Pan Tech - The Technology Blog

I’ve observed in many forums, people often debating on whether the OTA (over-the-air) HDTV antennas are worth it. The Free HDTV signals can be received by tv antennas, and you don’t really have to pay for the reception, while you pay a lot for the Paid HDTV signals. A number of questions regarding the OTA HDTV antennas have remained unanswered - like HDTV Antenna DIY (How do you do it yourself), using the HDTV antenna indoor or outdoor, how to direction the antenna etc. I came across this informative site & forum specifically on HDTV antennas. May be it’ll help you too!

If by any chance you want to block the access to a specific website from your computer, Windows provides you the way to do this by editing the hosts file. This way you’ll be able to put aside websites you no longer want to be accessed from your computer.

The file is located in ‘C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc’ and can be accessed with Notepad. Browse to Start – All Programs – Accessories, right click on Notepad and select “Run as Administrator”. Use the File – Open option and browse to the host.ini location and then select and open the file in Notepad.

You’ll notice that there’s some content in this file. You don’t need to change anything, just add the following line, or lines, at the end of the existing content:

127.0.0.1 www.blocked-website1.com

You can block as many websites as you want but keep in mind that the host.ini file shouldn’t get to big.

This method can be used to block websites on Windows XP, Windows Vista & Windows 7.

I’d like to blog about one of the exciting games I’ve played - Diablo & specifically Diablo 2.

Diablo 2 being the unique and having an exclusive replay value is in demand very much even after the introduction of Diablo 3. Diablo II provides a lot of options with regards to the new characters.There are 4 acts in Diablo II and also the character has to clear the three levels that are Normal, Nightmare and Hell.

Diablo 2 items are categories of items that help the character in the game are. These d2 items can be found and collected by the player character for sale or use purpose. These items are gathered by killing the monster or by opening the chest or by breaking container or crafting in the Horadric Cube.

Disable Autorun or Autoplay option on Windows XP/ Windows Vista

The CD Autorun feature has the task to pop-up a dialog box every time you insert a new disk in your DVD-ROM drive. Disabling CD Autorun can make your operating system best fit your needs if the dialog box appearance bothers you. I’ll show you how to disable it in seconds using the GPEDIT editor on your Windows XP/Vista.
First of all you have to use the “RUN” command by pressing both Windows Key and “R” key in the same time. Now you have to type “MSEDIT.MSC” in the Run dialog and press the “Enter” key. Navigate to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates and System, localize “Turn autoplay off”, right click on it and select “disable”. Using the same method you can enable the feature if it’s disabled.

How to disable the User Account Control (UAC) feature on my Windows Vista or Windows 7? How to Disable user Account control notification? Disable User Account control warning?

Windows Vista / Windows 7 has some build-in features that sometimes can be considered as annoying.  For example the User Account Control prompt - that’s designed to reduce the potential of security issues - can slow you down while you’re using your computer. The problem persists even if you’re logged like a system administrator, not only as a user with no privileges.

The UAC feature can be disabled and there are many ways to do this. If the only reason why you want to disable it is that you want to get rid of the extra clicks that this feature requires we suggest that it’s better you don’t do that.

The fastest way to disable UAC is to use MSCONFIG:

- press Windows Key + R

- type “MSCONFIG” in the run menu

- click on “Tools” tab and select the “Disable UAP” option

- reboot the computer

The feature can also be re-enabled using similar technique.

Recently, this problem became a regular one as a big number of computer viruses disable this option “Show Hidden Files” on your Windows Vista operating system. The option disappears from the “Folder Options” dialog and it seems like there’s nothing left to do.  Not being able to see the hidden files and folders on your computer can be an issue that endangers the security of your data.

Now, the solution:

The best you can do is to perform a virus and spy ware scan on your computer but there’s a good chance that the option would still be unavailable. However, you can restore the option by doing a Manual Registry Tweak.

Open the “RUN” box by pressing Windows key + R. Type “regedit” and then navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden.

Locate the key named “Type” and change it’s value to “group”. This will fix your problem and you’ll be able to use the “Show Hidden Files and Folders” option on your Windows Vista.

Do you get this error in your Windows PC or Laptop :

SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk 0

WARNING: Immediately back-up your data and replace
your hard disk drive. A failure may be imminent.

Press F1 to continue

This error is generated by the SMART (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology). SMART is a feature of your Hard Disk Drive (HDD) that continuously monitors & records your HDD activities like read errors, power on cycles etc. Basically, based on this it determines the state of your Hard Disk, and compares it with that of the  failed disks in the past. Therefore it gives an idea into the possibility of your disk’s failure.

SMART Failure Predicted on Hard Disk 0 - So what does this Imply?

If you systems shows this error, it means that there is a 50-60% chance that your HDD may crash. The crash can happen anytime - within the next few days or even months. In some cases, the systems continue to run for years without problem.

However, in your own interest it is best to back up your important data. If your system is under warranty, it is best to get the Hard disk drive replaced for not cost. Otherwise, it is still best to replace your hard disk, unless a system failure doesn’t cost you much!

There are a lot of questions concerning the “must have software” for Windows XP. Anyone should have a certain list with the main programs which are going to be installed right after the operational system have been renewed and refreshed. These are specific software called “must-to-have” for real among PC owners. Without having these extremely useful programs around, you‘re not going to be that satisfied when operating on your computer. Anti-viruses, Anti-Spyware, Firewalls, ITunes, VLC or any other preferred media player, Picasa, Irfan View, Adobe Reader, browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome, Office Pack (Word, Excel, Power Point), Outlook Express or ThunderBird for e-mail services and the list can continue; these are some of the primal software that should help your PC work properly and  so become your best companion.

Protection is the most important for any computer connected to the Internet. Definitely, the Anti-Virus is a “must”! There are different products on the market that can secure your machine from Worms, Trojans and hijackers. Another helpful advice is that after installing Zone Alarm, you should make sure that the Windows Firewall is disabled. Some of the more mainstream spyware removers include AdAware, Spybot Search & Destroy and Microsoft AntiSpyware. CCleaner also helps speed up your system. Extra defragmenters, disk-keepers, disk consolidation programs, recovery software and many other maintainers are good to be installed on your computer, for unpredicted emergencies.

Java Software is also a must-to-have for playing YouTube clips and other online movies. Acrobat Reader is necessary for PDF’s but you can also go for Cute PDF which is going to help you a lot. Norton Commander can be useful too for moving large files from a directory to, faster and easier. Music players and digital media/podcasting software like iTunes, media players such as VLC, Media Player Classic Homecinema, BSPlayer, Real Player, Winamp etc. are also to be considered. After all there can be no party without this kind of software! Archive operators (.zip, .rar), text editors, image editors (Picasa, Irfan View etc.) are good to have, just because Paint has only basic editing features like crop, resize and a few others that cannot substitute a full professional Photo Editing Pack.

WinRAR and WinZIP are well-needed upgrades for Windows XP’s compressed folders. UltraISO or DAEMON Tools are also strong applications for dealing with ISO images. Nero or any other CD-burning programs are highly necessary for writing a compact disk or a dvd on your own. There are several extra software which aren’t exactly a must for Windows XP but rather optional: KeePass for keeping a safe password database, Google Earth, Camtasia Studio (excellent screencasting software), video studios, Registry Cleaner, video converters, Power DVD and so on.

From now on, every time you will format your PC, accidentally or not, you’ll have the list with all the main applications and software that should be installed on your computer. It is important to permanently keep your machine under protection, set strong filters for suspicious web-sites and put up for de-fragmentation and re-consolidation of your hard-disk once a month. Some specially designed software for maintaining a constant cooler’s temperature can also be considered a “must-to-have” program if you care enough for your PC.

I found this site to send free sms to India. It allows upto 15 free SMS per day, with a free registration. Best of all, they provide Delivery Reports for the SMS sent from their system!

In my experience this is a pretty good service with fast delivery of SMS.  So, if you’re looking to send free sms to India from anywhere in the world this should help. Here’s the link again : Spicesms.com

It has become a popular complaint from owners of Nokia N73, that the battery of the N73 phone swells or bloats after a few months of usage. Infact, other phones like Nokia N77, Nokia N93 also exhibit this character. The truth is, all these phones carry the BP-6M Model Battery and this defective battery swells over time.

The BP-6M batteries are actually used in a wide range of Nokia Phones.  Nokia has reportedly announced that the battery swelling issue hasn’t affected the functioning of the phone or the battery.

Other models that were affected by this issue include Nokia 3250, Nokia 6151, Nokia 6233, Nokia 6234, Nokia 6280, Nokia 6288, Nokia 9300, Nokia 9300i, Nokia N73, Nokia N73 Music Edition, Nokia N77 or Nokia N93. The owners of these phones with defective batteries can get the batteries replaced with new ones for free from the nearest Nokia service center, according to the sources.