Tutorial: Set Bing Backgrounds as Automatically Updated Wallpaper (Windows 7 only)
Bing, Microsoft’s search engine always has some really fantastic wallpapers as its background. Now, you can set those wallpapers as your desktop wallpaper and it is automatically updated through an RSS feed.
Windows 7 users only need to download the theme package offered by Microsoft. Double-click it and set “Bing Dynamic” as your theme. Your wallpaper will now rotate every minute or so. So to slow it down, just right-click on your desktop and select “Personalization” and there will be a “Desktop Background” link on the bottom. Simply click on it and you will find “Change picture every” on the bottom and you will be able to set the time interval to rotate your wallpaper. Although there’s a “bing” watermark on the wallpaper, but it’s small and not too ostentatious.
Bing Dynamic theme is for Windows 7 only. I’ve also uploaded the theme and if you’re facing any problems downloading it, click here for the Bing Dynamic theme.
Tutorial: Creating a server in your computer!
This tutorial shall teach you how to create a server in your computer. Please follow the simple step-by-step guide in order to have your server to work perfectly.
Creating a server in your computer is very easy. The program we are going to use is Apache in XAMPP. This is an open source software and it is widely use in the world. This program is designated for those who is developing a website. Of course you don’t want visitors to see an under development websites full of bugs and errors right? This program allows you to test all your HTML, PHP, CSS or even Javascripts. So, let’s move on to the installation.
First, visit here and select the operating system for your computer. Next, download the XAMPP installer. Download only the “Installer” to avoid any other unnecessary settings.
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By clicking on the “Installer” link, you should be directed to the SourceForge download page and the download progress should start. After downloading XAMPP, double click on the installer to install.
First, select your language.
After that, select OK. Now, a full screen installer shall appear on your screen. Select “Next”.
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And now, select your installation directory. The default would be “C:\xampp”. Usually, I wouldn’t change the default settings, fearing that I might screw up the whole instaalation. So, I shall continue with the default settings. Select “Next” after you’re done selecting the installation directory.
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After clicking “Next”, the installer shall provide few options for you. Here, remember to tick “Install Apache as service” and “Install MySQL” as service. As for the “Install Filezilla as service”, it’s your choice. Filezilla is to set up a file sharing server on your computer.
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After selecting the services, click “Install”. Now, the installation should now be under progress.
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When the progress bar reaches the end, a Command Prompt window should appear for a few seconds.
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After the Command Prompt disappears, click “Finish”.
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The installation still hasn’t completed yet. Few Command Prompts shall appear to install and start the service you have chosen just now.
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After all Command Prompts disappeared, there should be one dialogue box should appear and say “Congratulations! The installation was successful! Start the XAMPP Control Panel now?”. This means that you have successfully installed a server in your computer. Select “Yes” to start the XAMPP Control Panel.
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Now, you should see both services running. That means your server is now currently running!
Now, type in “192.168.1.1″ or “localhost” into your URL bar in your web browser . You should see this webpage.
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Now you have your own server running in your computer!
I shall write another article to show you how to use XAMPP. Hope you enjoyed this tutotial.
Tutorial: How to improve your Internet speed!
My friends always complain to me that their Internet speed is very slow. There are few things you’ve got to do to improve your Internet speed. These are the few steps to do it:
First, you will need a firewall. Well, I would recommend you “Zone Alarm”. It’s the best firewall I’ve ever used since I started using Internet. (You may also try other firewalls). Okay, maybe you will start questioning – why is a firewall relevant to the Internet speed? Firewalls like “Zone Alarm” will ask you whether to allow a program to access the Internet or not. Only allowed programs can access the Internet. Blocked programs will not have have the ability to access the Internet. So, if you’re using the default Windows firewall, every program can connect to the Internet. You can’t control them. But if you’re using firewalls like “Zone Alarm”, you can fully control all programs to let them access the Internet or not. By using firewall, you can be sure that other programs you don’t want them to access the Internet eats up all your bandwitdh. So now, you can fully control your bandwidth.
To download “Zone Alarm”, please click here.
Next, you need to have a spybot and an antivirus. (I will be recommending free software. If you have the ability to get better premium types, get it.) I’ve been using “AVG Antivirus Free Edition” and “Spybot S&D” for a long time now. I recommend you these two software. By using an antivirus and a spybot, you can scan through your computer for spyware, malware, viruses, etc. Some spyware access the Internet to spy on your computer. (Some spyware, malware or viruses can bypass firewalls that are poorly built. So be sure to download spybot and antivirus that have good reputation among the Internet users.) So, it’s the best to have a spybot and antivirus as spywares or other unhealthy files may eat up your bandwidth and slow down your Internet speed.
(Here are just some common free antivirus. You can search for more antivirus in Google.)
For Antivirus download sites:
To download “AVG Antivirus Free Edition”, please click here.
To download “Avira Antivirus Personal”, please click here.
To download “Spybot S&D”, please click here. (Sorry, but this is the only spybot I know)
To increase your Internet speed, I would also recommend “cFosSpeed”. “cFosSpeed” will automatically optimize your “TCP”. You will be having better speed after optimizing it. When you’re installing “cFosSpeed”, please be sure to leave everything as default except for the installation directory.
What is “cFosSpeed”? “cFosSpeed” is a network driver, which attaches itself to your Internet connection. It then optimizes data transfer by means of “Traffic Shaping”. “Traffic Shaping” is a method for optimizing the Internet traffic. It allows maximum speed while ensuring minimal Ping. You can use cFosSpeed with a router, a DSL-modem or cable-modem. cFosSpeed supports a wide variety of connections, like DSL, cable, ISDN, UMTS, etc.
To download “cFosSpeed”, please click here. (This is only a trial version.)
Well, you can have the “cFosSpeed” trial version as long as you like. I will teach you how to do it. First, press “Start” button. Then, select “Run”. Now, type in “regedit” and click “OK”.
Now, a box titled “Registry Editor” should appear. Now, expand “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” and then expand “SOFTWARE”. (You can expand it by double clicking on it)
Scroll down and search for “cFos”. Expand “cFos” and you should be able to see “cFosSpeed”. Click on “cFosSpeed”(Click once only). In the right side, you should be able to see a registry named “Enddate”. Select “Enddate” and press the “Delete” button on your keyboard.
After deleting “Enddate”, reinstall “cFosSpeed”. And now, you should have a thirty day trial period again.
Hope this article helped you. By XeroTech.