Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons

Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows XP.

1. Start regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile
3. Delete the IsShortcut registry value.

You may need to restart Windows XP.

IPL line up Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen

England players are on a collision course with the England and Wales Cricket Board over new central contracts after teams from the Indian Premier League raised the stakes by lining up six-figure offers for Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff.
It is believed that Pietersen is the subject of bids from all eight IPL franchises, while reports in India suggest Flintoff is close to a deal with the Kolkata Knight iders, the glamorous team owned by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Flintoff's agent, Neil Fairbrother, last night denied a deal was imminent.

Both would command fees of more than $1.5 million (£750,000) per year and are set to lead an English invasion of the IPL. England one-day captain Paul Collingwood is expected to sign an IPL deal, too, with Owais Shah, Stuart Broad and Ravi Bopara also the subjects of lucrative bids believed to be in the region of $300,000.
The IPL bids are on the table at a time when the ECB are thrashing out new central contracts with the England players. It had been hoped they would be signed by Monday but the players union, the Professional Cricketers' Association, failed yesterday to agree terms with the ECB.
Until the new central contracts are signed, the ECB will not issue the non-objection certificate a player needs before joining an IPL team. It is a stance that has led to fears in the England dressing room that the IPL franchises will lose patience and take their offers elsewhere. "It is a stumbling block," one IPL source said.
The ECB this week agreed to hold a Test series against Sri Lanka next May, which leaves a window of only 10-12 days for England players to play the IPL.
IPL contracts are paid on a pro-rata basis and returning early from the tournament would cost a player up to $300,000 per week. It is on this basis that the players will demand a pay rise when the new central contracts kick in this September.

Apple iPhone India launch likely in Sept

Indians will no longer need to illegally buy, unlock and then use the most-desired item on gadget lovers' lists -- the Apple iPhone. Its much-awaited and delayed India launch is expected with telecom operator Vodafone in the first week of September.

The Cupertino, California-based company, according to Apple retail sources, said initially the 8 GB version of the much-hyped touchscreen device -- which combines Wi-Fi capabilities with a powerful email client, TV feeds, online music store and map-based location guide -- will be launched at a price ranging between Rs 27,200 and Rs 28,000.

Based on buyer response, the launch of the 16 GB version will be staggered to the middle of 2009.

Apple sources in Singapore, when contacted last month, had maintained that the India launch would happen in 2008, but were tight-lipped on the exact date.

Apple reportedly claims to have shipped four million iPhones this January since its US launch on June 29 last year, and its chief Steve Jobs has targeted sales of 10 million units by December 2008.

The tie-up is an exclusive arrangement with AT&T. Initial sales targets for the iPhone in India or unit numbers at the time of launch are as yet unavailable, with Apple wary of grey market sales in India.

"The carrier deal for India is being worked out with Vodafone," said an Apple source, adding: "Vodafone could also become the carrier for the Australian market once iPhone is launched there, though more than one carrier is likely for Australia."

When contacted, a Vodafone spokesperson denied any knowledge of the deal. However, company sources confirmed the iPhone carrier deal with Apple, though the exact commercial terms were not disclosed. Mobile carriers that offer the iPhone share a percentage of their sales with Apple.

The Apple retail sources also did not rule out Apple extending universal access for iPhone users to all major telecom carriers in India.

"Post launch in India, the iPhone can be 'unlocked' (or configured to use SIM cards from all telecom carriers), though the company is not fully open to such a possibility," the source said.

The real signs of 'iFatigue' in India over the long wait for the iPhone are evident on Internet chat forums where users debate thorny issues like how to unlock the iPhone without losing call quality, free open source hacker kits like AppTapp, the best unlock deals at the right price, and quick bargains in the grey market.

Meanwhile, Apple India's tentative expansion plans in the coming year include opening a second branch of its exclusive product station, the iStore, in Bangalore's southern suburb of Jayanagar to tap growing demand for the iPod series and the Mac Book Air workstation launched early this year. A third iStore is planned to be launched in Chennai this August.

As the Indian mobile subscriber base gets set to almost double to 500 million by 2010, brand positioning and pricing schemes will be crucial. Customer churn has increased across telecom circles from 18 per cent in 2006 to 20 per cent in 2007, according to IDC India figures. The iPhone's entry could tilt the balance further, say industry watchers.

Further, the introduction of number portability could prompt customers to jump to competing networks or go in for superior handsets with better offerings.

No matter how much of the iPhone's feature basket will be available to the user initially, those awaiting the launch agree that it's better to have the ecosystem in place before buying the phone.

The rewards of buying the kosher version far outstrip the risks of stalking it down the murky alleys of the grey market, and hacking and re-hacking the device every time Apple releases a software upgrade. Till September, then.

shows me the way

Lyrics

turn away my face from him
lost & lonly desert
own desire rules mu world
never ever cared for
chasin every dark & deep
tears rollin down my way
i never know where i've to go
to wash my sins away

he holds my hand, shows me the way
where i've to go, holds my soul in tight
dreams of life, dreams of love
turns my breath again

life is when i turn'd my steps
into the holy heaven
i heard his voice in every move
like a shadow beside me
face of darkness moved away
when the fire lights my way
destination clear & sharp,
word of God within me.

Try this is Fun

They're all weird but #7 will blow your mind!!! Just follow the directions as stated.


You should see a man's face and also a word...
Hint: Try tilting your head to the right, the world begins with 'L'

If you take a look at the following picture , let me tell you . it is not animated. Your eyes are making it move. To test this, stare at one spot for a couple seconds and everything will stop moving. Or look at the black center of each circle and it will stop moving. But move your eyes to the next black center and the previous will move after you take your eyes away from it.... Weird



Do you see gray areas in between the squares?
Now where did they come from?

Are the purple lines straight or bent?


Is This Possible??

Elastic mouse follower - Flash

create a movieclip give it the instance name sam and put this code on the timeline

// Create and initialize some variables

distx = 0;
disty = 0;
momentumx = 0;
momentumy = 0;

_root.sam.onEnterFrame = function() {
// follow the mouse in a more elastic way
// by using momentum

distx = sam._x - _xmouse;
disty = sam._y - _ymouse;
momentumx -= distx / 200;
momentumy -= disty / 200;

// dampen the momentum a little

momentumx *= 0.95;
momentumy *= 0.95;

// go get that mouse!

sam._x += momentumx;
sam._y += momentumy;
}

Tableless forms-CSS

<form>
<label for="name" >Name</label>
<input id= "name" name= "name" ><br>
<label for= "address" >Address</label>
<input id= "address" name= "address" ><br>
<label for= "city" >City</label>
<input id= "city" name= "city" ><br>
</form>

label,input {
display : block ;
width : 150px ;
float : left ;
margin-bottom : 10px ;
}


label {
text-align : right ;
width : 75px ;
padding-right : 20px ;
}


br {
clear : left ;
}

Drawing Lessons

10 tips for good night's sleep

Stick to a schedule. Erratic bedtimes do not allow for your body to align to the proper circadian rhythms. Mum was right when she set a time we always had to go to sleep as kids. Also, make sure you try to keep the same schedule on weekends too, otherwise the next morning, you’d wake later and feel overly tired.

Sleep only at night. Avoid daytime sleep if possible. Daytime naps steal hours from nighttime slumber. Limit daytime sleep to 20-minute, power naps.

Exercise. It’s actually known to help you sleep better. Your body uses the sleep period to recover its muscles and joints that have been exercised. Twenty to thirty minutes of exercise every day can help you sleep, but be sure to exercise in the morning or afternoon. Exercise stimulates the body and aerobic activity before bedtime may make falling asleep more difficult.

Taking a hot shower or bath before bed helps bring on sleep because they can relax tense muscles.

Avoid eating just before bed. Avoid eat large meals or spicy foods before bedtime. Give yourself at least 2 hours from when you eat to when you sleep. This allows for digestion to happen (or at least start) well before you go to sleep so your body can rest well during the night, rather than churning away your food.

Avoid caffeine. It keeps you awake and that’s now what you want for a good nights sleep. We all know that.

Read a fiction book. It takes you to a whole new world if you really get into it. And then take some time to ponder over the book as you fall asleep. I find as I read more and more, regardless of the book, I get more tired at night and so find it easier to fall asleep. Different for others?

Have the room slightly cooler. I prefer this to a hot room. I prefer to turn off the heat and allow the coolness to circulate in and out of the windows. If I get cold, I wear warmer clothes. It also saves on the bills as you’re not going to require the heat all night long.

Sleep in silence. I find sleeping with no music or TV on more easy and restful. I guess others are different, but sleep with no distractions is best for a clearer mind.

Avoid alcohol before bedtime. It’s a depressant; although it may make it easier to fall asleep, it causes you to wake up during the night. As alcohol is digested your body goes into withdrawal from the alcohol, causing nighttime awakenings and often nightmares for some people.

Tips to Improve Self Confidence

Here are some quick tips to improve your Self Confidence. If we are committed to have a healthy self confidence there are many things you can do every day to boost your self confidence, each small steps that will help you to reach your goal. The good news is that self-esteem is not fixed and can be improved, try some of the steps below to boost your confidence and self-esteem.

1) Identify your successes. Everyone is good at something, so discover the things at which you excel, then focus on your talents. Give yourself permission to take pride in them. Give yourself credit for your successes. Inferiority is a state of mind in which you've declared yourself a victim. Do not allow yourself to be victimized.

2) Look in the mirror and smile. Studies surrounding what's called the "facial feedback theory" suggest that the expressions on your face can actually encourage your brain to register certain emotions. So by looking in the mirror and smiling every day, you might feel happier with yourself and more confident in the long run.

3) Exercise and eat healthy. Exercise raises adrenaline and makes one feel happier and healthier. It is certainly an easy and effective way to boost your self-confidence.

4) Turn feelings of envy or jealousy into a desire to achieve. Stop wanting what others have just because they have it; seek things simply because you want them, whether anybody else has them or not.

5) When you're feeling superbly insecure, write down a list of things that are good about you. Then read the list back. You'd be surprised at what you can come up with.

6) Don't be afraid to push yourself a bit - a little bit of pressure can actually show just how good you are!

7) You can try taking a martial arts or fitness class/course (or both). This will help build confidence and strength.

8) Invest in some new clothing and donate some of your old clothing to send a message to yourself that you both look sharp and feel sharp.

9) Try to make yourself talk positively at all times. When you hear yourself saying you can't do something, stop and say you can. Unless you try, you will never know whether you are able to or not.

10) Don't get wrapped up in your mistakes and dwell on bad points; they can contrast your good points or even give you something to improve. There's no feeling like being good at something you were really bad at.

11) Don't confuse what you have with who you are. People degrade their self worth when comparing possessions.

12) Surround yourself with nurturing friends, not overly critical individuals who make you feel inadequate or insecure. This could do great harm and damage to your self confidence.

Gradient text effect-CSS

Gradient text effect

<h1><span></span>CSS Gradient Text</h1>

h1 {
font : bold 330 % / 100 % "Lucida Grande" ;
position : relative ; color : # 464646 ;
}

h1 span {
background : url ( gradient .png ) repeat-x ;
position : absolute ; display : block ;
width : 100 % ; height : 31px ;
}

<!-- [ if lt IE 7 ] >
<style>

h1 span {
background : none ;
filter: progid :DXImageTransform .Microsoft .AlphaImageLoader ( src= 'gradient.png' , sizingMethod= 'scale' ) ;
}

</style>

<! [ endif ] -->