Apple unveils iOS 7 in biggest update ever

Apple CEO Tim Cook called iOS 7 "the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone."

Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled a completely redesigned iOS 7 operating system for the iPhone and iPad at his company's annual software developer conference on Monday, including a long-rumored iTunes Radio music service.

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Introduction to blender - Your free 3D designing software

Hey guys this is an introduction to blender with the sites forums to get you going with blender.

This is the official site of Blender, the 3D related software. click here.

Downloading the software 
In there you can find the download page where you can download the Blender software according to your need.The software supports 32 or 64 bit Win Xp,Vista,Windows 7. For Linux x86 users, the OS must be new in order to be compatible and there are installers for 32 and 64 bit.Also there are installers for Mac OS and the Free BSD users.click here

Features & Gallery
In this page you can get an idea what blender can do.Also there are Photos and Videos created using the Blender software. click here

Education & Help
The Blender community support the user by giving us a number of tutorials in the form of docs and videos.Also there is forum where you can ask the community questions. click here.

Community
Blender is a open source project and it is developed by a community of developers.click here to know about it from the Blender home site.They have a blog too click here to see it.

Blender E-Shop
There is a E-Shop by the blender community where you can find thing they sell related to the software and also you can find cool stuff there. click here.

Other Sources
cg cookie
blender guru
blender nerd

These are some other resources(blogs) where you can find tutorials.

See a 3D film made by the use of Blender....

list of the alternatives to Fraps

Fraps is a very useful software for gamers.Let's see what wikipedia says about it.

"Fraps (derived from Frames per second) is a benchmarking, screen capture and video capture utility for DirectX and OpenGL applications (such as games) for Windows computers. The Windows Vista and Windows 7 desktop can be captured if an Aero theme is used." - Wikipedia.

But incase you want some alternatives...

• Ezvid. ( here is the download link for the Optimum installer which manage your download download.
• Taksi.
• Wegame.
• Bandicam.
• BB Flashback.
• BSR Sreen Recorder.
• Capture FOX.
• Wink.
• Webinaria.
• pixelmetrics.

List of alternatives to MS Word

Here i give you a list of free softwares which you can use instead of the MS Word software. And some are software packages same as the Office package but free of charge.

• Open Office.
• LibreOffice.
• AbiWord.
• jarte.
• IBM Lotus Symphony.
• SSuite Office.
• SoftMaker.
• Ommwriter
• Bean (Mac OS X)

Also there are online alternatives for MS word.

• Google docs.
• Zoho.
• Think free.
• Etherpad.

Review alternatives to Google Reader

Google was planning to kill Google Reader as part of a “spring cleaning exercise”.So now we have to look for alternatives to it.First let me describe the features of the Google Reader.

Google Reader is a lot more than an RSS client. It syncs news feeds between different apps, and makes sure you can always pick up right where you left off. It’s also simple and free, which means it drove most competitors out of the market long ago. Once Reader dies July 1st, we’ll be left with apps that don’t rely on its backend to sync your feeds — which isn't very many apps. Various denizens of the internet and companies like Digg have volunteered to create new backends of their own, but for now, picking an RSS client you can trust means you’ll need one that doesn’t rely on Google Reader.

“Hearing that Google Reader is shutting down is like hearing that your favorite old bookstore is closing,” writes The New Yorker’s Joshua Rothman. So what are all the “absurdly ambitious readers” to do?.

So here are the alternatives to Google Reader for you  -

• feedly.

Feedly has received mostly positive reviews. Many have praised its minimalist design and personalized interface.However, some have found the service relies too heavily on its minimalist approach, while others have stated that the degree of customization can be overwhelming for first time users.

• netnewswireapp.

NetNewsWire was well regarded by many users and reviewers. According to FeedBurner, NetNewsWire was the most popular desktop newsreader on all platforms in 2005. The software received a Macworld Editor's Choice Award in 2003 and 2005 and maintains a 4.8 out of five stars rating among reviewers at VersionTracker. Ars Technica calls NetNewsWire's built-in browser "hands-down the best of any Mac newsreader," and Walter Mossberg, technology columnist for The Wall Street Journal, says that NetNewsWire is his favorite for Mac OS X.

• newsblur.

 following an announcement by Google that they would be shutting down their popular Google Reader news reader service, NewsBlur's subscriber base immediately rose from about 1,500 users to over 60,000.

• theoldreader.

• A user-friendly web service.
• Lets you stay up-to-date with your RSS feeds.
• Resembles the old Google Reader interface.
• Lets you add friends and view the feed entries they      shared.

• Netvibes.

Netvibes is a personalized dashboard publishing platform for the Web composed of widgets that are pulled from a widget list open to third party developers.

• Pulse.

Pulse is an app for Android, iOS and HTML5 browsers, originally released in 2010. The application displays news from multiple RSS feeds in a single page using a tile based interface. Pulse has been praised by users for its sleek, easy to use design

• Bloglines.

Bloglines is a web-based news aggregator for reading syndicated feeds using the RSS and Atom formats. Users can subscribe to the syndicated feeds for free using a web browser. Bloglines offers an application programming interface that maintainers of web site can use to write software that can read feeds, search its database of feed entries, and ping the service when a website has been updated.

• Good Noows.

Good Noows is another app that takes your favorite feeds and organizes them into a special layout (although this time you get a choice of what layout!).

Good Noows is a personal news reader that pulls in your favorite news feeds to a layout of your choice. Some critics have touted the service as being a viable alternative to Google News whilst others say that Good Noows is a fresh face to your news.

• Zite.

Information from-

http://web.appstorm.net

http://www.makeuseof.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

Alternatives to Internet Explorer

Following the legal agreement between Microsoft and the European Competition Commission in December 2009, millions of Internet Explorer users in Europe now have the option of choosing an alternative browser. However, there are many Internet users out there who do not know what other Web browsers are available in the market due to Microsoft Internet Explorer’s dominance over the years. In no particular order, the following list should give such users a general overview of the top Internet Explorer alternatives on the Web.

IE9

PROS

Hardware acceleration. Minimalist interface. Download manager with malware protection. Improved tab function. Many security features. Tracking Protection. Improved standards support. Pinned tabs make sites like apps in Windows 7.

CONSBehind other browsers in HTML5 support. Only works in Windows 7 and Vista.

BOTTOM LINE

Microsoft's Web browser is a big improvement over IE8, but it's largely stood still for over a year, while other browsers have advanced.

• Mozilla firefox.

PROS

Clean, minimal interface. Fast performance. Innovative tab implementation. Highly customizable. Good HTML5 support. Good security. Most cross-platform support. Social network integration via API. Syncing for tabs, history, passwords and now Extensions. Graphics hardware acceleration. Built-in PDF viewer. Independent from large vendor. Host of developer tools. Compatible with MacBook Retina displays.

CONSLacks client-side tracking protection like that found in IE9. Lacks Chrome's built in Flash and Instant page view. Slightly trails Chrome in HTML5 features.

BOTTOM LINE

Firefox offers clean design, fast performance, new standards support, and constant improvements?now with a slick, improved download manager.

• opera.

PROS

Minimal interface. Turbo feature makes slow connections even faster. Built-in mail and Bittorrent clients. Excellent HTML5 support. Syncing of bookmarks, settings, passwords, history, and more. Mac and Linux versions. Extensions. Live tiles on start page. Themes.

CONSOccasionally sites won't display properly, though this is getting rare. Hardware acceleration not enabled by default.

BOTTOM LINE

Opera is a worthy Web browser alternative offering unique features, good performance, and some leading HTML5 support.

• Google chrome.

PROS

Leading support for HTML 5. Fast. Hardware acceleration. Excellent security. Instant site prediction and loading. Extensions. Syncing. Built-in Flash player and PDF reader.

CONSDo Not Track privacy feature is buried and discouraged. Still some occasional minor site incompatibilities.

BOTTOM LINE

The race is tightening up, but Google Chrome remains the Windows Web browser to beat, in terms of speed, features, and support for new standards.

• Apple Safari.

PROS

Reading view. Reading list. Cover flow and other beautiful interface elements. Built-in RSS reader. Good standards support. Good browsing speed. Fine tab implementation. Decent extension selection.

CONSSlow startup. Not being updated together with Mac version. No hardware acceleration for Windows.

BOTTOM LINE

Safari for Windows is still a good-looking and reasonably fast and compliant browser, but Apple doesn't seem interested in it anymore.

• maxthon.

PROS

Loads of nifty browsing helper features. Speedy performance. Two page-rendering engines (Webkit and Trident) for compatibility. Leading support for new Web standards. Cloud syncing of tabs, passwords, and more. Do Not Track enabled by default.

CONSTabs not as flexible as other browsers'. No appreciable graphics hardware acceleration.

BOTTOM LINE

If you think a browser can't make a difference in your use of the Web, Maxthon will make you think again, with a raft of neat helpers, super standards support, and fast performance.

• Avant.

Pros 
It has decent speeds and provides basic browsing functions.

Cons 
Its security features are limited and it has compatibility issues with modern applications.

• sleipnir.
• wyzo.
• deepnet.
• Life.(for iPad users).
• omniweb.
• rockmelt.
• sunrisebrowser.
• Flock.(for bloggers, social media based).(not recommended).

Information from - pcmag.com , toptenreviews.com .

Setup and Using Cygwin to compile C programs

Get that Linux feeling - in Windows!

Cygwin is...

• a collection of tools which provide a Linux look and feel environment for Windows.
• a DLL (cygwin1.dll) which acts as a Linux API layer providing substantial Linux API functionality.

Cygwin isn't...

• a way to run native Linux apps on Windows. You must rebuild your application from source if you want it to run on Windows.
• a way to magically make native Windows apps aware of UNIX® functionality like signals, ptys, etc. Again, you need to build your appsfrom source if you want to take advantage of Cygwin functionality.

The Cygwin DLL currently works with all recent, commercially released x86 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Windows, with the exception of Windows CE and Windows NT4.

• For more information see the FAQ.

Installation

• Go to http://cygwin.com/install.html and download the setup.exe

• Then run it,you'll get this window,press run.

• Then continue with the installation ,use standard settings.
• When you get to the Cygwin Setup - Select Packages window,from which you can select components you want to install.

The default components and the "gcc-core: C Compiler" will be all we want.

To select this component, click the plus sign (+) next to the Devel category and scroll down until you find the gcc-core:C Compiler component.Click the word "skip" to select the component for installation.

• Then you can continue your installation without any difficulty in the normal way.
• Depending on your specific installation (Cygwin version) and configuration (components selected) of Cygwin, you may need to have Cygwin’s bin directory, referenced next, added to your system’s PATH environment variable.

The PATH environment variable is used by Cygwin to find executable files to run. If you are using a Microsoft-based operating system, you can edit the PATH variable in a couple of ways.

One trick is to launch a Microsoft-based command shell (DOS window) by typing the keyword "cmd" from the Run dialog box accessed via the Start menu.From the c:\ prompt (in the command
shell), type:

PATH %PATH%;c:\cygwin\bin

This should do the trick.If necessary, consult your system’s documentation for more information on environment variables and specifically updating the PATH system variable.

________________________________________________________________

Writing & Compiling a C program...

• To create a new C program invoke a text editor such as nano or VIM by the command shown below.

    nano hello.c  or  vim hello.c

• Once you've created a C program using an editor,you are ready to compile your C program using gcc. To do that type the following from the Cygwin UNIX shell:

    gcc hello.c

• if your program compiles successfully, gcc will create a new executable file called "a.exe".(maybe "a.out").
• There is a specified syntax to create a executable file with a unique name

    gcc programName -o executableName

    so according to our example:

    gcc hello.c -o hello.exe

• To execute your program from Cygwin UNIX prompt,type in the following:

    ./hello

Now you can easily use Cygwin to write , compile and run a C program.So if you find this useful, please don't forget to like and share it with others...

                            Thanks.

Open Source - Get free software!!

- get Open Source software - 

       OK this is not a very unpopular topic for you I guess.But it's certainly worth mentioning.

Open source is a philosophy that promotes free distribution and access to an end products' design and implementation.

       Open Source Software (OSS) is a software which is available in source code form. The source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under an open source license that permits users to study, change, improve and sometimes also redistribute the software itself commercially or non-commercially.

        The power of this movement is expressed by a report by the Standish Group stating that adaptation of open-source software  models has resulted in savings of about $60 billion per year to consumers.

So for the ones who don't use open source, why don't you?? well, I've used open source for about a year now and some of the software are VLC player & a firewall(very simple one) the only thing that make you fell these are not good is some times they crash ( VLC in the other hand never crash) . But for a programmer these are playgrounds to sharpen your skills.

This is a web site containing thousands of open source projects - source forge
And this is the official site - home

Google launches on iOS via Google Search app

Google was previously only available on Android devices.Now it's finally available for iOS users.As an alternative to Apple's own personal assistant, Siri, Google Now offers detailed updates and information custom-tailored to you. The service is included as part of an update to the Google Search App.

Back-and-forth notwithstanding, iOS users can check out Now on iPhone and iPad after updating the Google Search app. Google Now uses "cards," synced with a Google account to provide updated info including flight schedules, dinner suggestions, and voice-activated search (obviously).