Astrolead

I t’s the most popular homepage on the entire planet. It’s the biggest (and to some, the  only ) search engine online. It’s the portal to the entire internet, really. Surprisingly enough, over the past ten years the appearance of it hasn’t really changed a bit. Google is Google, and we know it by that all-white search page and multicolored logo. Isn’t it a little bit bright and harsh on the eyes, though? You might even call it boring, one could grow pretty tired of launching their browser and seeing that exact same color scheme for years and years. In this post, I’m going to try to fix that for you. I’m here to put you on to a list of Google Search pages that change the color scheme and design of your Google homepage. Here’s a screenshot of Google from 1999: Here’s Google today: Catch my drift? Let’s take a look at our other options. Blackle Blackle, or “Black Google”, sets out to relieve your eyes of all that stress. More than that, Blackle promises that it saves energy. Bla...

Nearly six months after Adobe released its PDF reader app for iOS devices, it posted this week a much needed features update that includes sticky notes, a highlighter, and other annotation tools found in nearly all competing iOS apps in this genre. The recent version of Adobe Reader also includes a nifty feature for writing and placing signatures in PDF documents. The universal cross-platform desktop version of Adobe Reader has been an industry standard for quite some time, but with the mobile version Adobe has basically been playing catch-up until now. Much of the user interface is pretty intuitive, allowing you three different ways to “turn pages,” and making most of the annotation tools available by pressing down and dragging over selected text, as well as accessing them in menu bar of the app. The Reader also includes a document search feature. In addition to the highlighting tool, Adobe Reader contains strikethrough, underlining, freehand drawing, and sticky note...

F acebook has, without a doubt, become the most popular social network in the world. While I’m cheering on Google + just like lots of you are, I don’t think I’ll ever quit checking on the Facebook status updates of my family and friends – at least, not unless they leave Facebook in droves. That’s not likely to happen anytime soon. One thing that I’ve noticed when I talk to friends that initially start using Facebook is that “nobody comments on my wall.”  Sometimes, I’ll even try to help them out by letting them show me their Facebook wall and trying to help them understand what they’re doing wrong, and why people may not feel encouraged to comment on their status updates. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of reciprocating. People expect that friends and family will flock to their wall after every status update. The truth is that most people only check out your wall when you’ve commented in theirs – so if you never comment on anyone’s wall, how can you expect them to remem...

W hile telecom operators are striving hard to popularise their 3G services in India, Bharti Airtel has gone one step further by launching the latest 4G services in the country. The telecom giant today announced the launch of wireless broadband services based on fourth generation wirless technology in Kolkata circle. Airtel now plans to bring 4G in Bengaluru as well. With the latest 4G services , users can now access the Internet, video conference and download online content at a rate several times faster than 3G services, which is still in its nascent stage in the country. Interestingly, Airtel has priced its 4G data plans competitively as compared to its 3G services in the Kolkata circle. We bring you a detailed comparison between Airtel's 3G and 4G tariff plans (Kolkata circle). Read on. Airtel 3G Airtel is providing 3G services through a roaming arrangement with Vodafone Cellular in Kolkata. The minimum 3G data plan start at Rs. 9 for 10MB (validity 1day). The high...

Most people use the default DNS settings provided by their ISP, and while they are usually sufficient for most purposes, there are plenty of free options out there, like OpenDNS and Google DNS. Namebench is a free app that checks to see whether your current settings are optimized and, if not, which free option is best for you. Here's how to use it:  Download and install  Namebench here . Fire it up and choose your settings. Keep the top two boxes checked. If you're concerned about network censorship, check the third box, and if you want to help the developers, check the last box. You may want to tweak the rest if you're outside the U.S. or want to experiment with different browsers. Click Start Benchmark and wait while Namebench runs its tests. It should take several minutes. A browser tab should pop open when Namebench is done and give you a list of DNS servers and how much faster they are than the one you're currently using, unless yours are already the fastest possi...

Nearly a billion of us earthlings log into Facebook daily, and spend about 8 hours per month on the free social networking site. From  stalking  catching up with friends, to sharing daily activity through status updates and apps, and customizing the look of our Timelines, many of us have invested hours in our online personas. But how often do you review your account to adjust settings, throw out unused apps, and make necessary changes to reflect the way you presently use Facebook? It's probably been a while since you did a little cleanup. In the spirit of spring, follow these five steps to revamp your Facebook account and give yourself a fresh start on your most frequented social network. 1. Lock down your privacy The most important step is to first confirm that you're comfortable with the amount of information you're sharing on Facebook--with friends, apps, and the service itself. These five important privacy features  introduced with Facebook Timeline are the minimum ch...

Facebook is reportedly overhauling its search functionality to compete with Google's search engine, a move that could intensify rivalry between the two web giants even further. According to reports, about 24 Facebook developers, led by ex-Google engineer Lars Rasmussen are working on a new search engine module. The new search engine is likely to allow users to more easily browse Facebook status updates, notes, images and videos. Facebook aims to keep its users from jumping off the social networking site to use Google's search engine for browsing other information. However, many do not see Facebook's new search engine competing with Google's search engine , as Facebook primarily focusses on giving users more access to content available on the social networking site. It is being speculated that the social networking giant may now sell keyword ads, very much like Google and Bing do. Facebook may face tough time while dealing with privacy settings of users, ...

Google has filed a brief at a federal court in Florida defending the file-hosting site Hotfile in its case against the MPAA. The search giant accuses the movie companies of misleading the court and argues that Hotfile is protected under the DMCA’s safe harbor. Indirectly, Google is also refuting claims being made by the US government in the criminal case against Megaupload. In February 2011, the MPAA announced a lawsuit against Hotfile, one of the Internet’s most popular cyberlocker services. The site’s popularity is “a direct result of the massive digital theft that Hotfile promotes,” the movie industry group said. Two weeks ago the movie studios  asked the court  to issue a summary judgment against Hotfile and shut the site down. The MPAA argues that Hotfile is a piracy haven that should not be eligible for DMCA safe harbor protection. This request didn’t go unnoticed by Google, who have now filed an amicus brief in support of the file-hosting site. According to Google, the ...