Backup Simplified for personal documents

Well.. its always a good practicse to keep backup of  important files, videos, photos etc... but needs some work. If you are like me, who keeps their files in certain folders and then dont have "Sync" setup.. it can  be painful. To know which files to backup , which are new modified across different folders.

Here comes Pathsync .. pretty handy tool

It can 

a. Find & Copy only missing files from Dir A to Dir B.

b. Or if you want sync both the directories.

Pretty handy for me to skip windows copy time and manual intervention for every duplicate entries.

And yes - its free for personal use.

Pathsync - http://www.cockos.com/pathsync/

3G only mode for Android - Resolved

Have a 3G data plan, but get charged by your operator when android switches to 2G? yeah, that burns a big hole in pocket...esp with the high adhoc data usage charges. Or maybe .. you are stuck with LTE and want to switch to 3G or other mode.

Anyway for me , it was the first reason - having a 3G data plan, but the operator charging heavy fess whever the network switched to the slower 2G . Talk about a rip-off and perhaps telecoms have mastered the art more than anyone else.

Anyway, luckily there is a way around and it worked for me. Before you get excited - this might NOT work on all the phones, primarily because your operator or manufacturer might have locked these settings.

Here you go :
http://siliconstation.com/how-to-force-android-only-3g/

This is the importnat extract from above link:

Access Android Testing Menu

• Go to Phone and type *#*#4636#*#*
• It will open the Android testing menu.
• There you have several category of information. Tap in phone information.
• Scroll down there and you can find set preferred network type.
• Set it to WCDMA only, same as in HSDPA USB modem.

Hope it works for you!!

Windows 7 - Making Search/Finding files Easier

Tried finding a file in Windows 7? How many time have to come across inaccurate search results or felt limited by the search options? Desktop Search is bad and ineffective , in my opinion in Windows 7.

Lol.. Win XP was rather advanced in terms of file search capability.

Feeling frustrated at my efforts to finding a file, I finally found a nifty little tool to help me get a Win XP style search.. rather an advanced version of it.

Try it out
http://download.cnet.com/SearchMyFiles-64-bit/3000-2248_4-75445352.html

This is a 64-bit version of Searchmyfiles that I used for my purpose. I am sure a 32-bit version exists too if you need.

Happy Searching!

Hide Desktop Icon - Windows 7

Do you have a cool new theme or photos on desktop that you like , but the cluttered look taking its sheen away?
Well I have a love hate relationship with those desktop icons. They are handy, but left unmanaged (as it often happens) clutters up your desktop background.. which we selected after so many google searches :)

One way to get around is to mnaully hide/Unhide desktop icons every time.

Tried a few Desktop Icon Hide & Unhide tools. Butmost of them were not working on my x64 based Win 7 system.

However, finally found a working solution and this one seems to be quite good to handle this more gracefully.

Kudos to the developer!

http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Microsoft/AutoHideDesktopIcons

My New Laptop - Which one to choose?

Now that my old and faithful workhorse , Dell Latitude is 4 years old (still working!) it was time to look for a replacement..and boy! technology has definitely advanced in those 4 years.. new i-series of Intel processor being one of the major changes. Confused between i3 vs i5 vs i7 for the laptops and what the hell these series meant, the new weekend task was cut out - researching reports and user feedback on these processors on Google. The information was readily available.. However, after some research I was able to settle down for i5. Why i5? i3 - more on the basic range, i5 - powerful and heat factor still manageable. Plus gives the option for going with switchable graphics and increase in battery life. i7- beast of a processor but generates LOT of heat. Many a good looking, high spec laptop had been reportedly trashed by user for the heat they generate and the laptops not being able to handle them... But then... manufacturer's learn from the the mistakes of Users..:) and perhaps are designing better system... but I felt more comfortable with i5.

Now the search for that oh-so-perfect laptop.. with i5 core..at least 4G ram..mousepad WITH buttons, discrete graphics...

Contenders - Dell XPS 15, HP Envy , Lenovo W- Series

HP Envy was eventually ruled out because of their non-configurable options in my country and horror stories with regards to After Sales Service...plus their price was way too much..

HP Envy is a nice series .. but somehow.. I decided against it..

Lenov W-Series - This is beast in performance.. high end graphics card, good resolutions (900p as well as 1080p), Matte Screen (yes, I think they are good.. ) and loads of configurable options.. but these machine dont come cheap... a decent config takes you to 3k $... but with boxing week discount.. one could get this + 3 year support within 1700 $.. incl tax.. hell of a deal...

but .. but... my current screen being a matte one.. wifey wanted a glossy... :P :P.. and me.. I agreed.. i should try out glossy too.. :P.. dont scream... yet...:)

Dell XPS -15..

decent config

decent configurable options

GLOSSY screen...

4 year warranty at price of 3

and my bias for Dell (having a solid performance from Latitude....)

dell after sales support.. (overall good experience- so far)

so yes.. went for Dell XPS 15..

and ordered it...

Geez.. chosing a laptop can be quite an affair if you would like it that way... :)

Next Post -> my review of Dell XPS 15..

Disclaimer : All the opinions in the post are personal and your experiences may vary. These are based on how i feel/felt .