Best Laptops under Rs. 25,000/- in India

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Whenever it comes to budget laptops equipped with latest software and hardware, people start looking out for those available for less than Rs 25,000. So, in order to facilitate your buying decisions and help you get a best deal, here is our pick of laptops available for less than Rs 25K

HP Compaq CQ43-300AU: Processor: AMD Dual Core clocked at 1.3GHz; Display: 14.0 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 19,500

 

Toshiba Satellite C Series C665-P5010: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.0 Ghz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: No OS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 19,500 

 

HP Compaq 420 Laptop: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.3GHz; Display: 14 Inch Screen; RAM: 1 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 21,000

 

Asus X Series X52F-EX1408D: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.13GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 20,500 

 

Lenovo Essential G Series G570-(59-310838): Processor: Intel celeron clocked at 1.5GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 21,500

Asus X54 Series X54H-SX136D: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.1GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 21,700

 

Samsung RV RV513-A01IN: Processor: AMD Dual Core clocked at 1.6GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 21,700 

Asus X Series X53E-SX997D: Processor: Intel 2nd Generation Pentium Dual Core clocked at 1.5GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 21,500

 
Samsung NP300-E4Z-A03IN Laptop: Processor: Intel 2nd Generation Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.0GHz; Display: 14 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 320 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 22,300

Lenovo B570 B Series: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.1GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 23,000

Acer Aspire 5733z: Processor: Intel Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.13GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Linux; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 23,000

HP Notebook HP 430 (2nd Gen PDC): Processor: Intel 2nd Gen Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.10GHz; Display: 14 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 23,300

 

Samsung NP300E5Z-A01IN: Processor: Intel 2nd Generation Pentium Dual Core clocked at 2.0GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 23,600

 

Asus K53SC-SX226D: Processor: Intel Pentium clocked at 2.0GHz; Display: 15.6 Inch Screen; RAM: 2 GB DDR3 RAM; OS: Free DOS; Hard Disk: 500 GB
Price: Approx. Rs 25,000

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Share Text Information inside QR Codes

QR Codes is an interesting way of storing & exchanging text information inside images.

These black & white images may make no sense to the human eye but the information contained inside the image can be extracted instantly on the desktop or a mobile phone using free decoders.

For instance, the QR coded image above stores the login details of a fictional bank account.  That information can be easily extracted by passing this image through a QR code decoder application as shown here.

Advantages of QR Codes

Unlike the more popular bar codes, a QR Code stores data in both the vertical and horizontal directions and hence have more storage capacity per unit area.

Denso Wave, the company that introduced QR Codes to the world, says that  QR codes are readable from any direction and that data stored inside QR codes can be restored even if the corresponding image is partially damaged.

 

How people use QR Codes

For instance, some companies put their web addresses as a QR code in print ads – people then just click that page with their cell phone cameras and then can visit the advertisers’ website directly without typing anything because the mobile software will decode the image.

How to create QR Code

If you like to make your own QR Codes, go to Kawya – a web based QR code image generator. Now to decode these QR images, download a small Java app for desktop or get this reader if you have a Java enabled mobile phone like Nokia, Sony Ericsson, etc.

The Chart API in Google also supports QR Codes so you may convert any piece of text or hyperlink into an QR image just by writing simple URLs. Alternatively, you may create a Google Short URL and add .qr to the URL.

For instance, if the short URL is like http://goo.gl/2v21, the QR code for that web address would be http://goo.gl/2v21.qr

There’s also an iPhone app for decoding QR coded images while this Firefox add-in helps you convert web pages into QR images.

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Use Scary Wireless Names to Discourage Wi-Fi Theft

The data LED of your wireless router is constantly blinking and none of the family members are using the Internet at home. This might indicate that someone outside – probably one of your neighbors – is enjoying the web using your Wireless network.

Are neighbors using your Wi-Fi network?

If you would like to confirm this, type the router’s IP address in the browser – here’s how to find the router’s IP Address – and open the DHCP Client Table (it is under Status –> Local Network –> DHCP Server for Linksys routers). This shows a list of all devices connected to your wireless network including those of strangers.

What can you do prevent Wi-Fi theft?

You can’t block the Wi-Fi signals from reaching your neighbor’s house but there are several things you may do to prevent them from piggybacking on your wireless network. Some of the well-known techniques to secure your Wireless network include:

1. Setup a password for your Wi-Fi network – Open your router’s admin dashboard and set the wireless security mode to either WPA, WPA2 or WEP (use WPA2-mixed if possible). Now people would have to know the password before they can join your Wi-Fi network.

2. Use MAC Address Filtering – Your laptop computer, mobile phone, tablet and all other gadgets have a unique MAC address. Go to your router’s dashboard and under the Wireless Mac Filter section, add the MAC addresses of all your known devices so that only whitelisted devices can access your wireless Internet.

Discourage neighbors from using your Wi-Fi

Most people in the neighborhood, who are connecting to your Wi-Fi network without permission, could be doing so unintentionally just because their computer showed them that an open wireless network in available in that area.

Mikko Hypponen has a brilliant idea to discourage such people from connecting to your wireless network – rename your network name (SSID) to something scary – like c:\virus.exe – and the non-techies are very unlikely to use your Wi-Fi network ever.

To change the SSID of your wireless router, log in to your router’s admin console and rename the network under Basic Wireless setting as shown in this screenshot.

Find the MAC Address of your devices

If you type “ipconfig /all” at the command prompt, you can easily find the MAC address of your computer’s network card – just look for the string “Physical Address.” The Wi-Fi Mac address of mobile devices is often listed on their Settings page.

The MAC Addresses are also listed inside the DHCP Client Table of your router.

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How To Take Good Photos with your Phone's Camera

Digital cameras bundled with mobile phones are getting better and better with more megapixels, better quality lenses, storage space, resolution, focusing, video capabilities, facial recognition and flash.

That said, you don’t really need an high-end smartphone with a 8-megapixel camera to take good pictures. A decent camera phone with a 3-megapixel sensor is good enough for that everyday candid, lifestyle shots one tends to take.

The best camera is the one that’s with you

I cannot carry my DSLR everywhere and I am often find myself in such a situation where I see a frame and I do not have my camera with me. As a photographer I am more fearful of losing the moment than fearful of the quality of images that the camera will produce.

I don’t find it embarrassing to take out my Blackberry 8900, equipped with a 3.2MP camera and 2X digital zoom, for clicking a street scene. A good photograph is not always dependent on the device it is shot with. My camera doesn’t make my images, I do. To quote a very popular new media photographer Chase Jarvis – “The best camera is the one that’s with you.”

While one cannot argue that smaller censor of the camera makes it difficult to produce sharp, noise free images, there are a few tricks one should learn while shooting with his/her phone camera phone.

Tips for Taking Good Pictures with your Camera Phone

#1. Settings – As a photographer, I do not like shooting in the Auto mode of my DSLR as I do not want the camera to make decisions regarding how my picture should come out. Similarly for a camera phone if you have options of changing the settings try to change them as per your needs.

Turn off the flash when it is not required. I feel the bad quality of the flash ruins the photos most times and hence I do not like shooting with it and try to get additional light sources in and around the subject I am shooting. If you are shooting indoors and your camera phone has a setting for that then experiment with the setting first. Many camera phones have the option of changing the resolution of the pictures. Always shoot in the maximum resolution so you can capture the maximum details.

#2. Lights – Photography is all about Light, the one that lights up your heart. What is photography but play of light? Even while shooting with the camera, one needs to know how to read the available light looking at the conditions around. The best phone camera pictures are taken in plenty of light. Typically that is when one can try and reduce the noise levels and getter better results.

Different lights impact the color in your images in different manner. If your phone camera has the basic white balance features then experiment with them to get the near possible match. Be aware that your phone camera may not have the advanced features of a high end DSLR but a lot can also be fixed with touching up the images late. Most of the photos shot by the Blackberry have used light to its advantage; a couple were shot as backlits in extreme sunlight to bring out the translucent textures of the objects.

#3. Hold it steady – Do you often complain of blurry images while shooting with your phone camera? There is a possibility it has a slow shutter speed and is prone to blurs with a little shake here and there. Often there is a delay between the release of the shutter and the actual click of the phone. That is the moment when a little movement will create bad blurs.

Holding the camera really steady and even after the shutter is released, keep it steady for a few seconds more just to be sure. You could also try supporting the phone on a few books, table, against the table vase and get sharper images. Having said that, take advantage of the slow shutter speed and capture a couple of good motion blurs images. I usually make use of my HTC Tattoo’s slow shutter speed, which is a nuisance otherwise to create abstracts.

#4. Avoid zooming in -  The built-in zoom in most phone cameras are not optical but digital. Hence, it is advisable to not zoom in to compose a picture because you are not really zooming.

Fill up your frame by moving closer to the subject. This is to take care of the issue of subjects looking smaller than usual when shot on the phone which is due to the smaller resolution which is typical of phone cameras. Cropping could be a good solution to that but it can lead to pixilation.

#5. Experiment – Phone cameras allow greater flexibility in shooting. With their compact sizes, they can easily be tucked into that shirt pocket or that tiny clutch. Easy shots at any fashionable get-together or a wedding without carry a big DSLR and appearing clumsy. Experimenting with different angles, compositions is more possible since the device will fit* into any nook or cranny and since a few camera phones have timers it makes it so much easier to get that elusive shot with a little planning.

I have sneaked in my phone when my DSLR wasn’t allowed at the Ajmer Dargah and captured an image sneakily.

Regardless of where I use it I do not miss, ‘missing the moment’ anymore since both my phone cameras given near perfect images whenever I want and depending on how I use them in those light/temperature conditions . These pictures can also be printed on an A4 size paper after proper post processing for optimum output.

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How To Create a Virtual Machine of your Existing Computer With a Click

Whether you are a tech newbie or a geek, you’ll probably enjoy using this.

Virtualization, in simple English, is a interesting technology that helps you run multiple operating systems on the same machine.

For instance, if you are running Windows Vista on a computer, you can create virtual machines for Windows XP or Ubuntu and run these operating systems on your existing Vista machine just like any other Windows application.

How to Create a Virtual Machine

Windows Virtual PC, Virtual Box and VMware Workstation are some popular applications that allow you to create new virtual machines on a Windows PC but the only problem with these programs is that they require you do everything from scratch.

That is, if you want to create a new virtual machine, you will have to install the whole operating system first using the original installer DVD and then configure it with your favorite programs. This can be both time consuming and difficult.

What if you could use your existing Windows computer, that already has all your favorite programs installed, and turn into a virtual machine?

Convert your Computer into a Virtual Machine

While it has always been possible to convert an existing hard drive into a virtual machine, the process was difficult and often required expensive programs.

Well, not anymore. There’s a new utility from Microsoft that makes it both simple and free to convert an existing installation of Windows into a virtual machine ready to run on any other computer.

Microsoft’s Sysinternals team has released a simple application called Disk2vhd, that lets you easily migrate an existing computer to a virtualized hard drive (VHD). It’s a tiny utility doesn’t even require instillation.

Create Virtual Hard Disks with Disk2VHD

When you run Disk2vhd, it will immediately show you all the drives and partitions on your computer that it can migrate to a VHD.  Simply select a drive that you wish to create a VHD file from and click “Create.” Disk2vhd will convert the hard drive into a VHD file even if the computer /drive is currently in use.

When the Virtual Machine VHD file is created, you can run it in any desktop virtualization program including the free Windows Virtual PC, Virtual Box, or VMware Player. You can also mount the virtual machine as a standard hard drive in Windows 7, and can even boot from it if your computer is running Windows 7 Ultimate.

You may use Disk2vhd to create virtual machines of your Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and higher machines, including x64 systems.

Usage Scenario

Let’s say you have a computer that is already running all the software programs you frequently use, but you now want to move to a new computer or upgrade your operating system. You can then consider creating a virtual machine of your old machine using the Microsoft utility and this will help you use all your favorite programs (with the same settings) on the new machine.

You can also use virtualization to create a ghost image of your hard drive in a single file and this will be handy in the event of a disk failure.

Disk2vhd is an useful tool that will make it much easier for you to enjoy the benefits of virtualization without being too technical.

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