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1 – Setting Up
Take your object (Australian flag in this case), and make some space around it, by clicking Image > Canvas Size, and putting in a greater height and width for the canvas.

2 – Creating a Gradient
Now make a new image, the same size as your first image.

Select the "Gradient" tool, and edit the gradient (Click on the visual representation of the gradient, or click on "Edit" on the Options tab.) Put in lots of black and white markers, as I've done in the image (this will make your gradient produce black and white bars).

3 – Applying the Gradient
Hold down Shift, and apply the gradient across your new image from left to right.

4 – Softening the Gradient
Click Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, and blur your image a bit. This image is now your "displacement map". Save this image (I generally use the name "dispmap.psd").

5 – Applying the Displacement Map
Now go back to your original flag image, and click Filter > Distort > Displace. Put 0% in "Horizontal Scale" and 5% in "Vertical Scale". (You can go higher if you want the waves to be bigger.) When it asks for a file, select your displacement map. (This will distort your image depending on how dark the displacement map is at that point.)

6 – Bringing in the Displacement Map
Now grab your displacement map image, and drag it onto your image. Use the arrow keys to nudge the displacement map until it covers the whole image.

7 – Using an Overlay to Create Some Light
Change the displacement map layer's Mode from Normal to Overlay, and reduce its opacity (75% is good).

Voila, a funky flag. Scroll up and compare this image to the first one, and you'll really notice the difference.

This technique can also be used to make realistic curtains, ribbons, and banners.

Windows 7 Installation Guide

In this guide I will explain how to install Windows 7 in a maximum of 40 minutes by both DVD and USB. This guide is for any version of Windows 7 and both x86 and x64 are installed the same way. To start you will need an ISO image of the version of Windows 7 you have chosen and either a DVD or USB Drive.

Preparing the DVD from the ISO image

You will need a DVD Burner, a DVD burning software and a blank DVD-R or DVD-RW to prepare the installation disk. You can use any of the popular burner programs out there but I prefer PowerISO. Here is a link to CDBurnerXP - http://cdburnerxp.se/ which is a free alternative.

Using the DVD burning software of your choice, burn the Windows 7 ISO image to the DVD. Make sure you choose a very low burning speed, 4x or 8x, for better results.

Preparing the USB from the ISO image

Here are the five simple steps that you need to follow to create a bootable USB flash drive to install Windows 7 from USB device:

Note: You need a USB flash drive with a minimum of 4 GB of free space. And also please backup your data from USB first.

1. Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool and install it.

2. Run the program, browse to your Windows 7 ISO image using the Browse button.

3. In this step, you need to select your media type. As we are here to create a bootable USB, simply click on USB Device button.

4. Select your USB flash drive from the drop down box and click on Begin copying button.

5. The Windows 7 USB/DVD tool will take a few minutes to complete the procedure.

Boot from Windows 7 DVD/USB

Now that you have created your installation media it is time to start the installation. The first step is to place your Windows 7 DVD into the DVD tray or insert the USB into a free USB port and boot the machine. Your computer needs to be configured to boot from DVD/USB. This is done via BIOS. On most computers, the BIOS menu can be accessed by pressing either the F2 or Del keys while the machine is booting. If you are booting from your DVD select your DVD drive and if USB select the USB drive (It should be an item by itself in the menu but if not select Removable Devices). Image 1

After your selection press any key if you see "Press any key to continue message" to continue. Next a "Windows is loading files" window will appear. This is loading any drivers needed for installation and copying any needed files into memory. Image 2

Then you will see the Starting Windows Animation appear. Image 3

After a few moments, you will reach the installation menu. Your first step is to choose the Language, Time and currency format, and Keyboard layout. Make your selections by using the pull down menus and press the Next button. Image 4

Here we have the option of repairing a previous installation or Install Now. Since this is a clean installation of Windows 7 and not a repair, Install NowInstall Now button to continue to the next screen. Image 5

Windows 7 is working in the background. This may take several minutes depending on the system. Image 6

Here we see the License Agreement you must accept before continuing. After reading the agreement, check the box next to I accept the license termsNext button. Image 7

Here we would be able to choose an Upgrade install (if running setup from a previous version of Windows, such as Vista) or a Custom (clean) install. Select the whole box containing Custom (advanced) to continue to the next screen. Image 8

This is the important step as you need to select the drive which you have already prepared for the Windows 7 installation. Note that selecting a wrong partition will wipe out the data. Also note that the installation creates another small partition of 200 MB if you are installing on an empty hard drive. Don't worry as the 200MB partition will not be shown in explorer. Image 9

Inexperienced users can simply highlight the unallocated space and click Next. The partitioning layout will be created for them. However, we want to explore additional features. To this end, we need to expand the Drive options (advanced). Image 10

You now have the option to create new partitions, format them with a desired filesystem, change the size of existing or newly created partition (Extend), or delete them. The Load Driver function is usually necessary if you want to create more complex setups like RAID. According to official system requirements, Windows 7 needs 16 GB of free space. However, you can do with less. The minimum recommended space for a partition where you want to place Windows 7 is 10350MB. Eventually, the installation itself will take approx. 7 GB.

Just for your information, here's a snippet of what would happen if you try to install Windows 7 on a partition that does not meet the minimum expected size limit: Image 11

After finishing your particular partition configuration that you desire, select the Next button to continue. Windows may restart many times during the installation and you need not to worry about that. This process can take 10 to 60 minutes depending on the system. Image 12

Here we see the system needing to reboot to continue installation tasks. You can hit the Restart Now button or just allow the reboot to happen automatically after several seconds. Image 13

is the proper choice. Highlight the and select

First Restart

Here we see progress as Windows 7 updates the registry settings. This process may take several minutes before going to the next screen. Image 14

Windows 7 starts up required services at this point in the setup process. Image 15

Windows 7 continues to install at this screen. Image 16

After initial setup is complete, another reboot is required with no user input. Image 17

Second Restart

This is the screen you will be greeted with upon each boot. Windows 7 is starting up! Image 18

Setup is now preparing the system for initial booting. Unlike the previous screen capture, you will not see this on each boot. Image 19

Here is where Windows 7 tests the systems video performance to see if Aero will be enabled or not. This test will only last a few minutes. Image 20

Here is where the initial account creation happens. This user will have full administrator privileges and automatically be logged in after setup is completed. Enter in your user name and computer name as you would like it to be identified on the network and then select the Next button. Image 21

This screen prompts you to enter a password for the account that you just created. I highly recommend that you password your account. Enter it twice, and then include a "password hint" to help remind you of what it is if you misplace or forget it. You, of course, should not enter in your actual password in this field, but a subtle reminder to jog your memory. After this information is entered, select the Next button. Image 22

The next step is to activate your Windows. Grab your key and type it here. Image 23

This screen asks you to configure your Automatic Updates settings. I recommend to most users to Use Recommended Settings here. These options can always be changed later. Make your selection to continue to the next screen. Image 24

Ensure that your time zone is entered correctly and that the correct date and time is selected. After this information is verified, select the Next button. Image 25

If you are currently connected to the internet the following screen will display. Your location will determine the firewall settings for your newly installed Windows 7. You have three choices: home, work or public network. Home and work networks are supposed to be trusted, so you should not experience any problems adding other machines to your group or sharing data with them. However, the public network is meant to be untrusted. So if you have installed Windows 7 in, let's say, Internet cafe, then you should choose the third option. Image 26

Windows 7 is now connecting to the network. This is where your initial IP address is acquired and internet connectivity is verified. Image 27

Windows 7 is finally... finalizing settings. This should only take a few moments to complete. (If you have embedded Windows Loader by Daz into the installation media after a few seconds a bar will appear at the top of the window stating that the loader is installing.) Image 28

Not much to say here. Just wait some more. If you have embedded Windows loader By DAZ into the installation media your computer will restart here. Image 29

Your initial desktop is setup here. This process will take a few moments, but only happen once. Image 30

Windows 7 is now finished being installed and are greeted with the desktop. It is worth noting that you did not need to log in this time, but after rebooting (or logging off), you will see the login screen and you must enter the user name and password created earlier to return to this point. (If you have embedded Windows Loader by Daz into the installation media you would have had to login on reboot.) Image 31

Post Install

After installation I suggest that you install all available updates via Windows Update and install anti-virus software. I suggest using Microsoft Security Essentials or Avast.

Have any Questions?
Check out the FAQ below for the answers!
If you have a question not listed feel free to post below and I will add it with its answer!

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the system requirements to run Windows 7?
A: The system requirements are as follows:
Of course it's recommended to a higher specification than that MS has given us.
* 1 GHz (or faster) 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
* 1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)
* 16GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20GB (64-bit)
* DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
* DVD-ROM Drive or USB Drive
* Audio output capability
* Internet access capability

Q: Should I install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7?
A: If your computer has a central processing unit (CPU) that is capable of running a 64-bit version of Windows, then you can install the 64-bit version of Windows 7.
To find out if your processor is 64-bit-capable in Windows 7 or Windows Vista, do the following:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type Performance Information and Tools, and then, in the list of results, click Performance Information and Tools.

2. Do one of the following:
In Windows 7, click View and print detailed performance and system information.
In Windows Vista, click View and print details.

3. In the System section, you can see what type of operating system you're currently running under System type, and whether or not you can run a 64-bit version of Windows under 64-bit capable. (If your computer is already running a 64-bit version of Windows, you won't see the 64-bit capable listing.)


Q: About how long does the installation take?
A: It depends on computer configuration and installation media. Expect to take about 30-40 minutes with DVD. Expect 20-30 minutes to install from USB.

Q: I am the only user on my computer, how can I get the computer to log on automatically?
A: Start by typing "control userpasswords2" in the search box and hit enter. Then uncheck the box "Username and password is required to use this computer", then press enter and finally, enter your password in the "Automatic login" and press ok. You will log in automatically after a reboot.

Have any other Questions not listed above?
Feel free to post below and I will add it with its answer!

Credit to
jlgager From MDL & tcntad from SC ( & me of course )

Choosing more secure passwords will help keep your identity safe on the internet.
So this is how to create secure, easy-to-remember passwords.

> STEP ONE : CHOOSE A PHRASE :

You can create a more secure password by starting with a simple phrase. For example

"Happiness is having a scratch for every itch."

If we use the first letter of each word, and substitute 4 for "for", we get: Hihas4ei


>STEP TWO : ADD SPECIAL CHARACTERS

This is a reasonably strong password but we can improve it a bit by adding some special characters:
#Hihas4ei:


>STEP THREE : ASSOCIATE IT WITH A WEBSITE :

We can use our new password on several different websites by adding a prefix or suffix with a mnemonic link to a particular site. Let's use the first letter and the next two consonants in the site name.

Just to add a bit more randomness we'll alternate upper-case and lower case, and if the first character in the site name is a vowel we'll start with upper-case. To mix things up a bit more we'll use the same rule to decide whether to add the site mnemonic to the left side or the right side.

fCb#Hihas4ei: for Facebook
#Hihas4ei:YtB for YouTube


Try it your self
Take a moment to think of a phrase that's meaningful to you. Use that phrase to create a secure password that you can customize for each website you visit.

______________________________________________________


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COU5T-Wafa4

all hope you all doing well


The Windows Live Messenger 2011 (MSN Messenger build version 15) has been released for quite some time. However, there are still many users, especially people who started to use since MSN Messenger, have been complaining, felt annoying and cannot get used or accustomed to some major feature changes, such as no more block list and unable to change display name (nickname).

As a result, many WLM (Windows Live Messenger) users have decided to stay at Windows Live Messenger 2009 (build version 14) by not upgrading to newer version. However, Microsoft has started to prompt Windows Vista and Windows 7 users running Windows Live Essentials 2009 to install and upgrade to Windows Live Essentials 2011 as a part of a recommend Windows Update.

Here's a few workarounds, tricks and patches which allows users to continue using Windows Live Messenger (Essentials) 2009, and avoiding continuous reminders or notifications from Microsoft for the "free upgrade" offer.

Method 1: Hide the Windows Live Essentials 2011 entry in Windows Update ( windows Vista / 7 )


Open Windows Update.

Click Check for updates.

Wait for a few seconds for Windows Update to populate the available updates. Once this information appears on screen, a new option will appear displaying total number of updates are available. Click this feature to proceed.

Right-click the Windows Live Essentials 2011 update and select the Hide option.

Windows Update will not prompt user to install the upgrade in future.

Hint: To revert and restore the hidden updates, just go back to Windows Update and click "Restore Hidden Updates", then select the update you want to restore and press "Restore".

Method 2: Change compatibility mode of msnmsgr.exe to Windows XP or earlier


Windows Live Essentials (and Messenger) 2009 is the last version that supports and available for Windows XP operating system. Hence, the upgrade is not available for Windows XP system. Thus, the hack is to let the Messenger client program to assume that it's running on Windows XP or older operating system.

To do this, navigate and right click on msnmsgr.exe executable located in %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Windows Live\Messenger folder, and select Properties in the context menu. Go to Compatibility tab. Tick the check box for Run this program in compatibility mode for and set its compatibility mode to Windows XP (Service Pack 3) or Windows 2000.

for windows XP users choose Windows 2000 .


Method 3: Manually installing this patch will do the job




Anti-Mise a jour patch





regards

Salamu Alaikom all.

I am finally going to share my ultimate secret, how to download the latest movies and superfast speeds and virus/ads/popups free.
I have been using this method over 8 yrs and nothing beats it seriously (rapidshare almost did but failed).

Ok well, it took me a long time to get fumiliar with all the options, so I dont expect you to learn overnight. But I have given you the best of the best.


1. download this file http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TVQ7EFLI
2. extract it and install it
3. open it and you will get the mIRC options window.
4. enter your details, for e.g. nickname: fatony alternative: slimtony
5. In the same window, go down to DCC and select: Auto-get file, tick minimise, and if file exists select: Resume. Press ok and get out of the options window.
6. go to file>connect (if it hasnt already)
7. to search for movies, you have two options. There are TMD movies which are usually small files no more than 300mb on average and there are the Xvid, AVI, Blueray movies which are 700mb and plus.
10. to search for 300mb movies click on 'Find Assistant' at the top and search by title e.g. type: Salt, select moviez and click search. The you will get a list of users with that movie, just scroll through them and see the one that suits you.

--------------
To download 700mb and above, go to:
1. http://www.xweasel.org/Search.php (add it to your favourites)
2. search for the movie you want, lets say: Salt 2010 and rearrange the results by Record (record means the speed at which that user will seed to the file to you. Some people have Fast as dirt speeds).
3. CLICK on the movie you want (make sure it is the size and quality you want) when you click, it will popup a little window with a link that starts with /msg etc... click on that and it will automatically take u to mIRC.

4. In mIRC select 'open new connection' and let it connect you to that Channel. Once it's done, go to the colourful window it opened and its pretty much pressing Ctrl+v and press enter. The movie should start downloading right away, if not, wait a little bit because it might have put you in a queue.
5. If after 10mins download didnt start, in mIRC, under the new server you joined, you will find a channel called: @XDCCKKlipper ... in there you will find a list of movies, just select the one you want and double click .

It took me two years to get fumiliar will all the options, I dont expect you to become expert overnight.

TIP: If you started downloading a movie, note down the name of the server, because it is important that you go back to that same server. Resuming from a different server can give you a corrupt file!

e.g. of what it should look like:

Learn the basics of Photoshop animation following this tutorial which shows how to create a vibrating-speaker animation . This effect can also be used on adverts, so that they'll catch the user's .



1. Choose the image you want to animate, I've chose this one:




2. Open it using Photoshop. First, you may want to add some empty margins to the image. Go to Image->Canvas Size ( Alt+Ctrl+C ).



3. If you want, you can also add a background layer. (Optional)






4. Now we need to animate this. The first step in creating an animation in Photoshop is to open the animation window. ( Window->Animation ). Next, click three times the "duplicate selected frames" button from the animation window, so you'll have 4 frames in the end.



5. Duplicate the layer containing the speaker (CTRL+J) and apply Filter->Blur->Radial Blur using these settings:



6. Now, in the Animation Window, click on the first frame and hide the blured layer (by clicking the eye icon next to it), do the same for the 3rd frame. Show the blured layer on the 2nd and 4th frames and hide the second layer.
Your 1st and 3rd frames should look like this:

Your 2nd and 4th frames should look like this:

.7

If you press the "play" button in the animation window you can already see the animation, but we still need to edit the delay between frames.
For the first frame choose 0,1seconds, for the third one 0,3seconds and for the other two leave the delay to 0seconds.
It's up to you to choose the right delays for your needs

8. To save the animation go to File->Save for Web and Devices (ALT+SHIFT+CTRL+S) choose GIF and save. To view the animation you may need to open it using a web browser. Here is final outcome:

If there's anything unclear just PM me .

thanks

Firefox 4 is the newest version of web browser from Mozilla Firefox open source browser series, which features support for GPU hardware acceleration and various enhancements. As Firefox 4 is a major version upgrade, add-ons, plug-ins or extensions that have not been updated to support Firefox 4 will not be compatible with Firefox 4.

Firefox 4 has built-in plugins and add-ons compatibility check which automatically prevents and stops incompatible add-ons, plug-ins or extensions from been installed onto the browser.

• In Firefox 4, type about:config into the address bar, and hit Enter or Go.
• If promoted with a "This might void your warranty!" warning, click on I'll be careful, I promise! button.
• Right click on the window, and select New -> Boolean.
• Enter extensions.checkCompatibility.4.0 as the preference name.

• Set the value of "extensions.checkCompatibility.4.0″ to False.
• User can now install or re-enable incompatible extensions. Firefox 4 will allow end-user to select the option to install any for incompatible extensions, plugins or add-ons.

It's important to understand that not all extension will work perfectly in new version of Firefox, especially when it's been tagged as incompatible. Incompatible extensions, plugins or add-ins may cause crashes immediately after installing or enabling, or after a future application upgrade.

Note: The hack to disable compatibility check on Firefox 4 works on both final RTM and pre-release RC (Release Candidate version), as the RC effectively replace any existing Firefox installation.

If you are regular users for both Facebook and Gmail and would like to quickly switch between both, now there is way to integrate Facebook login interface into Gmail directly. Thanks to iBuno that has added this into Gmail's Lab.

The way to enable this is pretty straight forward, just follow below steps: ( must use the standard view )

• For the start, go to Gmail -> Settings -> Labs and browse to "Add any gadget by URL". Click on Enable and it will add a "Gadgets" tab to Settings.

Then, go to "Gadgets" tab, copy the below link " http://hosting.gmodu...37/facebook.xml " and paste into the text field follow by a click on Add button.





By now, you should be able to find a gadget icon on the left pane bar. Click on it will bring up a new interface within your Gmail where you can login to Facebook directly.





This is pretty useful especially when you have trouble accessing Facebook in your work space and with this workaround, and with such ability to integrate the Facebook Gadget to your Gmail, you will be able to update your status as well as getting all your friends' updates in real time.

all hope you doing great & fine all

As you know that there are a lot of free great lessons for students & teachers on iTunes.

This post will show you how to get free quality resources to support your studies, for example in studying foreign languages.

A- Fastest way (when you knew podcast name, keywords… NOT RECOMMENDED for first time users):

Certainly you need to install iTunes first.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

After installed iTunes to your computer, just open iTunes, click on iTunes Store, then search your podcasts.






Or you can browse like this:

B- Manual way (you can manually browse to many popular podcasts )

Step 1 : Certainly you need to install iTunes.

You can download and install it for free from here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

Step 2: Open your browser (Firefox, Google Chrome…) and visit Podcasts for Education> Language Courses with this link:

http://itunes.apple....language/id1469






Certainly you can subscribe to other categories, here we focus on finding free educational podcasts.

Step 3: You will see a lot of popular podcasts in step 2, select a letter to begin to find your favorite podcasts or simply try one of the popular podcast link if you do not know any specific course. Remember we here are talking about free podcasts only, so try to find the free one huh

For example here I have found one:

Free EF PodEnglish: http://itunes.apple....ish/id214220712

Step 4: Click on the blue button "View in iTunes"




It will open the podcast in iTunes:



Click on Subscribe Free and confirm to subscribe again, iTunes will start to download for you. If you want to download a specific file, just double click on FREE under the tab Price.






Or you can download all click on Get All as the image bellow

That's it!

Happy studying!