If your Mac is starting or running slower than it used to, gives you error messages during boot, or takes longer and longer to boot, you might have a pending hard drive failure. While you can still access your hard disk, you need to run a hard drive utility program. If your situation is worse than that, such as the hard drive won’t start or mount,   you may need help from a third-party Mac hard drive recovery program.

While your hard disk is still working

You can perform Mac hard drive recovery operations while your computer is still running in single-user, normal session, or boot-up (but no desktop displays) modes. In fact, it is a good idea to get familiar with the use of hard drive recovery operations, so that you are familiar with how they work. When the time comes to really make use of them, you’ll be ready.

Your Mac comes with a couple of utilities that you can access either using the installation disk or the command line – Disk Utility and fsck. The utility fsck is used at the command line and should not be used first if you are running Mac OS x 10.4 or later. Disk Utility is accessed from the command line using the command diskutil or hdiutil.

The graphical version of Disk Utility is accessed from your installation disk. The utility gives you broad support for hard disk and data issues on your drive.   The hard drive recovery features of disk   utility include:

• Verification and reparation of disk integrity compromises
• Verification and reparation of corrupted permissions
• Reconciliation of the Apple partition table with the GUID partition table and the Master Boot Record
• Reparation of mount, unmount and ejection of disks for all media
• Restoration of volumes from Apple Software Restore (ASR) images
• Running the Self Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (SMART) tool (which can direct you to return the drive to the manufacturer for an applicable warranty replacement)
• Additional functions related to hard disk   and CD images and more

All hard disk recovery options on the disk utility should be used to confirm that the disk is properly maintained and restored. See Apple’s support page on Disk Utility.

For the fsck command line utility, use this only when your ability to start a normal session is compromised.   While your disk is healthy, look up the limitations and use of fsck or use another computer system to do so to understand the command line use needed to determine how your drive is configured prior to using this utility.

When you cannot boot

A power loss event, an improper shutdown, or a forced restart of your Mac can result in an inability to start a session.   When that happens, or when your computer partially boots, cannot get to the login screen or cannot display the desktop, you might try a safe boot.

Safe boot is an option at startup shown for Mac OS x 10.2 or later. This mode includes automatic disk checking and repair.   You might find your computer is fully restored after the safe boot when you shut down and restart normally.   If your Mac OS x is earlier than 10.2, you should use Disk Utility instead.

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Guest post by David Ritchie
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Google Chrome has been cited as being the greatest browser since Firefox, and it has even more of a claim to fame now that it offers free extensions. Unlike the Firefox addon’s typical measurement of value, “is it worth the slowdown?”, Chrome extensions offer convenience with fast page renders, regardless of the platform or the number of other extensions currently attempting to load. This article showcases fifteen extensions that all users should consider Installing.

1. Google Mail Checker: This is a self-explanatory extension. Click it to open Gmail when it notifies you of an unread message.

2. RSS Subscription Extension: This extension detects when there is an RSS feed that can be subscribed to, indicating such by placing an icon into the address bar. Clicking it will deliver the feed.

3. Xmarks: This extension will effectively allow Xmarks users to tie Chrome into their account, which allows bookmarks to be seamlessly shared across Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome.

4. iMacros for Chrome: iMacros, currently in beta, is a popular extension that allows you to record what you do with Chrome and therefore automate tasks. This extension is especially handy if you use a lot of sites and are constantly logging in and out of accounts.

5. Aviary Screen Capture: Instantly captures part of a Web page in a neat and convenient interface that is easy to use.

6. Picnik Extension: Similar to above, but there is the added option to select one image in particular from a drop down list of your captures.

7. FlashBlock: With another self-explanatory name, FlashBlock effectively blocks all of the flash on a Web page unless you specify that a certain domain may retain its functionality. This extension adds convenience with keyboard shortcuts.

8. AdThwart: As the name suggests, this extension effectively removes ads for your viewing pleasure.

9. AdSweep: This is quite similar to the aforementioned extension, except it sweeps away ads and does so using a different blacklist than its younger sibling extension. Mixed together, however, you can achieve great anti-advertisement viewing.

10. Brizzly: This extension is definitely a time saver, allowing users to quickly glance at their recent Facebook and Twitter updates. A simple click is all it takes, automatically streaming social updates with embedded videos and images included. It also offers the ability for the user to update their status as well.

11. Google Alerter: There exist some extensions to notify users of unread mail, new pings in Google Wave or Google Voice, but this extension is an all-in-one convenient package of uber Google checking. It will check Reader, Wave and Gmail for new, unvisited pings.

12. Chromium Delicious Plugin: Recent Delicious bookmarks can be easily saved and retrieved through this extension.

13. ChromeMilk: This extension is a handy to-do list for those who can’t ever seem to remember that they need to pick up the milk while they are out on the road. Pro members can get themselves a version for their iPhone so that they really don’t have any excuses.

14. LastPass: This is more of an extension for Xmarks, which is one of the aforementioned extensions. It allows passwords to seamlessly sync across multiple profiles and browser types.

15. Fittr Flickr: Flickr is a handy website on its own, but this extension adds new functionality, such as a lightbox style gallery, more photo information and the inclusion of keyboard shortcuts. If Flickr was great before, this extension makes it unbeatable.

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Guest post by James Adams, who writes for an online ink supplies specialist located in Manchester, England. He covers newly launched, reviews products like the T0715 and, if he has enough free time, contributes posts about art and design for their blog.
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There are rumors that the new Apple iPod Touch arriving in September may have a 5MP camera and also support FaceTime video calling. Most of the rumors are short on particulars.

Here are few features that I would like to see in the iPod Touch.

1) An Excellent Camera

According to John Henry, retailer, the new iPod Touch will have a front facing 5 MP camera with a flash. If that’s true then it’s great news. Will the new iPod Touch be able to shoot both videos and photos or just video, like the iPod Nano?

2) Video Chat With Non-Apple Users

As long as FaceTime video chat is restricted to Apple loyalists, it will never rise above it’s current status. Steve Jobs promised that FaceTime will be made an open industry standard, but that could take forever, since the standard bodies and tech’s chief players like Microsoft and Google will think over their options. Skype is running on the iPhone and can also run in iPod Touch, but it can’t support video calls.

3) Retina Display

Apple is bringing in the iPhone 4′s splendid 960×640 pixel screen to the new iPod Touch. Assuming that iPod Touch ads FaceTime, as well as the gyroscope for superior gaming, Apple’s lauded retina displaywould be a
great match.

4) Faster Wi-Fi

The current iPod Touch supports 802.11b/g wireless, but not 802.11n. The latest 802.11n Wi-Fi will support a speed of 35 Mbps. Now it’s the iPod Touch’s turn.

5) Built-in Microphone

If a video camera is added in the iPod Touch, then an integrated microphone will be needed. At present, the earphones that come with the 32 GB and 64GB models have a microphone and a remote.

6) Longer Battery Life

Apple has managed to pack a larger battery into its iPhone 4, which can give up to 10 hours of net use on a Wi-Fi. The iPod Touch could use this type of power.

7) 3G Option

A 3G option would be great and even the iPad has it. Would an iPod Touch with 3G impinge too far into the territory of the iPhone 4?

Why don’t you fill in the comments below with your personal opinions on next generation iPod Touch?

Apple has a tendency to release products that are ahead of their time. They’ve done it with the iPod first, and then the iPhone. When both of these products were released, people didn’t think they would be ahead of their time, or hit sellers. Thanks to clever marketing, Apple was able to get its products to a huge audience. Even at this point, many years after the release of the iPod, and a few years after the release of the iPhone, both of these products have little competition. Sure, there are devices that do exactly what Apple’s devices do. However, these didn’t come along until much later, when Apple already had control of the market.

 
Now, with the iPad, many people are expecting different results. Some say it’s ahead of its time, while others say it’s not nearly as advanced as it should be. I think these people are missing the point. The iPad allows technology to be more personal than ever. Even with a laptop, you can’t take it everywhere without some hassle. The iPad is small enough and light enough to be taken everywhere in comfort. Because of this, it might be the start of a new age of technology.

 
Many people believe we already live in the personal ageof technology. We use technology for everything. Almost everyone has a cell phone and a computer which help us stay connected to each other. However, most cell phones aren’t as advanced as computers, and those that are aren’t nearly big enough to fully enjoy. The iPad fixes all of these problems. It’s possible that in the future, iPads will become as common as cell phones. They can do nearly anything you could imagine with apps, and they have advanced web browsing capabilities. It’s not hard to imagine a future world where everything is controlled remotely from a device like the iPad, making it more than just a computer.

 
This is all speculation, of course. However, if we look at the response to Apple’s past products, it’s unlikely that the iPad will flop.Even now, competitors have come out with their own tablet-like computers, and many others are developing a product that they feel is better. As these products are made, the price will go down, allowing more people to afford one. Eventually, there will be a huge amount of people with an iPad like device, which could lead to much more personalized computing.

Guest post by Michael Collins, a freelance writer for Pingo.com, which provides virtual international calling cards online.

There are several Windows applications that have online web installers. Web installers are mainly used to collect analytics data or to show product advertisements during installation. Web installers are very small, and each time, users need to connect to the internet and download full installation files. Furthermore, there’s a chance of malware infection if the downloads originate from untrusted sources.

Popular Windows software like Live Writer, Yahoo Messenger, Google Chrome, Skype and utilities like .NET Framework and Java Runtime Environment all use web installers.

Here we have two methods to get the full installer for these applications.

• 1. URL Snooper: URL Snooper is a small Windows application with the ability to sniff network packets and provide links to data opened in the background. Many people use this application to download streaming videos. The special data sniffing feature of URL Snooper can also be used to download full offline installers.

Download URL Snooper here

URL Snooper was developed by a member of DonationCoder.com, a community backed website devoted to the Windows software development. You have to register in their forum to get a free 6 month license key of all products including the URL Snooper.

After installation, open URL Snooper and click on advanced mode from the file tab. Now download any web installer and start the online installation. Move down through the links appearing on the application interface.

Copy the offline installer link as shown above.

• 2. From temporary files: This method is pretty popular among techies. Press Win+R, enter %temp% and search for any .exe files.

This should be done immediately after completing online download of the application. Sometimes the installer deletes all temporary files after completing installation. So make sure to copy the full installer and proceed to installation.

We have collected the offline installers of a few applications using this method.

Yahoo messenger 10 offline installer: download

Skype full installer: download

Google Chrome 5 standalone installer: download

Smartin is a blogger, web designer and photography enthusiast from India. You can follow him on Twitter@smartinjose

Have you ever thought of making video calls to your friends and relatives from your mobile phone or smart phones? If so, your desire has come true. Fring is free software with which you can make free Mobile calls, Video calls and live chat. Its mobiles call and live chat feature is just like Skype but the feature which makes it unique is video calling from mobile to mobile and mobile to PC.

Fring is basically a VoIP application and service. Through this application you can make calls and messaging to Skype, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, SIP, Twitter and Facebook. It is an all in one’ package from which you can fetch all your online contacts from above mentioned services in single application.

Easy Installation

You can easily install Fring on your cell phones. Firstly you will have to download it from here. After installation you will have to register for a Fring account. From the Add-ons section, you can select the service which you want to use, such as Skype or MSN. Your contacts will be fetched automatically, and those contacts will be included in your buddy list. You can then see in the list which of your buddies is online.

If your cell phone has Wi-Fi, you can use Wi-Fi hotspots or home access points for free phone calls. Video chat on Fring will be more comfortable if your cell phone has a secondary front facing camera.

Image Credit: Flickr

Features

Free calls
Fring Add-on applications
Live chat instead of SMS
SkypeOut or SIP calls
Friends’ profiles
Call history
Invite friends
Video calls
Send & Receive files
Wi-Fi auto-roaming

Below is the list of mobile phones and smart phones currently supported by Fring. You should feel lucky if yours is in the list.

Compatible Devices

Nokia : Nokia 3250, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, Nokia 5500 Sport, Nokia 5630 XpressMusic, Nokia 5700, Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 6110 Navigator, Nokia 6120 classic, Nokia 6121 classic, Nokia 6124 classic, Nokia 6220 (old), Nokia 6290, Nokia 6650d, Nokia 6710 Navigator, Nokia 6720 classic, Nokia 6730 classic, Nokia 6790 Slide, Nokia E50, Nokia E51, Nokia E52, Nokia E55, Nokia E60, Nokia E61, Nokia E61i, Nokia E63, Nokia E65, Nokia E66, Nokia E70, Nokia E71, Nokia E72, Nokia E75, Nokia E90 (Communicator), Nokia N71, Nokia N73, Nokia N75, Nokia N76, Nokia N77, Nokia N78, Nokia N79, Nokia N80, Nokia N81, Nokia N82, Nokia N85, Nokia N86, Nokia N91, Nokia N92, Nokia N93, Nokia N95, Nokia N95, 8GB, Nokia N96

Apple: iPhone 3G, 3GS.iPod touch

Samsung: Samsung SGH-G810, Samsung SGH-I550

Android Devices: HTC EVO, Nexus1

Sony Ericsson: P1i

At the International Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, MagicJack demonstrated a device that will let users make VoIP calls using a GSM phone.

The company has already sold to the public a unit that uses conventional desk phones to provide service through a PC. With the newer product, which is scheduled for release sometime in the second quarter this year, your phone jack will be replaced by a mini-GSM base station, also known as a femtocell. All GSM phones from any GSM carrier will then be enabled to connect with your femtocell to make VoIP calls anywhere in the United States and Canada.

MagicJack, like many other VoIP service providers, will send calls over the IP network in lieu of the public phone network, so your phone service will cost less. Right now, the traditional MagicJack unit is available for roughly $40 USD, and it includes free service for a year, and $20 each year for all years after the first. This includes phone calls made to other MagicJack users in most countries of the world, as well as calling conventional lines. You can also currently make calls to cell phones, local or long distance, from a standard MagicJack-equipped phone. The company has stated that the femtocell rates will be the same as standard rates.

The MagicJack device being sold now is a bit longer than a box of matches, and it has a USB connection with a phone jack on the other end. You plug the USB connector into a port on your PC, load the proper software one time only, and then it uses the processor, power and broadband connection of the computer to make and receive calls. Their femtocell unit will use a PC connection as well, but it will allow users to make cell phone calls from the unit, not just wired phone calls.

The original MagicJack device provides fairly consistent service, with connections close to those achieved on landline calls. If you are working on your computer while talking on your phone run through MagicJack, sometimes you can hear background noise. It also takes two tries occasionally to get a dial tone on your traditional phone when using a MagicJack. But these aren’t really bothersome enough to make many users hang up on the $20 per year cost for calls anywhere. In addition, if you have family or friends overseas, they can purchase a MagicJack in the United States, activate it with a local area code, and use it overseas with that same number, making calls to them much more affordable.

There are already phone service carriers exploring femtocell use in efforts to improve their coverage inside the homes and businesses of subscribers, and to ease the strain that so many calls cause on their networks. The femtocell was designed so that it can work like a cell base station, within a home or business, to carry calls over your broadband connection rather than over the carrier’s network.

The MagicJack femtocell will allow its users to skip over mobile operators entirely. You can use it with any GSM phone, locked or unlocked, on any band. This includes all types of phones, including the popular Apple iPhone, even though this phone is usually locked into one carrier. The designers at MagicJack expect that most customers will make femtocell calls with older phones that they don’t currently use. The range of the femtocell can cover a home or business office that is 3,000 square feet in size.

This is a Guest Post by Tanmay from Tech Tips Geek.

Starting a new blog is always challenging. If you are new to blogging, it is quite possible that you are not so much familiar of this profession. The success of your blog obviously depends on the niche, you have chosen. But only the niche can not promote you on the internet. Thousands of people are entering in the blogging world everyday. So you can not leave other people behind without organizing yourself.

Having said that, a good start always helps you to become first in the crowd. Here are some few advice to start your blog.

1. The first thing about your blog is your blog name. It is very worth to get a descriptive blog name. Choose it wisely so that people can understand about the niche of your blog.

2. If you can afford, then choose a top level domain(.com, .org, .net, .info). The Domain name should be the same as your blog name.

3. Host your domain in a good/well known hosting company. Though a bad neighbour does not affect your blog but having good environment is always better.

4. Select the theme for your blog so that it matches with the contents. As example, if you are starting a technology tips and tricks blog and choose a magazine theme, the readers may lose attention. Hence blog theme must be appropriate enough.

5. Design your theme uniquely. Be influenced by other blogs but do not be dominated by them. Make your theme easy to navigate, so that readers can easily reach to the article, they need. Remove the unnecessary links if you are using free WordPress theme. e.g the Blogroll links, Meta links etc. Restrict theme templates, admin pages from crawling by the search bots by robots.txt.

6. Keep your best articles in home of your blog. This will ensure that the search engine will crawl them regularly.

7. Submit your blog URLto giant search engines:

• Submit blog URL to Google
• Submit blog URL to Yahoo
• Submit blog URL to Bing
• Submit blog URL to Baidu

8. Sign up for Webmaster account and submit your blog to get verified. Here is the list:

• Google Webmaster
• Yahoo Webmaster
• Bing Webmaster

9. Reduce blog page load time so that search engines can easily crawl your site. Some plugin can really help you. Here is the list:

i) WP Super Cache

ii) PHP Speedy

Also adding an Expires header to the static resources like JavaScript, images, CSS files significantly improve the page load time. You can do it by adding the following lines in the .htaccess file from your server.

ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/gif A2592000
ExpiresByType image/png AA2592000
ExpiresByType image/jpg AA2592000
ExpiresByType image/jpeg AA2592000

10. Try to get back links from some older sites with higher page rank. There are some ways to win back links.

i) Write a guest post for a well known site. It will help you to increase your page rank and also a fair amount of visitors.

ii) Another tricks can help you to increase your page rank – Some websites use do follow meta tag in their comment section. Find out such sites relevant to your niche and leave a comment.

11. Use SEO for better search engine ranking. This may take some time as your blog is so new in the web. To get some instant traffic you can follow a simple trick. Some sites publish the trackbacks. So find out that type of site ranking top in the search engine that matches with your article and give a credit to that site from your post.

Over of all you must be original and honest with your articles.

This is a guest post by Tanmay from Tech Tips Geek, where you can find the latest tips and tricks. Want to guest post for us? Read our Guest Post guidelines to find out how you can submit guest posts to us.

We receive tons of email daily which makes it really hard to make sense of those clutter. It is so easy to miss an important note or get to it when it is too late.

The following tips will help you better manage your important email for you to always be able to handle it properly.

First let’s define how we can automatically identify all important mail:

• By sender’s email address, e.g. boss@yourjob.com. With many email services and clients, you are able to use a wildcard (*) to filter all incoming mail from some domain, e.g. *@yourjob.com filter will include all your work incoming mail;
• By the keyword (usually in the subject). You can arrange to use some key phrases with your business partners or boss for you to easier identify urgent mail from them, e.g. "Important!" or "Needs response now!"

1. Create a label / folder to organize all important email. If you are on Gmail, you can create a label (called TO-DO for example) and the create a filter to label all the important messages as TO-DO. Here are the Gmail filter settings to get this done:

For MS Outlook, you can create a folder and file any email sent with high importance in the Quick, the house is burning downfolder (for more MS Outlook tips refer to this post on getting organized with customized Microsoft Outlook rules

2. Automatically star all the important email or flag it for follow-up. If you are using Gmail, it has a handy option to automatically star all mail that conforms to your search setting:

3. Set up an SMS alert of new urgent email. This one is an awesome tip, yet not widely known. Most of mobile carriers offer free Email To SMS gateways which can be found here. All you need is to create a filter to forward all your mail with the set criteria to your personal email, e.g. [your 10-digit phone number here]@message.alltel.com

4. Filter out unimportant mail. Really, this needs to be #1. In order not to miss urgent mail, you will need to get rid of all clutter: social media updates, automatic updates, etc – everything you still read (so no way to unsubscribe) but don’t really need in your inbox. Create a filter and add Skip the inbox, Mark as read, and Apply a label(I have SOCIAL label foe all that stuff):

5. Send an auto response containing other ways to get into contact with you urgently (including cell phone, IMs, etc). (For Gmail users) Use this post as guidelines: they did an awesome job explaining the process, so no reason to explain it again.

The guest post is by Ann Smarty, a search and social media blogger. If you love guest blogging as much as Ann, join MyBlogGuest.com, the community of guest bloggers to promote your site and brand. Want to guest post for us? Read our Guest Post guidelines to find out how you can submit guest posts to us.