100 Essential Skills for Geeks

As Geeks we are expected to have a certain set of skills that the majority of the population does not possess. This list is by no means complete, but I think it is a good sample of the skills required to be a true geek. I won’t pretend to have all the skills listed here. I even had to Google a few of them.

Like all good Geeks you should be able to utilize resources to accomplish any of these things. Knowing where to look for the knowledge is as good as having it so give yourself points if you are certain that you could Google the knowledge necessary for a skill.

1. Properly secure a wireless router.
2. Crack the WEP key on a wireless router.
3. Leech Wifi from your neighbor.
4. Screw with Wifi leeches.
5. Setup and use a VPN.
6. Work from home or a coffee shop as effectively as you do at the office.
7. Wire your own home with Ethernet cable.
8. Turn a web camera into security camera.
9. Use your 3G phone as a Wi-Fi access point.
10. Understand what “There’s no Place Like 127.0.0.1” means.
11. Identify key-loggers.
12. Properly connect a TV, Tivo, XBox, Wii, and Apple TV so they all work together with the one remote.
13. Program a universal remote.
14. Swap out the battery on your iPod/iPhone.
15. Benchmark Your Computer
16. Identify all computer components on sight.
17. Know which parts to order from NewEgg.com, and how to assemble them into a working PC.
18. Troubleshoot any computer/gadget problem, over the phone.
19. Use any piece of technology intuitively, without instruction or prior knowledge.
20. How to irrecoverably protect data.
21. Recover data from a dead hard drive.
22. Share a printer between a Mac and a PC on a network.
23. Install a Linux distribution. (Hint: Ubuntu 9.04 is easier than installing Windows)
24. Remove a virus from a computer.
25. Dual (or more) boot a computer.
26. Boot a computer off a thumb drive.
27. Boot a computer off a network drive.
28. Replace or repair a laptop keyboard.
29. Run more than two monitors on a single computer.
30. Successfully disassemble and reassemble a laptop.
31. Know at least 10 software easter eggs off the top of your head.
32. Bypass a computer password on all major operating systems. Windows, Mac, Linux
33. Carrying a computer cleaning arsenal on your USB drive.
34. Bypass content filters on public computers.
35. Protect your privacy when using a public computer.
36. Surf the web anonymously from home.
37. Buy a domain, configure bind, apache, MySQL, php, and Wordpress without Googling a how-to.
38. Basic *nix command shell knowledge with the ability to edit and save a file with vi.
39. Create a web site using vi.
40. Transcode a DVD to play on a portable device.
41. Hide a file in an image using steganography.
42. Knowing the answer to life, the universe and everything.
43. Share a single keyboard and mouse between multiple computers without a KVM switch.
44. Google obscure facts in under 3 searches. Bonus point if you can use I Feel Lucky.
45. Build amazing structures with LEGO and invent a compelling back story for the creation.
46. Understand that it is LEGO, not Lego, Legos, or Lego’s.
47. Build a two story house out of LEGO, in monochrome, with a balcony.
48. Construct a costume for you or your kid out of scraps, duct tape, paper mâché, and imagination.
49. Be able to pick a lock.
50. Determine the combination of a Master combination padlock in under 10 minutes.
51. Assemble IKEA furniture without looking at the instructions. Bonus point if you don’t have to backtrack.
52. Use a digital SLR in full manual mode.
53. Do cool things to Altoids tins.
54. Be able to construct paper craft versions of space ships.
55. Origami! Bonus point for duct tape origami. (Ductigami)
56. Fix anything with duct tape, chewing gum and wire.
57. Knowing how to avoid being eaten by a grue.
58. Know what a grue is.
59. Understand where XYZZY came from, and have used it.
60. Play any SNES game on your computer through an emulator.
61. Burn the rope.
62. Know the Konami code, and where to use it.
63. Whistle, hum, or play on an iPhone, the Cantina song.
64. Learning to play the theme songs to the kids favorite TV shows.
65. Solve a Rubik’s Cube.
66. Calculate THAC0.
67. Know the difference between skills and traits.
68. Explain special relativity in terms an eight-year-old can grasp.
69. Recite pi to 10 places or more.
70. Be able to calculate tip and split the check, all in your head.
71. Explain that the colours in a rainbow are roygbiv.
72. Understand the electromagnetic spectrum – xray, uv, visible, infrared, microwave, radio.
73. Know the difference between radiation and radioactive contamination.
74. Understand basic electronics components like resistors, capacitors, inductors and transistors.
75. Solder a circuit while bottle feeding an infant. (lead free solder please.)
76. The meaning of technical acronyms.
77. The coffee dash, blindfolded (or blurry eyed). Coffee [cream] [sugar]. In under a minute.
78. Build a fighting robot.
79. Program a fighting robot.
80. Build a failsafe into a fighting robot so it doesn’t kill you.
81. Be able to trace the Fellowship’s journey on a map of Middle Earth.
82. Know all the names of the Dwarves in The Hobbit.
83. Understand the difference between a comic book and a graphic novel.
84. Know where your towel is and why it is important.
85. Re-enact the parrot sketch.
86. Know the words to The Lumberjack Song.
87. Reciting key scenes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
88. Be able to recite at least one Geek Movie word for word.
89. Know what the 8th Chevron does on a Stargate and how much power is required to get a lock.
90. Be able to explain why it’s important that Han shot first.
91. Know why it is just wrong for Luke and Leia to kiss.
92. Stop talking Star Wars long enough to get laid.
93. The ability to name actors, characters and plotlines from the majority of sci-fi movies produced since 1968.
94. Cite Mythbusters when debunking a myth or urban legend.
95. Sleep with a Cricket bat next to your bed.
96. Have a documented plan on what to do during a zombie or robot uprising.
97. Identify evil alternate universe versions of friends, family, co-workers or self.
98. Be able to convince TSA that the electronic parts you are carrying are really not a threat to passengers.
99. Talk about things that aren’t tech related.
100. Get something on the front page of Digg.

How to: Install Windows 7 using bootable pen drive

Some of you may be wondering why you would ever need a bootable pen drive or some of you may even don't get what exactly this post is all about. For those who do not understand what does the word 'boot' mean - "It's a process your computer follows every time it is turned on or restarted. The process is basically looking for the operating system in the memory" and when we say 'bootable' pen drive, it means your computer starts looking for the operating system (Windows in our case) in your pen drive.

Now for all those desperate and frustrated fellows who want to install Windows 7 in their system but aren't able to do so because of the hardware limitations (or any other reason), here's the procedure:

This is the tutorial for installing Windows 7 using a bootable pen drive but I believe you can install any Operating system in your computer using this procedure:

Pre-requisites:

1. A pen drive (4 GB minimum)

2. Windows 7 .ISO file (which you can make using any CD/DVD image creating software like MagicISO)

3. WinUSB maker Software (to make your pen drive bootable)

4. A computer with USB ports (does that sound obvious?)

Steps to follow:

1. Download WinUSB maker Software from here.

2. Extract the package files and run the application.

3. Connect your pen drive to the computer.

4. Now select your USB device (pen drive) using the drop down.

5. Now click on Setup to USB and select an ISO file to work with.

6. Now click on Make USB Bootable.

Here you go. Now it will format your device and will make it bootable with the .ISO image of Windows 7. You can check the file transfer status in the bar and once it is completed, you can remove the pen drive from the computer.

7. Now you need to follow a small step with the BIOS of your computer. You can enter BIOS of your computer by hitting F11 or Delete key (the keys vary from system to system. Look on the screen for exact key) on the very first screen which appears for few seconds as soon as you turn on/restart your computer.

8. Now you need to enter the Boot Menu of your BIOS and set your USB device as the first boot device in the list (use +, - keys to do this).

9. After saving the settings, exit BIOS.

10. Now connect your pen drive to your computer and restart it. As soon as you restart your computer, it will boot from the USB (pen drive) and will install Windows 7 in your computer (you will need to follow simple steps of Windows installation).

Subnet Basics

Ever get stressed out because you know that there would be subnetting question(s) in the next exam you are taking and that these questions easily take up 10 to 20 minutes of your precious exam time? What if there is more than one question?

The process of converting the subnet to binary and decimal can drive the unfamiliar insane, not to mention the waste of precious time and brain power which can be utilized for other areas of exam preparation.

Let's take a look at a shortcut method that will cut down the time needed to answer these questions without the need for a calculator.

Subnet Basics:

This article assumes that you know how to perform subnetting in the traditional method but it is important to stress that there are only 3 classes of usable IP addresses which are:

Class	Range	Subnet mask	Host bit	Subnet
Class A	1 - 126 (127 is reserved for loopback)	255.0.0.0	24	8
Class B	128 - 191	255.255.0.0	16	16
Class C	192 - 223	255.255.255.0	8	24

You must understand and remember this table well in order to master the shortcut.

Note: You must borrow at least 2 bits and must leave at least 2 bits.

The Subnet Table:

Bits Borrowed (N)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Bit Value	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
Subnet Mask	128	192	224	240	248	252	254	255
Number of Subnets ((2^N)-2)	0	2	6	14	30	62	126	254

Stop: Before continuing, please read this very important article regarding the use of the ((2^N)-2) method of subnetting.

If using the (2^N) method as defined in RFC 1878, your table would look like this instead.

Bits Borrowed (N)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Bit Value	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
Subnet Mask	128	192	224	240	248	252	254	255
Number of Subnets (2^N)	2	4	8	16	32	64	128	256

The subnet table is commonly seen in lecture notes or certification guides but what the author/lecturer did not tell you is how to derive this table on the fly. Its actually quite simple, lets look at it line by line.

1. Bits borrowed, this is the easy one, just remember that the table consists of only 8 columns.
2. Bits Value, remember by heart that the first value starts with 128 and the subsequent values are divided by two.
3. Subnet Mask, this line tells you what the subnet mask would be, to get the figures, add up the corresponding bits value and all of the values prior to it.
128 + 0 (there is no prior value) =128 128 + 64 = 192 192 + 32 = 224 224 + 16 = 240 240 + 8 = 248 248 + 4 = 252 252 + 2 + 254 254 + 1 + 255
4. Number of Subnets, tells you how many subnet you'll get if you use the subnet mask. Just look at the corresponding N value at the top and you can derive the figures.

Once you understand how to derive the subnet table, spend some time practicing. I would advise you to draw out the table once you are in the exam room (before starting the actual exam) it will take you less than a minute.

How to Tackle the Questions:

There are only a few different ways that Microsoft or Cisco can phrase their questions, lets take a look at some examples:

Question Type 1:
If you are to determine the subnet mask based on a number of hosts and an IP address...

Example:
You are assigned an IP address of 172.30.0.0 and you need 1000 hosts on your network, what is your subnet mask.

1. Determine the number of bits needed for the hosts. In this scenario, we need ten bits as 2^10 = 1024 (the question asks for 1000 hosts only).
2. Determine the number of bits left for the subnet. 32 - (number of bits needed for the host) which is 32-10 = 22 bits.
3. Determine the number of bits actually borrowed. We take the number of bits left for the subnet and minus as many 8s as possible as each 8 represents 1 octal. Therefore 22 - 8 - 8 = 6 bits were borrowed.

Bits Borrowed (N)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Bits Value	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
Subnet Mask	128	192	224	240	248	252	254	255
Number of Subnets (2N-2)	0	2	6	14	30	62	126	254

With reference to the subnet table, 6 bits would have a subnet of 255.255.252.0 . Take note that a total of two 8s were subtracted off, therefore the first two octal would be 255.255.x.x and the 3rd octal was 6 bits borrowed which leaves with 255.255.252.x.

Question Type 2:
If you were given an IP address of 172.30.0.0 and you need 15 subnets...

Bits Borrowed (N)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Bits Value	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
Subnet Mask	128	192	224	240	248	252	254	255
Number of Subnets (2N-2)	0	2	6	14	30	62	126	254

With reference to the subnet table, the subnet mask should be 255.255.248.0. 172.30.0.0 is a Class B address and the subnet should be 255.255.0.0.

Question Type 3:
You are assigned an IP address of 172.30.0.0 and you need 55 subnets, how many hosts do you have per subnet?

1. Determine the number of bits used for the subnet.
   
   

   Bits Borrowed (N)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
   Bits Value	128	64	32	16	8	4	2	1
   Subnet Mask	128	192	224	240	248	252	254	255
   Number of Subnets (2N-2)	0	2	6	14	30	62	126	254

   
   According to the chart, the closest match to 55 subnet would be 62 and therefore, the number of bits borrowed for the subnet is 6. Since 172.30.0.0 is a Class B, we would need to add another 16 bits to the 6 making it 22 bits in total.
2. Determine the number of bits used for the host. Number of bits used for the hosts is 32 - (number of bits used for the subnet) which is 22 = 10 bits. 2^10-2 = 1022, therefore there are a total of 1022 usable hosts in each subnet.

The key to mastering this shortcut is the same as with any other mathematical question - pratice.

Good luck on your next exam.

-Snehal-

iPod Touch Apps List

The applications and games that you find on the best iPod Touch apps list are not just restricted to the Apple iPod Touch. They can be used on the Apple iPhone as well, and most of them can even be used on the Apple iPad. The quantity and the quality of these apps is one of the most attractive points of owning a device developed by Apple Inc, and you can rest assured that you will get productive and useful apps in every category that you look.


There are more than 300,000 apps available in the Apple App Store, and they optimize the use and the features of your iPod Touch. The new Apple iPod Touch 4G has raised the bar even higher for portable MP3 players, and now you can access the Internet with it, make video calls with it, watch videos on it and the various apps are simply tools that are meant to make all these tasks more enjoyable and productive at the same time.


Apple iPod Touch Apps List


With that information in mind, here are some of the top iPod Touch apps that you make use of today, divided into the various categories in the Store.

Category	Top Free App Name	Top Paid App Name
Books	iBooks B&N Bookstore Marvel Comics B&N Nook Stanza	MegaReader Pocket God Comics Dr. Seuss's ABC Audiobooks Ebook Reader
Business	Dragon Dictation Monster.com Jobs Office CamCard Genius Scan	PDF Reader Pro Documents To Go Currency Converter Job Search FedEx Mobile
Entertainment	Netflix Star Wars: Light Saber Duel Aging Booth Gun Builder Talking Honey Cat	Pocket God Remote iBeer AVPlayer Wallpaper Factory HQ
Games	Angry Birds City Zombies Dinosaur Slayer Original Gangstaz Lyric Legend	Rage HD Uno Solitaire LEGO Harry Potter Guitar Hero
Music	Pandora Radio Shazam SoundHound SongCatcher VEVO	Ocarina LaDiDa PocketGuitar Drum Kit Pro GuitarToolkit
Utilities	Spy Cams Mirror in Your Pocket Free Wi-Fi Finder Battery Life Pro Alarm Clock	Barcode Scanner Flashlight iDownloader Mobile Mouse Pro Cloud Browse
Travel	Google Earth Yelp Urbanspoon American Airlines OpenTable	Kayak FlightBoard Zagat To Go New York Subway Disney World Dining
Sports	ESPN ScoreCenter NFL.com College Football Live CBS Sports Mobile Paper Football 3D	ESPN Radio ACC Sports Hunting Call Pele MMA Underground
Productivity	Google Voice Evernote Shopping List Free iTranslate CamScanner Free	Atomic Web Browser Santa's Bag Keynote Remote LogMeIn Ignition Quickoffice Mobile Suite
Health & Fitness	Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker WebMD Mobile Period Tracker Lite Fooducate iMapMyRun	Nike+ GPS iFitness Sleep Machine All-in YOGA BabyBump Pregnancy Pro

You can also find many free iPod Touch apps lists online to get more information on the best iPod Touch apps 2010 that you can get for free. In addition to these categories, there are many more present in the App Store as well, and one can truly spend hours browsing through the various available apps. The paid apps obviously, provide more features and benefits than the free ones, and this is not lost on consumers. Many people prefer to pay for some apps, so as to enjoy their leading characteristics and features.

The top iPod Touch apps know how to make full use of the impressive hardware of the device. The 1 GHz processor and the 3.5 inches Retina-Eye Display combine together to give the user an enriched experience, and this is enhanced by the way certain iPod applications look on the display screen. Video games are becoming more and more popular on the iPod Touch, and the device is fast overtaking the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS as the most popular handheld gaming device in the world.

With the help of this iPod Touch apps list you can find the best iPod Touch apps ever for your iPod Touch, and you can enjoy it to its extreme. A lot of money and resources are spent by the developers of these apps to give the best results, and each and every single one of them will be useful to you sooner or later.