Recently, I have started using Usenet / Newgroups to download things that I would have previously downloaded using torrents.

Why have I changed my habits?  Well there are numerous reasons but here are just a couple.

• Number one for me is the speed.  Whatever I download using the NewsDemon newsgroup servers (my personal Usenet Provider), I can download at maximum speeds for my connection.  It’s very rarely that I can do that with torrents.
• The next most important factor for me is security and privacy.  My provider, NewsDemon provides 256-Bit SSL encrypted Usenet connections.  Other than having an amazing level of security and privacy, using a 256-Bit SSL connection also means that ISP’s are very unlikely to throttle or bottleneck the traffic as this is the same sort of connection routinely used for financial information, logins, password, credit card info etc.

I can only really talk about my experience of using NewsDemon for access to Usenet but I have not had any issues whatever.

I did a lot of research before choosing a provider by asked lots of my contacts and searching the Internet and am happy I did.  NewsDemon has a great service!  You even get a free copy of News Rover with your subscription.

I must admit that I was a little daunted by News Rover as it has so many options and features.  It does much more than I’ll ever personally use.  Once installed however, News Rover asks for your username and password and a few more details for where to save files etc and then just works.  It’s incredibly advanced yet is easy to start working with.

At this time, NewsDemon have some great offers so I’d recommend giving it a go.  You don’t even need to sign up for a long contract.  Either get a 10GB or 1 Month account to try it out if you’re unsure about the service.  If you trust my experiences, just go for the full Unlimited Plus account – this is what I have.  It’s still very cheap but means you won’t have to worry about how much you’re downloading.

If you have any questions, comments or feedback, please leave your comments.

I’ve been running Windows 7 as my main OS for quite some time now.  Ever since I installed it, there was no going back to any previous version of Windows because of its new features.  I must admit that I had been a Windows Vista user since it’s Beta days too but the reason I used Vista over XP was more about the way it looked rather than having any killer new features.  Windows 7 on the other hand does have killer features and it runs better than Vista on machines of the same spec!

I am going to write some short articles about some of these features in Windows 7 and how they help me in my everyday computing life.  Number 1 in my “Features I Cannot Live Without” is going to be Aero Snap.

Here is a brief description of Aero Snap tacking from the Wikipedia article which can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_Snap

Clicking and dragging a window to the right or left side of the desktop causes the window to fill the respective half of the screen. Snapping a window to the top of the desktop maximizes it. Resizing a window to touch the top or bottom edge of the screen maximizes the window to full height, whilst retaining its width; these windows will then slide horizontally if moved by the title bar, or can be pulled off, which returns the window to its original height.

Here is the sort of thing you can easily do using Aero Snap.

There’s no fiddling around trying to align windows side by side.  It’s simples!

To do this I could have either dragged one window to the left and one to the right or to achieve the same result, I could select a window and hit [WINDOWS KEY] + [LEFT ARROW] for the left window and [WINDOWS KEY] + [RIGHT ARROW] on the for the right window to be placed as shown.

Using the Windows key and directional (cursor) arrow is the best method if using more than one screen.  If you have a setup as I do with another monitor to your left, you cannot drag a window to the left hand side to “snap”.  It will just continue onto the monitor to the left until it reaches the far left of the screen.

I have noticed that a third party developer has released (in Beta) some software that mimics the Windows 7 Aero Snap feature.  I have not tested this as I do not have a test machine running Windows XP or Vista at this time but if you’d like to give it a go, you can download it for free from here: http://www.aerosnap.de/eng/download.htm I’d love to hear your comments about this download in XP or Vista, especially if you have used Aero Snap on Windows 7.

If you have any comments or questions, please go ahead – I’ll be listening.

Next up on my “Features I Cannot Live Without” will be Jump Lists – they’re very cool indeed!

Expansion of broadband service across UK has helped the dial up users to get better browsing experience. Yes the above said statement is true, till you don’t get a thunder storm and you call tech support reporting an issue. You spend most of your day plugging and unplugging the Ethernet cable, moving between the front and rear side of your computer. Finally its a faulty line and will get resolved after a weeks time. ISP tech support does a good job, but they can’t help it if its a bad day.

No more cables. Wireless, Bluetooth, WIFI is all we need. Communication in the air. Mobile broadband technology has given the freedom to browse faster and go wireless any where. UK serves the best of its kind. No doubt its simple and easy unless you know how it works. Mobile broadband works exactly the same way how your mobile phone works. You either pay monthly or go prepaid.

GSM (global system for mobile) or CDMA (code division multiple access) is what is used in the mobile phones. These technologies serve to sends or receives voice and data communication at the same time. 3G or HSDPA (high speed downlink packet access) helps the communication at a speed of more than 14Mbps. All of these technologies are embedded in a chip and made so compact into a USB dongle. Any system which supports USB2.0 (almost any latest computer does) is eligible to use the mobile broadband device. The software installation does happen automatically when you plug in the device for the first time in your computer. The user name and password is either saved already or you may have to contact the provider to get one. Most often its the 10 digit number which identifies your mobile broadband device. It does not require the credentials until the device is reset or the software is uninstalled from the computer.

Plug the device and click on the software to get connected and access the unlimited mobile broadband service. Its mostly used in notebook computers since its portable and accessible anywhere within the range of the network coverage. But mobile broadband in UK has a coverage of almost 70% of the country with a maximum speed of 7-8Mbps, which is comparatively lesser than few countries. But the government in keen in increasing a better coverage and network range to facilitate more users by the end of 2012. ISP’s also have a huge competition for the faster speeds and unlimited mobile broadband packages.

Monthly billings are charged based on the usage of the servce. But users can also choose to use the PAYG broadband service. It depends on the frequency and willingness of the user to choose between the plans. PAYG broadband service is simply like a pre-paid service which allows you to top up depending upon the amount of download.

Mobile broadband has widened the scope of accessing the internet from anywhere. Since the mobile networks has spread across UK, its easy for the users to access the internet even from remote locations. No more dial up, no more cables, its mobile phones and mobile broadband which will connect you globally.

I’ve created a set of wallpapers (which I use myself) for two 1920 x 1200 screens. These can be found and downloaded over at Flickr here:

If you like these in other screen resolutions, please comment to let me know.

I hope that you find use for them.  Feel free to share.