Oh, Windows. You inform and entertain us. You are inescapable, and your Start menu is full of items relevant to our productivity. You move us. Sort of. To be honest, we’re not sure what sort of state this fair planet of ours would be in without the ruggedly functional operating systems the folks at Redmond have handed to us over the years, and while Windows Vista might have proved that Microsoft wasn’t invincible, it did nothing to demonstrate that Windows as an idea — and for most, a necessity — was at all in jeopardy.

Windows 7 arrives on the scene three short years after Vista, shoring up its predecessor’s inadequacies and perhaps offering a little bit more to chew on. We’ve been playing with the OS ever since the beta, along through the release candidate, and now at last have the final, “release to manufacturing” (RTM) edition in our grubby paws. Does it live up to its understandable hype and the implicit expectations of a major Microsoft release? Let’s proceed on a magical journey to discover the truth for ourselves. (more…)

The art of portraiture, once reserved for the rich, the royal and the holy, has found a new mass appeal online.

Matt Held is painting 200 Facebook photos and giving them to the subjects.

Some avid social-network users are commissioning artists to create small digital images to represent themselves in the online world. Other Internet-savvy people use automated computer programs and Web sites to generate posterized likenesses of themselves.

Matt Held, a 38-year-old painter in Brooklyn, New York, has gained Internet celebrity for painting peoples’ Facebook photos and then giving them to his subjects. And some identity researchers are trying to take the online portrait beyond images of people’s faces entirely.

All of these efforts underscore the fact that tiny images, often no bigger than a postage stamp, have become stand-ins for peoples’ identities online.

On the Web, people can recreate themselves in any way they choose.

(more…)

(CNN) — Facebook has announced it is to overhaul its privacy settings to make it clearer for users to know who has access to their personal data.

The news follows an investigation into the privacy policy of the social networking site by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner.

The social networking site has agreed to make changes that it believes will provide its users with greater transparency and control over their personal information and how it is used.

“These changes mean that the privacy of 200 million Facebook users in Canada and around the world will be far better protected,” said Canada’s Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart in a press statement.

In July Stoddart issued an initial report on an investigation into Facebook that followed a complaint from a privacy advocacy group, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa.

The main concerns highlighted by the report were the lack of clarity over privacy settings and how much personal information is shared with third-party developers of applications such as games and quizzes.

(more…)

Google webmaster tools are an important suite of functions for most webmasters today. The tools assist webmasters to manage their site effectively, and further analyze their website for promoting it in the correct manner. Google has just released a “Summer Shine” update for their Webmaster tools and introduced new features. 

Google webmaster tools were updated with four new features. They are:

Search your domains
Once you login to Google’s webmaster tools, the site selector will list all verified sites that you own. It further allows you to search for the domains easily. Only verified sites will be listed and available here. The verifcation process involves having the webmaster to include a chunk of code into the website index page, as a guarantee that they are the actual webmaster of the website, and have access to the website.

Block Non-home page site links

This feature will enable you to block non-home page site links in the Google search engine results page. For instance, if you have links in the website’s secondary pages such as news, latest events, resource, etc and and you want to block the display of the specific page’s site link e.g. www.site123.com/resources, you can do it with this feature.

URL removal requests of your site

In this latest version, if a webmaster has removed your website URL, you can revoke the URL removal request easily. In the past, if your website URL has already been removed by mistake, it was extremely difficult to undo the request.

Improved navigation on the home page

Google has enhanced its homepage to allow users to identify at a glance - which sites have been verified, and those that have not.

Update your Google Webmaster Tools with the latest version today!

Peekaboo is a new Indoor Children’s Playground. ComnetSolutions was tasked at creating the Corporate Identity and corporate website for the new business.

ComnetSolutions incorporated many illustrations to incorporate a child-like atmosphere throughout the entire website.  A Content management module were also developed to allow client to update their news and announcements to provide updated information to their clients.

The overall site was simple and user friendly with a quirky design to it.

Click here to launch site.

Speech-Language and Hearing Association Singapore (SHAS) approached ComnetSolutions to come up with a robust website with a fresh design that can add value to their organization and practitioners alike. The website was developed with ComnetSolutions’ customized proprietary Content Management modules which allowed them to update their events, news and other portions of the site easily via a password protected administration section.

A membership portal was also done up to allow their members to log in to view the members directory, research information, photos, forums and articles. These enhancements are incorporated to add value to the SHAS members and allow a platform for greater collaboration amongst themselves.

Utilizing the VWO grant from NCSS, SHAS got a website which is in line with their identity, and aligned with their objectives and requirements.

Click here to launch site.

I came across an interesting article, which i would like to share with all of you. In essence, they are tips on improving your web connection speeds just by tweaking a few simple settings. Read on for them!

1. Say no to reserve bandwidth
By default, a Windows XP computer sets aside 20 percent of your bandwidth for the Operating System (OS). To undo the setting:
a) Go to Start and click on Run. Type “gpedit.msc” in the Run box. This will show up the Group Policy Editor.
b) Click on Computer Configuration, followed by Administrative Templates and then Network on the left navigation bar.
c) Then select QOS Packet Scheduler. Right click on Limit reservable bandwidth and select properties.
d) The message “not configured” pops up, but this doesn’t mean that no bandwidth is reserved. The default setting is hidden. To undo it, manually set reserve bandwidth to 0 percent.
e) You can do this by clicking enabled and then setting the bandwidth limit to 0. Then click Ok to exit.

2. Optimise TCP/IP settings
a) Download a nitty piece of freeware called SG TCP Optimizer. This sets up the best way your PC sends and receives data packets for improved connection speeds. You do not need to install the software. To run the program, go to http://www.speedguide.net/downloads.php and double-click the icon.
b) A window will pop up. Under the General Settings tab, drag the slider to match your connection’s download speed. Then select the Optimal Settings radio button at the bottom of this popup and click Apply Changes.
c) Another window will pop up. Make sure the Backup box is ticked and then click Ok. You’ll be asked to reboot your system for the changes to take effect.

That’s it, you are done! Enjoy the zippy Internet speeds.

Google, the undisputed leader of the Internet world, turns 10! Google was co-founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were students at Stanford University. Google was first incorporated as a privately held company 10 years ago on the 4th of September 1998.

Google progressed and continued its growth through new product developments, acquisitions and partnerships. According to Wikipedia, Environmentalism, Philantrophy and Positive employee relations have been important tenets during the growth of Google. Testament to this, Google launched www.project10tothe100.com which is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible.Users have until 20th October to submit ideas within the domains of: Community, Opportunity, Energy, Environment, Health, Education, Shelter and Others. Google will be committing $10 million to implement these projects, and their goal is to help as many people as possible.

VIew the website www.project10tothe100.com and pen your ideas which can change the world today!
Kudos to Google!