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"If you want to conquer fear, don't sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy. "

-- Dale Carnegie, motivational expert

Monday, 30 June 2014

Zip file format; advantage and disadvantage of zip file

Ans: The Zip file format is a data compression and archive format. It is used to reduce the size of original data. It contains one or more than one files that have been compressed to reduce the size of the file. Zipping a file means that you are reducing the size of your original data into small size. The zipped version of the file has a .zip extension. Suppose you have a doc file of approx 12MB (Megabytes) and you want to send it to your friend through e-mail. But the problem is that this file is taking too much time to upload. Then you can use ZIP to reduce the file size. Your original file will be reduced to 4-5MB. Microsoft has included built-in ZIP support for all the users (under the name "Compressed folder"). It is available in all the products of Microsoft since 1998. But sometimes these .zip file corrupted due to some virus attacks, power failures or incorrect operations made by applications. It may cause severe data loss to the individual or a corporate. In these situations of losing data we can use third party tools which solved our problem by applying sophisticated recovery algorithms.

Advantages of .ZIP file:

  • You save storage space. Zipping large files can save up to 80 percent or more in hard disk space.
  • Smaller file size drastically reduces e-mail transmission time.
  • The smaller file size of e-mail messages that you want to keep is useful when your mailbox has a space limit.
  • Zipping allows you to encrypt private data, helpful when sending such data over internet.

Disadvantages of .ZIP file:

It may not be possible to extract all of the files from the Zip file correctly. Damaged data can affect the entire Zip file, multiple files, or just one file.

Following errors are encountered when ZIP is corrupt:

  • "Unexpected end of archive" error while opening ZIP file.
  • WinZip Self-Extractor Header Corrupt. Possible Cause: Bad Disk or File Transfer Error.
  • Zip file corrupt -- Cannot open file: it does not appear to be a valid zip archive.
  • CRC (cyclic redundancy check) error.
  • Compressed (ZIP folders error) -- Compressed (ZIP) folder is invalid or corrupted.

Advantages of email -or electronic mail

Some people refuse to embrace new technology... and I suppose this is fine. Imagine what a wonderful place the world would have been if many countries wouldn't have taken up nuclear energy and developed it into bombs. Anyway, I have no problems with such people as long as they don't throw foolish criticism without knowing details.
For instance, I met a not-so-old gentleman a few days back who kept on haranguing me on how the internet and email has changed the "social landscape" and is responsible for most of the problems faced by youngsters. I found this a little far-fetched because email for all the 'risks' involved has some great advantages as a communication tool.

Almost instantaneous

Email messages are transferred instantly - well almost. They move as fast as current in copper wires or light in optical cables, which is pretty darn quick. When you send an email is leaves your computer and arrives at the recipient's inbox immediately. You can potentially have a conversation with a person over email - hence, the conversation view in Gmail.

Cost of sending an email is zero or negligible

If you have a 24 hour internet such as a through cable / broadband connection, the cost of sending an email is zero or very very small. For dialup users, the maximum cost of sending an email will be that of a phone call or a few (depending on the size of the message and the files attached).

Emails can be sent in bulk

One email message can be sent to multiple recipients almost at the cost of a single email. When compared to conventional postal service this is indeed a huge saving.

Email attachments - any digital document can be sent over email

As long as a document can be converted into digital format, it can be sent over email. Again, the cost aspect comes into picture. Imagine the money you will save by sending a 500 page document attached to an email instead of the same as hard copy printout - not only is the postage more expensive but there is also the cost of printing and paper to consider.
And the story doesn't end with text documents. Photographs, music and audio files and even video from a camcorder can be attached along with an email message. To learn more, refer how to send photographs taken from your digital camera through email.
Though many email services put a limit to the email attachment size, there are workarounds; refer sending large files over email.

Delivery is almost guaranteed

The delivery of email messages in almost guaranteed. Why do I say "almost"? Because sometimes for reasons that are beyond the scope of this article, email can get lost in cyberspace but this is very rare.

Request return receipt

Just like with postal and courier services, you can request a return receipt which simply involves a click of a mouse button by the recipient. But even if the recipient doesn't get back, you know your email has been delivered - refer point above.

Email is accessible

OK, this is one of the greatest advantages of using email - its accessible anywhere, anytime and through a multitude of devices - computers, laptops, palmtops and even cell phones.
One can check email from any location as long as an active internet connection is available.
Also email can be sent from any place with the same requirement of an active net connection.

Built in spell checking

Most email programs (or email clients) have built in spell check dictionaries - so you have no excuse of sending badly written messages. Spell checkers are also found in online email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo.

Notification of new arrivals

Email programs or devices can also be set up so you get a notification through sound or a flash of light when new messages arrive at your inbox.

Can be formal as well as informal

Email messages do not signify informality. Just because email is easy to compose and send does not mean it cannot be used in formal and official correspondences.

Automation

Several, if not all, steps in the emailing process can be automated.
A good example is sending birthday greetings to people. An email program checks the birthday and the name of the recipient from a list. A message (from a template) is then formulated and sent on the specified date.

Email storage and management

Storing and managing emails you receive is very easy if you use an email program or a good email service. Segregating messages into folders and organizing them properly is just like cleaning your desk and filing your work. However, with email there is no usage of physical space excepting that on your hard disk, of course. Also, any email client worth its salt has an inbuilt search utility that hunts out the elusive email in a jiffy.

Email security

The best way to secure your email messages is to use the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) technology. However, most people are unaware of it but it's very much there!
These were some advantages I could think of. If you come up with others, write to me using the form below.
It's now time to look at some disadvantages of using email.

Disadvantages of email

Email creates more work

In contrast to the popular notion, email actually creates more work. The easy of sending and receiving email has transformed businesses throughout the world and we know that the stress levels are increase, right?

People expect immediate replies

Most people know that emails are delivered instantaneously and hence expect replies immediately. I agree that the "human" element is kind of lost with email.

Most email messages are not secure

As I mentioned above, though a good secure technology exists for email, the masses seldom bother to use it... or even know about it. Hence transferring sensitive information over email such as credit card numbers or bank details (password?) is not advisable.

Source: http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/basics/advantages-of-email.php

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Online File Storage

by Pedro Pacheco published 2 years ago

1. Google Online Storage.
Google wants to take care of your entire life with their online storage systems, and now with Google Drive, Google wants to become your virtual hard disk on the internet. The combination of Google Drive and Gmail makes it possible to have a real office that runs only using the internet without even needing the desktop for anything. Such system has advantages and disadvantages. The first advantage is the files are available from anywhere whether you use a computer or a mobile phone. However if you are running a business chances are you will always use the same computer.  Mobile phones will never be good enough for written business despite how fast they become.
Google Drive has the advantage of allowing the installation of applications but despite you having a fast internet connection, these applications are just too slow and not enough powerful for professional use. Google Drive allows you to upload your entire hard disk (provided you have enough storage online, it starts with just 5 GB) and allows to view and edit some files if you install the right application. However the desktop is still much faster and reliable than the Google Drive.
Gmail on the other hand is not the best place to store your documents and images either if you need to edit them later. Gmail should be used only for communications and nothing more. Google Drive and only Google Drive should be in charge of file storage.
With Google Drive you have
2. Zoho.
This company offers an all in one office solution for any serious business that needs documents, spreadsheets and databases. Their system is powerful enough for basic edition, however for serious matters it cannot beat Microsoft Office.  With Zoho you can have all your business online, but you cannot for example to make files work with each other like you can with Microsoft Office. Zoho is still a good solution for basic business and for university students who cannot afford Microsoft Office. With Zoho you have enough services to power an entire business. You have recruit, meetings, chat, notes, almost everything a desktop computer has. The only problem is some of these tools are paid and you need to upgrade, but still more cost effective than using desktop tools to do the same.
3. Microsoft Skydrive and Hotmail and Office 365
Microsoft is desperate to make their own true online solution to save files online and to make it work properly. First it started with Live Storage which was nothing but a pre-historic way to save files online. After some years upgraded to Mesh that failed miserably. After a while it upgraded to Office 365 and now Skydrive. The confusion is amazing, you have no idea where to work with Microsoft because all products are in Beta and some of them disappear while in beta as well.
I do not recommend that you use any Microsoft service for online business. Google Drive is much more competent in all areas and if the trend continues, it will continue that way for many years to come. Since the beginning of the internet that Microsoft has done absolutely nothing brilliant about the internet.
4. Yahoo Mail
Yahoo has no solution to online file storage such as documents or images or video. All Yahoo as is Yahoo Mail with unlimited space so you can upload files to your email and then save them using your inbox. This is the only thing you can do with Yahoo Mail and it is not recommended that you use it for serious file storage. The files are not encrypted in the server nor when you send them via email so you never know if there is someone sniffing the traffic. Another disadvantage, Yahoo Mail does not have free POP3 so if you ever need to mass download files using Outlook or Thunderbird, you can forget about it, or pay for POP3. Yahoo Mail is not a smart option to store files online considering the speed, lack of instant search and reliability of file access. You need to download them all one by one to access them and that takes much longer than having the files in the desktop.
5. Dropbox.
This service is amazing to share and sync files between computers however for online file edition it is simply impossible to work with. To make matters even worse, if you edit one document and your friend edits the very same document, when you upload them all to the Dropbox again, it will have trouble and could overwrite the document using the automatic sync. Google Drive is much better for this matter as it allows people to work on the same document in real time.
Working with online tools only has some advantages and disadvantages. However, based on my experience of online freelancing and university student, the desktop beats the online storage any day of the week in terms of security, speed and search. The cloud has yet to become faster and until everyone uses optic fiber the desktop will continue to beat the cloud. Mobile phones may trigger the development t of new web applications to manage a business but like DVDs never managed to be better than hard disks despite the faster development, desktop solutions will improve much faster than online solutions. One strong reason is the lack of success of the Google Notebook, it clearly shows that people need more powerful solutions than relying on online storage for everything. All it takes is a hacker to find out how to crack the system or the password and everything is gone forever.

Source: http://www.thepencentral.com/view/articles/online-file-storage-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-using-online-file-storage-258

Unhide Files na Folders for Window XP, Vista and 7

Unhide your files by changing the system settings of Windows.

For Windows XP

1) Open My Computer
2) Click on Tools
3) Click on Folder Options
4) Click on the View Tab
5) Place a dot on the option "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
6) Click Ok

For Windows Vista

1) Click on the Windows Orb (Start button)
2) Click on Computer
3) Click on Tools
4) Click on Folder Options
5) Click on View
6) Click the option for "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
7) Click Ok

For Windows 7

1) Click on the Windows Orb (Start button)
2) Click on Computer
3) Click on Organize
4) Click on Folder and Search Options
5) Click on View
6) Click the option for "Show Hidden Files and Folders"
7) Click Ok

Now you should be able to see all of your files and folders. However, they still have the hidden file attribute set. When we remove the hidden attribute on the files and folders, all of your files should reappear normally.

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Viewing Files and Folders Hidden by Virus

Nowadays computer users are getting trouble with viruses and Malwares which are hiding files and folders in the drives like Flash and Memory cards. The problem occur when a person move flash drive from on PC to another having viruses, these viruses different with are others are not collapsing files and folders but make it hidden. Through my experience as Computer consultant at St. John's University of Tanzania-Dar es Salaam from 2012 up to date many students and lectures as well get this problem and always thoughts that they lost data in their drives. 

Brethren data are not lost but hidden as operating system files
Here's simple method how to display hidden files and folders. 

1. Open Folder Options by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Folder Options. 
2. Click the View tab.
3.Under Advanced settings, click Show hidden files, folders, and drives, and then click OK 
4. Open your drives

Also its normal that Windows 7 hides certain files so that they are not able to be seen when you exploring the files on your computer. The files it hides are typically Windows 7 System files that if tampered with could cause problems with the proper operation of the computer. It is possible, though, for a user or piece of software to set make a file hidden by enabling the hidden attribute in a particular file or folder's properties. Due to this it can be beneficial at times to be able to see any hidden files that may be on your computer. This tutorial will explain how to show all hidden files in Windows 7.
To enable the viewing of hidden and protected system files in Windows 7 please follow these steps:

  1. Close all programs so that you are at your desktop.
     
  2. Click on the Start button Picture of the Start button is in the lower left corner of your screen that has a Windows flag on it.
     
  3. Click on the Control Panel menu option.
     
  4. When the control panel opens you will see a screen similar to Figure 1 below.


    Figure 2. Windows 7 Control Panel


     
  5. Click on the Appearance and Personalization link.
     
  6. You will now be in the Appearance and Personalization control panel as shown in Figure 2 below.


    Figure 3. Windows 7 Appearance and Personalization screen


    Now click on the Show hidden files and folders option as shown by the red arrow in Figure 2 above.
     
  7. Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
     
  8. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
     
  9. Remove the checkmark from the checkbox labeled Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).

    Once this is done, your Folder Options screen should look similar to the following image.



    Figure 3. Folder Options screen

     
    Figure 3. Folder Options screen showing areas to remove check mark

      Figure 3. Folder Options screen View tab after check-mark removed
  10. Press the Apply button and then the OK button.
You will now be at your desktop and Windows 7 will be configured to show all hidden files.

11. Open your Disk like Flash or memory card to view hidden file and folders.
NOTE: Sometime you can find file and folders hidden in a single folder with no name which can be in Yellow Folder or greyish folder like this appearence , open it to find inside data.
If you have any questions about this tutorial please feel free to post them in our blog and facebook page https://www.facebook.com/kapagi