Coolest Windows 7 Tips and Tricks – Hidden Perks

Microsoft Windows 7 has some really cool Hidden Perks for its users. Today we are going to explore some of these.

psr.exe – Hidden Tutorial Maker in Windows 7

During testing of Windows 7, the engineers working on the Operating System wrote a program to document movements made by mouse in order to debug the Operating System. The program is still in Windows 7 but it is hidden from public. You can access it using command psr.exe. Just click on Start, type psr.exe and hit enter. The following Toolbar will appear.

Press record and go on with whatever work you want to record doing. The program will  save it in a .mhtml file that you can later use for presenting, teaching, etc. This tool also allows you to add comments. With this tool, it is very easy to make presentation and show it to people who want step by step procedure to do any work.

By the way, there is another tool in windows called Snipping Tool that you can use to take snap shot of any thing on the screen(the above picture is taken using this tool). You can find it in Start >> Accessories >> Snipping Tool.

Hidden Themes in Windows 7

There are a few beautiful themes and Wallpapers hidden in windows 7 that you can use. The idea by Microsoft was to Install only that theme which matches your location i.e. if you live in USA United States theme is installed automatically. The other themes that are there and not installed by default are Australia, South Africa, Canada, and United Kingdom. The themes contain  1920 x 1200 resolution wallpapers from the respective countries. Just open explorer and type

C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT

in the address bar , hit enter. It will open the folders containing Wallpapers and themes.

Hope you like my set of hidden Perks. Do let me know in the comments. Stay tuned for more.

Sony Xperia Sola with 1 GHz dual-core processor, 3.7-inch display, NFC announced

Sony has announced Xperia Sola, their new smartphone in the Xperia series. It has 3.7-inch Reality Display and is powered by 1GHz Dual Core Processor. It runs on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) , upgrade to Android 4.0 during summer 2012. It has innovative floating touch navigation technology and is NFC enabled equipped with Xperia SmartTags, allowing consumers to change their smartphone’s settings and applications instantly.

Sony Xperia Sola Specifications

• 3.7-inch (854 x 480 pixels) Reality Display with Mobile BRAVIA Engine
• 9.9 mm thick and weighs 107 grams
• 1 GHz STE U8500 dual-core processor
• Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), upgradeable to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)
• 5MP autofocus camera with flash and 720p HD video recording
• 3G, Wi-Fi, DLNA, Bluetooth, NFC, aGPS
• FM radio with RDS, 3.5 mm audio jack
• 8 GB internal storage (up to 5 GB user-accessible memory), microSD card support up to 32GB
• 1320 mAh battery

The Sony Xperia Sola would come in Red, white, and black colors and would come to Italy and China as Xperia Sole and Xperia MT27i, respectively. It will be available globally in Q2 2012. The price has not been announced yet. 

Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.0 update now rolling out for European countries and Korea

After lot of rumors about the ICS update, Samsung has officially announced that the Samsung Galaxy S2 Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update is rolling out in European countries including Poland, Hungary, Sweden, as well as Korea starting today and will gradually roll out to other markets.

Samsung announced the list of devices that would receive the Android 4.0 update last December. The device that are not eligible for the Android 4.0 update such as GALAXY S, GALAXY Tab 7, GALAXY S Plus, GALAXY S SCL (Super Clear LCD), and GALAXY W would receive Android 2.3 Gingerbread firmware upgrades from end of March. The Galaxy S firmware upgrade would bring new features such as Face Unlock, Snapshot, Photo Editor and more.

Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) update for GALAXY Note, GALAXY S II LTE, GALAXY Tab 8.9 and 10.1 will follow soon.

Tethered Jailbreak Already Available For iOS 5.1 With Redsn0w

Well, that was quick. Despite iOS 5.1 being available for less than 24 hours, developers at the iPhone Dev-Team blog have already managed to get a tethered jailbreak working, using redsn0w, for non-A5 jailbreakers.

The team originally posted a warning pre-Apple event, stating that those with jailbroken iPhones, iPods and iPads should not update, due to the possibly of a firmware update undoing your hack. Since Apple's keynote yesterday however, developers have worked out a ways of jailbreaking the latest iOS update for different handsets.

Anyone with an iPad 2 or iPhone 4S using iOS 5.1 can do a tethered jailbreak using Redsn0w 0.910b6, thanks to the limera1n exploit by "geohot". Those with previous models or an iPod Touch can also try the Redsn0w jailbreak, but with caution. If you still have an old-bootrom iPhone 3GS, rejoice! You can jailbreak without needing to tether your device.

Ultrasn0w jailbreakers can also take advantage of this method until the jailbreaking software updated, but remember to use a custom IPSW rather than Apple's (IPSW files are how iOS handsets update software). It's worth noting that iBooks also won't be working for a little while, until Redsn0w is updated further.

Head over the the iPhone Dev-Team blog for the Redsn0w download files and be sure to follow the instructions carefully.

Samsung Galaxy Smartphones get free Norton Mobile Security subscription for 90 days

Norton and Samsung  has partnered to offer Norton Mobile Security with 90-day free subscription for Galaxy Smartphone users worldwide. Norton Mobile Security was launched last August and it combines anti-theft features with powerful antimalware to protect users’ important data from loss, theft, viruses and other threats.

The Remote lock feature lets you remotely lock your phone if it’s stolen, Remote location feature shows the location of your phone if it’s stolen, Remote wipe feature lets you remotely erase your personal information on your phone ( including memory card), It Detects and removes threats and also automatically scans downloaded apps and app updates for threats and blocks fraudulent and phishing websites that tries to obtain your personal information, You can also block unwanted calls and text messages from specific people or phone numbers.

Norton Mobile Security supports all Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones and could be downloaded fromSamsung Apps. After the 90-day subscription is over, users can purchase one-year license at $29.99 or continue using the lite version.

iOS 5.1 now available for download

Apple announced the new iPad today along with a new Apple TV. Along with these announcements came the news that iOS 5.1 is finally rolling out today to compatible devices. While the update is still not showing up in iTunes , it is available through OTA (Over The Air).  Make sure you back up your device before updating it. One good news for iPhone 4S users is that battery life is reportedly improved with this update. We observed the same in a beta build. Good news for folks in India and in other countries where 3G coverage is spotty is that the 3G toggle is back (we will confirm this in a bit)

Here is the change log for the iOS 5.1 update

• Japanese language support for Siri
• Delete photos from Photo Stream
• Camera shortcut now always visible on lock screen for iPhone 4S , 4 and 3GS and iPod touch (4G)
• Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
• Redesigned camera app for iPad
• Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized for being louder and clearer
• Addresses bugs affecting battery life
• Updated AT&T network indicator
• Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind iPad
• Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers.

Google launches Google Search App for Windows Phone

Google has launched it’s native Google Search app for Windows Phone 7.5 (Mango) devices that has new design and features. The new features include, Autocomplete, My Location, and Voice Search.

Features of Google Search for Windows Phone

• Search by voice and skip the typing, simply press the microphone and begin speaking your query.
• Google Instant and Autocomplete predicts the words as you type, making search entry easier and faster
• Find relevant results and places near you with the my location feature.

Download Google Search for Windows Phone from the Windows Phone Marketplace for free. Google says it’s available worldwide, but looks like it’s available in limited markets only.