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Amardeep Juneja

Pogo Sketch: A Stylus For iPhone/iPod/iPad

No doubt about it, Apple has done an incredible job on creating a sleek, straight forward, easy to use touch screen interface to control all functions of its devices. However, for a lot of people, this interface doesn't always work best in all situations. Gloves, or long fingernails can be a touch screen device's worst enemy. To combat this, I would like to introduce you to Pogo Sketch. A "stylish" stylus designed to work with the capacitive touch screen found on many handheld devices, most popular today: the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

On the outside, the Pogo Sketch is about the length of the iPhone. With a soft foam tip (which actually cleans the screen as you use it!), a metal pocket clip, and is as skinny as a crayon. Available in a variety of colors for the fashion minded geeks out there.

The Pogo Sketch functions on a single point of contact on the screen which means apps using multi-touch won't function too well with this device, but what it is good for is activities like web browsing, emailing, taking notes, etc.

At a price of only $14.95 this little gadget could save you a lot of time and frustration. Not to mention pin point accuracy playing Angry Birds! Of course, you could always make your own fully functional stylus for free by wrapping an anti-static bag around an old pen.. But that would just look silly :)

Written By: Amardeep Juneja

Score A Free Copy of UltraISO 9.3!

In June 2009, PC User Magazine Australia offered a free UltraISO v9 full version license to its readers. Here's how you can pickup this freebie.

Search on Google for the install with the file name uiso93pes.exe. You should be able to find a copy of this file on Mediafire. Download the file and run the installation. When you are prompted for Registration details, use the following information:

Name: PC User readers
Serial: 4BF9-8D1E-1786-30A8

Keep in mind that the demo version of UltraISO available on their website will NOT work with this serial key. This was a special promotion that was only valid with the uiso93pes.exe installer.

Happy ISO'ing!

Written By: Amardeep Juneja

Scripting - Create Your Own Serial Port Data Logger

Although Serial ports have pretty much become extinct in today's world. There still are a few legacy applications that still require the use of them. In this blog entry, I will show you how to log serial port data to a text file without the use of any 3rd party software or using Hyper Terminal in Microsoft Windows.

Start Notepad and create the following script

@echo off
echo type COM1 >> C:\com1.txt

Replace "COM1" with the COM port you wish to monitor, and set whatever file path you want the log to be output to (in this case C:\com1.txt). This script will keep running until you manually stop it by closing it or if you press CTRL+C.

Save the file with a .BAT extension and double click it to start logging! If you really want to get fancy, you can create a scheduled task and have the script run on boot-up if you need to monitor the port 24 hours day.

Written By: Amardeep Juneja

Mount A Remote ISO - Intel KVM

For those of you making the most out of the new Intel AMT 6.0 featured in the new Core i series processors, you may be wondering how to enable the remote ISO mounting feature. Intel reccomends using Real VNC Viewer Plus to do accomplish this. If you don't want to spend the $100 for the license, there is a free way to mount ISO's remotely to systems using the Intel new integrated KVM.

I would like to introduce you to the Intel Managebility Developer Tool Kit. You can pickup the installer here
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/manageability-developer-tool-kit/

Read through the Software Agreement, click Accept and enter your e-mail to be granted access to download the file.

After the install, start the Manageability Commander Tool

Right Click on "Network" and click "Add Intel AMT Computer"

Type in the IP address of the System, user name "admin" and the password to your MEBx.

You will then see the new system in the network tree. Select the computer, and click "Connect" on the connection tab.

Once connected, click the "Remote Control" Tab and click "Take Control" The Commander Tool will now connect to the Intel KVM and you will get a new window showing "Serial-over-LAN - Connected"

Click "Disk Redirect" Select "Change Target CDROM" and select if you want to mount your physical CD ROM or an ISO. If you wish to mount an ISO, select the ISO file you want to mount.

Click the "Disk Redirect" menu again and click on "Redirect Active"

To Force the System to boot to the remote ISO/CD ROM drive, click the "Remote Command" menu, and click "Reboot to Redirect CD" and click YES

This is all you need to do to get the ISO or physical CD ROM drive mounted. You can now connect to the system using the free VNC Viewer and boot off the remote ISO or CD ROM Drive. When you are done, go back to the Manageability Terminal Tool, Select the "Disk Redirect Menu" and Uncheck "Redirect Active" This will now release the ISO file.

Written By: Amardeep Juneja

000Webhost.com - Free Bannerless Web Hosting For Everyone!

Hello All,

Today I would like to introduce you to the 100% free, bannerless Web hosting service from 000webhost.com

000webhost offers 1.5GB storage and 100GB of Bandwidth for your web hosting needs. In addition to your hosting, you also get 5 Add-On domains, 5 sub-domains, 5 e-mail addresses, and 2 mySQL databases. The free service also offers PHP, Cron Jobs, Webmail, IMAP support and custom error pages. If that's not enough for you, upgrade to their paid package for only $4.84/month and you'll get unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth and a whole bag of goodies!

I've found the free service to be a great, reliable hosting service for someone starting out with a website and want bannerless hosting for free.

Sign up for your account today here!
http://www.000webhost.com/439874.html

Written By: Amardeep Juneja

Magic Jack - Telephone Service for only $19.99 A Year!

Hello Everyone,

Today I'd like to review a product on the market called Magic Jack. Magic Jack is a VoIP (Voice Over IP) telephone service available for Canada and US for under $2/Month (I wonder if Bell can Price-Match this). Basically, you plug the Magic Jack in to your computer, install the software and plug in your telephone to the other end. Also included in your annual subscription is CallerID, Call Waiting, VoiceMail and Call Forwarding just to name a few. The initial cost for Magic Jack is around $49.99, this gets you the Magic Jack device and also 1 year of service. Additional years after that are only $19.95. Let’s go over the pros and cons and see if this service is right for you.

Pro:

> $$$: Cost! Even the cheapest telephone service offered by Bell is $24.95/month. In a year, that would cost you over $300, plus the cost of the additional calling features and any long distance you may use. At a price point,  the Magic Jack can't be beat when compared to other VoIP providers.

> Portability: Moving? No problem, the Magic Jack and your phone number go with you. Simply get high speed internet at your new residence and you're good to go. No waiting around "sometime between 9am and 5pm" for the phone guy to show up.

> Travelling: Travelling to a country that charges outrages long distance rates? Take your Magic Jack with you, or use the Magic Jack software to call anywhere in Canada and US for free. Not to mention, your family and friends can still call you on the same number at no cost.

> Voicemail on the go: How cool is this? Get voicemail notifications instantly on your smartphone, the Magic Jack service will even e-mail you the voicemail and let you listen to it on your smartphone or computer!

> Cut the cord on all-mighty Bell: Many individuals are using the Magic Jack as a replacement for their home service. Some people even have 2. Use a second Magic Jack one as a dedicated fax line, or give it to a chatty teenager that's always tying up the phone.

> Sound Quality: Voice quality on the Magic Jack is just as good as your home phone service as long as you have a good high speed service and have it setup correctly. Read the Best Practices (1) below for more information on how to optimize the service to work efficiently for you.

> No Contracts: Don't like Magic Jack? Stop using it. There’s no obligation to keep the service.

Cons:

> Ball & Chain Setup: Magic Jack always needs to be connected to a running computer to work. This may not be a problem for people who have a dedicated computer that is always on. However users that only have laptops will find that their laptops are no longer portable once they have this service. See the Best Practices Below (3) for a possible solution.

> Number Portability: Currently at this time Magic Jack does not offer the option to port your existing number to their service. Once you switch to them you will lose your number, but will be assigned a new one from Magic Jack.

> Ads: Many people may be wondering how Magic Jack can sell their service at such a low rate. This is because they have the ability to display ads in their application at any time.

> Additional Telephones: The Magic Jack device has 1 telephone jack outlet. People who may not be so technically inclined may not be able to setup the device to work on all phones in their household. Read the Best Practices (2) below to find ways around this.

> Customer Service: I have read a lot of complaints from people that the customer service is really not there for this product. I can't really blame them for selling it at such a low price point, but I think most of the issues that customers have are related to the quality of the service. Having said that, if your broadband connection isn't performing up to par, or if you haven't set it up properly, then there's nothing that customer service can do for you anyways. It’s a limitation of technology not the service. This is one of those "it works or it doesn't" type products. Don't cancel your existing telephone service until you've tested, tested, and tested this product and have made sure that it will work for you. A lot of companies use smoke and mirror marketing techniques to try to get you to believe a product works, but a great deal on a phone line is no good to anyone if it doesn't work. There are many forums on the Internet where you would be able to get assistance from other Magic Jack users, but if you are the type of person that needs help right away, there's a good chance you won't get it here.

Best Practices:

1) Ways to improve your sound quality: Magic Jack relies on your Internet connection to work effectively. A slow or unstable connection can be a nightmare when using this service. Before you purchase the Magic Jack do a few preliminary tests on your broadband connection.

> First thing you want to do is run a speed test on your broadband connection. Visit www.speedtest.net and run a test on your connection. If you are seeing results under 2mbps download speed and under 300kbps upload speed, then this service may not perform well for you.

> Although I wouldn't recommend it, but if you are going to be connecting your Magic Jack to a computer that is wireless, ensure that you have a strong wireless signal in the location where the system will be. Try running a continuous ping test for about 15 minutes between the system and your router first and verify that you aren't seeing any packet loss or high latency. Packet Loss and High Latency can be a killer to this service.

> Once you've verified everything looks good with your setup, go ahead and pick up a Magic Jack. A lot of big box stores are selling this device too, such as FutureShop.

> If you have applications that are heavy on bandwidth, see if you can enable QoS on your Router. QoS stands for Quality Of Service. This feature allows you to dedicate more bandwidth for crucial services like Voice over IP so that your voice quality is not degraded if you are using the phone and someone decides to download a large file or if you have multiple users sharing the same Internet connection as the Magic Jack.

2) Additional Telephone sets. The easiest way to run multiple telephones off the Magic Jack is to buy a cordless phone that comes with additional sets. These phones only have 1 base station that you would connect to the Magic Jack, and the additional sets would just have their own charging base that only require a power outlet. If you still require all the phone jacks in your home to run off the Magic Jack, I found some information on how you can accomplish this on the following site: http://hubpages.com/hub/Get-Magic-Jack-On-All-The-Phone-Jacks-In-Your-House

3) Solutions for Laptop Users: If you only have a laptop and can't afford to lose the portability (which most of us can't), or don't want to dedicate an existing computer for Magic Jack, consider picking up a low end Windows XP Embedded Thin Client from a computer store or EBay. You should be able to find a decent unit for under $80. Thin Clients are stripped down computers with just the basic/barebone  components to run an operating system. They are not by any means the fastest computer on the market, but they will work great for this scenario. The best thing about Thin Clients is that they are very energy efficient. Some Thin Clients run at about 10watts and are completely noise free as they don't have any fans or moving parts. Dedicate the thin client for Magic Jack and keep the portability of your laptop.

4) If you still are hesitant to always have a computer running for Magic Jack, there are ways you can "hack" it to make it work with an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) such as the Linksys ATA SPA2102, however this is against Magic Jack's Terms of Service (meaning at any time they can cut you off) and will still cost about the same as a lightweight Thin Client.

5) If you find yourself having errors when faxing over a Magic Jack, set your Fax Machine to a baud speed of 2400, anything higher could cause errors when sending faxes.

Conclusion: From a price point, you really can't complain about this product or the service. When it comes down to it, this product can work very well for people who have somewhat of a technical background. Don’t expect a Magic Jack technician to come to your home to fix a problem. You are pretty much on your own with this, but keep in mind how often you would have to call your existing telephone service provider for help in the past 6 months. Although it may take you some time to get used to it, if you really want to save that $300+ per year, give this product a chance. Hands down this has to be the best solution for any University/College student living on residence, or someone that's always on the go. I will definitely be trying out the Magic Jack once my current promotional contract expires with Cogeco.

Written By: Amardeep Juneja