Sunday, July 6, 2008

How to find Windows Product Key on Windows XP CD

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If you lost your Windows XP CD Key, these is simple steps to follow;

1) Insert Windows XP cd into a working computer.
2) Exit the Autorun introduction.
3) Open "My Computer"
4) Right Click on the Windows XP cd-rom drive and select explore.
5) Open the USWXP32P_ZX folder.
6) Open the sysprep folder.
7) Open unattend.txt

Your CD's product key is contained within the unattend.txt file.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

How to download video from youtube

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YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view, and share video clips. You can easily embed you tube video to your website and blog and you can easily watch the video online. But how can you download youtube video clip to your pc, so that you can watch the video offline?
The easiest way that i found is using a website called http://kissyoutube.com.
Below is very useful guide to download youtube video clips provided by http://kissyoutube.com .



Remember to save the video in *.flv extension and must you have flv player on your pc to play the file. The flv player can be downloaded from http://applian.com/flvplayer/download_flv_player.php

FLV or flash video is a proprietary file format used to deliver video over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player (formerly known as Macromedia Flash Player) version 6, 7, 8, or 9. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. Notable users of the Flash Video format include YouTube, Google Video, Reuters.com, Yahoo! Video and MySpace.

Flash Video is viewable on most operating systems, via the widely available Adobe Flash Player and web browser plugin, or one of several third-party programs such as MPlayer, VLC media player, or any player which uses DirectShow filters (such as Media Player Classic, Windows Media Player, and Windows Media Center) when the ffdshow filter is installed.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Use your Gmail as FREE Online Storage

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I found a firefox extension recommended by friend. The extension called as GSpace. Before this, i never found such a great product like this. It's awesome. I can easily use my Gmail as a free Online Storage. I can ftp my files into my gmail account and securely access it online from my website.


Gspace turns the 2GB of your Gmail account into free online storage. With Gspace you can manage unlimited Gmail accounts to store all type of files within its simple, user friendly interface.

Listen your favourite stored music directly from your Gspace, view your collections of pictures and manage your Gdrive files as well.

Download Gspace now and transfer files between your computer and Gspace at anytime, from everywhere!


Thanks to GSpace for producing such a great tools. You can download and try it yourself from here.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

How to dynamically generate MS Word Document using ASP

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ASP or "Active Server Pages" has the ability to dynamically generate MS Words File. For those, who are familiar with ASP (the legacy technology of ASP.NET), this article will help you on how to do it. It's simple and very easy. Don't need to use any extra component.

As you can see below, the first thing we need to do is to set the correct content type of your documents which is "application/msword".
Next, is to give the ms word file name, for example technoguide.doc .

Then, write whatever your want as a document body.

To create body, style and format your MS Word file, you are freely to use HTML codes and CSS styles in your document.


<%
Response.ContentType = "application/msword"
Response.AddHeader "Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=technoguide.doc"
response.Write("mytechnoguide.blogspot.com : <a href=""http://mytechnoguide.blogspot.com"">My Techno Guide</a><br>" & vbnewline)
response.Write("<h1>Generate Online MS Word using ASP</h1>")
response.Write ("<div style=""padding:4px; font:11px arial"">We can format our MS word using CSS Style and HTML Codes.</span>")
%>



Instead of using simple HTML and CSS style, to further enhance your MS Word format, used mso style definitions. Below is the example on how to use do it:


<%
Response.ContentType = "application/msword"
Response.AddHeader "Content-Disposition", "attachment;filename=technoguide.doc"
Response.write("<html " & _
"xmlns:o='urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office' " & _
"xmlns:w='urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word'" & _
"xmlns='http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40'>" & _
"<head><>My Technoguide MS Word Documents Title</title>")

'The setting specifies document's view after it is downloaded as Print
'instead of the default Web Layout
Response.write("<!--[if gte mso 9]>" & _
"<xml>" & _
"<w:WordDocument>" & _
"<w:View>Print</w:View>" & _
"<w:Zoom>90</w:Zoom>" & _
"<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>" & _
"</w:WordDocument>" & _
"</xml>" & _
"<![endif]-->")

' Write mso style definitions class in style tag, style class can be divided by
' sections, in this example, i used Section1
' Then call your style class (Section1) in div tag

Response.write("<style>" & _
"<!-- /* Style Definitions */" & _
"@page Section1" & _
" {size:8.5in 11.0in; " & _
" margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in ; " & _
" mso-header-margin:.5in; " & _
" mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;}" & _
" div.Section1" & _
" {page:Section1;}" & _
"-->" & _
"</style></head>")

Response.write("<body lang=EN-US style='tab-interval:.5in'>" & _
"<div class=Section1>" & _
"<h1>Tips and Tricks from mytechnoguide</h1>" & _
"<p style='color:red'><I>" & _
I love my Technoguide & "</I></p>" & _
"</div></body></html>")

%>

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

DDNS, Hosting your own website with a free domain

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Let say you have your normal ISDN line or broadband internet connection with a dynamic ip address, and you have successfully setting up web server on your own pc, and you want to be able to access your home web server when you are away from home. In other words, you want to host a website or blog from your home pc without registering any domain with your ISP. The problem is, almost every ISP uses Dynamic IP addresses that change on a regular basis if you buy a basic package and how you can give domain name without registering with any domain name? The answer is using DDNS or dynamic DNS.
As i can quoted from Wiki, "Dynamic DNS is a system which allows the domain name data held in a name server to be updated in real time. The most common use for this is in allowing an Internet domain name to be assigned to a computer with a varying (dynamic) IP address. This makes it possible for other sites on the Internet to establish connections to the machine without needing to track the IP address themselves. A common use is for running server software on a computer that has a dynamic IP address, as is the case with many consumer Internet service providers."

"Dynamic DNS service is provided on a large scale by various DNS hosting services, which retain the current addresses in a database and provide a "client" program to the user which will send an update to the service whenever the server's IP address has changed. Many routers and other networking components contain a feature such as this in their firmware."

The easiest way to implement Dynamic DNS or hosting a home website is to get a cool Modem which offers a Dynamic Domain Name System (DDNS) feature.DDNS lets you assign a fixed host and domain name to a dynamic Internet IP address. It is useful when you are hosting your own website, FTP server, or other server behind the Gateway. Before using this feature, you need to sign up for DDNS service such as www.dyndns.org, a DDNS service provider.

For me i used a linksys ADSL Home Gateway. This modem is already built in with Dynamic DNS feature in its firmware. I got two choices of service to use, dydns.org and tzo.com. For me, may be mytechnoguide.dydns.org sounds good, so i chose dydns.org. The initial step is to register free dynamic dns at www.dydns.org. After register, i got my username and password that i choose before.

After login, I create a new dynamic DNS host, mytechnoguide.dydns.org. The website is automatically check my ip and record it as their reference to my new host mytechnoguide.dydns.org .
To update the IP address regularly when my ISP gives different IP address daily, I have to enable DDNS on my Linksys modem as below;


After doing this, i can test my connection by typing http://mytechnoguide.dydns.org on the browser address. Because I did not set the local PC ip for the modem/gateway to forward to, the result I got is my modem configuration page. To fix this, I have to set Port Forwarding on Modem/gateway. For example as below.



This step is to enable my modem/gateway to forward all http port 80 request to a web server with local ip address given by the gateway/dhcp router as 192.168.1.64. By doing the steps, all request at address mytechnoguide.dydns.org will be automatically forwarded to 192.168.1.64. Then, you will see the default page of your homepage/intranet at port 80.

That's all. Have a nice try.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

How to Write a Windows XP Driver

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Source: Microsoft Corporation July 2001

Summary: This document describes the steps you should take to create a Microsoft® Windows® XP driver for your device. To create a Windows XP device driver:

Install the current Windows DDK. Read the system requirements and installation instructions in the stand-alone Getting Started HTML file supplied with the DDK.

Read Getting Started with Windows Drivers. This document guides you through the planning and decision-making process involved in making a Windows device driver from design through distribution. You should also look through the DDK documentation for device-type-specific information.

The DDK documentation set has the following device-type-specific nodes:

-Battery Devices
-Display and Print Devices
-IEEE 1284.4 Devices
-Interactive Input Devices
-Modem Devices
-Multifunction Devices
-Network Devices and Protocols
-Parallel Ports and Devices
-Serial Ports and Devices
-Smart Card Devices
-Still Image Devices
-Storage Devices
-Streaming Devices (Video and Audio)
-Devices Requiring VDDs


IDE bus are described in System Support for Buses. Driver development for most device types also requires a strong understanding of Windows operating system fundamentals, which are described in Kernel-Mode Driver Architecture.

Look through the driver source code provided with the DDK for a sample that represents your device type. Use the sample code where possible, modifying it for your device's specifics.

The sample code can enhance your understanding of Windows XP driver implementation requirements and speed your development time.

Compile and build your driver. This should be done using the Build utility and not some other compiler, because the Build utility has certain features that are necessary for driver development.

Obtain a checked build of Windows XP, so that you can test and debug your driver using free and checked system builds.

The checked build of Windows XP provides extensive kernel-mode debugging capabilities not available in the free build.

Create an INF file so that you can install and test your driver.

Test and debug your driver. You should use Driver Verifier, a program that puts your driver through a variety of tests, stresses, and deliberate failures in order to test its response and reliability in many extreme situations. You should also use a debugger. Microsoft provides several powerful debuggers that can monitor and debug kernel-mode and user-mode drivers.

Using Driver Verifier in conjunction with these debuggers, on both the checked and free versions of the operating system, can be a powerful way to test your driver.

Provide an installation package so that customers can install devices that use your driver.

Submit your driver and installation package to Microsoft so that it can be digitally signed.

There are many resources available to you while developing your driver. The following sites describe some of the support available to you:

http://www.microsoft.com/ddk describes how to obtain the current DDK and provides other information, such as a driver development reading list.

http://www.microsoft.com/hwdev provides information, such as device-type-specific white papers and late-breaking news, and a list of resources available to driver developers.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/ddk contains DDK product support information.


Friday, March 23, 2007

Free Text to Speech

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In case you are very lazy to read all the words in a very long articles, I have solution for you. You don't have to read, just tell the computer to read for you.

How? The answer is your computer can talk and it can read whatever and whenever you want it.

Just find a text to speech programs available on the net. The text-to-speech programs can convert text or web documents to human speech.
There is a free programs that i found. Never have to buy it or never have to develop yourself. This programs is called Alien Speech.

Below is the screenshot of it. By installing the programs, all you have to do is copy all the text from a blog or web, and paste it into the programs.

When you click "Play All" button, the programs will read the text for you. Isn't that great?



For those who are interested, you are free to download it at, http://www.aliensoftware.co.uk/Products/Speech/Download.asp

The programs is simple, That's why its free. It just made used the available text to speech library like Microsoft Speech API.