PC Suite for LG KG200

I have a mobile, LG KG200. I had two basic requirements for a PC Suite:

• I wanted to connect my Laptop to internet through my mobile.
• I wanted to create a backup of my smses, since my sms memory space is quiet low.

Hence I did an extensive google search for a PC Suite for LG KG200 mobile phone for Microsoft Windows OS. I came up with two answers which were more than appropriate.

Solution 1(LG KG200 only):
The first one was the original company PC Suite for LG KG200. You can download a copy of it from here. However it satisfied only half. I was being able to connect to the internet with it, but there was no way I could transfer or create a backup of my smses.

Install:

• Click here to download the file.
  
• Unzip it with 7zip or any other archive manager.
• Follow the instructions from the "Read Me" file.

Solution 2(Universal PC Suite MOBILedit):
The next product I got is probably the best PC Suite I've ever seen.
Features:

• Its an universal PC Suite, called "MOBILedit!", from COMPELSON Labs, with the supporting capability of hundreds of mobiles.
• You can check your mobile compatibilty from here.
• Infact my mobile was not even supported, and yet it worked when I connected it through the data cable.
• MOBILedit! is the base for many different handset related solutions such as, complete phone to phone content copy, phone settings and backups, complex phone synchronizations; download kiosk for gaming and content, professional phone management; Word document to phone converter, phone to internet configurator, and phone analyzer.

Install:

• Click here to download the file.
• Unzip it with 7zip or any other archive manager.
• Follow the instructions from the "Read Me" file.

OR

• Click here to download the latest version.

Enjoy!

Locking folders with My Lockbox

I've tried many software for locking personal folders with a password in Microsoft Windows OS. One of the best I've found is, "My lockbox". Its simple, small and most importantly free. This is a light software, with not too many complications. So you can install it and forget about it. Moreover, when you close the lockbox or exit it from the tray, the locked folder gets locked automatically.

To install:

• Download the setup from here.
• Install "My Lockbox" with the setup file downloaded.
• Enter a suitable password and setup the folder location.
• To add a folder to lock, click on "Enter My Lockbox folder location".
• Select the folder you want to hide or lock.
• It is recommended that you have a separate folder to keep all your personal folders, since this software can lock only a single folder at a time, which may have sub-folders or files.

Enjoy!

RipBot - Convert videos to mkv, mp4 or avchd

The RipBot is a video converter which converts nearly any video format into mkv or mp4 or avchd format in Microsoft Windows OS. So that you can save your videos and movies with the same quality but use less space on your hard disk.

To install:

• Download RipBot from here or from the author's site.
• RipBot is not required to be installed, it is to be used directly by double clicking the RipBot.exe file. Just extract the .7z file in the appropriate location.
• There are 4 codecs which are essential to ensure that RipBot executes, theses are:
• --"AviSynth" - Open source frame server. http://avisynth.org/
• --"FFDshow"(32 bit) - Open source Versatile Audio and Video decoder. http://www.ffdshow.info/
• --"Haali media splitter" - Adds support for .mkv, .mp4, .ts, .ogm in Windows. http://haali.net/mkv/
• --"Java" - Runtime environment. http://java.com/
• Take care you install the correct version, or the latest version of the codecs. After you make sure that you have the above four installed in your OS, double click on "RipBot264.exe" to start the converter.
• You can choose two options of converting it into .mkv or .mp4 format.

To use:

• Click on "Add" to add the media file.
• Click on the "..." button to browse the video file.
• Click "Open" after you have chosen the file.
• Choose the correct option for your conversion "mp4" or "mkv" or "avchd".
• Click "Done" to add the file for conversion.
• You can add more files to the list by clicking on the "Add" button and following the above steps.
• When you have added all the files required, click on "start" to convert.
• The converted files are stored in the default location "C:\Users\user_name\desktop\". But you can change it as well.

Enjoy!

MiniLyrics plugin for media players

I love music and so do I love to hear the lyrics as well, but sometimes its not that clear, hence, for many days I was searching for a lyrics plugin which could display the lyrics and I might say, I've got one of the best available because of its features in Microsoft Windows OS. Its called "MiniLyrics". I hope some of you have heard about it. Those who have not tried it, its time to expect the unexpected.

Features:

• Karoke display of lyrics where ever you want.
• Mouse click through feature, which means you can click anything that is displayed below the lyrics display.
• Automatic download of lyrics, and it will ask you if it is in a conflicting position, which is rather rare.
• Storing of lyrics where ever you want so that you need not be connected to the internet always.
• Compatible with 21 players including Winamp, Windows Media Player, Apple iTunes, Real Player, VLC Media Player and MediaMonkey.

Download and installing:
You can download MiniLyrics from here or from any software sharing site. Install MiniLyrics after you have installed the music player you want to use it with. While installing select the player which you want to use MiniLyrics in. The path is generally set, but in case it is not you can set it.

Setting up the directory to save the lyrics:

• Right click on the Minilyrics icon in the tray and choose "Prefrences".
• Select "Lyrics Download" under the "Lyrics" heading.
• Make sure:
• --"Auto download lyrics" is checked.
• --"Pop up lyrics searching dialog when lyrics are found" is checked.
• --"Do not download txt lyrics file automatically" is checked, because the txt files provide a static display of lyrics.
• --It is recommended "Rename the downloaded lyrics file name, as the same name as the song" is checked, because it provides easy manual access and use of the lyrics.

You would want to save the lyrics for future use, in case you want it to reuse later or for others to use it. There are three options to save the lyrics:

• To save it any folder that you want, check the "Save lyrics in:". Then set the directory of your choice.
• To save the lyrics in the respective directory where the songs are stored, check the "Save lyrics in the song's directory". This is recommended in case you want others to use it as well, or to ensure the lyrics is deleted when you delete the song and not otherwise.
• To save the lyrics in the mp3 file itself, check the "Save lyrics in mp3 file". This is recommended only if you have the selected players which support this feature like, Windows Media player, iTunes etc.

Setting the display of the MiniLyrics icon:

• Click on the "Tray Icons" under the "System" header.
• Select the appropriate display according to your use. You can hide it from the task bar and keep it in as a tray icon only or you can do both. By default both are enabled.

Setting the display of the lyrics:

• Select "Lyrics Display" under the "Themes" header.
• Change the Font style, Font style, Font colour according to your choice.
• Change the Display style. Recommended is "Vertical scrolling" and "Karaoke". But the ultimate choice is yours.
• When you have made the necessary settings, click "Close". This automatically saves all your settings.

Enable floating lyrics:

• Right click on the MiniLyrics icon.
• In case you are using floating lyrics, select only "Floating Lyrics".
• Click and hold and then drag the floating lyrics where ever you want it to be displayed according to your convenience.
• Select "Display options" and click on the "Mouse Click Through". This enables you to let the lyrics being displayed where you want to be and click through it.

Editing lyrics:

• You can edit the lyrics being displayed.
• Right click on the icon of MiniLyrics and select "Lyrics Editor...".
• Make any changes that you want to.
• Don't save it, just close the editor. After the song finishes playing there will be pop up asking if you want to save the changes.
• Click yes, and it is recommended that you check "Don't ask again", so that you are not asked each time you make a change in the lyrics and they are automatically saved.

Synchronising the display of lyrics with the song:

• Right click on the icon of MiniLyrics and select "Lyrics Editor".
• Look at the 4th and 3rd icon from last in the tool icons.
• The 4th last icon takes the lyrics backward by 0.5secs and the next icon takes the lyrics forward by 0.5secs.
• Keep clicking on the icons till you find that the lyrics is synchronised.

NOTE:
The options in the "Preferences" can be a bit different, depending on the version of MiniLyrics you have installed, so try to use the latest.

Enjoy!

Dell Inspiron 1525

I couldn't decide what my first post should be. Then I thought, why not tell about the thing from which it all began.
My first laptop, DELL Inspiron 1525 (Ruby Red).

Configuration:

• Processor – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Processor T5750 ( 2.0 GHz, 2 MB Cache, 667 MHz FSB).
• RAM – 3 GB (1*2 GB + 1*1 GB) 667 MHz Dual Channel DDR 2 CDRAM.
• Hard Disk – 250 GB SATA Hard Drive.
• Screen – 15.4″ Widescreen WXGA (1280*800) TFT Display with Truelife(TM).
• Graphics – Intel(R) Integrated Graphis Media Accelerator X3.
• Ethernet – Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945 Dual Band 802.11a/g 54 Mbps Wireless Mini Sound.
• Bluetooth – DELL(TM) Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module.
• Operating System – Genuine Windows Vista(TM) Home Premium with AERO technology.

(NOTE :: Also if any one wants to install Linux the warranty for one or four years which ever you opted for still holds good. But if there is any problem with the hardware then the customer care will ask you to load Vista for any change being made through the software. So go for any OS. I myself have both Vista and Fedora 10 (earlier had Vista and Ubuntu 8.04) loaded in my laptop and it works fine).

• Security – McAfee(R) Security Center(TM)-15 Months OEM.
• Others – 6-Lithium Battery,65 W AC adapter,Keyboard with touch pad,Travel Remote Control.

Other assets:

• A 1 year full warranty(you can also get a +3 years accidental warranty which includes replacement of parts if damaged due to some tea spills on keyboard or dropping from hand etc., but not for national calamities).
• A set of touch panel with the traditional buttons(Play/Pause,Stop,Previous,Next,Mute,Volume high or low).
• Then the best feature that I found was the “DELL Media Direct” button which allows me to access all the movies,videos,music,pics,play DVDs and that too without the startup of your OS, only I have to press the button of “DELL Media Direct” given above the keypad.
• Talking about the graphics.. its fine & with AERO I can fell a bit close to 3D, though not even a bit close as compared to a linux user.
• The OS has at times given problems but it was mainly due to a software I had installed. So not to worry on that front.

Problems:

• The sound is not very loud though the quality is excellent.
• The colour of the keypad is silver-gray , it would have been better if it was black.
• The mouse touch pad is not of very high quality.
• If you are a gamer, you would probably not go in for this due to its lack of graphics card. Though a video memory of 359MB is not bad for games with low end video requirements(where minimum requirements is 128MB or so).

Queries:

A query which I had before the purchase of DELL and which most of us have with DELL is the presence of service center. Not to worry! DELL has a toll free number for the working hours and you can contact it to get the support you want regarding the software or hardware problem or query. If by chance any part goes wrong you just have to contact them. They will suggests you steps like hardware diagnosis and if the problem remains, they will send engineers to set whats wrong. Just imagine you don’t have to walk a single step yourself.

So one should definitely go for it since its a value for your money. I might have left out something so please bear with me.

Here are the screen shots of my Vista and Fedora desktop.
Enjoy!