RANDBETWEEN FUNCTION

RANDBETWEEN
Returns a random number between two numbers that you specify.

Usage

The RANDBETWEEN function request two parameters : A beginning number and an ending number. An integer will then be generated randomly in the cell. Note that every time any cell in the worksheet is modified, the random number is changed again automatically.

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Checking the Web Site Speed

                          Taking too much time to access your favorite sites? Probably the problem is on the server used by those sites. To make sure that is the problem, use Windows PING facility. Ping is a small program, which sends a 32-bit signal to the Web site server. Next, Ping record the time needed by the server to answer it. To activate Ping:

                      Click on the Start-Run menus, type command, and then click OK. Type PING "site name" in the MS-DOS prompt window, for example PING www.yahoo.com.   In a moment, the result will appear on the screen. A result less than 300ms is normal speed while a result more than 400ms is slow speed.

                      If "Request timed out" message appears on the screen that means the Web site server is not responding in one second. Probably it happens because the server is too slow, or designed on purpose not to respond to the ping test, or you forgot to specify your name server addresses in the TCP/IP settings dialog box.

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Format.com Hidden Parameters

FORMAT drive: /AUTOTEST
Checks the existing format of your disk, and then proceeds with an unattended disk format.  It does not prompt for a volume label, it does not prompt to format another disk, no delay, no user intervention, ends without pausing, and displays disk space statistics after completion.

FORMAT drive: /BACKUP
This parameter works exactly like /AUTOTEST, but it does prompt the user for a volume label, and it does display disk space information upon completion.

FORMAT drive: /SELECT
This parameter is similar to using the MIRROR command (MS-DOS 5.0 and earlier only).

FORMAT drive: /U
This parameter performs an unconditional format, which destroys every byte of data on a disk by overwriting it with hex F6h. You cannot unformat a disk formatted using the /U option.

FORMAT drive: /SELECT /U
This particular combination of format.com parameters makes a disk. Do not use these two format switches together on any drive!

FORMAT drive: /Z:n
Formats a FAT32 drive with a cluster size of n times 512 bytes. Meaning:
drive: = your hard drive letter (C:, D:, E:... etc).
n = number of sectors per cluster multiplied by 512 (cluster size in bytes).
Examples:
n = 1    creates a 512 bytes cluster;
n = 2    creates a 1024 bytes (1 KB) cluster;
n = ?    creates a ? x 512 = ???? bytes (???? bytes : 1024 = ? KB) cluster.
You can modify the size of the allocation units (sectors) on a FAT32 drive to your heart's desire.

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Printing a Folder List

                       If you want to print a list of all files in a folder, and also list the files in the sub-folders which belong to the folder, add the /S switch to the command line in the MS DOS prompt:

dir c:\abcfiles\*.* /s > c:\abcfiles.txt

which not only lists the files and sub-folders in \abcfiles, but also continues to list the files in all the sub-folders. You can then read it using NotePad or WorPad if the file size getting bigger.

Bonus tip:
If you have Microsoft Outlook installed on your system, then you can get a better list. From the Outlook Bar, click on My Computer. If there is no shortcut to My Computer, you can create it by right click an empty Space in the Outlook Bar, choose Outlook Bar Shortcut, Look in – File system, and click OK. Now expand the folder and subfolder, which you want to print. Click on File – Print menu, adjust your page, and then print the result.

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Here's how to print several directories with lots of files and also print full details of the file, date size etc.  Open MS-DOS Command Prompt dialog box. Change to the C:\ root directory by typing in CD\ and then hit Enter. From the C:\ prompt type in DIR /S > DIRLIST.TXT and then hit Enter. That will give you a text document called DIRLIST.TXT which will contain all directories and all the files under each directory, including file sizes and dates. To print or edit the document, open it with Edit application (simply type EDIT DIRLIST.TXT and press Enter).

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Why Does Windows Crash? The Top 10 Reasons

Oh, great. Another blue screen, boot issue or frozen screen in Windows. Now you have to restart and lose most or all of the work you’d been trying to accomplish. It’s frustrating both because of the interruption and because the cause often isn’t clear.
Crashes aren’t just a part of using Windows. The operating system is stable for many people, so if your PC consistently crashes there is most likely a reason. Let’s take a look at the 10 most likely reasons why Windows crashes.

Bad Memory Or Motherboard

Many crashes, particularly those that result in a Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD), occur because of a memory or motherboard issue. This can result in a Fatal Exception Error, which basically means data that should be stored in memory could not be retrieved.
You can test memory with a utility like Memtest86 or, in some cases, a built-in motherboard diagnostic tool (see the motherboard’s manual).  Another way to test is to simply swap in new memory and see if the issue goes away. If it does not, and the RAM you installed was correct, the motherboard may be the issue.

BIOS Settings

Most motherboards come from the factory with settings that are broadly compatible. These then might be altered by the PC’s builder, be it a company or individual. The settings should stick but they’ll revert to default if the CMOS battery (which powers the BIOS memory) goes flat. That can cause your boot order to be re-arranged or put different components in conflict.
Another common problem with boot order is a high placement of USB or CD-Drives. If you leave USB drive plugged in to your PC, and the BIOS is set to boot from USB first, your PC will not boot properly. You can change the boot order or simply remove the offending drive.

Corrupt Registry

The Windows Registry doesn’t run into problems like it used to, but issues are still possible. A corrupt registry can cause a computer to crash or may prevent it from booting properly.
Quality registry fix software can often fix this problem. If your computer will not boot properly try to run Windows in Safe Mode and run the software from there.

Incorrect Or Corrupt Drivers

Drivers tell hardware what to do. If they aren’t working properly they can cause crashes, including BSODs, even if the hardware is perfect condition.
Crashes of this type are usually associated with an error message. Sometimes the error message will clearly name the offending hardware. If it does not, try running the message through Google to see if that helps you find the culprit.
Once the hardware driver with a problem is identified you can search online for an updated driver and install it. If the problem persists, try completely uninstalling the driver and then re-installing it from scratch.

Hard Drive Problems

A hard drive failure is a leading cause of boot issues. If your computer mysteriously loses its ability to find the boot drive, but BIOS is properly configured, a hard drive issue is the culprit. Hard drive issues are also often behind crashes that occur only when opening a specific file.
If you can still boot to the drive try running a free hard drive test to see if there’s any obvious issues. A healthy report should give you cause to look elsewhere for the problem, but a bad report means your drive has one foot in the grave.
A drive that doesn’t boot at all is bad news. Try it with another PC, if possible, to confirm the drive is the problem. I hope you backed up your data!

Hardware Conflicts

Windows can sometimes crash if it is receiving conflicting information from different pieces of hardware. This is a hardware conflict. It’s not always harmful, but it’s a common source of freezes and BSODs.
You can see if there’s a hardware conflict by opening the Device Manager. If a conflict exists it will be visible in this utility with a yellow and black exclamation icon. Take a look at the hardware that is conflicting and view its properties through the right-click menu to find more information.
From there, solutions vary. Sometimes the issue is caused by drivers. In other cases it can be caused by BIOS misconfiguration or faulty hardware. Try searching the Internet or ask fellow readers at MakeUseOf Answers.

Virus Or Trojan

A virus or Trojan can cause serious harm to a PC. It might corrupt or remove drivers, delete important system files or change administrative settings. All of these can cause unexpected crashes, freezes or leave you locked out of programs.
To be honest, any fight against malware is usually lost the moment you notice it. The problem is that, once it’s taken hold on your system, it’s very difficult to trust that the methods you’d normally use to diagnose your PC are working as they should. The best you can do is download a trusted antivirus and start scanning.
If you can’t seem to root out the malware you made need to nuke the drive and re-install Windows. This is why you should always use an antivirus, run a firewall and frequently back up your data.

Power issues

In some cases a persistent crash issue, particularly a random reboot or a BSOD caused by hardware you’ve verified to be working properly, is the result of a power issue. You should only turn to this possibility if you’ve eliminated all other possibilities.
There are two potential causes. By far the most common is faulty power supply. A problem with the supply that reduces the power it can deliver, or causes an uneven flow of power, can result in otherwise unexplainable crashes. The only solution is to replace the power supply.
Problems with the power in your home or apartment could also be the problem. An overloaded circuit, poor wiring or a faulty power strip could be the culprit. You can diagnose this by moving the PC to another room to see if the crashes suddenly stop.

Software

Most software errors will not cause Windows to crash. Both the operating system and the software that runs on it have become more reliable over the years.
Still, software issues can cause random lock-ups. The culprit is often obvious because the problem only occurs when that software is used. It will be less obvious if the problem software is running in the background.
In rare cases your PC might freeze on boot because of software that runs automatically. You can usually resolve this by booting to safe mode and using msconfig to disable software that runs at boot.

Overheating

Computer components are sensitive to heat. Too much can cause permanent damage, so hardware will shut itself down before that point is reached. A crash error can result.
Overheating can be blamed for random re-boots and BSODs that appear to be driver issues but occur after the driver is re-installed. A beep or series of beeps from the computer at the time it crashes might be an error code telling you the processor has overheated. Check the motherboard’s manual to confirm.
There source of the problem can vary. It may be inadequate case ventilation, a faulty fan or heatsink that has loosened. Laptops can overheat simply because they’re placed on the wrong surface.

Conclusion

This list should provide some insight into why crashes can be so persistent and annoying. There are many reasons why Windows could crash, and often a single problem might have multiple possible causes. I hope this article has pointed you in the right direction.

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Viewing Telugu in Mobiles and Smart Phones

You might already know that iOS4 comes with a Telugu font and supports Telugu out of the box. So, you can view Telugu perfectly in iPhones and iPads that are running iOS4 and above.
Now, let us see what options we have on other mobiles and smartphones like BlackBerry and Nokia E71 E67 etc. The problem is that these phones do not come with a Telugu font pre-installed. Even otherwise, I do not think the browsers in these smartphones are smart enough to render Telugu text yet. When you visit a Telugu website, you see it as below:

A screen shot showing a Telugu web page in the default browser in Nokia E71, when Telugu text is appearing as boxes

However, there is a way to see Unicode Telugu on these smartphones. And, the way is to use Opera Mini with bitmap fonts setting on.

A screen shot showing a Telugu web page in Opera Mini with the ‘Use bitmap fonts for complex scripts’ setting Yes

Here are the steps to set up Opera Mini for Indic and other complex scripts:

1. Download Opera Mini in your smart phone, if you do not have it already.
2. Open Opera Mini and go to opera:config
3. Scroll to the end of the page to find Use bitmap fonts for complex scripts
4. Select ‘Yes’ in the drop down for that setting.
5. Hit ‘Save’
6. Enjoy Telugu websites on your phone.

Since Opera Mini renders the font in their servers and sends to the client, we do not need to have a Telugu font installed in our mobile. (This might be a privacy concern for some, though.)
Other potential options:

• BOLT browser: As per this press release from Bitstream, … the BOLT cloud computing browsing platform now also supports the following Indic languages -Hindi (India’s official language), Bengali ,Gurumukhi , Telugu , Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati , Malayalam and Oriya. But, it has not been made available to general public yet. When I contacted BOLT support, they said:
  

  Indic version of BOLT is currently available for network carriers and mobile phone makers only. We request you to recommend BOLT to your favorite network carrier or mobile phone makers so that they can make BOLT Indic version available to their users.

• Firefox Mobile: Firefox Mobile is available for Android and Nokia N900 phones. I guess it supports Telugu. If anyone has tried, please share the experience.
• NewsHunt: There is an app called NewsHunt for mobile phones that delivers news items from popular Indian dailies. Users can access latest news in regional languages on their mobile phones. I think that application uses proprietary encoding and not Unicode. And, it is not for general purpose browsing.

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Viewing Telugu in Mobiles and Smartphones

You might already know that iOS4 comes with a Telugu font and supports Telugu out of the box. So, you can view Telugu perfectly in iPhones and iPads that are running iOS4 and above.
Now, let us see what options we have on other mobiles and smartphones like BlackBerry and Nokia E71 E67 etc. The problem is that these phones do not come with a Telugu font pre-installed. Even otherwise, I do not think the browsers in these smartphones are smart enough to render Telugu text yet. When you visit a Telugu website, you see it as below:

A screen shot showing a Telugu web page in the default browser in Nokia E71, when Telugu text is appearing as boxes

However, there is a way to see Unicode Telugu on these smartphones. And, the way is to use Opera Mini with bitmap fonts setting on.

A screen shot showing a Telugu web page in Opera Mini with the ‘Use bitmap fonts for complex scripts’ setting Yes

Here are the steps to set up Opera Mini for Indic and other complex scripts:
Download Opera Mini in your smart phone, if you do not have it already.
Open Opera Mini and go to opera:config
Scroll to the end of the page to find Use bitmap fonts for complex scripts
Select ‘Yes’ in the drop down for that setting.
Hit ‘Save’
Enjoy Telugu websites on your phone.

Since Opera Mini renders the font in their servers and sends to the client, we do not need to have a Telugu font installed in our mobile. (This might be a privacy concern for some, though.)

Other potential options:
BOLT browser: As per this press release from Bitstream, "… the BOLT cloud computing browsing platform now also supports the following Indic languages -Hindi (India’s official language), Bengali ,Gurumukhi , Telugu , Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati , Malayalam and Oriya". But, it has not been made available to general public yet. When I contacted BOLT support, they said:

Indic version of BOLT is currently available for network carriers and mobile phone makers only. We request you to recommend BOLT to your favorite network carrier or mobile phone makers so that they can make BOLT Indic version available to their users.
Firefox Mobile: Firefox Mobile is available for Android and Nokia N900 phones. I guess it supports Telugu. If anyone has tried, please share the experience.
NewsHunt: There is an app called NewsHunt for mobile phones that delivers news items from popular Indian dailies. Users can access latest news in regional languages on their mobile phones. I think that application uses proprietary encoding and not Unicode. And, it is not for general purpose browsing.

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HOW TO DISABLE R-BUTTON FUNCTION & TEXT SEL. IN A WEB PAGE

To disable the right button function & text Selection function in a web page, simply copy the below code to its section. ...........

<script language="JavaScript1.2"> function disableselect(e){ return false } function reEnable(){ return true } //if IE4+ document.onselectstart=new Function ("return false") //if NS6 if (window.sidebar){ document.onmousedown=disableselect document.onclick=reEnable } </script> <script language="JavaScript">curPage=1; document.oncontextmenu = function(){return false} if(document.layers) { window.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN); window.onmousedown = function(e){ if(e.target==document)return false; } } else { document.onmousedown = function(){return false} }</script>

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