Saturday, 27 December 2014
For most blogs and websites out there, the bulk of their size comes from images. For videos, most bloggers resort to any of the video sharing websites such as YouTube, Vimeo and so on. But what about images and other media content? It only makes sense to host large images on a faster third-party server as well. Fortunately for bloggers, this isn't an alien concept. There are much faster servers out there known as CDNs (Content Delivery Networks). We'll talk about using third-party services for hosting your images.
A lot of professional blog networks and websites use CDNs for delivering images faster. These CDNs often do not come cheap. But there are inexpensive options, as well as some free ones.
Why go third-party at all?
The advantages of third-party servers are numerous. The most obvious one is speed. Typical web servers might not be well suited to serve media content quickly, especially large files. CDNs take care of that problem since they're built for media capabilities.
Secondly, exporting/migrating your blog is a huge hassle if there's a lot of media content as well. Third-party servers give you peace of mind during migration, because you only have to move the text content. It is faster, and much more efficient.
Hosting images on external servers
Hosting images on external servers is easy. There are many well-known image services that you can use. Many are free as well. We're always skeptical of 'free' services out there, be they email, web hosting or any other software service. So we probably wouldn't recommend trusting these services completely.
This is not to say that third-party networks are bad. Some of these are really well-known services, and many people trust them. However, I'd take a little pinch of salt when trusting them entirely with my blog images.
Well known image services
With that said, let's look at some of the most well known image services out there you can use for free.
1. Photobucket
Photobucket is by far our top pick, It is so easy to use and its free. You can upload a variety of image sizes and image files, you can even upload videos. The image url is SO easy to find. You simply upload your image add it to an album and hover over the image to grab the code - simple.
The site is very user friendly and easy to navigate. Now if you have a site that stores and hot links MASS amounts of images (very rare) then Photobucket is not for you, but if you have an ordinary blog and just need somewhere to store post images etc..... Photobucket gives you a ton of space and it's free.
3. Flickr
Perhaps not the easiest to work with, but this one is full of features. Yahoo gives you an insane amount of storage - 1 TB - absolutely for free! And Flickr has come a long way from the frustrating UI to the feature-rich offering that it today.
Conclusion
So the question remains, should you use these services? Is it SEO friendly? In my opinion, these services are very trustworthy, and have an excellent trust rating. So you need not worry about them 'running away' with your pictures. However, do be mindful of their terms and conditions, especially if you're acting as a business.
Also, there's no SEO disadvantage in using a third-party image hosting service. It's how you present your content that matters, not where it is hosted physically.
Saturday, 27 December 2014 0
Question: What does every IT network administrator or sysadmin want for Christmas apart from a nasal hair trimmer and a local pizza shop gift card?
Answer: A new network interface card (NIC) that does more than just add ports to a server but also offers access to additional processing power and 'on-circuit-board' capabilities capable of offloading a variety of application functions directly onto the card itself.
Emulex Corporation is hoping it may be capable of playing Santa for sysadmins.
The network connectivity firm has now proffers forth gifts from lands afar including its ExpressConfig products to help optimise I/O connectivity for cloud, hyperscale and enterprise environments.
Pardon me? Hyperscale environments?
The term hyperscale computing is generally used to describe any huge/humongous/hefty (hence: hyper) - scale computing environment where distributed processing, compute and storage elements are coalesced such that workload levels can be amplified/enlarged/augmented (hence: scaled) when needed -- basically, it's often another way of talking about cloud.
Emulex says that by providing architecture, components, features, analysis, configuration settings and software drivers, its ExpresConfig technology can extract "the most value" out of a pre-designed integrated system.
I/O optimised
According to Emulex, the ExpressConfig solutions improve I/O optimisation through the use of bespoke firmware that works on I/O-intensive services to partition and use some of the multicore CPU architecture on the card to execute specific application services, rather than tying up main system CPU cycles - without compromising the remaining cores that are driving the card's port handling.
This is potentially critical (or, useful at least) in cloud environments where maximum capacity utilisation is critical and where speed of I/O response is equally important for customer satisfaction and maintaing SLAs.
ExpressConfig for OpenStack core networks provides a blueprint using the firm's own I/O connectivity capabilities for:
- allocating bandwidth,
- converging multiple protocols,
- isolating OpenStack core networks or applications and,
- efficiently managing the multiple networks typically associated with large-scale datacentres.
"The Emulex ExpressConfig Solutions leverage industry-leading Emulex Universal Multi-Channel™ (UMC) Network Interface Card (NIC) partitioning with the open ecosystem of tools available in the OpenStack community to deliver on the growing demands for flexibility, scalability and lower operating costs."
Today, OpenStack users can use Emulex UMC NIC partitioning to optimise bandwidth allocation between the necessary public, private, storage and management networks.
Emulex UMC can ensure minimum bandwidth allocations are maintained, eliminating the potential for tunnel networks to be inadvertently starved by external traffic. For smaller configurations, those safeguards also prevent performance imbalances, enabling the shared use of hardware so the compute and storage nodes can reside on the same server.
Date:
December 19, 2014
Source:
Brigham Young University
Summary:
It's like a scene from a gamer's wildest dreams: 12 high-definition, 55-inch 3D televisions all connected to a computer capable of supporting high-end, graphics-intensive gaming.
On the massive screen, images are controlled by a Wii remote that interacts with a Kinnect-like Bluetooth device (called SmartTrack), while 3D glasses worn by the user create dizzying added dimensions.
But this real-life, computer-powered mega TV is not for gaming. It's for engineering.
Welcome to Brigham Young University's VuePod, a 3D immersive visualization environment run by BYU's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Student-built and operated, under the supervision of civil engineering professor Dan Ames, the VuePod is changing the way engineers are viewing environmental engineering challenges.
"This is gold," said fellow BYU civil engineering professor Kevin Franke. "This technology has the ability to revolutionize my job as an earthquake engineer."
That's because the VuePod allows users to virtually fly over, wander through or hover above 3D environments that are otherwise difficult to visit. The images are created by point data from aircraft equipped with LIDAR (think RADAR, but with lasers). The LIDAR scans the landscape and records millions of data points that are then viewed as an image on the VuePod. Point data can also be created from stitched-together photographs taken from low-cost drones, which is Franke's research focus.
One set of data currently available for study in the VuePod captured a canyon area beneath a plateau in southern Idaho. With 3D glasses and the Wii controller, a user can virtually drop down into the canyon from above, and then fly from one end to the other.
As cool as it is to fly through a canyon, the real engineering application comes in when you combine two sets of data for the same canyon, taken five years a part. With the second set of data, changes in the natural landscape that are invisible to the human eye become clear as day. Thanks to the VuePod's massive 108-square-foot screen, all of the image-making data can be presented for viewing.
"Our eyes and our brains are so amazing; we need to take full advantage of them," Ames said. "That's the value of this project: we're presenting more information for the human eyes to detect changes."
In addition to natural change detection, the VuePod has the potential to assist in infrastructure monitoring -- such as tracking how highways hold up (or slough and crack) over time and seeing the affect on buildings after severe weather or earthquakes.
While the VuePod is certainly not the first immersive visualization system in academia, it may just be the most cost efficient built to date. Some systems cost as much as $10 million to build and maintain, while BYU's VuePod just barely topped the $30,000 mark.
Ames details how BYU was able to build such a powerful system for so little in a new paper published by the Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering.
"Our question has been: How can we make this technology accessible?" Ames said. "We're trying to determine the threshold for getting the most function at the most affordable cost. Ultimately, the goal is to take an expensive tool and make it cheaper for an everyday engineering firm to use."
And even though Ames and his students have achieved that, they believe much more can be done.
"We want whoever reads this paper to be able to build a better system than we built," he said.
Multifaceted Meesha Shafi is the symbol of modern day Pakistani youth who continued her family tradition of art, culture, philosophy and acting. Her solo music career got momentum with her unforgettable performance on Coke Studio that has become her recognition. Her collaboration with Pakistani folk legendary singer Arif Lohar gained huge appreciation internationally with over sixteen million hits on YouTube. She recently re-invented a classical song in Coke Studio season 7 that has become one of her biggest hits and is surely receiving more attention on social media.
Apart from the music, the multitalented Meesha has also made her mark in fashion industry with her defined sense of style. She also appeared as judge in a singing talented show ‘Cornetto Music Icons’ on ARY Digital. The trendsetter and risk taker Meesha has also appeared in many Pakistani sitcoms. Her performances in Bollywood movie ‘Bhag Milka Bhag’ and Hollywood movie ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ and Lollywood movie ‘Waar’ are the proof of her versatility.
First time in her career, she has lent her voice to a jingle in sprite commercial but has appeared in multiple commercials. Besides this, many Pakistani magazines and international publications have featured her and she has earned recognition by winning the ‘Best Show Stopper Award’ by Paper Magazine at the Paper Awards 2013.
She was included in the list of 50 Hottest Female Singers in the world by Tickets Move Magazine. The particular magazine later interviewed Meesha and asked her what keeps her moving in an extremist society where others find it very hard to work freely in entertainment world. She tells them that she has found inner peace and does not take into account the crazy things happening around her. She further reveals that she might be performing in USA in 2015.
Currently, the bold and confident Meesha is involved in variety of phenomenal projects. She is busy in creating tracks for few local films OSTs and filming Hollywood film ‘The Tournament of Shadows’.
In order to gain an insightful understanding of a broad topic, sometimes it’s necessary to delve a little deeper instead of finding simple, concise answers. Research conducted by Google suggests that this is the case for approximately one tenth of searches on a daily basis. Whether it’s scientific knowledge on hotly debated topics like stem cell research, or philosophical insights on love and happiness, people are requiring increasingly complex explanations.
Having realised this, Google are set to roll out a brand new feature to help inquisitive minds find relevant articles in its search results.
Google will now provide a new block of results linking to thought-provoking articles from some of the most inquisitive journalistic minds the world have to offer, if a user performs a search for a broad topic. For example, searches pertaining to censorship are likely to yield results containing articles by esteemed author Salman Rushdie and linguist Noam Chomsky. Those searching for lighter material, for example, the history of Lego, might find themselves presented with think-pieces regarding everything from gender specifics to engineering and art.
Although the new feature is yet to go live for everybody, it’s suggested that the new block will appear in the middle of the page for broad searches. Not every query will result in a block of in-depth articles, however.
It’s yet to remain clear whether all web publishers will have equal access to this new area, or if Google will implement an internal checklist of approved publishers. Should the latter apply, it will undoubtedly raise questions with regard to the impartiality of the world’s most popular search engine. In the case of the former, Search Engine Optimisation will once again see something of a radical change, as increasing numbers of sites attempt to publish more in-depth articles in order to gain a place in Google’s latest feature.
Reports claim ‘a small but growing number’ of iPhone 6 Plus handsets bend when placed in a back pocket. The unintended extra feature has been dubbed ‘bend gate’. Thinner design and aluminium casing of the larger phone causes the issue. An Apple support employee has said the firm may replace bent devices, but added it would be up to individual stores, on a case-by-case basis. The next-generation Apple smartphones launched on Friday. Apple for the time being has not yet commented on the reports. Though during the web chat, The Next Web journalist asked if a ‘bent enclosure occurring during normal use’ would be covered by a warranty. The support employee, replied: ‘That is 100 per cent up to the Genius you speak with at the store.’ A Genius is an Apple employee (stock image) who works in stores.
The thinner design of the 5.5-inch phone and the use of aluminium on the frame will cause the new iPhone 6 Plus to bend if pressure is applied.
This isn’t the first time iPhone frames have bent or warped and the issue isn’t unique to Apple. Reports in 2012 claimed that the iPhone 5 had similar frame weaknesses. The iPhone 5S release was met with similar complaints. Samsung devices are also vulnerable, and the Galaxy S4 in particular was found to bend. Samsung devices are also vulnerable, and the Galaxy S4 in particular was found to bend under pressure, as did Sony’s Xperia Z1.
Apple issued a statement advising customers should ‘avoid gripping [the phone] in the lower left corner’ when making or receiving a call, which was met with even more complaints.
Lumia 535 is officially in the house now!
Yes, Microsoft has launched Lumia 535 in Pakistan.
Yes, Microsoft has launched Lumia 535 in Pakistan.
The first Microsoft branded Smartphone Lumia 535 is a Dual SIM featuring:
— 5 integrated Microsoft experiences
— 5-inch display
— 5 MP front & rear facing camera
— Office suite where you can access, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and OneNote notebooks.
— 5 integrated Microsoft experiences
— 5-inch display
— 5 MP front & rear facing camera
— Office suite where you can access, edit and share Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents and OneNote notebooks.
Lumia 535 Dual SIM is available in a range of colours including green, orange, white, dark grey, cyan and black.
Lumia 535 is an amazingly priced smartphone and us now available for 14,250/- ONLY!!
Lumia 535 is an amazingly priced smartphone and us now available for 14,250/- ONLY!!
Dr Shaista Wahidi’s is also called Shaista lodhi got divorce from Dr.Waqar Wahidi in 2012 after the13th years of wedding.Recently Dr Shaista
Wahidi’s Controversial Leaked Pictures On Internet And Social Media..Pakistani most Popular Morning show host Shahista Lodhi’s Private pics are now a days moving on social media (facebook twiter and some other websites).
Wahidi’s Controversial Leaked Pictures On Internet And Social Media..Pakistani most Popular Morning show host Shahista Lodhi’s Private pics are now a days moving on social media (facebook twiter and some other websites).
Pakistanis where ever they are bring out their talents and carve their names on the pages of history. From our talented actors to the creative directors and producers and to the amazing vocalists, today are widely known all over the world for their unique work. Pakistan produces talent, and Pakistanis are strugglers of success.
Who knows not these names: Ali Zafar, Rahat Fateh Ali khan, Atif Aslam, the most famous singers known today not in their home country alone but all over the world where music is heard and appreciated. Their career starting with learning and accompanying their gurus and struggled then by releasing their albums, and today their success bring them to the renowned Indian musical industry where their songs are played repeatedly on every music playlists.
The enchanting voice of Rahat Fateh Ali khan and one of his hit songs ‘tere mast mast do nain’, indeed stole hearts of many. India has greatly appreciated his presence in the music industry and without saying his songs are always seen in the super hit lists. The same is said for Atif Aslam, his deep voice has sung romantic and sad songs that give a total inward experience to the soul. His songs are loved, and he has gained great success in the Indian music industry, where he is offered a contract in the every second film. Where ever Rahat Fateh Ali khan and Atif Aslam are mentioned, there always comes another name, Ali Zafar. He is one of the talented Pakistanis that not only sings for the music industry but has also been acting for Indian film industry.
Who knows not these names: Ali Zafar, Rahat Fateh Ali khan, Atif Aslam, the most famous singers known today not in their home country alone but all over the world where music is heard and appreciated. Their career starting with learning and accompanying their gurus and struggled then by releasing their albums, and today their success bring them to the renowned Indian musical industry where their songs are played repeatedly on every music playlists.
Indians are true fans of our talented singers. Their music is played and enjoyed on various occasions and even accompany souls in solitude. Their concerts all over the world are attended with great enthusiasm and we hope they succeed and always lighten Pakistan’s name.
Friday, 26 December 2014
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We've talked before about the things every computer user should know how to do, but we geeks are special: we want to go above and beyond, to explore every nook and cranny of our system and make everything easier. Here are ten ways to do just that.
10. Find New Uses for the Programs You Already Have
Chances are, you've probably already found a few awesome tools and added them to your productivity arsenal, but most programs can be used for more than just their inteded purpose. The file-syncing Dropbox, for example, is also great for monitoring your home computer, printing files from afar, and even downloading stuff with BitTorrent. Savvy folks can use Gmail to store files in the cloud or find out if someone's stolen your laptop. Any tool can become multipurpose if you know its ins and outs.
9. Use the Command Line Like a Ninja
Using the command line isn't as exciting as it looks in the movies, but it can be a very useful tool (in fact, some tools are just better in the command line). It's pretty easy to learn, too—check out our command line primer for beginners to learn some basic commands. Once you've got that down, read up on the best shortcuts that help you navigate the command line like a ninja. Those guides apply to UNIX-based systems like Linux and OS X, but if you're a Windows user you can grab something like Cygwin to get a similar experience (or, if you want a more Windows-centric tool, try Powershell).
8. Read and Understand Your Resource Usage
When your computer starts acting a little slow, a lot of people jump to their resource monitor to see what's causing problems. However, just looking at a bunch of charts and graphs isn't going to tell you what's wrong unless you really know what you're looking for. High CPU is a common problem with one app slowing your system down, and as soon as you close it, the issue should go away. High network activity could be the cause of slow internet or slow file transfers over the network. RAM usage, however, is where a lot of people get thrown off: high RAM usage isn't inherently a bad thing. Know the difference between good and bad RAM usage before you start blaming processes. If you want to keep an eye on your resources, check out our favorite system monitors for Windows, Mac, and Linux, too.
7. Run Everything on a Schedule
Stop performing all that system maintenance yourself and set it all up to run on a schedule. With Windows' built-in Task Scheduler, you can run just about any kind of task—whether it'smaintenance, picture uploads, or even a simple alarm—through Windows' built-in tools (in fact, it's one of the best Windows 7 features you've probably forgotten about). Mac users looking for something similar should check out Tasks Till Dawn.
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6. Know Your OS's Hidden Features
Every operating system has hidden things lying under the hood, you just have to know where to look. Windows users should check out the hidden features of Windows 7 and Windows 8, while Mac users should peruse the hidden features of OS X Lion and Mountain Lion. If you want to find even more, you can often find them in Windows' Registry or in OS X's terminal. System tweakers like Ultimate Windows Tweaker, OnyX for Mac, and Ubuntu Tweak are also great places to find secret features.
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5. Learn to Crack Passwords (and Protect Yourself)
Everyone should know how to create a secure password, but responsible geeks can take it a step further by learning how to break into a comptuer. This skill—whether used on a Windows machine or a Mac—can really help you understand how computer thieves and hackers will try to get at your data. Learning the process means you know how to protect yourself against the process—not just with strong passwords but with encryption and other settings tweaks that keep thieves out. Similarly, you may also want to learn how to crack a Wi-Fi network's WEPand WPA password.
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4. Navigate Everything With Your Keyboard
There are certain basic keyboard shortcuts everyone should know, but if you really want to use your computer more efficiently, you can take it so much further. Learn the most common shortcuts for your favorite programs, like Gmail, Microsoft Word, basic text boxes, and even Facebook. After a little while, you'll be able to blow through menus and text boxes with unbelievable speed. Check out our guide to becoming a keyboard ninja, complete with a bunch of cheat sheets to help get you off the ground.
3. Run a Basic Linux Distribution
Even if you don't want to switch operating systems, knowing a few Linux basics can be really handy. With a live CD on hand you can troubleshoot your machine, revive an old, slow PC, and make your way through Linux-based DIY projects. Check out our five-part guide to getting started with Linux, and be careful—it can be quite the rabbit hole once you get into it!
2. Squeeze More Power Out of Your Hardware
With a bit of tweaking, you can push your hardware past its original limits and get some pretty serious bang for your buck. When it comes to your PC, you can overclock your processor and video card, and even install OS X on non-Macs by building a Hackintosh. And, while you're at it—even though it isn't a computer trick specifically—you should try turning your $60 router into a $600 router with DD-WRT.
1. Program Your Own Dead Simple Scripts
You don't need to learn an entire programming language to write advanced scripts. Windows users can do a ton of awesome stuff with AutoHotkey, from creating simple keyboard shortcuts to controlling their PC remotely. To get started, just check our beginner's guide to AutoHotkeyand our list of the best AutoHotkey tricks. Mac users don't have anything quite like AutoHotkey, but you can do quite a bit with the built-in, insanely easy-to-learn AppleScript. If you aren't the coding type, check out Automator on the Mac and its clone, Actions on Windows
When all is said and done, this is probably way more than 10 tricks, but if you don't know any of the above, they should keep you busy for awhile. If you have an idea we didn't list, be sure to mention it in the comments below.
Friday, 26 December 2014 0
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