I’m Just Being Manan

Trying out new software is something that has become much of a hobby for me. Having a hackint0sh gives you the ability to try out and get used to the Mac platform, something that works quite differently as compared to Windows. Microsoft Office 2007 is a great product, after a ‘not so well received’ Vista, Office 2007 in sharp contrast did a splendid job. Office for Mac had to deliver too, else MS would have had to deal with a huge PR disaster online. But, they delivered, Office 2008 for Mac has been well received and having a hackint0sh, [...] Continue Reading…

A multi-boot system is truly g33ky by any standards and if you have all the 3 platforms on the same machine, now that rocks! One issue that used to face a lot of times, was accessing downloaded or created files in either platform on the other platform, so began the search for accessing the different HDD formats via the different platforms. Here I shall share with you the programs and tips that will allow you to access:

Ext 2/3 & HFS+ via Windows.
NTFS & Ext 2/3 via OS X.
HFS+ & NTFS via Linux. (NTFS is available by default in leading [...] Continue Reading…

Vision without Action, is merely a dream.
Action without Vision, is just passing time.
But, Action & Vision together can change the world.
- JRD Tata.
These words of JRD Tata, sum up pretty well, what Bill Gates saw & did. He had a vision, he acted upon it. He changed the world.

There are very few moments like these, I remember it was around 6 years ago, when sitting for a mock interview I was asked by a really cute teacher of mine, who do I idolize? The answer was simple then as it is now. Bill Gates & my dad. Today, one [...] Continue Reading…

You might be knowing about the leaked screen shots of the next Windows - Windows 7, the screen shots read as Windows 7 Ultimate. I have been rubbishing those screen shots as fake ever since I have seen them, the reason is pretty simple. Why would a company name a Milestone version as ultimate? It makes no sense what so ever. But, people don’t believe me. Some say they have downloaded the leaked milestone version and can testify that it’s real. I don’t buy it. Can’t be.
The chances of a company of Microsoft’s magnitude at one hand keeps absolutely [...] Continue Reading…

Yup, you read that right. With Vista+Office 2k7+Office Scout+Voice Recog Macro, you can actually order your machine to do what you want it to. I had previously blogged about ‘Scout’ Office 2007 Commands. Now using this on your Office 2k7 and Speech Recognition Macros can talk to your Office 2k7. Here is what you do:

Install Office Command Search. (Link below)
Install the Speech Recog Macro. (Link Below) (Requires Validation)
Download the SearchCommands.WSRmac zip file
Un-archive it to your Documents\Speech Macros folder.
Right click on SearchCommands.WSRmac and select Sign Speech Macros.

Resources:
Download Search Commands for Office:

download: Office Scout () added: 06/05/2008 clicks: 58 description: Scout Setup

download: Windows Speech Recognition Macros Technical Preview () added: 24/06/2008 clicks: 11 description: Speech Recog Macro.

download: Speech Commands () added: 25/06/2008 clicks: 11 description: Macros file that houses the commands.

I have [...] Continue Reading…

Being an active member on tech forums, you come across some really interesting things and people. I have a lot of friends and readers due to these very forums. This article was in the making for quite a long time, but recent events on one of India’s biggest tech forums made me finally sit and write this.
Is Windows/Microsoft the biggest hindrance in FOSS adoption? Are FOSS supporters pro-FOSS or anti-MS?
The OS wars is a huge part of forum activity. I like these OS wars, they are a huge resource for learning about the history of an OS or some [...] Continue Reading…

I had signed up for this event but wasn’t able to watch it. However, today Microsoft sent me a mail with download links to the recordings of the event held over the 2 days.
About the event:
Windows Vista - Live event held on 5th and 6th June, 2008 was an exclusive learning and winning opportunity for all Vista enthusiasts. The invigorating LIVE Meeting Sessions on Microsoft Windows Vista deployment & optimization offered insightful learnings  into seamless roll-out of Windows Vista.
Presentations:

Optimize Windows Vista: (June 5, 2008 | Download Size: 10.2 MB)

This session packs everything you need to know including the top [...] Continue Reading…

EDIT: Ubuntu added to the list too. Results won’t surprise you.
Quite a few of my readers know that I have a Hackint0sh in Quad Boot. I was accidentally in OS X (Leopard) at the right time yesterday. A friend of mine wanted to burn some stuff on a filled RW, I was in OS X at that time and I assumed that considering OS X (Leopard) is so user friendly (according to some of my Mac friends) I will not find any problem in erasing & burning a RW. But it wasn’t so easy after all.

Erasing a RW on [...] Continue Reading…

Why I feel that the democratic electoral system of India in flawed:
The nuclear deal is back in the news & not surprisingly along with it is the coalition and the maths that goes along with it. The nuke deal in itself is a huge debate, which is beyond the scope of this article, but references shall be made. Also, I am not trying to justify whether the decisions of either the NDA or UPA are right or wrong. That’s for another topic, another time.
India has a ‘Fevicol’¹ styled government. It’s [...] Continue Reading…

Contrary to popular belief and FUD spread by various tech evangelists, Vista’s UAC is a boon as opposed to their constant bashing of this feature. I am not saying this ‘coz of my love for Microsoft, but genuinely having seen how this feature saves me and a lot others. Disabling it is a strict no-no from me.
However, there is no such Exception list as Windows Firewall has, for UAC. This at times does cause some annoyance if you are the admin and you are trying to run a program and every time you have to ‘Allow’ it.
There are two [...] Continue Reading…