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Compress Your Images To The Last Bytes With Smush It

smushit
If you have followed my posts previously, you will know that I am a fanatic in optimizing my site for the best performance. One of the thing that I do is to optimize and reduce the images to the smallest possible size without losing the visual quality.
If you are wondering why reducing the size of your images can help in the site’s performance, basically the bigger the size of your images, the slower it takes for the server to load, and the higher probability that your server will crash when you experience a traffic spike (like reach Digg front page). In addition, if you are hosting your images on a third party site, like Amazon S3, having a smaller image also mean lesser cost as the charge is based on the bandwidth and storage space used.

Smush.it is a service developed by the Yahoo Exceptional Performance team, aimed to improve the performance of your site. What SmushIt does is to strip all the metadata from the images and compress them using an optimization algorithm that will not only reduce the size, but also preserve the visual quality. When I first used it, I were surprised to see a 30% reduction in the size of the image that I have optimized in Photoshop. Most of the time that I use Smushit, it is able to shave 10-50%, occasionally 80% off the image size.
There are several ways that you can utilize Smush it.

Upload your image

If you have some images in your computer that you want to optimize, you can easily upload your images to Smushit via the onsite uploader. There is no limit to the number of images that you can upload, but do bear in mind that the more you upload, the slower it is.
smushit-upload

Image URL

Instead of uploading, you can also point Smushit to a Web URL (for example, your site) and get it to analyze and optimize all the images in that URL.
smushit-url

Firefox extension

This is by far, my favorite way of using Smushit. If you are using Firefox browser, you can install the Smushit Firefox extension and have quick access to it anytime, anywhere. When you are on a web page (perhaps when you are previewing your post article in your site) and you want to optimize the images on that page, simply click on the SmushIt icon on the Status bar and it will analyze and optimize all the images on that page.
Alternative to the Firefox extension is the bookmarklet that you can place on your Bookmark bar.

The result

Once SmushIt has optimized your images, it will show a report of how many bytes it has shaved off the original images and provide you a link to the zipped files of all the compressed images.
smushit-result

WordPress Plugin

Another thing, if you are using WordPress, there is also a Smushit plugin that you can use. Once you have activated the plugin, all the images that you upload to your site will automatically run through SmushIt behind the scene. There is nothing extra that you need to do. Alternatively, you can go to your Media Library in WordPress and process your existing images with SmushIt.
smushit-medialib

Have you tried out SmushIt? Is it useful to you? Share with us in the comments.

Add Your Sign Below All Posts In Blogger / BlogSpot Blogs

If you are using Blogger, and want to show your signature below all the posts, then you can do this in two possible ways: either add it in an HTML/JavaScript widget with the image of your signature or you can directly edit the HTML template of your blog. The second approach is recommended, as the first one may increase the loading time of blog.

In both the methods, first step is common and important, i.e. to get an image of your signature,.For this, either you can
– draw it and scan it, or
– draw it in MS paint / Adobe Photoshop or any other image editing software and save it, or
– (Recommended) Use MyLiveSignature, and type the letters (use capital letters wherever required), and continue: select font, size and color for the sign. Save / download the image.

Now upload it to either Pages.Google.com or GigaImage.com or HotLinkFiles.com, to get direct link of the image(your sign).
You will get a link like this:

http://ANY_WEBSITE.com/images/MY_SIGN.jpg

Now put that link in this code:

<img src="YOUR_DIRECT_LINK_HERE" />

Replace the code in RED color with the direct link of your sign image.

This is the second step, which has two choices (second one is recommended):

1. Adding the sign to HTML/JavaScript widget:

Log in to Blogger, go to Layout, click on Add a Gadget -> HTML/JavaScript type.
Now copy the above code and paste it here. Save the widget, then drag & drop it below the blog posts widget.

2. Adding the sign to the blog’s template.

Log in to Blogger, go to Layout, click on “Edit HTML” tab and click the radio button “Expand Widget Templates“,and find (CTRL+F) this code:

<data:post.body>

And immediately BELOW this, add the above code. And save the template.
That’s it…

It will be displayed like this:

Embed Text Resizing Widget To Increase or Decrease The Font Size

As you know, that some visitors prefer reading in small text size while others prefer larger, depending on their eye power, screen resolution, and monitor distance. So for those visitors, you can place a convenient widget to increase/decrease the font size easily.

Look the example below:
Change Text Size

+ + + + +
Or this one:

Change Text Size:

Small
Medium
Large
Larger
Largest

If you want to use any of the abve widgets, use this code:

Change Text Size 
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’.5em'”>+</a> <a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’1em'”>+</a> <a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’1.5em'”>+</a> <a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’2em'”>+</a> <a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’2.5em'”>+</a>

And to use the second one, use this code:

Change Text Size 
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’.5em'”>Small</a>
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’1em'”>Medium</a>
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’1.5em'”>Large</a>
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’2em'”>Larger</a>
<a href=”javascript:void(0);” onclick=”javascript:body.style.fontSize=’2.5em'”>Largest</a>

If you want you can add this by HTML/JAVASCRIPT

or If you Want to appear this in the post than
Goto Layout > Edit HTML

And check Expand Widget Box

and search for <data:post.body/>

Then If you want it to appear on the top paste the code above <data:post.body/>

If you want it to appear on the bottom paste the code down the <data:post.body/>

And At Last Save It Over Enjoy !

ASCII Text Generator

Before blogging, I used to upload files on RapidShare and earn points with it to get premium account. It was really a great job to earn for my pocket money.

If you are a RapidShare uploader, you might have seen the ReadMe files where users write their website’s name in different styles. Here is a JavaScript code with which you can create your own beautiful ASCII text easily.

Description: “With
this wizard, you can generate your own ASCII (a.k.a. plain text) logo for your
web site. These logos are ideal if you want a catchy page header but don’t want
to have to deal with the loading time of an image or an ActiveX object.”

Important: If
you intend on putting your text logo in a standard html document, surround it
with opening and closing <PRE> tags to avoid common distortions.

Example:

Submit To All Social Bookmarking Websites At Once

Being a webmaster/blogger, after writing every interesting article you would like it to be added in as many of the popular social bookmarking websites as possible. But presently with more than 100 of these websites, the whole work of writing the same description and adding the same article-link again again everywhere, becomes too boring and almost impossible.

But now you have a website/tool – SocialPoster.com to make the process quite easier. You may be having the buttons like “AddThis” or “AddToAny”, but this website is very different from them because through this website, you have to type the url and the description only once and then simply start adding it to the large number of social bookmarking websites, available alongside.

Sites included in the list are:
Digg.com, Propeller.com, Reddit.com, Del.icio.us, Stumbleupon.com, Socialogs.com, Indianpad.com, Google.com/Bookmarks, Technorati.com, Slashdot.org, Getigadget.com, Furl.net, Diigo.com, Wirefan.com, Bibsonomy.org, Blinklist.com, Blogmemes.net, Bluedot.us, Myjeeves.ask.com, Simpy.com, Backflip.com and many more.

Add Button ‘Save Blogger Post As Pdf’ Blogger

How to add ‘save As Pdf Button’ in each blogger post of your blogger so as the readers can save your post in pdf format which they like.This tool will really help your readers in saving your post they like.I am vey happy to post this button as i m sure my readers will like this for sure as is very useful.After this post i will post an trick ‘how to save any blogger all posts as pdf too’ i.e to download all bloggers posts of any blog in pdf format.

How to add ‘save As Pdf Button’ ?

<data:post.body/>

If you are using Read More Hack you will find above code twice so use second code.

Add the below codes after the above codes

<script type="text/javascript">
</script>
<script src="http://web2pdf.freepdfconvert.com/pdfbutton.js" type="text/javascript">
</script>

Preview it.If its work fine.Save your template.

XP Tips & Tricks

XP Tips and Tricks Many of our Microsoft Monday posts over the last several months have focused on Windows Vista — after all, it is the latest operating system from Microsoft. While it’s the “latest and greatest” as they say, we know many of you still use and prefer Windows XP. Today we thought we’d spend some time going over a few Windows XP tips. Some of the tips you may be well familiar with while others will be completely new to you. This will be the first in a two part series, so stay tuned for the 2nd edition.
Many of these tricks use the Windows Registry Editor, which you can start by pressing WinKey+R and type regedit into the box.
Note: Some of these tips may work in Vista, but we have not tested them in Vista.

–Rename the Recycle Bin–

Want to rename the Recycle Bin? Here’s what you gotta do:

Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ CLSID\ {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Double-click on (Default), and change the name of the Recycle Bin. Close the Registry, and press F5 on the desktop to refresh the icon.

–Network Sharing–

When you’re looking at files on a network drive you might have noticed that it can take a rather long time (up to 30 seconds). What happens is XP checks to see if the other PC has any scheduled tasks. You can disable that by:

Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\RemoteComputer\NameSpace.
Delete the {D6277990-4C6A-11CF-8D87-00AA0060F5BF} key. Close the Registry.
While you’re there you can also delete the {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D} key if you don’t use printer sharing.
Reboot your computer.

–Excessive Printing–

This probably isn’t for home users, but for all the people out there that do a lot or printing this is something you should consider doing. By tweaking this Registry setting the printing process will have a higher priority. Here’s the details:

Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHING\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print.
Create a new DWORD called SpoolerPriority, and give it a value of 1.
Reboot your computer.

–Disable Last Access Time Stamp–

This small little tweak is a great one, because it disables a feature that most people never even use. By default Windows always keeps track of the “Last Accessed” date in the file or folder’s properties. If you’re constantly opening and closing files you’re causing some additional work for Windows since it has to update the last accessed date each time. If you never use that property feel free to disable it:

Run the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\ FileSystem.
Create a new DWORD called NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate, and give it a value of 1.
Reboot your computer.

–Remove Text from Icons–

I would have to put this trick up near the top of my favorites list. With it you can prevent the text from appearing below icons on the desktop. If you’re looking to clean up your desktop a bit this could be the perfect way:

Right-click on an icon, and choose the Rename option. Delete all of the text.
Hold down the Alt key and type 0160 (note: you shouldn’t see any text being typed). That will essentially make a space character the file name. Press Enter to save the results.
You can repeat this for several icons, but there is one catch. You probably know that you can’t have multiple icons in the same folder (or on the desktop) with the same name. To get around that for a second shortcut you can do Alt+0160 + Alt+0160. That will essentially create two spaces for the filename, and for a third shortcut you could do Alt+0160 + Alt+0160 + Alt+0160. As you can see this would get tedious rather quickly, but for a handful of shortcuts it is pretty nice.

From Netbook to Jetbook- Make your notebook super fast

The birth of the Intel Atom processor has been instrumental in paving the way for low-budget, ultra-compact and energy-efficient laptops which are popularly known as netbooks. These are the most compact mobile computing solutions that offer a complete web experience when on the move. The Intel Atom N270 clocked at 1.60 GHz along with 1 GB RAM, which is the bare minimum for running Windows XP, and a bunch of everyday applications such as an office suite, image viewer and a media player. However, you might want to upgrade the memory or hard drive for better performance and increased storage capacity. It becomes a necessity especially if the capacity of the stock 80 GB or 120 GB hard drive isn’t enough to hold your entire collection of music, videos and photos. In this hands-on story, we show you how to upgrade the memory and hard drive of your netbook. There’s also a big surprise for Eee PC users.

Opening the memory and hard drive compartment

This step is pretty straightforward in the case of Asus Eee PC and Lenovo IdeaPad S10. You will find a small plastic panel fastened by screws on the base of the netbook. Use the appropriate screwdriver to remove the screws and detach the panel to expose the compartment in which memory and hard drive are located. Opening the MSI Wind U100 is a bit of a hassle as the entire base has to be detached. You need to carefully unscrew each screw on the base and pull it out gently. Be careful while unfastening the interlocking clamps along the inner edges of the U100. The only netbook we gave up opening was the Acer Aspire One because the base lid failed to open despite removing all the screws.

What are the available upgrade options?

The only components upgradeable in netbooks are the hard drive and memory. Most entry level netbooks ship with an 80 GB hard disk except for a few high end models, which are fitted with a 120 GB or 160 GB hard drive. If you’re facing a storage space crunch you can opt for a higher capacity hard drive. Like laptops, netbooks are fitted with a 2.5-inch hard drive. These drives are available in 80 GB, 120 GB, 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB and 500 GB capacities. Choose your upgrade depending on your storage requirements and budget.

Currently all netbooks come installed with 1 GB RAM which suffices for handling basic office applications and Windows XP. An upgrade to 2 GB is recommended if you want to do multitasking or perform heavier tasks such as basic image editing. Since most netbooks have only a single RAM slot you will have to get rid of the old module and replace it with the new one. The MSI Wind U100 is an exception with 1 GB on-board RAM as well as a RAM slot.

Replacing the components

To replace the RAM, first eject the installed module by gently pushing the metal clamps on both sides of the slot outward. When the module pops out, slide it out from the slot holding it by its edges. Now insert the new module into the slot and press it down until the clamps snap in and hold it in place. Before replacing the hard drive, back up all your data and the drivers to an external storage device. The hard drive can be unplugged by first removing the screws holding it in place and then pulling it out. If the drive is fitted in a cage, you will have to remove it from the cage and fit in the new drive. Plug the hard drive into the SATA port and fasten it with screws. Finally, fit the panel back and your netbook is ready to fire up.

Install the operating system

Since netbooks don’t have an optical drive you will have to install the operating system and applications using an external USB optical drive or storage device. Install the device drivers and restore your backed up data to get back on track.

Overclocking the Eee PC

Now for the surprise. If you own an Asus Eee PC 900 or higher, you can overclock the Intel Atom N270 for a performance boost. Go to www.cpp.in/dev/eeectl and download the latest version of Eeectl (23 kb), which is a nifty utility to overclock the Eee PC on the fly. It also allows you to control the fan speed and screen backlight. Extract the contents of the archive into a folder but don’t run the utility yet. Eeectl loads the parameters from the file called eeectl.ini which is located in the same folder. Open it and scroll down to the section called Speed.Profiles and replace it with the following text:

Speed.Profiles = 54,188,1,2000 MHz;

Speed.StepDelay = 500

Speed.FSBIconMul = 1

Save the file and run Eeectl. It will show up as an icon in the system tray. Before hitting 2.0 GHz, set the fan speed to 100 percent in order to prevent the netbook from heating up. You can access the functions by right clicking on the Eeectl icon. Use CPU-Z to check if the processor is running at 2 GHz.

From Eee PC to Ooh PC!

We fitted the Eee PC 1000H with a solid state hard drive and 2 GB memory. Due to the absence of the hard drive motor, the battery life increased by 30 minutes to 3 hours and 30 minutes under load. In idle mode the Eee PC was alive for 7 hours and 25 minutes which is 3 hours more than the battery life with a regular hard drive. Next, we overclocked the Atom N270 from 1.60 GHz to 2.0 GHz and found out the difference in performance. The 25 percent increase in clock speed boosted the overall performance by 27 percent—very commendable!

Multi-touch trackpad

You can now add multi-touch capability to your Eee PC’s trackpad by using Elantech Smart-Pad which can be downloaded for free from . Although the website is in Chinese, you won’t miss the link to “Smart Pad” which is spelt in English. After installing the application, an additional tab called Elantech is added to the Mouse Properties dialog box which can be accessed from Control Panel. The add-on adds the ability to scroll, zoom, magnify and navigate pages using multi-touch.

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