Offline Wikipedia - Random Wednesday

Hey all my dear readers! :D It's 8th August today, Random Wednesday at my blog. A Bright Good Morning to all of you! :) Oh why did I mention the date? Well, my Birthday is tomorrow, 9th August! :D So just making a note here to tell you all that! LOL! :D



So you all must have already read the title of the post? Yes! I am about to talk about Wikipedia, the one Big Online Free Encyclopedia, that needs no Introduction, right? :) But still, I need to make my post a little bit big right?! Hahahaha! SO I am ought to add some information (which might seem rudimentary since we all know Wikipedia!, but I would try to keep it short, okay? :) ).

So, on Monday I received this month's Digit Magazine. In the DVDs that come with the magazine, one had nothing but Offline Wikipedia. A super-compressed file of size around 7.7 GB which would decompress to 20 GB! Yes you read that right! :) I was quite amazed and wanted to install it right away. Though I have a 3 TB Hard Disk, still I became reluctant to install it since I like using Wikipedia online! :) I am connected to internet most of the time, and thus I like going online to check any Wiki article.

But to those who are not always connected to Internet, or love to use their computer to store a lot of info, would just love this idea of Offline Wikipedia. Before writing this article, I searched on the Internet about this Offline Wikipedia, since Digit won't be the only generous firm in the world for the customers to get this superb thing, right? And yes! I were right! LOL! :D I found an official Wikipedia page about this Offline Wikipedia, and it's a lengthy article. Although lengthy, this article is full of superb info.

Now you must be wondering that this article would only have information about the offline Wikipedia, but wait! a clever reader would see a lot of interesting info in the article. To preach this idea of an offline free encyclopedia( Do you remember the Microsoft Encarta? Paid Encyclopedia? I bought it's 2005 version when it was released, and I just loved it, so you have an idea why this free Encyclopedia thing is being featured today at my blog? I love Encyclopedias! :D ), Wikipedia has added a lot of information about Operating Systems and File Systems and development related to Computers(Software level, of course!). This makes the article altogether a great one, just like most of the Wikipedia ones! :)

Here is the link to that article. The article also has the download links in different languages of the Wiki Dumps(Offline content of Wikipedia), as they call it.

Now it's time for some Info about Wikipedia, from Wikipedia! LOL! :D

Wikipedia is a free, collaboratively edited, and multilingual Internet encyclopedia supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 22 million articles (over 4 million in English alone) have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site, and it has about 100,000 regularly active contributors. As of August 2012, there are editions of Wikipedia in 285 languages. It has become the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet, ranking sixth globally among all websites on Alexa and having an estimated 365 million readers worldwide. It is estimated that Wikipedia receives 2.7 billion monthly pageviews from the United States alone.

Wikipedia was launched in January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Sanger coined the name Wikipedia, which is a portmanteau of wiki (a type of collaborative website, from the Hawaiian word wiki, meaning "quick") and encyclopedia. Wikipedia's departure from the expert-driven style of encyclopedia building and the presence of a large body of unacademic content have received extensive attention in print media. In 2006, Time magazine recognized Wikipedia's participation in the rapid growth of online collaboration and interaction by millions of people around the world, in addition to YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook. Wikipedia has also been praised as a news source because of how quickly articles about recent events appear.

The policies of Wikipedia strongly espouse verifiability and a neutral point of view.
Yeah, maybe that's why some people call Wikipedia to be censored Encyclopedia. I love Wikipedia, though since people can add their articles and once reviewed, they are completely approved on Wikipedia, some articles are nothing but mere advertisements. But what's Wikipedia doing in that regard? Well, it ads a line in the starting that states that this article seems to be an advertisement! LOL! :D

Anyways, I hope you people find this Offline Wikipedia a worthy thing. Have fun, keep smiling and all comments and suggestions are welcomed always! :)
Good Day! :D

Windows Shortcuts - Amazing ways to quicken up certian things! - Shortcuts Part 1

Hey all! I hope all my readers are doing great! :) I guess after a long time I see I have posted something on regular basis. I mean, something or other on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and now Thursday! :D I might post something tomorrow and on Saturday and even on Sunday maybe! LOL! A power week this may turn out to be! LOL! Who knows?! ah! let's cut out the crap and get to the business! LOL!

So as you guys know I am a subscriber of certain tech magazines, and today's post is actually inspired by one. In March issue of one such magazine there was a huge list of keyboard shortcuts for Windows, and many Windows apps, together with certain websites like Gmail, Google+ and Facebook.

Earlier I thought to share all the shortcuts, but now it rather seems cumbersome, you see! So I would be sharing them one by one. SO what am I doing is, sharing Windows Shortcuts today, and others I will share gradually. So go ahead, read this, or save the page, or find some useful shortcuts for yourself! :D

WINDOWS SHORTCUTS

Windows system key combinations

F1	Help
CTRL+ESC	Open Start menu
ALT+TAB	Switch between open programs
ALT+F4	Quit program
SHIFT+DELETE	Delete item permanently
Windows Logo+L	Lock the computer (without using CTRL+ALT+DELETE)

Windows program key combinations

CTRL+C	Copy
CTRL+X	Cut
CTRL+V	Paste
CTRL+Z	Undo
CTRL+B	Bold
CTRL+U	Underline
CTRL+I	Italic

Mouse click/keyboard modifier combinations for shell objects

SHIFT+right click	Displays a shortcut menu containing alternative commands
SHIFT+double click	Runs the alternate default command (the second item on the menu)
ALT+double click	Displays properties
SHIFT+DELETE	Deletes an item immediately without placing it in the Recycle Bin

General keyboard-only commands

F1	Starts Windows Help
F10	Activates menu bar options
SHIFT+F10	Opens a shortcut menu for the selected item (this is the same as right-clicking an object
CTRL+ESC	Opens the Start menu (use the ARROW keys to select an item)
CTRL+ESC or ESC	Selects the Start button (press TAB to select the taskbar, or press SHIFT+F10 for a context menu)
CTRL+SHIFT+ESC	Opens Windows Task Manager
ALT+DOWN ARROW	Opens a drop-down list box
ALT+TAB	Switch to another running program (hold down the ALT key and then press the TAB key to view the task-switching window)
SHIFT	Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you insert a CD-ROM to bypass the automatic-run feature
ALT+SPACE	Displays the main window's System menu (from the System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the window)
ALT+- (ALT+hyphen)	Displays the Multiple Document Interface (MDI) child window's System menu (from the MDI child window's System menu, you can restore, move, resize, minimize, maximize, or close the child window)
CTRL+TAB	Switch to the next child window of a Multiple Document Interface (MDI) program
ALT+underlined letter in menu	Opens the menu
ALT+F4	Closes the current window
CTRL+F4	Closes the current Multiple Document Interface (MDI) window
ALT+F6	Switch between multiple windows in the same program (for example, when the Notepad Find dialog box is displayed, ALT+F6 switches between the Find dialog box and the main Notepad window)

Shell objects and general folder/Windows Explorer shortcuts

F2	Rename object
F3	Find all files
CTRL+X	Cut
CTRL+C	Copy
CTRL+V	Paste
SHIFT+DELETE	Delete selection immediately, without moving the item to the Recycle Bin
ALT+ENTER	Open the properties for the selected object

General folder/shortcut control

F4	Selects the Go To A Different Folder box and moves down the entries in the box (if the toolbar is active in Windows Explorer)
F5	Refreshes the current window.
F6	Moves among panes in Windows Explorer
CTRL+G	Opens the Go To Folder tool (in Windows 95 Windows Explorer only)
CTRL+Z	Undo the last command
CTRL+A	Select all the items in the current window
BACKSPACE	Switch to the parent folder
SHIFT+click+Close button	For folders, close the current folder plus all parent folders

Windows Explorer tree control

Numeric Keypad *	Expands everything under the current selection
Numeric Keypad +	Expands the current selection
Numeric Keypad -	Collapses the current selection.
RIGHT ARROW	Expands the current selection if it is not expanded, otherwise goes to the first child
LEFT ARROW	Collapses the current selection if it is expanded, otherwise goes to the parent

Accessibility shortcuts

Press SHIFT five times	Toggles StickyKeys on and off
Press down and hold the right SHIFT key for eight seconds	Toggles FilterKeys on and off
Press down and hold the NUM LOCK key for five seconds	Toggles ToggleKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK	Toggles MouseKeys on and off
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN	Toggles high contrast on and off

Microsoft Natural Keyboard keys

Windows Logo	Start menu
Windows Logo+R	Run dialog box
Windows Logo+M	Minimize all
SHIFT+Windows Logo+M	Undo minimize all
Windows Logo+F1	Help
Windows Logo+E	Windows Explorer
Windows Logo+F	Find files or folders
Windows Logo+D	Minimizes all open windows and displays the desktop
CTRL+Windows Logo+F	Find computer
CTRL+Windows Logo+TAB	Moves focus from Start, to the Quick Launch toolbar, to the system tray (use RIGHT ARROW or LEFT ARROW to move focus to items on the Quick Launch toolbar and the system tray)
Windows Logo+TAB	Cycle through taskbar buttons
Windows Logo+Break	System Properties dialog box
Application key	Displays a shortcut menu for the selected item

Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType software installed

Windows Logo+L	Log off Windows
Windows Logo+P	Starts Print Manager
Windows Logo+C	Opens Control Panel
Windows Logo+V	Starts Clipboard
Windows Logo+K	Opens Keyboard Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+I	Opens Mouse Properties dialog box
Windows Logo+A	Starts Accessibility Options (if installed)
Windows Logo+SPACEBAR	Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys
Windows Logo+S	Toggles CAPS LOCK on and off

Dialog box keyboard commands

TAB	Move to the next control in the dialog box
SHIFT+TAB	Move to the previous control in the dialog box
SPACEBAR	If the current control is a button, this clicks the button. If the current control is a check box, this toggles the check box. If the current control is an option, this selects the option.
ENTER	Equivalent to clicking the selected button (the button with the outline)
ESC	Equivalent to clicking the Cancel button
ALT+underlined letter in dialog box item	Move to the corresponding item

SOURCE: Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows

Chip v/s Digit - The Final Verdict

Hello All!! ^_^

So finally after writing a review of both the top tech-magazines of India, CHIP and DIGIT,  separately, I would like to give the final verdict from my side which one is better and why. Let us compare everything one by one. 

1. PRICE -  The cost is same, ₹150/-. The CHIP package includes A main Chip Magazine, A Supplement - Insider, and a Dual Layer, 8.5 GB, DVD. The DIGIT package comes with a DVD, a main Digit Magazine, a supplement of SKOAR!(Gaming oriented!) and a handy, small, awesomely amazing - FastTrack!

2. Main Issue - 

• Software - Talking about what they write about software, I would say, Chip got no match! Just tremendously fabulous reviews they write! That gives 'em an edge over Digit in Software Part!
• Hardware - Digit wins over here! Chip got awesome people to write articles for 'em but when it comes to writing about hardware, I would say, Digit got an edge!
• Other gadgets and Accessories - Chip is a complete tech-pack! It touches almost every new thing going on in the tech-bazaar. Though Digit is more computer oriented.

3. Quality of paper/ink - CHIP! CHIP! CHIP!! Chip is far better in that regard!!

4. Supplements - The Insider by Chip is far more better than SKOAR! by Digit if Insider talks about games. Else also, Insider is better than SKOAR!. SKOAR! is always about gaming , while Insider touches the hottest thing in the market, like, August one talks about games, but the July one talked about Android! Apart from that, Digit gets an edge with its FastTrack since they r small, easy to understand, complete basics guide with something or the other cool and popular going on these days. For example, in August Issue, there were 2 FastTracks - 1 talked about Facebook and Google+ basics, while the other was talking about iOS' basics!!

So if I had to choose, I would choose both! LOL! But if it has to be one, I'll go with Chip because I am more software oriented. Though for a person wanting a better hardware part, then Digit is sure to win! Choice is yours! Choose wisely according to your requirements! Good Luck!! ^_^

Thank you for reading! I have written this review because I myself was totally confused which tech-mag. to subscribe, and when I searched The Internet for knowing which on is better, I thought I better check the two myself and write a review instead of resorting onto what other's say, all because - THE REVIEWS WERE ALL TOO CONFUSING!! HUH!! >_<

Chip is far better, damn amazing man!

Hello All!! ^_^

So finally got my hands over The Chip Magazine! :D

And I would say, man! I am just amazed! It is far much better than Digit! Yes! Chip Magazine is an awesome tech-magazine, which is a must read for staying in touch with cool things going around in the tech-bazaar!

The best part about Chip, that I loved, is that the things are written in a professional manner and yet are written from a user's point of view! When I read chip, I felt like some user has written the articles with just soo much passion for technology and Computers, and the user himself has just too much knowledge about it all that he has given his best in writing ever article!

Now, ₹150/- package of Chip Magazine includes a main Magazine, The Chip, a supplementary one, Insider, and A Dual Layer 8.5 GB DVD containing tonnes of freewares! :)

Now lets talk about the main, The CHIP - It is an amazing magazine. The print quality and the pages are of good quality. The content is just tremendous. The magazine talks about almost all the technology one would love to read about, that has just entered the market. Moreover, the magazine talks about it all so awesomely! that you just can't give up reading once you started! I read the whole August issue in just 2 hours! :D The Dr. Chip section is amazing, and so is the Market Watch one!

Inseider - The supplementary magazine focussing on anything hot these days! Like the July issue talked about Android, this August's issue talked about games about to hit the market real soon!! The reviews of the games were written passionately and almost every aspect was touched and talked about. it was awesome! ^_^

The last thing, The DVD - Not much amazed, though this issue had 14 full games too. The content is cool, and yes, the thing that I loved the most was - Fedora 15 Live CD in the Disk! :D i am Linux Fan, so that's one thing that was really amazing for me to see!!! Apart from that, the content is cool, but you can find it all on the Internet for free(and legal too!! LOL!) its just that you can say, your time searching and downloading it is saved!! haha!

So, to the ₹150/- package of CHIP magazine, I would give a rating of 4.2 out of 5. To the Insider I would give an A+ and to the DVD I would give a B+. To the main magazine I would give an A The Magazine is awesome and I recommend it to all of you. I will subscribe it real soon! ^_^

Thanks for reading!! :D

Digit Magazine

Hello All!! ^_^

As you all know a few days ago I was talking about digit magazine and chip magazine. So finally, I bought a Digit magazine(Chip was unavailable, but will soon buy it too!!). So this is what I would like to say about it. The magazine is cool. I am looking forward to subscribe it. Though until I don't get hold on this month's chip, I won't say that too surely!

Through my searches on the Internet, I have found out that, if we compare the two magazines, CHIP is a better magazine, but the CD/DVD Contents of DIGIT are better. Though I am yet to say that in a confirmed way!

Through my own experience of buying the magazine, Digit is a superb magazine, and the most part of the appreciation, goes to its Fast-Tracks, the small, handy, supplements with every DIGIT magazine, that have got just superb information. For example, this month's issue of Fast-track, was a Fast-Track to Facebook and Google+. Anyone who till date doesn't has much idea about the two sites, can be a superb pro-user by reading the FastTrack just once! It guides so superbly through all basics! Though I knew all of it, but still, for a beginner, it would be a great handy-tool. I would like to read more fast-tracks as they seem to be a beginner information store-house to me.

Talking about the DVD, I am not that satisfied, apart from the Video Tutorials! Just superb addition to a DVD! Rest all content is easily available free of cost on the Internet. Though Tutorials too are available, but finding a good one is a hectic task, that Digit has completed for us!

And now If we talk about the main Magazine, it is cool. The hardware reviews are just super amazing. The editor's picks for storage devices are good too. Though I am not satisfied with the printing and paper quality much, but I guess in ₹150/- they are giving enough to cover-up that slight complaint.

Another supplement was there with this month's issue, it was a SKOAR!..Another great addition to that ₹150 Package! it features just super-duper cool game news and reviews and they are so well written, that I could feel the passion of the writer for the games! Really a big applause for the "SKOAR!".

So I would give a score of 3.8 out 5 to the whole DIGIT magazine pack of ₹150/-...I would also agree it is a value for money magazine, and I feel that I am fully satisfied with my purchase and my spending!...To DVD Content, I would give a B-...To the FastTrack, I would give an A+, to the SKOAR! I would give an A-, and to the Magazine, I would give a B+.....

The scores and ratings may change once I get hold on CHIP. Would soon write about it too. And then, would give a detailed comparative analysis of both the superb tech-mags, in India!

Official Website of DIGIT Magazine
Subscribe DIGIT Here