Hidden commands in windows …

Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. Whatwouldbe left to strive for if everything were known?Just like the commands of Windows, The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible. If you turn the pages and insert your head in the basic of Windows then there are some thing to explore, here are few examples of some hidden secret commands in Windows:

1. ‘systeminfo’

It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina.
Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type ‘systeminfo’. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep
these, type ‘systeminfo > info.txt‘. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. gpedit

You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the start menu, select Run… and type ‘ gpedit.msc‘; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it.
Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care — some may stop your computer behaving as you wish.
(Professional Edition only).

3. rundll32.exe

You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter ‘rundll32.exe
user32.dll,LockWorkStation‘ in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That’s it — just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that’s not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. sysoc.inf

XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word ‘hide‘ and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. schtasks

For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include ‘eventcreate‘ and ‘eventtriggers‘ for creating and watching system events, ‘typeperf’ for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and ‘schtasks’ for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options — they’re all far too baroque to go into here.

6. ipv6

XP has IP version 6 support (the next generation of IP). Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type ‘ipv6 install‘ into Run… (it’s OK, it won’t ruin your existing network setup) and then ‘ipv6 /?‘ at the command line to find out more. If you don’t know what IPv6 is, don’t worry and don’t bother.

7. taskkill

You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using ‘taskkill /pid‘ and the task number, or just ‘tskill’ and the process number.
Find that out by typing ‘tasklist’, which will also tell you a lot about what’s going on in your system.

8. zipfldr.dll

XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you’ve got a fast machine. On slower machines, you
can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing ‘regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll‘ at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing ‘regsvr32 zipfldr.dll‘.

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LG E2290V: The Ultra Slim Monitor

December 4th, 2010 

LG has introduced one more ‘very thin’ monitor LG E2290V in the race of slim technology . It is Measuring at just 7.2mm thick, the 21.5-inch LG E2290V features a full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution and uses LED back-lit. The slim E2290V LCD monitor also supports a fast 2ms response time, a brightness level of 250 cd/m² and a dynamic contrast ratio of 10,000,000:1. You can connect the LG E2290V with several connectivity options such as D-Sub, DVI and HDMI.

LG E2290V claims to be the world’s slimmest LCD display by Korean Electronics giant. You can grab 21.5-inch LG E2290V LCD monitor for €329 or around $440 each.

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'Climate change could give you cancer': UN report warns of deadly pollutants from glaciers

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE
Last updated at 9:29 AM on 9th December 2010

Melting glaciers and ice sheets are releasing cancer-causing pollutants into the air and oceans, scientists say.

The long-lasting chemicals get into the food chain and build up in people's bodies - triggering tumours, heart disease and infertility.

The warning comes in new international study into the links between climate change and a class of man-made toxins called persistent organic pollutants.

Warning: Melting glaciers and ice sheets are releasing cancer-causing pollutants into the air and oceans, claim scientists

The study – due to be published next month – says rising temperatures and more extreme weather are increasing human exposure to pollutants around the world, including in Britain.

'It is a problem in all parts of the world – pollutants do not respect borders. They travel thousands of miles and they continue to build'

Scientists are concerned about Persistent Organic Pollutants, or POPs, because they last decades in the environment and accumulate in body tissue.

They include pesticides such as DDT and chemicals called PCBs used in electrical goods.

Donald Cooper, of the United Nations Environment Programme which published the report at the UN climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, said melting glaciers and ice sheets were releasing POPs trapped years ago into the air and seas.

Extreme weather events – such as this year’s devastating Pakistan floods - were releasing banned pollutants which been stockpiled ready to be destroyed.

And higher temperatures were likely to increase the spread of malaria – and increase the use of sprays such as DDT which are harmful to people.

Mr Cooper said: 'Very small quantities of persistent organic pollutants get into the food chain but they accumulate in higher and higher levels as they go up the food chain. And the end of the food chain is us. We find them in mother’s breast milk and in blood.'

He added: ‘It is a problem in all parts of the world – they do not respect borders. They travel thousands of miles and they continue to build.

'In the past pollutants have travelled long distances and become trapped in ice in glaciers and ice sheets. But as the ice melts, or when temperatures go up, they are released back into the seas and atmosphere.

'It doesn’t matter whether you live in Kenya or Britain, the food goes everywhere around the world.'

The UN study found that levels of POPs measured in breast milk and blood were rising in parts of the world.

PCBs were banned after studies showed they mimicked sex hormones and were linked to cancer and infertility. They were once used in electrical goods.

The study also raises concerns about the increased exposure to DDT – an insecticide banned for use in farming, but still allowed to control disease spread by insects.

The authors are also concerned at PAHs, airborne pollutants produced by burning fuels.

Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP said freak weather events were releasing stockpiles of dangerous pesticides and other pollutants.

'The increasing frequency and severity of tropical cyclones and flood events are increasingly putting at risk stockpiles containing thousands of metric tonnes of obsolete POPs pesticides,' he said.

Higher temperatures can also make seals, whales and polar bars more vulnerable to pollutants, the report says. 

The full report is due out next month.

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Google delays launch of Chrome laptop as firm gives sneak preview of new tablet

 

Last updated at 2:20 PM on 8th December 2010

Google has been forced to delay its laptop computers which run its new Chrome operating system by six months to give engineers more time to fine-tune the software.

The internet giant now expects the first machines powered by the operating system to go on sale in the middle of next year. 

The company previously promised to have its Chrome operating system ready by the end of this year.

Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management for Google, holds a netbook that runs the company's Chrome OS last night

At an event last night, Google also gave a sneak peek at its new tablet, which is being developed by Motorola and will run the new Honeycomb version of its successful Android software.

The device, which looked to be around ten inches in size, will see Google take on Apple's iPad in tablets while it takes on Microsoft with its operating system.

Google Mobile Platform vice president Andy Rubin refused to give away any details of the device apart from displaying its homepage and saying it will run a dual-core computer chip.

The homepage for the new Google Chrome operating system is displayed

He joked that the new tablet, which has not yet been named, will cost $10,000 but it is expected to be priced to take on the iPad.

Google is recruiting consumers and a handful of businesses to test a 'very limited' number of laptops using the Chrome operating system, which revolves around the company's two-year-old Chrome web browser.

The unbranded computers will be sent to the people chosen to participate in the pilot programme by the end of January.

The first Chrome OS laptops will be made by Acer and Samsung. Google said the manufacturers will determine the prices of the first Chrome OS machines next year.

The Chrome OS computers will have a 12.1 inch display screen and standard-size keyboard, but no hard drive, just like the Mac Air. 

That means they will need access to the internet to run more programmes.

Google is teaming up with Verizon Communications to sell internet access over Verizon's wireless network when there is no other way to connect to the web. 

The data plans will cost as little as $9.99 (£6.30) per month and will not require a long-term contract. They will be rolled out only in the US at first.

Google also unveiled a new site for selling applications that run on the internet. It opened yesterday with about 500 applications, hitting the end-of-the-year deadline Google set when it announced the idea in May.

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£2billion Facebook giveaway: At just 26, site founder pledges to donate half of his wealth to charity

By DANIEL BATES IN NEW YORK
Last updated at 10:11 PM on 9th December

At the age of 26, he is already one of the richest men in the world.

Now Mark Zuckerberg is to become one of the most generous, after vowing to donate half his £4.4billion fortune to charity.

The Facebook founder has signed The Giving Pledge, a commitment by dozens of American billionaires to give away at least 50 per cent of their wealth.

The brainchild of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett, the scheme aims to encourage a wave of philanthropy among the super-rich.

Quids in: Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to give at least half of his wealth to The Giving Pledge

Fifty-seven dollar billionaires have signed up and Zuckerberg, who set up his networking site in 2004, was among the latest 17 to take the pledge yesterday.

Even though most of his cash is still tied up in his company, he is keen to start giving at a younger age than usual.

‘People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?’ he said.

‘With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts.’

Charitable: The Giving Pledge now has 57 billionaires on board and, according to Warren Buffett, had 're-energised people thinking about philanthropy'

Mr Zuckerberg has seen his wealth rocket and, according to the latest rankings from Forbes magazine, it has more than trebled this year alone.

At 35th on the Forbes list of richest Americans, he is wealthier than Apple founder Steve Jobs, Star Wars director George Lucas and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

He joins AOL co-founder Steve Case, former junk bond trader Michael Milken and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz as a new entrant to The Giving Pledge.

‘I’m delighted to welcome these 17 families into the Giving Pledge community,’ said Mr Buffett, who is giving away 99 per cent of his £30billion fortune.

‘The Giving Pledge has re-energised people thinking about philanthropy and doing things in philanthropy and I look forward to many more conversations with families who are truly fortunate, and whose generosity can and will change lives.’

Scroll down for list of contributors...

Billionaire philanthropists: Warren Buffett with Bill and Melinda Gates smile during a news conference in New York four years ago when Buffett announced he was handing over his wealth

It is up to the billionaires as to how and when they give away the money – and to whom.

The pledges came as a surprise even in the U.S., which has a far more established culture of philanthropy than the UK. Such large donations have been rare here since Victorian times.

Mr Zuckerberg’s move follows the release of The Social Network, a film that characterises him as duplicitous backstabber in the early days of Facebook.

In late September, shortly before the film came out, he announced a £62million donation to the public school system in Newark, New Jersey.

Zuckerberg started Facebook while still a computing student at Harvard and has seen it grow to become the largest social networking site in the world with more than 500million members.

 

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Scientists engineer new form of mammal reproduction to create mice that have two fathers

By FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 1:51 AM on 10th December 2010

Scientists have created mice with two fathers – raising the possibility of gay couples having children who are genetically their own.

In experiments hailed as a ‘new form of mammalian reproduction’, American researchers used a complex series of steps to engineer ‘male eggs’ to be carried by female mice.

The creatures were then mated with normal males – leading to the creation of pups with two fathers.

The geneticists behind the controversial technique said it could potentially be used to improve livestock breeds or preserve endangered species. More provocatively, they claim that if the technique can be refined, ‘someday two men could produce their own genetic sons and daughters’.

But critics say such a scenario would sideline women from the creation of life – and a child’s health and wellbeing should always take precedence over an adult’s desire to be a parent, however strong.

The researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Texas started by using a complicated series of steps to create ‘male eggs’.

They began with a male mouse, Father A, and used a sample of his skin to create stem cells – ‘master cells’ capable of turning into many other cell types. They then grew the stem cells over and over in a dish until some naturally lost their male Y chromosome.

These cells, which still had other DNA from Father A, were then injected into young embryos which were carried through pregnancy by surrogate mothers.

The pups that were born were chimeras – organisms consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition – and some produced eggs that had only the genetic material from Father A. In other words, they were ‘male eggs’.

The female mice with these ‘male eggs’ were then mated with another male – Father B. This produced babies, some of which were made entirely of genetic material inherited from Father A and Father B.

American researchers used a complex series of steps to engineer ‘male eggs’ to be carried by female mice (file picture)

Other stem cell experts and ethicists have questioned the need to go through such a complex process to create life. 

Chris Mason, professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, said: ‘One day it may be possible in people, although the technical barriers are far higher than in mice, plus there are major safety issues. 

‘The real question, is why would doctors want to use the technique for people? I would be extremely surprised if this scientific discovery had any impact on clinical medicine.’ 

Josephine Quintavalle, of campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said: ‘By the scientists’ own admission it was a weird project, but apart from doing it just for the hang of it, there does not seem to be any real justification for the research.  

'We should worry when scientists in the area of mammalian reproduction seem to be beyond self-regulation.’ 

 

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Dolly reborn! Four clones created of sheep that changed science

By FIONA MACRAE
Last updated at 8:08 AM on 30th November 2010

Dolly the sheep has been reborn. Four clones have been made by the scientist behind the original research.

The quads, which have been nicknamed ‘the Dollies’, are exact genetic copies of their predecessor, who was put down seven years ago.

Four of a kind: The four sheep are exact genetic duplicates of Dolly, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell 14 years ago

As the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, Dolly made headlines around the world when she was born at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh in 1996.

She was hailed as a scientific sensation but critics warned the technology brought with it a high risk of miscarriage and still birth – and for those creatures that did survive, ill health and premature death.

The need to put Dolly down aged only six, to end her suffering from advanced lung disease and arthritis, further inflamed fears about the long-term health of cloned animals.

The latest experiments were partly carried out to check if improvements to the technique cut the risk of problems in and out of the womb.

HOW THEY MADE HISTORY

As the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, Dolly the sheep was a scientific sensation.

To make her, Professor Campbell and then colleague Professor Ian Wilmut started with cells taken from the udder of an adult ewe.

The nuclei - the blobs at the centre which contain a complete set of DNA - were removed and injected into hollowed-out eggs taken from other sheep.

The eggs were then zapped with electricity to trick them into growing and developing like a normal embryo. After a few days the scientists took the healthiest embryos and implanted them into a surrogate mother.

In all, 277 eggs were used to produce 29 embryos and only one lamb - Dolly - survived.

The recycling of the genetic material  from the udder meant that Dolly was an exact genetic duplicate of the ewe that donated the breast tissue. And as the same genetic material was used this time round, the Dollies are exact copies of Dolly and of the ewe.

Named after country and western singer Dolly Parton, Dolly was created from a cell taken from a mammary gland. The rest of the sample of tissue has lain in a freezer since, until it was defrosted to make the Dollies.

This means the quads are genetically identical to each other, as well as to Dolly, and to the ewe that donated the udder tissue. Professor Keith Campbell, who keeps the Dollies as pets on land at Nottingham University, said: ‘Dolly is alive and well. Genetically these are Dolly.’

The cloning of Dolly was a long and tortuous process. In all, 277 eggs were used and only one lamb – Dolly – survived.

This time, only five embryos were needed to produce each one of the Dollies.

Professor Campbell said the health of the clones was being closely watched. He added: ‘They have got the life of Reilly – they potter around and get fed.

‘We are not doing anything to them, they have no health concerns and they show none of the signs of developing the arthritis that Dolly had.’

The professor, who plans to publish details about the Dollies in a scientific journal, said improvements in the technology raised the odds of clones being born alive and healthy but admitted the method was still not perfect.

Animal welfare campaigners say that cloned animals and their surrogate mothers still suffer immensely.

Peter Stevenson, of Compassion in World Farming, said: ‘Cloning is a welfare disaster.’

The Dollies were born three-and-a-half years ago but their existence became public only when Professor Campbell mentioned them during a lecture at a recent European

Parliament debate on cloning and animal welfare.

He said he had not tried to hide their existence and had spoken of the animals to other scientists.

Despite controversy over animal welfare, cloning is used in agriculture to make copies of prize-winning animals, allowing them to be bred from over and over again.

It is also of interest to stem cell scientists and to those trying to create designer animals that produce medicines in their milk.

 

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£15m-rated Atletico Madrid keeper David De Gea makes overtures to Manchester United

By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:17 AM on 10th December 2010

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea has left the door open for a move to Manchester United. 

The 20-year-old is valued at £15million and models himself on United keeper Edwin van der Sar.

De Gea said: 'I know Sir Alex Ferguson already has viewed me. After this season we should look at what happens and who wants to talk can come and talk. 

'At Atletico, I owe them everything and I would love to stay, but on the other hand Manchester United is a great club.'

 

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