Track IP address and location of a mail

I was wondering how to find out the IP address of the machine that sends a mail. I thought it might take a lot of effort but its quiet simple.

Lets take Gmail first:

1. Open your Gmail inbox and click on the mail for which you wanna know the IP address.
2. Click on the downward facing rectangle near the Reply button.
3. Now click Show Orginal from the menu and this show a window full of text.
4. Search for the line that says Received: From and this will contain the ip address of the sender machine.
5. To find out the location of an IP address there are so many utilities available on the net. To access one such application click here.

To access this information in Yahoo, open a mail and in the Bottom Right hand side corner click on Full Header and you can retrieve the IP address.

Secure your Gmail with https

Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer or HTTPS is a URI scheme used to indicate a secure HTTP connection. Https keeps your mail encrypted as it travels between your web browser and mail servers, so if you are into a shared wifi network then nobody else can read your mail. Banks and credit cards applications always use this secure protocol.

Gmail is now the first free mail provider that has started using https, as google claims that Gmail was built with an idea that one could run a company on it. Previosly, anyone could hace accessed this secure link at https://mail.google.com but now google has provided an option in your gmail settings to run your mail on https by default.

Login to your gmail account and go to settings, check for a setting that says Browser Connection and choose your option according to your requirement.

Earn money and Write your experience through Google's Knol

Knol, yet another feather in Google's cap, is a new innovative and interesting service created for sharing knowledge.

Knol, as Google says is a unit of knowledge, is built with the idea that a user can write about any topic they want and can also share with the public. Its different from wikipedia though, as in wiki anybody can edit a topic whereas knols preserves ownership of one's topic.

A user can write about any topic or subject they feel like, although its subjected to Terms of Service and Content Policy defined by Google.

Every knol will have a profile of its author. Knol writers will also be able to make money through Google ads if they allow google to put relevant ads on their knol. Wikipedia already has an entry on knol(Googlepedia I must say).
I am yet to try putting in a video in a knol.

Here are some links to knols that may be helpful to you:

Basics of Writing Knols

• Creating and publishing a new knol
• Entering text into a new or existing knol
• Using the formatting bar
  

Managing Knols

• Listing all of your knols
• Managing your author profile
  
• Managing versions of your knol
• Specifying settings for your knols

Advanced Knol Techniques

• Inserting Images
• Creating and formatting tables
• Creating links and references
• Working with the HTML source
• Changing your bio/profile

Best Practices: Writing Good Knols

• Things to do
• Things to avoid
• Publishing tips for authors

Search query format to get better results in google

Do you often search for files in Google? Do you always have a tough luck searching for files? If yes then read on this post.
Just try the following query format to search any file in Google .

?intitle:index.of? <file name> <file extension>

I tried to search Bob Sinclair's World Hold On (Children of the sky) with the following search query
?intitle:index.of? world hold on .mp3 and I got the result in the first page itself.

Open Office 3.0 Second beta release is now available

OpenOffice is an open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. In other words its an alternative to Microsoft Office that is available without any cost.

The Open Office 3.0, second beta, is now available for download. There are several new features added to this version.

In addition to read and write support for the Microsoft Office binary file formats (.doc; .xls, .ppt, etc.), OpenOffice.org 3.0 is now capable of opening files created with Microsoft Office 2007 or Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac OS X (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.). Thus, OpenOffice.org users can interact with users still using Microsoft Office.

OpenOffice.org now also has a solver component which allows solving optimization problems where the optimum value of a particular spreadsheet cell has to be calculated based on constraints provided in other cells.

OO's other new features includes

• displaying custom error bars
• enhanced image crop feature
• support for Open Document Format (ODF)
• sharing of spreadsheet among users
• display of Multiple Writer Pages While Editing
  
• enhanced support for XML

Install OpenOffice and you are all set to create/read documents in standard format.

Rediffmail includes Orkut & Facebook feeds

Rediffmail has included a new tab for its users; tab for Orkut and Facebook feeds. Just click on the tab next to the inbox tab and provide your login id and password for Orkut or Facebook.

This seems to be a major step taken by Rediff to lure Indian web mail users yet again. I guess this is also a first step to make rediff some what like iGoogle, who knows we might soon see a dashboard full of applications in Rediff.

I personally don't like using rediffmail or in other words I am a big fan of gmail.

yahoo mail in Hindi

I just got to see an option of changing my yahoo mail font to hindi. I couldn't understand the motive of Yahoo to provide hindi font to the users. Probably Yahoo would have also changed Windows to hindi, if Microsoft - Yahoo deal had materialized.
Just think of START button as "Shuru Karen" (read in hindi). I didnt get this option in my other Yahoo accounts though.

Track your lost/stolen Laptop with Adeona

Is it hell of a time to track your lost or stolen laptop? The sheer thought of loosing my laptop gives me sweat of a lifetime(really cant afford to lose it). But now we have Adeona, pheww!!! Developed by University of Washington, Adeona is the first Open Source system for tracking the location of a lost or stolen laptop.
All you got to do is to install Adeona on your laptops which then use the Open Source OpenDHT distributed storage service to store location updates from the laptops. If a laptop is lost or stolen the owner can track it with the help of information, like IP addresses of last used location and local network topology, sent by Adeona. It is only the owner who can see the encrypted information as it is password protected.
Probably soon we might have such tracking systems for all kind of mobile devices. These tracking systems send, over the Internet, updates regarding the current location of the device to a remotely administered repository. If the device is lost or stolen, but maintains Internet connectivity, the tracking system can keep tabs on the current whereabouts of the device.

What Google seeks in future young Nooglers.....

The new employees at Google are called Nooglers and Google has some suggestions for aspiring Nooglers. The top most thing that Google looks for in a candidate is their non-routine problem solving skills. According to Google "the non-routine problems offer the opportunity to create competitive advantage, and solving those problems requires creative thought and tenacity".

One example that google gives is designing a spell-checker for the Google search engine. The routine solution would be to run queries through a dictionary. The non-routine, creative solution is to use the query corrections and refinements that other users have made in the past to offer spelling suggestions for new queries.

The factors that Google considers while recruiting someone are:

• analytical reasoning
• communication skills
• a willingness to experiment
• team players
• passion and leadership

So all you wannabe Nooglers just dont hesitate in trying out something new and try to think out of the box. Read the full article here.

Google's Search App for iPhone

According to Google it has made searching on iPhone easier and more fun through its first native app for the iPhone and iPod touch -- Google Mobile App.

Google Mobile App provides you a single text box to search through your contacts and the web. As soon as you start typing, it searches Google for things to help you. These could be typing suggestions, website suggestions or easy access to a search you made before. Google Mobile App even searches as you type so that you see results as soon as you finish typing. The Application remembers the things you do most and puts them at the top. Finally, Google Mobile App also uses the My Location feature to detect your current location and show nearby businesses on a map.

To get Google Mobile App, tap the App Store icon on your iPhone, or open iTunes, and search for 'Google Mobile'. You need to have the latest iPhone software update to see the App Store. Google Mobile App is currently only available in the US App Store, but will be available in other countries very soon.

Some good to have iPhone Applications

The new iPhone 3G is here and its available in Apple stores from this Friday so I thought why not find out some cool applications that goes quiet handy with iPhone.

• Truphone - This application allows you to make calls from your iphone over the internet. The application owners claim that a user can make cheap international calls from their iPhones. The rates can be seen here. The other features includes no roaming charges, free calls to Truphone to Truphone. The user can even call anyone on GTalk. To make a call on GTalk all that is required is to enter a gmail id like bizztratalks@gmail.com in the Truphone app and dial it. Although the first time a Truphone user calls a Google Talk user, an invitation is sent that has to be accepted before regular calls can
  be made. Once the invitation is accepted by the Google Talk user, calls can
  be made when both users are online.
• Loopt - Loopt recently announced a new version recently that was designed specifically for iPhone. Its a social mobile networking site where users can share their location photos and comments with their friends. The users can also share their recommendations for a restaurant, coffee joints or any such chill out places. In short Loopt enables users to broadcast their status to a broad set of services and find interesting locations and reviews nearby. The user can also update their status to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Loopt is available at the iPhone Apple store.
• iZoho - iZoho is to iPhone what MS Office is to Windows OS. There are three applications available currently in iZoho - Zoho Writer, Sheet and Show which lets you view your documents, spreadsheets and presentations in Zoho. Currently you can view and edit your documents, but you cannot edit your spreadsheets and presentations (I guess now you can edit spreadsheets and presentations, not sure about this though ). You can also create new documents and view your presentations in landscape mode.
• Gas.app - Bugged of rising oil & gasoline prices? Try Gas.app on iPhone. This application allows you to find the nearest and cheapest gas station, when you provide your zip code. Not only this, the application also provides Google Map View of the station you choose. Gas.app can be downloaded from here.
  

Google goes Lively

"Be who you want on the web pages you visit" thats what Google claims with the launch of its new application Lively. Lively is a 3D virtual experience wherein you can express yourself by creating a room and adding different stuff to it. You get to choose your avatar and of course you can customize it, then you can choose different room styles and also pick furniture for your room.
You can choose to show your room to others by making it public or if you are from that not so rare breed of shy guys you may want to keep a restricted access to your room.
The idea behind creating a room is that if anyone visits your webpage and sees your room then he/she can have an idea about your interests by looking at the furniture and environment you chose. You can chat with each other and you can also interact through animated actions like dance, cry, applaud, bow and many others. Check out my room :) Right click on the avatar and choose dance1.

Make your own comic strip with Pixton

Are you bad in arts and still wanna show your creativity? Then check out Pixton.
Pixton is a new web application that can help you make your own comic strip. This is not all, you can publish your strip for others to read it. All you got to do is to sign in to your account, choose a type for your comic idea, select the characters for your comic strip and just add dialogues for your chosen characters. The publishing is simple as well.
The other features of Pixton are:

• You can the size of text in dialog bubbles.
• You can a fan of your favorite authors. Simply visit an author's profile page and click the blue button. Start growing your own fan-base too!
• You can change the colors of most of the props.
• Pixton has also added some new poses for your comic characters

Just show your imagination to the world with the help of Pixton. Its fun!!!!!

Microsoft's EQUIPT to be available after mid-july

Microsoft's Equipt, a new Office-based software-plus-service bundle, will be available on rent after mid-july. Equipt, which Microsoft describes as its “essential set of software and services for consumers,” includes a version of Office Home and Student 2007; Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft’s PC management/security bundle; a few Windows Live communication/collaboration services; and Office Live Workspace, Microsoft’s online-collaboration add-on to Office.
Equipt will be priced at $69.99/year. One license can be used for three PCs.
If and when Microsoft introduces any updates to any of the Equipt components during the year, subscribers will be entitled to receive them automatically for free as part of their paid subscription.

Video Ad Units from Adsense

Google has partnered with Broadbandtv , Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Orchard to let AdSense publishers embed their videos and share in the ad revenue. The Adsense says that to choose any of these content providers for your video unit, you should get their YouTube username by visiting their YouTube channel, and then put this username into the "Channel" field when choosing content for your unit. The video units will be provided in two publisher friendly units - 728x90 and 160x600.
The two new formats will feature five video thumbnails - when a user clicks on one of the thumbnails, a full sized video unit will appear, along with accompanying ads


728x90

















160x600













The earnings will be generated for valid clicks or impressions on the ads which appear.
Adsense says that publishers can start using these units but I couldn't see any such option in my account.

Chat on iPhone with GTalk

iPhone and Gtalk users would love to here this news. Now they can chat with all their Google Talk buddies while on the go. The new version of Google Talk is designed specifically for the iPhone and runs in the iPhone's browser, so you don't need to download or install anything. Just visit www.google.com/talk on your iPhone, sign in, and start chatting. And because it is built for the browser, it will not only work on today's iPhones but on 3G iPhones as well. The application works from Safari and just because its a browser based app, it has some downsides. When you navigate away to another browser or application, your status will be change to "unavailable" and the GTalk session will be restarted when you return.

How to tell Firefox3 to let Gmail handle MailTo: links?

The default handler of MailTo: links is Firefox3 is Yahoo, so is there anything for a Gmail lover like me? Yes there is. You can change the mailto: link handler to Gmail. Just go through foloowing steps:

1. Open Firefox and type about:config in the address bar. Ignore the warning.
   
2. Search for gecko.handlerServiceAllowRegisterFromDifferentHost and change its value to true either by double clicking or right click-> Modify.
3. In the address bar paste the following code and press enter javascript:window.navigator.registerProtocolHandler("mailto",
   "https://mail.google.com/mail/?extsrc=mailto&url=%s","GMail")
4. You will get a message that says Add Gmail(mail.google.com) as an application for mailto links? ; just click the Add Application button.
5. Next time when you click on the mailto link you will get a pop up that allows you to choose application for mailto links. Just select Gmail and check the box that says Remember my choice for mailto links and click OK.

From now on all mailto links will be handled by Gmail.
To change this go to Tools-> options->Applications -> mailto.
In the dropdown of mailto select Application Details which will show a pop up. Select Gmail and click Remove.