How To Recover When Thunderbird Is Broken

Yesterday I started noticing a strange issue in the Thunderbird email client. I could open the email client as usual, and mail would be retrieved. I was also able to click on one mailbox and read the mails there. But when I tried to click on another mailbox, or another folder of the same mailbox, nothing would happen. When I restarted the email client, I was again able to click on one mailbox, but not on any other.

I tried a lot of “internal” fixes, like removing the msf files so that Thunderbird would regenerate them, or reinstalling the program to see if that would resolve the problem.

Unfortunately though nothing did. I did notice that my mail was still there which was reassuring to say the least.

I first thought about backing up all emails to Mailstore and starting anew, but this would have meant that I would have to juggle between two programs (the new Thunderbird and Mailstore) for a while.

I kept the option in mind and decided to play around with profiles first. First thing I did was to add -profilemanager to the end of the Thunderbird startup command to launch the profile manager during start up.

You can do that by locating the Thunderbird shortcut in the taskbar or start menu. Right-click it and select Properties from the options. Look for the Target field and add -profilemanager at the end of the command. This launches the profile manager before the email client is started. A profile is like a new user account for Thunderbird.

I decided to create a new profile. This is a simple process, all you need to do is to click on create profile and enter a name if you like. Exit the window afterwards.

Now for the difficulty part. Locate your Thunderbird profile folder on your hard drive. Windows users find the profile under C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Roaming\Thunderbird\Profiles\

Note that you should see at least two profiles listed there. For the sake of simplicity, we assume you see two profiles. First your original profile with all your emails, and then your secondary profile that you have just created. We are now going to move important data from the old profile to the new one. Important data in this regards are all emails, contact information and preferences.

Locate the Mail (and if you like ImapMail) folder in your old profile and copy it to the new profile. Look into the root folder of the profile and copy the following files to the new profile: all abook*.mab files, all prefs files, all signons files.

Once done start Thunderbird using the new profile. Please note that you need to enter the mailbox passwords again. All extensions and other customizations are not moved. I’d suggest to install them anew, but you could try and move them from the old to the new profile.

You should now see all your mailboxes in the new profile. The preferences should be the same as in the old profile, as we have moved the preference files to the new profile as well.

This process has resolved the issue on my end. I selected the new profile to be started with Thunderbird automatically, and removed the profilemanager command from the startup.

Have you ever experienced issues with an email client? What did you do to resolve them?

Google Chrome Can Now Sync Multiple Browsing Profiles

Do you often use Chrome’s ability to sync all your bookmarks, extensions, apps, etc. across computers? It’s a pretty handy option which lets you use your own configuration of Chrome anywhere you go. But what if more than one person is using the computer? Who gets to sign into Chrome and sync his details across computers? Well, you don’t have to worry about that anymore.

With the latest stable version of Google Chrome you can create multiple browsing profiles on the the same computer, switch between them easily and sync all of them across different computers. Not all users have to be signed in, so if one user wants his data to be synced and another doesn’t, this is entirely possible.

First of all, to sync your Chrome data with your Google account, go to the wrench menu and choose “Sign in to Chrome”. Now, if you want to add more users, go to “Options/Preferences” in the wrench menu, choose “Personal Stuff” and click on “Add new user”. When you do that, Chrome will immediately create a new user with a random name and icon, and will open a new browser window for that user. You can now edit each user and give it the proper name, icon, and sign it into a Google account to sync it.

The implementation is very cute – you can choose different icons such as people, animals, foods, etc. for each profile, which is then added to the Google Chrome icon in the task bar. You can have different browser windows for different users, and differentiate between them using these personal icons.

According to Google, the new feature “isn’t intended to secure your data against other people using your computer, since it just takes a few clicks to switch between users.” They are providing the service merely as a convenience for people who already share computers.

Carry your PC with you with iTwin

Now you can carry your PC hard disk anywhere in the world via a USB Drive.

Lux Anantharaman and Kal Takru have together worked upon the iTwin to make that possible.

The iTwin is a pair of identical USB drives that share data exclusively between them over any connection. One just needs to insert one USB in his PC and carry the other along. When you need the data all you have to do is insert the other USB in any computer with an internet connection and gain access to it. 

This is also secure and does not require any other software.

The iTwin is priced at Rs 5,000. It is the brainchild of Anantharaman who came upon the idea of creating the iTwin after losing his USB drive with important data in it while travelling.

The iTwin was named as one among the Techcrunch 50 this year.

6 Reasons to buy iPhone 4S

Millions of Apple fans lined up in front of the showrooms to be among the early birds to grab the latest smartphone, iPhone 4S.

Beyond the fan fare and long queues, the features that iPhone 4S provides making it a luxurable necessity are:

1. Siri- Your own Personal Assistant! Just ask and the intelligent assistant will help you get things done. Just talk to Siri as you would to a person:

e.g.: "Where’s the closest ATM?" Siri understands and figures out the right apps to use to find the right answer. It makes phone calls, sends messages, schedules meetings, sets reminders and much more.

2. iOS- The world’s most advanced and easy-to-use mobile operating system provides easier ways to do everything. Launched two days before iPhone 4S, the iOS 5 brings over 200 new features to iPhone 4S such as Notification Center, iMessage and Twitter integration.

3. Unbelievable phone camera- With all-new optics, 8-megapixel resolution, a custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture, an improved backside illumination sensor, excellent auto white balance, advanced color accuracy, face detection and reduced motion blur, this just might be the best camera ever on a phone.

4. Video recording in 1080p amazing HD- A stunning 1080p HD video with all-new optics, makes the light always right, color always vivid and video stabilization always steady. Inbuilt video editor will help you to share pictures as fast as you shoot.

5. iCloud- Provides your content on all your devices and proves to be the easiest way to manage all your stuff. It stores your music, photos, apps, mail, contacts, calendars, documents and much more. Also, it wirelessly pushes them to all your devices in an automatic, effortless and seamless way.

6. Dual-core A5 chip- Two cores in the A5 chip deliver up to two times more power and up to seven times faster graphics which make it the most powerful iPhone ever. iPhone 4S is quick and responsive. The difference can be realized while launching apps, browsing the web, gaming and at almost every instance. A5 chip is extremely power-efficient and provides iPhone 4S with an outstanding battery life.

iCare Data Recovery software for Professional

This is a data recovery software which I admit I do not know much about, except that I am using it right now to salvage some files off a busted hard drive and am liking it. I do not know if it is any better or worse than the other free(or paid) data recovery software software out there. Here’s what I do know: you can get this for free throughNov 29th 2011 pacific time by following this link.

Actually, I know a few more things:

• It has a nice wizard interface.
• It has a deep scan option (which is very important in a data recovery software)
• It will attempt to salvage files that are accidentally deleted, files from partitions that were formatted, and files off of lost partitions.

How to Choose the Best Laptop for You: A Mini-Workshop: Session II

The second step I use to determine what my ideal laptop would be is pricing. You’ve got to determine how much you’re willing or able to spend. Some folks will tell you to decide on this as step one, but I argue that you can’t set a price range for yourself if you don’t know what you’re shopping for. Once you know which of the basic types you need, then you can begin looking at pricing and figuring out what you can expect to spend. Bear in mind that the price ranges I am listing here are for brand new or refurbished laptops that you can purchase in stores or online.

• Netbooks run around one or two hundred dollars, and don’t do much more than access the internet. If you are thinking about getting a Netbook, you may also consider a Tablet PC (usually around the same pricing with some added advantages like Android OS).

• Basic laptops, the lowest end without being just a Netbook, usually run at least three hundred bucks and sometimes up to five hundred or so, depending on the included features. Most of these are going to have low RAM and a single CPU. They will watch videos and DVDs but don’t expect to play Skyrim on it. The integrated graphics on these systems brings the cost down but means that you have less power for intense graphics.

• Mid Range laptops tend to have slightly better features and hardware than the Basic models, and usually run around five to seven hundred dollars. Typically they have a bit more hard drive space and RAM, and maybe even dedicated graphics but they still won’t handle a PC game that came out just last month. They’ll usually have a DVD burner installed these days too, and often are loaded with software to take advantage of their various hardware merits.

• Finally, High End Gaming laptops can run anywhere from around eight hundred dollars to the thousands and higher if you get something custom built. These are the be all end all of the laptop world, capable of doing just about anything you could need, including playing the latest PC games.

---

The final, and most exciting step to get the best laptop for you, is to shop. This is, of course, the best part. The best and shortest advice I can give here is this: Shop around and take your time. Make sure you check out the deals available to you from local retail stores, compare them to what you can find online. It’s quite often that someone I know buys a computer in a retail store and is dismayed to find out that they could have paid a much lower price by ordering it from a reputable company online. That’s where taking your time comes in. Nothing is worse than jumping on what you believe to be a stellar deal, only to see something better for a lower price two days later because you didn’t take you time and do your research. Google shopping, Yahoo, Amazon, etc. There are tons of places on the internet to find great deals on the hardware that runs it. When I am personally shopping for a new laptop, I give myself at least three days after I decide on a particular model to think about it and see if better deals come along. You’ve also got to take into account the time of year and other factors. For example, buying a laptop in mid-December is likely to be slightly cheaper if you shop around because of all the Christmas deals available. On the other hand, buying one just after Halloween is likely to be a bit more costly. Wait as long as you can, search for deals as much as possible, and don’t take one until you are sure it’s the right one for you.

I hope that helps. Until next time, my friends!

How to Choose the Best Laptop for You: A Mini-Workshop: Session 1

Choosing the best laptop for your needs and making sure you get the best price is one of the most common problems I hear about. I use a three step process that helps me figure out the best possible deal. Determine your needs, then your price range, and then do your shopping. Following these steps will help you be organized and efficient in your search for the best laptop for your needs.

First, I want to state that this is meant to be a general guide for those who have little or no experience with laptops and/or desktop computers. If you’re a power user or a tech guru, you’re not going to really need this guide, but you may know someone that does, so let’s get started.

The first step to choosing the right laptop for your needs is the one that most people stumble on. You’ve got to determine what you’re going to be using the laptop for, before you can decide on anything else. Will you be using it for playing PC games, for creating spreadsheets or power point presentations? Will it be used for school work or for editing video and audio? Will it be used mostly for internet access or just for checking email? All these questions have to come into play to determine the big picture of your overall requirements before moving on to step two. If, for example, you plan on using the laptop mostly for school work and occasionally for some PC gaming, your hardware doesn’t have to be the best cutting edge available, but there are still other considerations. This can be broken down into a simple list of needs, as follows:

• Basic laptop with small screen or a Netbook (not to be confused with Notebook): Best for internet usage and email, word processing and data management like spreadsheets.

• Low End laptop with integrated graphics: These are best for playing older games, as well as doing all that the Basic laptops can do.

• Mid Range laptops usually have a dedicated graphics card, and at least a dual-core processor. These laptops will do just about anything and are decent for multi-tasking as well. They won’t play the newest games but they do handle most games that were produced more than a year or two ago.

• High End Gaming laptops usually have all the latest tech installed and can handle anything you throw at them. Alienware is an example of the high end gaming laptop. They often have quad-core processors and always have powerful dedicated GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) that can handle sending video to your high definition television as well. They have huge amounts of hard drive space, tons of RAM, and lots of extra features like cosmetic cases (glowing keyboards and such)

Now, those are some really basic and general guidelines for the different types of laptops out there, but I don’t want anyone to think this is meant to be an exhaustive list. The fact is that there are many steps in between each different kind of laptop I have listed here. Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by it, though. The basic types listed above will help you get on your way.

How to Preserve Battery Life on Your Android Phone

The Android operating system for smartphones offers a lot of power and flexibility for modern mobile living.  However, such a powerful OS makes high demands on your phone’s hardware.  Low battery power can quickly cramp your style.

Here are some quick tips and tricks for getting the most out of your Android smartphone by keeping your battery power at optimum levels:

1. Change your brightness settings. The brightness of your phone’s screen can quickly consume battery power.  To address this problem, pull up Settings and then tap Display.  Tap Brightness.  Deselect the Automatic Brightness setting if it’s already selected, and you’ll see a sliding bar that lets you choose your desired brightness level.  Set it to the lowest level your eyes can tolerate and then press OK.

2. Turn off Wi-Fi and other features when you’re not using them. Your Wi-Fi connection, when you’re not using it, puts needless extra strain on your battery, even though it’s preferable to your cellular data connection in terms of power consumption.  Be sure to turn it off when you’re not in a service area or when you aren’t using the internet at all.  The same goes for GPS and Bluetooth—if you’re not driving or using wireless headphones at the moment, there’s no need for the additional burden on your battery.

3. Spy on running apps that might be guzzling battery power. From your Main Menu, go to Settings, then About Phone, and then Battery Use.  Here, you will be able to see exactly which apps and phone functions are draining your battery power, by percentage.  You’ll then know which apps to kill or what settings to adjust.

4. Turn off automatic syncing and application updates. Many smartphone users are accustomed to receiving email and app updates on the fly.  However, if you’re trying to preserve battery life, you should turn those features off for the individual apps in question.  Remember, you can always manually check email or update apps on your phone.

5. Turn off animated features. Android comes with many bells and whistles, such as animated scrolling and popup menus.  Animated wallpaper is another popular feature.  Unfortunately, these enhancements can suck your battery dry in no time.  Turn off menu animations by going to Settings, then Display, then Animation.  If you’re currently using animated or “live” wallpaper, go to Settings, then Personalize, then Wallpaper, and select a static picture from your Gallery.

6. Completely drain your battery every now and then. Although it may seem counterintuitive, completely using up all of your battery’s power and then allowing it to recharge can help preserve the battery’s life overall.  You can drain all the power by letting music or videos play continuously.  Once that’s done, simply plug your phone back in and let it recharge.  You might want to do this overnight or during another extended period of time in which you won’t need to use your phone.

The next time you want to get more life out of Android, simply put the above tips into use and you’ll be able to spend more time with your smartphone between charges.  Enjoy!

NOKIA MOBILE TRICKS

To enter in the secret menu in Nokia Phone.

On the main screen type *#92702689# [*#war0anty#]

It will take you to a secret menu where you may find some of the information below:

1. Displays Serial Number.
2. Displays the Month and Year of Manufacture
3. Displays (if there) the date where the phone was purchased (MMYY)
4. Displays the date of the last repair - if found (0000)
5. Shows life timer of phone (time passes since last start)

Hiding your Mobile/ Cellphone Number
Go to: Menu > Tools > Settings > Call > Send My Caller ID >
'Yes', 'No' or 'Set By Network' to follow the default settings of your home network.
It works only with very few network who provide you facility of “Private Number”

To restore Factory Settings for Nokia mobile
*#7780# reset to factory settings.

Speed Dialing From Simcard contact (not stored in mobile phonebook)
Type number followed by # then call.
Example: 1# or 2# or 21#

Taking picture without getting noticed.
Turn on/off the "click" sound made by the camera by selecting the 'Silent' profile or by turning warning tones on/off.