Google Calendar now supports SMS in Singapore

Google Calendar now supports SMS in Singapore and other countries! This is lovely! SMS notifications of events etc. FREE OF CHARGE.

This has been a long long awaited feature, now I'm investigating how the other Google services can use my cellphone. Stay tuned.

Vista Readyboost - FAT or NTFS, what flash drive to use ...

Vista features a caching technology called Readyboost, where, small files which take the hard disk drive a lot of time to read, are cached in a USB flash drive since USB flash drives have a far faster seek-time compared to Hard disk drives - yes, even Raptors.

There is a lot of talk on Readyboost on the web, but the details are lacking. After googling a bit, here's my take:

1) FAT or FAT32 or NTFS?

Though FAT and FAT32 use less CPU overhead, I thought that FAT would be fastest. Turns out to be not so... I guess it's because today's CPUs are so fast that the CPU overhead is nothing at all. Here're some experimenter data:

Test run #1 (without thumbdrive):

* Average boot time: 1:10m ~ 70s

Test run #2 (FAT32 formatted, 1840MB ReadyBoost swap file):

* Average boot time: 1:13m ~ 73s

Test run #3 (NTFS formatted, 1840MB ReadyBoost swap file):

* Average boot time: 1:05m ~ 65s



2) Format the USB drive at what sector or cluster size?

This is simple. If you have tons of small files, cluster size is an issue, since the smallest files which can be generated and stored is the size of the cluster. So if you have a 4KB cluster size, a 1KB file in fact would still take 4KB. Since Vista uses ONE HUGE FILE, just the default cluster size would be fine. Or any cluster size would be fine. The one detail I haven't worked out is `whether USB drives have a native cluster size'. Anybody can tell me this? I'd be grateful.

3) Which USB flash drive works?

I used the Imation Thumbdrive Micro 1GB, and it worked like a charm.

Discussion thread here, almost everything covered!

Vista RC1 Keys available from Microsoft

Microsoft released Vista RC1 for public download, but did not give the keys. At this time, the official position was that only beta2 testers could get Vista RC1 working.

After googling a bit, I found that Microsoft left a backdoor for us to get the keys even though we are not beta2 guys....

procedure to get beta2 keys:

http://www.jkg.in/34-how-to-obtain-the-windows-vista-beta-2-key-serial-for-free.htm

Edit: Arrgh I think the link above is dead, I have dragged the following code from the depths of my desktop cache, hope it works:

Select your country and click the button labelled ‘Go’ or try using the form here:

Select your locationAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArubaAustraliaAustriaBahamasBahrainBarbadosBelgium (Dutch)Belgium (French)BelizeBermudaBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaCameroonCanada (English)Canada (French)Cayman IslandsChileChinaColombiaCongoCosta RicaCote d’IvoireCroatiaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEstoniaEthiopiaFinlandFranceFrench GuianaGabonGambiaGermanyGhanaGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong Kong (Chinese)Hong Kong (English)HungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIrelandIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJordanKenyaKoreaKuwaitLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacedoniaMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMartiniqueMauritiusMexicoMonacoMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueNamibiaNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew ZealandNicaraguaNigeriaNorwayOmanPakistanPanamaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto Rico (English)Puerto Rico (Spanish)QatarRepublic of Rwanda ReunionRomaniaRussian FederationSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSan MarinoSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbia and MontenegroSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovakiaSloveniaSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSt Vincent & the GrenadinesSurinameSwazilandSwedenSwitzerland (French)Switzerland (German)Switzerland (Italian)TaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTogoTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurks and Caicos IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.YemenZambiaZimbabweOther

(please click on the country selector. The country selector is the backdoor. Do not go to the microsoft homepage, coz it's changed)

YOu can now download vista http://download.windowsvista.com/preview/rc1/en/download.htm

Until July 07 then deactivate. I tested keys, all activated Vista without problems, to get ultimate edition.

Enjoy!

Get More Bandwidth by using a better Cable splitter

Thanks to the thread in here: the threadstarter found that his cable splitter was rusty, and changed it with positive results - more bandwidth.

That got a discussion going. And sent me shopping. Here's what I found.

Most cable splitters have these attributes:

• Frequency: the best are 0-1000Mhz, but what I could easily find was 5-1000MHz.
• dB loss: Signal loss for 1-Split-2 and 1-Split-3 is 3dB, but Signal loss for 1-Split-4 is 7dB.
• Isolation: some of the splitters have electromagnetic noise isolation, ranges from 80-120dB, I bought the 120dB one.

There is also a proper connection method: this post details it well:

To achieve a 4 way split, it is advisable to get a 3 way splitter together with a 2 way splitter, rather than to get a 4 way splitter.

4 way splitter will result in at least a 7dB drop in RF signal stregnth to each of the 4 taps. By using a 3 way spliiter, you at least get 2 taps with a 3.5dB drop. My recommendation is to connect your modem to one of the 3.5dB tap, and connect the 2 way splitter to the other 3.5bB tap, together achieveing a 4 way split.

My results? I'm happier with my optimized connection than before. It's little trouble, so doing it gives you peace of mind and at least a psychological boost.