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How To Improve Facebook Experience In Firefox Using GreaseMonkey

Sunday, July 31, 2011 at 8:42 PM Article by Unknown 1 Comment


Facebook is the social network of choice for millions of people, but like any site out there, we all have our own list of improvements we’d like to see. Luckily the Greasemonkey script community feels the same way and has come up with hundreds of scripts to improve your user experience. 
The scripts allow you to change colors, remove ads, automate repetitive tasks in applications and a whole slew of other improvements. Try out these more than 10 great scripts to use Facebook the way you want to.
What are some of your favorite Greasemonkey based Facebook enhancements?

auto-colorizer

Auto-Colorizer – An interesting script that analyzes the default image for any profile you visit and adjusts the color scheme of the page to match it. Also works on photos, events & group pages.

Facebook App Faviconizer – If you open your apps in separate tabs, this will replace the Facebook favicon with the one used by each application so you can more quickly identify what is in each window.

facebook colour changer

Facebook Colour Changer – Not only can you set the Facebook colors to anything you desire, but you may also change the logo image in the top left corner to whatever you want.

Facebook Fixer – Instead of loading several scripts, you can load Facebook Fixer and get larger profile images, video download links, Google Calendar integration and several other features.

Facebook Highlight Birthdays – With all of the info on your homepage, it can be easy to overlook the birthday notices.  This script will highlight them for easier spotting.

Facebook Image Download Helper – This script will allow you to use a Firefox extension like DownThemAll! to download all of the images on a page in Facebook.

Facebook Video – This script will not only give you the ability to download videos hosted on Facebook and convert them, but it will also provide you with the option of embedding the videos on other sites.  It is also available as a stand-alone Firefox extension.

facebook photo

Facebook View Photo in Album – A powerful script that allows you to view the photo albums of people you aren’t friends with, and it also gives you the ability to see a person’s pictures no matter who took them.

Friend Quick Remove – Streamlines the usual three steps to remove a friend down to just one easy step.

inYOf4ceBook – Tired of squinting at thumbnail images of people in search, thinking they kinda look like the person you meant to find?  inYOf4ceBook will let you place your mouse over the image and see a large view of it so you can actually tell who you are looking at.

New Facebook Layout Adjuster – Allows you to remove ads, sidebar and more to make a smoother looking version of the new Facebook.

Remove Facebook Ads – As the name implies, this script removes all of the various ads that show up around Facebook such as banner ads, sponsored news items and so on.

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Mozilla Building Android Based Mobile OS to Rival Chrome/Android

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 9:25 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments


Mozilla (the Firefox guys) revealed their plans to build an operating system very much like Google’s own Chrome OS where apps run off of a browser but for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. The project is being codenamed “Boot to Gecko” because it takes the Gecko engine from Firefox and transforms it into an open-source operating system. Sound familiar? Well, it should.

It’s not too much unlike the idea behind our beloved Android operating system and is bringing back memories of that Mozilla concept phone running off of Android. In fact, Boot to Gecko will actually be based off of Android even thought Mozilla’s VP of Technical Strategy insists they will try to, “use as little of Android as possible.” Basically, they need Android’s kernels and drivers simply to get the device booting.

Taking to heart the idea of open source, developers working with the project intend for it to become a “complete, standalone operating system for the open web.” Instead of building apps using the Android SDK, the platform will instead focus on HTML5 based applications. The company wrote on their blog:
“We will do this work in the open, we will release the source in real-time, we will take all successful additions to an appropriate standards group, and we will track changes that come out of that process. We aren’t trying to have these native-grade apps just run on Firefox, we’re trying to have them run on the web.”
Which devices can we possibly expect to run this new Mozilla OS? Shaver mentioned that the company is looking towards Nvidia Tegra 2 devices because they offer hardware acceleration of open audio and video formats.

As far as their intentions go, Mozilla’s Andreas Gal says their ultimate goal is to break “the stranglehold of proprietary technologies over the mobile device world.” Reminds me a lot of Android when it first started. Android has done pretty well for itself when faced against closed OS’s like Apple’s iOS and although Boot to Gecko is still in its infancy, it’s interesting to see another open source rival step into the ring. Maybe we’re closer to the Mozilla Seabird than we thought…


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How to change Facebook Themes

Monday, July 25, 2011 at 5:35 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments


Like Orkut Themes or MySpace Layouts, Facebook doesn’t have any option natively to change colors or Themes of Facebook. So, to make your Facebook Profile stylish one, change the appearance of Facebook with Stylish addon. It will be really interesting to redesign Facebook or apply themes.
Stylish Addon allows you change the appearance by applying Facebook Themes. Basically, the styles for facebook is changed by applying User Scripts from  Userstyles.org.
  1. Install Stylish Addon
  2. Login to Facebook
  3. Go to Facebook Themes Gallery
  4. Click on “Install with Stylish” Button
  5. Your Facebook is successfully changed.
facebook stylish themes

Not just Facebook, many other sites like Orkut, Youtube, etc can be changed with this addon.
Another method is using Naevis Facebook Layout which changes appearance for Internet explorer. It is a small program but not so impressive results, it just changes background images and nothing else.


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How To Get Back Old Facebook Chat And Get Rid Of New Sidebar Chat (All Browsers)

at 5:12 PM Article by Unknown 4 Comments


Change isn’t always improvement and New Features aren’t always welcomed by users. Same is the story with New Facebook Sidebar Chat. Users haven’t liked it much for a simple reason that it’s messy. It’s a free service and you don’t have an option to switch to good old Facebook Chat officially. So, here’s how can you get rid of new Facebook Sidebar chat and get back to old Facebook Chat.

Disliking of people is obvious owing to following reasons: Doesn’t have Scroll bar to see all friends who are online at the moment. I agree there is a Search box to find friend to chat with but it isn’t always the case. Sometimes, you decide whom to chat with according to choice of availability of persons.Unnecessarily, Offline Users are shown on top instead of Online.

However, it is possible to get back old facebook chat using userscript which we have used in most browser hacks to customize the webpage and present in different way than original.

Get Back Old Facebook Chat

Facebook Sidebar Chat Reversion is name of userscript compatible with all modern web browsers which when installed reverts back to the old facebook Chat.

Developer has just tried to imitate old Facebook chat appearance which also features scroll bar and lies in right bottom of page. Work is appreciable and at the moment, we don’t have an alternative.
I tried it personally and didn’t found any bug as such but you can report to author if any.

How to install Old Facebook Chat UserScript?

Go to http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/107159 and click on Green button saying “Install”.
For Firefox users, you must have GreaseMonkey addon installed to install this. 

For Internet Explorer users, you must have Trixie addon installed to install this.  

For Safari users, you must have Greasekit addon installed to install this. 
 If still it does not work then enable your extension from tools menu. (optional)

For Opera users, download script from this page. At the end of the file name use ‘.user.js’ and open with opera browser.


For Google Chrome however, it is installed directly and activates automatically on opening Facebook.com

Note: This Hack doesn’t activate Old Facebook Chat for your Account but only when you access Facebook from the browser where script is installed.


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Facebook Group Video Chat : Multiple Video Chat on Facebook Hangout

at 4:45 PM Article by Unknown 2 Comments

Facebook Video Chat already created a buzz which was said to be an answer to Google Plus Hangout. The Skype powered Facebook Video chat allowed us to have 1 on 1 chat while Google+ Hangout allowed involvement of multiple profiles. In similar way, Social Hangout allows us to have Group Video chat on Facebook.

Social Hangouts is a 3rd party Facebook Application offering group video chat facility with your Facebook Friends upto 20 at a time.



To begin with, go to Social Hangout Application > Invite your friends with whom you want to chat and start. Camera screen will soon fetch your video and other video windows will be activated as soon as your friends start joining the video chat room.

Facebook isn’t offering this feature officially (at the moment though proposed) but thanks to Apps like this are in favor of Facebook giving a silent answer to Google+ Hangout.

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5 Steps That Help Selecting The Best Financial Advisor

Saturday, July 23, 2011 at 9:30 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments

Preparing to start the choice:

Satish grew concerned about how to manage his personal finance investments and asked his uncle, who is a very successful investor, if he knew a good financial advisor. His uncle knows a few each specializing in a particular type of financial consultation, and asked him about the type of consultation he required.

Then his uncle went to tell him that his first task lay in identifying his financial objective, whether he needed financial advice for goals like long-term financial portfolio, or tax planning, or providing for the higher education and marriage of his children. Uncle went on to tell him there were more than 50 type of specialists specializing in aspects like stocks, insurance, mutual funds, postal savings, financial planning, taxation and real estate and told him the five steps to select the best financial advisor.


1) Meeting and reviewing different financial advisors:
Once your financial objective and goals are set, your choice of a specialist would depend on whether you want one for your savings plans, tax advice and preparation, stock and equity portfolios, investment strategies, personal budgeting and debt management, retirement planning, estate planning, or insurance advice.
A search on the internet and referrals from friends, colleagues and relatives could help you find some appropriate financial advisors to look into your concern. Make sure that when the financial advisor suggests suitable financial plans, he also assures you to look into its maintenance, updating and implementation with periodic reviews of reports and correspondence.


2) Details about the financial advisor’s educational qualifications, certifications, and experience:

As all other dealings financial dealings too require the qualifications, certification and experience. So it is best to know and verify the advisor’s educational qualifications, certifications and experience. It pays to verify required certifications, like being licensed by IRDA to do insurance business and by by AMFI to deal in mutual funds in India. The extra qualifications like CFP add more value.

 In addition, the professional’s experience in the nature of business, and with sizable experience dealing with recession times plays a vital role in the choice of a financial advisor. The investment advisor’s past professional positions and his reasons for change will be able to tell how efficient he is, with a positive switch of revealing his good expertise.

3) Information of clients he has dealt with along with references:
I would say it is in your interest to not rely just on the positive talk of a financial advisor, and beware of his trying to belittle your ideas. Asking for a reference helps verifying his authenticity, honesty, integrity, and empathy and whether he specializes in the similar nature of business you expect of him. I would say if you are young, you would not benefit from a financial advisor dealing mainly in retirement and senior citizen plans.

Interviewing a number of clients would give you the best idea if the financial advisor can be relied upon confidently to meet your financial goals and objectives. In addition to this you may verify the testimonials given to him by his clients.

4. Verify his past records to judge his present and future behavior:
I would rather rely on written words like past documents than what he professes, and would say that a financial advisor’s past performance indicated well his present and future actions. I would also make sure that any disciplinary action for professional and ethic violation has been taken. I would also avoid financial advisors claiming very high performance, as they would highly risk my money.

5) The rate and method of compensation for services:
Now comes, the final stage of discussing and knowing your financial advisor’s compensation. Financial advisors have varied compensation methods for their services, charges could be hourly, a flat monthly fee, a percentage on the assets managed, and a commission on the financial products managed or could be based on the number of transactions.  Others could be a combination of 2 or more methods.
A word of caution in dealing with financial advisors charging on number of trades, or getting commission from the investment company, these fees or commissions can be profit motivated with no empathy to client needs.
You could always suggest changes in the fee structure, if not accepted you could always find a reasonable financial advisor to sign a compensation agreement with him.


The final note:
My best wishes for good financial dealings with financial advisors, but a word of caution, are ‘be selective, diligent and patient to understand well the philosophy of your investment and never be shy to ask questions and clarify doubts’.

(Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner, is founder & director of Holistic Investment Planners (P) Ltd (www.holisticinvestment.in))

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Apple Releases iOS 4.3.4, Prevents Hacking & Jailbreaking

Monday, July 18, 2011 at 11:10 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments

Apple has released a software update iOS version 4.3.4 for iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad 2, 1, and Pod touch.


The main objective of this version is to prevent the hacking in Apple iOS devices which occurs through malicious pdf file. Another objective is to prevent the jailbreaking which occurs as a consequence of the previous effect.
In previous versions, the iOS devices are easily vulnerable to attacks which happens because of mishandling of fonts embedded in pdf file. It is quite common to download a pdf file through e-mail or web pages. Sometimes the downloaded file may be malicious and there is possibility that the file could inject malware into the iOS device — that gives a chance for the hackers to access the hardware.
Again the previous problem leads to jailbreaking of iOS. (Jailbreaking is the process of hacking the iOS and as a consequence it allows the user to install non-Apple approved software in the Apple device — which makes it less secure.)
Both the problems have been solved by this updated version.
The download will take roughly around 25 minutes. This is due to the fact Apple wants its user to download the entire OS file rather than just the updated one. Once the upgrade has been done, your device will free from any malicious file.
Apple has made many updates in its iOS but this version of iOS will leave a huge impact in the minds of the user. Be risk-free and secure by updating the your iPhone, iPad or iPod to iOS 4.3.4.
Official Direct Download Links for iOS 4.3.4
Update: We can confirm that only untethered jailbreak (Using JailbreakMe 3.0) doesn’t work with this update. However, 4.3.4 has already been jail-breaked using RedsnOw and PwnageTool.

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Eight Simple Ways to Plan your Taxes

Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 1:24 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments

Eight Simple Ways to Plan your Taxes.

You have got only a few more months to complete this financial year. Very soon you will get a call from your company to submit the proofs for tax saving investments. So why don’t you spend some time on organising your tax plan?

1)     Proper Allocation of Annual compensation
Restructuring your salary with some additional components can reduce your tax liability. This restructuring doesn’t require any additional cash outflow. The following components can be efficiently used to reduce your income tax liability.

v  Transport allowance to the extend of Rs.800 is exempt
v  Medical expenses which are reimbursed by the employer are exempt to the tune of Rs.15000
v  Food coupons like sodexo or ticket restaurant are exempt from tax up to Rs.60000
v  Individuals who are all living in a rented accommodation can include House Rent Allowance ( HRA ) as a part of their salary
v  Leave Travel Allowance (LTA) can be part of your salary as this can be claimed twice in a block of 4 years.

2)     Effective Utilization of Tax Exemption
As far as possible utilize the maximum exemptions available under section 80 C, 80 CCF and 80 D. The maximum exemption available under section 80 C is Rs. 100000.

Under this section Rs.100000 investment or contribution can be made in PPF, NSC, Life insurance premium, 5 year FD with banks and Post offices, Mutual Fund ELSS, Principal Repayment of housing loan, and the tuition fees paid for children’s education.

Under Section 80 CCF, you can invest up to Rs.20000 in infrastructure bonds.

Under Sec 80 D, the premium paid towards the mediclaim policies are exempt. The maximum limit of exemption is Rs.15000 and for senior citizens the limit is Rs.20000 and for covering senior citizen parents there is an additional exemption to the extend of Rs.15000.


3)     Properly Structure your Housing Loan
The Principal repayment of a housing loan is eligible for a deduction up to Rs.100000. The interest paid on a housing loan is eligible for a deduction up to Rs.150000. If the housing loan is for a sizeable amount, then it is possible that the principal repayment and interest may exceed the specified tax exemption limit. To utilise the maximum tax benefit, an individual can consider going for a joint home loan with his/her spouse or parent or sibling. This will make sure that both the co-owners can claim tax deductions in the proportion of their holding in the loan.

4)     Tax Plan in Sync with Overall Financial Plan

You should not do your tax plan in isolation. You need to do it in sync with your overall financial plan. So a tax plan is not only to just save taxes and also it should assist you in achieving your other financial goals like children’s higher education, buying a home or retirement.


5)     Avoid Last Minute Rush

In fact the right time to do the tax plan is the beginning of the financial year. If you postpone your tax planning even now and do it in the last minute, then you will not be able to choose the right investment. In the last minute rush, you will be forced to choose a scheme which gives the proof immediately. Is the investment sound and profitable? Is there any other better options? You will not be able to choose the best scheme and you may settle with a mediocre one.

6)     Invest Some Quality Time
Before investing your money, you need to invest your time. You need to take some quality time to understand the various tax saving options and compare their benefits and limitations.


7)     Check for Future Commitments
Some tax saving options like NSC or ELSS need only onetime investment. Some other tax saving options like PPF, Ulips need periodical investments year after year. You need to be careful in choosing a tax saving scheme where you need to commit for periodical future payments. You need to check on a few things like; do you need such a future commitment? Will you be able to meet the future commitments at ease? The law may change and you may not get any tax exemption for your future payments. Would you consider the scheme irrespective of tax benefit for the future payments?

8)     Changed Your Job; Redo your Tax Plan
Did you switch your job in the middle of the financial year? Then you need to redo your tax plan with consolidating the income from both the companies. It is advisable to inform the new company about the income during the particular financial year from the old company. So that your new company will deduct the right amount of TDS. Otherwise you may need to pay extra tax at the end of the financial year.

Whenever you change your job, you need to have a sitting with your financial planner or tax advisor. So that the required changes in your tax plan can be done proactively.


With proper tax planning you can reduce your tax liability; save more; invest better and become wealthier.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.


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A Personal Finance Checklist for Newlyweds

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 7:00 PM Article by Unknown 0 Comments



Getting married is one of the most important events in your life. There is so much to consider—the flowers, the jewel, the dress, the venue, the photography—the list goes on. Once you are back from the honeymoon, the daily life of marriage begins and also begins the challenges of managing the finances of a new household with your spouse.

In recent studies, many couples ranked financial matters as one of the most essential factors when it comes to happiness in a marriage. It is one of the key factors causing marital stress.

Money Compatibility

First thing to do is to check how compatible you and your spouse in money management. You may be conservative and your spouse may be aggressive. You may think that the best place to invest is stock market and your spouse may think bank FDs.

You should communicate your money management style to your spouse as well as you need to understand the money management style of your spouse.  Both of you need to analyse the merits and demerits of money management style of each other and their own. Then you need to create a mutually agreed combined money management style.

This will be vital to you both throughout your married life to help minimise stress from disagreements about money.

Update Your Records

  • Change of Address: You could have shifted to your in law’s place or both of you could have shifted to a new place. So you need to make necessary change of address requests to your bank accounts, demat accounts, mutual fund accounts and so on.
  • Change of Name: Generally the women change their initial or the last name after their marriage. This need to be updated in all the accounts.
  • Change of Nominee/Beneficiary: You may like to change the nominee to your spouse for the investments, accounts, insurance policies which you have taken before marriage.
  • Changes in Will: You also need to create a will if you have not created one so far. If you have already a will, then you need to revisit your will now.

Assign Financial Responsibilities

You need to decide, who is going to take care of day to day money management i.e. paying bills, monitoring investments and the like.

Develop a Family Budget

You need to create a workable budget for your family that gives extra money and life. This budget should take into account both of your income, the individual expenses and family expenses.

Create an Emergency Fund

You need to accrue savings for some surprise situations like loss of job, break in job or sudden expenses like a major repair to your car or house. Generally the emergency fund need to be in the range of 3 to 6 month of family expenses.

Insurance Coverage

So far, you may not be having any dependents or less number of dependents. You could not have considered life insurance or take for a less coverage. This is the time to look at life insurance seriously. When I say life insurance, I am talking about only term insurance and not the ULIPs. Ulips have been rejected by the market for its heavy front loaded charges.

Debt Payoff Plan

Suppose, if you are already on debt, you need to create a debt payoff plan. This plan will help you in getting out of debt and staying out of debt.

Spend Smarter and Save More

Spending habits will be different from individual to individual. Both of you need to align your spending pattern and learn how to spend smarter and save more.

When both are working and not having kids yet is the stage you have more income, especially more disposable income. Couples need to be careful and avoid overspending and save as much as possible during this stage. This will ease you out when you have more expenses at the later stage of your life.

Set Combined Financial Goals

Both of you need to spend some quality time discussing about the financial goals like buying a home, international vacation and the like. This is the right time to plan your retirement.

Chalk out a Financial Plan

Once you have set the combined financial goals, then you need to chalk out a financial plan to achieve these goals. You need to take into account growth rate of your income, inflation on your expenses, time set to achieve various goals, rate of return expected from various investment options.

This is slightly a complicated procedure and this plan need to be review periodically. That is why it is better to outsource it. You may seek assistance from a professional financial planner.

To financially succeed, it needs teamwork from both the partners. As a newly married couple, you have enough time and plenty of opportunity. I am sure that with this checklist and the guidance from financial planner, you will reach your life goals together.

The author is Ramalingam K, an MBA (Finance) and Certified Financial Planner. He is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners (www.holisticinvestment.in) a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management. He can be reached at ramalingam@holisticinvestment.in.

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