Raudat Tahera

Here are some interesting facts about Raudat Tahera.
(Syedna Tahir Saifuddin Maula's mausoleum)

1. The construction of the Mausoleum began on 10th of December,1968 and it was inaugurate in 1975. Prominent personalities, political leader including the then present the president of India Mr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, religious scholars from around the muslim world, qaris of al-Quran al-Majid were invited on the grand occasion.

2. The marble for the construction of the Roza was quarried from exactly where the marble for the Taj Mahal was obtained - Makrana in Rajhastan, India.

3. The Mausoleum rests on 92 piles. The number 92 is significant in that it represents the numerical calculation of the name of the Holy Prophet "محمد" (SA) by the rules of Abjad in Arabic.

4. Around the burial place is 28 square feet grave. The number 28 indicates Syedna's (RA) young age at which he became a Dai-al-Mutlaq.

5. The inner height of the mausoleum rises to 80 feet, depicting the age of Syedna (RA) when he left this world for Mala-e Ala.

6. The inner dimensions of the Roza (mausoleum) are 51 x 51 feet, symbolizing that Syedna Tahir Saifuddin was the 51st Dai al-Mutlaq in the office of Immam-u-Zaman.

7. What gives the Roza a unique place of honour is the inscription of the entire Holy Quran within the walls of the Roza. The writings were choosen by Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin TUS from the golden handwritten Holy Quran from which His Holiness used to recite. It contained 772 pages and accordingly the complete Quran is inscribed in gold on 772 marble slabs 3x2 feet each and pasted in the inner walls of the Raudat. The entire Quran is engraved on the walls and adorned with gold and jewels.

8. All the Bismillah's before the start of Surahs have been engraved and adorned with rubies, emaralds, Diamonds and Pearls.

9. The structural shell consists of a dome 40 feet in diametre and has an height of 52 feet. The dome is a replica of al-Jame al-Juyushi a prominent masjid of the Fatimi era and has the same mudawwar design in the interior as that of the masjid, with the names Mohammed and Ali, and a Quranic ayat.

10. The complete structure of Raudat Tahera weighs 5000 tons.

11. The 4 entrance doors to the Roza have been specially designed to match the entrance gate of al-Jamea al-Aqmar in Cairo built by Imam Al-Amir (1101-1130 A.D), the 20th Imam (AS). The entrances are adorned with four silver doors of Fatemi style and lead to the inner sanctuary of the Roza.

12. The Holy Quran inscription has been done in such a way that all the entrance doors to the Roza have a Bismillah coming.

13. All the 113 Bismillah in the Holy Quran inscribed on the walls are studded with precious stones, such as rubies and emeralds. The Surat al-Fatiha and Surat al-Ekhlas are studded with rubies.

14. Below the scripture of the Holy Quran the walls are the stanzas and verses quoted from the 49 Risalah sharifah and hundreds of qasidas and munajaat written by Syedna Taher Saifuddin (RA) which reflect the barakaat of wahye from the Quran and the ilm of Ale Mohammed (SA).

15. The outer walls of the Raudat Tahera a decorated with the names of Aimmat Tahereen and Duat Mutlaqeen in the Kufi script.

16. The chandeliers are especially made on order and each pendetive is engraved with the verse "لا يمسه الا المطهرون".

Accupressure

Many of us have heard about acupressure and acupuncture and have seen the Chinese practice this very ancient art of healing. I have not read much and do not know much about acupressure or acupuncture and nor anything I write here is authentic.

Its just out of curiosity and the craving to learn something new led me into this topic and its been since many years that i have know it to be useful. As always google is your best friend to find the zillions of pages written on any topic since ages, though most might just be rubbish. Here is a good site that explains a lot on this subject: http://www.mothernature.com/library/bookshelf/books/46/3.cfm

Al-Dai al-Fatimi, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin donates to "Dubai Cares"

DUBAI — Sultan Al Bohra Mohammed Burhanudeen, spiritual leader of the Bohra Muslim community, has donated Dh2.1 million to Dubai Cares. The cheque was presented to Shaikh Ahmad bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum by his Dubai representative Kinana M. Jamaluddin here yesterday.

Commenting on Dubai s tradition of philanthropy and its role in the current campaign, Jamaluddin said Dubai illustrates the true essence of Islam, underlining its teachings about helping those in need. “His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has made the Muslim and Arab nations proud through his initiative which demonstrates the values and principles of Islam and proves to the world the noble nature of our faith,” he said.

Convert Powerpoint Presentations to Flash with GMail PPT Viewer

GMail now has an inbuilt PPT viewer that lets you view Powerpoint attachment as a Flash picture slideshow in the web browser itself without requiring Microsoft PowerPoint application.

This slideshow feature of GMail will be useful since you no longer have to download the full PPT attachment in order to view that 16th slide of the presentation.

Here are two additional situations where it may help:

1. If you have to view a presentation on some computer that has no copy of PowerPoint, gmail yourself the PPT file and watch the slides inside the web browser. [similar to converting PDF to text using GMail]

2. GMail converts every slide of your Powerpoint presentation to a Flash (swf) file - if you manually advance the entire PPT slideshow using the arrows, all the slides will become available as Flash files in your browser's temp folder.

Just a quick way of transforming Powerpoint slides into SWF documents without using any desktop conversion software. The swf files may then be embedded in your blog for sharing with readers. Nothing great since Scribd can also convert your PPT to Flash paper.

Do you know GMail Powerpoint viewer can read PPS (Powerpoint Show) formats as well.

Written by Amit Agarwal

Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation

Hints for a successful presentation:

• Plan carefully
• Do your research
• Know your audience
• Time your presentation
• Practice your presentation
• Speak comfortably and clearly

Effective PowerPoint Slides

• Use design templates
• Standardize position, colors and styles
• Include only necessary information
• Limit the information to essentials
• Content should be self-evident
• Use colors that contrast
• Be consistent with effects, transitions and animation
• Too many slides can lose your audience

Text guidelines

• Generally no more than 6 words a line
• Generally no more than 6 lines a slide
• Avoid long sentences
• Larger font indicates more important information
• Font size generally ranges from 18 to 48 point
• Be sure text contrasts with background
• Fancy fonts can be hard to read
• Words in all capital letters are hard to read
• Avoid abbreviations and acronyms
• Limit punctuation marks

Clip Art and Graphics

• Should balance the slide
• Should enhance and complement the text, not overwhelm
• No more than two graphics per slide

* PowerPoint presentations can also saved in HTML format and inserted in a Web page.

GMail Drive shell extension

GMail Drive is a Shell Namespace Extension that creates a virtual filesystem around your Google GMail account, allowing you to use GMail as a storage medium.

Requirement:

1. Gmail Account

2. Gmail Drive Software

Process:

1) Download Gmail Drive from (takes seconds to download)

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/GMail-Drive-shell-extension-Download-15944.html

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/E-mail/Mail-Utilities/GMail-Drive-shell-extension.shtml

2) Install the software.

3) After installing, a drive named Gmail drive will be created in My Computer (just like C: D:).

4) Double click on this drive, login to Gmail Act. You will get a space of 2.61 GB.

4) Whatever content you copy to this drive will be sent to your mail Act to which you have logged in.

The copy is pretty fast. HATS OFF GOOGLE .

Reinstall Windows without losing important data

Once in a while, you might want to reinstall Windows, especially if your system starts to get bogged down, or if you’d had a catastrophic loss from a virus attack. The problem is that reinstalling Windows will delete personal files and data, so what do you do? Check out this article over at InformationWeek which offers a step by step on the process complete with videos of each step.

You could always do constant backups of your system (NOTE: if you have never performed a backup, start now!), and even if you are, this article is a fairly valuable resource in order to keep your data safe and secure.

GoogleTalk Gadget in Firefox Sidebar

The Google Talk Gadget is clearly more usable than the stand-alone GTalk desktop client or the floating AJAX version in GMail.

Here, each chat session opens up as a tab (like Firefox browser tabs), it can show previews of images or video and the chat client can easily be embedded inside webpages.

There's however a small problem - while we have browser windows in front of us all the time, the same may not hold true for the webpage (like the Google personalized page) where we have embedded the GTalk gadget.

So here's an alternate option - put the Google Talk client in the Firefox sidebar so it always stays in the foreground no matter what website you are on currently.

To add Google Talk to your Firefox sidebar, bookmark the following URL (right-click and choose Bookmark this link)

talkgadget.google.com/talkgadget/client

Now goto Bookmarks menu, navigate to the above bookmark, right click and choose Properties. Tick the checkbox that says Load this bookmark in the sidebar.

Update: An employee of an investment bank writes that their organization has banned Google talk in office but using the above method, he was able to circumvent the GTalk ban and could chat with friend out the firewalls of his office.

Google Talk gadget will always open in the Firefox Sidebar. Thanks

Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows XP

To	Press
Set focus on a notification.	Windows Key+B
View properties for the selected item.	ALT+ENTER
Displays the properties of the selected object.	ALT+Enter
Cycle through items in the order they were opened.	ALT+ESC
"Close the active item, or quit the active program.	ALT+F4
Opens the shortcut menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the System menu for the active window.	ALT+SPACEBAR
Switch between open items.	ALT+TAB
Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option in a dialog box.	ALT+Underlined letter
Display the corresponding menu.	ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name
Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons in a dialog box.	Arrow keys
View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	BACKSPACE
Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box in a dialog box.	BACKSPACE
Copy selected item.	CTRL while dragging an item
Select all.	CTRL+A
Copy.	CTRL+C
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph.	CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Display the Start menu.	CTRL+ESC
Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously.	CTRL+F4
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word.	CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word.	CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Create shortcut to selected item.	CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item
Highlight a block of text.	CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Move backward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+SHIFT+TAB
Move forward through tabs in a dialog box.	CTRL+TAB
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph.	CTRL+UP ARROW
Paste.	CTRL+V
Search for computers.	CTRL+Windows Key+F
Cut.	CTRL+X
Undo.	CTRL+Z
Delete.	DELETE
Display the bottom of the active window.	END
Carry out the command for the active option or button in a dialog box.	ENTER
Cancel the current task.	ESC
Display Help in a dialog box.	F1
Activate the menu bar in the active program.	F10
Rename selected item.	F2
Search for a file or folder.	F3
Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer.	F4
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Display the items in the active list in a dialog box.	F4
Refresh the active window.	F5
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.	F6
Display the top of the active window.	HOME
Switch MouseKeys on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK
Switch High Contrast on and off.	Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu.	LEFT ARROW
Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.	LEFT ARROW
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	Menu key
Switch ToggleKeys on and off.	NUM LOCK for five seconds
Display all subfolders under the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)
Collapse the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)
Display the contents of the selected folder.	NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)
Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu.	RIGHT ARROW
Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.	RIGHT ARROW
Switch FilterKeys on and off.	Right SHIFT for eight seconds
Switch StickyKeys on and off.	SHIFT five times
Prevent the CD from automatically playing.	SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive
Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document.	SHIFT with any of the arrow keys
Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin.	SHIFT+DELETE
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item.	SHIFT+F10
Move backward through options in a dialog box.	SHIFT+TAB
Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box in a dialog box.	SPACEBAR
Move forward through options in a dialog box.	TAB
Carry out the corresponding command.	Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu
Display or hide the Start menu.	Windows Key
Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain.	Windows Key+ L
Display the System Properties dialog box.	Windows Key+BREAK
Show the desktop.	Windows Key+D
Open My Computer.	Windows Key+E
Search for a file or folder.	Windows Key+F
Display Windows Help.	Windows Key+F1
Minimize all windows.	Windows Key+M
Open the Run dialog box.	Windows Key+R
Restores minimized windows.	Windows Key+Shift+M
Opens Utility Manager.	Windows Key+U

The beauty of being a dawoodi bohra

We crossed into the Israeli border, bound for Jerusalem , from the Jordanian side. It was a particularly tense day as there had been a recent firing incident. All five of us had different nationality passports. 1 Kenyan, 1 British, 1 Yemeni, 1 Indian passport issued in Egypt & another Indian passport issued in Nairobi . The Jordanian Immigration officer did not have to be explained why such a mixed group. He knew & he smilingly made a statement, that was actually a stunner. He jokingly said, "Why don't you have a Bohra Passport? It will make things so much more easier for you, & us too."

The Israeli side, the officer (suspicious by default) could not understand how such a group could get together. All dressed alike & identical mannerisms, and yet different passports. He called up his superiors, and what conversation transpired, we did not learn, but he stamped our paper visas & let us through. We have had similar experiences at many airports & checkpoints in the world. The followers of Sultan-al-Bohra can avail a special status at Cairo, or Karachi (if Maula is in Pakistan) or Damascus, Yemen , or East Africa, or UAE, the list goes on. Those who had their US Visa stamped during Ashara with a mention "Attending Ashara"! on the visa, can vouch for the response at the Houston airport immigration. The recent grant of visa-on-arrival exclusively for Bohras, at the Dubai airport was as unbelievable as, so many other episodes in our past travel experiences. We are a people who do not have a nation but are treated like a single nationality, do not have a kingdom, but are treated royally. From Japan in the East to he West Coast of USA, & from New Zealand in the south to Norway in the north, whether we reside in the snowy Alps in Switzerland, or on the golden Coast of Kenya, we have a common bond, a unique culture, a common language, a standard calendar, a uniform code of conduct that absolutely defines the rights & the wrongs, one goal, one platform & one base of knowledge. Our geographic existence might be checkered, but the entire mosaic of our community is a beautiful picture of harmony, painted by a divine hand. Our Tryst with destiny begins & ends in the same spiritual allegiance. We are taught to be absolutely loyal to the country we reside in contributing to the socio-economic progress and prosperity of the country, we are a peace loving community, that gives us a rare edge over all others, and yet in spite of all diversities, we are one. What really makes us tick? What gives us a place of great pride & what makes us so special? We have a Maula, who over the years, has given us an identity, that no other government in the world can provide.

That explains the one-voice "Ameen", whenever we pray that May Allah grant our beloved Maula, Syedna Burhanuddin Aqa a long long life. Ameen

Author: Unknown

Appearance Vs. Reality

To appear wise, one must talk;
To be wise, one must listen.

To appear to do good, one must be busy;
To do good, one must know when to stand aside.

To appear to lead, one must put oneself first;
To lead, one must put oneself last.

To appear caring, one must give advice;
To be caring, one must give space.

To appear to love, one must know how to give;
To love, one must know also how to receive.

To appear happy, one must smile;
To be happy, one must be free of fears.

Six Rules for Seeking Knowledge (al-ilm)

اخي لن تنال العلم الا بستة * سأنبيك عن تفصيلها ببيان
ذكاء وحرص واجتهاد وبلغة * وصحبة استاذ وطول زمان

1-ذكاء
الذكاء قسمان قسم منحه الله لعبده وقسم مكتسب وكلاهما من الله ولكن بإمكان الانسان تنمية الجزء الاخر فيصبح اكثر ذكاء
2-حرص
ينبغي على كل طالب علم ان يكون ذا حرص ودافعية في طلبه للعلم ليرفع من رصيده العلمي فبقدر ما يتحصل من علم لديه بقدر ما يعظم قدره وينجح في حياته والحرص على طلب العلم ينبع من ادراك قيمته وعظم اهميته فإذا ادرك ذلك كان حريصا عليه فعليك ان تعرف فضل ما تطلب قبل ان تبدأ بالطلب
3-اجتهاد
يقصد به الهمة العالية والمتابعه اليومية وكثرة المراجعه والاستذكار فذلك يحمي العلم من النسيان فلكل شئ آفة وآفة العلم النسيان
لا يورث العلم من الاعمام ولا يرى بالليل في المنام
لكنه يحصل بالتكرار والدرس في الليل والنهار
4-بلغة
هي المادة التي تباغك الى بغيتك من تحصيل العلم وهي الزاد الذي تتقوى به على اكتسابه فعلى الطالب ان يتحرى البلغة الحلال والمأكل الطيب
5-صحبة استاذ
الصحبه دوام الملازمه والمواظبة على الحضور بين يدي الاستاذ حتى تتمرس معه على على حسن الفهم
6-طول زمان
ان العلم لا يدرك بين عشية وضحاها ولا يوى في رؤيا النائم
تمنيت ان تمسي فقيها مناظرا بغير عناء والجنون فنون
فتحصيل العلم لا يكون بحضور درسين او ثلاثة او قراءة فصل او فصلين انما يحتاج الى زمن في مطاعة الكتب ومجالسة العلماء.

Top ten ways to protect your online privacy

Here are 10 ways to keep personal information secure when online:

1. Favour common sense over technological solutions. Keep personal documents safe, preferably in a locked drawer. Shred bank statements, credit card slips and bills before throwing them away.
2. If it’s too good to be true, it is. Never open unsolicited “spam” messages. Delete e-mails offering cash, free gifts or stock tips. Millions of unsolicited “spam” messages are sent every day in an attempt to defraud computer users.
3. Basic prevention helps. Protect your computer against identity theft. Install security software to combat viruses, spyware and spam and keep it updated.
4. Know enough about your firewall, the barrier between the public Internet and a personal computer, to know when it is working and when it isn’t. Don’t worry about the geeky complexity of it all, just know it’s operating.
5. Beware of “phishing”, where criminals trick people into revealing personal or financial details, often by sending e-mails purporting to be from a bank. Never casually reply to requests for your personal financial details.
6. Keep your private e-mail address secure. Consider using different e-mail accounts for shopping, banking, friends and work. There are many free account providers.
7. Do not use the same password for different sites. Choose passwords with a mix of letters, numbers and symbols. Don’t use obvious passwords, such as your first name or “123456” and don’t write them down. For memory’s sake, choosing a basic root word, then rotating numbers, is safer.
8. Make online payments safely. Never enter a card number unless there is a padlock in the Web browser’s frame, rather than the Web page. The Web address should begin with “https” — the extra “S” stands for “secure”. Consider reserving one credit card for Web use or signing up for a separate online payment service like PayPal.
9. Secure your wireless network at home and be wary when using public access points. Encrypt the connection to scramble communications over the network. Turn off the wireless network when you’re not using it.
10. Treat your laptop computer like cash — never leave it in a locked car or turn your back while using it in a public place. The same holds true with your mobile phone: Lock your phone (and any passwords you keep on it) when not using it.

Dreams Shattered, Life Battered

Many in the world live in the world of dreams, striving and toiling all day and night to see those dreams they see come true. Day dreamers even though they run after life they never seem to catch it and finally they realize they forgot to live.

People with vision conquer the world but many die without crossing a mile of their lives. We motivate ourselves with stories of great men who turned the world upside down but forget to learn from the many who motivated by these people die in vain.

Friends turning foe and relatives throwing curses can shatter almost every mans dream. However, our life is nothing but a dream and one fine day all will wake up to realize what was correct and what was wrong. Is it wrong to trust a friend or is it wrong to save the trust instead of a personal gain.

Once the Times of India wrote that it is said that more then 90% of the Indian Population in major cities suffers from some kind of a mental disease. Why is that so? Shakespeare has well said that when troubles come they come not on single spies but in battalions. An average man lives upto 60 and in todays world when a person reaches half this age and looks back at life he could clearly say that he forgot to live. There is no one who cares enough to hold you in your hands in a calamity. No one in this world can feel a person's pain. No one can ever read a persons mind and thoughts. No one can ever step in another persons shoes. Still there are those who sit at height to counsel and have personal gains.

There is one godly figure my heart pounds and beats as we remember him. He is no God but so divine that he can never be separated from the creator. Rasuallah (SA) whom Allah sent as Rehmat and mercy on this land. And the rehmat still exists in his progeny and their Dai Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (TUS). The Dawoodi Bohras seek his blessings and have overcome the greatest fo all troubles.

There comes a time when a troubled mind is led to submit to destruction and the more powerful the mind is the larger the destruction is caused. The power of an atomic bomb can be harnessed for peaceful causes but its destructive capacity is massive. The human mind is no different. A peaceful generator of energy can turn destructive when the circumstances are out of control. It does depend on how you deal with it.

The Quran has said that killing a single soul is equal to killing all people. What a brilliant statement and the worlds top so called mentors should know it. The society turns men into criminals by first killing their spirit and their soul. He who kills a soul kills the entire population. The consequences are so wide spread like an atom bomb that is rarely controllable. The destruction is so wide that all Friends and Family feel its heat.

Next time if you see a crime try to know its cause. Did you deprive someone of love and respect. If so each one of us is guilty. Today terror has become the height of discussion everywhere. The breading ground of terror is discrimination and nothing else. The rich discriminate the poor. The powerful discriminate the week. The rights of every person are being stampeded by the rights activists.

Dreaming is never bad but has been labeled unwise and the world following the labeled instructions shatters them to bits and pieces. Self centric persons are those who call others selfish in greed of having their share of respect and right to live. We never know which one of these are we.

Prayers are a Mumin's weapon but what if the weapon has been lost in the wilds of Azkaban. Its upto those who are besides him to help selflessly. It never happens in this world of dreams but only in the dreams of men who dare. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

May Allah bless our beloved Maula (TUS) a long life. Ameen

Spybot - Search & Destroy

Any Internet surfer who has a little sense of security and privacy should have this inevitable ware. It is one of my personal favorites and I make it a point that its installed on any system that I use. The best thing about this anti-adware / anti-spyware is that its free.

Spybot has other wonderful tools as well. such as RegAlyzer, FileAlyzer and other products. People in the Web Hosting and Internet industry would love its NetAlyzer tool to gather network info, trace routes, and gather and manage whois queries, for advanced users.

You can fall inlove with spybot once you try its wares for windows palm as well as its symbian edition. I really wonder why Nokia didn't consider adding it in its default tool set.

Spybot - Search & Destroy detects and removes spyware, a relatively new kind of threat not yet covered by common anti-virus applications. Spyware silently tracks your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile for you that is transmitted without your knowledge to the compilers and sold to advertising companies. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you haven't intentionally installed, if your browser crashes inexplicably, or if your home page has been "hijacked" (or changed without your knowledge), your computer is most probably infected with spyware. Even if you don't see the symptoms, your computer may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm giving it a try to see if something has invaded your computer.

To see a list of threats Spybot-S&D can remove, in the navigation bar at the left click on Support --> Threats. For an introduction to Spybot-S&D, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompatibility with other software you are now using, although we can assure you that there is no danger you can review our compatibility overview which lists some software whose compatibility has been analyzed.

Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you have been working on. And for professional users, Spybot-S&D allows you to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of all the apllication's features is also available.

Portable Application Safety

Some suggestions for staying safe from PortableApps.com...

An important thing to keep in mind when using portable applications is that they can be used to spread viruses between machines. While this isn't as much of an issue when you own or are responsible for the machines you are using it on (say work and home), it can be a very big issue when you use a portable app on an untrusted or unknown machine (school, internet cafe, etc). For this reason, it is important that you practice Safe Portable App-ing!

The Checklist

• Use a solid antivirus program on your primary PC and keep its virus definitions up to date.
• Use a solid antivirus program on your portable device, like ClamWin Portable, and keep its virus definitions up to date.
• Scan your PC and portable drive for viruses on a regular basis.
• Whenever you plug your portable drive into an unknown computer, you should assume that it may now be infected with a virus. If the PC has a virus that is currently in memory, it may attempt to infect your portable applications as soon as you plug it in.
• When you then plug your portable drive into another computer (after an unknown), you should first scan it for viruses before running any of your applications. (Most antivirus software will make this available to you by right-clicking on your drive in Explorer or My Computer.) That way, if it is infected, you'll know before you run your applications and the new computer will not be infected.
• Always wait until the drive access light has stopped blinking and then click the icon in your system tray to 'Safely Remove' your device. Don't just remove it. Just because the application's window is closed doesn't mean the app has fully closed and finished writing to the disk.
• Back up on a regular basis, both your applications and your files. PortableApps Backup makes this a snap and it's built right into the PortableApps Suite.

If you follow these simple rules, you'll be able to enjoy your portable applications without getting stuck with a virus or losing your data. As always, there is still the risk of getting a new virus that your antivirus program can't yet detect, but the probability would be relatively low, and you run the same risk whenever you download a file from the internet.

Microsoft Excel

MS Excel is a fascinating tool that most people use in their daily day-to-day activities from accounting to data management. Its simple to use and can do just anything provided you have the instinct for it. Did I say anything? Well yes anything. Look at this village.

Personally speaking I am no big fan of MS tools but I do use them to ease my day and it helps. I am no guru either and there are hundreds of resources out there that the true fans of Billy boy might have in store for you. I enjoy sharing and thats what I am going to do here. Share the excel tip files that a few generous and kind people have created to help people like us. Thanks to their efforts.

EXCEL SHORTCUTS

EXCEL TIPS

Note: If you have a smaller budget and cannot use MS products then you should not bother and use Open Office. Its neat and compatible with some MS file extensions as well. I have tried it and you should too, infact teach your children to use the community, and help it grow as well.

Selfless Care is Seldom Acknowledged

CrossLoop - Simple Secure Screen Sharing

What is Crossloop?

CrossLoop is a FREE secure screen sharing utility designed for people of all technical skill levels. CrossLoop extends the boundaries of VNC’s traditional screen sharing by enabling non-technical users to get connected from anywhere on the Internet in seconds without changing any firewall or router settings. It only takes a few minutes to setup and no signup is required.

CrossLoop's underlying technology was created to simplify the process of securely working with others located in different physical locations across diverse network environments. CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer. It is as if you are working side by side at the same PC. CrossLoop is a powerful productivity tool that enables you to quickly collaborate in with anyone in the world.

CrossLoop is powered by the proprietary CrossLoop VIP Tunnel, a secure peer-to-peer data transmission system. CrossLoop encrypts all files and messages exchanged on our network to ensure user privacy. Only you and your invited friends or family can view or share control of your computer. A CrossLoop session can only begin on your computer by explicitly inviting them to begin a session. All data sent over the CrossLoop network is encrypted at the endpoints using a 128-bit Blowfish encryption. For more detailed information on CrossLoop security, visit our security page.

We have gone to great lengths to ensure that CrossLoop is secure and have designed the application from the ground up with security in mind. If you have any questions regarding CrossLoop security please contact us at info@CrossLoop.com.

The Windows version of CrossLoop uses the TightVNC software plug-in for screen sharing. We have included a binary distribution of the TightVNC program in the installation software of the Windows version of CrossLoop to save you the trouble of separately downloading and installing TightVNC. If you have any questions about your rights related to TightVNC (which is licensed under GPL), please see our detailed description of how we use VNC.

Starting a Session

After installing CrossLoop, you will see a welcome screen with two tabs. Select the Join tab if you would like to connect and control a friend's PC. Select the Host tab if you would like to temporarily share access to your PC.

If you have not already done so, download CrossLoop.

Run Google Talk in Firefox Sidebar

Firefox is the coolest browser I have known. The best think I link about it is that it has a wonderful tab browsing system along with security that can be said to match no other. Its faster then other browsers and its add-ons are just superb.

Greasemonkey is something you will love while browsing the worldwide web. It can practically change the looks and feel of the sites you browse to what you like to see. I mean customization of sites. What a great thing, userscripts.org has tons of scripts that can help you browse the web the way you like it. You can practically change the looks of your favorite Gmail Inbox and have it display the attachment that a message carries without opening it. You can write your own scripts, too. Mark Pilgrim's definitive Greasemonkey guide, diveintogreasemonkey.org will show you how.

One of my favorites is the GTalk add-on in Firefox. You can run the neat messenger in the sidebar of Firefox, without having to install it. Give it a try, download the gTalk Sidebar

Access any site while sitting behind firewalls, office systems etc

Many people have problems accessing sites like orkut, myspace, rapidshare, etc. cause they are blocked by their offices, schools or firewalls.

There are many methods described here but the best would be using proxies

to get daily proxies follow these steps

1. Go to http://www.google.com/reader/
2. Login in with your google account
3. Click on manage subscriptions
4. Click on Import/export
5. Download this file
6. Unzip, note the location
7. Browse to the location from google reader's import/export
8. Upload the OPML file
9. Get daily updates of proxy lists via rss
10. There is no 10th step

Then chose a proxy and apply it in the following way

in firefox >>
Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection Settings > Manual Proxy configuration
Here enter the proxy ip and port
Presto visit almost all sites anonymously

For the people whose port 6969 is blocked (like mine) use SOCKS4/SOCKS5 Proxies

The soul would have no rainbow, had the eyes no tears......

Grief is a natural and normal reaction to a loss of any kind. It s a journey of experiences and feelings in response to that loss, and an adjustment because of that loss . Grief is not a option but a necessity. It is a necessity not only because of the loss but because of the love that is the basis of the relationship /experiences before that loss.

You feel grief all over. It is physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and social. It is a very personal journey or experience (there are roadmaps but no guidelines or specifics) and it demands a lot of hard work! The deeper the feelings toward the person or object lost the deeper the need to grieve. Grief hurts because of the love behind it.

Grief is a process or journey that is not completed. You do not "get over" grief. You do recover enough for some movement in life. It is an experience based on many things (your lifestyle, history, past experiences, faith, and family network), involves many feelings (like anger, love, bitterness, despair, doubt and guilt) and often can include depression, physical and behavioral changes and changes in interests and lifestyles.

Grief is a process or series of actions, reactions and the making of new pathways to travel. It affects our attitudes and feelings about ourselves, our situation, those around us and the one who is lost. The process of grieving is not a straight line but s series of steps forward, sideways, upside down and backward until something called recovery is reached . There is not timetable.

Be gentle with those who are in grief and with yourselves if you are a caregiver.

May Allah grant Maula TUS a long, healthy life ta qayamat. Ameen

Amte Syedna TUS
Alifyah Saifuddin

Posted on:
Dawoodi Bohra Net
http://www.mumineen.org

Convert Audio Cassette Tapes to MP3 files or CD

Audio cassette tapes, once the primary audio storage medium, are now disappearing quickly from the music store shelves to be replaced with Audio CDs. If you still own a pile of audio cassettes, now is the perfect time to convert them to MP3 files or Windows Media Audio before they're gone forever.

Digitizing analog tapes essentially involves playing the tape on the taperecorder deck, capturing the audio on your computer and finally converting the .wav files to mp3 or wma formats using software like LAMP MP3 encoder or Adobe Audition. The audio cable is connected to the line-in jack on your PC's sound card.

Now there are various options to transfer your audio tapes to CD depending on your OS platform and budget. Let's look at expert opinion on the web:

Using MusicMatch - Connect the to your sound card's line-in terminal with a 1/8" mini-jack and record the contents of your tape as a WAV file. Just set MusicMatch to record the line-in channel, press play on your tape deck, and then press the record button on the MusicMatch Jukebox.

Tips for better recordings - If your tape of a favorite live concert begins with a few minutes of audience murmuring, delete it. If you’ve recorded multiple songs, split your single recording into separate files. That way, you can make each song or section a separate track on an audio CD or on your iPod. Some software can detect silence between songs and divide them for you.

Using Audacity on Mac - Audio I/O: Recording should be set for 2 channels (stereo) and both the playback and recording devices set at Built in audio controller. Audio CDs sample sound 44,100 times per second. The standard sample format (number of digits in the digital representation of each sample) is 16-bit. Audacity’s defaults are a 44 KHz sample rate, but 32-bit sample format.

Using External Audio Capture Device - Consider using an external audio-capture device such as the plug-and-play USB M-Audio Transit instead of your sound card; it will record a much cleaner signal.

Remember to set your audio software’s volume controls according to the loudness of your tape or record. Proper volume is vital to getting good sound. Set the levels too low, and your audio will be too soft and prone to noise. Set levels too high, and loud portions of the recording will sound horribly distorted.