I had to post about this because I couldn’t renew the domain name around a month and half ago and it was made available in the deleted domains list like other expired domains by name.com which is my domain registrar. From there it was probably picked up by a domain squatter and now hosts some pregnancy related niche site. I exchanged some emails with the new registrant,who hails from Indonesia as the whois record for the domain states and he asked for 10x the cost of the new .com registrations which is undoubtedly too much for a domain name that I did not utilize much apart from just registering it.

So if you land up on the site any time later please do not think that it is run by me. And yes, I don’t suggest you to visit the site now in a new tab to look for the content that is present on it

If in future there happen to be any settlements on this matter I will update the post accordingly.

I No Longer Own the Domain SagarGholap.com is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Here are some important points this info graphic includes -

• Due to the internet, everything is just a click away. And it’s the reason why we don’t go to library anymore for writing a paper.
• We no longer encode information internally as we look up information quickly on the search engines available 24 hours a day.
• We no longer memorize the information, instead the place or the internet address where we found it.

This is how Google affects memory -

Do you have anything to say? I encourage you to share your views through comments.

Credit : Online Colleges

How Google Affects Memory? is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

With Dropbox, you can store your files on their servers securely and you will be able to access them almost anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. There’s even more. You can access your files on your smartphones through Dropbox mobile application which supports the iOS, Android and Blackberry platform.

Now let’s answer some of the questions which arise.

Wait. What? My files will be stored on  their servers? Is that safe?

Yes. Dropbox stores your files on their servers securely using the AES-256 standard. Such standards are used by banks to secure customer data which contain confidential information.

Is it free? I don’t want to pay for backing up a 100 files.

Well, its not completely free, but you can utilize 2GB of space with the basic plan. That’s more than enough for storing most documents and pictures. If you need more storage, they have additional plans.

How can I upload my documents or files to Dropbox? And how can I get them back?

The detailed process is explained below. But for your information, files on your Dropbox can be accessed through your web browser, their Desktop application as well as the mobile applications for iOS, Android and Blackberry smartphones.

How to Backup your Files on Dropbox

[Recommended : Take the Dropbox Tour]

Backing up your data to Dropbox is easy.

If your files do not change very often then uploading them through your web browser will be much more easier. Just open https://www.dropbox.com and login with your account details. If you haven’t signed up yet, look for link that lets you sign up on the same webpage.

Once you login, you will be able to get started with the helpful tips which appear on the screen.

The above method was good if the documents or files weren’t changed frequently. But now in this case installing the standalone application on your Computer will be much helpful. First install the Dropbox application for your Computer and complete the setup providing the details to your newly created account. If you are using Windows XP, you will now see a new folder in your My Documents labelled as My Dropbox and a new taskbar icon in the bottom. Opening the folder you will see the files which are currently in your Dropbox account.

Now in this folder, you can create any number of folders and add as many files as you want directly and they will be automatically uploaded to your Dropbox account online. They will also be available instantly through the web based panel while accessed through a web browser.

Don’t you think Dropbox has a simplified solution to a problem faced by many of us? Share your views with me through comments.

Beginner’s Guide : Back Up Your Data With Dropbox is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Reliance on telephone land lines and costly wired installation for security systems is now a thing of the past. There’s now a completely new world of security capabilities that allow the synchronization of home security systems to smart phones and personal computers.

Each of these high tech capabilities offers new and exciting options for consumers purchasing a home security system. With newly enhanced affordability and technological ease, these home security choices allow many cost effective consumer choices, as well as providing a more thorough integration of home security systems with other household technology, like a personal computer or smart phone.

These new high tech innovations shape the ability for a consumer to monitor and operate a home security system from any location. All smart phone or web-enabled cell phone can be used to operate and control security systems: iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. The phone essentially operates as a remote control device and lets home owners issue arm and disarm commands from any place there’s a cell signal.

With many home owners now opting out of a hard wired land line, going cell-only now means that home owners can still utilize a fully integrated home security system. Mobile-based security systems versus land line based systems can save money on your phone bill or provide additional support to a land-line system if service disruptions occur. Switching between both types of phone contact is no longer unique. These parallel mobile security contacts are common and simple to employ today.

Using a mobile platform, consumers can also see live and recorded footage from home security cameras, as well as monitoring for any open windows or unlocked doors, checking on lighting systems and movement sensors, or even researching security history stored in a system up to sixty days.

Additional technological advances in home security all rely on integrated, smart systems that easily connect to your computer or home entertainment system. Activation of these systems can be made from any Internet-capable device, and so can monitoring of the entire home security system from burglary alarm to safety alarms that monitor heating systems, lighting systems,  household hazards as broken pipes or water leaks, and even furnace failure..

Additionally, technological capabilities now allow security systems to interface with closed circuit cameras, and central control units.

The increasing use of wireless over wired security and alarm systems allows a wireless connection that uses radio frequencies to connect alarm components to a central monitoring system. Going wireless cuts down on installation time and cost, and can often provide a more accurate service. For example, wireless security systems can be set into a variety of secure zones. These zones create simpler monitoring, allowing monitoring companies to find the exact location of any problems, and reduce the number of false alarms as well.

Frequently, these wireless systems utilize sensors that can recognize both vibration and audio. This combination also creates a more accurate read on a situation. For example, a rumbling garbage truck or a climbing feline could trigger a shock sensor in a window, but the acoustical device will ascertain the fact that no glass has been broken or forced entry occurred — reducing greatly the incidence of false alarms.

All of these new security system technologies are a great benefit for the consumer interested in purchasing a home security system, in terms of convenience, capability, and cost.

Guest post by Jeremy Kushner who blogs at Home Alarm Systems.

Recent Advances in Home Security Technology is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Tips for a Faster Computer

Clean out your system

There are many free programs that will clean up your computer for you, but which one is the best? Well, CCleaner is the quickest and easiest programs I’ve found that really cleans up everything. It can also check your registry once it erases documents, so that is a plus.

Defragment your hard drive

Defragmenting your hard drive used to be the slowest thing ever. Not anymore. With programs like Defraggler, it is now quicker than ever to put all your files in order. It will save your computer seconds of memory retrieval time, which adds up to big things.

Use a PC Optimization software

There are many computer optimization software available in the market today. But only a selective of them are good. One of them being Glary Utilities. Try the free version of the software and you would notice the difference immediately.

Delete unnecessary plug ins

When you download new programs, many times they come with optional plug ins. Delete them. Usually they don’t help you and are not used very often, so don’t keep them around. The more you get rid of, the faster your computer will run.

Switch to a Modern Web Browser

Switching browsers is a great, easy way to speed up your computer. Forget the old standby, the newest browsers work much better and faster. My favorite is Google Chrome and Firefox. Internet Explorer 9 is good too. They are free and quick to install, so why wait?

Update frequently

Some slowdown is caused by old systems. Make sure you update your computer regularly. Most computers update every time they are closed down, but if you leave your computer up all the time, you need to check manually for updates to the system. Don’t get left behind, check on updates frequently and keep your computer running fast and safe.

No matter what kind of computer you have, PC or Mac, Tablet or Mobile device, you can have it running faster and safer if you just do these six easy things. Try them today and see how much your speed can be improved.

Editor’s Note:

This was a Guest post by Nancy Parker.

6 Tips for a Faster Computer Experience is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Since both the companies use the same type of technology the connection settings are quite similar to each other.

Setup ADSL modem to work in PPPoE mode

• Once you finish connecting the cables properly(refer the user guide if you are not able to), power the modem. At this point I consider everything is connected properly and you can see the LED for DSL link lighten up and stable like the rest.
• Now open you web browser, type http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar and hit enter. You will be prompted for username and password. For most ADSL modem available the default combination is admin / admin. If it doesn’t accept these please consult the document that came in the modem packaging.
• Now once logged in this is what you will see -

• Now in the left sidebar of the screen, navigate to Advanced Setup >> Wan

On the right, click on Add to continue.

• You will have to set the values for VPI / VCI here which are 0 / 35 for BSNL and MTNL. For older connections it was as 0 / 32.

• Select the radio button which states PPPoE and click on Next button.

• On this page make sure you have the correct username and password for your connection. Ask your local service office if you haven’t got it yet. If later you are having connection issues regarding wrong PPP username – password then this is the step where you will have to change it.

• Select the options for turning on the router firewall as well as that for NAT and proceed by going ahead with Next button.

• This is the last step where you will be shown a summary of the settings you have just made using the steps above. If it all looks good proceed with the Save button and let the router reboot / restart once. Once it does, it will connect your computer to your isp which could be either BSNL or MTNL and you can experience the faster connection speeds of broadband internet access.

If you aren’t getting connected go back to the step where you think you have made a wrong selection and then follow the next step as given above.

Were you able to setup ADSL modem in PPPoE mode reading the above tutorial? Did you face any issues? If so, please leave your comment below and I will get back to you. If you like this tutorial please do share it using your social profiles on Facebook, Twitter or even Email your friends. Thank you.

Setup BSNL ADSL Modem Router to Work in PPPoE Mode is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

A DNS server translates a domain name address like aspiredtechie.com in to an internet protocol address (IP address) 69.45.22.123 which represents a unique system hosting the website on the internet.

Every system connecting to the internet has a DNS server in between which does this translation for you. By default, your internet connection uses the DNS server your internet service provider runs. The time it takes to resolve a domain name in to an IP address by any of the DNS server matters a lot. And if your ISP’s DNS server is slow don’t be sad because you can switch to another public DNS service which resolves your DNS queries quickly.

Why a Fast DNS server Matters?

If you have understood the above task of the DNS server, you would have understood the need of this translation taking place within a snap and in the least possible time.

Obviously, if this first stage of page loading takes time then it is going to take time to load up the entire website.

Public DNS Services

OpenDNS – Unlike other DNS services, OpenDNS answers your queries from the server closest to your location. Additionally, the DNS requests for frequently visited sites are cached at their end which make other requests to the same address responded quickly through cache.

OpenDNS offers useful features like automatic web address correction as well as Family Shield which protects from adult websites being accessed from a Open DNS using network. This will be much more helpful if you want to make sure your children are protected from inappropriate content on the web or block adult websites completely using Family Shield.

OpenDNS operates on the following ip addresses :

• 208.67.222.222
• 208.67.220.220

OpenDNS Family Shield ip addresses :

• 208.67.222.123
• 208.67.220.123

Google Public DNS – This service was launched in late 2009 and is in beta. As per my observations it loads all the Google products quite faster in comparison to other DNS services. Although it does not yet provide any additional features which Open DNS includes, it isn’t a bad choice to use it as your alternate DNS server.

Google public dns uses the following ip addresses :

• 8.8.8.8
• 8.8.4.4

Setup DNS On Your Windows Computer

Changing your DNS server is quite easy. If you would like to know your current DNS server before switching to any of the above services, you can do so by using the command : ipconfig /all in Command Prompt. You will see your current DNS server under “DNS”.

Switching to one of the DNS server above is up to you or instead you could use OpenDNS as your preferred dns while keeping Google DNS as your alternate dns.

Steps to change your Domain Name Server on your Windows Computer :

1) Open ‘Network Connections’ via control panel in Windows XP or ‘Network & Sharing Center’ in Windows 7.

You will then see network icons for various connection types in Windows XP. For Windows 7 click on ‘Change Adapter Settings’ and you see similar icons for connections in Windows 7.

2) Now right-click on the one you use primarily and select Properties.

3) Under Networking tab, double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4).

4) You will see your current ip address and related settings. Look below to find the DNS server settings. Now change that with any of the above public DNS services and save them. Do not forget to write down your current DNS servers provided by your isp to revert back if anything goes wrong.

5) Now power on your connection hardware and you are all set to experience the web with public DNS services like OpenDNS, Google Public DNS (or a combination of both).

Did you notice any changes after changing your DNS servers? Do let me know through comments below.

Why Should You Use a Public DNS Server like Open DNS, Google Public DNS? is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Apple, just like some other big names out there, has been able to strike a chord with its customers but over the course of years, it has also been able to significantly increase its market share in the mobile industry which is becoming an increasing competitive market. Given the current popularity and status of iPhone, it is over whelming to imagine that the phone only came out in 2007. It’s been successful, all right. But how did Apple do it? Here’s apple marketing strategy!

Presentations

If there is one area where Apple beats all other industrial giants such as Microsoft, Nokia or even Samsung hands down, it is the presentations. Each time Apples goes into producing any new product, the whole world stops and zooms in to analyze and counter-analyze the specs of the upcoming products. Despite having plenty to share, Apple chooses the simplest route and that is of addressing the general public.

As far as I am concerned, Steve Jobs alone can give all tycoons a run for their money. The man, other than being a genius, speaks a language a common person right off the street can understand and that is the beauty of just about any given Apple Presentation, which is meant as much for the general public as it is meant for the media.

Brand Loyalty

Apple Inc. was founded only a year after Microsoft, at the moment it is on the pinnacle of its popularity and success. Unlike most of its rivals, Apple especially is not known to care for the budget of a commoner. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that Apple, ever since it’s foundation, has only targeted a certain brand conscious class. For that very reason, none of the products of Apple are meant to fall within the budget of a normal man but more and more people are covetous of Apple products than ever before, since it is established to represent a certain ‘class’. Apple fever proved to be an epidemic and now it has spread far and wide.

Take the example of Nokia on the other hand. It manufactures all kinds of phones, not just the ones meant to drill some major holes in your pockets (and purses). Despite being economical as well as reliable, Nokia has lost significant market share to Apple, the brand that refuses to lower its prices. More and more people are changing their loyalties in favor of a brand that comes with a promise of delivering or more importantly, enrolling them in ‘the class’.

Effective Advertisement

Apple has successful employed the same strategy here as well. In its advertisement campaign, rather than challenging people’s intellect and throwing all kinds of computing or mobile jargons at them, Apple sticks to the basic. The latest ad campaign for iPhone 4, rather than concentrating on its oh-so-powerful processors simply magnifies some of its very basic functions such as improved picture quality and email experience.

From presentations to advertisements, Apple’s marketing strategy has been in a language people can understand and that is definitely one of the biggest reasons why they are so successful in every thing they do.

Marketing Strategy – How Apple reinforces that Simpler is Better? is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Microsoft Download Manager helps us download the files we need in the easiest way, avoiding unnecessary hiccups which arise in our daily surfing and downloading tasks.

The Microsoft Download Manager enables you to download files simply and easily. It also makes downloading large files such as application and multimedia files quick and reliable.

This download manager does not need any complicated settings and a few clicks will get you download your next huge file easily. One thing to note about MDM is that it only supports http file downloads. So if you are wondering that you can now download files from a resource which requires FTP, please look for some other manager as this won’t do the work.

To run and use this software program by Microsoft, you will be needing to have the following system configuration.

System Requirements :

• Operating system – Windows XP service pack 3, Vista service pack 2 and Windows 7

• Web browsers – Internet Explorer 6 and later versions, Mozilla Firefox 3.6

Download Microsoft Download Manager

A Simple, Free Download Manager by Microsoft is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.

Here I have listed 2 apps which you can use on your Android phone for getting the most out of it.

Battery Booster

Battery power is the most important factor which needs to be managed properly. Based on system specifications, Battery Booster provides the most accurate information on your battery charge, which includes the real-time battery capacity, temperature, voltage, etc. An auto-updating live chart allows you to visually track your battery usage. This free & useful app has been brought up by DownloadAndroid.info.

Features:

• Battery Status monitor and tracking
• Shortcuts to Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/Screen Brightness/Screen Timeout settings
• Settings to turn off Wi-Fi/Bluetooth when device is locked
• Settings to turn off Wi-Fi/Bluetooth when your battery is low
• Settings to enable beep and select beep tone when your battery is low
• Calibration for enhancing battery life span
• Smart battery saver task manger
• Security level selection(Low level to save more battery,or high level to keep system more stable)

Download Battery Booster

Memory Booster

Memory Booster is a powerful mobile Memory & RAM boosting tool specially designed for Android Smart phone users. It is a handy memory optimizer tool that will keep your Android Smart phone running faster and efficiently. It increases your cell phone’s performance by making more memory available for both your applications and the mobile system.

Features:

• Memory Status Report and Manager
• One Click Quick Boost
• Auto Boost interval
• Task Killer
• Boost level manager & White list Manager

Download Memory Booster

Do you use or know of an app which you think is useful like the ones above? If yes, I’d like to know them. Please give your inputs through comment form below.

Android Apps to Increase Performance is a post by Sagar Gholap on Aspired Techie.