Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tips to extend your Android device battery life


The general principal of saving your battery is to get ride of the apps that are draining your battery the most. Tweaks here and there will do the trick.

Read on for tips on how to maximize your Android battery life that may be applicable to all other smartphones as well.

Note:
Head to Settings – About Phone – Battery to see what exactly is killing your Android battery life.

Use the guide, after the break, to determine your worst offenders.

Use the power widget on Android to easily toggle your brightness, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS settings

Adjust your screen brightness manually by going into Settings – Display – Brightness.

This is usually the biggest problem that is eating you Android battery life.
Screen timeout values should be set to turn off quickly as well.

WiFi can speed up accessing data but it can also eat up a huge portion of your Android battery life.

To enable airplane mode: Settings – Wireless & Networks – Airplane mode.


    Another option is to set your WiFi on timeout which is found in a semi-hidden Advanced WiFi management screen.
    Head on to your WiFi settings tab and then press the menu button.
    From there you can select a timeout option for the WiFi connection.

    There is no reason to have your Bluetooth running if you’re not on headset.
    Disable it by going to Settings – Wireless & Networks – Bluetooth

    Having navigation enabled on your Android will suck the battery out fast.
    GPS is considered the Monster Power-Drainer of all smartphones.
    Unchecking the option Use GPS satellites might be less accurate but it will save you a lot of Android battery life.

Disable apps on Android phone that Sync Constantly and save battery life


    Do you really need to be pinged to every Email, tweet or status update?
    Open your Email, Facebook and Twitter apps and change the frequency of updates to maybe an hour.

    You can always hit the refresh button anytime if you really can’t help it.

Remove Apps/Home Screen Widget  that you don’t use and extend battery life on android.


    What’s the point of having them there if you never use them?
    Head on to Settings – Applications – Manage Application and click the uninstall button to kill those unnecessary apps.

    Same rule goes to your loads and loads of useless widgets. Be careful not to delete those you really need though!

Disable Animated Wallpaper on Android phone and save battery life.

    It may look nice, but these animations are power-hungry apps that are stealing your Android battery Life!

    Also, OLED-versioned phones use more energy when displaying brighter and whiter colors.
    Opt for a dark or even Gothic wallpaper-look to save those extra battery minutes.

Place your smartphone somewhere with good reception


    When your smartphone keeps on searching for a connection, your phone uses more power.
    Put it on your desk on near windows to notice the difference.

Take little Care of your Battery and save battery life.

    Try to avoid placing both your smartphone and battery in places that are too hot whenever possible.
    You might end up needing to replace your battery a lot quicker if you don’t do so.

    The old advice that you will need to completely drain you battery to ensure proper orientation is not applicable anymore.
    Regularly charge them and keep them toggled up so that they can perform better.

Buy an in-car charger to extend your battery talk time.

If worst comes to worst, buy an in-car charge and just leave it in the car.
Buy a spare one and leave it in your dad’s car.

Not only spare chargers but USB cables should be everywhere as well.

It might sound as a hassle but it might be your lifeline in emergency situations.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Tips to bring computer to normal state when it freezes or hangs up.


Sometimes when you are in the middle of someting and suddenly your computer hangs or freezes. You are left with no other option than to restart your computer directly. But the only problem is, you have not saved your work! Don’t panic! There is a solution for that! And you can surely save your file! Here’s how:
First keep on pressing “Num Lock” key until your Operating system is back to normal state. This releases the processor from any busy process. If this doesn’t work then follow the below ten tips to bring you computer back to normal state when it is struck.
1. Click on “ctrl-alt-delete” keys. The windows task manager will then open, click on all programs that you don’t need and end the task. You will see that all programs on your taskbar will close one by one. If this will resolve the issue! – then save!
(Tip 1: if you’re working on an MS Office application, it will automatically save your file in case the programs suddenly shut down —
Tip 2: always save your file at least every 2 minutes by just simply clicking on the “diskette icon”— its just one click!)
2. If it did not resolve the issue, are there some users logged on that computer? If so, go to switch user (for XP) and log off that user, go back to your log on screen and log on again. The reason the computer hang up is because if there are many open programs and applications, these retains in the memory, if it is too much for the memory to handle, it freezes! Another reason too the computer hang up is because if you are connected to the internet via dial up, and you are running too many applications and opening many websites. So I suggest, if you are multimedia user or a heavy internet user, then you are better off with a higher memory, at least 512Mb of memory. There are simple ways to avoid computer to freeze or hang up:
3. Clean your history at least once a week >tools>internet options>clear history. Normally set history to “0”, meaning, when you restart my computer, it doesn’t save history pages that you have visited
4. Delete all internet temporary files >tools>internet options>delete files (do the “offline” content too!)
5. Delete cookies (some do not do this, but I do delete cookies at least once a week!) >tools>internet options>delete cookies
6. Remove unnecessary programs that you no longer use they are just occupying space and memory! >control panel>add/remove programs
7. Do defragmentation at least once a week >point the mouse to “start” button, then right click “explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (which is usually the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>defragment now
8. You can also check the logical drive’s volume for errors >point the mouse to “start” button, then right click “explore”>right click the mouse pointing to drive C (I repeat, is usually the main system logical drive) >properties>tools>check now
9. It is better to have only one user being logged on. Even if there are many users, make sure the user logs off after using the computer, rather than keeping it logged on and you do the switching of users. Switching users is good as long as you don’t keep all users logged on—I think that is more logical
10. Always shut down properly the computer (do NOT use the power button when turning it off!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Best Ways To Handle PC Startup And Shutdown Problems

Look at steps to resolve one of the most common Windows PC startup and shutdown errors known as DLL errors.

You may encounter a DLL error, such as the mfc80u.dll or comdlg32.dll error when you start or shutdown your Windows computer. Contrary to popular belief, DLL errors can be easily resolved and there is no need to be intimidated by them. Simply perform the following steps to fix DLL errors:

Extract the DLL file from your Windows installation disc

Some third-party software programs are known to replace Windows files, such as the comdlg32.dll file with their own DLL files. As a result, when you install such programs, you may encounter a DLL error. To fix this kind of DLL issue, extract the DLL file reported in the error message from your Windows installation disc.

Download the missing DLL file from the Internet

In case the DLL file mentioned in the error message is not a Windows file, then you can repair the missing DLL error by downloading a fresh copy of the DLL file from a trustworthy online DLL directory. Save the DLL file in its correct location. If you are not sure of this location, then you can save the DLL file in your System folder (By default, for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP the System folder is C:\Windows\System32).

Complete a malware scan

If you find that the DLL file reported in the error message is present on your computer, then chances are high that the DLL file might be corrupt.

Malware infection is the most common reason why DLL files become corrupt. This is because malware programs, such as worms and viruses manipulate and alter the contents of DLL files and make them inaccessible to other programs or processes.

To fix this issue, you should perform a malware scan on your computer using advanced antivirus and antispyware tools to remove malware from your system.

Reinstall the program that is generating the error

If a thorough malware scan does not report any presence of malware programs then one or more files of the program that is generating the DLL error may have become corrupt for some reason. To fix the error, uninstall and then reinstall the program with which you are getting the DLL error.

Install the latest drivers

The use of outdated drivers also causes DLL errors due to compatibility issues. Make sure that you use the latest drivers for your hardware devices, such as video or audio cards. You can update your device drivers manually by visiting the manufacturer’s website. However, this could be tedious and consume a lot of time. An alternate and efficient way of keeping your drivers automatically up-to-date is by using an advanced driver scanner tool.

Clean your registry

A corrupt registry is often found to be the root cause of recurring DLL errors, such as the mfcu80.dll or comdlg32.dll error. To fix DLL errors that are occurring due to registry issues, clean your Windows registry with the help of a reliable and easy-to-use registry cleaning utility.

Follow the tips listed in this article to successfully resolve DLL problems as well as enhance your computer’s performance.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

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How to increase Laptop Battery Life

It is irritating to look for a power outlet to charge your laptop battery when you are on the move. Mobile computing has transformed in recent years with better materials, amazingly smaller chips and faster processors, although there isn’t much development in the pursuit of increasing laptop battery life. You must have had those unpleasant experiences of working on a project on your laptop, and your battery dies. Here are 15 some simple yet effective tips that will help you extract the maximum out of your laptop battery.

1.Always keep your computer in “stand by mode” when it is left idle for quite long time. To set the standby mode go to “control panel” , choose “power option” and select the “power scheme”, from there select the time you wish to wait until going for stand by.

2. Keep your network card disabled as computer uses lots of power to search networks.

3. Always close all the unnecessary programs as these also consume power.

4. Learn to control the programs that run from start up. You may not have any clue about these programs running in the background. Follow the start menu, click on “run” and type “msconfig” press “enter”. Now click the “start up tab” here select the program you wish to close and keep running.

5. Condition the batteries by completely draining it’s charge and then recharging it completely. Partially charging the battery reduces battery life.

6. Regularly deferment to arrange data, this results lesser time in fetching data from hard disk. You must know the quicker hard disk moves it consumes lesser power

7. If you aren’t going to use your battery for a while then charge them to 40% and keep them in a cool place. Lithium battery‘s average age is 2-3 years and with some care its life can be increased. A

8. Try to use updated softwares and new drivers as they tend to eat lesser battery.

9. Always use original adaptor with exact specification. Any mismatch could lead to over load and damaging battery.

10. Heat and temperature could cause battery damage slowly but surely, so never leave the laptop under direct sun , or in a closed car.

11. Pause the scheduled tasks when you aren’t sure about power supply. It may be a defrag or a virus scan, but always schedule them for a time when you are near a power outlet.

12. USB devices eat out a major chunk of battery power. Remove all the unused external devices like external mouse, Wi-Fi, external speakers, PC cards, Bluetooth and iPod.

13. Never leave CD/DVD in the drives, spinning drives drains power very fast.

14. Practice to desist DVD or any other external devices when battery is on; try to shift content to virtual drives like Pismo file mount or virtual CDROM control panel or hard drive.

15. Well LCD screen is another big power drainer so set the brightness level to the lowest level possible for you to work on. This may not be necessary but I recommend you do this.

I hope you follow if not all but most of the tricks above and enjoy the battery life which you deserve.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Best keyboard shortcuts for facebook

In this article you can find info about the Facebook keyboard shortcuts and how to use them while browsing through the website.

Such keyboard shortcuts will help you easily access numerous areas of Facebook and so you can browse faster through wall posts, friends list, messages list, settings menu etc. I recommend you to try learning and using the keyboard shortcuts for your Facebook Profile. However, there will be some areas that will require you to use the ‘beloved’ mouse cursor, as there isn’t a keyboard shortcut set for every single Facebook area.

Below are the keyboard shortcut combinations that you can use to access Facebook menus faster and easier. Please note that you will have to press both keys at the same time.

Pressing:

  • Alt+1 – will take you to the Home menu.

  • Alt+2 – will take you to the Wall menu.

  • Alt+3 – will display the Friends Request List

  • Alt+4 – will show the Messages list.

  • Alt+5 – will display the Notification list.

  • Alt+6 – will display the Facebook Account settings page.

  • Alt+7 – will show the Facebook Account privacy config menu.

  • Alt+8 – will show the Facebook fans group list.

  • Alt+9 – will display the Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.

  • Alt+0 – will show the Facebook Help Center.

  • Alt+m – will allow you to create a new message.

  • Alt+? – will enable the cursor in the Search field


These are all the keyboard shortcuts that you can use to navigate easier through your Facebook profile. This will work for Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. If you’re using Firefox then you should hold the SHIFT key along with the keyboard shortcuts. That’s it. Enjoy using Facebook with these shortcuts.

How to check your facebook account is hacked or not.. By Biswajeeth.

Facebook is most popular social networking site with more than 500 million users and with so many people its easy to find some miscreants, who are dangerous to your facebook account . Recently there was a Facebook scam in which users where lured to use a javascript and their accounts were hacked and the hacker was able to update the facebook wall of the hacked account .

Facebook recently updated its security a bit more and now you can check the locations from where your account was accessed last time in your facebook account .If you see suspicious activity in your profile then you should check out if someone has hacked your account. If you have a week password then check out how to create a strong password .

To know from where your account was accessed last time ,follow these :

  • Open Facebook and go to Account-> Account Settings .



  • Now go to Account Security and click on the change link :





  • Now you can check the last login details :



Also, best feature of this is that you will email notification whenever your account is accessed is any other computer other than yours .