Cisco Certification Programs

Do you work in IT related field ? Do you find that colleagues getting IT certification often leads to getting job promotions or better job prospects ? Well, do not be left out. Certification is more important than ever. As an IT professional, your abilitiies will often be judged by your employers by the number of certifications that you possess. In IT field, the one which is constant is "change" and an IT professional must continue to keep up with the latest technology or must suffer the consequence of being left out.

One popular certification program among IT professionals is Cisco certification. Known for its comprehensive coverage and grueling difficulty, Cisco’s program is quickly gaining popularity as many professionals are now inclined to pursue Cisco certification to enhance and advance their IT careers.

Cisco provides several paths for certifcation such as :
a. Routing and Switching
b. Design
c. Network Security
d. Service Provider
e. Storage Networking
f. Voice

This certification programs are made available so that you can match your certification path to your job role or industry. Within these paths, Cisco allows you to be certified at up to three levels of technical proficiency :
1. Associate
2. Professional
3. Expert

So open your doors to your IT career advancement -- get empowered now with Cisco Certification. For more information, visit Cisco certification website.

Blogger Backup Utility

I have always been wondering how could I backup my blog entries as Blogger does not offer export features where one could download or backup the entries in their blog. After searching through the internet I have found one good third party utility that could backup all my blog entries to my hard disk and could also easily restore them in case I had accidentally delete my blog or some of my posts.




This utility is called Blogger Backup. You just login with your Blogger account and select the particular blog that you want to archive to your hard drive. You can either save all your blog posts to one file or save individual files per blog entry. Comments by readers could also be included in the backup process.

If you ever want to recover blog post that are in the local backup folder just hit the "Restore Post" button, select the entries and voila, your post entries are back online in no time.

Get the Blogger Backup utility at Codeplex.com.

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Tutorial : Setting Up your Ipod Touch for Wireless Connection

1 Enter the "Home Screen" - Enter the “Home Screen” of the iPod Touch.
(You can enter the “Home Screen” by pressing the Home Button of your iPod Touch)

2. Press the “Settings” icon
Press the “Settings” icon from the Home Screen.

3. Choose “Wi-Fi”
Press the “Wi-Fi” icon on the “Settings” menu.





4. Select the Wi-Fi Network
”iPod Touch” will search for the wireless network within its reception range. Please select the network you would like to connect from the wireless network list.

* If the wireless network list doesn’t show up:
  Press the icon on the right side of the Wi-Fi icon.
If the wireless net work list still doesn’t show up, there might be a
problem with your “iPod Touch” wireless network.


5. Input the password.
When connecting to network that has encryption, you will be prompted to provide the Password of that network. Please key in the Password and click “Join”.

* If you cannot connect to the network
  Please confirm the Password is correct and connect again.

* If the Password is correct and you still cannot connect to the network
 
Please follow the steps below:：
Enter the “Settings” option from the “Home Screen”, then enter
General” → “Keyboard” → “International Keyboards”, and click the
icon button next to the “English” option. Press the “Home Button” on
your iPod Touch, go back to the “Home Screen”, follow the connecting steps
from step 1 mentioned above. When you’re back to Step 5, please press the
Globe icon on the lower left of the screen and switch the keyboard to
English mode.


6. Wireless Connection Established
After finishing all the setting steps.

There will be a Wi-Fi icon appearing on the upper-left part of the screen. The icon might be different base on the signal strength.

Press the “Home Button” of the iPod Touch, go back to the “Home Screen”, press “Safari” icon, and you can start using the Internet






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Emails

How many emails do you receive every day ? I've just count the emails I have receive today from work, total emails I receive was about 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. This does not include the emails I receive from personal emails I got. I am sure, some of you may have received more emails than me. I thought technology would somehow lighten up our workload. But to think about the number of emails that we receive everyday, we may become overwhelmed by it as more time are being alloted just to read this bulk emails that we got everyday. We must learn to identify emails that require our urgent attention and prioritize emails that are needed to be replied.

So here's my question I would like to raise :
a. How many emails do you received every day ?
b. How do you deal with your emails so that it becomes manageable ?
c. Do you have some tips in handling your emails ?


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Protect Yourself Against Spam Emails

Many of us may have already received unsolicited emails often times called Spam emails.  Here are some simple tips to minimize receiving spam emails.

1.          Be very cautious when disclosing your email address or your personal information.  
2.        When filling out web registration forms, online surveys, etc, try to check the privacy policy of the web sites or companies before you provide your personal information.
3.        Be careful when subscribing to free email account services, especially when filling in the account profiles.  
4.        Do not publish your personal emaik address on public web sites, contact directories or chat rooms.
5        Use separate email addresses for different purposes.  For eg. use one dummy email address for public newsgroups or chat rooms and another one for your personal emails.
6.        Don't open emails with a tricky subject headings such as "Remember me ?".  Spammers usually use this trick to lead you into thinking that you know the sender.
7.          Be careful when opening emails or attachments especially emails received from strangers.
8.        Simply delete emails from unknown or dubious sources.  Clicking on it would simply confirmed to the unknown sender that your email address is valid.
9.        Check the "Sent" folder to verify whether there are messages that were not sent by you.  If there are, probably your computer may have been hacked and used by spammers.  Report such concerns to the proper authority.  
10.        Use Email filters to reduce the no. of spam emails you receive.
11.          Install anti-virus and keep it with the latest anti-virus signatures.  Enable real time detection to scan for computer viruses or malicious code.
12.        Install personal firewall
13.        Always ensure to apply the latest security patches/ hot fixes for your operating system or applications installed in your computer.

Use Email for Blogging

Just trying whether the email to Blogger posting really works.  This is my first time to post using this method.  Hopefully with this, I don't need to login to Blogger every now and then just to post.  


The Mail-to-Blogger feature is a very useful Blogger feature as it turns any email account into a blog-posting application. You could do this by going into Settings and then choose Email.  

You then provide the Mail-to-Blogger address which you will use to send posts via email to your blog.  Note that this email address must be kept secret, otherwise, anyone who gets to know your email-blog settings will be able to post to your blog.  Choose the option whether you prefer your email posts to publish automatically.   If this option is not checked, then your posts will be saved as draft and needs to be manually publish after you have login to your Blogger account.


One final note, some email programs would append text at the bottom of your message; so to avoid the additional text to get posted, put a posting delimiter #end at the end of your post.

Ok, time to check whether this thing works...1.2.3.4.....send. (I've added 1234 after the mail posting delimiter).

windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: system32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys

My laptop displayed the above message after I had previously converted my hard disk from fat32 to NTFS. The resolution I have taken to resolved this problem were as follows :

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, replace the missing or corrupted Ntfs.sys file:
1. Use the Windows XP startup disks or the Windows XP CD to restart your computer.
2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to select the To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R option.
3. Type the number of the Windows installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console, and then press ENTER.
4. Type the administrator password when you are prompted, and then press ENTER. If no administrator password exists, just press ENTER.
5. At the command prompt, type the following commands (press ENTER after each command):
cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

( Note This step renames the corrupted Ntfs.sys file to Ntfs.old. If the
Ntfs.sys file is not found, the file is missing.)
6. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
Where cd is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive that contains the Windows
XP CD, and drive is the drive where you installed Windows XP.

7. Remove the Windows XP CD from your CD-ROM drive, type quit at a command prompt, and then press ENTER to quit the Recovery Console.
8. Restart the computer.

Hope this helps.

Own a part of Olympic history!

Lenovo, worldwide partner of the Olympic Torch Relay and the exclusive computing equipment supplier for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, is offering limited-edition Lenovo 3000 V200 notebook PCs inspired by the Lenovo-designed Olympic torch leading into the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Bid on a limited-edition Lenovo 3000 V200 notebook PC!
Like the “Cloud of Promise” on which the design is based, the notebook cover features striking swirls of silver against a pure red base color, a contrast representative of the traditional Chinese concern for balance and harmony. Several of these one-of-a-kind notebooks will be autographed by Olympic athletes and featured in a series of auctions around the world:

• Argentina*
• Australia
• Brazil*
• Canada


• China
• France
• Hong Kong
• India*


• Japan
• Russia*
• United Kingdom
• United States
*Limited-edition notebook PCs from these countries are unsigned.

All proceeds will be distributed through the Lenovo Hope Fund.

Overall auction campaign runs from February 8 to August 8, 2008. A total of three limited-edition, country-specific notebook PCs will be available from each country listed above during the campaign.

View the complete auction schedule and sign up for email reminders.

Nikon D60 - smallest DSLR of Nikon ?

Nikon has just announced in Jan 2008 the new Nikon DSLR 60, the latest addition to Nikon’s digital SLR lineup. This camera is one of the smallest Nikon digital SLRs ever, offering plenty of features for those who want to deepen their interest in creative shooting.
Main Features

•Compact body, ergonomically designed to fit in your hand naturally and comfortably.
•Superior image quality thanks to 10.2 megapixels and Nikon’s exclusive EXPEED concept for high-quality enlargements, fine detail and smooth tonal reproduction

•Nikon Integrated Dust Reduction System includes original Airflow Control System and Image Sensor Cleaning for protection against dust

•Active D-Lighting automatically compensates highlighted or shadowy areas while you shoot, creating images with natural contrast– even in difficult lighting

•Advanced three-point AF system offers fast, efficient and precise autofocus

•Nikon 3D Color Matrix Metering II for ideal exposures in almost any lighting situation

•Quick 0.19-second power-up to respond to every photographic opportunity
•Fast continuous shooting mode enables up to 100 JPEG images (FINE L-size or smaller) at 3 frames* per second
*The fastest frame rates can be achieved by choosing manual focus, rotating the mode dial to S or M and selecting a shutter speed of 1/250 s. or faster, using defaults for all other settings

•A wide variety of Retouch Menus, including Quick Retouch, Stop-motion Movie and NEF (RAW) Processing to create duplicate images with amazing photo effects within the camera

•A large 2.5-in. LCD monitor with viewing angle of approx. 170 degrees in all directions

•Practical information display with choices of color variations in three formats: Classic, Graphic and Wallpaper. Can also be displayed in vertical position

•Handy assist images that help photographers select the right camera settings

•The new Eye Sensor turns off the LCD monitor automatically when you look through the viewfinder

•Bright and clear viewfinder with 0.8x magnification for precise composition

•Long-life rechargeable lithium-ion battery that allows up to 500 images* with the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR on a single charge (*CIPA standards)

•Eight Digital Vari-Programs that adjust camera settings automatically for incredible scene-specific pictures

•Built-in flash with Nikon’s dependable i-TTL flash control

•Supports the Nikon Creative Lighting System when using the SB-800, SB-600, SB-400, SB-R200 or the Wireless Close-Up Speedlight system R1C1. Offers accurate exposures via i-TTL flash

•Included Nikon ViewNX software makes browsing and organizing your images easy

•Capture NX software (optional) for amazingly simple and creative photo editing, thanks to U Point™ technology, by Nik Software Inc.

More details on this release on DPReview as they have a detailed hands–on preview

1.5inch LCD 8MB Digital Photo Frame Album Picture Viewer Keychain

Got your keys ? How about your favorite pics ? Wonder how technology really progress. Now you can play a slide show of your favorite photos using a keychain with the 1.5inch LCD 8MB Digital Photo Frame Album Picture Viewer Keychain. It could display about 70 of your favorite pictures. Has a long lasting 10 hours rechargeable battery.

Here's the specs of it :
Supports Windows system
With USB Interface for quick upload of photos
Auto Play back (slideshow) or via Manual selection
Power 3.7V lithium battery (built in-internal) and charges via USB 5V supply (10 hours)
Support File formats - BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF and TIF
Additional Features: Digital clock, Calendar
Memory: 8MB, practical space available is 4.6MB
Dimension: 42 x 55 x 11 mm

The package includes :
Package included:
1 x Digital Photo Frame Keychain
1 x Mini USB Cable
1 x CD driver
1 x User Guide
1 x Clip

AuctionAds: Increase the bid on your site's income!

AuctionAds: Increase the bid on your site's income!

For bloggers, this Auction Ads could provide more opportunities to earn those extra incomes. Yes, Auction Ads is not a contextually based ad product and is compatible with all other ad systems like Google Adsense.

One would earned money when your site's visitors click on an Auction Ad listing and take an action on eBay. Actions are defined as a Winning Bid, a Buy-it-Now or a confirmed user registration. AuctionAds is committed to paying out a minimum of 100% of eBay commission revenue.

Best of all, you'll also receive a $25 credit once you signed up.

For more info, please visit www.auctionads.com

Google Applications

Want to do your word processing or edit your spreadsheet in your web browser ? No problem, Google is providing several applications that are web based. Some of the Google Apps are listed below :
a. Gmail - a web based email that provides you with 3.7 GB (as of Oct 2007) of storage per account, mail search tools and integrated chat.
b. Google Talk - a Free text and voice that allows you to call around the world.
c. Google Docs - a free web based word processor and spreadsheet that allows you to create, share and collaborate online or in real-time.
d. Google Calendar - free web based sharable calendar to coordinate your activities or schedules.
e. Page Creator - a free WYSWYG editor to easily create and publish your web pages.

For the complete list of applications or for more info, visit Google website at https://www.google.com/a/

Do's and Don'ts Tips in using your mobile device for Internet Access

In Hongkong or anywhere in the world, Wi-Fi facilities are starting to become widely available. Its just proper then that we take some of the appropriate safety precautions when using our mobile devices to access the internet. Here's some Do's and Don'ts tips :

Do's
a. Do use passwords to protect your mobile device(s) and see to it that you change them periodically.
b. Do encrypt personal and sensitive data on your mobile devices or if encryption is not possible, at least password protect your important documents.
b. Do install personal firewall (There are a lot of free personal firewall available in the net).
c. Do install and enable anti-virus and anti-spyware sofware with up-to-date virus signature files.
d. Do ensure that the anti-virus auto-update and realtime detection features were enabled.
e. Do install up-to-date patches.
f. Do turn on appropriate wireless security settings (like WPA).
g. Do use secure connection like SSL (secure Socket Layer) and Virtual Private Network if you need to transmit data or perform sensitive transaction.
h. Do use the latest driver of wireless network interface cards.


Don'ts

a. Do not leave your mobile device unattended.
b. Do not enable the wireless connection all the time but use it only when required.
c. Do not enable both wireless and wired network interface cards at the same time in locations where both wireless and wired networks are available.
d. Do not turn on resource sharing on your mobile device.
e. Do not turn on peer-to-peer / adhoc mode networking on your mobile device.
f. Do not activate more than one Wi-Fi connection manager on your mobile device at a time.
g. Do not visit malicious sites or untrusted websites to avoid unauthorized access, virus, spybots or worms.