Whistler Tricks

Whistler is the code name for Windows XP, Longhorn for Windows vista , the code name for the next Microsoft's OS is Blackcomb and so on. These code names are given by Steve Balmer CEO of Microsoft. Let me give some tricks for blocking any websites without actually using any third party software. I got this trick from a guy named ahmad who has posted his blog's link in CNUGSTUDENT.NET. I found this interesting and want to share with all.

Open the file "Hosts" or "LMHosts" from C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc. Then add the following line at the end of the file 127.0.0.1 http://www.xyz.com/ which means when someone tries to visit http://www.xyz.com/ from your website it gets blocked because the site is redirected to 127.0.0.1 which is the IP of your own computer. To know the IP of any website just go to DOS and type " ping http://www.xyz.com/ ".

This is the theory involved in this: Hosts is a file used by Microsoft TSP/IP protocol for Windows. It acts as TCP/IP host table and contains list of address to name solution mappings of numeric IP addresses resolved to corresponding host names. It actually acts a local DNS server by translating a domain name into an IP address thus decreasing the time need to reach a remote server.

To properly use HOSTS you must make sure ENABLE DSN is turned on : Control Panel --> Network --> Your TCP/IP adapter name --> TCP/IP Properties --> DNS Configuration tab --> Check enable DNS box --> Apply OK

The following is the order in which Windows tries resolving hostnames only if all fails do you get the error Page Not Found

1.HOSTS file
2.DNS server
3.NetBIOS cache
4.WINS server
5.Broadcast
6.LMHOSTS file

P.S : Try this in your friends computer when he is not in the seat ;-) just open the Hosts file and type the URL which he frequently use and the IP of some other URL So that when he clicks the URL the browser redirects him to some other page.

Vivekanandan K I

A pinch of C code and A cup of coffee

Last week I got a mail from one of my friend Radha Krishna who is working in Satyam. He needs some code which prints the following output.

   1
  2 2
 3 3 3

He was asking the code in NATURAL language which no one knows. I found a P.S in his mail saying that "If u cud give me the C code for this logic I can write the equivalent NATURAL language". I have C in my system here , when I started coding I thought this is really a difficult logic to execute. Then I spent nearly 20 minutes with pen and paper with different combinations of FOR loops and successsfuly got the required sequence.

scanf("%d",&n);
k=n-1;
for(i=1;i<=n;i++)
{
  for(j=1;j<=k;j++)
  {
    printf(" ");
  }
  k--;
  for(j=1;j<=i;j++)
  {
    printf("%d ",i);
  }
  printf("\n");
}

Microsoft Popfly

This is a list of FAQ's I got it from the Popfly website.Click the link to know more about Microsoft Popfly

http://www.popfly.com/

What is Popfly?
Popfly is the fun, easy way to build and share mashups, gadgets, Web pages, and applications. Popfly consists of two parts:
1. Popfly Creator is a set of online visual tools for building Web pages and mashups.
2. Popfly Space is an online community of creators where you can host, share, rate, comment and even remix creations from other Popfly users.

What’s Microsoft’s motivation for releasing Popfly?
Popfly is another piece in our company-wide outreach in helping non-professional developers build everything from Xbox games to Robotics to custom Web applications using Windows Home Server. Popfly becomes the online home for building and sharing all types of non-professional projects, from static Web pages to mashups, to game mods.

Is Popfly free?
Yes, Popfly is free, but some 3rd party blocks services may require a subscription fee

50 First Dates

I saw this movie a couple of years ago. Drew Barrymore was gorgeous in this movie and You could watch the movie trailer in the following link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErjP5xMTc8I

Arctic marine life veterinarian Henry Roth has his future all mapped out. When he’s not tending to the sea animals at Sea Life Park in Hawaii, he is breaking the hearts of mainland tourists in search of a vacation romance. A long-term relationship for Henry is out of the question. It would scuttle his 10-year dream of sailing to Alaska to study the underwater life of walruses.

Henry is close to making his dream come true when his schooner, the Sea Serpent, suffers a mishap during a trial run, which lands him at the Hukilau Café where the regulars eye him with distrust when he sets his eyes on one of its patrons, the beautiful young Lucy Whitmore. Henry is immediately smitten with Lucy, and after a first chat with her about waffles and sea mammals, Henry finds himself more and more interested in Lucy. Ignoring his own rule about dating local girls, he makes a date to meet her for breakfast the next day. But when he arrives and makes a reference to their previous conversation, she thinks he's some kind of freak and calls for help. Lucy has no idea who he is. And Henry realizes that if he wants to win her affections, he’s going to have to start over again every day for the rest of his life.

Apple iPhone

iPhone is a revolutionary new mobile phone that allows you to make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or a call log. It also automatically syncs all your contacts from a PC, Mac, or Internet service. And it lets you select and listen to voicemail messages in whatever order you want — just like email.

For more information http://www.apple.com/iphone/


Vivekanandan K I

Life is Beautiful

I got this DVD when i was travelling in train from Chennai to Bangalore. The name of this movie is really catchy and I read the story in Vikatan (Classic Movies weekly subscription). Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian language film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian Guido Orefice, who lives in his own romantic fairy tale world, but must learn how to use his fertile imagination to help his son survive their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.

Catfish and Mandala

My father gave this book to me long before. But still I am not able to read this book completely. because the vocabulary used by the author is very difficult to understand.

This book is written by Andhrew X Pham. Catfish and Mandala is a raw memoir of the authors quest to understand his identity as a transplanted Vietnamese in the American society as well as his identity as a Vietnamese American in his native Vietnam. The story hinges on Pham's attempt to bicycle his way from California, around the Pacific Rim, through Japan and finally through his homeland covering the stretch of the American-built Highway 1 from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) to Hanoi.

Catfish and Mandala jumps between Pham’s narrative of his journey, his escape from Vietnam upon the fall of Saigon (now HCMC) and his childhood in the United States. The book is interspersed with details of his family’s struggle against racism and language barriers.