Are you using Windows? Although nowadays the usage of Mac and Linux has been significantly grown up, we cannot deny that Windows is still the widely used Operating System in the whole planet. I am still using it. Don’t know what actually create the reality, but Windows definitely is supported by (almost) all software and hardware manufacturers.

Have you ever found a hardware that doesn’t have Windows drivers? Apple products may have something like that, but not other major vendor. Driver is actually some kind of license, that will make the hardware recognizable. Most of the time, the drivers themselves are contained in Windows package, especially for known products. New products, however, already inserted its driver in CD-ROM that bundled in the package.

Yet, to notice the nature of human, we may have forgotten where do we put those CD-ROMs when we need them. In my own experience, It something commonly happens, including to myself. One more trend that may prevent the use of CD-ROM are the usage of netbook, a smaller version of notebook, that most of time will not carry internal CD-ROM player due to larger room required.

Nothing to worry about it, as we can actually search the driver in the Internet. Most vendors have already put it in their own supporting sites, as there are some sites that compile the drivers into compilation. So, when we are experiencing obstacles in finding the right drivers, we know where we headed of.

Once I was watching Nanny Diaries, a movie about one girl pursuing her career as anthropologist, and spend her summer as a nanny. Becoming a nanny, she found out that lot of abnormal behaviors occured in a rich family when the mom is spending most of her time of pleasuring herself, while the child is being raised (mostly) by the nanny. Several conflicts happened between the nanny and lady of the house, bringing untrust situation between each other. One device that being used as method of “spying” is hidden camera, familiarly known as Nanny cam.

Hidden camera in the movie is attached into teddy bear eyes, lowering possibility of being caught. Yet it is finally revealed when the nanny is overhearing the conversation between the lady and her friend. The nanny goes mad and blew up after being fired after the father was trying to do seductive thing on her. She then wants to give lesson to the mom about how raising child and not neglecting him/her. She used the hidden cam found in her room to record all of her lesson. Her experience then is used as study material for her thesis.

In one hand, hidden camera maybe useful to observe anything happen in the house. We can immediately find out when our children aren’t doing something good. But in other hand, it should not be used as a tool on spying other people, even in our house. Even nanny has her own privacy in her life.

The title above is really like a status in Facebook or some sort of microblogging, like Twitter and Plurk. But definitely I am confessing with all my true heart. Arthemia (Free), made by Indonesian Michael Jubel Hutagalung, has satisfied me with all those code’s cleanliness and flexibility. I am easily converting it from magazine-like theme to standard two columns, which I find suitable for personal blog, like this.

Previously, I am looking for two columns theme, free version of course, more to foreign designers, yet nothing is suited me best like this one. I should be ashamed that, although Michael was a TOKI member, I–the Computer Science graduate–cannot create a single Wordpress theme (none I believe) as good as he is. Now I really believe that Indonesian web designer are indeed very talented. His company, Colorlabs Project, recently created a Wordpress theme design contest, which “unfortunately” also won by Indonesian designer

For those who also delighted by the charm of the grandeur design, you can download it directly. Those who are satisfied with free version and would like to have more, in term of SEO-ness, Adsense-support, and several other differences (you may check the comparison). Sold for it? Experience Arthemia Premium (aff) instead (or you can click the banner in the above-right sidebar).

I know nothing about forex. I mean I know that forex trading means buy a currency in its lower level and sell it in higher one, but certainly I don’t know about any knowledge on predicting the fluctuation. I think my knowledge and passion is more to stock exchange than forex trading. Definitely both sectors have high risk if the analysis is not based on proper research and knowledge. Yet, if any of you would like to study about forex currency trading, I know one service that definitely will give you insight on making profit in that area.

The service is named Fab Forex. Created by group of experts in forex trading, Fab Forex gives you lot of articles guaranteed to give enlightenment in your forex knowledge journey. The articles tell us about why we are doing forex trading, the rule of doing forex transaction, creating technical analysis about forex movement, and protecting you from forex scam.

Even if we are having zero knowledge about forex, reading all articles will enhance our knowledge aggresively. There is no guarantee of course that you will suddenly make profit from it, but it is better to have deeper knowledge about it than not at all. Again, starting this kind of investment need lot of gut. If you are not categorized yourself as a risk taker, it would be better if you take obligation or money deposit instead.

No, I am not offering another business of mine. I just figure out that email marketing can help you promote your business in online way. For example, if we have a T-shirt online shop, definitely we need to promote new design available to our subscribers. T-shirt design needs to be refreshed at least every 3 months. Unfortunately, creating email newsletter is not that easy, especially when you are not familiar with web designing. Beside that, it would not be elegant if other member’s email is shown when one member is receiving newsletter. We need a professional service that will help us achieving our goal.

Thankfully, there are some email marketing services available in cheap amount that provide something we need. One of them is iContact. iContact is one of the best solution is this area. With price starting at US$ 9.95 per month, we can select more than 300 email templates available. There is also Enterprise product for larger company, starting at US$ 660 per month. iContact also provides online survey tool to trackback effectiveness of the newsletters. iContact gives you 15 days free trial to test the system capability. If you are looking for any easy and inexpensive way to put your emarketing on autopilot and get great deliverability, check out iContact.

As a newlywed couple, one thing me and my wife think about is to redecorate our house. It is an old family house, inherited from my wife’s grandparents. The house was built about 40 years ago, thus that is why it is required to renew its appearance into today’s look. First we are rebuilding our main room. It consists of master bedroom and side room which is used as wardrobe and working place. To maintain the air circulation, unfortunately we need to use air conditioning system since there are tons of mosquitos are ready to attack if we are opening the windows, especially in the nite.

For living room, we would like to consider about placing ceiling fans. Our consideration is based on the electricity required and for fresh air we obtained from it. We are looking about it in online catalog and figure out that there many kinds of ceiling fans models available from different stores. Actually there are tons of ceiling fans provider out there. Some of them are Monte Carlo Ceiling Fans and Ellington Ceiling Fans. We can choose from contemporary model, traditional, even modern model. Since the ceiling fans idea is good as the solution, I guess we need to wait until having budget for buying it.

Again, I am doing more “reviews” in this blog. The trigger is definitely “something” received every month. You all know what I am talking about *lol*. Yet, I try doing it in more elegant way by connecting it with our daily life. Hopefully it won’t bother the beloved readers here.

If you’d like to know more about me, my wife, and our newlywed life, please visit The Karimuddin. In other hand, if you’d like to read more about gadget, handset, and notebooks, please take a look at gadnix.

Gadget consumers in Indonesia must have been awared that iPhone 3G, the latest phenomenal phone by Apple, will be launched in few days. The sole operator partner is Telkomsel, with the help of some major nationwide distributors like OKE shop, Global Telesindo, and 3 others. If we are really drooling about this gadget, this is the right time to be able to grab the iPhone legally. We know that in some Trading Center, we can find some stores which are offering unlocked version of iPhone, illegally imported from Singapore or Hong Kong. But certainly, iPhone from Telkomsel has some advantages including one year guarantee and some free bonuses obtained if we pick up Turbo Plus and Turbo Premium price plan.

After having this iPhone, we definitely don’t want the handset to be scratch easily. we need some accessories to accompany its present. What we need first is iPhone case. This is special case made with invisible shield, thus the shield won’t be spotted unless we barely grab the phone. After all, the case has lifetime guarantee in case you found it to be broken after some periodic of time.

After that, you can buy iPhone earbuds. Made exclusively by Zagg, the earbuds has won 2009 CES Innovation Design and Engineering Showcase Award. The quality may surpass regular earphones. The last one is iPhone skin. All of them are designed and engineered by Zagg, the trusted iPhone accessories maker. Zagg has been covered by major media, including New York Times and MacWorld. Zagg’s products will complete our iPhone experience.

I am currently a PC user. With Windows XP installed, I can use numerous softwares available. Even for one filetype extension, we select some softwares which having same usabilities. For example, you can use Windows Media Player for playing movie, but you can also use Media Player Classic, Real Player, or even Apple’s Quicktime to do similar role. Sometimes, if we install some similar softwares, we need to select one software to be used as default one. One day, if we think the software isn’t good enough to handle our requirement we can delete or uninstall it immediately and replace it with other alternative softwares.

Problem comes up when we are unistalling a software, there may be a chance of erasing or modifying some sort of registry lines. We all know that Windows is rely heavily to its registry system. When a registry is having problem, it is suggested that we seek for registry repairer so we can play or use the number of File Extension again without having more trouble. There are numerous softwares in the Internet that can be downloaded in order to fix the registry and file extension problem. But certainly we need to pick up one good software which can handle everything. If we want to fix some errors regarding File Extension jad (to play JAVA mobile file) or File Extension mdi (to play MIDI file), we must seek file extension repairer specialized in fixing multimedia filetypes.

Are you in college or at least in high school, where currently you are eligible to have your own credit card? Children nowadays require to create credit card to show the world that they are responsible on managing their own financial life. Before you choose which card is suitable for you, it will be better if you check some sites in the Internet which provide comprehensive review about each card. There are some sites that is great to tell you how to differ one card to another. You need to check about the interest fee per month, also known as Annual Percentage Rate (APR). Some student credit card may charge zero rate for APR when you are having transaction during the first 6 months. Some card even boost your study spirit by giving “thank you points” when you can maintain your good GPA.

What you need to pay attention when applying a student credit card is about minimal income, annual fee, APR, and some other term and conditions. You need to maintain good credit history in order to continue using it. So please use it wisely. The site also create blog to provide latest issue in this area. The blog post may vary from what to do when having credit card and tips and tricks when you find obstacles on using it.

For those looking for big city with arid climate, Phoenix is definitely the perfect place. The fifth most populous city in United States with about 1.5 million residences, Phoenix has very hot summers and not so cold temperature in winter. I think this city is very good in raising kids who don’t want to get cold easily when winter arrives. If you are currently living in Phoenix or planning to move to Phoenix and require to have a Phoenix New Homes with luxurious looks,  Cachet Homes might be the suitable place to start with.

Cachet Homes is a well known home developer, specialized in building small yet luxurious and comfortable home. Qualified as the top 5 for its category for the last 7 years, this people know what you really need. They build condominium, single family home, and town home, starting from US$ 200,000. There are several locations offered by Cachet Homes, including in Buckeye, Chandler, Gilbert, and Scottsdale. Its site is quite comprehensive, providing the step-by-step guide on finding the perfect home for you and your family. Also they have virtual tour to let you take a look on all houses registered in their custody. If you are still unsure about the location and the house you want, you can freely contact them via email or telephone, they will gladly give you enough information.

What do you know about credit card? Credit card is a plasticy magnetic card to replace money as payment tools. Yet, you should have to pay it with your own cash once the transaction is made. This paying mindset sometimes is missing, so people may get shocked by the amount of the bill they need to pay. ExtraCreditCards.com is the place to ask about anything related with credit cards. From credit score to how to find credit card with low interest. ExtraCreditCards.com provides numerous amount of credit cards to be chosen.

Have you ever heard the term APR? APR stands from Annual Percentage Rate. It is the interest you will be charged when carrying such balance every month. You will hardly know about this except you open the site. The site will tell you a lot about credit card term, security issue, even credit card history. You also will be taught about how many cards are required to maintain healthy credit score.  ExtraCreditCards.com also help you explain some myths already spread out among communities. Did you know that MasterCard is as equal as Visa in term of worldwide acceptance? One more thing, closing your account doesn’t mean closing your credit balance or credit score. It will be kept as it is as long you have credit history. The credit history is kept by banks and can be shared to other banks. Just remember not making mess with even one credit card.

Mine is like picture above and definitely I will not let my dream gone. Long live enterpreneurship! Anyway, if you have gut to the your own just click this test. Enjoy!

Setelah menikah, salah satu fokus blog kami (saya dan istri) adalah blog tentang kehidupan rumah tangga. Beralamat di http://the.karimuddin.com, blog ini akan bercerita tentang kehidupan kami sebagai pasangan baru yang tentunya masih hijau dengan kehidupan rumah tangga, di mana semuanya harus kita urus berdua. Di sini kita bisa saling sharing dan saling tukar pengalaman. Monggo mampir ya… Happy blogging!

Layanan FastNet dari First Media memang fenomenal, kalau tak mau dibilang kontroversial. FastNet memberikan terobosan layanan Internet (cukup) kencang untuk pelanggan dengan harga yang (cukup) bersaing. Memang sudah tidak ada lagi paket IDR 99 ribu per bulan (sebelum pajak), tetapi harga barunya tetap lebih baik dibanding paket Telkom Speedy unlimited yang masih IDR 750 ribu per bulan. Harga yang lebih murah dapat membeli koneksi 1.5 Mbps setiap bulannya lho!

Saya terakhir kali menulis tentang FastNet di bulan September 2007. Itu sudah sekitar 1.5 tahun yang lalu. Tes tersebut dilakukan pada awal FastNet mulai diluncurkan. Sejak itu post tersebut sudah dikunjungi oleh belasan ribu views dengan 138 komentar. Yang jadi pertanyaan sekarang, apakah kecepatan yang ditawarkan oleh FastNet sekarang adalah masih sama cepatnya dengan saat FastNet pertama kali diluncurkan?

Saya coba mengujinya menggunakan situs penguji bandwidth paling dasar, speedtest.net. Sebagai disclaimer, pengujiannya dilakukan pada pukul 1.20 AM di mana seharusnya bandwidth yang diambil adalah optimal. Sambil menjalankan pengujian ini, saya sedang mengunduh film Wild Child pesanan istri di Rapidshare menggunakan jdownloader.

Tes pertama adalah ke server lokal di Jakarta. Saat ini server pengujian adalah milik IM2. Tes membuktikan bahwa kecepatannya adalah tidak jauh berbeda dengan kecepatan yang dijanjikan, 768 Kbps. Tes kedua menggunakan server luar sebagai perbandingan. Server favorit saya adalah Anchorage, yang terletak Alaska. Kenapa Anchorage? Tidak ada alasan spesifik, tapi saya suka saja menggunakan pembanding di tempat yang cukup terpencil (walaupun belum tentu terpencil dalam hal infrastruktur). Ternyata hasil yang diperoleh adalah sama stabilnya.

Ada sedikit keanehan yang saya temukan saat melakukan speedtest terhadap server di Los Angeles. Tiga kali percobaan menghasilkan angka yang cukup mencengangkan. Diperoleh angka sekitar 900-1100 Kbps untuk kecepatan unduhnya! Padahal kenyataannya paket yang saya miliki hanyalah up to 768 Kbps. Sayangnya data demikian hanya diperoleh di Los Angeles, karena tes yang sama untuk New York menghasilkan data standar yang tidak menunjukkan anomali. Sebagai kesimpulan, nampaknya kecepatan FastNet setelah 1.5 tahun tidaklah banyak berubah dan masih (lumayan) stabil sebagai layanan Internet kabel. Mungkin sebaiknya saya mengunduh semua berkas-berkas Internet melalui server Los Angeles karena terbukti lebih friendly dengan jaringan FastNet?