Friday 24 August 2007

The Rennovation

Well it has been 6 months since I worked on my site due to other projects in hand.......the old one started to look really bad so finally I decided to dedicate some time to change it.......Again due to time constraints I was only able to give a weeks time to make this new site which I did completely from scratch.......

One thing is there, making this site was a piece of cake as my other project was on web based applications itself so I had learnt a lot of web based technologies in the past 6 months which helped me make this site in no time.......This site depends a lot on javascripting and CSS as you must have already seen.......And this time I was able to also put Videos on my site thanks to Google's YouTube ........it just makes posting your favourite videos online so easy, its just a matter of few clicks and a few copy-pastes........

Also in my site if you see the title bar on top has rounded corners........Some who know about web designing may think its an image on the two ends of the title bar, but mine here is completely based on CSS rather than depending on images, and as a proof try loading my site with images blocked from your browser options....... you'll still be able to see the rounded corners.......It was a CSS style written by Alessndro Fulciniti and its called NiftyCorners....... Visit the link for more detailed explanation on how it is done......

Anyone who wants to learn what I've done here and more....... I would suggest you read this beautiful book by Jason Cranford Teague called Visual Quickstart Guide CSS, DHTML and AJAX 4th Edition........ Its a wonderful book for starters, trust me on this and I have linked it too......... so just download it for free.........

One last thing I would like to talk about is a site - www.uploadingit.com........this is a very useful site where one can upload any files upto 750 mb in size and gives every user 25 gb of space to store files and all this for free........ this is where I have uploaded my videos so that anyone can download it from anywhere....... it can also be used to store any important files you have to be stored securly which then can be accessed from anywhere.....now thats cool!!

Sunday 27 May 2007

GPRS on Linux

Well I will be discussing in this post about how to Connect GPRS on Linu (Fedora Core 6).....Its actually very easy to do this.....i did it on my Nokia N70 using USB data cable and its working perfectly fine.....

- First open up System->Administration->Network on your system
- Then click on Hardware and add New
- In The Hardware Type choose Modem and click Next
- In Modem Device type /dev/ttyACM0
- Choose Baud Rate as 460800
- Choose flow Of Control as Hardware(CRTSCTS) and click OK
- Then go to Device and click on new here too
- Choose Modem Connection from the list and click Forward
- Type in Phone No as *99#
- Give any suitable name in the Providers Name
- Give both Username and Password as "user" even if you think it is not needed
- Once the Device is included in the list Select it and click on Edit
- In the Modem Initialization String enter The Init String......If you dont have it call your customer care and they'll tell you what it is

THATS IT!! now click on your connection from the Device list and Activate and you are done.....

Thursday 3 May 2007

Linux For Me!

well.....its been a complete 3 months since my last post....I was a lot busy with another project which I am still working on and then my exams came up.....but now I am enjoying my vacations at the comfort of my home and am back to writing....

In this post I will talk about Linux concentrating more on Fedora Core 6.....well it was in Dec last year that I first decided to install FC6 on my laptop as I was hearing and reading about the Linux revolution and the open source community and so I was getting very curious about it.....

So, I caught hold of my friend who knew how to install Linux on computers and he thought me how to.....I tell you one thing....People thinking that installing Linux is to be done only by pros.....well you are completely wrong about it as I was too.....All the latest Linux distros (That's what all computer freaks like me call 'Distribution') have a very user friendly and easy step installation just like no no better than what windows XP has..... it just our phycology that we think that its not for us......

I can tell you one more thing.....Linux has come a long way from what it used to be......it used to be just like a command line OS like DOS but with a large contributions from the open source community it now has a very beautiful graphical interface.....wait but don't get carried away and go install it yet.....one thing on the downside of Linux is that it doesn't make it easy for you in the starting.....

since all of us are used to the typical windows like drives settings etc....it is a Little difficult to adjust with the new OS where all the same options and software's are available but the have been named or termed differently so you actually wont realise its there.....the only way to get use to it, according to me, is to use for as much time as possible.....

one thing great about FC6 is that it bundles along around 5-6 GB of open source software's which they considered are the best with the likes of FireFox, Gaim messenger etc..... It has almost all the tools for a developer from python to java, all are pre-installed...... it also has a range of tools for making your computer a server...... so you don't have to go around searching on the net for any.....

But on the downside this distro doesn't have any media player that supports mp3, mp4, avi etc.....now how dumb is that.....cant watch movies......cant play your favourite songs......well when I investigated on why the haven't bundled any players supporting it......I found out that there were some copyright issues that were to be used with these formats were of disinterest to the Fedora developers...... :((

So.....I had o go about searching a player myself and install it...... after investigating thoroughly for a month or so and found that for playing mp3 a player named XMMS was the perfect one......it looks and operates just like winamp for windows so its a perfect substitute for winamp users like me....... for playing video I downloaded VLC for Linux......Its perfect and the same as in windows......

Well there are many more problems I faced with respect to my hardware drivers as I have a DELL inspiron 6400 laptop.....so to get the driver for my ATI X1300 graphics card was the hardest and took me a month and a half to find out my driver and install it as my default resolution didn't look good..... also it was very difficult to get my Intel wireless card to work too...... In short if your PC or Laptop is a little new in market then you are going to have problems getting drivers for its hardware.....

My final say on this is that performance and developer wise LINUX really is far far ahead of Windows......but in case of user friendliness linux stands no chance at all......but with the amount of participation in the open source community increasing I am sure soon we'll see the user interaction on linux to improve..........

Friday 2 February 2007

RIVIERA '07

Last week (22nd Jan - 25th Jan '07) was one of mine most memorable week of my life...... my college had conducted a national level sports and cultural fest - the RIVIERA '07....... and I had been an integral part of the fest thanks to all the seniors..... I along with all of my friends had to start the work a week before the fest.....

The first job assigned to us was in the SALES committee...... we had to go around all the hostel blocks asking everyone who wanted Riviera T-Shirts and the concert tickets for Riviera...... It was a very different experience as you get to meet almost all the 5-6 thousand boys of VIT Hostel which you would have never thought of ever doing.....and it was a tedious job too..... going from one room to another asking each and every person if he wanted the t-shirts and tickets or not......but with all our seniors around.....the job became much more simpler than it would have been.....

Then my second job was to sit at the counter and give out the t-shirts and tickets for those who had ordered 2 days later..... I took up this opportunity to use my contacts with my seniors to book myself a seat at the counter giving out t-shirts and tickets to the girls ;)....... and i managed to retain the same counter for 3 days continuous :D......its sometimes very advantageous if you know some seniors very well......trust me on this......well apart fro the jokes..... the 3 days distributing was the best time I ever had.......Met up with many new people and made more friends among the seniors.....

After that I was yet again given another job......my third one......this was on a day before the Riviera started.......I was the assigned to the RECEPTION committee......I had to escort all the colleges coming from out of town to their respective dorms......clear up their doubts and give them the appropriate instructions regarding the fest.......colleges came from all over the country......their were a total of 61 college represented at this fest from all over the country......from MP to Kerala, from AP to Maharashtra......it truly seems a national level fest......
The day was here......after the opening ceremony the fest took off......here I got my 4th job......I was assigned by the sports coordinator as the in charge for conducting all the tennis matches.......well at first I thought it would be a piece of cake doing this job as an in charge as i was assigned almost 10 first years as volunteers under me......I thought i would sit around and just give instructions to all of them (some may think how selfish of me...... but these volunteers were first years !!! and me second year......I had to show some attitude yaar.....come on.....I was faced with similar circumstances in my 1st year!!:( ).....anyways.....but I was wrong about just sitting around...... since I was the in charge I had to make sure all the tennis matches went on without any problems......or else I would be the one to be blamed for...... Thats what my coordinator told me later......thats when I got on my foot and started doing some serious job not trusting completely on the juniors......but anyhow the set of juniors which i had got were also very co-operative..... they did almost everything I said without complaining even once......Then that evening we had the PARIKRAMA concert.....which I would say was mind blowing......I have never seen anyone play live like them......they rocked to the core with all the AC-DC, Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd songs they played.....If I ever get a chance to see them play again anywhere else......I would surely go for it at any cost.....and again thanks to my seniors....I got to meet them and take a few snaps with them......

The second day was not so much interesting other than just conducting the semi-finals for the tennis matches......the rest of the day was quite dull for me anyways......but my other friends who weren’t doing anything said that the competitions of western bands -The HEADBANGERS CALL as we call it - was really good with bands from many different colleges playing rock music and competing of the top position......well it was too bad i wasnt able to listen to them due to the tennis matches :( ......

The third day was the best...... I had only one tennis match to supervise....that was the final.....then I had gone with my 7 other friends for the AD-ZAP competition......we were initially selected in the selections which was conducted 1 month ago as only 2 teams from my college can take part......even though we had really sucked in the selection round we somehow got selected.......and even I cant believe it that my team got the 3rd place in this competitions where there were many other colleges competing along with us too...... I felt it like a great achievement......ok ok I know I am flying a little here.....but what to do....its human emotions......;).......anyhow we got the 3rd place and got a trophy each and a cash prize of 1000/- bucks......now that was the most discouraging part......only 1000 bucks between 8 people......what justice does this do......we just went out to lunch to celebrate the occasion and the bill of our feast alone came up to 800 BUCKS..... we were left with only 25 bucks each:((......but what can one do about it now.....but the more important thing is that I had a lot of fun in all this.....then that evening was the 2nd concert......we had KK performing live for us.....he too rocked.....he played all the famous hindi tracks which would make you dance and sing all along......he was really outstanding......

Well if you just want to catch a glimpse of the parikrama or KK concert or want to see how I won the ad-zap.....just go to the personal section of this site to view the videos......

The final day was a kind of rest day for all of us.....with all the competitions almost over and all the colleges leaving we had a little peace of mind that day.......we had a DJ nite that evening just for VIT students to party the successful completion of the fest....that night me and my friends were treated by our seniors at a nearby restaurant......

I know i have written a very long blog this time.....but what can I do......it was so much exciting that I had to put it all down here......anyways I have updated my picture gallery in the personal section with all the pictures of I had taken On the RIVIERA......please free to view them......

Monday 22 January 2007

Whats New!!?

well I am goin to talk bout the new additions that i have made to this site since I put it up 2 weeks ago....
for a start I learnt a little bit of java script as only html was not enough to make the changes.....I basically wanted a more dynamic page so java script is a good start.....
here is the following list of changes that i have added to my site

1) A google search bar which searches my website on your query.....well some of u may wonder how did i do it!! well its kinda easy.....go to Google Free and attach the simple HTML code provided to ur source code and there it is.....a very own google search box on ur site..... but if u want to make changes to it.... then just go to - http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_can.....
here they clearly explain how to make changes to the code given by google for their search engine to suit ur needs.....

2)I added a counter at my home page which counts the no: of visitors that have visited my site....well again i have used a third party package here...... goto www.statcounter.com ........ register yourself and then thats it.....just copy the code they give you....add it to ur source code and you will then have a counter ticking away as people keep visiting your site.....

3)now i am goin to tell you bout my brand new section.....the GUESTBOOK section.....here you can write down any comments or querys you have..... here i have linked the page to an external website - www.a-free-guestbook.com ......here again you'll have to register yourself and give your settings for the guestbook the way you want to show..... then just link it with your webpage and there you are with a guestbook for your visitors to fill in....

4)If u noted that on my homepage i have displayed the day, date and time that exactly matches with the day, date and time on your PC..... well i managed to write a small source code myself using javascript so i placed it here..... if you want the source code then just Click Here to download it for FREE!.....

5)Other changes that i have made is that i made this site compatible with screen resolution 800x600 also.....as previously it was only compatible with 1280x800 resolution..... i am working more on making it compatible with all resolutions which i will announce about later....

One thing great about all the links above is that all of them provide their services for FREE!!..... its really amazing just thinking about this......

Friday 5 January 2007

The Construction

well...... as this is my 1st ever post,i might as well speak bout how i made this website......

i always wanted to make a website of my own...... and i had been tryin it......i had actually tried it a year ago......but had failed due to technical difficulties.......but the experience tat i gained wit my first attempt did make my job easier the 2nd time.....

this time i used macromedia dreamweaver 8 to make my site.... it sure did make it very very simple for me to make my site.....wit all the inbuilt functions it has......anybody can make a sophisticated website wit half the amount of work.....

but before using any website making programs i would highly recommend one first learns HTML.....it would surely help......and HTML is not at all difficult to study...... it just took me a week...... well at least the basics......and tats all you need.......but........this will only help you make a site tats a simple one wit text and images only......

i still havent gone deep into dynamic web page designing yet......so i wont comment on it.....but for starters......just follow wat i said....... and you'll be able to put up ur own page in no time.....

well all the above explains the images and texts put up on my site....... as for setting up a blogspot like this......its very simple too..... just sign up at www.blogger.com and give ur settings and its up there.....tat also at free of cost......gosh god bless google.......

then comes the tricky part of hosting your website and gettin a decent domain name...... i have been reasearchin on the free web spaces given by different vendors for bout 6 months but accordin to me the winner will be www.freehostin.com ........ with 5gb to spare, and a lot of bandwidth provided along wit php and mysql facilities and at no cost at all surely deserves my respect......the only catch in it is tat they put up a small text ad at the bottom of every page of ur website....... as you might have seen it here down below.......well tats actually bearable wit such good facilities provided by them......i am really impressed......

about the domain name...... it was the easiest part...... just go to www.freedomain.co.nr and register yourself..... see if a domain of your requirement is available and if it is then just go to account settings and enter the domain name of where your site is hosted.....tats it..... and you'l get a domain like - yourname.co.nr.......

finally the fonts.....(if you are using firefox you wont be able to view them, only internet explorer users will be)....... its not just simply by setting the fonts while you create your site will display it on the viewers computers..... they also have to have the same fonts installed on them..... if you whish to use some out of the box type fonts like i have..... you'll have to use a font embedding software like the microsofts WEFT (download page - http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/a/1/8a1be03f-f7fc-4504-af9a-7b9230775284/WEFTIII2b1.exe)...... its a freeware.... just install it.....embedd your required fonts....and upload your site.....

k then tats it wit this post.......if u have any queries.....pls just mail me at - devangnegandhi@gmail.com......any kind of comments are also welcomed.....