritten text into machine-editable text.

Lately I’ve been working on a project that involves converting text in some images to normal text that’s editable, so instead of spending a lot of time on simply reading the text and then typing, I looked out for some good OCR programs and ended up getting two of them.

One is SimpleOCR – Its opensource and has a free version, and the other is Abbyy FineReader – a proprietory software.

Abbyy is definitely powerful, easy and is considered one of the best OCR programs, on the other hand SimpleOCR does its job being free.

As for me though, my images are far too low on resolution to make them recognisable to edit
Nonetheless these programs are especially good if you want to edit the text from a scanned document.

Update: Let’s just say my project is going to be a breeze (or something like that), thanks to Abbyy. 

More: Wikipedia on OCR

Merry Christmas

Just wanted to wish everyone Merry Christmas and don’t forget the reason for the season.

Link: The Reason

Football team formations

I came across this site that list the formations and tactics of over 300 teams.
The interface could be improved but none the less the amount of data is fascinating.

Link:  Football LineUps

Best e-card sites

Now that Christmas is around the corner, its time for me to send some cards out
So here are my top e-card sites on the basis of :

1. Quality / Overall – Hallmark
Hallmark is my favorite card company electronic or otherwise. I love the quality of their cards and their selection is free, pretty big and well sorted. You do need to register though. (BlueMountain is also good but you have to pay)
Link: Hallmark.com

2. Quantity – 123greetings
I don’t think I have veen to an e-card site that has more cards and topics than 123greetings, they even have cards for all sorts of days that I never knew existed. Its free from registration and cost, however, quality can definitely be improved.
Link: 123greetings.com

3. Uniqueness – DaySpring
You get to send cards with a nice Christian themes for many occasions.
Link: DaySpring.com