How to Improve the font quality on your LCD screen ?

This is only for Windows (XP and after) PC's.

How do you improve the quality of the font's on your LCD screen ?  This works for both the LCD screen of your monitor and your laptop.

This technology for smoothing the font's on your LCD monitor is called ClearType and is present on Windows PC's (XP, Vista & Windows 7).

From Wikipedia :

ClearType is a trademark for Microsoft's implementation of subpixel rendering technology. ClearType attempts to improve the appearance of text on certain types of computer display screens by sacrificing color fidelity for additional intensity variation. This trade-off is asserted to work well on LCD flat panel monitors.

There is a small utility to start and tune ClearType on your PC by Microsoft.  You can download it from the Microsoft webpage here.

All instructions to install and use this ClearType tuner are on the webpage from where you downloaded Microsoft's powertoy for ClearType.  Use the Wizard, its the easiest and best way to tune ClearType on your PC's LCD screen.

How to find your Asus EeePC's Serial number ?

You love your little Asus EeePC, but now after using it lots, something's wrong and you require to send it to the service center.  You need to login on their website with the service request.  It is asking you for your EeePC's serial number.  Now what ?

Overturn your EeePC.  There will be a sticker with with the Serial Number (SN:).  That is your serial number.  But if like mine, with time, the Serial Number on my EeePC has disappeared, then what ?!

Instead of my Serial Number, the sticker has become blank !  Shame on you Asus for using disappearing ink for the serial number.

If you still have your EeePC package box, then the Serial Number (SN:) is printed on the box.  If you don't have the EeePC packing box then you can check the Invoice of your EeePC.  The EeePC serial number will be mentioned in your Invoice.

If you don't have the Invoice or the package box and your EeePC's serial number sticker is blank...then  tough luck...there is nothing you can do........

Joking ! :-)

There is one last way you can find out your Computers manufacturing serial number.

This will only work if you have your original battery.  Remove your battery.  Under the battery you will find a sticker (hopefully as it is hidden inside, the number would not have disappeared with wear and tear).  Mine was in mint condition.  It is the one starting with SN:

Finally your EeePC serial number, hidden away behind your laptop battery !

How to Video Conference with your Webcam for FREE !

I generally don't publicize any good Websites I find, but this time I have found a gem.  Video conference with your webcam for free !

1. No software to install, works with your favorite browser.
   
2. Works with your laptop webcam and microphone.
3. Can Video conference with upto 12 friends / colleagues at the same time.  
4. Create your own Video conference room within seconds. 
5. Works well on any Netbook.
   
6. And its FREE.
   

All this at Tiny Chat - Free Chat rooms & audio video conferences
Go to Tiny Chat, start a Chat room with any name you want.  Send the link to your friends / colleagues.  Let them login to that link.  Give permission for their Flash application to use your webcam & microphone and you are done.  You can individually choose which webcam you want to see, change the volume control for each webcam.  The video & audio quality are decent if not great but you need at least 512kbps Internet speed to avoid stuttering.

A Warning : Join their Open Rooms at your own risk.  There is plenty of profanity and nudity in some public chat rooms of theirs (hope that didn't spur you on to go and check it out).  :-)

Greatest Strategy Games for the Sony PSP

I love Strategy games and I love my Sony PSP (Play Station Portable).  I own it ever since Sony first introduced the PSP.  So, I usually buy all Strategy games that come out for the PSP.  Some are hopeless, some are fair and some are good.  But here I want to list the 4 best Strategy games for the Sony PSP that I have played.  I hope this will help Strategy game fans who own a PSP.

So, here they are in reverse order :

@ Number 4 - Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords

A unique game which blends Bejeweled and a RPG (Role Playing Game) into one.  A brilliant idea for a game and suited wonderfully for the Sony PSP's screen.

Pros :

Very addictive and real fun to play.

Cons :

No Online play.

Review at Gamespot.com

Gamespot Score : 8.50

How to find out when your PC was last booted ?

Many of us keep our PC's and laptops in sleep or hybernation mode.  Why Shutdown your computer and wait for it to boot-up ?  Put it into sleep or hybernation mode and it starts withen a few seconds.

Have you wondered how long your computer hasn't been shut-down ?  It's easy.

This works for any Windows PC.  Go to Start > Run > Type "CMD" (without the quotes) and press Enter > in the small black screen which opens Type "systeminfo" (without the quotes) and press Enter > Scroll to the top of that small black screen...

System Uptime in Days, Hours, Minutes & Seconds.

Games (Windows) that play great on a Netbook

I have written this article to list games that play perfectly on the 1024x600 resolution of a Netbook.  There are many games which work but with lots of efforts and wastage of time and then too they don't work perfectly on a Netbook.  Therefore, I am only listing games here that I have played on my Netbook and work great on the 1024x600 resolution.

Games which pass the following criteria only are listed here :

1. They have to be top games and classics with a good score on Gamespot.
2. Have not to be very old games. 
3. Have to play on the full screen of the Netbook, real full screen or stretched.
4. Should play at native specs of a Netbook - 1GB RAM, 1600Mz. No stuttering and a good FPS rate.
5. I have played them on my Netbook.
   

Unreal Tournament runs great on a Netbook.  It runs full 1024x600 with real widescreen, looks crackers and runs smooth as a baby's bottom on the native specs....1GB, 1600Mz speed. Install the latest patch 436 to play without the CD.  This is one of the very few games which play true widescreen 1024x600.  Check here how to play true widescreen. The best FPS on the EeePC.
Gamespot Review - Unreal Tournament
Game Release date : Nov 30, 1999.
Gamespot Score : 9.50

Unreal Tournament plays at around 40 FPS on Native specs of a Netbook

How to optimize Firefox for a 1024x600 Netbook screen.

You have a 24" LCD monitor with a 1920x1080 resolution, now you buy a Netbook with a 1024x600 resolution.  How do you  ensure that when you cruise the Net, your spanking new Netbook does nearly as well as your 24" LCD monitor ?

I own a Asus EeePC 1000H Netbook and use Firefox 3.5.3, which is the current latest version. All the Addon extensions below, work with this version.  This article is relevant for all Netbooks, Windows or Linux, with 1024x600 screen resolution.

You may download the latest version of Mozilla Firefox from here.

My Objective for modding the Firefox browser on my Netbook was to :

1. Maximizing realestate,
2. Maximizing functionality,
3. Increased readability,
4. Security & to an extent good looks.

This is how my Firefox browser looks with all the below Addon extensions.